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Psst! We're moving!
By the time Chi Yao finished packing up, Lin Zhe Xia had already cried herself out.
She had cried countless times in front of Chi Yao throughout her life.
But this was the first time he didn’t know the real reason behind her tears.
Chi Yao carried her schoolbag as they walked toward the school gate. “Coward, do you want bubble tea?”
Lin Zhe Xia trailed behind him. “… Not really.”
“If you insist on treating me,” she added jokingly, pretending to be fine, “you can give me the money instead, and I’ll consider it as if I drank it. I’m short on pocket money this month anyway.”
The atmosphere instantly relaxed.
Sure enough, while waiting for her to catch up, Chi Yao glanced down at her. “You wish.”
“…”
When they got back, Lin Zhe Xia wanted nothing more than to go home quickly. But just as she was about to leave, Chi Yao grabbed her by the collar of her thick winter uniform—like picking up an object—and pulled her into his house.
Then she watched as he dropped the schoolbag, casually peeled off his coat, and tossed it onto the couch.
Underneath, he wore only a sweater that hung loosely on his frame, completely different from how neat and proper he looked in his school uniform. The casualness made him seem much freer, even carrying a subtle sense of intimacy.
He grabbed some paper and a pen and began jotting down the math problems they’d just been tested on. “The last question—a function problem.”
“The third-to-last question—solid geometry.”
He tapped the pen against the paper. “Listen carefully before you go home.”
Lin Zhe Xia gave a soft “Oh” and obediently sat beside him, listening attentively as he explained the problems. Perhaps because she had cried earlier, Chi Yao’s explanations were more detailed than usual. Even though his handwriting was sharp and angular, Lin Zhe Xia found it oddly gentle.
“Did you understand? If not, I’ll explain again.”
Lin Zhe Xia had already flipped through the textbook examples after leaving the exam room. She listened intently nonetheless and then said, “I understand. I won’t make the same mistake next time.”
Next time, I won’t cry.
I won’t think about these feelings anymore either.
She would bury them carefully.
Because the second semester of their sophomore year would soon transition into their senior year, the holiday homework was piled high, leaving no time to go out and play. The very concept of “winter break” seemed erased this year.
The only time Lin Zhe Xia went out during this winter break was due to a phone call from He Yang: “Are you free tomorrow? Call up Yao-ge. I’m treating you both to a movie.”
Lin Zhe Xia’s immediate reaction was suspicion. “What’s gotten into you? Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?”
He Yang grinned smugly. “I’ve always been this generous and kind-hearted.”
“You’re delusional about yourself, and your memory might be malfunctioning,” Lin Zhe Xia retorted. “Da-zhuang, when you have time, go see a doctor.”
He Yang: “…”
He Yang grumbled, “I’m serious! It’s just that we haven’t hung out in ages.”
Lin Zhe Xia cut straight to the chase with a demand. “If you’re treating, I want popcorn and cola too.”
“…” He Yang hesitated briefly. “Fine. Meet me at the neighborhood entrance at 2 PM tomorrow.”
If Lin Zhe Xia had known what day tomorrow was, she wouldn’t have gone even if He Yang offered her double the popcorn.
But life has no “ifs.”
The next day, the three of them—Lin Zhe Xia, Chi Yao, and He Yang—left the neighborhood together and headed to the cinema.
As soon as they reached the entrance, they saw a massive poster standing prominently.
Pink, with a giant heart, and the words: Happy Valentine’s Day, 2/14.
…
The cinema was bustling with people, mostly couples coming and going.
Lin Zhe Xia stared at the poster, her voice accusatory. “Da-zhuang, explain yourself.”
He Yang, who had just picked up the tickets, pretended to be clueless and chuckled awkwardly.
Lin Zhe Xia pressed, “Didn’t I say yesterday? You being this nice is definitely suspicious.”
He Yang kept chuckling nervously.
Lin Zhe Xia continued, “But I never expected it to be this bad.”
She closed her eyes briefly, trying to stay calm. “Explain yourself. Though I’m not a psychologist, I may struggle to understand your reasoning.”
He Yang finally spoke up. “Come on, watching a movie doesn’t depend on whether it’s a holiday or not. Does such a trivial holiday even matter?”
