Lin Xiche didn’t say anything but blinked at him. Her slight discomfort had completely disappeared, and she wore a mischievous smile. Then, she playfully tapped his shoe with hers.
Xu Fang glanced at her but didn’t respond. After neatly folding her sleeves, he returned his gaze to her face. Her eyes were bright and clear, and her mood had obviously improved. She stared at him intently.
Suddenly, he realized what he had just said and averted his gaze, looking down and holding her hand, which still felt icy. Xu Fang furrowed his brow, subconsciously rubbing her hand, lost in thought.
Then, he unfolded the neatly folded sleeves and let her hide inside them.
Lin Xiche grinned and called out to him, “Pipi.”
Xu Fang responded, “Hmm?”
Lin Xiche continued cheerfully, “Pipi.”
Xu Fang raised his eyebrows and stared at her as if she were a fool, “Calling spirits?”
“No, I’m calling you.”
“…”
Xu Fang lifted his eyelids and ignored her. He tugged her towards the direction of Canteen C.
As he pulled her along, Lin Xiche didn’t pay attention to the path and just kept staring at him, persistently calling out, “Pipi.”
They had only walked a short distance, but Lin Xiche had called him dozens of times in a row. Xu Fang closed his eyes for a moment, then turned to look at her, asking, “What do you want?”
Seeing that he had finally turned around, Lin Xiche dropped her playful expression and asked seriously, “How many times did I call you?”
Xu Fang let out a low grunt, shifted his gaze away, and didn’t answer.
“You said you really like me.” Lin Xiche took a few quick steps and glanced at him from the side. “You deceived me. You can’t even count how many times I called you, and you’re not someone who hasn’t learned math—”
Unable to bear it any longer, Xu Fang interrupted her, “Thirty-six times.”
Lin Xiche paused and then smiled mischievously, saying, “Pipi, it’s so nice to be in a relationship with you.”
“…”
Walking beside him, Lin Xiche had obtained the answer she wanted and shifted her attention away from Xu Fang. She felt that her outfit was particularly peculiar, like a child sneaking into an adult’s wardrobe, and with just one careless move, the hem would touch the ground.
Then she looked at Xu Fang.
He was only wearing a thin sweater, and it was unclear if he had anything underneath. The neckline was slightly low, revealing well-defined neck contours.
He looked really cold.
Lin Xiche pursed her lips and unbuttoned her coat, one button at a time. She said softly, “Pipi, I should return your coat to you; I’m not cold anymore.”
Xu Fang lazily replied, “Keep wearing it.”
“It’s not convenient to walk like this; these two sleeves are like I’m going to perform in a play…”
“Keep wearing it.”
“…”
After a while, Lin Xiche couldn’t hold back and asked, “Aren’t you cold?”
Xu Fang, looking relaxed, lazily extended his other hand towards her.
This gesture puzzled Lin Xiche, but she tentatively reached out to touch his hand. She discovered that the temperature of their hands was vastly different.
It was different from holding hands for a while. Her right hand had warmed up from being held by him, but her left hand remained as cold as ice. Touching his hand felt like touching the hot milk she had in the morning.
“Why aren’t you cold?” Lin Xiche wondered aloud.
With a lazy expression, Xu Fang slowly handed over his other hand to her.
This exchange made Lin Xiche even more puzzled. However, she tentatively touched his hand again and realized that their hand temperatures were significantly different. Her right hand had warmed up thanks to his, while her left hand remained icy. It felt like touching a hot cup of milk.
“…” Why wasn’t he cold?
Lin Xiche didn’t insist on returning the coat to him, but her peculiar outfit had attracted a lot of attention on the way. She simply raised Xu Fang’s hand and covered the lower half of her face with it.
She jokingly said, “Others won’t recognize her like this; you’re the one losing face.”
Xu Fang: “…”
The reason Lin Xiche dressed like this was simple: wearing more layers allowed her to adjust if she felt hot, but if she dressed too lightly, she would be cold all day.
