During the days leading up to the New Year, besides meeting up with her sisters, Qiu Xi essentially spent all her remaining time at home.
Her most important tasks each day were to read literature and write her thesis!
This kind of life went on for many days.
Although the days were quite tough, Qiu Xi's harvest was quite significant.
And now, with only two days left until the New Year, the thesis that Qiu Xi had been working on for several months was finally completed!
Speaking of which, she had to thank her mentor!
During these days at home, apart from staying in and writing her thesis, Qiu Xi would chat with her mentor whenever she had free time. And to be honest, the harvest was quite good.
Her mentor's contribution to the smooth completion of this thesis was immense.
This wasn't to say that the mentor guided the writing itself, but rather the guidance and clarity of thought provided were very helpful.
Even though Qiu Xi hadn't shared the content of her thesis with her mentor, the impact was real.
Qiu Xi was very happy, so the morning after she finished her thesis and after careful review, she sent the completed thesis to Teacher Qi.
"This is great!"
"She actually finished it before the New Year!" Qiu Xi felt her spirits lift considerably as she looked at the sent file.
"The late nights over the past two days were indeed worth it."
After sending the email and message, Qiu Xi didn't wait for a reply from her teacher.
Instead, she happily sent voice messages to a few of her sisters.
"Linglong, Little Snowflower, I've finished my thesis. Do you want to get together? Let's go out for a meal~"
On the other end, Hua Linglong and Ni Xue were like, "......"
This was not good news for them.
Ni Xue looked at the document on her computer that still only had a title. She fell silent for a moment.
"Xiao Xi, the New Year is almost here, and there's a lot going on. How about we wait until after the New Year, or maybe during the New Year days, it will be more lively when we're free?"
Forgive her, she didn't want to say this.
But this news was too discouraging. If they went out again now, to celebrate their sister finishing her thesis... her conscience might ache.
And her mentor, if she found out that she was out playing again...
She couldn't even imagine the consequences.
As for Hua Linglong... she was in a pretty bad state too.
"Xiao Xi, this... I don't have time either. Your thesis is done, but my mentor is urging me on. Why don't we listen to Little Snowflower and get together after the New Year or during the New Year?"
Hua Linglong looked distressedly at her WeChat moments, which she had forgotten to block her mentor from seeing.
"Little girl, infatuation with men leads to ruin."
"......"
Her mentor, who usually got along very well with her, had high hopes for her.
But then... in the blink of an eye, she accidentally saw a photo of her and Bai Yixuan being affectionate, which was a bit...
She no longer knew how to describe her current feelings.
If she went out at this time, even if her mentor didn't notice, she herself would feel quite depressed.
Not to mention, her boyfriend was right here with her now...
This is too much sin!
So... there was no other way, a life of freedom had to temporarily leave her for a few days.
We'll meet again in a few days.
"......"
"What's wrong with you two...?" Qiu Xi looked at these two messages and was a bit speechless.
Weren't they excitedly talking about going out last night?
"We're demotivated by you!"
"We need to work hard!"
"Mm! I hope Xiao Xi will encourage us properly~"
"Exactly!"
"......"
This back-and-forth was quite well-executed.
"Alright, I forgive you," Qiu Xi said with a helpless smile.
If her sisters wanted to improve, she couldn't stop them, could she?
That wasn't what a good friend should do. She decided she would properly urge her sisters to strive for success in the future!
"Remember, you owe me, and you have to make it up to me after the New Year."
"We know~"
"We'll definitely make it up after the New Year."
"Okay then, you guys be busy, I won't chat anymore."
"Okay."
With that, Qiu Xi's celebratory mood subsided.
......
Time flew by, and the New Year was almost over.
The New Year these days isn't like it used to be, but it's still very warm.
A family, a meal. In Qiu Xi's family, even visiting relatives could be skipped; family reunion was the most important thing for them.
"Come on, let's play mahjong. Losers do squats."
It was late at night, and the weather was cold, but they couldn't just huddle together and watch TV. So, Qiu Xi's mother pulled everyone along to play mahjong with her.
There were four people playing: Qiu Xi's parents, Qiu Xi, and Qiu Ge. Beside them, their uncle Qiu Jue and cousin Qiu Xin were on standby.
The few of them sat there happily. The elders who weren't playing watched TV for a while, then watched the others, which was also quite enjoyable.
"Here we go!"
"Little Ge, are you up to it?"
"Look at these tiles, you've accumulated dozens of squats..." Qiu Xi's father chuckled and mocked his younger son.
"......" Qiu Ge rolled his eyes and pouted, "We'll switch after this round!"
His luck was a bit bad; he either discarded tiles that allowed others to win or even had a triple win with one discard...
If he continued playing, not only would he not be able to finish his squats, but he also had to consider whether he could even last...
It was too difficult!
"Uncle, Sister Xin, quickly discuss it and substitute for me!"
"Alright, finish this round first, we'll watch," said Uncle, smiling heartily at Qiu Ge.
"Sister Xin, why don't you and Uncle join, and Xiao Ge and I can rest for a bit and get up to move around," Qiu Xi said to Qiu Xin beside her while looking at her cards.
"Xiao Xi is right, Xiao Xin, you and your dad can join us later and play together," said Qiu Xi's mother.
"Yes, let's play together!"
Qiu Xi's parents quickly chimed in.
It wasn't good for their daughter to be too smart; she couldn't help but remember the cards even when playing, making it too difficult to play!
"......"
Qiu Xi looked at her parents' eagerness to start the next round and felt a bit helpless.
She didn't mean to, but just by looking, she remembered them all...
She felt a bit helpless too!