Snow had been falling continuously in Chang City for a week, piling thick layers in the roadside flowerbeds. Salt scattered on the roads had melted the snow, leaving murky reflections on the oil-black asphalt.

“Your father’s name is Wei Jinhai, right?” Xie Huai hailed a taxi by the road. “Where do you live?”

Xia Xia held him back. “Brother Huai, don’t go. I can handle this myself.”

Xie Huai: “Your solution is to dress up like this, pretending to be homeless?”

“Looking this pathetic, you still want to scam our phone screen protector business?” he said mercilessly. “Save your effort. Even garbage collectors wouldn’t want you.”

Xia Xia: “…”

The taxi stopped at the curb, and Xie Huai put both their suitcases in the trunk.

Xia Xia grew anxious. “Don’t deal with him like you did with Xia Jun.”

Xie Huai pushed her into the car and sat in the back seat, resting with his eyes closed without saying a word.

Xia Xia told the driver their destination and turned to look at Xie Huai.

He hadn’t rested well on the train; faint dark circles showed under his eyes.

Xia Xia felt a twinge of heartache.

“He raised me for ten years. When all is said and done, I owe him. It’s reasonable for him to ask me for money,” Xia Xia said softly. “In a few years, when I can take care of my mom, I won’t be afraid of him anymore. But right now, my mom still depends on him for support. If you go confront him on my behalf, it’ll make me look ungrateful.”

Xie Huai kept his eyes closed, remaining silent.

Xia Xia poked his arm, half-pleading, half-coquettishly: “Brother Huai, I know you mean well, but please let me handle this myself.”

Xie Huai finally opened his eyes, meeting Xia Xia’s gaze with bloodshot eyes.

He pinched her ear: “So you know I mean well? Yet you don’t tell me when you have problems, trying to figure everything out by yourself.”

He looked at her clothes with disdain: “Pretending to be a screen protector installer, you’re something.”

Xia Xia said: “I didn’t expect him to believe me. I just thought acting pitiful might make him ask for less money.”

Xie Huai wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her toward his chest.

His elbow pressed her against him while his palm roughly messed up her hair.

Xia Xia’s face was buried in his chest, her nose filled with his fresh scent.

She struggled: “Stop messing with me.”

Xie Huai’s voice carried a hint of laughter: “Weren’t you trying to act pitiful? I’m helping you. Look at you now – don’t you look like a poor girl bullied by a man? Go home like this, and even your black-hearted father will feel sorry for you.”

The taxi stopped by the road, and Xia Xia finally broke free from Xie Huai’s grasp.

Her ears were completely red, her cheeks flushed, the color standing out against her snow-white skin, making her look delicately pink.

Xie Huai opened the car door, and she followed him out. The winter wind immediately rushed into their collars as they left the warm car.

Xie Huai handed Xia Xia her suitcase: “Where’s your home?”

Xia Xia pointed to a small alley across the street.

The alley was narrow, too tight for cars. Her apartment building was a long walk down that alley.

Behind Xie Huai was a small shop selling cigarettes, alcohol, candy, and tea.

He sat on the steps in front of the store, his expression casual: “Call me when you’re done dealing with things. If things don’t go well, call me too. I’ll wait here.”

Xia Xia left with her suitcase.

When she reached the alley’s corner, she couldn’t help looking back. Snow was falling from the sky, and Xie Huai had a lollipop in his mouth. His fair face was reddened by the north wind, snow settling on his head. He lowered his head to brush it off, making snow particles flutter down.

Seeing Xia Xia look back, Xie Huai smiled and took out his phone.

Xia Xia’s phone vibrated immediately – Xie Huai had sent her a message.

[If you get hit, remember to call Brother Huai for help.]

Xia Xia clearly remembered her first meeting with Wei Jinhai.

He was tall; little Xia Xia had to look up to see him. He bought her a new dress, a box of chocolates, and a doll.

It was Xia Xia’s first time receiving gifts, and she happily showed them to Wu Li.

Wei Jinhai smiled at her, picking her up and spinning her around several times.

