PSE - 50

Ten minutes after they hit the main road, Ha Yue, who had earlier declared in the dorm, “How could I possibly fall asleep?” was already softly snoring in the passenger seat.

Xue Jing sighed helplessly, adjusting the car’s heater to blow warm air directly at Ha Yue as he focused intently on driving.

The hour-long drive wasn’t too lonely. Every time Xue Jing turned on the turn signal to overtake another vehicle, Ha Yue would grind her teeth like a little squirrel and mutter some incomprehensible dream talk. He listened closely, treating it like a radio drama to pass the time.

As the car approached the foot of the mountain, the fuel light on the dashboard lit up. Xue Jing slowed down and pulled into a nearby gas station. After filling the tank, he glanced through the window to see Ha Yue still sound asleep. Hesitant to wake her, he carefully closed the car door with minimal noise when he got back in.

Ha Yue was sleeping deeply, her eyebrows furrowed, lips slightly parted, and her face squished awkwardly against the headrest, almost drooling. It felt cruel to wake her. Checking the time and seeing they still had some leeway, Xue Jing parked the car in a spot near the convenience store.

The engine was still running, and the heater continued to blow warm air. A hint of fatigue appeared on Xue Jing’s face as he pressed his temples and got out of the car to buy canned coffee.

While browsing the shelves, his eyes kept darting toward the car where Ha Yue slept. After paying and thanking the cashier absentmindedly, he pushed open the convenience store door and stepped out into the freezing -20°C weather. He poured a can of coffee and then a can of Red Bull into his mouth. As he drank, his peripheral vision lingered on the shadowy figure in the passenger seat, and he couldn’t resist reaching into his inner pocket to touch the ring box.

Yesterday afternoon, when buying the ring, Xue Jing had been quite satisfied with his choice under the salesperson’s flattery. But now, with the proposal imminent, doubts began creeping in. Was his taste in women’s jewelry truly reliable? Had looking at so many rings caused him to lose perspective?

What if Ha Yue thought the ring was ugly? Wouldn’t that make his failed proposal feel even more unjust?

So, as he tossed the empty cans into the trash, he suddenly realized he desperately needed a third-party opinion to preemptively eliminate all possible reasons Ha Yue might reject him. Among the people he knew, who was the most experienced at gifting jewelry to girlfriends? Naturally, it was Zhou Shuang, the eternal pushover.

As far as Xue Jing knew, Zhou Shuang had gifted countless pieces of jewelry over the years. Buying luxury items for the girls he liked during holidays was a fixed tradition for him. His knowledge of seasonal luxury goods for women rivaled that of professional sales associates (SAs). Unfortunately, none of the girls who received his gifts ended up choosing him.

But that was fine—Xue Jing could use his input as a reference and exclude anything Zhou Shuang recommended.

Deciding to act, Xue Jing pulled the ring out of his pocket, opened the blue velvet box, and carefully examined the ring’s brilliance by turning it repeatedly. Then, as if someone had stepped on his tail, he hurried to a better-lit area and began taking 360-degree videos and photos of the ring with his phone.

At 5:40 AM, Zhou Shuang, who was sleeping soundly in his bed in Jicheng, was abruptly woken up by a barrage of messages on his phone.

Recently, half of the “lecturers” under Zhou Shuang’s management had tested positive for COVID-19. Everywhere he went—elevators, streets—the sound of coughing filled the air. The line for cremation at the funeral home was backed up, and imported Azvudine tablets had been price-gouged to record highs in pharmaceutical circles.

Locals joked that the atmosphere in Jicheng was practically saturated with viruses.

For Zhou Shuang, the short-term loss of income was minor compared to the bigger issue: losing long-term customer engagement. In today’s rapidly evolving online landscape, being an internet celebrity meant fleeting fame. Disappearing from the web for two months, like Xue Jing had, was akin to a digital death.

Forget about advertisements—keeping up with follow-up courses was already a major challenge.

So, he had moved all his company’s operations to his home, working ten times harder to cover for all the employees on leave. Yesterday morning, after finishing a video conference, he spent the afternoon brainstorming marketing plans with the remote team. By 8 PM, he hastily drank a protein shake before diving into resolving dozens of business contract breaches, working nonstop until 4 AM. Only then did he finally crawl into bed.

After less than two hours of sleep, Zhou Shuang woke up feeling breathless, his eyes red and barely able to open one. Groaning, he reached for his phone and held it under his left eye.

Seeing the flood of videos and photos Xue Jing had sent, Zhou Shuang’s mind was a jumble. He assumed Xue Jing’s WeChat account had been hacked by some unscrupulous merchant selling jewelry. Before he could call to confirm, Xue Jing’s call came through.

Zhou Shuang answered, clutching his chest as he lay back against the headboard. Weakly saying “Hello,” he heard Xue Jing’s rapid-fire questions burst through the receiver: “Hey! Did you see the ring I sent? What do you think? Is it presentable enough to give as a gift? Would a girl about to turn 27 like it? Is it too small? Is the design too flashy? How’s the clarity? The fire is good, but is the cut lacking? Are the small diamonds on the band overdoing it?”

“Zhou Shuang? What are you doing? Are you dead? If you’re not dead, say something!”

Zhou Shuang’s eyes shot open, and he thought to himself: *Damn it, I’d love to say something, but do you even give me a chance to breathe or interrupt?*

For over a month, this bastard hadn’t answered any calls. If it weren’t for the frequent WeChat avatar changes, Zhou Shuang would’ve thought he needed to go to Suicheng to collect his remains. And now, out of nowhere, he suddenly comes back to life just to ask about gifting jewelry to a girl? Did he finally remember he had friends?

