Dolores blushed.
If Dolores wanted to, she could grab Matthew’s position as she held fifty per cent of the shares in her
hands.
Victoria had also prepared some gifts for the two children. The gifts were different from Matthew’s. The
gifts were not money but gifts full of love.
She went to the South China Temple to prey for a talisman in person, hoping that the two children
would grow up without any illnesses or disasters.
Victoria hung the gifts around their necks. The blessing bag was made of yellow silk and embroidered
with lines, which might belong to the Buddhist.
This was not superstition. It was a trust for the heart.
Hanging by a red string, the two children were happy.
“Today is New Year's Eve, I can’t be empty-handed either.” Boyce also prepared Nephrite pendants for
the two children, “I don’t know much about jade but I heard that this jade is good to wear. When I
bought the jade, the boss told me that men wear Avalokitesvara and women wear Buddha, I don’t
understand what does that mean.”
He gave the Avalokitesvara to Samuel and the Maitreya Buddha to Simona. The little girl opened the
red velvet box and inside it was the Maitreya Buddha which was beautifully carved. The Maitreya
Buddha held Mala in its hand and grinned in a very pleasing manner.
The little girl liked it very much and touched it with her fingers, “Thank you, Mr. Shawn. I like it very
much.”
Boyce was relieved, “I am worried that you will not like it.”
It was New Year, so it was inappropriate to give a gift that was too cheap but he could not afford to give
something expensive. He was worried that the children would not like the jade pendants. He was
apprehensive for a long time.
He was worried that the child would not like them as gift giving was about giving the right gift to the
right person. He could not just give stuffed toys or something, after all, it was New Year’s Eve.
Samuel was also very polite, “Thank you, Mr. Shawn. I like it very much too.” Growing up abroad, he
did not understand Buddhist etiquette in his home country. He replied to Boyce, “
Men wear Avalokitesvara and women wear Buddha. Is it because girls have to wear male ones and
men have to wear female ones?”
Buddha is male and Avalokitesvara is female, that was how he understood it.
There was an instant silence at the dining table.
Everyone did not expect Samuel to come up with such a sentence suddenly.
Dolores stroked his son’s head, “You can’t interpret it that way and you can’t say like that, it’s
disrespectful.”
“It’s alright, children’s words are not disrespectful.” Matthew waved his big hand, “Let’s eat.”
Because of Boyce’s presence, Matthew drank two glasses of wine with him. That was not much. If they
did not drink on this occasion, it was not satisfactory.
The drivers were there, so even if they were unconscious, they could send them back.
There were fireworks outside. Bang! Bang! Bang!
The little girl sped up her meal. When Dolores fed her soup, the little girl was also holding the bowl.
She ‘poured’ the soup inside her mouth. Dolores frowned, “You better slow down a bit, why do you eat
in a hurry?”
“I want to play fireworks.” The little girl wanted to eat quickly and did not even raise her head to answer
her.
Dolores stroked her hair, “There’s no need to be in such a hurry. There are so many of us. If you have
finished eating earlier, you can’t go off alone too, right?”
The little girl thought about it and it seemed true. It was not fun for her to play alone. It was fun to play
with everyone.
She slid down from her chair and hurried from one to another, “Eat quickly, eat quickly, I want to play
fireworks. You all eat quickly, don’t make me wait for too long.”
Boyce was amused, “There are so many dishes. If I take one bite for one dish, I have to take twenty
minutes to finish eating all of them.”
The little girl blinked, “Then you just eat the plate of fish in front of you.”
Boyce was speechless.
“No way.” He took a crab bun, “I want to be full, and I don’t like fish.”
The little girl blinked, “If you eat too much, you’ll get fat. A fat guy can’t find a girlfriend. You look at Mr.
Bernie. He has married Ms. Gordon. What about you? Who will marry such a fat guy like you?”
At once, there was a silence at the dining table. Then, there was laughter.
Boyce found it hard to swallow the crab bun inside his mouth, how come it had no taste?
He put down his chopsticks, “I don’t want to eat anymore.”
He did not even have a girlfriend. If he ate any more, he would become fat and he would not be able to
find a girlfriend.
Samuel brought Boyce some food, “Mr. Shawn, I think it’s better for you to eat.”
Boyce stroked Samuel’s head, “Samuel is very thoughtful as you bring me food.”
Samuel took a piece of roast pork and stuffed it into his mouth, whimpering, “Even if you’re not fat,
you’re not able to find a girlfriend, so you might as well eat.”
Boyce was speechless.
Haha ---
The New Year’s Eve dinner ended in delightful laughter. They left the restaurant and the car drove to a
vast area because Simona wanted to play fireworks.
In the boot, there were a lot of fireworks, big and small, various kinds of them.
The little girl was so happy.
Boyce lit two ‘Little Stars’ for her first. It was named so because it looked like stars when it exploded.
She took one to Dolores, “Mummy, Mummy this is for you.”
The fireworks lit up the little girl’s face. Sometimes it was bright, sometimes it was dark.
Dolores bent down to take it. Then, the little girl ran away. She wore snow boots and they were covered
in snow.
Matthew and Dolores stood side by side. Boyce led them to set up the big fireworks far away.
“This is, for the first time, they celebrated New Year at home. There are no fireworks abroad.” Looking
at the children’s happiness, Dolores smiled lightly.
Matthew hugged her by the shoulders and asked, “Are you happy?”
“Happy, but not perfect.” It was because Jessica was not there. This was the first time she was not by
her side during New Year.
She had slight discomfort.
And a little regret.
It was because she had found her two children a father this year, but she did not spend this reunion
year with them. Because of her absence, this reunion seemed less perfect.
Matthew could sense her depression clearly. He deliberately buried his head in her coat, “When did you
fall down, how come I don’t know? Let me see if the fall is serious.” As he spoke, his hand reached
inside her coat to lift her jumper.
Dolores was startled and pushed him away, not knowing if it was because her force was too strong, or
if Matthew did it on purpose, or because his foot slipped, the moment Dolores pushed him, his body
leaned back and he fell down. He grabbed Dolores’ hand and pulled her down together.
“Ah...”
Dolores instinctively shrieked. Afraid of alerting Boyce and the children, she immediately shut her
mouth.
Matthew’s back landed first. In the process of falling downwards, his coat opened up and Dolores fell
on his chest.
Dolores tried to stand up but he pulled hard so Dolores fell down again. He held her head and tilted his
head slightly to kiss her on the lips.
Her long hair slid down and covered their faces. His kiss was deep and his body was hot although it
was snowing.
His other hand fondled the back of her waist with her jumper on.
Dolores struggled.
“Don’t move.” He loosened his grip and said gently, “I’ll be more gentle next time.”
At that moment, there was a ping! A fireball shot up into the sky and exploded with a deafening bang. It
was like a huge, gorgeous umbrella, enveloping the sky in glorious, beautiful light.
Dolores pretended not to hear it and took advantage of the moment when he was watching the
fireworks to get up and run away.
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