At that time, Xia Xia was overjoyed, thinking she finally had a real father.

But Wei Jinhai went out for a cigarette, and when he came back, his look had changed.

Xia Xia hadn’t noticed yet and eagerly brought him a washed apple.

Wei Jinhai didn’t take it, looking seriously at Wu Li: “We can get married, but you can’t bring her.”

Little Xia Xia froze. Every word from Wei Jinhai’s mouth hit her head like a heavy hammer, making her dizzy.

“She’s so young and already capable of such things. Who knows if she might kill someone in the future? I can’t let someone with violent tendencies into my home. I still want to live for many years.”

Xia Xia lowered her eyes. She was still wearing the white dress Wei Jinhai had bought her.

Her nose stung, tears welling up in her eyes, her tiny fingers clutching his pants.

“Dad.” Xia Xia was afraid Wei Jinhai wouldn’t take her, tears falling rapidly. “I’ll be good. I won’t do those things again.”

Wei Jinhai looked at her, and that look stayed with Xia Xia for many years.

In the years that followed, whenever he was angry or upset, he would look at her the same way.

His eyes held contempt, disdain, wariness, and a hint of fear.

He looked at her as if she were garbage.

Knowing Xia Xia was coming home today, Wu Li cleaned the house early and stocked the kitchen with fresh ingredients.

When Xia Xia entered, Wei Jinhai had just woken up, wearing cotton slippers as he came out of his room.

He worked as a security guard at a factory, on the middle shift this month, finishing work at 2 AM and sleeping until 9 AM.

Xia Xia called him Dad, and he responded faintly, turning on the morning news as he sat on the sofa to wake up fully.

He glanced sideways at Xia Xia. She looked travel-worn, her clothes dirty, her hair messy, and her cheeks reddened from the cold wind outside.

“Your mom said you lost your job.” He sneered, “Even uneducated people can figure out ways to make money. Did too much studying make you stupid? You can’t even find a job?”

Xia Xia didn’t talk back, keeping her head down submissively: “With the New Year coming, many factories have stopped work. Jobs are hard to find. I’ll look again after the holiday.”

Xia Xia put a prepared red envelope on the tea table. Wei Jinhai picked it up and felt it: “Just a thousand?”

Xia Xia explained: “I was a temporary worker, the salary wasn’t high to begin with, and I had to pay rent and buy food. This is all I could save.”

Wei Jinhai: “Useless.”

He took the money and said nothing more.

Having gotten past this hurdle, Xia Xia dragged her suitcase back to her room and leaned on the window looking down.

The apartment was tiny, only thirty square meters. It used to be brick factory dormitory housing, with each unit having just one room, a living room, and a small kitchen. The bathroom was in the hallway, shared by everyone.

Xia Xia’s room could hardly be called a room – it was just a curtained-off area on one side of the living room. Wei Jinhai had put a small bed there, and she had slept on it for ten years.

The winter cold had left a thin layer of frost on the window.

Xia Xia wiped the window clean with her sleeve and saw that the snow was falling harder outside, but Xie Huai was still sitting in the same place.

The distance was too far to see his face clearly; she could only see the white snow covering his black coat.

Xia Xia turned to go down to find him but stopped at the door.

Her heart was full of joy at the thought of seeing Xie Huai again, but she knew that joy would quickly turn to dejection after meeting him.

Since she wouldn’t see him for a long time anyway, it was better not to meet than to meet and part reluctantly.

Xia Xia lifted her foot and put it down again, undecided, like a hesitant rabbit.

She went back to the window and called Xie Huai.

“I’m fine.”

Her tone was somewhat dejected, thinking why had Wei Jinhai believed her so easily. If he had scolded her, or even hit her, she would have had reason to call Xie Huai for help, and Xie Huai would surely have protected her again, standing in front of her like before.

Xie Huai stood up and looked in her direction.

Xia Xia instinctively pulled back her head, not wanting Xie Huai to catch her watching.

After hiding for a while, she realized he probably couldn’t see her from this distance and didn’t know which apartment was hers, so she quietly peeked out again.

“Did he hit you?”

