As the New Year drew near, the population of Jing Shi visibly dwindled.

The subway cars, which once required brute-force squeezing to board, were now noticeably emptier — many of the city’s migrant workers had returned home. Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng attended their respective company New Year parties in quick succession. These gatherings amounted to eating, drinking, and a raffle draw. Jiang Ruoqiao had always been unlucky at these things: of the four girls in her dorm who bought drinks, the other three got bottle caps that said “One More Free” while hers, without fail, said “Thank You for Your Purchase.”

She had accepted long ago that she was merely there to fill out the numbers.

Until she won a smart fitness band.

She walked back to her seat in a daze, box in hand — how had she actually won something? The only problem was that the fitness band was black… and from an aesthetic standpoint, it didn’t quite suit her. She was more of a bracelet or bangle person. She lifted her wrist and studied it for a moment, and decided — perhaps with her limited sense of style — that this fitness band just didn’t fit her look at all.

Just then, the senior colleague seated next to her said, “You don’t like it, do you?”

Jiang Ruoqiao hadn’t even nodded or shaken her head.

The senior colleague smiled and offered, “If you don’t want it, sell it to me — I won’t shortchange you. How about eighty-five percent of the flagship store price?”

She sighed a little. “My husband is a programmer — sits in front of a computer all day, overtime all the time. I always thought something like this would suit him well.”

Jiang Ruoqiao had been about to agree.

Getting along with colleagues was always worth it. She was even about to offer eighty percent, the words already at the tip of her tongue — but then she heard the last part of what her colleague said, and hesitated. She said instead: “I’m sorry — this one is actually for someone too.”

The colleague, who had an easy-going nature, took no offense and leaned in with a teasing look: “Is it for a relative? Or for a boyfriend? I’m guessing boyfriend — the design is quite sporty and youthful.”

Jiang Ruoqiao smiled.

Which was as good as confirming it.

Meanwhile, Lu Yicheng had an extraordinary stroke of luck at his own company party — he won a hair dryer.

At first he genuinely didn’t understand why his colleagues were looking at him with expressions that screamed “you lucky star.” It was just a hair dryer — he’d rather have won a coffee mug.

Then another colleague said: “That hair dryer is over three thousand yuan!”

Lu Yicheng was thoroughly baffled: three thousand yuan. For a hair dryer?

The colleague continued: “Sell it to me — my girlfriend’s been eyeing this one for ages, never could bring herself to spend the money.”

Lu Yicheng just raised his head and asked: “Do girls generally like this hair dryer?”

“Well, mine does — she really wants it but hasn’t been willing to splurge.”

Lu Yicheng thought to himself: did Jiang Ruoqiao have one of these?

He wasn’t sure — it wasn’t as if she had ever dried her hair in front of him.

His colleague pressed: “So are you selling or not?”

Lu Yicheng snapped out of his thoughts and replied cautiously: “Can I give you a definitive answer in two days?”

His colleague: “?”

“Hang on — two days, why two days?”

Lu Yicheng was a practical man. If Jiang Ruoqiao didn’t have one, he’d give it to her — in which case, obviously, it wasn’t for sale. But if she already had one? Then there was no point. He’d sell it to his colleague, and use the money to buy her something she didn’t have.

Lu Yicheng replied: “I need to check with someone first.”

His colleague burst out laughing. “Fair enough — go check. I’ll wait for your answer.”

The day after the work party was a Saturday.

This was the only day off before the New Year — Sunday was a makeup workday, and the following Thursday was New Year’s Eve.

Jiang Ruoqiao had been in the office that Saturday morning and wasn’t free until the afternoon.

Lu Yicheng, thinking how rare a day off was, worked up the nerve to message Jiang Ruoqiao: 【I’m not working today. Are you free? If you are, want to grab hot pot together?】

This proved that when it came to this sort of thing, men really did have a natural instinct for it.

No such thing as an emotionally oblivious man made of iron.

Take Lu Yicheng, with his complete lack of romantic experience — no one needed to hint at him. On his own, he would actively reach out to Jiang Ruoqiao.

Every moment of rest he had, he wanted to see her.

