In that moment, Lin Xiche had been preparing for her first kiss for a long time. She thought that by now, she could calmly guide Xu Fang, so he wouldn’t feel flustered.
However, at this very moment…
Lin Xiche’s mind went blank. She held her breath, her back stiffened, and her eyes widened in confusion. She gripped her phone tighter as if seeking some form of support.
Their lips met.
Xu Fang didn’t make any further moves. His eyes were deep, and the dim orange streetlights outside cast a warm glow on him. The area behind his ears turned red.
Lin Xiche’s long, curled eyelashes trembled slightly as she kept her eyes wide open.
With his right hand supporting the back of her head, Xu Fang’s fingertips moved downward, brushing lightly against her soft skin, especially her earlobe. His thumb and index finger caressed her gently and sensually.
Then, he slowly pulled away from her lips and lifted his head.
Lin Xiche noticed his lips, which, perhaps due to the lighting, appeared redder than usual. They were complemented by his jet-black hair that now hung over his forehead, and the fleeting glimmers on his face. He looked like a vampire who had just fed.
Everything was hazy, elusive.
There seemed to be fireworks going off in her ears. After one loud bang, more followed, echoing through the night sky. Colors splashed into his dark eyes, shimmering brightly.
Then, Xu Fang’s lips curled into a nearly imperceptible smile, and he reached out to pinch her chin.
“Holding your breath for a minute?”
At his words, Lin Xiche finally came to her senses. She pushed his hand away, and her cheeks turned as red as an apple. She buried half of her face in her scarf, looking like a little hamster trying to hide in a burrow.
There was silence for a few seconds.
Suddenly, Lin Xiche lifted her head, her eyes rolling comically as she stared at him. She had a look of reluctance as if she didn’t want to be the only one embarrassed. She said earnestly, “You held your breath too!”
“…”
“You held your breath for half a minute!”
“…”
Lin Xiche’s parents weren’t particularly interested in or had a concept of celebrating the New Year at midnight. Every year at this time, they went to bed as usual at 9:30 PM and fell asleep at 10:00 PM. They believed that New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were the true beginning of the year.
So, before turning sixteen, Lin Xiche had never intentionally stayed up for the New Year. Usually, she went to sleep early, and when she woke up, it was the new year.
After starting high school, Lin Xiche’s bedtime gradually shifted from 10:00 PM to midnight. She spent a lot of time studying and didn’t visit Xu Fang’s house to play games as she used to in junior high.
Xu Fang, on the other hand, disliked studying and didn’t care about his grades. His parents also didn’t pressure him about his academic performance. He led a carefree life.
Initially, Xu Fang would go home and idle away his time playing games and sleeping, but under Lin Xiche’s influence, he eventually found himself feeling guilty and getting up to do his homework after playing games late into the night.
In the year 2008 to 2009, on New Year’s Eve.
After taking a shower, Lin Xiche returned to her room and began to work on the assignments given by her teachers. Although she was only in her first year of high school, the workload for her nine subjects was not insignificant.
With a three-day holiday, Lin Xiche planned to finish her assignments in the first two days, leaving one day for reviewing new materials.
After completing the exercises for the three subjects in the liberal arts, it was almost midnight.
Lin Xiche got up, opened the door, and looked outside. The lights in the corridor were all turned off, and the doors to Lin Deng and Lin Xigeng’s rooms were tightly closed. They must have already fallen asleep at this hour.
Lin Xiche went to the bathroom to wash up and returned to her room. She checked her phone and saw that Xu Fang had sent her a message: “Are you asleep?”
At that time, Lin Xiche was using a mobile phone with a T9 keypad. When she pressed a key, it would make a crisp sound with the phone’s sound effect.
She particularly liked the sound, so she quickly sent a long string of messages in response: “Not yet. I just finished the assignments for three subjects. I plan to do one more and then go to bed. Remember to do your assignments too; I absolutely won’t let you copy mine. But can you even do them? Otherwise, I can come to your place tomorrow to do homework together.”
Xu Fang ignored everything after her first period: “Then come down.”
“…”
Lin Xiche didn’t know what he wanted to do, but she didn’t dawdle and opened her door to go downstairs. From the corridor to the ground floor, it was all dark. She didn’t want to wake her parents, so she walked lighter than usual, and she certainly didn’t turn on the lights.
But Lin Xiche wasn’t afraid of the dark. She used the dim light from her phone to find her way to the front door.
With a click, she opened the door.
Lin Xiche stuck her head out to look outside, scanning briefly, but she didn’t see anyone. She looked up towards Xu Fang’s room, where the light was still on, and the curtains were wide open without any concern.
The glaring white light spilled out.
Lin Xiche was puzzled and took two steps forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed a figure beside the bushes nearby. She was startled and took a couple of steps back, almost blurting out some foul language.
However, almost at the same time, she recognized that the person was Xu Fang.
Lin Xiche breathed a sigh of relief, walked back to him, and asked in a low voice, “What are you doing?”
Xu Fang tilted his head back, stared at her for a few seconds, and then stood up quickly, lazily saying, “What time is it now?”
“It’s…,” Lin Xiche glanced at her phone, “two minutes to twelve.”
Then he fell silent again.
Lin Xiche was baffled, “What are you trying to do?”
“What time is it now?”
“… It’s still fifty-eight minutes past.”
“…”
Lin Xiche asked, “Did you call me down just to ask me the time?”
Xu Fang didn’t confirm or deny, lazily drooping his eyelids as if he were extremely tired.
