The wind had ceased, with only the occasional flicker of lamplight remaining. Yunli held her breath, staring at Fu Shize in disbelief. It wasn’t his words that surprised her, but his tone – a mix of willing vulnerability and playful petulance.
Yunli stood rigidly, avoiding eye contact and unconsciously gripping her hand warmer tightly. When she didn’t respond, Fu Shize gently prompted, “Hmm?”
Yunli’s mind went completely blank. His breath on her right ear carried a non-aggressive invasion as if all the warmth of the night was concentrated in those few exhalations. She had the strange impression that he resembled a dejected wolf-dog, wagging its tail for pity.
At that moment, all of Yunli’s psychological defenses crumbled. Involuntarily, she answered, “No…”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Yunli wanted to hit herself. What had she just said?! She’d already given up, hadn’t she?
Hearing her response, the man beside her fell silent and gently released her wrist. The proximity of their faces suddenly widened as his body heat moved away.
Still reeling from the shock and regret of her unintended answer, Yunli now wondered if she had said something wrong. She looked up at him. “Is something the matter?”
Fu Shize averted his gaze awkwardly, his expression unclear. “I might be a bit nervous.”
Yunli had lost her composure, but she realized that she was completely defenseless against Fu Shize. Resignedly lowering her head, she asked quietly, “Why did you ask me that?”
Fu Shize didn’t respond verbally. His hand, which hadn’t moved far, took her wrist in his palm, his thumb caressing her skin. With lowered eyelids hiding half his expression, he said, “Don’t you understand?”
His touch felt natural as if their relationship had always been this intimate. The delicate skin of his fingertips, though cool, made her heart flutter.
Fu Shize fell silent again, waiting for her to wrestle with her inner thoughts.
After her heart had raced like a frightened deer, Yunli found herself utterly bewildered. The newly sprouted possibility sent tendrils of hope coursing through her, but she couldn’t forget the heartache of giving up, nor the hidden anguish behind each rejection. The flip side of continuing to chase her dream was her struggle for survival.
But this was the person she had yearned for.
She feared that her hesitation might extinguish the last flickering flame of the candle, leading to his permanent departure.
Yunli spoke with difficulty: “Then, about the person they said you were planning to ask out…”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Fu Shize replied, “It’s you.”
Yunli froze.
Fu Shize repeated: “The person I wanted to ask out is you.”
His tone was calm and certain.
It has always been you.
There was never anyone else.
“Clink.”
A clear sound rang out as Fu Shize bumped into a glass, which knocked against a bottle. Yunli, in a state of emotional turmoil, latched onto this sound like a lifeline and hurriedly said, “You’re drunk.”
Fu Shize glanced at her. “I’m not.”
Yunli instinctively persisted, “No, no, you’re drunk.”
“…”
“Fine,” Fu Shize chuckled, not bothering to argue further. He leaned back, looking at her. “Then I’ll wait until I’m sober.”
Yunli stared at his upturned lips, finding it surreal – this was the first time she had seen him smile.
She couldn’t ignore the indescribable emotion in his eyes.
The man reclined against the hammock, his head resting directly on the ropes. Unafraid of its swaying, he watched her patiently and calmly.
Unable to bear the near-explosive state of her heart, Yunli shoved the hand warmer into Fu Shize’s arms and stood up hurriedly. “I need to go back now. Can you go back too?”
Fu Shize: “Mm.”
As he was about to get up, Yunli added, “Could you wait a minute or two? Because I came out alone.”
“…”
Fu Shize lay back down, expressionlessly murmuring an assent.
Yunli had only walked a few steps before turning back.
Fu Shize’s gaze had remained on her since she left. As their eyes met, Yunli asked uncertainly, “When you’re sober, will what you said tonight still count?”
Her words carried a cautious lack of confidence.
Fu Shize replied concisely: “It counts.”
Yunli pursed her lips: “Then don’t drink the rest of that bottle for now.”
So he could sober up sooner.
Fu Shize gave a soft affirmative hum.
Yunli felt uneasy: “I’ll take it away for you.”
“…”
On her way back, the biting wind helped Yunli regain some clarity. The thoughts buried deep in her mind were confirmed tonight – all those details she had doubted might not have been her imagination after all.
The black turtleneck he wore today was one she hadn’t seen yesterday.
He did have a change of clothes. He had only tried something new because she thought it looked good.
He had worn it for her to see.
In this relationship, Yunli had been the weaker party, too humble to guess at the motives behind his actions.
What he just said… was that an admission?
Yunli couldn’t help but smile, her heart feeling as if a jar of honey had been spilled inside. She pulled her coat tighter. As she approached the house, she looked back to see Fu Shize standing a hundred meters away, also pausing.