Jiang Ruoqiao was still at the office. She glanced at the time and replied: 【ok, but I’ll probably be home a bit late — things are a bit hectic right now. But I’m free for dinner.】

Lu Yicheng: 【Got it. In that case, how about I make hot pot at home? (Genuinely not thinking about cost-efficiency — it’s just that by the time we eat, the good hot pot places will all have lines, and the ones without lines might not be worth it)】

Jiang Ruoqiao stole a glance at her phone between tasks and nearly laughed herself to death.

Lu Yicheng’s survival instinct was absolutely unmatched.

But honestly, it didn’t matter where they ate.

Jiang Ruoqiao: 【Sure, eating at home is definitely more economical.】

Lu Yicheng: 【I didn’t say cost-efficiency. Please don’t misunderstand.】

Jiang Ruoqiao: 【Haha I didn’t mean it that way~】

Lu Yicheng: 【Then I’ll go buy ingredients (I won’t buy cheap ones — I’ll buy the good stuff)】

Jiang Ruoqiao: 【Off you go, Pikachu~】

Lu Yicheng took his wallet and phone and headed out.

He didn’t go to the farmer’s market he usually frequented — at this hour, the stalls would be running low and the produce wouldn’t be fresh. Instead, he took the bus three stops to a large supermarket.

With the New Year approaching, the supermarket was probably the most festive place in all of Jing Shi.

It was crowded. Decorations were everywhere. The intercom cycled through cheerful holiday songs on repeat. Lu Yicheng pushed a shopping cart and began choosing ingredients. He was never particularly fond of browsing supermarkets — in the past he’d always been in and out as quickly as possible, buying only what he needed for himself alone. But now it was different. He wanted time to slow down. He wanted to enjoy this — to pick out things she liked. And he found, genuinely, that doing so made him happy.

Lu Yicheng bought a great deal of ingredients.

Not just for tonight’s hot pot — he also picked up fruits that Jiang Ruoqiao liked.

The shopping cart was packed full, just like his heart.

……

By the time Lu Yicheng got home with all his groceries, Jiang Ruoqiao had finally finished work.

She took the subway home. The station was still some distance from the apartment complex, and the weather today wasn’t kind — overcast and heavy, the temperature low. Walking along the street, the wind felt like a blunt knife dragged across her face. She had never liked winter much — not in Jing Shi, not in Xi Shi either. But today her mood was light, and her steps were quick. Maybe because there was someone waiting for her to come back for hot pot?

Midway there, Jiang Ruoqiao turned around and walked back.

She stepped into a flower shop.

She’d had a sudden urge to buy flowers today.

Whenever she was in a good mood, she would make a habit of buying herself a bunch to put on her desk. It always made life feel a little brighter somehow.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Ruoqiao walked out holding a bouquet — champagne roses, her favorite.

The shop assistant had wrapped them beautifully, and even added a few sprigs of baby’s breath and some lilies as extras.

She walked into the residential building and reached his door. Jiang Ruoqiao knocked, and even from outside — the soundproofing wasn’t the best — she could hear his hurried footsteps.

The corner of her mouth lifted.

Then the door opened. Warm air from inside rolled over her like a wave.

Lu Yicheng was in casual clothes, wearing an apron.

Jiang Ruoqiao smiled and stepped inside, changed into her designated pair of fluffy slippers, and immediately caught the aroma of hot pot broth — despite not having been hungry a moment ago, the craving hit her right away. Lu Yicheng followed behind her, visibly hesitant.

Jiang Ruoqiao still had the roses in her arms. She could see him staring at them. Inwardly amused, she kept her face perfectly serene. “I bought these myself.”

She added another line: “I bought them for myself. Seems like I got a bit too many — do you have a vase? I can split them with you.”

Lu Yicheng let out a breath of complete relief.

He now fully understood what Jiang Yan had once felt — that knot of worry and unsettlement. Too many people liked her. So there was always that nagging undercurrent of unease, a low-level fear that before you even noticed, someone else might have already quietly opened the door to her heart.

The worry was real. The unsettlement came and went. But more than anything else, there was a feeling he couldn’t quite name.

She was so radiant.

