Xu Tangcheng was completely unaware of the emotions the teenager in the small city was going through. He passed his days at school as usual, bustling and monotonous. The biggest stimulation he experienced was nothing more than running to the train station before the Lunar New Year to fight for tickets for Cheng Xu to take the train home.

At night, he came back from getting water and saw Cheng Xu sitting in front of his desk. The desklamp shone on the flimsy ticket until it seemed transparent. Xu Tangcheng poured Cheng Xu a cup of water, then went to his medicine box and found two types of cold medicine. He checked the usage instructions and prepared the medicine for Cheng Xu.

"Wait for the water to cool down a little, then take the medicine."

Upon hearing Xu Tangcheng's voice, Cheng Xu abruptly came back to his senses. He turned around and made a noise of assent. Xu Tangcheng waited for him to be done dawdling and taking the medicine before asking, "Why have you been spacing out the whole night?"

"I'm not, I just…"

Cheng Xu seemed rather distressed, his words mumbled and broken. After a long while, he had still not given a reason why and Xu Tangcheng had to ask him again.

"There's someone I know from my hometown. He said that he's going to drive back for Lunar New Year's and he's asking me if I want to go with him… he said he would have someone to chat with him on the way back if I do."

"Someone you know?" When Xu Tangcheng heard that, he immediately asked. "Someone close?"

After a slight pause, Cheng Xu nodded. "Quite close."

"Your home is quite far away, isn't it? How many hours' drive would it be?"

"He said that we'll leave early in the morning and reach before midnight. On the way, we'll rest as needed."

Xu Tangcheng let out a mm. He was a little worried about whether or not it would be safe for a person to drive for so long.

"I haven't agreed." Cheng Xu saw that Xu Tangcheng was not saying anything and suddenly spoke up, "I think I'll take the train home after all. Before this, I just felt that it might not be very safe for him to drive alone."

"In that case, you should go with him. The train will be quite packed too." Recalling the scene when he brought Cheng Xu home the last time, Xu Tangcheng patted him on the shoulder and suggested, "It'll definitely be a lot more packed than the beginning of the year. Follow his car home, be careful on the way."

At that point, Xu Tangcheng thought that the topic had come to an end. He lowered his head and started to tidy his desk, preparing to do the slides for his year-end research report. But Cheng Xu shuffled over from behind him and bent his head to peer at Xu Tangcheng's expression, a very cautious look on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"You're not angry, right?"

This question came out of nowhere. Xu Tangcheng stacked the two books in his hand and asked curiously, "Why would I be?"

A train ticket was pushed under Xu Tangcheng's eyes. The surface of the red-coloured ticket was already creased; who knew how long it had been held in Cheng Xu's hand.

"It wasn't easy for you to buy this for me."

Cheng Xu looked into his eyes, full of apologies and nervousness. For a moment, Xu Tangcheng couldn't say anything and only let out a sigh.

The look in Cheng Xu's eyes completely embodied his nature of being soft-hearted and afraid of disappointing people. If a person could select a representative image of everyone they were familiar with in their mind, the one Xu Tangcheng would select for Cheng Xu was none other than this.

Coincidentally, he had just finished talking to Cheng Xu about the matter of getting a free ride home when Xu Tangcheng received a message from Wan Zhi just before he went to sleep. In the message, Wan Zhi asked when he was leaving for the winter holiday and if he wanted to go back together. Her wording was reserved and well within the norms of propriety.

Xu Tangcheng replied that he was not taking the train and that he would be driving home. He also asked if she needed him to give her a ride.

Wan Zhi didn't answer immediately. Instead, she expressed surprise that he had bought a car so quickly.

He replied: It's convenient for my family to get around if we have a car. I also go home frequently. It takes quite a while to get to the train station from the school, it's faster to drive.

After that, their conversation followed a natural and logical course. The two of them exchanged a few more words and Xu Tangcheng had a passenger for his drive home.

As before, Wan Zhi ended the conversation today with a smiley face. Xu Tangcheng looked at that smiley face and the "Goodnight" that came before it, and seemed to sense something. He spun his phone in his hand. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that it was better to have one more person in his car. With this thought in his mind, he stared at the ceiling and mulled over it for a while, then sent a message to Han Yin.

On the day of going home, the first to leave was Cheng Xu. This was also the first time Xu Tangcheng met Fu Daiqing.

Fu Daiqing should be a few years older than them. Even though his age could not be seen from his face, the way he dressed and the way he carried himself was already free of the school campus style and he was evidently more mature. Cheng Xu didn't have much luggage but Xu Tangcheng happened to need to go to the financial services department. Hence, he came out a couple of minutes early and sent Cheng Xu off at the bottom of the building.

Upon seeing him, the man leaning against the car door gave him a smile and extended his hand politely. "Hello, I'm Fu Daiqing."

