At the end of January, February was approaching. Snowflakes floated in the air like willow catkins. The snow gradually became heavier, falling in swirls like goose feathers or willow fluff.
Soon, white snow covered the ground outside. All buildings were blanketed in pristine snow, and even the evergreen trees wore a coating of white. When Jiang Qian got up and pulled back the curtains, she saw the white expanse outside. Everything was covered in white, creating a vast snow-white landscape.
It had snowed last night, and light snow was still falling. After finishing her breakfast and drinking a glass of milk, she returned to her room. She read for a while, then checked her phone – it was just past nine, and Xu Si was probably still asleep.
She was about to open her homework when her phone rang. Looking at the screen, she saw it was Xu Si calling.
“Hello.”
“Little Teacher, look out your window – it’s snowing.”
Jiang Qian glanced outside. “I see it. Yes, it’s snowing.”
“Little Teacher, look down at the courtyard.”
Jiang Qian walked to the window and looked down. She saw Xu Si wearing a white down jacket and blue jeans, holding a black cat in his arms. He waved up at her, and she could see he was holding a small snowman.
His voice came clearly through the phone: “Little Teacher, I made this little snowman for you.”
The young man’s voice was deep, but his tone was playful and charming.
Jiang Qian grabbed her scarf and gloves from the coat rack. “Wait for me, I’ll come down right now.”
“I’ll wait for you, Little Teacher.”
“Qianqian, it’s cold outside and it might snow more. Take an umbrella,” Liu Ma called out.
While changing her shoes in the entryway, Jiang Qian replied, “Okay.”
“Are you coming back for lunch?”
“No, I won’t.”
After putting on her scarf and mask, Jiang Qian went downstairs and saw Xu Si standing in the snow. He smiled at her.
The young man was naturally handsome with his black hair, dark eyes, and thin lips. His smile was especially striking – the corners of his mouth turned up, his dark eyes filled with mirth, making him look particularly captivating. It was strange – he looked somewhat fierce when not smiling, but when he did smile, he radiated a unique youthful vigor that was eye-catching.
Jiang Qian’s heart began to race inexplicably. Indescribable emotions exploded in her chest and spread throughout her body.
She ran over to him: “Are you cold, Xu Si?”
“Not cold,” Xu Si said, showing her the little snowman in his hands. The snowman had two black beans for eyes and twigs for arms. Though simple, it was rather cute.
Jiang Qian took the snowman and was about to remove her scarf to give to him. But Xu Si took the scarf and wrapped it around her neck instead. “I’m not cold. You keep the scarf on.”
Jiang Qian pulled out a pair of gloves from her pocket and offered them to him. “Then at least wear these gloves.”
“Okay,” Xu Si smiled at her, his eyes curving into crescents.
Her gloves were beige, while the ones she gave him were camel-colored. Both pairs were fluffy.
Yuan Yuan squirmed in Xu Si’s arms, trying to get to Jiang Qian. Xu Si patted its head: “Little Teacher is holding the snowman, so I’ll keep holding you.”
Yuan Yuan looked dissatisfied, constantly stretching its head to look at Jiang Qian, as if saying “why are you holding a snowman instead of me?” Seeing its grumpy expression, Xu Si couldn’t help but laugh. Finally, there was something you couldn’t have your way with.
“Where should we go to build snowmen, Xu Si?”
Xu Si thought for a moment. “Let’s go to the nearby park.”
“Okay.”
A group of children were rolling snowballs on the ground. Yuan Yuan broke free from Xu Si’s arms and ran excitedly through the snow, diving headfirst into it, then popping its head out to continue running. Xu Si and Jiang Qian couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s been a long time since I built a snowman.” The last time she built snowmen was years ago with Jiang Zhixu. They were small snowmen since B City never got much snow.
Xu Si’s phone rang. He took off his gloves to answer.
“Si-ge, Si-ge, it’s snowing heavily, it looks so beautiful outside!”
“I know, I’m outside right now.”
“Where are you? Si-ge, I’ll come find you! Haha, we can build snowmen together.”
Xu Si glanced at Jiang Qian. “I’m building them with my deskmate.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
“Then have fun with Student Jiang! I’ll find you later. This weather is perfect for hotpot – Si-ge, ask Student Jiang if she wants to join us for hotpot?”
Xu Si held the phone to Jiang Qian’s ear. “You tell her.”
“Student Jiang, this is Yang Shikun.”
Jiang Qian naturally recognized his voice: “I know, I can tell.”
“Haha, Student Jiang, want to come have hotpot at Si-ge’s place?”
Jiang Qian looked at Xu Si. “Is that okay?”
Xu Si looked back at her. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
So Jiang Qian replied to Yang Shikun: “Sure.”
Yang Shikun’s excited voice came through: “Great, Student Jiang! Is there anything specific you’d like to eat? Da Tou and I will go buy ingredients first.”
“I’m fine with anything.”
“Do you have any foods you can’t eat?”
Before Jiang Qian could answer, Xu Si leaned close to the phone: “Don’t get too spicy a soup base. She doesn’t eat lamb, organ meats, or crown daisy greens.”
His sudden closeness made Jiang Qian’s heart skip a few beats. She looked at Xu Si, and he turned to give her a quick smile.
“Got it, got it! I’ll remember everything. We’ll find you and Si-ge at noon. Bye Student Jiang!”
“Goodbye.”
Xu Si took the phone from her hand and hung up.
She was surprised he had noticed what foods she avoided. The thought warmed her heart.
“What are you thinking about?”
Jiang Qian snapped back to reality. “Nothing.”
“Let’s build a snowman together.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Qian put the small snowman down and started rolling snow on the ground, while Xu Si helped move snow over to her. As she rolled snowballs, Yuan Yuan used its paws and head to push snow their way.
Soon, Jiang Qian had rolled a large snowball.
Nearby, some children were making snow ducks, arranging them in a neat white row.
A little girl with two pigtails called out to Jiang Qian: “Pretty big sister, are you building a snowman?”
Jiang Qian nodded: “Yes.”
“Look at our little ducks, big sister!”
Looking at the row of little ducks, Jiang Qian commented: “They’re very cute.”
Xu Si added: “Very cute indeed.”
Pleased with the praise, the little girl’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled.
She looked at Xu Si, then at Jiang Qian: “Big brother and big sister look so good together. You’re both equally good-looking.”
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