Near the end of winter break, Bei Yao, Zhao Zhilan, and Bei Jun went to visit Fang Mingjun’s house.

Teacher Fang had sent things to their family, so Zhao Zhilan also brought some of her homemade sausages to the Fang family.

Zhao Zhilan chatted with Zhao Xiu in the living room while Bei Jun played by himself.

Fang Mingjun had also turned seventeen after the New Year. She now looked serene and steady, as if reborn, without that affected haughty attitude—she’d become much more likable.

Fang Mingjun brought out cut apple pieces to share with Bei Yao. She said, “People are really strange. Obviously your mom and my mom have been comparing themselves for most of their lives, despising each other in their hearts who knows how much, yet once we moved away, they still visit each other during holidays.”

Bei Yao also laughed with a snort.

Fang Mingjun said helplessly, “That bottle of wine your family got was something my mom told us to send. My dad doesn’t have that kind of sense. My mom—this person’s mouth isn’t pleasant, but for most of her life Auntie Lan is probably her only friend.”

Bei Yao nodded. “My mom was still saying this year that with your family moved away, New Year was much quieter.”

Fang Mingjun asked, “Did Uncle Pei’s family also move away?”

“Mm.”

Both Fang Mingjun and Bei Yao attended Sixth High. Because they weren’t in the same class, they rarely saw each other at school, but Fang Mingjun naturally knew about that major “cheating” incident before the New Year.

“Uncle Pei moved—Pei Chuan didn’t go with them?”

Bei Yao said softly, “Mm.”

Both girls fell somewhat silent. After all, with everything that had happened in the Pei family over the years, all the old neighbors were clear about it.

Fang Mingjun thought for a moment. “What about Pei Chuan’s mom? How come after all these years, we’ve never heard how Auntie Jiang is doing?”

Bei Yao looked out the window—a vast expanse of white, fog blurring the window. She said, “I don’t know either. She got married, so she probably has a new family.”

The only one who lost his family was Pei Chuan alone.

Fang Mingjun turned around and searched in her cabinet for a while, pulling out a little pig piggy bank. She poured it out—a pile of bills and coins. “Every year I give my New Year money to my mom. Now I only have this. I’m not very close with him either, so you take it to him.”

Bei Yao packed the money back for her. “Minmin, keep it to spend yourself. Pei Chuan won’t accept it.”

Fang Mingjun thought of Pei Chuan’s stubborn and inflexible personality. “True.”

The two girls chatted for a while. Fang Mingjun suddenly said, “A while ago, my mom said she’d take me to meet someone—it was actually a blind date.”

Bei Yao hadn’t expected her to bring this up on her own. Fang Mingjun didn’t seem to mind much. “I didn’t want to go for fear my mom would be unhappy. This person… her heart isn’t bad. I went to see him. That boy is two years older than me, named Huo Dinlin. I don’t like him. He clearly looked down on our family’s social climbing behavior, yet still put on a fake smile.” When she mentioned “social climbing” she was very frank—having grown up, her mindset had become extraordinarily broad.

Fang Mingjun frowned. “It’s not really an era for blind dates anymore. I agreed to go just as my mom said—to meet a friend—but my mom is very satisfied with Huo Dinlin. She says the Huo family descendants have impeccable red roots, and insists I go several more times.”

Bei Yao was puzzled. “Impeccable red roots?”

Fang Mingjun explained, “The Huo family is quite prestigious in B City. The main branch produced many outstanding military officers in the past. Later they went into business and everything went smoothly—they’re very wealthy. Huo Dinlin’s family is a distant Huo family relative, but because of this connection, upon returning to C City they’re a hot commodity.”

Bei Yao couldn’t quite explain it, but hearing these things always felt strange. However, because her memories stopped at senior year and so much had changed, she no longer referenced her previous memories.

Bei Yao could only say to Fang Mingjun, “If you don’t like him, don’t force yourself. Talk properly with Auntie Zhao Xiu—she’ll understand.”

“I will.”

Bei Yao was heading back to the complex when she ran into Chen Yingqi. He was a bit older than them and was now attending vocational school.

“Auntie Zhao, Bei Yao.”

“Oh it’s Chen Hu. Have you eaten?”

Chen Yingqi nodded, emphasizing, “I’m called Chen Yingqi now.”

“Oh, oh, Auntie Zhao’s memory isn’t good—I forgot.”

Seeing his awkward expression, Bei Yao could only say to her mom, “I’ll talk with Chen Yingqi for a bit.”