Yunli lingered with her hands in her pockets before walking back to him: “How about… we walk together after all? If anyone asks, we can just say we met on the way.”
Fu Shize nodded and fell in step beside her.
At the villa’s entrance, they could hear shouting from inside. Yunli opened the door to find Chen Renran red-faced from the neck up, likely having drunk quite a bit. When the group saw the two of them, they all fell silent at once.
Yunli greeted them, while Fu Zhengchu intercepted Fu Shize. After a moment’s hesitation, Yunli didn’t follow. Instead, she went upstairs and left the wine bottle outside Fu Shize’s room. Music was still playing inside.
Back in her room, Yunli leaned against the door and waited for a while until she heard the door close next door.
He had returned too.
Hidden behind her door, she could almost see his approaching figure. Even the imagined scene was enough to make her heart race. In just half an hour, all of Yunli’s anxiety from the past two weeks had vanished.
Yunli had never imagined that this pursuit, which even she hadn’t been optimistic about, might eventually succeed.
The sailboat that had been drifting on the deep sea for a month finally caught sight of the rocks on the shore.
She rushed to the bed and fell back in a spread-eagle position, still unable to believe it.
…
Fu Shize stared at Yunli’s door for a moment before using his key card to enter his room.
The room was warmly lit, with a wooden speaker on the desk playing folk music from the last century. Xu Qingsong leaned against the bay window, flipping through an old English novel with yellowed pages.
Fu Shize casually placed the wine bottle and glass on the entry table. Xu Qingsong glanced over – less than half the wine had been drunk, much more restrained than usual.
After reading just a couple of lines, he looked up again. It had been over a year since he’d seen Fu Shize so relaxed.
Xu Qingsong returned his gaze to the book and asked with a smile, “Where did you go?”
Fu Shize settled into the sofa, scrolling through his phone: “Confessed.”
Xu Qingsong thought he had misheard, pausing mid-page turn. He tilted his head and asked, “Confessed?”
Xu Qingsong thought for a moment: “To Yunli?”
Fu Shize didn’t deny it.
“I just realized why you insisted on wearing my clothes last night.”
Xu Qingsong had noticed something amiss earlier but had dismissed the possibility with rational explanations. He asked with a laugh, “Did I interfere with you two?”
Fu Shize pondered for a moment before saying calmly, “This is fine.”
Xu Qingsong: “?”
She wouldn’t seek him out. If he wanted to see her, he had to take the initiative.
Fu Shize had always thought he wasn’t the type to make the first move.
Turns out he was.
Fu Shize didn’t elaborate further. Xu Qingsong looked at the fuzzy ball cradled in his hands: “Is that a token of your relationship?”
Fu Shize made an affirmative sound.
Closing his book, Xu Qingsong stood up and asked curiously, “Can I see it?”
Fu Shize glanced at him but didn’t respond, instead hiding the hand warmer near his abdomen.
Seeing he had no intention of sharing, Xu Qingsong didn’t press further. He transferred two zoo tickets to Fu Shize: “Tomorrow’s Christmas. You could take her to the zoo.”
Fu Shize didn’t refuse.
Xu Qingsong reminded him: “Prepare a small gift.”
Fu Shize hummed in agreement.
He opened his chat with Yunli. The last message was from over two weeks ago. He typed “Want to go to the zoo tomorrow?” and sent it.
“About that Sky restaurant I mentioned last time, I’ve made the call. I’ll cover the bill when the time comes.”
Xu Qingsong was usually quite carefree, but after hearing that He Jiameng had leaked the news about Fu Shize’s date, even the usually laid-back man felt guilty for once.
“Mm, got it,” Fu Shize replied distractedly, looking down at Yunli’s response.
The message he had just sent showed a red exclamation mark. Fu Shize looked below it.
[clouds has enabled friend verification. You are not their friend yet. Please send a friend request first. You can chat after they verify.]
“…”
Fu Shize didn’t react at first, stunned.
He’d been deleted?
For the first time in his life, someone had removed him as a friend. He blinked twice, re-reading the message from beginning to end to make sure he hadn’t misunderstood.
Xu Qingsong noticed cracks appearing in Fu Shize’s usually cold mask as he sat doll-like on the sofa for a while.
After a moment, Xu Qingsong heard Fu Shize give a helpless laugh. He tapped his phone a few times and called Yunli.
Fu Shize: “It’s me.”
Yunli nervously: “What’s wrong?”
This time, Fu Shize spoke without a question in his tone: “Let’s go to the zoo tomorrow.”
After a long pause, Yunli stammered, “Oh… oh, you mean together?”
