CS - 72

After renting the apartment, Chi Yao welcomed the winter break.

Chi Hanshan and Bai Qin were both in Jing City, so naturally, he would return to Jing City for the New Year.

Lin Zhe Xia felt a bit unaccustomed to this, as they had always spent the New Year together on Nanxiang Street in previous years.

“What’s wrong?” Chi Yao noticed her drooping expression. “You don’t want me to leave?”

“A little.”

Lin Zhe Xia gestured with her hand, “But just a tiny bit.”

However, she was genuinely happy that Chi Yao could spend the New Year with his uncle and aunt: “I’ll call you on New Year’s Day, at midnight.”

As she spoke, her eyes curved into a smile, just like every time she had accompanied him during the New Year before.

“Okay.”

“You have to stay up late with me,” Lin Zhe Xia pushed further.

Chi Yao still said, “Okay.”

Before parting at the station, the two clung together, talking for a while. He Yang, dragging his luggage, stood by waiting: “Are you done yet? I’m really amazed. You two are together every day—how can you still have so much to talk about?”

“There are only a few days of vacation. Is it really necessary?”

“If you insist on doing this, do you even consider how I feel standing here waiting?”

Chi Yao seemed to find his words amusing. He retracted his indulgent demeanor toward Lin Zhe Xia and slightly raised an eyebrow: “Why should I consider you?”

He Yang: “…”

He Yang: “We’re supposed to be good brothers.”

“I admit it outright,” Chi Yao said without hesitation, “I value love over friendship.”

He Yang slowly shifted his gaze onto Lin Zhe Xia, silently conveying, “Can’t you do something about him?”

In moments like these, Lin Zhe Xia demonstrated the solidarity of a couple facing external challenges. She slowly replied, “Sorry, but I’m the same way.”

He Yang closed his eyes.

Utterly hopeless.

“Let’s end our friendship,” he lamented dramatically. “I don’t want to be friends with the two of you anymore.”

Lin Zhe Xia and He Yang carried their suitcases back to the neighborhood together.

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she bumped into Wei Ping, who was putting up Spring Festival couplets.

Wei Ping: “Back already? Leave your things here—I’ll carry them inside for you.”

Lin Zhe Xia handed him the bag in her hands and explained: “Some local specialties from Lianyun… Though I don’t know why, as a local, I bought some local products. Maybe because it feels more festive, like coming home for the New Year.”

Wei Ping solemnly acknowledged her reasoning: “Your thinking makes some sense.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Right?”

Wei Ping: “It’s the New Year after all. Taking a moment to appreciate local specialties is nice too.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “I think so too.”

This conversation was overheard by Lin He, who was busy tidying up Lin Zhe Xia’s bedroom inside. It hadn’t been lived in for a long time, so the bed sheets and pillowcases needed to be replaced. Her voice carried faintly from inside: “What nonsense—do you have money to burn? Why buy local specialties? And Chi Yao didn’t even stop you!”

Lin Zhe Xia: “…”

After enduring Lin He’s scolding for so many years, she had become immune to it.

This winter remained bitterly cold.

Outside, frost clung to surfaces alongside red ribbons.

On New Year’s Day, Lin Zhe Xia started preparing red envelopes for others.

“I’m still a kid,” she protested before wrapping the red envelopes. “…Aren’t college students considered students?”

“Do you even have the nerve to say that?” Lin He shot back.

“I do.”

But no matter what she said, she still prepared several red envelopes for the other children who would come to pay New Year’s greetings later.

The first visitor of the day was the younger brother who had visited their house before. The boy had grown taller, and the first thing he asked upon entering was: “Where’s your older brother? Isn’t he home today?”

Lin Zhe Xia crouched down and placed candy and a red envelope into his hands: “Happy New Year, but that’s not my older brother.”

The boy said, “Thank you, big sister,” and then asked, “If he’s not your older brother, then who is he to you?”

“He’s my boyfriend.”

The term clearly exceeded the comprehension of a boy his age: “What does ‘boyfriend’ mean?”

Lin Zhe Xia thought for a moment: “A boyfriend is… someone a girl likes very, very much and wants to be with all the time.”

The boy responded with an “Oh”: “Then I also have a girlfriend.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Who is your girlfriend?”

The boy: “Iron Man.”

“…”

“Iron Man can’t count as your girlfriend.”

“Why not? I like him very much and want to be with him all the time.”

Lin Zhe Xia sighed and decided not to continue discussing such an advanced topic with him: “How did you do on your final exams? How many points did you get?”

Clearly, he hadn’t performed well this time around.

