Yun Li’s heart skipped a beat as she looked up, her eyes meeting his.
In those few seconds, his restrained and calm expression changed slightly. The hand brushing snow from her hair paused, then suddenly pressed gently against the back of her head.
Before Yun Li could react, she was pulled softly into his embrace.
The air was damp and cold, with the chill seeping into exposed skin. Her cheeks had already lost feeling from the cold. But at this moment, Yun Li felt as if she were surrounded by warm firelight, heat transferring from their closely pressed bodies.
She tilted her chin up, able to see the clear lines of his ear.
His heartbeat sounded in her ear.
It seemed… quite fast too.
Yun Li buried her head in his chest, returning his embrace. Feeling her response, Fu Shize’s arms tightened slightly, as if holding something incredibly precious.
Neither noticed how much time had passed. When they finally separated, the frozen redness on Yun Li’s cheeks seemed to have spread to behind her ears.
Fu Shize looked down at her, his hand naturally sliding down her arm.
Even through her thick coat, Yun Li could feel the movement of his fingers. Then, he took hold of her right hand.
Familiar with Nanwu Airport, he led Yun Li by hand to the parking lot, opening the passenger door for her. After settling into the driver’s seat, he leaned over naturally to fasten her seatbelt.
“Are you going straight home?” she asked.
Fu Shize replied, “It’s still early.”
It sounded like he planned to spend some time with her. She felt quite happy, scrolling through her phone in the passenger seat. Many people had posted videos of Nanwu’s first snow on their social media, mostly taken from their homes.
She casually asked, “Where do you live?”
Fu Shize answered, “My parents live in Beishan Fenglin, I usually stay at Jiangnan Yuan.”
Beishan Fenglin?
Yun Li had seen reviews of Beishan Fenglin houses on E-station; it was a famous high-end neighborhood in Nanwu. She quietly opened her phone and searched for Jiangnan Yuan. Located in the center of Nanwu, it was an old complex from the 90s, but its exceptional location and access to educational and medical resources made it quite valuable.
“…”
She was silent for a moment, thinking of her background. When she was young, her family’s financial situation wasn’t good. It only improved after Yun Yongchang opened a driving school.
Even so, they had only recently paid off the mortgage on their house in Xifu.
Yun Li didn’t feel the excitement of having found a rich boyfriend. On the contrary, the economic disparity between their families gave her some pressure.
She didn’t want there to be too big a gap between them.
But this seemed unavoidable.
She began calculating her income as an online content creator over the past few years. Although not much, at the current trend, she could save up some money by graduation. After working for two more years post-graduation, she should barely be able to afford part of a down payment on a house. It might not be much, but it wouldn’t be a drop in the bucket either.
…
The airport was in a relatively remote area, with both sides of the road covered in pristine white snow. Snowflakes fell on the windshield, only to be swept away by the wipers. Fu Shize focused on the road ahead, placing his phone next to Yun Li’s leg.
“Check tomorrow’s temperature,” he said.
Yun Li opened the weather app on her phone, but Fu Shize said, “Use my phone.”
“?”
She was a bit confused but didn’t question him. She picked up his phone and lit up the screen.
The lock screen was a photo of them together.
So it wasn’t about checking the weather forecast after all.
She smiled, unlocking the phone.
The car stopped beneath the apartment building. Fu Shize accompanied her upstairs, where a wave of warm air greeted them as they entered the apartment.
Before leaving, Yun Li had left the air conditioning on, worried Fu Shize might feel cold upon arrival. Now she felt stuffy too, loosening her scarf and hanging it on the coat rack.
She took off her fitted coat, leaving on the form-fitting black turtleneck dress underneath. She had bought this when she first arrived in Nanwu. With her slim waist, the dress had fit perfectly at the time, so she had purchased it.
The person beside her quietly watched her.
Yun Li walked to the window, intending to open it a crack for some fresh air. Before her hand could reach the window lock, she was suddenly enveloped by warmth from behind. Fu Shize pressed against her back, embracing her from behind.
He had taken off his coat, leaving only a single layer. Compared to their previous two hugs, Yun Li now felt they had shed that thick barrier between them. She could even directly feel the contours of his muscles.
