On New Year’s Eve, Nancheng finally took on a wintry appearance. People on the streets donned coats and padded jackets…
Meanwhile, not far away, the northern regions welcomed widespread snowfall across the entire Northern Territory.
People said the heavy snow came late this winter. In January, when Shan Chong and his group were in Altay, they watched live streams of the caretakers in Chongli complaining about temperatures dropping to minus thirty degrees…
Finally, as February arrived, snowfall increased, as if the heavens wanted to accommodate office workers who couldn’t freely enjoy the snow season.
Heavy snow should fall during the New Year; it creates a festive atmosphere.
When Shan Chong connected the video call, Wei Zhi was on the other end, lying on the floor wiping it.
Ms. Yang crouched nearby, tilting her head to inspect the floor while directing her, “There’s still some dust on the left. Oh my, what kind of cleaning is this? You’re a grown woman and can’t even wipe the floor properly.” Wei Zhi, feeling embarrassed by her comments, tossed the cloth aside and exclaimed, “I’m done! Let Dad do it—or do it yourself if you can’t get him to!”
“What’s the point of raising you?” Ms. Yang snatched the cloth and wiped away the spot of dust she had been unsuccessfully directing Wei Zhi to clean. “Don’t hang up the video; let Shan Chong see you can’t even clean the floor properly!”
“He’s not with me because I’m good at cleaning floors!” Wei Zhi retorted.
“Then what does he see in you?” Ms. Yang challenged.
“I don’t know, maybe he thinks I’m cute?” Wei Zhi suggested.
“Cute? What’s cute about you? I think he must be bewitched!” Ms. Yang scoffed.
“Why do you have so little faith in your child?” Wei Zhi asked.
“Because even the prettiest child can turn out badly if raised poorly,” Ms. Yang muttered.
As Ms. Yang grumbled, Wei Zhi had already picked up her phone and scurried back to her room, flopping onto the bed—
Southern winters lack central heating, so the young woman wore thick, fleece-lined onesie pajamas. In contrast, on the other end of the call, snow was falling outside the window behind the man, who wore only a white short-sleeved t-shirt.
He appeared to be sitting on a sofa, with the noisy sound of a television in the background and children shrieking and running around. It seemed like quite a few people had come to his house for the New Year celebration—aunts, uncles, and extended family.
“Do you have a lot of family over?” Wei Zhi asked.
The man smiled in response and turned his phone camera to show her the dining area—
A round table was lightly dusted with flour, with wooden cutting boards along the edges. On the boards were several balls of kneaded dough, and iron bowls filled with dumpling filling.
Around the table stood a group of middle-aged women, chatting as they wrapped dumplings.
At that moment, one of them seemed to sense something and looked up, asking, “What is it?”
The young woman on Shan Chong’s screen immediately perked up like a schoolgirl, loudly exclaiming, “Hello, auntie! Happy New Year, Auntie!” As he turned the camera back to himself, Shan Chong glanced over the top of his phone and said casually, “Nothing, just video chatting with my girlfriend. She heard how lively it is here… so I showed her a glimpse.”
At the dining table, the middle-aged women were momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter—
“Oh my, Ah Chong has a girlfriend now!”
“Well done, Wenhui, your son has managed to keep up with the pack without making a fuss!”
“Last year you were saying you might not have grandchildren even in your coffin. I told you it was too early to say that… children and grandchildren have their fortune.”
“Hello there, young lady! Happy New Year to you!”
They made no effort to lower their voices, laughing heartily.
Shan Chong glanced at his phone; his girlfriend had buried her head in the blankets.
Even the tips of her ears visible above the covers were bright red.
He chuckled softly.
Shan Chong’s mother set down a dumpling and lowered her eyes: “Shan Chong, where’s your sister? Tell her to stop hiding in her room playing on her phone and come help wrap dumplings… Do you know what time it is? I need to start cooking soon, and your aunt can’t keep up with the wrapping!”
