All of Meng Ting’s savings had gone into buying this outfit half a month ago. The blue velvet dress swept the ground, with white cuffs – a picture of winter elegance and beauty. She tied her hair back with a delicate ribbon that hung down, framing her soft air-bangs. There were still seven or eight contestants before her turn, so she had to wait backstage for a while.
The lights were dim backstage, and the contestants were somewhat nervous. No one paid attention to how others were dressed.
Xu Jia kept watching her, but she didn’t sit next to him. In the vast exhibition hall, colorful lights rotated. Meng Ting, having changed her clothes, sat in the last row, following different music to find her rhythm and tempo.
It seemed that nothing could affect her – not the quiet, gentle, or passionate worlds around her. Her slender, beautiful fingers danced lightly, the tips tinged with cherry blossom pink.
The person on stage had a good foundation, playing “Adilyn by the Water.” Six years seemed short to Song Lijuan, but for a prodigy, it was enough time to memorize all the fingerings.
Meng Ting listened quietly, noticing that the performer was a beat slow in the climax. She lowered her gaze, her long lashes casting shadows on her fair cheeks.
Xu Jia’s heart raced. He kept looking back at her, not knowing what was being played on stage. He wasn’t the layman he claimed to be; to understand these pieces, he had listened to almost all the famous compositions in 3.
After many years, what he longed for was just this lowered gaze.
She looked at no one, cared for no one. Even existing quietly, she had a maddening attraction. Many at No. 7 Middle School only saw her surface beauty, unaware that at certain moments, she could make one feel alive and dead at the same time. Every gesture, every glance could captivate the soul.
There was a large clock on the stage.
When Meng Ting looked up again, it was already 8:30.
With two more people before her turn, someone in the audience glanced out the window and exclaimed, “It’s snowing!”
For the first time in thirty years, H City saw snow.
The snow attracted everyone’s attention, even the judges looked through the windows at the dark sky outside. Indeed, this December, on Christmas Eve, the first snow in many years fell.
The snowflakes fell like a light down, melting upon touching the ground, turning into ice crystals, and finally dissolving into water droplets.
The performer on stage became nervous. Even though he was playing well, it wasn’t good that the audience was distracted by something else.
In Meng Ting’s memory, it had snowed once in the winter of her second year of high school, and there was a heavy snowfall the year she died. In her entire life, she had only seen snow twice.
It was so cold. She had made things clear last night, so Ji Ren hadn’t come to find her, right?
At 7 PM, when Ji Ren went to Meng Ting’s residential area, his fingers were red from the cold.
He Junming called him, “Is the weather forecast accurate? Light snow? Who knows how many years it’s been since it snowed in H City.”
Ji Ren replied with a smile in his voice, “I told you to be prepared, so be prepared. Stop babbling.”
He Han shivered from the cold, “Brother Ren, hurry up. I’m afraid this thing will melt.”
After hanging up, He Junming finally had time to look at the contents of the box as tall as two people.
He was dumbfounded, “Where… where did this come from?”
He Han rubbed his hands together proudly, “Beautiful, isn’t it!”
Inside was a real ice crystal ball, made of thin ice, clear and transparent. The snowflakes on the thin ice looked lifelike. A white light base was installed at the bottom, illuminating the transparent ice ball, and creating a play of light and color. This ice ball was over two meters tall, like stepping into an ice and snow world.
He Junming was stunned. This thing was hard to come by.
When he was young, his family lived in the north where it often snowed. Later, when the company relocated to H City, he hadn’t seen such clear and beautiful ice layers for a long time.
The ice layer emitted a chill.
In the corner, He Junming saw a neatly carved “Ting” character. He almost laughed himself silly, “Did Brother Ren carve this?”
He Han replied, “He’s not afraid of the cold.”
Such a thing – just getting close to it would freeze you, yet someone could calmly carve characters on it.
He Junming was stunned, “If it snows, and the snow falls into the ice ball, damn, that would be amazing!”
The snowflakes wouldn’t melt, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
He Han was so cold he could barely speak clearly, “It’s so cold, it might happen.”
“How did Brother Ren come up with this idea?”