Outside, the wind and snow were intense, making Xie Huai’s voice sound scratchy in the howling wind.

“No, you should go home,” Xia Xia said. “The snow’s getting heavy.”

Xie Huai hung up but didn’t leave. He stood up, shaking off the snow, and looked toward the direction Xia Xia had gone.

The alley was deep and narrow, winding out of sight.

Xie Huai bought another five-cent lollipop and put it in his mouth.

Until he finished the second candy, no one came out of the alley.

Xie Huai clicked his tongue, spat out the lollipop stick, and turned away nonchalantly.

“Call Brother Huai for help when there’s trouble, forget about Brother Huai when there isn’t.” He muttered like a child, “Who’s waiting for you anyway.”

After returning home, Xia Xia didn’t stay idle. She found a part-time job at a shopping mall.

With the New Year approaching, it was the mall’s busiest and most profitable time, when they needed extra staff. Xia Xia worked from the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month to the third day of the New Year, earning fifteen hundred yuan for seven days.

Wei Jinhai and Wu Li didn’t have many relatives, so they didn’t need to visit around during the New Year.

Wei Jinhai took his holiday leave and went to play mahjong in a nearby card room. There was practically no festive atmosphere at home until noon on New Year’s Eve when Wei Jinhai belatedly remembered they should watch the Spring Festival Gala that night. He gave Wu Li two hundred yuan to buy some food and alcohol.

Xia Xia came back from work with Spring Festival couplets and a string of firecrackers.

She gave red envelopes of six hundred yuan each to Wu Li and Wei Jinhai. Wei Jinhai was drinking and watching the Spring Festival Gala when he received the money. Though he said nothing, his expression was content.

As midnight approached, the sound of fireworks exploding in the sky came one after another.

After washing the dishes, Xia Xia went out to put up Spring Festival couplets.

The stairwell was pitch dark, and all the neighbors had gone to visit relatives. Only the light outside Wei Jinhai’s door was still on.

Old artemisia used to ward off evil spirits during the Dragon Boat Festival hung from the door frame, now withered beyond recognition.

Xia Xia stood on a stool to paste up the horizontal couplet, accidentally brushing against the dried grass, which showered leaves all over her head.

After putting up the couplets, Xia Xia went back inside to put on her coat, then took her firecrackers and phone downstairs.

Few apartments in the building had lights on, and no one was setting off firecrackers. This square courtyard seemed isolated from the outside world – the festivities belonged to others, while here there was only endless quiet and poverty.

Someone had built a snowman in the courtyard, with a broken broom stuck in as an arm.

Xia Xia picked up two small stones from the ground to make its eyes and broke off a piece of holly branch to make its mouth. She squatted down, resting her chin in her hands as she watched the snowman in the brilliant fireworks light. Snow began falling from the sky again.

Xia Xia watched the countdown on her phone and called Xie Huai as midnight approached.

Her cheeks were flushed, either from cold or excitement. The call went unanswered, so she absently picked up a dead branch and drew in the snow.

After several dozen seconds, Xie Huai hung up the call.

Xia Xia pressed her lips together, pressing too hard with the branch until it snapped.

She stared blankly at Xie Huai’s name written in the snow.

“He needs to watch the Spring Festival Gala and be with his family. How could he have time for my call?” Xia Xia mumbled. “I must have bothered him.”

She hung the firecrackers on the exercise bars in the courtyard and lit them with a lighter.

As the midnight bells rang, fireworks exploded across the indigo sky. This New Year’s Eve seemed especially lively – Xia Xia had never seen such bright fireworks in the sky.

The light from her firecrackers reflected off the bright snow. Xia Xia took out her phone and sent Xie Huai a photo.

[Brother Huai, the fireworks in the sky are beautiful. Can you see them?]

[Thank you for taking care of me these past months. Happy New Year.]

That night, Wu Li and Wei Jinhai ate dumplings and went to bed early, while Xia Xia stayed downstairs until late.

The snow fell particularly heavy in the early hours, accumulating a thick layer on the ground. She left footprints in the snow with her cotton shoes.