Shan Chong remained seated, turning his head to look at a small table nearby. A young man wearing a black t-shirt sat with one hand propping up his chin, fiddling with a Lego toy surrounded by a group of small children… Shan Chong’s cousin tried to hide a roof piece behind his back, but the young man hissed and swatted the child’s hand.
“Dai Tuo, did you hear that?” The man stretched out his long legs. “Go call Shan Shan.”
On the phone, Wei Zhi exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening: “Dai Tuo is there too?”
The man curled his lip in disdain: “When is he not here… Wang Xin went out with my dad to buy cigarettes, otherwise, he’d be here too.”
As they were talking, Dai Tuo, not far away, didn’t even look up: “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Shan Chong: “Busy with what? Building Legos?”
Shan Chong’s mother: “Ah Tuo is playing with the little ones. I told you to go.”
Shan Chong: “I’m video chatting with Wei Zhi.”
Shan Chong’s mother made an “oh” sound and turned to Dai Tuo: “You go then.”
Dai Tuo: “?”
Dai Tuo: “So talking to a girlfriend is a big deal now, huh?”
Shan Chong: “Well, that seems to be what my mom thinks. If you’re not happy about it, go find one yourself.”
Grumbling, Dai Tuo shoved the Lego pieces he was assembling into the hands of a nearby child and stood up. He tugged at his clothes and turned expressionlessly towards Shan Shan’s room door—
The door was closed, and no one knew what the person hiding inside was doing.
She was always so secretive, never playing with the children, who knew better than to bother her… Dai Tuo was used to this. He walked to her door and stared at the tightly closed entrance for a moment.
Dai Tuo had never been one for manners.
So knocking was out of the question.
As casually as if entering his room, he put his hand on the doorknob and gave it a casual twist. The door creaked open a crack, and a distinctive scent of shower gel mixed with steam wafted out…
This fragrance, so disconnected from the living room, momentarily startled the young man. But he quickly reverted to his initial nonchalant attitude. Facing the dark crack in the door, he called out, “Hey—”
Then the door gap widened.
The room’s only light source was the glow of snow reflecting through the gauze curtains, illuminating the interior. A young woman sat on the bed, her skin as white as snow from rarely going out in the sun.
At that moment, she was bent over with her hands behind her back, fastening her bra with a soft “click.”
As the door opened, she turned her head in confusion. Her fair face, freshly washed, still bore a rosy flush from the hot water. In the light from the window, one could even see the soft, peach-like fuzz on her cheeks.
Her legs from the thighs down were buried in a pile of white bedding.
The comforter, newly changed for the New Year, lay in a soft heap nearby. Where her lower legs should have been, there was only an indentation in the bedding.
Reflected in the girl’s clear, dark eyes was the young man, bent at the waist, half his body leaning into the room, his expression frozen in the impatience of a moment ago…
They both froze.
Three seconds later, the door slammed shut with an earth-shattering bang.
…
No one knew what had just been discovered at the end of the hallway.
When Dai Tuo sat back down at the table, expressionless, Shan Chong lifted an eyelid and said, “If you broke the door, remember to pay for it.” Unusually, Dai Tuo didn’t talk back.
He kept his head down. When a small child came over with something haphazardly assembled, saying, “Uncle Dai Tuo, look at what I made, is it right?” he took it without looking and pressed it onto an already-built pond-like base.
Shan Chong raised an eyebrow: “Isn’t that supposed to be a chimney?”
Hearing this, Dai Tuo paused and lifted the object in his hand to take a look.
Shan Chong shifted his position: “What’s wrong? Did Shan Shan scold you?”
Dai Tuo didn’t respond, but at the mention of “Shan Shan,” his fingers gripping the Lego piece tightened slightly. With a “snap,” the already mismatched parts crumbled.
Sitting on the sofa, the man raised his eyebrows, about to say something when Shan Shan’s room door opened. The young woman, fully dressed, came out in her wheelchair, approaching the table with a blank expression.
Dai Tuo put down the Lego pieces and watched her warily as if facing a formidable opponent.
Shan Shan thought for a moment: “I want ice cream. It’s snowing outside and the roads are slippery. Come with me.”