Zhao Zhilan carried Bei Jun upstairs.

Chen Yingqi’s little eyes darted around. After a long while he stammered, “You went to Fang Mingjun’s house—what did you all talk about?”

Bei Yao didn’t lie to him. “Her mom arranged a blind date for her. She told me about it.”

“What!”

The chubby young man nearly jumped sky-high. “A blind date! How old is she to be going on blind dates!”

His voice was deep and earnest, yet its penetrating power wasn’t weak. Bei Yao said helplessly, “We all think that way, but Auntie Zhao doesn’t think so. She thinks that boy is very outstanding, and it’s quite good to get to know him early.”

Chen Yingqi was stunned, frozen.

After a long while, he dejectedly lowered his head.

He looked at his own hands—wide and large, full of excess flesh. His body, stomach, neck, cheeks—all had a lot of fat. Besides loving to eat, there was also innate family genetics. His family circumstances were ordinary. Papa Chen was an ordinary working-class person. He himself wasn’t smart either—this year he was attending an ordinary vocational school learning auto repair.

The eighteen-year-old young man discovered for the first time that he couldn’t see his own future.

He didn’t like it when passing by others, they’d cover their mouths and quietly discuss his physique. But he could pretend to be an optimist, acting completely unconcerned.

In this life, there were so many things one was helpless about.

Chen Yingqi gave Bei Yao the dried sweet potato snacks he was holding. “Thank you for telling me this. Bei Yao, you and Bei Jun can have these.”

How could Bei Yao take his things for free? She shook her head. “Thank you, but my family still has lots of New Year goods we haven’t finished. If you like them, I’ll bring you some later.”

Chen Yingqi didn’t speak. He sullenly threw the snacks he’d just bought into the complex trash bin.

He also didn’t want to be so gluttonous. He also didn’t want to be so fat.

Bei Yao looked at him with puzzled incomprehension. The sixteen-year-old young girl stood in the snow like a beautiful porcelain doll.

Chen Yingqi suddenly said, “Bei Yao, hypothetically—I’m saying hypothetically—if Pei Chuan liked you, would you accept him?”

Bei Yao’s face immediately flushed. “You… why are you asking this?”

“Tell me, would you look down on him?”

Chen Yingqi heard her ask, “Why would I look down on him?” Her eyes were very clean, like melted ice and snow water, without a trace of impurity.

Chen Yingqi gritted his teeth. “He has no legs!”

That’s a lifelong defect, don’t you understand?

The smile on Bei Yao’s face also faded considerably. She lowered her long lashes and said, “Many people have healthy legs, but none of them are Pei Chuan.”

Pei Chuan wasn’t a monster. He’d just been more unfortunate than many children when he was small. There were so many healthy people in this world, yet she had no reason to like them—none of them were Pei Chuan.

Chen Yingqi stared at her in shock.

“You…”

Only then did Bei Yao realize what she’d said. Chen Yingqi wasn’t an idiot. With her defending Pei Chuan like this, even if not certain, Chen Yingqi understood she wouldn’t look down on Pei Chuan.

Bei Yao was about to go home.

When she was almost upstairs, Chen Yingqi suddenly said, “Bei Yao.”

She turned around.

“You’re very good.” He evaluated sincerely. “So good that Pei Chuan definitely wouldn’t dare to like you.”

Bei Yao was somewhat shocked. She didn’t quite understand the young man’s meaning.

Chen Yingqi clenched his fists. “People with defects, even if they don’t care on the surface, will feel very… inferior inside. What I said just now was only hypothetical—don’t take it to heart. I grew up with him. Although I was annoying as a child, I know that with his personality, he definitely won’t disturb you. If possible, please be good to him. People like us… no, he—every step forward for him is very difficult.”

After saying this, regardless of Bei Yao’s reaction, he turned and ran home. Having grown up, he could now understand a bit of Pei Chuan, and thus couldn’t bring himself to dislike that aloof young man anymore.

Bei Yao stood in the snow on the eighth day of the new year, gently lifting her eyes. The winter plum blossoms in the complex had once been blown down by strong winds, then were later helped back up by residents who carefully tended and replanted them.

In the ice and snow, they bloomed with gently fragrant flowers.

Some things that were once unclear—Pei Chuan’s reactions that made her angry, and him saying he was her brother, all of it—were like breathing on a glass window then wiping away the fog with one’s finger, becoming clear.

“Pei Chuan definitely wouldn’t dare to like you.”

~

After the heavy snow melted, Bei Yao entered her second year of high school.