When it came to eating and dressing, Lin Xiche rarely skimped on herself. She didn’t mind if others teased her for dressing like a ball. If someone commented, she would silently retort in her heart, “If you catch a cold, don’t come near me.”
Xu Fang didn’t see any problems with it before. He even thought it was cute how she, with her petite stature, wrapped herself up like a fluffy ball. However, hearing Lin Xiche say that she hadn’t slept all night because her feet hadn’t been kept warm changed his perspective.
That evening, Xu Fang dragged Lin Xiche to the sports field.
Despite the temperature being in the single digits, there were still many students jogging on the field. Some were even wearing short sleeves and shorts but didn’t seem to mind the cold as their upper bodies were soaked in sweat.
Lin Xiche stood by the track and watched, while Xu Fang instructed her to warm up.
Lin Xiche wore a reluctant expression and didn’t move.
Since entering high school, she had rarely engaged in physical activity. Even though there were two physical education classes per week, the teacher led them in warm-up exercises, and she would find a spot to sit in the gym.
She would chat with her classmates or use that time to review her notes.
So now, the thought of running made her feel breathless.
Sensing her silent protest, Xu Fang looked at her with lowered eyes, grabbed her wrists, and crossed her hands behind her back. He made her hands interlock and then instructed her to stretch her arms backward.
“From now on, come to the sports field every other day and run ten laps.” After thinking for a moment, Xu Fang gave her a clear schedule. “On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.”
“Ten laps?” Lin Xiche frowned, staring at him, and protested, “Why do I have to run? If I don’t want to run, I won’t run, and no one can make me run.”
Xu Fang looked at her expressionlessly. “Then it’s Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”
Lin Xiche’s defiance instantly waned. “Fine, let’s stick with Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday…”
At first, Lin Xiche was quite unwilling to run. Whenever Xu Fang asked her to come downstairs on those days, she would dawdle for half a day before heading down. But no matter how she resisted, Xu Fang would always drag her to the sports field and make her run ten laps like clockwork.
After doing this for over a month, Lin Xiche’s running time had gradually improved. What used to take her fifty minutes to complete now only took half an hour. Eventually, running ten laps became a regular part of her routine. She didn’t need Xu Fang to remind her anymore; she would go find him on those days herself.
After running for a while, Lin Xiche began to notice changes in her body. She no longer felt as weak as before, and climbing three flights of stairs no longer left her gasping for breath. Even when she wore several layers of clothing, she no longer felt chilly all over.
It seemed like her physical condition had improved.
Because of this, Lin Xiche let go of her little resentment towards Xu Fang for forcing her to run.
Unbeknownst to them, the end of the year had arrived.
S University was located in the neighboring city of Mingyuan Port, which had a climate similar to Xicheng. Typically, the first snowfall would occur in mid to late January.
On December 31st, a Saturday, which coincided with New Year’s Eve and the New Year holiday, the university library was still packed with students immersed in their books.
Lin Xiche had initially thought of spending the New Year with Xu Fang in the library. However, her roommate told her about an event in the city center where the organizers would create artificial snow on the square. Couples who kissed at midnight would supposedly stay together forever.
Lin Xiche thought this was extremely superstitious.
Normally, she wouldn’t even consider attending such an event. But the kissing part seemed like cheating, as it could potentially advance her ten-year plan to just three months.
The first kiss required the right timing, location, and circumstances. She believed this event was a rare opportunity for her. Even though she had seen snow before, there was something romantic about standing in the cold wind and kissing Xu Fang while snowflakes floated around them.
Moreover, everyone around them would be kissing too.
Even if Xu Fang didn’t want to, he damn well had to kiss her.
That evening, after dinner…
Ignoring Xu Fang’s puzzled question of “What are you doing?”, Lin Xiche happily dragged him onto the subway. By the time they reached the city center, it was just past 9:00 PM, and the event hadn’t started yet.
Xu Fang had no idea about this event and couldn’t understand Lin Xiche’s behavior.
They spent some time wandering around outside, but the cold weather eventually made Lin Xiche hesitate. She knew the event was set to start at 11:30 PM, so she dragged Xu Fang to a nearby cinema to watch a movie.