Unlike the past two years, he no longer eagerly volunteered his grades.

The boy proactively ended the conversation: “Chat’s over. Thank you for the red envelope, big sister. I need to hurry to the next house.”

“…”

After the boy left, Lin Zhe Xia slumped onto the sofa and sent a message to Chi Yao to vent.

• Remember the one from last time?

• I told him you’re not my older brother—you’re my boyfriend.

• But in the end, he said Iron Man is his girlfriend.

• …

• Forget it.

• He’s still just a kid.

Chi Yao replied quickly, likely being dragged around by his parents to greet relatives.

• Tell him, not everyone will have a girlfriend when they grow up.

Lin Zhe Xia replied with six dots: …

Thankfully, the boy had already left.

Thankfully, he wasn’t here this New Year.

Otherwise, who knows what nonsense he might have said to those kids.

After a while, Lin Zhe Xia went to the kitchen to help Lin He cut fruit. After finishing with the fruit, she tapped Chi Yao again: What are you doing?

Between couples, “What are you doing?” is roughly equivalent to “I miss you.”

With them rarely apart, Lin Zhe Xia found herself saying this phrase more frequently today.

• Reciprocity.

• I’m telling the kid next to me that I have a girlfriend.

Lin Zhe Xia imagined the scene: What did the other person say?

• She said, “I didn’t ask you.”

• “You’re weird.”

Leaning against the kitchen door, Lin Zhe Xia suddenly burst into laughter.

It seemed that being in love made people do many things they wouldn’t normally do, like her explaining to a little boy what a boyfriend was, or him, who usually ignored children, initiating a conversation and getting rejected.

As night fell, the visiting relatives dispersed. The Spring Festival Gala reached its finale, entering the countdown phase.

Just as the female host on TV exclaimed, “Are you ready to countdown with us and welcome the new year?” Chi Yao called her on a video call.

The first thing visible in the video wasn’t his face but a pitch-black screen. Just as Lin Zhe Xia was about to ask, “Why can’t I see you?” a flicker of light appeared in the darkness, followed by countless fireworks shooting into the sky.

“Coward,” his voice came through the video, “look at the fireworks.”

Lin Zhe Xia hadn’t bought any fireworks this year. The person she used to set off fireworks with wasn’t around anymore, and she didn’t feel like going out alone. Moreover, some areas of Lianyun banned fireworks this year, so it was unusually quiet outside.

Jing City was truly different from here.

The entire city felt vast and open, and the dialects spoken by the locals were vastly different from those in Lianyun.

After a while, when the fireworks finished, she finally saw Chi Yao’s face in the video.

“Did you get a haircut?” Lin Zhe Xia asked, “It looks a bit shorter.”

Chi Yao hummed an affirmation.

Then he continued talking to her: “Did you receive your New Year’s money?”

In the video, Lin Zhe Xia hesitated to respond.

Her whole body suddenly stiffened, looking restless, and the smile on her face turned awkward.

Chi Yao belatedly realized something and slightly tilted his head. Sure enough, he saw Chi Hanshan and Bai Qin’s faces appearing on either side of the phone screen.

Chi Hanshan: “Don’t be stingy, let your mom and me take a look too.”

Chi Yao: “…”

Lin Zhe Xia adjusted herself before timidly waving to greet them: “Hello, Uncle and Aunt.”

Bai Qin’s face remained as Lin Zhe Xia remembered—after years in the business world, she exuded shrewdness. Though her features hadn’t changed, that sharpness had softened, replaced by a gentle aura.

While greeting them, she wondered how she looked today.

Her posture earlier had been decent enough, right?

And her hair—had it gotten messy after lying on the sofa for so long?

…

When Chi Yao finally took the phone to a secluded place to continue talking to her, she snapped back to reality: “They didn’t dislike me, did they? Was I too awkward just now?”

Chi Yao: “No, they really liked you. So do I.”

Finally, both almost simultaneously wished each other: “Happy New Year.”

After hanging up, she remembered she hadn’t answered Chi Yao’s earlier question about New Year’s money.

She hadn’t received any New Year’s money this year.

It was a small, insignificant matter.

But she could “unreasonably complain” to Chi Yao and express her grievances.

Halfway through her complaint about New Year’s money, before she finished editing her message to send, her phone vibrated lightly.

[“Boyfriend” has transferred money to you.]

Lin Zhe Xia deleted the words she had painstakingly typed out and sent a single question mark.

Boyfriend: This year’s collected New Year’s money.

Boyfriend: Hand it over.

Boyfriend: Since you’ll have to hand over your salary anyway, consider this an early practice run.