As he finished speaking, he noticed Lin Zhe Xia and Chi Yao silently staring at him.
Especially Chi Yao.
This guy, with his striking features, showing up here on this particular day, drew glances from passersby.
“All right, fine, I’ll tell you the truth,” He Yang admitted sheepishly, clutching the tickets.
“It’s actually because I bragged to my classmates. I told them I’d definitely celebrate Valentine’s Day this year—that with Yao-ge’s charm, asking a girl out to watch a movie would be no big deal.”
“…”
“Then I asked a girl from our class if she’d watch a movie with me. She rejected me.”
“But even though I got rejected, I still have to watch the movie. Otherwise, where does that leave my dignity?”
“So what? Do single people not deserve to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Today, I’m spending this holiday with you two—my brothers who’ve known me for years. Let’s enjoy it together!”
No sooner had He Yang finished speaking than Lin Zhe Xia and Chi Yao simultaneously reacted in the exact same way.
Lin Zhe Xia: “Bye.”
Chi Yao: “We’re leaving. Watch it yourself.”
He Yang hurriedly stepped forward to stop them. “Wait—! I already bought the tickets—three of them! Plus the popcorn combo. This cost me a lot of money. Even though there’s a reason behind it, my intention to treat you guys to a movie is genuine! You can’t just abandon me like this!!!”
Lin Zhe Xia thought about her promised popcorn and hesitated slightly, slowing her steps.
Seizing the opportunity, He Yang turned to the cold-hearted figure beside her and pleaded, “Yao-ge, show some mercy.”
Chi Yao: “Buzz off.”
“…”
He Yang persisted, “Brother, it wasn’t easy for me to save up for these movie tickets.”
Chi Yao resisted for a moment but slowed his pace slightly. “Shut up.”
Finally, He Yang blurted out desperately, “Yao-yao!”
Two minutes later, the three of them were sitting together in a corner of the waiting area.
Terrified they’d run off, He Yang planted himself firmly between them, one person on each side.
On his right, Lin Zhe Xia cradled her popcorn.
On his left, Chi Yao sat with a cold expression, one hand stuffed in his pocket, the other pulling the zipper of his jacket all the way up, raising the collar to cover the lower half of his face. Only his prominent nose and slightly arrogant, lowered eyebrows were visible.
He Yang muttered, “Is sitting with me really that embarrassing? You don’t need to act like this.”
Chi Yao shot back icily, “At least you realize it.”
He Yang: “…”
There were still ten minutes before the movie started.
Lin Zhe Xia munched on her popcorn, wondering how she ended up spending Valentine’s Day at the movies with Chi Yao.
Unquestionably, the moment they sat down, she felt a flicker of gratitude toward He Yang.
Because without this setup, she wouldn’t have found any excuse—or justification—to watch a movie with Chi Yao today.
He Yang snatched a piece of popcorn from her hand and popped it into his mouth. “Xia-ge, what are you thinking about?”
Lin Zhe Xia snapped back to reality. “I’m thinking about what tool to use when I beat you up later.”
He Yang hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. Finally, he mustered the courage to ask, “Actually… I have another favor to ask.”
“?”
“Can you take a picture with me? No need to show your face—just hold the ticket stub and let the camera capture your hand.”
“I need to post something on my social media feed.”
He Yang continued, “I already told everyone I was going out to watch a movie. I need to show proof of the ticket stub.”
Lin Zhe Xia felt the popcorn sticking uncomfortably in her throat.
She asked, “Are you planning to patch one lie with countless others?”
He Yang urged, “Help a brother out! If you don’t want to show your hand, you can hide it inside your sleeve. Hurry up, Xia-ge—I’ve already got the pose ready!”
“…”
Lin Zhe Xia looked at He Yang, one hand holding his phone aloft and the other gripping the ticket stub, torn between amusement and exasperation.
This guy…
Was he suffering from some sort of brain freeze?
How could he come up with such a ridiculous idea to cover his tracks?
It was a small request, and she was close to He Yang, but somehow it still felt inappropriate.
Before she could figure out how to decline, a distant, indifferent voice abruptly cut in. “You can borrow my hand.”
He Yang: “…!”
Lin Zhe Xia: “…?!”
Chi Yao pulled his hand out of his pocket and asked, “Where’s the ticket?”
