“Hey! It’s really cold!”
Xu You lets out a small cry, quickly pulling his hand away.
But her hand is like a small warm bundle, and Xie Ci grabs it back, not wanting to let go.
“It’s too cold, let me go quickly!”
His fingers feel like they’ve been frozen in an ice cellar. She finds it too cold and her hand instinctively curls up as she tries to twist her wrist free.
Xie Ci leans down slightly, looking into her eyes intently, “I was just helping you make that little snowman. How ungrateful of you, you little troublemaker.”
“Troublemaker yourself! You’re the real troublemaker.”
Xie Ci laughs, “Fine, I’m the troublemaker. And you’re the cutie, how’s that?”
He drags out the word ‘cutie’ extra long, deliberately raising his tone.
Making Xu You blush instantly.
“You’re so strange, always calling me weird things.”
She yells at Xie Ci fiercely, yanks her hand away, and quickly returns to her seat.
Back when they sat one behind the other, Fu Xueli used to call her that every day. It was fine between girls, but when Xie Ci says it, it feels different somehow, just awkward.
Xie Ci follows her and sits in Zheng Xiaolin’s seat.
“What are you doing?” Xu You pauses while putting away her books, glancing at him.
“Don’t know,” he yawns, characteristically casual.
Xu You is speechless, then asks: “Then why are you sitting here?”
Xie Ci lies on the desk, resting his head on his arms while watching her, asking lazily: “What else is there to do besides look at you?”
“…….” She turns her head away, ignoring him.
This PE class is indoor volleyball.
Fu Xueli has always been physically weak since childhood, and she’s lazy about getting tired. She sneaks away to sit on the side while the teacher isn’t looking.
But the gymnasium is too stuffy, so she feels uncomfortable and goes to get her coat from the locker room to get some fresh air outside.
After walking around the playground twice, the air feels fresh.
Fu Xueli looks down, making a long trail of footprints in the snow.
With one hand on her waist, she turns around to see Xu Xingchun not far behind.
She doesn’t know how long he’s been following.
“What are you doing, trying to scare me to death?”
Xu Xingchun stands still, not speaking.
“Don’t move!” Fu Xueli puts her hands behind her back and jogs over.
Her smile is like flowers blooming, making Xu Xingchun momentarily stunned.
The next second, a ball of ice is stuffed down his neck.
He frowns, grabbing her wrist.
“I’m getting revenge on purpose,” Fu Xueli humphs, pouting.
Xu Xingchun frowns.
Fu Xueli takes off her scarf, pulls down her sweater collar, and points to the red mark on her neck, “It’s all your fault. Now I can only wear turtleneck sweaters.”
Then she continues: “You’re treating me worse and worse, Xu Xingchun. I’ve decided to break up with you.”
Xu Xingchun ignores this kind of talk, pulls her into his arms, and personally wraps the scarf around her neck, circle by circle.
Only when her voice is muffled does he stop.
“You’re so delicate.”
Before Xu Xingchun could finish speaking, Fu Xueli angrily smacks his back.
He subtly tugs at the corner of his mouth.
Being held in someone’s arms, she momentarily forgets to be angry.
When she remembers, Fu Xueli suddenly raises her head, tugging at Xu Xingchun’s hair, “Oh, right, I just remembered, I’m still angry.”
“Next time, if you talk to other girls in front of me again. I’m talking about that girl from the other class, if you two keep chattering at the classroom door, you’ll both be in trouble, I’m telling you.”
Talking about this makes Fu Xueli furious.
Xu Xingchun says: “Their class…”
“Stop right there.” Fu Xueli interrupts regardless, shouting: “You’re not allowed to talk to anyone except me.”
“Okay.”
She’s been spoiled by him from age 13 until now, living completely as she pleases. She hasn’t even realized there’s a kind of dependency ingrained in her bones.
For Xu Xingchun.
PE class is almost over, and students are gradually returning to the classroom.
Xie Ci is sleeping on the desk next to Xu You.
She’s focusing intently on solving practice problems until someone passing by quietly reminds her: “Oh, Xu You, your snowman is about to melt.”
Only then does Xu You look up.
The ugly little snowman is still standing at the corner of the desk, with the melted snow wetting a small area of the desktop.
She puts down her pen and gently picks up the little snowman between her fingers, holding it in her palm.
Snow is still falling outside, and there aren’t many people in the corridor.
The cold wind blows, making Xu You shrink her neck. She stands on tiptoe, reaches her arm through the railing, and places the snowman in a snow-filled corner.
The little twig arms of the snowman are slightly crooked. She reaches out to straighten them.
After finishing, she turns to go back to the classroom but is stopped by someone.
