Her brows unconsciously furrowed as she stared out the window.

Such heavy snow…

He should leave, right?

“Dinner’s ready, dinner’s ready.” Li Sitong placed the dishes on the table and waved them over.

Cheng Suo walked over while Xue Jiao remained standing in place. He turned back: “Jiaojiao? What’s wrong? Come eat dinner.”

“Okay…” Xue Jiao snapped back to reality, frowning as she walked to the table and sat down, listlessly holding her bowl.

Cheng Suo glanced at the distracted Xue Jiao and calmly said: “The snow outside is getting heavier.”

Li Sitong thought he was just making an observation and responded: “Indeed when we were in C City, we never saw such heavy snow. If you don’t shovel it quickly, it piles up. I don’t dare go out the front door.”

“Well, this is the north after all.” Cheng Mingze responded while looking at his phone.

“Mingze, can you stop working during dinner?” Li Sitong looked worriedly at Cheng Mingze.

It seemed they had developed some software themselves and installed it on their phones. When Cheng Mingze couldn’t conveniently use his computer, he would run it on his phone.

All day long, if he wasn’t holding his computer, he was holding his phone.

Even though he had come home for the holiday, it didn’t feel like a vacation at all.

He swallowed his food and smiled: “It’s fine, it’s running by itself. I’m just checking.”

Li Sitong nodded and said nothing more, serving food to Cheng Mingze and Xue Jiao.

“Jiaojiao, eat your food. What are you thinking about?” Li Sitong lightly tapped the bowl with her chopsticks.

Xue Jiao, who had been lost in thought, immediately came back to reality, shaking her head, her movements careless, clearly distracted.

Is he… still outside?

“By the way, I have something important to discuss.” Cheng Suo’s expression suddenly turned serious.

“What is it?” Cheng Mingze looked at him.

Cheng Suo and Li Sitong exchanged glances, then Li Sitong said: “It’s like this. We’ve bought a new house, a small villa. It’s larger, and we’ll hire a housekeeper. Mom’s cooking skills… aren’t very good.”

Cheng Suo nodded: “Our most difficult period has passed. Now Pengcheng has established itself in Beijing, and you two children don’t spend much money. We can consider a better living environment. It’s not far from your school, but you’ll need to take transportation to commute. What do you think? If it’s okay, we’ll officially move in on New Year’s Eve.”

Cheng Mingze smiled: “I have no problem with it, as long as Dad can afford it.”

“What about Jiaojiao?” Li Sitong looked at Xue Jiao.

She had always felt that adults could make decisions about such important matters, but Cheng Suo had insisted that the children must agree. The children were adults now and had a say in major family decisions.

Li Sitong agreed—she wasn’t as good at raising children as Cheng Suo, and to avoid making more mistakes, following Cheng Suo’s lead was always safe.

Xue Jiao was startled back to reality: “Huh?”

Li Sitong frowned: “What are you thinking about, girl? You’re constantly distracted during dinner. Do you agree with our plan to move to a new house?”

“I agree…” Xue Jiao opened her mouth and casually responded.

Then she lowered her head to eat, appearing attentive.

He must have gone home by now, no need to worry…

“Alright, it’s decided then. We’ll move in on New Year’s Eve. They’re still installing the security system. Since the house is lower, we need to pay extra attention to safety issues.” Cheng Suo said.

“Mmm.” Cheng Mingze and Li Sitong nodded, and Xue Jiao also nodded casually.

“Jiaojiao, Mingze, since you’re on vacation with nothing to do, you could go out and have a snowball fight. The snow outside is very thick. Tomorrow morning would be perfect for snowball fights and building snowmen. With snow this deep, you could build quite tall snowmen.” Cheng Suo said with a smile.

“Clack—” Xue Jiao’s chopsticks fell.

Li Sitong asked with confusion: “Jiaojiao, what’s wrong with you today?”

Xue Jiao put down her bowl and abruptly stood up: “Um… I need to go out for something!”

“Hey—”

Cheng Suo stopped Li Sitong, who was about to call after Xue Jiao, and shouted: “Put on your down jacket before going out!”

“Okay!”

While responding, she casually threw on her clothes and grabbed an umbrella.

It was too cold outside and the snow was too heavy; Xue Jiao couldn’t gamble on whether he had gone home or not.

He was so smart and rational…

But sometimes, just like her, he could be extremely stubborn.

Xue Jiao held her umbrella and hurriedly ran out, her face anxious.

Outside, the lights were bright. Although it was already night, the vast white snow under the illumination still appeared quite bright.

The wind was strong outside, howling, and it was very cold.

Xue Jiao zipped up her jacket, covering half her face, then stretched out her neck, looking around.