He had known for a long time that he harbored some not entirely noble thoughts. But he also genuinely hoped — even if the person beside her one day wasn’t him — that she would be just as happy as she was now.

Lu Yicheng didn’t have a vase.

In the end he improvised, cutting open a plastic bottle and fashioning it into a makeshift one.

Jiang Ruoqiao sat on the sofa trimming the stems and arranging the flowers into the vase.

She was in a good mood, humming softly.

Lu Yicheng was busy in the kitchen and could naturally hear the sounds from the living room. Every so often he’d steal a quiet glance through the doorway — catching a glimpse of her arranging flowers, and feeling as though his heart had been steeped in warm water.

Jiang Ruoqiao still had the smart fitness band in her bag.

The two of them sat around the low table together, the hot pot bubbling away, the surface of the table covered in meat and vegetables.

This was the first time Jiang Ruoqiao had eaten hot pot alone with a man in his apartment.

Lu Yicheng was blanching lamb for her.

Jiang Ruoqiao thought of the fitness band — she had been debating it since the previous evening, and now, in this moment, was there really anything left to hesitate over?

She set down her chopsticks, fished the box out of her bag, and with deliberate calm held it out to him. “I won this in the company raffle. I have no use for it — if you want it, it’s yours.”

Lu Yicheng looked at her in surprise.

Jiang Ruoqiao felt a small flash of irritation. “What? Don’t want it? Then I’ll just—”

Lu Yicheng shook his head with a smile, stood up, and retrieved a large box from the study cabinet. “You beat me to it. This is from my raffle too — a hair dryer. Do you have one?”

Jiang Ruoqiao was stunned. “Your luck is unbelievably good!”

Lu Yicheng felt quietly relieved — she clearly knew this hair dryer, which meant she already had one.

“Do you have one?” Lu Yicheng said. “If not, it’s yours.”

Jiang Ruoqiao felt a wave of genuine disappointment. “…I do.”

She’d bought one back in the first semester.

Lu Yicheng was also a little disappointed. “That’s alright, I’ll sell it to my colleague.”

Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”

Lu Yicheng: “I’ll get you something else you don’t have yet.”

Jiang Ruoqiao: (^_^)

Alright then.

Deal.

“Try on the band then,” Jiang Ruoqiao said. “I don’t really know what functions it has.”

She tore open the packaging without ceremony and handed the band to him.

He took it and clasped it around his wrist.

Jiang Ruoqiao studied the instruction manual. “Apparently it can track heart rate and blood oxygen — quite a few features. See if it works.”

Lu Yicheng followed the steps to set it up, then looked up and gave her a smile. “Works well.”

Just as the two of them were exchanging stories about their respective work parties, the light overhead let out a stuttering buzz — and the next second, the room plunged into darkness.

Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”

Lu Yicheng’s voice came out calm and reassuring: “Might be a power cut. Let me check — don’t move.”

Jiang Ruoqiao: “Mm.”

A few minutes later, Lu Yicheng returned with bad news: there was a fault in the electrical circuit, and the entire complex had lost power. Building management said they were getting someone on it, but it would take some time.

Jiang Ruoqiao turned on her phone flashlight and looked at the still-steaming electric hot pot. “So what do we do — we haven’t even eaten much yet.”

Lu Yicheng was unfazed. “It’s fine. I have a portable gas stove in the kitchen cabinet — should work. Let me look for it.”

Jiang Ruoqiao stood up too. “I’ll hold the flashlight for you.”

They headed into the kitchen together. The kitchen was already narrow, and the darkness made the space feel even tighter — small enough that they could hear each other’s breathing.

Lu Yicheng was tall, and just by reaching up, he could access the upper cabinet with ease.

Jiang Ruoqiao, worried he couldn’t see well enough, edged a little closer.

Lu Yicheng found the portable gas stove and had just breathed a sigh of relief when he turned around — and Jiang Ruoqiao hadn’t stepped back in time. They were standing very, very close.

Jiang Ruoqiao looked up at him.

He looked down at her, momentarily still.

In the darkness, every sense felt magnified.

On Lu Yicheng’s wrist, the fitness band pulsed with a quiet alert — his heart rate was climbing, beat by beat.

—