He Han said, “Didn’t the girls in class pray for snow this winter a few days ago? Brother Ren, having seen plenty of snow in the north, knew that H City doesn’t get snow.”
This year, H City was the coldest it had been. Ji Ren had made many phone calls and checked the weather. He had been working on this thing for many days in advance.
He Junming and the others were shivering with cold in the park two kilometers away from the residential area.
Finally, unable to bear it, they all got in the car.
After a long while, Ji Ren still hadn’t returned. Then, around 8 o’clock, it indeed started snowing.
He Junming cheered, “Damn, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime series!”
They were excited for a while before remembering that Ji Ren had been gone for over an hour.
He Junming smiled lecherously, “Could they be having a romantic time over there?”
Fang Tan frowned, “Impossible.”
He looked at the thin ice crystal ball, “It’s about to melt.” Snowflakes fell into the thin ice, creating a beauty of pure extremes. The small “Ting” character on top was also beginning to melt.
The people in the car looked at each other.
After a while, He Han swallowed, “Should we call Brother Ren back? He’s been waiting in the snow and wind for over an hour.”
He Junming had learned his lesson this time, “You call him.”
“Damn, why don’t you call?”
“It was your idea.”
“He Junming, I’ll get you for this!”
No one dared to call Ji Ren. After all, in all these years, they had never seen Ji Ren so serious. Usually, when they attended others’ birthday parties, they would casually give expensive gifts. It was about money but lacked sincerity.
Carefully carving characters on ice crystal, just to please a girl.
They all knew Brother Ren had fallen hard.
He Junming took out a lighter to light a cigarette, frowning, “I hope Meng Ting comes to see.”
At 9 PM, the sky was completely dark.
A layer of snow had settled on Ji Ren’s shoulders, melting into cold water.
He carelessly wiped his face, looking at the light on the third floor.
Damn! Last night he knew he was soft-hearted, why didn’t she come to see him today? Tonight was even colder than last night.
His body was cold, but his heart was full of warmth and tenderness.
Finally, after waiting for two hours, he realized a possibility.
She wouldn’t come down again.
Last night, she had said that his existence was a bother to her.
Ji Ren had never admitted defeat in his life. His stiff fingers took out his phone and called He Junming, “That girl who gave you the photo, do you have her number? The one who played the piano before.”
He Junming thought for a moment, remembering Shu Lan.
He checked his phone, damn, he didn’t know when he had saved it.
He sent it to Ji Ren, who dialed the number.
Shu Lan was texting in her room when she received the call. Hearing the cold, hoarse voice of a young man on the other end, she was momentarily stunned.
It was a cold voice, yet strangely attractive.
“Who is this?”
“Ji Ren.”
Shu Lan’s heart rate increased. It was Ji Ren from their school! After the last time, Zhang Jiajia and the others had been behaving themselves. They hadn’t even pursued Chen Shuo’s matter anymore.
“Where’s your sister?”
Hearing these words, Shu Lan’s heart sank. Meng Ting was at the piano competition. If Ji Ren had gone there, he would have known that the person who played the piano for the first time was Meng Ting.
She remained silent for a while, then stammered, “Why are you looking for her?”
“Put her on the phone.”
Shu Lan knew she couldn’t hide it anymore. She gritted her teeth, “My sister isn’t home, she went to a competition.”
There was silence on the other end for a while, “What competition?”
The piano competition, regardless of nationality, age, or experience.
The sponsor with the 15,000 prize was also listening below.
When Meng Ting went on stage, it wasn’t a good time. Everyone was looking at the rare snowfall outside, something not seen in decades.
The lights dimmed for a moment, then brightened again, this time focused on her.
Xu Jia looked at the stage, feeling a sting in his lungs as he breathed.
The microphone was above the piano. After she bowed and sat down, she softly said, “My name is Meng Ting, and today I will perform ‘Soft as a Rainbow’.”
There’s a type of person who, when standing in the right place, makes all the beauty in the world give way to them.
It wasn’t that the snow wasn’t rare or beautiful enough, but that she was too stunning.