At two in the morning, Xia Xia built a small snowman next to the original large one.

Her eyelids were heavy with exhaustion. When she checked her phone again, Xie Huai still hadn’t replied.

The fourth day of the New Year was Valentine’s Day. Xia Xia’s part-time job had ended, and she was resting at home.

In the evening, Wu Li bought a whole chicken from the market to make soup for Wei Jinhai. Xia Xia went to the kitchen to wash her hands and help cook.

“What are you looking at?” Wu Li noticed her checking her phone between cooking tasks and asked curiously, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Xia Xia: “No.”

Wu Li said: “Leave the phone outside, or it might get wet.”

Xia Xia put her phone on the living room table and returned to wash vegetables.

Wu Li nagged: “Don’t be so listless with your phone all day. Your father will scold you if he sees.”

Xia Xia responded halfheartedly.

When she finished cooking and went out, Wei Jinhai was sitting on the living room sofa, looking at her phone with a livid expression.

Xia Xia’s heart trembled.

Wei Jinhai threw the phone onto the table. Xia Xia looked down at the workgroup message that had popped up on the screen.

She had muted group notifications except for when administrators tagged everyone. Cai Yun had just tagged everyone in the group chat, asking if anyone had Valentine’s Day plans.

“You’re working in the South?” Wei Jinhai wasn’t stupid; he immediately realized Xia Xia had lied to him.

Seeing no point in continuing the deception, Xia Xia spoke frankly: “I’m studying. Even though I didn’t perform well on the college entrance exam, my score was good enough for a decent university. I’m not stupid – why shouldn’t I go?”

Wei Jinhai: “Xia Xia, you’ve grown bold.”

Xia Xia: “I haven’t used a cent of your money for tuition or living expenses. You have no right to control me.”

Hearing her dare to speak to him in such a tone, Wei Jinhai slapped her: “You spent my money for ten years, and now that you’re not spending it anymore, you dare talk like this? I remember exactly how much you owe me. You have the nerve to study when you haven’t paid your debts?”

Wu Li tried to intervene but was pushed aside by Wei Jinhai.

He pointed at Xia Xia’s nose: “Have you no shame?”

Xia Xia’s cheek stung from his rough palm, but she neither apologized nor backed down.

She had been in a foul mood these past few days, and Wei Jinhai’s words made her head buzz with anger.

“What’s your hurry?” Xia Xia stared at him expressionlessly. “I’ll pay you back before you die. If I can’t pay it all, I’ll burn paper money for you after you’re dead. What are you yelling about? My registration is done and can’t be changed. Even if you tear the roof off, I’m still going to study.”

The atmosphere at home was oppressive and tense. Xia Xia didn’t want to stay.

She grabbed her phone and bent down to pick up the kitchen garbage, planning to go out to throw it away and get some air.

She closed the door behind her.

Wei Jinhai angrily threw cups behind her. Xia Xia only heard him shouting at Wu Li: “This is the good daughter you raised! She acts obedient to me, but look what she is!”

Xia Xia left in such a hurry she didn’t wear her coat, only a thin sweater.

After throwing out the garbage, her hands and feet were numb with cold. She planned to go back home to put on her coat and get some money, but when she tried her key in the lock, she found Wei Jinhai had bolted the door from inside.

She knocked: “Mom, open the door.”

Wei Jinhai’s angry voice came from inside: “If you dare open the door for her, you can both get out and sleep on the street!”

Hearing this, Xia Xia knew Wu Li definitely wouldn’t open the door tonight.

She stopped knocking and headed downstairs.

This winter was exceptionally cold.

Xia Xia hugged herself, crouching behind the stairs for shelter. Her coarse-knit sweater let the wind through, making her shiver repeatedly. Her money was all inside, and her phone was almost dead. The cold wind gave her a headache, and she didn’t know where to spend the night.

She lit up her phone and opened her chat with Xie Huai.

He still hadn’t replied to her New Year’s Eve messages.

Xia Xia wanted to ask if he had seen them but didn’t dare send another message. She was terrified of that feeling of disappointment from getting no response.