From nearby, Shan Chong’s mother scolded her, saying it was almost time to eat and who eats ice cream now, but Shan Shan ignored her, staring directly at the person in front of her.
Shan Chong’s mother: “Don’t always trouble Xiao Tuo. You know it’s snowing outside. If you want some, ask your brother to buy it and bring it back.”
Shan Shan lowered her eyes, biting her lip. Unusually disobedient, she mumbled: “I want to choose for myself.”
On New Year’s Day, who could resist her sulking? Dai Tuo hesitated for a moment, then stood up under Shan Chong’s suspicious gaze and pushed her to the door.
As Shan Shan opened the door, the person standing behind her wheelchair fell silent for a moment, then casually took his scarf from the coat rack by the entrance and tossed it onto her lap.
The two of them went out.
Shan Chong’s family lived on the third floor, not too high. Usually, when Shan Shan went out, she would wait in her wheelchair while someone from the family brought it downstairs, and then carried her down…
Probably because she always felt she was troubling others, Shan Shan never said it out loud, but she was particularly conscious of her weight. When other young girls would freely indulge in snacks and sweets, she would say she didn’t like them.
…But what young girl doesn’t like sweets?
When Dai Tuo picked her up, he realized she was that light. She wore a simple prosthetic leg hidden under her pants to make her legs look less defective. The prosthetic was quite heavy, but even with that, she weighed so little.
As she was lifted, her hands naturally rested on his shoulders, half of her face hidden in the scarf, not saying a word.
Dai Tuo glanced at her. Damn, it was awkward.
After leaving the residential complex, they bought an ice cream from a random street vendor. Snow was still falling from the sky, and Shan Shan held the ice cream in her hand, not rushing to eat it. Dai Tuo dutifully pushed her back, staring at the ice cream in her hand the whole way.
When they returned to the building entrance, almost half an hour had passed.
It was freezing outside. Opening the nearly frozen iron door, he pushed the wheelchair inside. The young man followed, lifting the hood of his sweatshirt, and asked in a low voice, “Did the ice cream melt after being held all this way?”
Hearing this, Shan Shan looked down and squeezed the ice cream in her palm. It hadn’t completely melted, just softened a bit… The packaging made a rustling sound in her hand. She heard him chuckle coldly behind her: “You know how to make things difficult for people.”
His mouth always had to have the last word, never letting anything go.
Hearing him there, sarcastically mocking her, Shan Shan didn’t get angry or argue with him as usual. Holding the ice cream, she called his name, her voice a bit hoarse.
Dai Tuo carelessly “hmm” -ed, asking what mischief she was up to now.
She sat in the wheelchair, half her face hidden in shadow. Hearing his question, she finally raised her face, turning her head slightly to look at him.
Then she smiled faintly.
The Shan family genes were evident; Shan Shan was beautiful, and when she smiled, she truly outshone most of her peers. It was just that those clear, dark eyes were like black holes…
Dai Tuo stared at her expressionlessly as she smiled and said in a casual tone—
“Dai Tuo.”
Her voice was slow.
“Seeing that earlier must have been very uncomfortable for you, right?”
She said.
“I’m sorry.”
As her words fell, the entire stairwell sank into dead silence.
How quiet was it?
Except for the sound of snow falling outside the corridor, there wasn’t even the sound of breathing. The north wind blew against the frozen iron door, making a “creaking” sound that was both harsh and desolate.
The expression and emotion on Dai Tuo’s face suddenly disappeared—if there had been any mockery or impatience at first, now there was no expression at all on his face. His hands hung naturally at his sides as he stood there, looking down at her.
The young man had delicate features, not an approachable face. Usually sharp-tongued, when not being caustic, he somehow emanated the same unapproachable coldness as his master and senior apprentice-brother, Shan Chong.
That intangible aura spread out.
Shan Shan was serious, for once without any intention of playing tricks or having other thoughts. She was just very earnestly talking about this matter… How should she put it? It’s not like she hadn’t been in public places before, those gazes—
Numb ones.