After the New Year, the holiday seemed to stretch endlessly.

Lin Zhe Xia met up with Tang Shuxuan and Chen Lin once. At first, they chatted about things happening in their respective schools—Tang Shuxuan recently had a suitor, Chen Lin nearly failed her finals—but when it came to Lin Zhe Xia, her phone rang before she could say anything.

“Who is it?” Chen Lin asked.

Lin Zhe Xia didn’t even glance at it: “Probably Chi Yao.”

She ate a couple of bites of the cake in front of her before unlocking her phone in front of them.

Unexpectedly, Tang Shuxuan and Chen Lin saw the contact name: [Boyfriend].

Tang Shuxuan: “…”

Chen Lin: “…”

“No,” after a long pause, Tang Shuxuan found her voice, “Are you two really dating? Wasn’t that just a joke back then?”

“…”

Lin Zhe Xia: “Who would joke about this?”

Tang Shuxuan: “It’s just… you and Chi Yao…”

Tang Shuxuan wanted to say, “How could you two possibly be together?” But suddenly, as a realization dawned on her, she thought, why couldn’t they be together?

They were the closest people to each other in this world.

After meeting with Tang Shuxuan and Chen Lin, the holiday seemed even longer.

After finishing her holiday homework and recalling the message Chi Yao sent during their meal—mentioning he had returned to school early—Lin Zhe Xia, unable to sit still at home after a few days, discussed with Lin He: “Mom, I plan to go back to school. There’s nothing to do here, and you must find it annoying to watch me all day. Why don’t I give you some peace and return to school first?”

Lin He: “I think you’re the one finding me annoying, always nagging at you at home.”

Lin Zhe Xia: “… If you want to interpret it that way, fine.”

Lin He gave her a glare but didn’t stop her: “If you want to go back, go ahead. You’ve got nothing to do sitting at home all day.”

Lin Zhe Xia originally assumed Chi Yao meant he had “returned to school,” and subconsciously presumed the dormitory was open for residence. Thus, she packed her things, bought a train ticket, and headed back to Lian University. However, when she dragged her suitcase to the girls’ dormitory entrance, she was dumbfounded to see the tightly chained iron gate and the lock hanging on it.

“Auntie,” she stopped a nearby cleaner, “Is the dormitory not open yet?”

The auntie glanced at her: “Girl, it’s not time to return to school yet. No entry allowed.”

“…”

Lin Zhe Xia dragged her suitcase, clutching her keychain, and squatted at the girls’ dormitory entrance. She pulled out her phone and messaged Chi Yao.

• Did you really return to school?

Chi Yao replied with a “?”.

Lin Zhe Xia started typing: Are the boys’ dormitories open…

She didn’t send it, instead looking down at the keys in her hand. Then she noticed one of them, realizing: He had a place to stay and didn’t need the dormitory.

“I’m at the girls’ dormitory entrance now,” Lin Zhe Xia pressed the voice message button and spoke clearly: “You might need to come pick me up.”

Half an hour later, Lin Zhe Xia stood at the door of the apartment he rented.

Chi Yao carried her suitcase and pushed the door open: “Why don’t you come in?”

Lin Zhe Xia hesitated: “Oh.”

The apartment Chi Yao rented was a one-bedroom, one-living room unit, bright and clean. From the entrance, there was a foyer where decorative items she had previously picked out with him were displayed.

In her previous imagination, she would occasionally visit his place for a short while.

Now unexpectedly staying here until school resumed was completely beyond her expectations.

After entering the apartment, she unpacked her suitcase: “Do you have space in your wardrobe?”

“Yes.”

Lin Zhe Xia began transferring clothes from her suitcase, starting with a few coats.

When she returned, she saw Chi Yao squatting beside her suitcase, trying to help. His hand flipped over a sweater on top, intending to lift it along with the clothes underneath.

“Wait,” Lin Zhe Xia wanted to rush over but was still some distance away, so she blushed and shouted, “… Don’t touch that.”

But her warning came too late.

Because Chi Yao paused for a moment and touched the layer beneath.

It was soft.

With lace edges.

And thin straps.

His fingers had already lifted it up, exposing the underwear to the air—white, simple and pure.

It looked very similar to the one he had accidentally hooked in the kitchen before.

Lin Zhe Xia walked over, squatted on the other side of the suitcase, snatched the underwear, and hid it under the sweater, pretending: “You didn’t see anything.”

“I’m not blind.”

Chi Yao seemed amused, cracking his knuckles and lazily commenting: “… Quite cute.”

…

Lin Zhe Xia’s face turned beet red.

He probably meant “small.”