Zhou Jingze’s question without a clear subject was easy to misunderstand. Xu Sui’s heart pounded rapidly, her mind went blank, and she stared blankly:
“Huh?”
Seeing Xu Sui’s ears turn red, Zhou Jingze thought she was embarrassed and raised his eyebrows: “You really are quite popular.”
So the subject wasn’t him—it was just an ordinary question. Xu Sui felt relieved but also experienced a wave of disappointment. She gathered herself and said softly: “Not really.”
That evening when Xu Sui returned to the dorm, as soon as she opened the door, Hu Qianxi pounced on her even before 1017 could, shaking her arm and asking:
“How was it?”
Xu Sui brushed off her hand and first drank some water. Under Hu Qianxi’s anxious gaze, she slowly spoke:
“Nothing special. We just had a normal meal. Your uncle just treats me as a friend.”
Disappointment washed over Hu Qianxi’s face: “My intuition is usually accurate. Did I really get it wrong this time?”
Xu Sui didn’t respond. She pulled out her chair and began browsing through her textbook while doing homework, but couldn’t concentrate. Hu Qianxi lay sprawled on her blanket and suddenly asked tentatively:
“So… do you like Zhou Jingze?”
Hearing this question, Xu Sui’s red pen made a heavy mark across the white page. She steadied herself: “How did you know?”
“Your eyes. The way you look at him. Plus, Suisui, I noticed that while you seem well-behaved, you’re actually a bit cold at heart, but you blush easily in front of him.” Hu Qianxi said.
Xu Sui thought she had hidden it well enough, but apparently it still showed.
How can you hide liking someone?
Hu Qianxi was one of her few friends, and having someone to confide in actually made her feel relieved—after all, having a secret crush on someone was too exhausting. Finally, Xu Sui nodded: “Yes, but you—”
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely keep it secret.” Hu Qianxi made a gesture of sealing her mouth with tape.
As the two were chatting, Liang Shuang burst in carrying late-night snacks. She waved the takeout container at Xu Sui: “Suibao, when I went to get late-night food from the cafeteria, I saw those cilantro-filled dumplings you love, so I packed some for you.”
“Wow, thank you.” Xu Sui happily accepted the container.
Although Xu Sui’s crush on Zhou Jingze had been discovered, nothing really changed because the semester was ending and everyone was rushing to prepare for final exams.
At the medical university, no matter how early Xu Sui arrived, the library seats were always full. She even suspected these people lived in the library. Occasionally when Xu Sui got lucky, she could barely get a seat in the corridor.
But the wind in the corridor was fierce and icy cold. After sitting there once, Xu Sui couldn’t bear it anymore.
Seeing Xu Sui return with a pale face from the cold, Hu Qianxi felt sorry for her: “Don’t go there anymore. Let’s find a café off-campus to study. I know a cat café with a comfortable environment and lots of cute cats.”
“Okay.” Xu Sui nodded.
At the mention of cats, 1017, who was lying on Hu Qianxi’s lap like a furry ball stuck to her, squinted his eyes in displeasure and meowed: “Meow—”
“Oh,” Hu Qianxi crouched down and pinched 1017’s face, then looked up at Xu Sui, “Why don’t we take him along? He must be bored too.”
Before Xu Sui could respond, 1017 immediately rolled off Hu Qianxi and, like a round orange, nudged against Xu Sui’s feet—clearly an opportunist who knew which way the wind blew.
“That works.” Xu Sui agreed.
She crouched down and picked up the chubby orange cat. During winter break she’d have to go home, and her mother was allergic to cat fur—what could she do about that?
When they went out, snow was falling again—light flakes like transparent feathers. Everything in sight was covered in silver, like entering a galaxy world.
They arrived at the cat café Hu Qianxi mentioned. When they pushed open the door, it was almost full of college students.
Everyone sat together, ordered coffee, and could study for an entire afternoon. When they got tired, they could play with the cats at the counter.
Fortunately, there were still a few empty tables. Hu Qianxi went to the front counter to order coffee while Xu Sui sat in a corner seat and took 1017 out of her bag.
She thought 1017 would want to play, but as soon as Xu Sui opened her laptop, the little cat climbed up via the table leg. With his chubby paws tucked like hands in pockets, he found a comfortable position and actually started napping with his eyes closed.
How could there be such a lazy cat? Xu Sui laughed.
After everything was set up, Xu Sui threw herself wholeheartedly into studying. Without realizing it, most of the coffee beside her had disappeared. Three hours passed like this. After hunching over her books for so long, Xu Sui felt tired. She raised her hand to rub her stiff neck, and her eyes casually swept to the side.
Her heart suddenly jumped—where was the cat?!