Sympathetic ones.
Curious ones.
Disgusted ones.
Even friendly ones…
She hated them all.
She didn’t say anything usually, and the people around her didn’t seem to make a big deal of it, treating her like they would anyone else, but she did care…
She cared about being seen in her imperfection by those she cared about.
It wasn’t something shameful, but she just couldn’t lift her head. Her whole body, from the imperfect part, felt like ants crawling all over her in waves.
Hearing his silence, she became irritated too. She frowned, turned her head, and had just said “Let’s go” in an annoyed tone when suddenly, someone spun the wheelchair around—
She was startled.
Her back pressed against the backrest, she looked up at the person in front of her, bewildered and nervous. He had his hands on the wheelchair armrests, leaning down, staring at her expressionlessly.
Backlit, he looked like a panther lurking in the dark grass, his gaze focused and cold.
“Shan Shan, are you sick in the head?” His voice was icy.
“Would a normal girl apologize if someone saw her undressed?”
Trapped between the wheelchair and his arms, the young woman blinked, stunned. Gradually, her moist dark eyes began to sparkle.
“Don’t apologize—get angry, make me apologize,” he said. “You can even slap me, just don’t apolo—”
Before he could finish.
“Slap!”
A soft palm struck the side of his face, turning his head to one side… She didn’t hold back at all, leaving him completely stunned.
He pressed his tongue against his cheek. His eyeballs trembled slightly in their sockets from shock. After a long moment, as if coming back to his senses, he slowly turned his head, lowered his eyes, and looked at the person sitting in the wheelchair.
Shan Shan stared at her palm, lost in thought.
After a while, she looked back, meeting his eyes, and asked in confusion: “Like that?”
Dai Tuo closed his eyes briefly. The veins on the back of his hand resting on the wheelchair jumped. After a good while, he finally grunted an “Mm” from his nose.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
Dai Tuo lifted her from the wheelchair and carried her up to the third floor in one go. He raised her so she could reach out and press the doorbell. As the doorbell rang, he muttered in her ear: “Why didn’t you ask if it hurt when you were hitting me, you hit so hard.”
…
The door opened, and warm air rushed out.
The house was still as lively as when they left, with the kitchen crowded with people.
Shan Chong had taken over Dai Tuo’s position, fiddling with the unfinished Lego. Wei Zhi was directing him on how to build it on the phone. Hearing the commotion, both the person on the phone screen and Shan Chong looked up at Dai Tuo.
Shan Chong asked: “What happened to your face?”
Dai Tuo bent down, took the scarf off Shan Shan’s neck, hung it up, and said expressionlessly: “I fell and scraped my face on the wall.”
Shan Chong didn’t respond to him, just gave him a long look, said “Oh,” and went back to working on his puzzle.
As the sun set, the New Year’s Eve dinner began around the time the Spring Festival Gala started. Adults at one table, children at another, more than a dozen people crowded around a table in one room, with relatives and friends all present.
Fresh, hot dumplings were also served early.
Everyone took a bowl and had a few. On the TV, the Spring Festival Gala had just begun, with the first program always being a song and dance performance, very lively and festive…
Outside the window, the sound of firecrackers had been constant since nightfall.
Everyone gathered around, and Wang Xin had just picked up two dumplings and stuffed them in his mouth. He had only chewed twice and hadn’t swallowed when he saw Shan Chong’s mother, sitting diagonally across from him, put down her bowl and raise the cup beside her.
Everyone looked at her.
They saw the woman who had been smiling since the afternoon, her expression not much different now, raise her cup slightly and stand up. Her toast went like this—
“I wish my son a safe and smooth new year, may all his wishes come true, and may he achieve success in all his endeavors.”
As her words fell, the table that had been chatting fell silent.
Those who were laughing stopped.
Those who were eating stopped.
The ladle for serving soup was still in hand, half a scoop of soup spilled.
Shan Chong, who had been lowering his head to text his wife on WeChat, now looked up in confusion.