His entire interaction with Fu Daiqing was nothing more than this short meeting, just a few words of small talk. There was no way for him to find out anything about his personality or his thoughts, and in those few seconds, it was even more impossible for him to see the stormy waves this man engraved in Cheng Xu's life.

He watched as the car drove away, then went to the financial services department and handed in the receipts he needed to hand in. Then, walking in the sunshine that still contained some warmth, he strolled over to the nearby mall. He had actually already bought the clothes he wanted to buy for his family when the days were getting deeper into winter. Today, he just wanted to browse around and see if there was anything nice for a New Year's gift, as a token of good fortune.

He wandered around for a long time and bought a scarf and a hat, and also a padded vest the colour of rice grains for Xu Tangxi. Counting the items in his hands, he felt that it was quite enough so he prepared to go back. He was just going out of the mall's main entrance when he was stopped by a guy. The guy passed him a flier, his body facing sideways as he walked alongside Xu Tangcheng, asking him if he had any interest in learning English.

Xu Tangcheng waved him off, saying there was no need. When his gaze fell, he spied the gloves the guy was wearing.

His legs suddenly stopped moving. Not only him, the other guy was also very surprised.

"Sir, we have one-on-one coaching sessions. Our teachers will tailor a lesson plan to your specific conditions…"

"I'm sorry." The guy was speaking enthusiastically but Xu Tangcheng interrupted in a gentle voice. "I don't need it at the moment, thank you."

After saying that, he turned to walk into the mall. Before he left, he also took the flier.

He didn't need to learn English but he needed a pair of gloves.

During the night self-study, Yi Zhe lost track of how many times he had turned to look at the clock. It was strange how time seemed to pass so slowly tonight. The last time he turned his head, he decided that he might as well not turn his head back around and just stared at the second hand of the clock making its difficult journey. After staring for a while, his neck started to ache. He was also sitting in the last row. When he turned around to look at the clock, he even had to tilt his head all the way back.

"Yi Zhe." At some point, the class monitor had silently come over to stand before him. "Come out."

Yi Zhe turned his head back around and withdrew his leg that was sticking out in the aisle. He stood up slowly and went out.

When he was outside, the class monitor's first words were, "Are you a sunflower? Your face was following the clock the whole time tonight."

Yi Zhe looked at her without speaking. The only thought in his heart was that this was great because after the class monitor was done speaking, the night self-study should be over.

When the after-class bell rang, Yi Zhe ignored the fact that the class monitor was still firmly seated at the podium and picked up his down jacket and dashed out of the classroom. Cycling was not allowed on the school grounds. He jogged out of the school gate while pushing his bike, already leaving the second person to get out of the school far behind him. But after he cycled all the way home in the embrace of the wind and circled around a few times at the bottom of the building, he still did not see Xu Tangcheng's car.

Was he not back? Didn't he say he would be back today?

Yi Zhe propped a leg against the ground and stayed where he was, thinking for a while. He fumbled out his phone and sent a message.

Xu Tangcheng's reply came very quickly: Yeah, my teacher asked me to help out with something at the last minute. I'll be going back tomorrow.

Swiftly and abruptly, his heart sank.

Great. He would be a sunflower for a whole day again tomorrow.

Yi Zhe gripped his phone in one hand, his other hand pulling the brake lever madly.

At that moment, his phone screen lit up again. Yi Zhe's heart that had sunk to the bottom had yet to float up again, the emptiness from having his hopes disappointed was even making his willpower feel rather dampened. When he opened the message, his heart was quieter than it had ever been.

The message said: I have a present for you.

A single line produced an endless buoyancy that lifted his heart so that it was spinning and dancing all the way up and in a blink of the eye, it was already bursting out of the water's surface.

What if… he didn't go to school tomorrow?

The wind in the winter's night howled through the mortal realm. The phone was tossed up high into the sky, its metal body ringing out the sound of the wind before it was once again firmly caught in the teenager's hand.

That night, for once in his life, Yi Zhe unexpectedly could not sleep. He lay down for a while, tossed and turned a few times, then pressed on his phone to make it light up. When he finally fell asleep, he had a very long dream. In the dream, moonlight coalesced into a poem and drifting between the words was that faint smell of soap that had teased his nose the other day when he fetched Xu Tangcheng on his bike.

Xu Tangcheng didn't sleep well that day too but his reason wasn't due to a heart bounded tightly by yearning. Instead, it was the noise from the dorm next door playing the "Fight the Landlord" card game. He really had to admire those few people for being able to shout "Rocket!" continuously for the whole night.

The next morning, as he expected, his head was pounding. He lazed in bed for a long while, wanting to sleep a little longer but the sound of people moving about and talking and the rolling of the wheels of the suitcases came non-stop from the corridor outside, making him unable to sleep for even a second. He ordered delivery for lunch. Then, for the sake of his and his passengers' safety, he ate a painkiller after lunch and rested for a while on his bed.

Even though he thought he had adjusted his condition quite well, when Wan Zhi saw him, she immediately asked softly, "Are you not feeling well?"