Xu Sui braced her hands on the table and looked underneath—no sign of 1017. She looked around but didn’t see him anywhere. Xu Sui said anxiously: “Qianxi, the cat is missing!”
“Huh?” Hu Qianxi instinctively looked around and tried to comfort her, “Don’t panic. He should still be in the cat café. Let’s split up and look.”
Xu Sui nodded. With the cat missing, she couldn’t worry about being thin-skinned anymore. She bent over and softly called 1017’s name. While searching for the cat, she accidentally bumped into a female student’s book at the neighboring table, causing books and pens to clatter to the floor.
Xu Sui picked up the books and pens and apologized repeatedly: “I’m sorry, I’m looking for an orange cat. Have you seen one?”
The girl took back her books and answered: “I saw one earlier. It seemed to walk toward the window area.”
After thanking her, Xu Sui walked toward the southwest window area, bending over and softly “meowing” to try to lure him out. Finally, she saw 1017 sitting on a male student’s lap with his belly turned up, looking utterly content.
“Meow—1017, come here quickly.” Xu Sui crouched down and called softly.
But when she looked up, Xu Sui met a pair of deep, dark eyes. Looking further up, she saw a handsome face. One hand held the cat while the other arm was propped on the table, casually twirling a pen.
At this moment, he was looking at her with an amused expression.
Who else could this person be but Zhou Jingze?
He was petting the cat when he heard a soft, sweet “meow.” He looked down with narrowed eyes, and the sight had an air of looking down from above. Xu Sui wore a white sweater with her hair in a bun. A pair of clear eyes looked up at him as she crouched on the ground, like she was prostrating at his feet, making his throat itch.
Zhou Jingze raised his eyebrows: “Your cat?”
“Yes, mine.” Xu Sui stood up.
Zhou Jingze pushed his tongue against his left cheek, his tone lazy and roguish: “Mine.”
At this moment, 1017 nuzzled against Zhou Jingze, and he smoothly held him close, his well-defined fingers gently stroking her cat. Watching this, Xu Sui suddenly felt envious of the cat while mentally cursing the traitorous feline.
“Yours?” Xu Sui looked confused, paused, then said firmly, “But it’s my cat.”
Sheng Nanzhou, who was sitting across from them studying, couldn’t stand Zhou Jingze teasing a young girl like this and explained: “This cat is ‘Hey’—the one Jingze lost three months ago.”
For a moment Xu Sui couldn’t wrap her head around it. Did this mean the cat she’d found was the one Zhou Jingze had lost? Hu Qianxi, who had just caught up, overheard this conversation and said meaningfully:
“Stop arguing. Then it’s you two’s cat.”
Hearing the words “you two,” Xu Sui’s lashes trembled and she said nothing. Hu Qianxi pulled out a chair and sat down, continuing: “You guys came here to study too?”
“Yeah, the damn library is too crowded,” Sheng Nanzhou replied, “But coming here, Zhou the young master is too popular with girls. As soon as he sits down, several hot girls come asking for his WeChat.”
“Tsk,” Hu Qianxi sighed and pointed at the cat, “But uncle, I didn’t expect it was Hey.”
“Mm,” Zhou Jingze responded lazily, looking up at Xu Sui, “You’ve raised him well. He’s gotten much fatter.”
When she first found him, the orange cat was still thin and small. Who would have thought that after three months, Xu Sui had raised him to be as fat as a ball. Zhou Jingze’s voice was low and carried a hint of indulgent laughter:
“Don’t worry, you have the final say.”
Xu Sui breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Zhou Jingze holding the cat, she gathered courage to speak: “I can’t take him home during winter break. Could you help take care of him?”
Zhou Jingze was about to speak when a beautiful, tall girl walked over. As she approached, the ends of her long curly hair accidentally brushed Xu Sui’s face.
Amid the overwhelming fragrance, Xu Sui heard the girl speak generously: “Hello, could I get to know you? I also have a cat at home, a purebred Birman. They could play together.”
The girl stood confidently in front of Zhou Jingze. Xu Sui sat to the side with lowered lashes, pretending to fold paper cranes casually. Despite having folded them countless times before, now she couldn’t seem to fold them properly. She lowered her dark lashes as if determined to win, unfolded it, and refolded along the creases.
Zhou Jingze leaned back in his chair, one long leg braced on the ground. His gaze lingered on her for less than a second before withdrawing, his tone casual yet arrogant:
“No thanks. My cat is rather wild—he bites people.”
The rejection was crystal clear. The girl left disappointed, shrugging her shoulders. Xu Sui felt her heart crash heavily from high above.
At the end of January, final exams finished smoothly. On the day of departure, Xu Sui packed her things and appeared at Zhou Jingze’s door with a suitcase and the cat.
