Once he’d finished tearing it apart, he felt considerably better.

The small green sticky note fell to pieces in an instant, scattered across his palm. Jiang Wen closed his hand around it, then, with an air of indifference, tucked the scarf and chocolates into his desk drawer and stood up from his seat.

The arts and culture representative stood at the podium, directing a few boys to move desks and chairs to clear space for the New Year’s party.

Zhao Binlin finished talking to someone and turned around to find Jiang Wen’s seat empty. He looked around but couldn’t spot him, so he sent a WeChat message:

【? Where’d you go】

“Taking out the trash.”

Strangely, even though the car had been going so slowly, the return trip somehow felt especially short.

When they reached the destination, Meng Taoyu almost didn’t recognize Qide’s front gate. The driver honked the horn, and she jolted back to herself.

Fumbling a little, she grabbed the two plastic bags. Just as she shut the car door, her hands suddenly felt lighter. She turned.

Meng Hanmo had taken the large bag of items from her. He stood casually; at around six foot one, even her thick snow boots only brought her up to about his shoulder.

Meng Taoyu blinked, murmuring a weak thank-you.

They walked side by side, and she caught the faint smell of cigarette smoke on him. It was New Year’s Day, so there was no gate check at the school entrance, and Meng Hanmo walked straight in.

Just as they reached the building, a boy from Class Nine happened to pass by. He glanced at the two of them, paused his steps, and said, none too quietly, “Meng Taoyu, who’s this? Your boyfriend?!”

The word “boyfriend” popping up out of nowhere threw her already tangled thoughts into further chaos.

“No!” Meng Taoyu hurried to explain. “He’s not my boyfriend, don’t talk nonsense…”

Meng Hanmo, perfectly calm, said in a low voice, “He’s gone already.”

Meng Taoyu let out an “ah,” looked at him for a couple of seconds, then, as if suddenly coming to her senses, “Oh, right.”

She was so focused on watching her own feet that she didn’t notice someone suddenly grab her arm.

His grip was strong, his knuckles rough, thick calluses on his middle and index fingers. Meng Taoyu startled, looking up—a stone pillar loomed right in front of her.

He let go. “Watch where you’re walking.”

A wave of embarrassment welled up inside her. Meng Taoyu felt utterly dejected, unsure why she kept making a fool of herself today. In front of him, she got flustered to the point of not even being able to speak properly.

Even through several layers of clothing, she could still feel a lingering trace of the touch on her arm. Meng Taoyu suddenly felt strangely unreal, as if everything happening today were some kind of dream.

From a distance, Jiang Wen spotted Feng Ning standing outside the classroom door.

His steps faltered.

Her ankle still wasn’t fully healed. Looking rather like a nosy landlady, she’d dragged a chair out into the hallway and plopped herself down in it, chatting animatedly with a man, head tilted up.

The moment he saw Meng Hanmo, he recognized him instantly.

As Jiang Wen passed by, she was in the middle of an animated conversation, a silly grin on her face, not even sparing him a glance.

Her happy expression looked so ridiculous, Jiang Wen thought, deadpan.

Feng Ning had heard about what happened on East Street that day and cursed, “Damn, what a shady cab driver, seeing that Changzheng was far from here and deliberately taking the long way, just because he thought a student would be easy to take advantage of.”

On her lap sat the large bag of snacks Meng Taoyu had just bought. Feng Ning randomly picked out a few small packs of plums and stuffed them into Meng Hanmo’s hands. “Here, here you go.”

After handing them over, she craned her neck around, glancing furtively at their surroundings, and whispered to Meng Taoyu, “This doesn’t count as misusing class funds, right?”

“It’s fine.” Meng Taoyu also glanced around. “You… does your brother like this kind of thing?”

Feng Ning nodded emphatically. “Yeah, this is totally his favorite!”

Hearing this, Meng Taoyu quickly pulled out a whole handful from her down jacket pocket. “I have more.” She held both hands out, offering it to Meng Hanmo. “Here, for you.”