She dared not move, staring blankly at the window, allowing her heartbeat to naturally accelerate.
Their semi-transparent reflections were visible in the glass. Snowflakes fell diagonally with the wind. The distant sky was pure black. Yun Li’s gaze lowered, and she noticed the two miniature snowmen she had carefully built before leaving.
They stood on the windowsill, close to each other. She had made two red strings to serve as scarves for the snowmen. Snow that had fallen since then had accumulated around the lower halves of the figures. Fu Shize followed her gaze, his expression softening as he tightened his embrace slightly.
He rested his chin on her shoulder, his face lightly touching hers.
Yun Li felt as if the point of contact was electrified, tingling, and itchy. Just as she was about to move away, the face next to hers gently nuzzled against her.
Very slowly.
Up, down, up, down.
The snow never stopped, and neither did the stirring of emotions.
Although they hadn’t spoken a word since entering the apartment, in that instant, Yun Li understood. He had come back to watch this first snow with her—Nanwu’s first snow, and the first snow of her life.
This moment lasted for several minutes. When it ended, Fu Shize leaned back on the sofa. The fish tank he had left behind when he departed still sat on the coffee table. Yun Li had bought an additional air pump and decorative lights, and several fish swam about energetically.
Yun Li hadn’t forgotten the strawberries he had mentioned the night before. She washed them and placed them on a plate in front of him.
“I bought them from a vendor who seems to have their sstrawberry farm. They should be very fresh,” Yun Li said, sitting down next to him.
He didn’t seem particularly eager to eat them, looking at them unhurriedly for a while before reaching out to pick one up. However, he only placed it on top of another.
It wasn’t until he had moved all the strawberries from the top layer that Yun Li realized he was looking at the layer underneath.
After looking, he fell silent.
“Are you looking for something?” Yun Li asked, puzzled. She picked one up and ate it, finding it crisp and sweet. Fu Shize closed his eyes briefly, no longer persisting. He casually picked one up and ate it.
He seemed unusually preoccupied as he suddenly asked, “Where’s the scarf?”
Yun Li was taken aback. She had rushed to finish it in two days, but because it turned out so ugly, she had hastily finished it as a short scarf, thinking she’d take it back for Yun Ye and find time to knit a new one for Fu Shize later.
“I finished it, but it’s a bit ugly. I sent a picture to Yun Ye,” Yun Li went to her room to fetch the scarf. It was plain gray, with uneven stitches. She handed it to Fu Shize, who looked at it briefly before setting it aside.
Her tone was unsurprised: “He indeed said it was ugly.”
Yun Li didn’t forget to show Fu Shize the chat log between her and her brother. His eyes moved up and down as he read it, then looked away.
He didn’t eat many strawberries, just two, trying to distract himself.
His family called him several times, so Fu Shize didn’t stay long at Yun Li’s. As he was preparing to leave, he suddenly said to her, “I’d like to take some strawberries back with me.”
Yun Li went to the kitchen to get him a sealable bag, vaguely hearing Fu Shize packing up.
There was still more than half a box of strawberries left. Yun Li packed them and put them in his bag.
After he left, Yun Li received a message from Yun Ye. His tone was still a bit reluctant: [Fine, even though it’s a bit ugly, you can still bring it back for me. I’ll grudgingly accept it.]
Yun Li: [Take it or leave it.]
The scarf she had stayed up late knitting hadn’t achieved the desired effect, and Yun Ye seemed disdainful. Yun Li felt a bit dejected, thinking she might as well throw it away. She got up to look for the scarf but couldn’t find it.
Unsure where she had put it, Yun Li searched high and low again.
After a few minutes, her phone vibrated. It was a message from Fu Shize—
[I accidentally put the scarf in my bag.]
Yun Li: “…”
…
The next day was the last working day of 2016. When Yun Li arrived at EAW, the experience hall was still filled with groups of students from Nanwu No. 1 High School. It was probably the last experience day.
The high school students, still with traces of childishness, filled the experience hall with youthful energy. The usual background music was drowned out by their clamor.
