Hearing these words, Shu Nian froze for a moment. Thinking about what he said, she asked confusedly, “So you got the date wrong? Today isn’t New Year’s Eve, but Valentine’s Day?”

As if afraid she would be angry, Xie Ru He’s voice lowered slightly: “Mm.”

Shu Nian let out a sigh of relief: “So does that mean we don’t have to stay up all night?”

“Mm.”

“Then I’ll go to sleep.”

“…”

Shu Nian lay back down on the bed, noticing that he hadn’t responded, she quietly explained, “I’m too tired. I’ll call you another day. You should get some sleep too.”

Not expecting this reaction, Xie Ru He remained silent for a few seconds.

“…Alright.”

Shu Nian hadn’t gone to bed this early in a long time. Perhaps it was because she was staying in her father’s room, surrounded by familiar and comforting scents, as if she could still hear her father’s hearty laughter from the past.

This sleep was peaceful.

When she woke up again, daylight had already broken.

The curtains weren’t blackout ones, and the winter sunlight with its hint of warmth shone in from outside, patches of light covering the floor.

Outside, she could hear Grandpa and Grandma talking in hushed voices, as if afraid to wake her. From somewhere came the sounds of dogs barking, roosters crowing, children playing, and bicycle bells ringing.

The sounds of morning.

Shu Nian didn’t linger in bed. She got up, changed her clothes, and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Grandpa and Grandma had been awake for some time. One sat in a wooden chair reading the newspaper, while the other wore reading glasses and did handicrafts, chatting occasionally.

Shu Nian obediently greeted them, then went to the kitchen and filled a bowl with porridge. She drank the porridge silently. Having just woken up, her head was still a bit foggy, but her spirits were good.

The two elderly people were also in good spirits, occasionally bickering with each other.

This feeling was very nice, much better than curling up alone in that cold little house, where she didn’t have to worry or feel afraid of every little sound.

During this time, Deng Qing Yu called her and gave her a few instructions, saying she wouldn’t come over for the New Year’s Eve dinner but would come by later.

In Ten Yan Town, New Year’s Eve dinner was eaten early.

After their midday nap, Grandpa and Grandma went into the small kitchen and began cooking. Shu Nian stayed beside them, smiling as she chatted, occasionally sneaking a few bites of food.

It was already New Year’s Eve, and most shops on the street had closed. The ingredients had been bought early and filled the entire refrigerator. Because of Shu Nian’s arrival, the two elderly people had prepared even more than usual.

When preparations were nearly complete, there was a knock at the door.

Both elderly people were too busy to answer, so Shu Nian volunteered: “I’ll get it.”

Grandma Shu muttered from behind: “Who could it be at this hour?”

Shu Nian opened the door to find a man standing outside.

She had seen him just yesterday—the man who had been following Auntie Chen, coaxing her to go home, Auntie Chen’s son.

The man was holding a basket of fruit and smiled at her: “You’re Shu Nian, right?”

Shu Nian nodded: “Hello.”

The man didn’t come in but handed her the fruit basket, saying: “I never properly thanked you. If it weren’t for you back then, now…”

Before he could finish, Grandpa Shu suddenly interrupted: “Nian Nian.”

Shu Nian turned around: “What is it?”

Grandpa Shu said: “Go to the convenience store outside and buy me a drink.”

Shu Nian responded with an “Oh,” and obediently asked: “What kind of drink would you like?”

“Get me an orange juice.”

“Okay.” Shu Nian was very obedient. She went to the sofa to grab her coat and put it on, then nodded to the man, “I’ll go out for a bit. You two chat.”

The man was confused by the situation, watching Shu Nian’s retreating figure and scratching his head: “Grandpa Shu, I hadn’t finished speaking…”

“I know. I’ll accept your gratitude on Nian Nian’s behalf. In the future—” Grandpa Shu sighed, “you’d better not mention this in front of her. She doesn’t like to hear about it.”

Grandpa and Grandma’s home was near Ten Yan Middle School.

It took Shu Nian about five minutes to walk to the convenience store beside the school. The streets were mostly empty now, occasionally a stray cat would dart past.

Shu Nian breathed warm air into her hands as she entered the convenience store.

This was the only store still open on the street.

Shu Nian opened the refrigerator, took out a large bottle of orange juice, and went to the counter to pay. The shopkeeper was no longer the kindly middle-aged woman from years ago but had been replaced by a tall, thin man.

He looked somewhat familiar, but Shu Nian couldn’t quite place him despite thinking about it.

The man scanned the barcode with the machine, looked up in surprise, and said: “Shu Nian?”

Shu Nian instinctively looked at him: “You are…?”

The man smiled and reached out to vigorously ruffle her hair: “Don’t recognize me?”

It was an extremely familiar gesture.

Shu Nian instinctively stepped back, her expression becoming somewhat guarded.

The man’s hand stopped in mid-air, but he didn’t seem to mind: “Have you become so timid?”

Because of his action, Shu Nian’s breathing quickened. She clutched the hem of her clothes, staring at his face, gradually matching it with someone from her memory.

She swallowed and called out softly: “Big sister?”

The man made a graceful gesture as if tucking back his hair: “Mm-hmm.”

“…”

It was the convenience store auntie’s son.

The one who always liked to dress as a woman and because of this was often chased for three blocks by his mother. Back then, when Shu Nian came to this store to buy things, he liked to tease her, speaking in a high-pitched voice and making her call him “big sister.”

At first, Shu Nian was reluctant, thinking he was very strange.

Gradually, she got used to it.

“When did you come back?” He no longer dressed as a woman like before. His hair was cut short, giving him a more masculine appearance. The man smiled and said: “Haven’t seen you in a long time.”