His words sounded utterly surreal.
He Yang gaped, struggling to respond. “Isn’t this… inappropriate?”
Chi Yao sneered. “You were willing to ask her to pose with the ticket stub. What’s inappropriate about this?”
He Yang stammered, “It’s mainly… inappropriate with you. “
Chi Yao’s slightly lowered gaze rose a fraction. A competitive glint sparked in his eyes as he smirked. “What? Are you saying my hands aren’t as good-looking as hers?”
He Yang stumbled over his words. “No, your fingers are slender, and your hands are well-shaped, but… they’re still unmistakably male hands with prominent knuckles.”
“Anyone can tell it’s a man’s hand. If I post this, won’t people laugh at me?”
Chi Yao silenced him with a single sentence. “You can edit the photo.”
He Yang: “… … … …”
Inside, He Yang screamed mentally.
So you do know about photo editing.
Lin Zhe Xia felt like a bystander suddenly thrust into the role of an audience member, unable to close her gaping mouth.
Afterward, the boy impatiently waved his extended hand in the air. “Ticket.”
All the tickets were with He Yang.
With a twisted and conflicted expression, He Yang handed over a ticket, his hand trembling slightly. In desperation, he cast one final plea toward Lin Zhe Xia. “Xia-ge.”
Lin Zhe Xia shifted slightly to the side. “Don’t look at me. I’m not posing with you.”
He Yang resigned himself.
“Fine, your hand is still a hand,” he muttered, closing his eyes and steeling himself. “I can edit it.”
He randomly grabbed a ticket for Chi Yao and handed the extra one to Lin Zhe Xia.
However, Chi Yao glanced at it and said, “Switch it.”
He Yang stared at the ticket labeled Row 6, Seat 13, baffled. “Aren’t all movie tickets the same? What’s the difference?”
Chi Yao carelessly replied, “Oh, 13—it’s unlucky. I don’t want it.”
He Yang had nothing to say and swapped tickets with Chi Yao.
Then the two boys—
Holding their tickets—
Brought their hands together.
After taking the photo, He Yang hastily pulled his hand away.
Although Chi Yao’s hands were photogenic—long fingers, perfectly proportioned joints that required little effort to angle attractively—the resulting image was still hard to look at.
Movie check-in began.
As Chi Yao stood up, He Yang called out to him. “Chi Yao.”
Without sparing him a glance, Chi Yao responded curtly. “What else do you want?”
He Yang’s voice grew hesitant, and he fidgeted nervously. “No, I just wanted to ask… you’re not secretly harboring feelings for me, are you?”
“…”
“I mean, I’m not as good-looking as you, but I do have some charm. And thinking about it, you’ve never seemed interested in girls…”
This time, Chi Yao deigned to give him a glance. His brow arched slightly, and the corners of his eyes narrowed. “How long have you had this condition?”
He Yang: “… …”
“If you feel life’s been too smooth lately,” Chi Yao added, “there’s no need to be so roundabout. I can send you to the hospital right now to lie low for half a month.”
Beside them, Lin Zhe Xia—who had been quietly fading into the background—burst into violent coughing.
“Sorry, that was too hilarious,” she gasped between coughs. “I wasn’t paying attention while drinking my soda and almost choked on my cola.”
Interrupted by Lin Zhe Xia’s outburst, the group stopped discussing the photo incident and joined the queue to check their tickets.
Mainly, the two involved parties desperately wanted to pretend nothing had happened.
They wished they could immediately package the event and toss it into a garbage bin labeled “Embarrassing History.”
Lin Zhe Xia was the last to have her ticket checked.
Only when handing it to the usher did she carefully examine the seat number.
Her ticket read: Row 6, Seat 11.
After swapping tickets with He Yang, Chi Yao ended up sitting right beside her.
Though it was an ordinary detail, her heartbeat quickened at the realization.
Simply because, in a few moments, he would be sitting next to her.
After the tickets were checked, Lin Zhe Xia lost focus on finding her way.
She followed her instincts and moved forward, inadvertently turning left along with the crowd ahead.
Suddenly, a force yanked her backward.
Chi Yao had appeared behind her without her noticing.
“You took the wrong turn,” he said, his hand resting lightly on her head to stop her. “Auditorium 2 is to the right.”
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