Yun Li was assigned to help in the experience hall as usual. She stood by the glass railing on the fifth floor, looking down at the dense crowd of students below, like a group of pixels moving irregularly.
As her gaze shifted, Yun Li noticed a girl with a high ponytail in the crowd. She was taller than her peers, her face free of makeup but still strikingly pretty. She was chatting with a group of female students, her manner serious and focused, gentle and polite.
Yun Li stared for a while, feeling she could understand why Yun Ye was smitten. She secretly took a photo and sent it to Yun Ye.
It was still daytime, so Yun Ye probably couldn’t check his phone yet.
She didn’t know how long she had been watching when a voice suddenly came from behind: “What a coincidence.”
Yun Li turned around to find Yin Yucheng.
She was startled: “Are you here to play?”
Yin Yucheng walked up beside her, following her previous line of sight: “My sister’s grade came to visit, so I’m here to join in the fun.”
Yin Yucheng looked carefully, also spotting Yin Yunyi’s group: “Were you looking at my sister?”
Yun Li didn’t want to admit it and said, “No.”
Yin Yucheng didn’t expose her lie, pointing in a direction: “She’s over there.”
“She is indeed a very cute girl,” Yun Li said sincerely.
Yin Yucheng smiled: “She’s alright.” He thought for a moment and said, “Yun Ye must be quite nice too, after all, you’re quite good-looking yourself.”
“…”
Being complimented directly by a not-so-familiar man for the first time, Yun Li felt awkward. To reciprocate, she awkwardly chatted: “I saw your sister seems to be helping carry things and queue up, she looks very enthusiastic.”
Yin Yucheng didn’t deny it: “Our parents have taught us since childhood to be helpful people, so I’m like that too.”
Vaguely feeling that he was praising himself, Yun Li agreed: “It seems your parents have taught you well.”
Yin Yucheng: “Since we’ve run into each other, why don’t you go say hello to Yunyi?”
Yun Li was afraid she wouldn’t know what to say if they met face to face and was about to refuse. Yin Yucheng persuaded: “It’s alright, just meet her. I’m sure she’d like to meet you too.”
“Okay,” Yun Li had to agree.
They went downstairs to meet Yin Yunyi, finding that she had taken off her outer coat. She was left wearing a sweater and an undershirt. Seeing Yun Li, Yin Yunyi smiled and nodded, “Hello, sister.” Her lips curved upwards, “You look a lot like Yun Ye.”
Yun Li: “Many people say we look alike.”
Yin Yucheng looked at her thin figure and asked, “Why aren’t you wearing your coat?”
Yin Yunyi looked around, making sure her classmates weren’t nearby, and said quietly, “I lent it to a classmate.”
He frowned: “Won’t you be cold wearing just two layers?”
Yin Yunyi: “It’s not too cold inside with so many people.”
Having accepted her bracelet last time, and considering she was the girl Yun Ye liked, Yun Li couldn’t ignore the situation. She voluntarily said, “I have an extra coat in the break room. If you don’t mind, would you like to wear it for now?”
“No need, sister,” Yin Yunyi smiled politely, “I don’t mind. Sister, you’re not wearing much either, don’t catch a cold yourself.”
“It’s okay, I just keep it in the break room as a spare,” Yun Li wasn’t used to such conversations and waved her hand, “I’ll go get it for you.”
Back in the break room, Yun Li opened her locker and took out the clothes, carefully checking to make sure they were clean.
As she turned to return to the experience hall, she found Fu Shize behind her.
He said calmly, “Where are you going?”
“The girl Yun Ye has a crush on is from Nanwu No. 1 High School, and she’s here too,” Yun Li waved the clothes in her hand, “She lent her clothes to someone else, and I’m afraid she’ll be cold, so I’m taking her a coat.”
“Mm,” Fu Shize leaned against the doorframe, “Is she alone?”
“No, her brother is here too. I met her brother first, then went to greet her.”
“Mm.”
Seeing him blocking the doorway, Yun Li smiled and tugged at his hand: “If you don’t have anything else, can I go now?”
“Mm.” Fu Shize moved aside.
As Yun Li walked out, she heard a voice from behind: “I’ll come with you.”