21st Century Necromancer

For Hiromi Jounouchi, who was spending New Year's at Chen Yu's home for the first time, every single Chinese New Year custom seemed extraordinarily novel to her.

The lavishness exceeded her imagination; the New Year's Eve dinner resembled a feast composed of more than a dozen dishes. The significance of each dish on the table, along with the abundance and deliciousness of these traditional foods, deeply fascinated Hiromi Jounouchi, stimulating her appetite greatly, yet she also had to suppress her desire to eat, because Yu Chen was explaining the various New Year's Eve customs to her.

"My parents are not originally from Hunan Province. Our hometown is in Anhui Province, but we moved here when I was four years old, so I basically grew up in Hunan. However, my parents have kept many of the New Year customs unique to Anhui Province," Chen Yu said, placing the prepared dishes on the table while explaining to Hiromi Jounouchi, "For example, the locals eat their New Year's meal at noon, but according to our hometown tradition, we eat the New Year's Eve dinner in the evening. Also, it's customary in our hometown to have a fish on the table from New Year's Eve until The Fifteenth of the First Lunar Month, but this fish is not to be eaten."

"Eh? Not to be eaten? Doesn't that mean the fish will go to waste? If it stays there for fifteen days, surely it really can't be eaten, right?" Hiromi Jounouchi covered her mouth in surprise and looked at the fish on the table that had been only slightly fried, asking with some confusion.

"There are actually two reasons for this. The first is to have 'surplus year after year,' because 'fish' is a homophone for 'surplus.' So, having a fish on the table during the New Year signifies having leftovers every year," Chen Yu explained, rotating the Lazy Susan on the table to bring the fish in front of himself, "The second reason is a custom from Anhui Province, where this uneaten fish is called the 'listening fish.' It must be presented at every meal but cannot be eaten. It's there to listen to everyone's conversation. As for the specific reason behind it, I haven't looked into it in detail, so I can only tell you this much."

After finishing, Chen Yu also showed a slightly apologetic expression, as if he felt sorry for not knowing more about the custom.

"Not at all, Mr. Chen Yu, you know a lot! It's really interesting hearing you talk about these things!" Hiromi Jounouchi laughed, not minding that Chen Yu didn't know the specific origins of the custom. To her, it was already impressive that Chen Yu could tell her about this tradition.

While Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi were talking about these things, Chen Yu's mother brought out the last dish, and Chen Yu's father opened a bottle of red wine, placing four glasses on the table and turning to Hiromi Jounouchi, "Would Hiromi like some wine, or would you prefer a soft drink?"

Seeing that Chen Yu's father was about to pour her a drink, Hiromi Jounouchi suddenly felt a little uneasy and quickly looked to Chen Yu, not quite sure how to respond due to her unfamiliarity with Chinese customs.

"You can have whatever you like; today is New Year's, and there are no prohibitions. Besides, our family never forces anyone to drink. If you want a soft drink, that's available too. You can even mix the red wine with a soft drink if you want. However, today you have to drink a little to celebrate the New Year properly," Chen Yu said half-jokingly to Hiromi Jounouchi.

"Ah? Mix red wine with a soft drink? How should I drink that?" Hiromi Jounouchi was taken aback by Chen Yu's suggestion, but she quickly told Chen Yu's father, "Uncle, I can drink a little bit of red wine."

"Dad, just pour her a little," Chen Yu knew Hiromi Jounouchi could actually hold her alcohol, since the image of Japanese office ladies (OL) who can drink was not even considered an urban legend anymore. In the bars on the streets of Tokyo, seeing OLs drinking heavily after work was nothing out of the ordinary.

However, Hiromi Jounouchi was clearly worried that if she showed she could drink well, it might leave a bad impression on Chen Yu's parents; after all, a female drinker is not an image that would endear a boyfriend's parents, whether in China or in Japan.

Fortunately, it was New Year's, so even those who usually don't drink would indulge a little to celebrate the occasion. Thus, Chen Yu's father also poured about a small glass of red wine for Hiromi Jounouchi and placed it in front of her.

As for Chen Yu, he seemed to be demonstrating to Hiromi Jounouchi how to mix the beverage and the red wine by deliberately pouring himself half a glass of red wine and half a glass of Sprite, creating a mixed drink, and purposely letting Hiromi Jounouchi have a taste.

Looking at the red liquid mixed with alcohol and soda, Hiromi Jounouchi was somewhat suspicious, but it didn't seem too different from some of the cocktails sold in bars, so she bravely took a sip.

"Hmm... It's a bit sweet; it seems okay?" Hiromi Jounouchi pursed her lips, seemingly finding the taste acceptable, but inside she couldn't help but feel that Chen Yu was playing around, spoiling good wine.

After all, the bottle of red wine opened by Chen Yu's father was brought back from Japan by Chen Yu, apparently a gift from a patient, and the quality was quite good. That was why Chen Yu had taken the wine home for his father to enjoy.
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However, Hiromi Jounouchi naturally wouldn't voice these thoughts. After returning the glass to Chen Yu, she took a dainty sip from her own glass, pondered the flavor, and felt that the taste of the original wine and the taste after Chen Yu mixed it with a drink... both seemed okay?

Without dwelling on this matter further, once Chen Yu's parents took their seats, Chen Yu signaled to Hiromi Jounouchi, asking her to toast his parents.

"Uncle, Aunty, let me toast to you." Following Chen Yu's gesture, Hiromi Jounouchi stood up very sensibly and politely, holding her glass to toast Chen Yu's parents. However, Hiromi Jounouchi obviously wouldn't know any propitious phrases to say during the toast, so she simply and awkwardly held up her glass.

But Chen Yu's parents didn't seem to mind. Chen Yu's father waved his hand, signaling for Hiromi Jounouchi to sit down, "Sit down, sit down; no need to be so formal at home!"

"This naughty boy of ours has been spoiled rotten with all sorts of bad habits by us. You'll need to look after him, and if he dares to bully you, just tell us, and watch if I don't break his legs!" Chen Yu's mother clearly was very satisfied with Hiromi Jounouchi as her daughter-in-law.

Although her Japanese identity gave Chen Yu's parents some hesitation, thankfully, they were quite open-minded, believing that as long as their son was fond of her and her character was decent, they didn't have too many objections.

After the toasting was over, Hiromi Jounouchi finally took her seat. Meanwhile, Chen Yu teased her, "Hiromi, now you're still calling them uncle and auntie, but next time you come, you'll have to call them dad and mom."

"You're so mean!" Hearing Chen Yu's teasing, Hiromi Jounouchi immediately gave him an annoyed glare and coyly reached around to twist his waist with a small hand.