Feng Ning narrowed her eyes, smiling. “Little Meng, what’s going on with you? Giving it all to my brother—what are the rest of the class supposed to eat?”

“No, no.” Meng Taoyu hurried to explain. “This… I really like these too. I bought this batch with my own money.”

Meng Hanmo, surprisingly, didn’t refuse, casually picking out a couple from her hands. “Thanks.”

“What about the rest, you don’t want them?” She looked a little disappointed.

Meng Hanmo seemed to almost smile. “I don’t take snacks from kids.” His features were sharp and cold, and even his smile carried little warmth.

“Okay, then.” Meng Taoyu felt a little awkward at his response.

He glanced at his phone and put it away. “I should get going. You two enjoy yourselves.”

Feng Ning made a couple of agreeable sounds and waved at him. “Be careful on the road.”

“—Wait!”

Meng Taoyu suddenly called out.

Meng Hanmo turned, looking first at her, then at the hand grabbing hold of his sleeve.

Then Feng Ning looked at her too.

His profile was handsome and sharply defined. Meng Taoyu’s expression instantly turned awkward, and as if electrocuted, she immediately let go. “That, um, could you wait for me for two minutes? I have something to give you.”

She dashed into the classroom, rummaged around at her desk for a moment, then hurried back out, though the whole thing likely took less than a minute.

Clutched in her hand was a New Year’s card, one she’d written a week ago. She’d actually written one on Christmas too, originally planning to have Feng Ning pass it along, but had hesitated so long that no matter how she thought about it, it seemed too forward.

“Thank you…” Meng Taoyu was slightly out of breath as she held the card out to Meng Hanmo. She paused, unsure how to address him. “Thank you for helping me today.”

Waiting by the road for a car, digging through his pocket for a lighter, Meng Hanmo’s fingers brushed against something firm and papery. He pulled the card out along with it.

He unfolded it unhurriedly. The girl’s handwriting was neat and careful, every character written with great attention, not a single stroke rushed.

Meng Hanmo pictured her face for a moment, then looked down at the three characters “Meng Taoyu,” written out carefully in the bottom right corner, and smiled slightly.

If Feng Ning still couldn’t tell something was up after all that, then something was seriously wrong.

Meng Taoyu was still staring out the window, lost in thought, when a slow, drawn-out voice sounded by her ear. “Little Meng.”

“Hm?”

“Come back to earth.”

She didn’t say anything, but Meng Taoyu understood immediately, looking like she’d been caught red-handed, not knowing where to put her hands.

Feng Ning asked, “Do you know how old my brother is?”

“How old…”

“Twenty-three? Almost twenty-four.”

Meng Taoyu tried to keep her expression natural. “That old already… does he have a girlfriend?”

“A sister-in-law, you mean?” Feng Ning put on a thoughtful expression. “I don’t think my brother has a girlfriend. Though he does have a few casual hookups.”

“Casual hookups?” Meng Taoyu looked confused.

Feng Ning teased her on purpose. “You know, like, friends who sleep together.”

Meng Taoyu took a couple of seconds to process, and once she understood, her face flushed red, then went pale in an instant. “Oh, oh,” she stammered, repeating, “How… how many?”

Seeing that Meng Taoyu could barely get her words out straight anymore, Feng Ning doubled over laughing, deciding to stop teasing her. “You believe anything I say—I was just joking.”

The New Year’s party host started the announcements. The overhead fluorescent lights switched off, leaving the classroom dim, which actually created a bit of atmosphere. Feng Ning munched on sunflower seeds, watching with great interest for a while.

Suddenly recalling something, she pulled a notebook out of her bag. Hobbling on her injured leg, she made her way across the room and sat down in the seat beside Jiang Wen.

It was the liveliest part of the party, so no one paid attention to what was happening over there. Jiang Wen had his earphones in, watching a video.