He found a table full of relatives and friends looking at him. Dai Tuo expressionlessly swapped his cola for white wine, and Wang Xin’s cheeks were stuffed with a dumpling, his eyes bulging like a frog’s.
Shan Chong: “Huh?”
Shan Chong’s mother’s wine glass lightly clinked against the bottom of his father’s glass beside her.
A soft “clink” sound.
Like a bell awakening everyone from their daze, suddenly, people came to their senses. They all stood up, raising their wine glasses… In the chaos, a glass was also pushed into Shan Chong’s hand. In a daze, he heard the laughter and chatter around him—
“Can you win a gold medal?”
“Damn, why are you only recognizing gold medals? Don’t you understand skiing? Any medal is fine!”
“Don’t put pressure on the kid, it’s still early days!”
“Train hard and do your best, Ah Chong and Xiao Tuo. Wow, our family has two Olympic athletes, bringing glory to the country… Take a photo with your aunt later, I’ll post it on WeChat!”
“Safety is a blessing, Ah Chong, you must remember this.”
“Cheers! Cheers! Happy New Year!”
The various voices were truly a jumble.
Yet every word reached his ears.
“Finish this glass and next year you’ll be a professional athlete, quit smoking and drinking… Ah Tuo, may your dreams come true in Beijing.”
One glass of wine down, not a drop left. The air around seemed to suddenly rise by one degree. Was the ceiling getting higher? It was as if everything had become a bit unreal.
It felt like going back many years, except that now the TV was playing “Spring Returns to the Earth” instead of “Unforgettable Night.” Amidst the festive music, Wang Xin put down the dumplings he had been holding and said he seemed to have forgotten to set off firecrackers.
Shan Chong’s father exclaimed, “Oh, that’s right.”
The two middle-aged men went to pull out firecrackers from under the sofa. They brought them out and called Shan Chong and Dai Tuo to go downstairs to set them off—
Night had fallen, and outside there was a special smell of ice, snow, and sulfur mixed in the air, a scent that could only be smelled during the New Year.
Milky white smoke floated in the air. Shan Chong set up the firecrackers, and Wang Xin took out a cigarette to light the fuse. The two covered their ears and ran back.
Running back to the building entrance, Shan Chong watched the firecrackers ignite in the distance. They crackled and popped, some of the debris hitting the building door, making sounds, and some bouncing off his face.
He was stung by the sparks and turned his head, wanting to complain to Wang Xin about not letting him place the firecrackers further away. But when he turned around, he found the greasy middle-aged man now huddled in the shadow of the building corner, using the cover of the firecrackers to cry silently, covering his face.
Perhaps he was lamenting the bowl of dumplings that would go cold before he could finish them.
The string of firecrackers finished with unprecedented smoothness.
In the entire courtyard, the Shan family’s firecrackers were probably the longest-lasting and brightest.
As the last firecracker ended, the phone in Shan Chong’s pocket vibrated. He answered with a hoarse “Hello,” and on the other end, the young girl’s voice was lively—
“Isn’t fireworks allowed in the north? Shan Chong, can you set off some fireworks for me at midnight? Ah, I can hear the firecrackers! It’s so atmospheric! Did your family set off firecrackers? Let me see, let me see!”
Chirping away.
Like a little bird hopping and jumping on a branch.
Hearing the person on the other end of the phone clamoring to hear firecrackers and insisting on seeing fireworks, the man chuckled and said, “Mm. After dinner, I’ll go buy some for you.”
Amidst Dai Tuo’s complaints of “It’s freezing, I’m going back inside” beside his ear, the young girl on the phone sweetly agreed. She paused for a moment, listening carefully to the sounds on the man’s end, and said, “Then eat more.”
“Okay.”
“Buy lots of fireworks too.”
“Alright.”
“Shan Chong.”
“Hm?”
“Happy New Year… Ah!”
“Mm.”
Holding the phone, looking out at the snow-covered landscape bathed in moonlight and gunpowder smoke outside the building, the man’s thin lips curled slightly.
“Happy New Year.”