Zhou Shuang sighed deeply, scrolling through the photos of Xue Jing’s ring.

After a moment of contemplation, he furrowed his brows and offered his critique: “The ring looks decent enough, but how long have you known this girl? Don’t tell me you’re giving such an extravagant gift at the start of your pursuit. A six-prong platinum setting is way too formal, and that diamond is enormous. Have you been reading too many novels and gotten yourself confused? Who proposes with a classic wedding ring while dating? Honestly, that design is so outdated—it’s like something those old European royal families would use. Why don’t you consider colored gemstones or rose gold? Big butterfly designs, panther heads—oh, and lately, a lot of girls are into retro Sanrio stuff again. How about customizing a Hello Kitty ring? Wouldn’t that be cool on her finger? It’d be trendy, like the second phase of our course materials… keeping up with the times.”

Before Zhou Shuang could successfully steer the conversation back to selling courses, the phone line went dead.

Glancing at his screen, he realized Xue Jing had hung up and sent him a text message instead: “Thank you, my friend. Your advice was great. I’ve decided to go with this one.”

In Jicheng, Zhou Shuang muttered curses under his breath as he crawled back into bed, attempting to fall asleep again. Meanwhile, Ha Yue, sleeping in the car, was deep in a childhood dream of climbing trees and raiding bird nests.

In her dream, Ha Yue sat atop a towering tree, reaching toward a glowing, rainbow-colored nest. Suddenly, a gust of wind knocked her off balance, and she fell from the treetop. As she flailed her arms, she failed to grab any branches and instead woke up in pain after accidentally hitting her elbow against the car window.

The tree and the nest were gone. The grown-up Ha Yue, far past the age of tree-climbing, was now lying in Xue Jing’s pickup truck.

Rubbing her cheeks, she noticed Xue Jing wasn’t in the driver’s seat. Her blurry gaze drifted to the window, where she saw him outside the convenience store, talking on the phone.

She rubbed her eyes, stretched lazily in the warm space, and took a small sip of hot water from her thermos. Noticing that Xue Jing seemed to have finished his call, she waved to signal him to get back in the car and continue their journey.

But Xue Jing, head bowed, didn’t notice her gesture right away. Squinting, Ha Yue quickly withdrew her hand from the door handle. Clenching her fists, she stared intently at what looked unmistakably like a ring box in his hand.

Thinking back to the large bouquet of flowers Xue Jing had brought last night, her lips twitched involuntarily. She silently repeated to herself: *No way, no way. Please don’t do it. Seriously, don’t.*

When Xue Jing turned around, her pupils widened, and she immediately held her breath, pretending to fall back asleep in her seat.

Because she had seen it clearly—Xue Jing wasn’t just holding a ring box. Inside was a massive diamond ring that could practically blind her with its sparkle.

As Xue Jing climbed back into the car, his mood soared once more. Pulling the handbrake, he noticed Ha Yue “coincidentally” waking up. He immediately flashed her a bright smile, squeezing her hand cheerfully: “You’re awake! Perfect timing—I was just about to wake you. Drink some water, shake off the drowsiness. We’ll be at the parking lot soon!”

At exactly six o’clock, the two set off from the hiking trail. The snow in the mountains hadn’t completely melted yet. Though there was no ice or snow on the climbing path, whenever they paused and shone their flashlights around, they were surrounded by a breathtaking winter wonderland of silver-coated trees and sparkling frost.

To conserve energy and breathe fully, Ha Yue and Xue Jing barely spoke during the hour-long climb, only exchanging words to warn each other about the terrain. By the time they reached the steep summit, they collapsed onto the ground beneath a sky full of stars. They pulled down their scarves, gasping for fresh air, and unscrewed their thermoses to hydrate.

With about ten minutes left until sunrise, Ha Yue’s phone buzzed—it was a video call from Wu Fangtian, the caregiver.

The temperature at the mountaintop was a few degrees colder than below. With gloved hands, Ha Yue cradled her phone and tapped the screen with her chin to answer. In the video, Zhao Chunni was having breakfast at home, while Wu Fangtian narrated their morning activities. She explained that Zhao Chunni was particularly lucid today, so she had filmed a short video early in the morning.

After detailing the day’s plans, Wu Fangtian suddenly smiled warmly and asked Zhao Chunni, “Nizi, do you know who I’m sending this video to?”

Without looking up, Zhao Chunni loudly replied, “Of course I know.”

Wu Fangtian chuckled heartily and said into the phone, “Your mom told me yesterday that she misses you. Are you planning to come home these next few days?”

In the video, Zhao Chunni immediately scowled and snapped at Wu Fangtian, “I never said that. Who misses her? She’s just like her father—always running off somewhere. Why would I miss her?” Her voice was so forceful that her face turned red, and grains of rice flew out of her mouth.

Wu Fangtian let out a surprised “Hmm” but didn’t argue further. Pretending to lower the phone, she gently continued, “What’s so embarrassing about a mother missing her daughter? Fine, I won’t record anymore. Just between us—do you really not want her to come home when she has time off? She works so hard outside, even paying for a caregiver for you. She’s such a good daughter. What’s wrong with thinking about her?”

“You need to change the way you talk to her. When kids grow up, they become guests. You shouldn’t say things like that on purpose. If she gets upset, it’ll affect her life too. Everyone being happy is much better, isn’t it?”

In the darkness, the sound of fabric rustling filled the silence. After a pause, Wu Fangtian likely moved closer to Zhao Chunni and whispered, “So… do you miss her or not? If you really don’t, I’ll tell her not to come back. That way, you won’t get mad again.”

In the final second of the video, Zhao Chunni muttered softly, almost inaudibly: “I miss her.”