No one… he must have left…

Xue Jiao sighed in relief, yet a strange sense of disappointment rose in her heart.

It was good that he had left, at least he wouldn’t freeze.

She stamped her feet and prepared to go back, but as she turned, she bumped into someone behind her.

Xue Jiao was startled, and the person had already taken her umbrella, sheltering both of them.

“Jiaojiao…” His voice was soft, carrying a smile.

Xue Jiao looked up.

Lin Zhihua was wearing black clothes, holding the umbrella, and smiling down at her.

They were very close now, his head lowered, his eyes focused on her.

Xue Jiao had never noticed before…

His gaze was so unguarded.

Perhaps because she now knew his feelings, he no longer bothered to hide, revealing his true emotions.

Xue Jiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she shifted her gaze, avoiding his eyes.

“I… you… you…”

Lin Zhihua chuckled softly: “Jiaojiao, what do you want to say?”

“You shouldn’t come anymore, go home quickly…” Xue Jiao’s feet shuffled on the ground as she suddenly said this.

An ordinary young man might feel sad and hurt.

But Lin Zhihua had spent two years with her and was extremely attentive. He probably understood her character better than she did herself.

“Are you worried about me getting cold?” Lin Zhihua smiled softly.

Xue Jiao suddenly looked up, her tone somewhat angry: “Why are you standing here foolishly? What if I hadn’t come out? What if I hadn’t known? Would you just keep waiting like this?!”

Lin Zhihua’s smile became more apparent. His left hand held the umbrella, while his right hand reached out, bending slightly, and gently flicked her nose.

“Silly girl, you did know, didn’t you? I was waiting for you.”

Xue Jiao was startled, then her eyes widened.

“My dad was helping you?!”

How was that possible?! Didn’t Cheng Suo dislike her… being friends with Lin Zhihua?

Lin Zhihua put his right hand against his lips and fake-coughed.

Cheng Suo wasn’t helping him, he was helping them…

Well, honestly, Lin Zhihua wasn’t sure if Xue Jiao would come out after knowing.

He was just gambling, betting on whether she cared about him.

Fortunately, he had bet correctly.

She did care about him.

Seeing him just smiling, Xue Jiao gave him a fierce glare: “How old are you to be… forget it. Don’t do this kind of thing again. Here’s the umbrella, go back quickly.”

After speaking, she put on her hood and walked directly toward the community gate.

Behind her, Lin Zhihua reached out and gently embraced her, his hands crossed over her abdomen.

Then he lowered his head, resting his chin on her shoulder.

The umbrella fell to the ground, spinning in a circle before stopping, its handle pointing upward.

Xue Jiao froze as if someone had pressed the pause button, fixed in place.

Lin Zhihua nuzzled affectionately, his voice soft: “Jiaojiao, I like you. I want to be with you forever.”

“Boom—”

Something seemed to explode in Xue Jiao’s head.

His movements were gentle, the weight of his head resting on her was light, but Xue Jiao felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds.

Her attention was completely stolen by the warmth embracing her. Her heart raced wildly, her mind stopped thinking, and despite the snow falling from the sky, she felt nothing else.

Under the dim street light, snowflakes danced, and a man in black clothes gently embraced a girl in blue from behind.

Though it was snow floating in the air, at this moment it seemed like pink bubbles.

The man behind her, his chest vibrating, said softly: “Because I met you, I realized I’m just an ordinary man. My blood is warm, my heart is warm. I will worry about you, be jealous, get angry, miss you, and also want to walk with you for a long, long time, from newlyweds to old companions.”

Xue Jiao became even more rigid.

“Jiaojiao…” Lin Zhihua tilted his head, his lips lightly pressing against her cheek, murmuring her name indistinctly.

His breath fell on her face, his voice by her ear, filled with emotion, both dreamy and clear, extremely intimate.

Xue Jiao’s breathing grew heavier, her mind still foggy, unable to say a word.

The weather was very cold, but her entire body was burning.

After a moment, she broke free and ran away like a gust of wind.

Her retreating figure could be described in four words—fleeing in disarray.

But Lin Zhihua didn’t feel upset at all. He watched Xue Jiao’s silhouette and revealed an obvious smile.

Her earlobes had turned red.

He had also just heard her rapid heartbeat.

Lin Zhihua suddenly felt no rush, his eyes crinkling with a smile—

Little turtle, let’s see how long you can hide.

——

Xue Jiao ran back home in one breath, closed the door, and leaned against it, her face showing she was still in shock.

Li Sitong had just finished cleaning up and looked at her with confusion: “Jiaojiao, what’s wrong? Why is your face so red?”

Xue Jiao was startled, and instantly, the blush on her face spread further, turning completely red.