Shu Nian replied awkwardly: “I came back yesterday.”

The man didn’t ask further, pointing to the bottle of orange juice: “That’s seven yuan.”

Shu Nian paid with her phone: “I’ll head back now. Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year.”

The man stood in place, watching her retreating figure, suddenly remembering things from the past. Back then, Shu Nian was always accompanied by a tall, thin, gloomy boy.

One tall, one short, their temperaments utterly different.

Yet when they stood together, they looked particularly harmonious, like a little rabbit followed by a wolf.

Whenever he went to tease Shu Nian, that boy would stand in front with a cold face.

Extremely displeased, his emotions were also extremely obvious.

These two people, born in Ten Yan Town, lived in this place, slowly growing up. In the end, this place became somewhere they both didn’t want to return to.

The man sighed and suddenly called out to Shu Nian: “Little sister.”

“…”

“Are you still in contact with that Xie boy?”

Shu Nian hugged the orange juice, standing stunned in place: “What’s wrong?”

The man scratched his head, unsure whether he should mention it: “His father seems to be very sick. I just thought I should mention it. You don’t have to worry too much.”

When Shu Nian got home, Auntie Chen’s son had already left. She didn’t ask what he had come for. The three of them ate the New Year’s Eve dinner together, then went to the living room to watch the Spring Festival Gala while chatting.

Deng Qing Yu came over around eight o’clock. Wang Hao and Wang Lin Xi didn’t come with her.

While they were chatting, Shu Nian took her clothes and went to take a shower.

When she came out, Grandpa and Grandma were already preparing to go to bed. Deng Qing Yu looked tired but smiled at her, taking the clothes she had brought and heading to the bathroom to shower.

Shu Nian was surprised: “Mom, aren’t you going back today?”

Deng Qing Yu made an affirmative sound: “I came to keep you company. I’ll go back tomorrow.”

Shu Nian didn’t say anything.

Noticing her expression, Deng Qing Yu half-jokingly said: “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy that Mom came over?”

Shu Nian quickly shook her head: “It’s not that.”

After Deng Qing Yu went into the bathroom, Shu Nian took her phone back to the room and sat dazed on the bed. She inexplicably recalled the phone call from Xie Ru He last night.

She had been very tired then.

Sometimes it took her a while to understand what Xie Ru He meant.

Shu Nian couldn’t remember exactly what they had talked about. She just remembered that Xie Ru He asked if she wanted to stay up for New Year’s Eve, and she had agreed. But after a while, he suddenly realized that he had gotten the date wrong.

Then Shu Nian went to sleep.

Looking at it this way, Xie Ru He probably really wanted someone to stay up with him for New Year’s Eve.

But today Deng Qing Yu had come to sleep with her, so Shu Nian couldn’t accompany him. She bit the knuckle of her index finger, thought for a moment, and sent him a WeChat message: [Happy New Year.]

Xie Ru He replied quickly: [Shu Nian, Happy New Year.]

Shu Nian forced herself to type: [I’m about to go to sleep.]

After a moment, Xie Ru He replied: [Mm, good night.]

Shu Nian also said good night, but she didn’t feel relieved. She wondered if he was spending New Year’s Eve alone or if he had gone to his maternal grandfather’s house. She was inexplicably worried that he might be lonely on such a holiday.

Thinking of what the convenience store brother had said today, Shu Nian hesitated about whether to tell him.

Xie Ru He’s father…

In the end, Shu Nian gave up.

Just then, Deng Qing Yu came back from the bathroom with a hair dryer. She dried Shu Nian’s hair first before drying her own.

Shu Nian looked at her and asked softly: “Won’t Uncle Wang be unhappy that you came here?”

“No, he won’t,” Deng Qing Yu said. “A grown man wouldn’t be that petty.”

Her expression didn’t suggest she was lying, so Shu Nian felt relieved and lowered her head to play with her phone.

After a while, Deng Qing Yu put the hair dryer on the table and came to lie on the bed, squeezing into the same blanket with her. She looked tired, her voice soft and gentle as she talked about what had happened that day.

Soon she seemed to fall asleep.

To accommodate Shu Nian, Deng Qing Yu hadn’t turned off the light, so the room remained brightly lit.

But Shu Nian couldn’t fall asleep. She stared at the stark white ceiling, somewhat lost in thought. Outside wasn’t particularly quiet; she could hear laughter from somewhere and the sound of fireworks exploding in the sky.

Shu Nian looked toward the window.

She remembered her sixteenth birthday, that boy who had waited outside her window for who knows how long, patiently knocking. They had frozen together outside, protecting a single candle, talking about what they wanted to do in the future.

Without realizing it, they had also welcomed the new year together.

Thinking of this, Shu Nian glanced at her phone.

It was almost midnight.

She pressed her lips together, made up her mind, and tiptoed out of bed.

Deng Qing Yu was sleeping deeply and didn’t notice her movement, only turning over once. But even this startled Shu Nian, who froze in place for half a minute before slowly getting up and leaving the room.

It was like returning to the past when she would sneak out to play with Xie Ru He without Deng Qing Yu knowing.

Shu Nian put on her coat, shivering from the cold, and walked to the courtyard.

She took a deep breath, picked up her phone, and called Xie Ru He.

After three rings, he answered.

Shu Nian held her breath, not knowing what to say at first.

Then, Xie Ru He spoke, his tone somewhat dazed, with a hint of the grogginess that comes with just waking up, as if still in a dream.

“Shu Nian?”

Hearing his tone, Shu Nian paused, hesitantly asking: “Were you sleeping?”

“Mm,” Xie Ru He said. “You said you were going to sleep.”

“…”

“So I went to sleep too.”