Chapter 1162 - 1102: New Year’s Eve, Auspicious Dumplings (Part 2)

"Because my luck is unbelievably good, didn’t you see I got five good fortunes in a row?"

Adrian Desmond was half skeptical, and when Sienna Johnson noticed his hesitation, she picked one up and held it to his mouth, saying, "Ah... open your mouth."

When a beloved woman offers it to you, even if it’s poison, you have to eat it. Without hesitation, Adrian took a bite, chewed, and then stopped moving.

"Is it peanuts, dates, or chestnuts?" Sienna asked curiously.

Adrian put his hand to his lips, his face gradually turning red, and sweat appeared on his forehead. This look didn’t seem like someone who tasted good fortune.

Sienna leaned in and asked, "Is it wasabi or chili again?"

With a table full of people, Adrian couldn’t spit out what he had in his mouth and had to swallow it with great difficulty.

Chili, he got chili again this time. Adrian figured the few dumplings he made with wasabi and chili had all ended up on his plate.

Indeed, one’s own misdeeds cannot be lived down.

"Adrian, are you okay?" Sienna handed over the juice in front of her.

"How many did I make with wasabi and chili?" Adrian asked as soon as he spoke, feeling the heat in his throat and gulping down several sips of juice, which didn’t seem to help.

"I think there were about 15."

"And how many have I eaten?"

"Ten!"

Adrian: ...

Adrian refused to eat any more dumplings, he was truly scared of getting another filled with chili or wasabi.

Then Sienna thought of a solution; she would eat half and give the other half to Adrian.

The old lady saw them sharing dumplings and teased, "Look at the young couple, so in love, they’re even sharing dumplings."

Sienna blushed a little and was about to put the other half of her dumpling into Adrian’s mouth, but became shy. Adrian, thick-skinned enough, leaned over and took a bite.

Sienna explained, "Adrian is having particularly bad luck today, always getting wasabi and chili, so I bite open and see if it’s neither, then I give it to him."

The old lady beamed at the young couple, making Sienna blush even more as others around them looked over.

Sienna said, "You eat by yourself."

"I don’t want to eat more wasabi and chili; if you don’t feed me, I won’t eat," Adrian whined.

Paige Desmond said, "Sister-in-law, just feed him, don’t worry, we won’t watch."

"Daddy, how embarrassing, you’re so grown up and still want Mommy to feed you," Curly pointed to his face and said.

Whoosh... the neighbors started fireworks. Curly and Dylan stopped eating and ran outside to watch the fireworks.

Where they sat, they had a perfect view of the outside fireworks, with warmth indoors and the bitter cold outside, as fireworks sparkled. Sienna felt this year’s celebration was very warm.

The New Year’s Eve dinner lasted until eight, with everyone watching the Spring Festival Gala, staying up late.

Around ten, the kids could no longer fight sleep and dozed off.

Sienna barely stayed awake until midnight and then couldn’t hold on, going to bed with Adrian’s company.

At three, the crackling of firecrackers woke Sienna up. She opened her eyes and found Adrian was also awake beside her.

"Did the noise wake you?" Sienna asked.

"I wasn’t asleep," Adrian replied.

"Why not?"

"The firecrackers outside sound like gunfire; I can’t sleep."

Adrian’s sense of vigilance had been honed through past crises, so with the firecrackers outside, he simply couldn’t sleep peacefully.

"It’s just firecrackers."

"I know."

The firecracker sounds grew denser outside, popping and crackling. Sheehan was sleeping in their room, and Sienna had Adrian move him and plug his ears with cotton, so the noise wouldn’t wake him.

Listening to the firecrackers for half an hour, Sienna couldn’t hold on and fell back asleep.

...

By seven, Sienna got up and freshened up.

She specially wore the new clothes, the red cotton jacket made by Rose Collins, with fabric soft and comfortable, just right for wearing indoors.

Since many relatives would come over today, Adrian put on a suit, and Sienna tied his tie, glancing at the handsome Adrian and stealing a kiss.

"Why did you kiss me?" Adrian asked, his eyes blazing as he looked at her.

"Because you look so handsome."

"Then kiss me more," Adrian pushed his charming face closer, and Sienna "disdainfully" pushed him aside.

At eight o’clock, relatives arriving for New Year’s greetings showed up, and Sienna prepared a bunch of red envelopes to give to the visiting kids.

According to tradition, the Johnson family relatives usually celebrated the Spring Festival at the Johnson Family’s place.

During this time, the Johnson household would become unusually lively.

Sienna’s grandfather was the only one among his brothers who made a fortune through business, while most others were from ordinary families, or reliant on the Johnson family’s businesses to make a small living. In the grandchildren’s generation, they engaged in different industries, with varying status, some rich, others poor, clearly distinguished.

This year’s gathering was exceptionally lively, with quite a few new additions.

A bunch of kids ran around the yard, breaking the old lady’s wintersweet. She wasn’t angry, just smiling as she watched the younger generation.

The old lady patted Sienna’s shoulder beside her, saying, "Your grandma won’t be around for more than a couple of years, so hurry and have more great-grandchildren for me to take care of."

Sienna smiled wryly; with four already, having more? She’d become a mother pig.

"Grandma, I’ll go entertain the guests."

"Go ahead," the old lady advised, "they’re all relatives; make sure to be polite to them during the New Year."

Back then, side branches of the Johnson family had disputes over Eastminster Mountain with the Johnson Family, leading to unpleasantness, and Sienna always bore a grudge against them. The old lady worried Sienna’s fiery temperament might offend the visiting guests.

"I understand, Grandma."

In the living room, Sienna chatted with a group of relatives. Though she could call them by their titles, having met only a few times a year, she wasn’t familiar with them.

A woman about her age, whom she should call "sister-in-law," held her hand and "concernedly" asked questions.

"Isn’t your husband very wealthy? Why aren’t you wearing any jewelry?"

She responded perfunctorily, "I don’t like those things."

The woman bluntly asked, "Is it because he doesn’t buy them for you?" Looking around, she leaned over and lowered her voice, "Did he spend it on some vixen outside? Let me tell you, if a man won’t spend money on you, it’s either because he’s poor or he’s spending it on another woman."

Sienna was at a loss to react.

"My husband doesn’t have a lover."

"Don’t be naïve; with your husband looking like that, even if he doesn’t make a move, women will throw themselves at him. You need to stay vigilant, don’t let those vixens take advantage."

Sienna thought of Ivy Evans, and it was indeed like this.

In the crowd, Sienna’s sight fell on Adrian, who was chatting with the men. Despite his typically aloof personality, normally impatient, he was surprisingly mingling today.