“Are you sick?” Li Sitong was concerned and was about to approach.

Xue Jiao hurriedly said: “No, no! I’m going to my room. Goodnight, Mom!!”

While speaking, she ran, and by the time she finished her sentence, her bedroom door was already closed.

Li Sitong was completely bewildered.

Cheng Suo and Cheng Mingze walked out of the study, and Cheng Suo’s face didn’t look very pleased.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Li Sitong began to worry about Cheng Suo.

Cheng Suo just looked glumly at the closed door and sourly said—

“She’s been taken by a pig…”

“Huh?” Li Sitong looked confused.

“Our daughter is about to be snatched away by that wolf Lin Zhihua!”

After Cheng Suo spoke, Cheng Mingze frowned deeply but didn’t say anything in the end.

But Li Sitong said: “Ah? That’s fine, right? Lin Zhihua and Jiaojiao are very well-matched.”

Cheng Suo: “…”

——

After Xue Jiao ran back, she didn’t dare go out again.

This time, Lin Zhihua didn’t come to bother her, but he did send one text message each morning and night, and a video call in the evening.

Fortunately, he no longer said things that made her heart race. He would, like before, just say goodnight or inquire about the progress of her thesis.

But it was also different from before. Occasionally, he would suddenly say—

I miss you.

Every time she heard these four words, Xue Jiao would toss and turn at night, and then had to admit—

She seemed to miss him quite a bit too.

But Xue Jiao still couldn’t muster the courage to see him.

Because she knew… if she went to see him, it would mean… she had accepted him.

Accepting the huge transformation from “mentor” to “boyfriend” still made Xue Jiao somewhat afraid and hesitant.

Fortunately, writing her thesis diverted most of Xue Jiao’s energy, so she wasn’t thinking about this matter all day.

——

Time passed slowly like this for seven days.

Xue Jiao was now just finishing up the first draft of her thesis, and the new year was approaching. She had promised to submit her first draft to Professor Tan before the new year.

The workload was still substantial, and she had been typing away at her computer recently.

On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, Xue Jiao received a phone call.

“Hello, Jiajia, what’s up?”

On the other end of the phone, Mai Jiajia’s voice was urgent: “Jiaojiao, quickly contact Ding Qi. Something seems to have happened to Shu Lan!”

“What?!” Xue Jiao threw aside her computer and abruptly stood up.

While changing her clothes, she called Ding Qi: “Hello, Qiqi, where is Shu Lan? What happened?!”

“Jiaojiao, don’t worry, it’s okay now, but you should still come over. We’re at Hengshan Road…”

Xue Jiao nodded while going out to catch a taxi.

Uncle Xing had gone out with Cheng Suo today, so she could only take a taxi herself.

Hengshan Road was a well-known villa area. When Cheng Suo mentioned changing houses earlier, he had mentioned this place, but later chose another location, not far from Hengshan Road.

It was also fully furnished and currently undergoing final adjustments. In two days, on New Year’s Eve, they would officially move there.

When Xue Jiao arrived, Ding Qi and Shu Lan were both there. They were waiting outside a community, with Ding Qi standing and Shu Lan crouching on the ground.

Seeing that both were safe, Xue Jiao completely relaxed.

“What exactly happened? Jiajia wasn’t clear, and she scared me.”

“Ask Shu Lan what she did! She’s simply an idiot!” Ding Qi glared fiercely, appearing very angry.

Xue Jiao was completely confused: “What happened? How did you end up here?”

Shu Lan covered her face, silently crying, not speaking.

Ding Qi stepped forward and told Xue Jiao everything from beginning to end.

It turned out that Lin Yinyin’s parents’ company had gone bankrupt, and Lin Yinyin had moved away from Beijing. The Yu family had also made Yu Cheng cut off contact with Lin Yinyin.

Yu Cheng was delighted and officially got together with Shu Lan, even saying he wanted to get engaged to her.

Today was when Yu Cheng brought Shu Lan home to meet his parents.

Who knew that when they arrived, they would run into Yu Cheng’s parents arranging for him to meet another girl. The other family had brought their daughter and were sitting in their home.

Yu Cheng was furious and declared that he only loved Shu Lan and would never be with anyone else. In this life, he only wanted Shu Lan.

Girls who could catch the eye of the Yu family all had considerably good family backgrounds.

Hearing Yu Cheng’s words, the other party became angry as well. The lady took her daughter and left harsh words before departing.

Yu Cheng’s father, Yu Zhengguo, was enraged and took a stick to beat Yu Cheng. Shu Lan went to shield Yu Cheng and took two hits herself.

Then Yu Cheng’s mother, Su Qing, had people “escort” Shu Lan out and locked Yu Cheng up.