As soon as Commander Kui saw Xu Sui, he barked excitedly and wagged his tail, circling around her. During their recent rehearsals at Zhou Jingze’s house, Xu Sui often brought beef jerky and toys, and would play with him. Commander Kui’s reaction wasn’t surprising.
Seeing his fawning behavior, Zhou Jingze aimed a mock kick at him and pointed: “Don’t forget who the hell follows behind you picking up your shit every day.”
Commander Kui whimpered and reluctantly stopped wagging his tail, not daring to fawn anymore.
Zhou Jingze turned his attention to Xu Sui. Seeing that she’d even brought the cat’s bed, he found it amusing:
“Xu Sui, I used to raise him. I haven’t thrown those things away yet.”
In other words, she was overthinking. Xu Sui felt a bit embarrassed. Zhou Jingze let her in and specially boiled water for her, while he took out a bottle of ice water from the refrigerator to drink.
“1017 is a bit spoiled. He’s allergic to pollen, so… please bear with him.” Xu Sui instructed.
“Got it.” Zhou Jingze agreed.
He tilted his head back and took a sip of ice water. Some water trickled down the corner of his lips and dripped onto his Adam’s apple, the lines distinct, looking both aloof and sexy. Xu Sui felt too embarrassed to keep looking and lowered her head to play with the cat.
“Going home today?” Zhou Jingze noticed the suitcase by her feet.
“Where’s your home?”
Xu Sui smiled and answered: “Jiangnan, an ancient town called Liying. It’s very beautiful. You should come visit if you get the chance.”
Zhou Jingze nodded, screwed the cap back on the bottle and placed it on the table, saying casually: “In the south? That’s quite far from Jingbei. Why did you choose to come so far for university?”
Because of you, of course.
Xu Sui looked at him, almost blurting out those words before changing her answer: “Because I transferred here for high school and got used to it. Plus, I like snowy days.”
After chatting for a while, Xu Sui gave Zhou Jingze instructions about caring for 1017. Finally checking the time, she was startled: “Please take good care of 1017. I need to hurry to the high-speed rail station.”
Xu Sui quickly got up and pulled her suitcase toward the door. Suddenly, a low voice called out to stop her. Xu Sui turned around to find Zhou Jingze had somehow changed clothes—black storm jacket, military boots, roguish yet exuding wild charisma.
Looking up, his slender fingers held a set of keys: “I’ll drive you.”
“Thank you.”
It was another snowy day. Zhou Jingze drove Xu Sui to the high-speed rail station. The car’s heater was running full blast, and sitting in the passenger seat, Xu Sui’s pale cheeks were warmed to a rosy glow.
Looking at the white snow outside the window, she asked: “What do you usually do during breaks?”
Zhou Jingze drove, his tone carrying a reckless undertone: “Skiing, bungee jumping, racing—whatever’s most thrilling.”
“But aren’t those very dangerous?”
“Because I don’t care. With no one to worry about me, I can only squander time. I figure dying on some sunset boulevard someday would be worth it.” Zhou Jingze’s words were half-serious, half-joking.
On one hand, he truly felt that living in this world—coming alone and dying alone, perhaps not even being remembered—was perfectly normal.
After all, that’s how his mother was.
Zhou Jingze drove with his well-defined hands resting on the steering wheel when he suddenly heard Xu Sui’s voice beside him:
“Sunrise isn’t inferior to sunset. Wait a little longer.” Xu Sui’s tone was serious.
Zhou Jingze was stunned, then slowly smiled: “Alright.”
“After all, you’re speaking about such things in front of a future doctor—that’s taboo.” Xu Sui joked.
After driving for nearly an hour, they finally reached the high-speed rail station. The station was bustling with people coming and going. The display screen in the hall showed in red letters that Xu Sui’s train would soon begin boarding.
Before parting, thinking about not seeing Zhou Jingze for an entire winter break, Xu Sui felt empty inside. She lifted her lashes and asked cautiously: “During winter break, could I… check on the cat?”
“Sure, I’ll send you photos and videos.” Zhou Jingze’s tone was casual.
The sweet voice of a staff member announced over the hall’s speakers for passengers to proceed to boarding. Xu Sui waved at him and turned toward the entrance.
“Xu Sui.” Zhou Jingze called her name.
Xu Sui turned around in the crowd. Zhou Jingze stood some distance away, wearing his black jacket with snow particles still clinging to his shoulders. The hurried crowd behind him was automatically blurred out.
One was a young man with a casual expression and outstanding temperament, the other had innocent eyes. Their gazes met in mid-air like an auto-focused photograph.
Zhou Jingze held a cigarette in one hand, his tone lazy. His thin lips curved upward slightly:
“Teacher Xiao Xu, see you next year.”
Xu Sui smiled. Looking at Zhou Jingze, her smile gradually grew wider and wider.
Yes, see you next year.