On the other hand, Han Yin sitting in the front passenger seat did not notice a thing. When he heard Wan Zhi asking, he finally turned to look at him.

Xu Tangcheng was a little surprised at how attentive she was.

"I'm fine, I didn't sleep well yesterday night." After saying that, he was afraid they would be scared of sitting in his car so he added in a relaxed voice, "But I slept a short while just now so don't worry. I can guarantee that my driving is safe."

Han Yin laughed and said that he had confidence in Xu Tangcheng's skills. On the other hand, Wan Zhi paused and said softly, "Why don't I drive? You can rest a while."

Xu Tangcheng thought that she was still worried so he turned to smile at her. "Don't worry, it's fine."

Wan Zhi stared blankly. Even after Xu Tangcheng had turned back to the front, for a long while, she forgot to lean back her body that was angled slightly to the front. Han Yin suddenly turned and shot her a glance, an indescribable look in his eyes, making her face heat up.

When the three of them reached home, the hour was still early. Xu Tangcheng first dropped Wan Zhi off at her house, then dropped off Han Yin.

"Don't forget about the gathering at night. They are all saying that you have to go." Han Yin's fingers flew across his phone's keypad. "The last time, that asshole Zhao Pengfei kept forcing me to drink. If I wasn't thick-skinned, he would have made me drunk. You team up with me today and we'll take revenge on him."

Xu Tangcheng looked ahead and let out a snort of laughter. "With my alcohol tolerance, can I take revenge for you?"

"That's true." Han Yin had been agitated just now and forgot about this matter. He considered it and felt that it didn't look promising. "Then, I guess I'll even have to help you fend off some drinks tonight."

Xu Tangcheng raised an eyebrow and stopped his car at the side.

He was a lightweight. That was also one of the reasons why he didn't like attending this sort of gathering.

"It's your stop."

Han Yin was prattling away as he got down from the car. He was just about to close the door when Xu Tangcheng called out to him.

"You haven't told me the location for tonight."

"Tian He." After saying that, he exhorted in worry, "Don't drive tonight. You didn't go to the last gathering so you'll surely have to drink this time. Don't chicken out."

Han Yin shut the door with a bang. Xu Tangcheng wound the window down and twisted his head to shout at him, "Go away, it's just a few steps away, why would I drive there!"

Xu Tangcheng really did not chicken out that night and even took the initiative to pour himself half a cup of baijiu. At the side, Han Yin looked at him like he was seeing a ghost, then asked him in a whisper if he could handle it.

In actual fact, Xu Tangcheng was starting to have a headache again. He also had an annoying tendency to get headaches when he hadn't slept well, and not sleeping well when he had a headache. It was a vicious cycle and he had to slowly adjust his condition before he could finally get a good night's sleep. Hence, he decided that he might as well drink a little more today, thinking that if he was drunk, he might be able to sleep better tonight.

In the banquet room, he received a text message from Yi Zhe asking if he was home yet.

After drinking almost half a cup, Xu Tangcheng was already starting to feel dizzy. He rubbed his eyes and took the chance when the people at the table were taking a short break to type out a few words telling Yi Zhe that he was at a gathering outside.

There were people chatting with him the whole time. After replying to the message, Xu Tangcheng put his phone aside and ignored it. It was only after Zhao Pengfei again duped him into downing another two large gulps of alcohol that he finally fumbled for his phone and saw the message from Yi Zhe.

Where are you?

Tian He.

Xu Tangcheng had probably really drank too much. His memory of the text messages stopped at those two words and he did not remember sending another message to Yi Zhe that night. The content of the message was even the one single thought looping endlessly in his mind.

Oh no, I drank too much.

T/N:

Just in case it gets confusing, Lunar New Year is not the same as New Year's Day. New Year's Day (which I usually tl as New Year's) refers to 1st of January in the Gregorian calendar. In China, this is not a major holiday and an earlier chapter mentions that their New Year's holiday was only three days.

Lunar New Year refers to the start of the new year according to the traditional calendar. It is sometimes also called the Spring Festival. The date generally falls somewhere in January or February of the Gregorian calendar, hence there are two "New Year's" in quick succession. Lunar New Year (there is some debate around this term but I use this to differentiate it from the 1st Jan New Year) is a major—probably the most major—holiday in China. Students get a longer holiday (I think their winter vacation coincides with this occasion), and frequently, when characters talk about "it's a new year," they are referring to Lunar New Year. (Personally, the period between 1st Jan and Lunar New Year is always a weird period for me when it's both "end of year" and "new year"—1st Jan is the start of a new year but also the start of all the winding down work parties.)

This is also why Cheng Xu followed Xu Tangcheng home for New Year's (not a major holiday, and also a short one) but not Lunar New Year. Going back to your hometown to celebrate Lunar New Year with your family is an ironclad tradition for most, which is why the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival always means mass human migration in China and Xu Tangcheng had to fight to get the train ticket for Cheng Xu.