An unfamiliar boy, quite handsome. Wearing a black jacket in the middle of winter, he’s very tall.
“Little classmate, could you help me with something?”
Zeng Qilin looks down, examining Xu You.
He thinks to himself, why does this girl look so familiar…
“What help?”
Xu You feels uncomfortable being stared at and takes a small step to the side.
“Oh.”
Zeng Qilin shifts his gaze and peeks into the classroom, “Is Xie Ci in your class? Could you help me call him out?”
Xie Ci comes out of the classroom with sleepy eyes and looks up to see Zeng Qilin leaning against the railing while making a phone call.
“Get over here.” Zeng Qilin glances at him while taking a break from his call.
Xie Ci props one hand on the doorframe, rubs his hair, “Damn, it’s cold, let me go get a coat.”
“What’s up?” Xie Ci comes out wearing his coat and sees Zeng Qilin standing there after hanging up the phone.
Before he can react, Zeng Qilin casually grabs a handful of snow and throws it at him, “You bastard.”
Speaking of people Xie Ci has been afraid of since childhood, there really aren’t many. But Zeng Qilin definitely ranks among them. The two brothers have been troublemakers in the family since they were little, with the big devil leading the little devil in bullying kids their age. But when they were even younger, Xie Ci was a year younger than Zeng Qilin, and during holiday gatherings, he was often bullied by him and took the blame countless times. Zeng Qilin learned Taekwondo as a child and was a first-rate fighter. Anyway, Xie Ci couldn’t win against him and got beaten up quite a bit.
“Damn, what’s wrong with you? What did I do to you?” Xie Ci brushes the snow off himself, clearly unhappy.
Zeng Qilin makes a ‘huh’ sound, “Your attitude’s pretty big now, you little brat.”
“What do you want from me?”
“What do you think?”
Zeng Qilin lowers his head and takes out a pack of gum, pouring two pieces into his palm, “Yesterday again with your mom…”
He looks ready for a heart-to-heart chat.
Xie Ci quickly says: “—Stop right there, I don’t have time for this heart-to-heart with you.”
“Fuck.” Zeng Qilin laughs and curses, “I just want to ask, are you going home for your dad’s birthday the day after tomorrow?”
Xie Ci looks down at his phone, not saying anything.
Zeng Qilin smacks the back of his head, like scolding a child, “I’m asking you a question, what are you playing with your phone for?”
“Hell no, I’m not going back.” Xie Ci says impatiently, his mouth twisting.
Zeng Qilin clicks his tongue and says: “Forget it, let’s not talk about that first. I have something else to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Do you still walk that girl from your class home every day?” Zeng Qilin asks while chewing gum, his words a bit unclear.
Xie Ci says: “Xu You? Yeah, I do.”
“No need to walk her anymore, those two guys have been dealt with.”
“Well, if they’re dealt with, they’re dealt with.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? From your tone, you sound like you don’t care?”
Xie Ci makes a noncommittal sound.
“You bastard.”
Zeng Qilin laughs angrily, cursing again, “Next time when you beat people up, go easier on them, have some restraint, understand? You almost killed someone, you know that?”
Just then, the history teacher walks down from upstairs carrying a laptop.
The history teacher passes by them and says to Xie Ci: “Why aren’t you going in for class? What are you standing here for?”
The fifth period is history class, and the teacher is showing a documentary about ‘BRICS countries’.
The teacher plays it at the podium while students below are chattering, making quite a racket.
Anyway, in this kind of class, the teacher isn’t strict, so students just randomly switch seats, with friends gathering together.
Xie Ci originally wanted to continue sitting next to Xu You, but when he entered the classroom, Fu Xueli had already occupied Zheng Xiaolin’s seat.
“What’s going on with you?”
Xie Ci is dissatisfied but settles for sitting in the seat behind Xu You instead.
“I should be asking you that.” Fu Xueli looks at her friend speechlessly, deliberately pointing out: “I never realized before that you were so clingy.”
Always sticking to Xu You, during class and after class, endlessly.
Xie Ci doesn’t know who said what, thinks for a moment, and casually replies: “How can you date without being clingy? Are you even taking this seriously?”
Fu Xueli is stumped, “Wait, who are you dating?”
“The person next to you, of course.”
Xie Ci pokes Xu You’s waist.
Xu You is ticklish and dodges, turning around, “What are you doing?”
Xie Ci is amused, looking down at her, “I’m your boyfriend, right?”
“You’re not my boyfriend.”
“Then who is your boyfriend?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend!”
“Oh, well now you do.”
“………”
Xu You maintains a blank expression and turns her head back around.
Not long after, Xie Ci lies down on the desk to nap again. Feeling cold, he pulls at the scarf hanging down Xu You’s back, using one corner to make a cushion on the desk.