Feng Ning nudged him. When he finally looked over, she pointed at her ear, signaling for him to take out the earphones.

Zhao Binlin, spotting her, asked, “Hey, Feng Ning, who was that talking to you at the door earlier?”

“My brother.” Feng Ning flipped through the little chubby boy’s notebook, which was surprisingly diligent; every Jiu Fen – Chapter had crooked little annotations underneath, marking which page of the textbook it corresponded to. She smiled, the corners of her mouth lifting.

Jiang Wen’s hand, halfway to taking off his earphones, froze in midair. “He’s not your boyfriend?”

She closed the notebook and glanced sideways at his serious little expression. “When did I ever say I had a boyfriend?” She handed the notebook over to him. “By the way, this is Zhao Fanyu’s notes—take it home for your little sister, have her read along with the textbook for now, along with her homework.”

He’d only caught the first half of what she said.

Jiang Wen took the notebook, pausing briefly, imperceptibly. A wave of joy welled up inside him that he couldn’t suppress. He thought himself pathetic, and forcibly pushed down the feeling, sweet with a faint bitter edge.

But another thought immediately surfaced right after.

“So who does she like?”

Jiang Wen wouldn’t dare ask that question out loud—if he did, she’d only laugh at him for it. He had to keep himself in check. So instead, he said, evenly, “My mistake, then, I misjudged you.” He meant the earlier accusation of her being fickle.

Feng Ning said magnanimously, “It’s fine, I forgive you.”

The next segment was a video of New Year’s greetings recorded by classmates from Class Nine. The class president leaned over and clicked open the video file on the computer desktop.

Ten-odd greetings played, and then suddenly loud commotion erupted across the classroom. Jiang Wen glanced casually at the projector—one look, and he nearly exploded.

The video’s background was a banquet at the Jiang family estate. Jiang Wen looked to be about four or five years old, round and soft like a little jade figurine, a red beauty mark dotted between his brows, plump and adorable. Someone was teasing him, and he babbled out, in a childish voice, “Happy New Year.”

Everyone’s eyes swept over, landing on Jiang Wen’s face. Some stifled their laughter, others simply couldn’t hold it in anymore, bursting out in loud guffaws.

Zhao Binlin and Xi Gaoyuan exchanged a look, then both erupted into earth-shattering howls, practically bouncing out of their seats.

“What the hell are you two playing at.” The words practically ground out from between Jiang Wen’s teeth.

This was seriously screwed.

Normally not one to show much emotion in front of others, Jiang Wen could barely manage his expression right now, his handsome features twisted almost beyond recognition with anger.

Xi Gaoyuan pounded his thigh laughing. “We got this from Sister Yun! Perfect for ringing in the New Year, right?”

Feng Ning took photos with her phone, laughing as she snapped away. “Hahahaha, oh my god!!”

Zhao Binlin came over to needle him further, and Jiang Wen turned and jabbed him hard with his elbow. Zhao Binlin doubled over in pain, clutching his stomach. “Top student, you’re a ruthless one, huh.”

Jiang Wen stomped down on his limited-edition AJ sneakers, even grinding his foot a bit for good measure. “Are you sick in the head?”

“Damn it, you jerk, that’s way too far!” Zhao Binlin, who treasured his shoes like his life, immediately jumped up in outrage. He pressed his leg against Jiang Wen, and the two of them wrestled in a tangled scuffle, with Xi Gaoyuan joining in for good measure.

The three of them tussled for a while before Jiang Wen finally shoved the other two off, panting, hair completely disheveled, looking thoroughly disheveled—and, somehow, a little endearing too.

Once the commotion died down, the next segment started up quickly.

The sports committee member belted out Chopstick Brothers’ “Old Boy” in a duck-like voice, drawing jeers from below.

Amid the laughter and festivities, Feng Ning stood up.

Everyone was absorbed in the sports committee member’s performance, and no one paid attention to where she’d gone.