Fu Shize: “Mm.”
Yunli: “Okay.”
They didn’t discuss anything else. Yunli said softly, “Get some rest. Good night.”
Fu Shize lowered his gaze: “You too. Rest well.”
As Fu Shize hung up, Xu Qingsong stood nearby, slowly pouring himself a cup of hot tea from a clear teapot, an inexplicable smile on his face.
Fu Shize didn’t understand: “What?”
Xu Qingsong raised an eyebrow, his tone playful: “It’s sickeningly sweet. I need some tea to cut through it.”
“…”
After finishing Fu Shize’s call, Yunli was still unsettled when she received several consecutive messages on WeChat.
Fu Zhengchu: [Sister Yunli, things got a bit unpleasant at the table earlier. Qiqi’s colleague was upset. They were all drunk.]
Fu Zhengchu: [They were talking about you two having breakfast together]
Fu Zhengchu: [Saying you and Uncle have no relationship at all…]
Fu Zhengchu: [My sister was also supporting Qiqi. I couldn’t get a word in QAQ]
Yunli: […]
Yunli: [It’s okay.]
This was the first time Deng Chuqi had tried to set her up, and it seemed she hadn’t taken Yunli’s refusal seriously. Yunli felt uncomfortable. Moreover, Chen Renran was quite assertive, and she didn’t want to deal with it again.
Yunli turned to message Deng Chuqi: [Qiqi, I’m not suitable for your colleague. Could you tell him privately?]
She left it at that.
They had probably been celebrating Deng Chuqi’s escape from the corporate world these past few days, and Yunli didn’t want to dampen her spirits.
Putting on her headphones, Yunli recalled Fu Shize’s invitation from earlier, her face unconsciously flushing red again. She buried her face in her pillow, suddenly remembering something—
She. Had. Deleted. Him.
Yunli leaped from the bed with lightning speed, frantically searching her phone for a way to add him back on WeChat. In her panic, she remembered the call Fu Shize had made earlier.
She copied the number into WeChat’s add-a-friend search bar.
The familiar avatar appeared, with the nickname simply “F” in uppercase.
After adding him, no verification was needed. They became friends again.
Staring at the interface, Yunli felt an immense sense of relief, as if she had narrowly escaped disaster.
Just to be safe, Yunli tentatively sent a message.
[What time tomorrow? ^^]
Fu Shize: [You decide]
Yunli: [Shall we have breakfast together?]
Fu Shize: [Mm]
Seeing his normal replies, Yunli felt a weight lift from her shoulders.
Someone knocked on the door. Still lying on the bed lost in thought, Yunli came to her senses, unconsciously guessing it might be Fu Shize. She stood up and quickly adjusted her clothes and hair in front of the dressing table.
Opening the door, she found Chen Renran holding a fruit platter, his face flushed from drinking.
“It’s Christmas Eve. I brought you some apples. We’ve been playing downstairs for a while now. Now that you’ve finished taking photos, do you want to come down and join us?” Chen Renran’s attitude was gentle, completely different from when they had parted earlier in the day.
“No, thanks,” Yunli said slowly. “It’s late. I’d like to rest early.”
Chen Renran seemed prepared for rejection and didn’t react negatively. He pushed the fruit platter towards her a little. “That’s good too. You have healthy habits. I should learn from you. Would you like to take some back to eat?”
Yunli shook her head. “I’ve already brushed my teeth. Thank you. Why don’t you take it downstairs to share with everyone?”
Yunli wanted to distance herself from him but wasn’t skilled at explaining. After some thought, she said, “There’s something I’d like to tell you…”
Chen Renran interrupted her: “I have something to tell you too. It’s better if the guy takes the initiative in these matters.”
Yunli: “…”
He gave an embarrassed smile: “I want to apologize to you. I was in a bad mood this morning. Maybe it’s because I like you, so I’m a bit sensitive. When I saw Uncle from Sheng paying a little extra attention to you, I overthought things.”
Yunli: “…”
This wasn’t what Yunli had intended to say, but now she could only follow his lead: “It’s alright. What I wanted to say was…”
Chen Renran spoke with certainty: “So you two aren’t flirting, right?”
Yunli: “…”
She wasn’t close to this person and didn’t want him interfering in her life. Afraid he might go downstairs and spread rumors, she considered for a moment before answering, “No, we’re not.”
Just as she finished speaking, the door next door suddenly opened.
Fu Shize wore the black sweater she had seen earlier. Xu Qingsong, dressed in a lake-blue sweater, leaned against the entryway with a smile.
The timing of the door opening made Yunli feel guilty.
Fu Shize nodded at Chen Renran, then looked at Yunli. “Want to watch a movie?”