The seventeen-year-old girl, with her long hair falling, bright eyes, and rosy lips, skin like porcelain. The blue dress seemed to be covered with a thin layer of light. Her fingertips danced with the melody, and under the light, her slender fingers were as transparent as they were beautiful.
Everyone below the stage, whether judges or contestants, was watching her.
That year, the fourteen-year-old Meng Ting was as fresh as a peach blossom just about to bloom on a branch. Yet she already made people stop and stare. Now, Xu Jia struggled to find words to describe her.
His eyes held a wild enthusiasm.
Yes, that’s the feeling.
Unparalleled in the world, one of a kind!
She could make everyone quiet for her. No one remembered the snow anymore.
The rhythm of “Soft as a Rainbow” gradually built up, from slow to fast, like the surprise of a rainbow appearing in the silence.
Her fingers moved quickly, her lips curling into a slight smile.
The gentlest light of winter quietly fell on her. The blue ribbon in her black hair hung quietly behind her. She was almost finished playing when someone in the audience secretly took out their phone to take pictures.
After she finished playing, the applause was delayed by several seconds before thundering out.
Below the stage, a middle-aged female judge with graying hair couldn’t help but smile, “I remember this girl.”
Back then, she was still in middle school, yet unforgettable at first sight. Everyone wondered what kind of stunning beauty she would grow into. If those judges from back then were still here, they would know she hadn’t disappointed anyone.
The awards wouldn’t be given on the day of the competition, but Meng Ting couldn’t go back to the changing room to change clothes. At this time, the changing room was crowded.
She could only walk out wearing the blue velvet dress.
After a few steps, she turned back awkwardly, “Xu Jia?”
Xu Jia hid the emotions in his eyes and joked, “You just remembered I was here too?”
She was honest to a fault, her cheeks slightly red as she nodded, “I’m sorry.” Her eyes were clear, “Don’t be angry.”
When she was focused on something, she was very concentrated. She hadn’t performed for many years and was a bit nervous. While trying to find her feelings, she had forgotten he was there too.
Xu Jia said, “I’m not angry.”
He was too excited to be angry.
Xu Jia said to her, “We didn’t bring umbrellas, and it’s snowing outside. Will you make do?”
Meng Ting nodded.
As she walked out, she couldn’t help but marvel, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the world of falling snow.
The street lights were soft.
Her blue dress barely touched the ground. Meng Ting lifted her skirt, not letting it get wet.
A warmth fell on her shoulders as Xu Jia draped his coat over her.
He looked at the dark figure in the distance, then lowered his head to meet Meng Ting’s stunned gaze.
She immediately realized this behavior was somewhat inappropriate.
Xu Jia held her shoulders, “Don’t move.”
Meng Ting frowned.
“You don’t like Ji Ren, do you?”
Meng Ting looked at him in surprise.
“He’s watching you.”
Meng Ting instinctively wanted to turn around, but Xu Jia stopped her, “Don’t turn around. They all say he’s sick. You should know he’s very persistent.”
Xu Jia bent down, “That day when I went downstairs, I saw everything. He likes you. If you don’t want him to keep bothering you, don’t turn around. Let him give up.”
Meng Ting’s clear eyes looked at Xu Jia.
Under the light, her pupils were a soft tea color.
Through the night, she could feel the sharp gaze on her back.
She clenched her fingers, not moving.
Xu Jia didn’t do anything either.
He just bent down and tilted his head slightly.
Meng Ting wasn’t stupid. She knew what Xu Jia was doing. From Ji Ren’s angle, he could see her being kissed amidst the falling snow.
Xu Jia was right, she didn’t like Ji Ren.
That boy had a body of steel, and when he was obsessive, nothing could break him. It was useless for her to say she disliked him, useless to tell him to leave. But he was proud, with a final bottom line and self-respect. He wouldn’t touch someone else’s possession.
After who knows how long, Xu Jia smiled and said, “He’s gone.”
Meng Ting pushed him away and returned his coat. She nodded and walked towards the bus stop alone.
Xu Jia followed, “Aren’t you happy? Don’t you dislike him?”
Meng Ting softly “mmm” ed.
She calmly said, “I don’t like him, but I don’t like you either.” She wasn’t stupid.
The smile froze on Xu Jia’s face.