Xu You hasn’t noticed at all.
“Youyou, let me give you a test.”
Xu You shifts her gaze from her book to Fu Xueli: “What kind of test?”
“A test to see what type of personality your future partner will have.”
Xu You immediately waves her hands in refusal.
“Come on, it’s just a few questions, it’ll be quick.” Fu Xueli pleads.
In the end, she can’t resist Fu Xueli’s persistence.
She uses a pencil to mark the various question options one by one.
Q: Do you find it hard to make decisions?
Q: Do you think you’re dependent on others?
Q: If you had a garden, what flowers would you choose to plant?
………
What kind of questions are these…
Xu You hands the completed test to Fu Xueli.
She takes a final glance at the several personality types shown on the paper for results.
Decadent type, Sunny athletic type, Humorous type, Cold type, Romantic type, Childish type, World-weary type, Haven type……
Fu Xueli takes it and lies on the desk to calculate the results for Xu You, laughing uncontrollably while calculating.
Xu You watches her laugh without stopping, feeling puzzled.
“The results show.”
“What?”
“You actually like Type A guys.”
“Type A? What’s that…”
“The decadent type.”
Xu You seems a bit distracted: “I….”
Fu Xueli teases her, “You what?”
Xu You immediately shakes her head, “I think it’s not very accurate. If I liked someone, it should be someone who’s healthier, likes exercise, more sunny…”
When girls discuss these things, sometimes the topic can run wild like an unbridled horse, getting more and more outrageous.
Anyway, the classroom is very noisy, so there’s not much concern about speaking.
“Actually, deep down, girls love the decadent type the most.” Fu Xueli starts analyzing with authority.
“Hmm…..” Fu Xueli searches for examples in her mind, and after thinking for a while, her eyes light up, and she says next to Xu You’s ear: “Like guys like Xie Ci.”
“Huh?”
“Yes!”
“He…”
“You don’t know since you just came, but Xie Ci actually has quite a few admirers.”
Fu Xueli’s voice is very low, “Don’t you think he’s handsome? That kind of cold, decadent aura, with a hint of bad boy flavor.”
Xu You is stunned, still in a daze.
In her mind, she recalls her impression of Xie Ci.
Tall and thin, very fair.
Whether it’s hot or cold, he likes to wear short sleeves. His jacket is always worn loosely, zipper never properly done up.
Always smoking at the drop of a hat.
Cynical, laughing carelessly, always talking nonsense.
Fu Xueli suddenly laughs, “Hehehe…..”
While Xu You is still in a daze, she asks: “Youyou, in the future, will you find a boyfriend from the North or the South?”
“I don’t know… I haven’t thought about it.”
Fu Xueli rubs her hair, “Find a Northern man, they’re good at taking care of their wives.”
“And….. we Northerners… we all like to exercise, have good physical fitness, it’s also good for having children later.”
“Pfft—” Xu You almost spits it out.
“Why is it good for having children…..”
She doesn’t quite understand.
Fu Xueli hasn’t opened her mouth to explain.
Xie Ci, who has been lying on the desk pretending to sleep, finally can’t help but curl his lips.
He suddenly raises his head and says to Fu Xueli: “Hey, you’re quite naughty Fu Xueli, corrupting this innocent kid.”
“Holy crap!”
Fu Xueli is startled, slapping her hand on the desk, “When did you wake up?!”
Xie Ci stands up, leaning casually against the desk behind, smiling ambiguously and says: “Right when you were talking about having children.”
“—Pfft.” This time Fu Xueli also can’t help but burst out laughing.
Li Xiaoqiang, who is playing cards nearby, turns around and throws a flirtatious wink at Xie Ci, “Brother Ci, eavesdropping on girls’ conversations, you’re so naughty.”
Xie Ci throws a book back at him.
Amidst the noise, Xu You keeps her head down the whole time, only her red ear tips betraying her current embarrassment.
She lowers her eyes, pretending to calmly look at the desk. After a while, the scarf around her neck is pulled from behind.
Xu You turns her head, half-rising, reaching out her arm to try to get her scarf back.
“You’re so annoying!” She’s angry.
Xie Ci raises an eyebrow, pushing his tongue against his cheek, his gaze carrying a different meaning, “Want me to explain why it’s good to have children with us Northerners?”
Xu You almost wants to cover his mouth. She repeatedly says, “I don’t want to, don’t want to, don’t want to!!”
“I insist on telling you.”
She doesn’t even care about the scarf anymore, hurriedly covering her ears with both hands.
But it’s useless.
The next day during morning self-study, Xu You finds a small note on her desk.
It reads:
Cutie.
Because we Northerners have strong sexual desire. 🙂
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