The December of that year was exceptionally cold. Although H City didn’t see snow in winter, the dry cold air accompanied by chilling winds made people shiver.
Meng Ting had been practicing the piano for nearly a month. She usually went to practice quietly after school and hadn’t encountered Jiang Ren even once. They attended different schools, and Jiang Ren, harboring his concerns, didn’t dare to seek her out directly. With the public buses running, Meng Ting no longer needed to cycle to and from school, often disappearing right after classes ended.
A few days before Christmas Eve, Jiang Ren found himself missing her terribly.
He had rarely ridden his mountain motorcycle or driven his car lately.
He no longer wore ripped jeans, and his natural black hair was growing out at the roots. Even He Junming remarked with surprise that Ren seemed to have quit smoking.
Although Jiang Ren’s reputation at school remained questionable, he was undeniably changing for the better, albeit subtly.
On the evening before Christmas Eve, Jiang Ren left his apartment. His place in H City was near the sea, in a newly developed area. While H City didn’t have snow, it had started to rain.
Having not spoken properly with her for a long time, he skipped dinner and went to wait for her at Meng Ting’s residential complex.
He drove there in his car.
The light rain suddenly turned heavy, with the windshield wipers constantly clearing the windshield, only for it to be covered again by dense raindrops.
Meng Ting’s home was on the third floor. Mr. Shu hadn’t returned yet, and Meng Ting hadn’t expected the sudden downpour. Shu Lan was locked in her room playing games, having secretly bought a phone with money given by Mr. Shu. Shu Yang was in his room practicing physics problems, oblivious to the outside world.
Meng Ting hurried to the balcony to collect the laundry and close the windows.
As she stood on tiptoe using a clothes prop to gather the laundry, the silver sports car below began honking frantically.
The rain’s pitter-patter somewhat muffled the horn’s sound.
When Meng Ting looked down, arms full of laundry, she immediately recognized the familiar car.
She pressed her lips together, her heart racing, but decided not to respond.
Meng Ting finished collecting the laundry and, fearing thunder, unplugged the electrical appliances. Finally, she went to close the windows.
Yet the honking persisted.
It seemed as if he wouldn’t leave unless she agreed to see him.
Meng Ting returned to her room and closed her door, finally reducing the volume of the honking.
She began organizing her dance costumes in her room. Having decided to return to playing the piano and dancing, these items would come in handy. Some were from when she was thirteen or fourteen and no longer fit her current age, but others were still wearable.
The honking stopped as if its owner had given up.
Meng Ting breathed a sigh of relief.
In her previous life, Jiang Ren had mostly watched her from afar. In this life, he had fallen for her too early, entering her life when her eyesight was poor. In her past life, she more often saw him laughing and chatting with his group as they passed by her.
That young man would look back, his gaze falling on her, and when she noticed, he would nonchalantly leave.
There had been little interaction between them in her previous life. Meng Ting’s memory of him stopped at the point when she was disfigured by the big fire, and Jiang Ren returned to the Jiang family, never to come back.
His affection had been shallow, after all.
Shu Zhitong returned home after eleven o’clock. The research institute had a new project recently, and several headache-inducing fresh graduate students had arrived. He was always busy, his feet barely touching the ground.
Meng Ting knew that Shu Zhitong had taken on many tasks that weren’t his responsibility. Du Dongliang came to collect debts, leaving this honest man breathless. Unknowingly, Shu Zhitong had started working desperately to earn money.
So winning more competitions became urgent.
By eleven o’clock, Shu Yang and Shu Lan were already asleep. After all, high school life was demanding, and growing students always felt tired.
Shu Zhitong entered quietly, put down his umbrella, and planned to wash up briefly before going to bed.
A light in the living room was switched on, and Meng Ting gestured to him, then whispered, “Mr. Shu, I’ve saved some dinner for you. Eat before you sleep.”
She busied herself reheating the food, then served it on the table.
Shu Zhitong was exhausted and hungry in the middle of the night. Only after eating did he feel some warmth return to his cold hands and feet.
Tomorrow was Saturday. He was originally supposed to work overtime, but now his eyes were kind, the fine lines at their corners softening: “Tomorrow is our Ting Ting’s birthday. Dad doesn’t need to work, so let’s go out and have some fun, shall we?”
He took out a gift bag he had been protecting in his arms and handed it to Meng Ting, saying somewhat awkwardly, “A colleague said her daughter likes this kind of thing. See if Ting Ting likes it.”
Meng Ting opened it to find a pink scarf.