When they came out, it was just past 11:15 PM.
Perfect timing.
Lin Xiche excitedly pulled Xu Fang towards the square. The cinema was located opposite the square, and as Lin Xiche was about to cross the road, she suddenly noticed that the square, which had been empty at 9:00 PM, was now packed with people. The entire square and the sidewalks outside were filled with people.
It didn’t look like there was any room for more.
Lin Xiche’s high spirits immediately dropped.
“So many people… let’s go—” Xu Fang sensed her change in mood and adjusted his words, “Let’s go and take a look.”
Lin Xiche hesitated for a moment and then shook her head. “Forget it, we won’t be able to squeeze in…”
Lin Xiche had initially thought that the residents of Mingyuan Port had all seen snow before and might not be interested in this event. However, she didn’t dwell on her disappointment for long. Soon, she regained her composure and happily shifted the conversation to another topic as they walked along the road.
As they continued down the road, they could hear a group of people on the square exclaiming in excitement.
Artificial snow was falling from above, covering the entire square.
They were celebrating the arrival of the new year.
The traffic was so congested that they couldn’t catch a cab. After 11:00 PM, the subway had stopped running, so Xu Fang checked online and found that they could take bus 99 back to the university.
The bus stop was quite far, and it would take about half an hour to walk there.
Once they arrived, Lin Xiche realized it was even farther than she had imagined. The road was empty, not as crowded as before, and the bus stop was quite rudimentary with just a circular sign and no seating.
Luckily, they managed to catch the last bus.
On the bus, besides the driver, it was just the two of them.
Lin Xiche instinctively walked to the back row of seats, and Xu Fang sat down next to her.
The front rows of seats were all empty, like they had reserved the entire section.
Lin Xiche looked at the time on her phone.
11:57 PM.
She blinked and then turned to Xu Fang, asking, “Pipi, what’s your New Year’s wish?”
Xu Fang’s wrist rested on the backrest of the front row seats, and he had a lazy look in his eyes as he said, “Oh, just not failing any courses, I guess.”
“… You’re just being perfunctory,” Lin Xiche mumbled in disappointment, feeling a bit down.
11:58 PM.
Xu Fang turned to look at her, his gaze fixed on her for more than ten seconds. His expression was now more serious, and he said, “Then, I hope you’ll become smarter next year—”
He paused for a moment and lowered his voice slightly, “Don’t let anyone bully you.”
11:59 PM.
Lin Xiche was taken aback and stared wide-eyed at him. “Why would anyone bully me?”
“Pipi, can’t you make a more normal wish?” Lin Xiche said earnestly. “Yours is too simple; it doesn’t feel challenging at all.”
He raised an eyebrow, and his dark eyes, like ink, looked at her petite face and her red, slightly upturned lips.
Before long, Xu Fang said in a husky voice, “Come closer.”
“Huh?”
“Come closer.”
Lin Xiche tilted her head curiously but obediently moved a bit closer.
“Even closer.”
This situation felt like…
Once, a classmate had whispered something to her, but when they got too close to her ear, they suddenly screamed loudly, startling her. Lin Xiche felt a bit uneasy, but she cautiously moved closer.
In the distance, the clock chimed.
Xu Fang sighed, and his lips seemed to form the words “too slow,” but it was unclear. Lin Xiche finally realized what was happening when Xu Fang suddenly raised his hand.
He placed a hand on the back of her head, pushing her closer to him.
On the last row of seats on the bus.
Besides the driver concentrating on the road, there was no one else around.
The surroundings weren’t exactly quiet; they could still hear car horns and the wind outside. The young man in front of her had his eyes half-closed, long and thick eyelashes, a straight nose bridge, like a traditional ink painting.
Lin Xiche felt everything was blurry, like nothing was clear.
The only thing that felt vivid was the sensation from her lips, a bit cold yet slightly unfamiliar.
It was like the first snow she had been anticipating.
Beautiful and long-awaited.
Leave a Reply