With others, it might not matter, but with Xie Huai, she was extremely careful. When he didn’t reply to her messages, she became sensitive and worried, thinking Xie Huai found her annoying.

As she looked at her phone, Xie Huai’s call came through.

Xia Xia felt like she was dreaming and jumped up immediately, accidentally hitting her head on the wall above.

Just as she was about to answer, she remembered how he had ignored her.

She made a small humph sound and let it ring without answering. She pretended to look away but kept glancing at the screen from the corner of her eye. When she thought enough time had passed and Xie Huai must have been anxiously wondering why she wasn’t answering, she picked up.

“What is it?” she asked coolly, rubbing her head.

Xie Huai: “Where are you?”

“At home.” Xia Xia thought, isn’t he going to explain why he didn’t reply to her messages?

“Happy New Year,” Xie Huai said gently.

“The New Year’s almost over,” Xia Xia complained. “You just now remembered to say Happy New Year?”

“My phone was broken the past few days. Just got a new one today,” Xie Huai heard the emotion in her voice and asked, “Did you send me messages?”

The gloom that had wrapped around Xia Xia’s heart for days dispersed. Hearing Xie Huai’s explanation, she instantly cheered up, even forgetting her current homeless situation.

She carefully cradled her phone, her voice softening: “Nothing important.”

Xie Huai: “I’m in Chang City. I was going to hang out with Qi Da, but forgot it’s Valentine’s Day. He’s with his girlfriend, so I’m alone.”

He paused: “Can you come out? Haven’t seen you for almost two weeks. Want to see if you got fat over the New Year.”

Xia Xia’s hand trembled, nearly dropping her phone.

Could she come out? Of course, she could! This was perfect!

Seeing her silence, Xie Huai thought she was hesitating: “It’s so late, it’s okay if you can’t come.”

“Where are you?” Xia Xia said, “I’ll come right now.”

Xia Xia used her remaining WeChat balance to take a taxi to Wanda Plaza, looking for Xie Huai among the couples filling the streets when she got out.

She wore just a sweater and cotton slippers, looking like a lunatic among the down-jacketed pedestrians in the depths of winter.

Every gust of cold wind made her shiver, her teeth chattering together.

Someone pressed down on her head, and she turned to see Xie Huai standing behind her, wearing a hat and mask.

Xie Huai’s voice was slightly muffled behind his mask: “Are you here for a fashion show?”

Xia Xia didn’t want to say she’d been thrown out by Wei Jinhai, so she looked away: “I was so excited to get your call, I forgot to wear a coat.”

Xie Huai took off his coat and draped it over her, blocking the cold wind from her back.

He wore only a knit shirt underneath, even thinner than Xia Xia’s clothes. When she tried to refuse his coat, Xie Huai held her hand down.

“What happened to your face?” he suddenly asked.

Xia Xia instinctively covered her face. She hadn’t looked in a mirror, only feeling the pain where she’d been hit, not knowing it had swollen.

Xie Huai: “He hit you?”

Xia Xia made a sound of agreement: “He found out I was lying to him. I have nowhere to go tonight.”

Xie Huai fell silent.

She looked up at him. His face was hidden behind the mask, only his bright eyes visible as he quietly met her gaze.

“Every time I see you, you’re black and blue,” he said casually. “Are you just asking to be hit?”

Xia Xia retorted: “You’re the one asking to be hit.”

As soon as she said it, she felt something was wrong.

She grabbed Xie Huai and reached up to remove his mask and hat.

Xie Huai’s face was still handsome, but now decorated with black and blue marks.

He had gauze on his temple, bruises around his eyes and lips, and a clear red mark across his jaw and neck.

Despite being beaten badly, Xie Huai’s smile remained unchanged.

He raised his eyebrows: “Getting brave after a few days apart, huh? Who’s asking to be hit? Make yourself clear.”

Xia Xia’s head and ears were buzzing.

She barely heard what Xie Huai said, cupping his face in her hands as her eyes suddenly turned ice-cold.

Her soft fingertips gently brushed over Xie Huai’s injuries: “Who did this?”