It was too childish and pink, suitable for a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl. Shu Zhitong’s colleague’s daughter was probably younger. Meng Ting smiled and nodded, “I like it. Thank you, Mr. Shu.”
Shu Zhitong sighed in relief and told her to go to bed soon.
Meng Ting cleared the dishes, and Shu Zhitong mumbled curiously, “Whose car is that downstairs? It looks expensive. Did someone’s relatives come to visit?”
Meng Ting’s fingertips paused momentarily, but Shu Zhitong didn’t dwell on it. Tired from a long day, he went to rest.
Meng Ting washed her hands, dried them, and crawled into bed.
She woke up from a nightmare around two in the morning, dreaming of that rear-end collision with the truck, her mother instinctively hugging her.
She opened her eyes, her pillow wet with tears.
Thunder rumbled outside.
Suddenly unable to sleep, Meng Ting wiped her tears, glanced at the pitch-black sky, put on her slippers, and walked to the living room to look down.
The silver sports car still sat quietly in the night.
Why hadn’t he left yet? How long had he been waiting?
The weather was very cold at night, and every household was asleep.
Meng Ting put on her winter coat and went out with an umbrella.
Outside, the wind howled fiercely. The night was deep and dark, the car’s engine off, but someone was in the driver’s seat.
She wiped the raindrops from her cheeks and gently tapped on the car window.
Jiang Ren started, turned to look out the window, and quickly lowered it. Then he saw the girl in the night, who seemed somewhat exasperated: “You should go home.”
His phone screen showed a game character’s death notification.
— Double kill!
He had even gotten his randomly matched teammate killed. The guy on the other end of the screen was cursing furiously.
Jiang Ren closed the interface, his voice a bit hoarse: “Get in the car to talk. It’s cold outside.”
She shook her head: “You should go home quickly.”
When she was younger, some little boys followed her home and were teased by her mother. But as they grew up, adults learned to be reserved. People who cared about their image wouldn’t do such things anymore.
However, Jiang Ren didn’t care about his image.
As Meng Ting was about to go upstairs after saying goodbye, Jiang Ren opened the car door and ran over.
In just that moment, he was soaked through.
“Meng Ting.”
“Hmm? Do you have anything else?”
Jiang Ren’s dark eyes fell on her: “Nothing.”
Meng Ting said: “Then you should go home quickly.”
Because it was night, she was afraid others might hear, so her voice was very soft. Like a weightless feather, yet it softly tickled one’s heart.
He suddenly felt a bit irritated and grabbed her wrist.
The umbrella in Meng Ting’s hand fell to the ground.
Their eyes met in the dim light, and he suddenly smiled: “Hey, aren’t you too heartless? I’ve come to your school to find you five times, but you never pay attention to me. You chat and laugh with your classmates.”
Meng Ting felt a bit awkward and said softly: “I was busy.”
“What about now? You’re not busy now, so talk to me.” In the boundless silence, his emotions were also suppressed, yet he spoke with a smile, “I miss you.”
Meng Ting bit her lip, the tips of her ears turning red: “It’s time to sleep now.” To make it more convincing, she even rubbed her eyes, pretending to be sleepy.
He lifted her chin, his eyes filled with laughter: “Meng Ting, how can you be so cute?”
Meng Ting felt somewhat embarrassed and annoyed. She lowered her voice and couldn’t help but scold him: “In the middle of the night when everyone’s asleep, only a fool would run around.”
Jiang Ren couldn’t help but laugh, his chest shaking slightly: “Mm-hmm, a fool running around.”
Meng Ting was truly not fully awake, and when she realized what she’d said, her face turned bright red.
“Little fool, be my girlfriend, okay?” His eyes were full of mirth, “I promise I’ll be very good to you, alright?”
Jiang Ren said: “I haven’t smoked, drunk, or fought. Smell me, there’s no cigarette smell.” He smiled mischievously, “Just a manly scent, want to try?”
Who wants to smell that?
Meng Ting’s ear tips were red: “You’re not thinking straight right now. I don’t want to talk to you. I want to go to sleep.”
Seeing her speak so seriously, he was almost killed by her cuteness.
He wiped the rainwater from his face, his tone carrying a hint of laughter: “Yes, not thinking straight. I’ve been out of my mind since I met you.” Damn, why did he adore her so much?
No matter what she said, she couldn’t win against him! She was almost angry enough to cry.
Meng Ting pressed her lips together and picked up the umbrella, intending to go back.
“Don’t go. I won’t say anything else, okay?” He gently held her wrist and finally smiled, “I waited until midnight just to wish you a happy birthday.”