In March, spring returned to the earth. When snow melted was the coldest time. Because second-year students needed makeup classes, school started early.

Studying suddenly seemed to become tense. They heard this year’s summer vacation wouldn’t be very long either—at most a “high temperature break.”

At night, Chen Feifei lit up her phone under the blankets in the dorm to read novels. Afraid the dorm auntie would check on them, she covered her head with the blanket, nearly suffocating herself, but she simply couldn’t stop reading—before she knew it, it was two or three in the morning.

At this critical juncture of second year, getting hooked on reading novels was truly a fatal matter.

Chen Feifei was also in pain, but she couldn’t control her hand opening her phone pages.

In 2008, military and high-ranking official romance novels swept through campus like a gust of wind. In their youth, young girls all liked to weave beautiful dreams for themselves. Girls who loved military and official romance novels all wanted to grow up and marry soldiers who defended the nation, becoming military wives.

Chen Feifei found time to chat with Bei Yao. “Do you want to marry a military officer in the future? Tall, handsome, and cool?”

Bei Yao shook her head.

Chen Feifei: “Then what profession do you like? Doctor? Scientist? Or teacher! Student-teacher romance is also really exciting!”

Bei Yao’s small face was serious. “Chen Feifei, you shouldn’t read beast-human romance.”

“…” Chen Feifei wanted to pinch that serious yet adorable face.

Bei Yao’s almond eyes couldn’t help but curve.

Chen Feifei said, “How dare you, Yao Yao—you’re actually teasing me! Witness my Nine Yin White Bone Claw!”

After fooling around, Bei Yao thought of that little notebook.

Huo Xu—an extremely unfamiliar name. He didn’t exist in her life, yet remained in that diary for over ten years. To the extent that she really had no favorable impression of military and high-ranking official romance.

The person she liked was sensitive yet cold, unruly yet self-conscious of inferiority.

Bei Yao still had Pei Chuan’s scarf and gloves that she hadn’t returned. She’d washed and dried them, but the rushed pace of the new semester caught people off guard.

Bei Yao didn’t belong to the especially smart type. She could only maintain good grades by putting in more effort.

By early May, spring’s footsteps had thoroughly entered campus. C City’s summer was almost here. School even added an extra evening self-study session. After Labor Day they could take afternoon naps.

May was Pei Chuan’s coming-of-age ceremony. A coming-of-age ceremony was a very important moment in everyone’s life. These past few days, whenever Bei Yao had spare time, she wondered what to give him.

Pei Chuan lived without any pleasure. She knew what he hated.

He hated overly glaring light and sound, hated tomatoes and hot dogs. But what he liked was so scarce as to be almost nothing.

When Bei Yao was little, she’d gotten used to giving him small toys, but she’d never seen Pei Chuan use them. Moreover, she didn’t have much money and couldn’t give anything particularly good. Remembering what Chen Feifei said last time about having a childhood friend too, Bei Yao decided to ask her for advice.

Chen Feifei said, “A boy’s eighteenth birthday?”

She thought about it, then smirked mischievously. “Ha! Bei Yao, give him your first kiss!”

Bei Yao was stunned for a moment. “…”

Chen Feifei said cheerfully, “Little white rabbit, white and bright, give a kiss, so delightful.”

Bei Yao’s cheeks flushed. “I’m seriously asking you.”

Chen Feifei said, “You still want to fool me! Everyone knows Han Zhen’s birthday is in May. Liu Xiaoling and the others in our class are all preparing gifts. Let me tell you, novels all say this—give your first kiss for a coming-of-age ceremony and you’ll love each other for a lifetime.”

Bei Yao was shocked. “Which novel says that?”

Chen Feifei opened her phone. “The novel I wrote! See? ‘The School Bully’s Little Sweet Wife.'”

Bei Yao was at a loss for words. Chen Feifei, are you still going to take the college entrance exam!

Chen Feifei said, “Believe me, if you like Han Zhen, just cup his face and kiss him. Ah, but you’re Bei Yao! The whole school’s dream girl. You kiss someone and they’re yours. Han Zhen already has a favorable impression of you—this is a sure thing. But do it secretly, don’t let anyone know. Our school doesn’t allow early dating.”

Bei Yao didn’t even know Han Zhen’s birthday was in May.

However, she also couldn’t explain who she was preparing a gift for.

Bei Yao buried her face in her arms. According to what Chen Yingqi said, Pei Chuan wouldn’t even dare to like her.

A first kiss or whatever—that sounded so unreliable.