"Congratulations, Xiaoquan, you’ve finally stepped into the ranks of men."
"Well done, Quan! Thumbs up, buddy!"
"You’ve got guts, you’re a real man!"
...
The commotion below the stage was incessant, with everyone teasing the two on stage one after the other.
"Xiaotang, that’s enough, why don’t you let go after kissing?"
An untimely reminder from Wenquan Xin reached Tang Xiaoquan’s ears, finally making him aware that his mouth was still touching Wei Yang’s forehead.
At once, like being shocked, he stepped back and very apologetically said to Wei Yang, "Sorry, just..."
"Just what?" Wenquan Xin leaned in towards Wei Yang.
At this moment, Wei Yang had her head down, her already blushing cheeks now resembled a bright blooming peach flower, making her stunning face appear even more charming.
Wei Yang was completely bewildered now, her mind a blank.
She was both excited about taking a step further with Tang Xiaoquan, and shy about the current situation, in short, she was at a loss for what to do.
Wenquan Xin clearly wouldn’t miss this great chance to tease the two, standing on the stage, mimicking a microphone with his hand pointed at Tang Xiaoquan, he laughingly asked, "Quan, just a friendly interview, was this your first peck with a girl? How does it feel? It seems you want to have another go, am I right?"
After all, with the relationship between Wei Yang and Tang Xiaoquan, Wenquan Xin wasn’t afraid of offending them.
So he joked around even more unrestrainedly.
But Tang Xiaoquan was clearly unwilling to continue this, not because he’s unsociable or angry.
Rather, it’s that he didn’t want to see Wei Yang being teased and joked about like this.
"Alright, Xiaotang’s punishment is over, Wen, you better stop, if you continue don’t blame me for using a card against you!"
Fortunately, Zhao Er was not too drunk, being older he knew when jokes should stop.
Earlier, he hadn’t intervened mainly hoping to use this opportunity to help Tang Xiaoquan and Wei Yang take their relationship a step further.
Otherwise, given Tang Xiaoquan’s shy nature, it’s unlikely he would dare to have any intimate moments with Wei Yang even by the end of the apocalypse.
So now that this has happened, teasing the two has gone a bit too far.
Even if it’s New Year’s and putting on some entertainment is justified, these two are clearly not part of it.
With Zhao Er’s intervention, Hu Xiaodong immediately stood up, casually tossed out a card, "Let’s do something practical, Xiaoquan, Brother Hu gives you this protection card, now no one can use a card against you. Wen, you better behave, get down and give Xiaotang three rounds of self-punishment."
Facing the "threat" from Hu and Zhao Er, Wenquan Xin instinctively wanted to retort, but lacking a card, he instantly felt less confident.
Feeling helpless, he shrugged his shoulders, "Fine, fine! You’re quite lucky, Xiaoquan! Look, so many people help you out, letting me be laughed at just now, it’s not fair, I won’t play with you anymore."
Having said that, Wenquan Xin walked off the stage on his own, leaving Tang Xiaoquan alone.
Now with Wenquan Xin gone, no obstacles were left between Tang Xiaoquan and Wei Yang.
With him gone, there’s now no barrier, they are separated only by an open space, reaching out an arm could touch each other.
In ordinary times, standing like this wouldn’t be a problem for Tang Xiaoquan.
But at this moment, facing so many eager eyes waiting to see a joke from below, and considering what he’d just done.
Tang Xiaoquan stood like a child who’d done something wrong, stuck on stage, unable to move forward or back.
Move forward, he didn’t know what to say.
Move back, having done that, leaving without a word would be truly impolite.
But remaining stuck there was clearly not an option, to avoid the atmosphere getting more awkward, Tang Xiaoquan hesitantly moved closer to Wei Yang, mustering the courage to squeeze out a few words, "Wei, about earlier... I’m really sorry, I, it’s... Wen is such a jerk, I don’t have any attack cards to counter, but I’ll settle it with him after dinner!"
First shifting the blame onto Wenquan Xin, then emphasizing the countermeasures, having followed this progression, Tang Xiaoquan tentatively broached the main topic, "Well... are you okay?"
No reply, Wei Yang remained in a dazed state.
"Wei, Wei?"
"Huh?" Finally sensing someone beside her calling softly.
Upon hearing Wei Yang’s response, Tang Xiaoquan quickly stepped forward, "Well, are you okay?"
Her face flushed again, "I... I’m fine, it’s just a game, you, you can go down now."
Tang Xiaoquan wasn’t quite sure, but at this moment, it was indeed inappropriate for him to stay on stage.
Otherwise, given the nature of the folks below, they’d likely keep hanging onto him and Wei Yang.
"Alright, then I’ll head down."
Watching Tang Xiaoquan’s somewhat clumsy figure retreating, a faint smile appeared on Wei Yang’s lips.
Anyway, she gained something from this session today.
Though getting kissed on the forehead in front of so many people was quite embarrassing, it was ultimately a breakthrough.
Oh well, the card game continues.
From the previous demonstration by Wenquan Xin, Tang Xiaoquan and others, everyone now thoroughly understood the game rules, making the actual play more intense and fun. Back and forth they went, thoroughly enjoyable.
Until approaching midnight, Old Xu stood up to call a halt to the excited players, "Alright, everyone might be tired now, return to your seats to rest a bit, the New Year countdown is about to begin."
As he finished speaking, everyone naturally returned to their seats.
Soon, the last song and dance program ended before midnight, the hosts in dazzling outfits subsequently gathered at the center of the venue.
"Dear friends, the midnight bell is about to toll, a brand new spring is coming."
"We can distinctly feel spring’s footsteps echoing in every heart."
"Let us welcome life’s hope and harvest with harmony and peace."
"Let us embrace life’s calm and confidence with harmony and concord."
"Friends, a new spring is coming to us, we are embracing another brand new spring!"
Beautiful lines, beautiful wishes, yes, a brand new spring is coming, perhaps not as wonderful as imagined, perhaps challenges still await the Survivor.
But living in this world, one must look forward, being alive is a beautiful blessing.
"The New Year’s bell is about to ring."
"Come, dear friends, just fifteen seconds left!"
"Let’s prepare together, ten!"
At this point, all Survivor Team members opened their mouths in unison to echo:
"Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!"
"Dang! Dang! Dang!" The midnight bell tolled!
The Survivor Team members in turn raised their glasses, without saying more, a glass of sake represented everything.