Meng Ting raised her eyes, her eyelashes wet with raindrops. He wanted to wipe them away but didn’t dare to move in the end.
Jiang Ren’s eyes were gentle: “Go back to sleep. I’ll bring you a gift tomorrow.”
He had come out on impulse, thinking he wouldn’t see her today.
“Tomorrow at seven in the evening, can I wait for you outside the community?”
Meng Ting was stunned for a moment, then shook her head: “No need, thank you. Jiang Ren, you should go home.” At seven tomorrow evening, she would be participating in a piano competition.
She put away the umbrella and told him solemnly: “I won’t be your girlfriend.” She gripped the umbrella handle tightly, “And I don’t like you. You’re troubling me by doing this.”
The air fell silent.
She didn’t dare to look into his eyes.
This time when she turned to leave, Jiang Ren didn’t stop her.
After a while, he clenched his fist, grasping nothing but air.
Jiang Ren’s dark eyes watched her walk away. After a long time, he smiled slightly. It’s okay. If she doesn’t like him, he’ll just like her a little bit more. A little more, and he’ll become gentle and considerate, become a good student, become the person she likes.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, Shu Zhitong said he wanted to take Meng Ting out to play.
Meng Ting shook her head and finally said: “Let’s go see Mom.”
Shu Zhitong was taken aback and carefully said: “Ting Ting, we can go another day. Do you want to go to the amusement park for your birthday?”
When Meng Ting’s mother had the accident, Meng Ting was the most heartbroken and impacted. Shu Zhitong was always afraid of mentioning her mother, fearing it would make Meng Ting sad. He also always treated her like a child.
Meng Ting looked at the rain outside, and Mr. Shu said awkwardly: “This weather isn’t suitable for going to the amusement park.”
Seeing that Meng Ting’s eyes indeed showed some relief, he took her to the cemetery to pay respects.
The cemetery was cold and quiet. Meng Ting bought a bouquet of white daisies and placed it on her mother’s grave.
She touched the tombstone with her fingertips, her heart full of words she silently told her mother. If Mom were alive, her greatest wish would be for Meng Ting to live happily and joyfully.
If she knew that Meng Ting was unwilling to play the piano or dance because of that incident, Mom would probably tap her head and say: “You stubborn girl, wasting all your mother’s efforts to nurture you.”
Meng Ting smiled as she thought about this.
She wouldn’t waste her mother’s nurturing.
She wanted to make the kind-hearted Shu Zhitong live a better life.
Seeing that Meng Ting’s mood was still good after leaving the cemetery, Shu Zhitong finally felt relieved. After so many years, the stone weighing on his heart was finally lifted a little.
Meng Ting told him not to buy a cake. A family meal would be enough, but after eating, Meng Ting packed her bag and went out.
She explained: “I’m going out to participate in a piano competition. I’ll be back late. Teacher Song upstairs is responsible for the registration, so don’t worry, Mr. Shu.”
Shu Zhitong was very happy, his eyes even reddening: “Good luck! Dad will come to pick you up later.”
Meng Ting replied with a slight nasal tone: “Mm.”
Shu Yang raised his eyes, also showing some emotion.
Shu Lan looked at Meng Ting in disbelief. Hadn’t she… developed a psychological trauma? The last time she played the piano for her, it took a lot of coaxing. Why would she go to compete again?
As Meng Ting was leaving, she saw Xu Jia.
The young man was dressed neatly and simply. He didn’t say much: “Let’s go.”
“You’re going too?”
Xu Jia spoke calmly: “Mm, my mom told me to accompany you.”
Meng Ting quickly said it wasn’t necessary.
Xu Jia’s eyes held a smile: “Can’t help it. If you don’t return safely, my mom won’t let me in the house. I haven’t seen much of the world either, so I want to go and have a look. Let’s go, we’re going to be late.” His words were humorous, without aggression or ulterior motives, making people feel relaxed.
Meng Ting couldn’t help but smile.
Her lips curved, her eyes clear. When she smiled, even the air seemed to be tinged with her sweetness. Xu Jia said: “I don’t know anything about this. I’m just an outsider, so don’t feel pressured.”
After three years, Meng Ting once again stood in this place.
The lights flashed, and after a moment of darkness, only a high-quality piano stood on the stage.
Xu Jia looked at his watch: 7:18 PM.
Meng Ting went to change her clothes. After all, it was a performance. In the bag she brought with her, she had prepared piano performance attire in advance. She pulled up her long hair and tied it with a blue ribbon.
When she came out, Xu Jia’s pupils constricted.
After many years, he once again saw her in this state.
Mesmerizing, and breathtaking.