Lin Xiche felt that this guy really needed someone to take care of him today. He needed help with his studies, his health, and now even his sleep schedule. She yawned and said softly, “You should go to sleep quickly, or do you want me to escort you back?”
However, Xu Fang continued to repeat his question like a broken record, “What time is it now?”
“… It’s already twelve o’clock,” Lin Xiche finally gave in after a few seconds, unable to resist anymore, and asked, “What exactly do you want to do?”
This time, Xu Fang finally lifted his eyelids, stared at her for a moment, and then said indifferently, “Go back.”
Lin Xiche: “…”
She was annoyed by him and muttered, “Nerve-wracking,” before running back home.
Once she returned to her room, Lin Xiche looked at the books on her desk. She had intended to continue doing her homework, but this incident had distracted her, and she couldn’t figure out what Xu Fang was trying to do.
Lin Xiche pulled back the curtains and looked outside. She noticed that the lights in Xu Fang’s room were now turned off.
It seemed like he had fallen asleep.
In the following years, every time this time came, Xu Fang would repeat the same routine.
But this year, as the two of them celebrated New Year’s outside, Lin Xiche no longer had to endure those eerie scenes – a dark night, a young man standing expressionless in front of her, repeating the same sentence no matter what she said.
It was quite frightening.
Lin Xiche turned to look at Xu Fang.
He was still unhappy about her revealing his secret earlier. He leaned back in his chair, not speaking to her. Other passengers had started boarding the bus, filling the seats in front.
Lin Xiche cleared her throat and leaned over to him, wearing a mysterious expression. “Pipi, your wish to kiss me has come true.”
“…”
“So, you have to fulfill my New Year’s wish too.”
Xu Fang glanced at her, pulled up a chat record from his phone, and read the contents, his voice devoid of emotion. “I want to eat at the new hotpot place, I want a new pair of sneakers, and I want a couple’s outfit.”
After a pause, he started reading the contents of the next message bubble. “These are my New Year’s wishes, but I know that wishes are just wishes and may not always come true. I understand that. So, you don’t have to take it too seriously. I just wanted to show you my wishes.”
“…”
Xu Fang pointed to her dark green coat and then to himself. “Couple’s outfit.” He tapped her shoe with the tip of his own. “New sneakers.”
He leaned over, pinched her cheek, and asked, “Did you eat for free today?”
Lin Xiche stared at him, and soon she began to scold him. “You remember everything.”
“…”
“You’re so petty.”
“…”
Xu Fang’s temple twitched, and he pressed his lips together.
The two of them locked eyes, maintaining this standoff for a while. Xu Fang turned his head away, took a deep breath, and resisted the urge to scold her, saying, “What’s your wish?”
Lin Xiche really enjoyed this situation where he wanted to scold her but didn’t because of their status difference. It made her feel like she was the elder. With satisfaction, she withdrew her gaze and said, “In two weeks, there’s going to be the final exams, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If I rank in the top three of the year, then you have to…”
Xu Fang suddenly had a bad feeling and said in a low voice, “Choose something else.”
“Oh,” Lin Xiche pondered, “then what should I choose…”
Xu Fang remained silent.
After a long struggle, she gritted her teeth and said, “Then let’s make it the top three in the year.”
Hearing this, Xu Fang turned to look at her, and his brow furrowed. “What do you want to do?”
She said very seriously, “I want to become the landlord.”
“…”
Lin Xiche licked her lips, her eyes curved into a small crescent moon as she looked at him. “Anyway, if I make it to the top three, on the 17th just before midnight, you come to my house downstairs and find me.”
Xu Fang was taken aback.
January 18th was her birthday.
So, even if she didn’t mention it, Xu Fang would go to find her.
Xu Fang scratched his head with a puzzled expression, and he replied softly, “Is that it?”
“Yeah?” Lin Xiche widened her eyes and said inexplicably, “I haven’t mentioned the wish yet.”
“…”
He pointed to her green coat and then to himself. “Couple’s outfit.” Then he tapped her shoe. “New sneakers.”
He leaned over, pinched her cheek, and asked, “Did you eat for free today?”
Lin Xiche scolded him again, “You remember everything.”
“…”
“You’re so petty.”
“…”
Xu Fang’s temple twitched, and he pressed his lips together.
The two of them locked eyes, maintaining this standoff for a while. Xu Fang turned his head away, took a deep breath, and resisted the urge to scold her, saying, “What’s your wish?”
Lin Xiche really enjoyed this situation where he wanted to scold her but didn’t because of their status difference. It made her feel like she was the elder. With satisfaction, she withdrew her gaze and said, “In two weeks, there’s going to be the final exams, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If I rank in the top three of the year, then you have to…”
Xu Fang suddenly had a bad feeling and said in a low voice, “Choose something else.”
“Oh,” Lin Xiche pondered, “then what should I choose…”
Xu Fang remained silent.
After a long struggle, she gritted her teeth and said, “Then let’s make it the top three in the year.”
Hearing this, Xu Fang turned to look at her, and his brow furrowed. “What do you want to do?”
She said very seriously, “I want to become the landlord.”
“…”
Lin Xiche licked her lips, her eyes curved into a small crescent moon as she looked at him. “Anyway, if I make it to the top three, on the 17th just before midnight, you come to my house downstairs and find me.”
Xu Fang was taken aback.
January 18th was her birthday.
So, even if she didn’t mention it, Xu Fang would go to find her.
Xu Fang scratched his head with a puzzled expression, and he replied softly, “Is that it?”
“Yeah?” Lin Xiche widened her eyes and said inexplicably, “I haven’t mentioned the wish yet.”
“…”
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