Jiang Wen, meanwhile, wasn’t really watching the performance either.

The cheers of his classmates filled his ears, along with the sports committee member’s belted-out line about youth flowing on like a river.

He didn’t take in a single word of it.

His feet crunched softly against the unmelted snow.

The campus was steeped in nighttime darkness; few students were wandering around outside, and it was quiet all around.

Feng Ning sat on a bench, a tree at her back, smoking with an air of unconcern, exhaling pale wisps of smoke, idly counting the stars overhead.

He stood not far away.

She smoked with practiced ease, flicking the ash off. Jiang Wen’s mind drifted back to that night again—Feng Ning, carrying herself with that worldly, unbothered air, cutting a bold path in front of them, downing bottle after bottle.

Something in his chest gave a sharp, real ache.

Jiang Wen didn’t even know why he’d followed her out here, why he was still standing here now. She was ignoring him, and yet he wasn’t leaving either, like some kind of idiot.

Or maybe a creep.

After a moment of stillness, Feng Ning suddenly turned her head, and in the same joking tone as always, with just a touch of coolness, said, “What are you doing standing there?”

“I’m on my way to the bathroom, just passing by.”

She smiled faintly, both hands braced behind her, eyes tilted upward, and gave a light, teasing look. “Then go on, then. Did my smoking scare you into needing the bathroom, little kid?”

Whenever she talked like that, it got under his skin.

After a long silence, Jiang Wen reached over and took the cigarette from her.

Feng Ning didn’t seem to mind. “What’d you come find me for?”

“Delete…” Jiang Wen improvised an excuse on the spot. “Delete the photo of me.”

“What photo?”

“The one you just took.”

She paused for a couple of seconds, as if she found the whole thing amusing. Feng Ning actually took out her phone and fiddled with it for a bit. “Deleted.”

Jiang Wen held out his hand. “Give it here.”

“Now what?”

He wanted to check that she’d actually deleted it.

The light here was dim; Jiang Wen narrowed his eyes, adjusting to the phone’s pale glow. On the main screen of the photo album was a short video—Zhao Binlin’s moonwalk performance from earlier at the party.

He scrolled back a few more, all photos from the New Year’s party. He searched through them until he found the one with him in it, from when he’d been wrestling around with Zhao Binlin and the others.

Jiang Wen felt a flicker of irritation—what a terrible phone she had, making him look this bad.

Without hesitation, he deleted it.

Going through someone else’s photo album like this was, frankly, incredibly rude, an utter lack of manners or class. Under normal circumstances, Jiang Wen would never do something like this. But right now, some unfamiliar impulse had taken hold of him, and he couldn’t seem to stop.

Nearly two minutes in, Feng Ning drawled lazily, “Done looking yet?”

“Almost.” Jiang Wen finished checking. Just as he was about to lock the screen, his finger slid sideways out of habit, and suddenly a jarringly out-of-place photo popped up.

—It was a bare back.

Pale and thin, shoulder blades jutting out delicately, wet black hair trailing over her neck and shoulders, Feng Ning wrapped in a towel, her face turned slightly toward the camera.

It took his brain a tenth of a second to process the image. His heart slammed hard against his chest, and his eyes felt like they’d caught fire.

Right at that moment, Feng Ning leaned in closer, saying, “You still haven’t finished checking—”

Caught off guard, Jiang Wen panicked and tried to hit the lock screen button, but hit the volume button instead.

Feng Ning’s sentence cut off halfway. Sharp-eyed, she snatched the phone back and accused him, “What were you doing?! No wonder it was taking you so long!”

Jiang Wen denied it immediately. “I wasn’t looking at that.”

Feng Ning shouted, “Good thing I caught it in time, or else my innocence would’ve been exposed for all to see!”

“I… wasn’t…” Jiang Wen’s mind went completely blank.

“‘You weren’t’ my foot.” Feng Ning’s voice rang out across the quiet campus: “You total pervert!!!!”