That was the whole story.

Xue Jiao’s brows furrowed tightly as she looked at Shu Lan: “Are you okay? Were you injured by those two blows?”

Shu Lan’s voice was hoarse: “I’m fine…”

Ding Qi was still angry, her voice filled with indignation: “Jiaojiao, why are you concerned about her? She’s actively degrading herself and letting people humiliate her!”

Hearing this, Shu Lan trembled.

But they all knew that Ding Qi always spoke bluntly and didn’t have bad intentions.

Xue Jiao sighed, soothingly patted Ding Qi, then reached out to help Shu Lan stand.

“Lanlan, you know what his family is like. When he couldn’t protect you, why did you go back with him?”

Shu Lan’s legs were numb, and she leaned on Xue Jiao, her voice hoarse: “We didn’t know his parents would…”

Yu Cheng did have a plan. They were going home to be open about their relationship, and it was also a test.

They just didn’t expect that the other party was already arranging blind dates for him, which led to the situation escalating…

“Lanlan… what do you plan to do next?” Xue Jiao looked at her.

Shu Lan’s eyes were bewildered, her gaze moving to the building where Yu Cheng lived, gradually becoming dull.

“No matter how good Yu Cheng is, with a family like his, you can’t possibly stay with him long-term! Break up!” Ding Qi’s voice was resolute.

But clearly, Shu Lan didn’t have that kind of personality.

“I…”

“Jiaojiao, look, she’s still hesitating?!” Ding Qi looked at Xue Jiao with disbelief.

Xue Jiao shook her head, supporting Shu Lan as she said: “Let’s go to the hospital to see if you’re injured.”

She paused, then continued: “Also… I know that regarding Yu Cheng, nothing we say will make a difference. I just hope that you… don’t come here again.”

Shu Lan hesitated, then said: “I won’t come again.”

Being humiliated once was enough.

“You’re not yet ready to face his family’s power. When he still can’t convince his family, you shouldn’t interact with his relatives. As for the two of you…” Xue Jiao paused again, “That’s your decision. I don’t understand relationships either…”

She was still a confused mess and had no way to give Shu Lan any advice.

Shu Lan bit her lower lip and nodded.

After a moment, she opened her mouth: “Thank you both…”

She was truly moved. No matter what happened, having friends by her side felt good.

If it weren’t for them… she might still be crouching on the ground in confusion, not knowing what to do.

Whether it was Ding Qi who scolded her or Xue Jiao who supported her, they were her warmest memories in this winter.

Xue Jiao and Ding Qi helped Shu Lan go to the hospital for a check-up, and it was fortunate they did. Shu Lan felt she wasn’t badly hurt, but in fact, a large patch on her back had turned blue.

This angered Xue Jiao and Ding Qi so much that they wanted to confront the Yu family, but Shu Lan stopped them.

“I ran into it myself. He was hitting… Yu Cheng. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again…” Shu Lan’s voice was still hoarse.

Xue Jiao sighed and exchanged glances with Ding Qi: “Let’s take you home.”

They sent Shu Lan back to her home.

In Xue Jiao’s view, Shu Lan’s family background was already quite good. Both her parents were elementary school teachers, and they owned their own house.

Besides, Shu Lan herself was obedient, sensible, and well-educated. Were Yu Cheng’s parents really that snobbish? Did they need a girl from a big company?

Xue Jiao couldn’t understand or comprehend it.

Afterward, Shu Lan and Yu Cheng didn’t contact each other much, and life was relatively peaceful.

Xue Jiao’s life was also peaceful, filled only with thesis, thesis, thesis…

Even Lin Zhihua was temporarily forgotten from her mind, with her heart entirely focused on her thesis.

New Year’s Eve in Beijing was much livelier than in C City. Every household was brightly lit, with lantern festivals and fireworks creating a bustling atmosphere.

Xue Jiao spent her third new year in this world amid such sounds.

On New Year’s Eve, the whole family moved into the new house. The new house had three floors, but the area wasn’t as large as the one in C City. According to Cheng Mingze, Cheng Suo would have to start paying off debts for this house.

Beijing… was truly worth its weight in gold.

On New Year’s Eve, the family cheerfully drank together, and even Xue Jiao was poured a glass of red wine.

She drank until her cheeks were flushed, her eyes hazy as she watched television.

“Jiaojiao, if you’re tired, go to sleep.”

Xue Jiao shook her head, forcing herself to stay alert as she continued watching the Spring Festival Gala: “No… I want to stay up for the New Year.”

Li Sitong smiled and ruffled her hair: “This is your first time drinking. If you don’t go to bed early tonight, you’ll sleep until noon tomorrow.”

Xue Jiao: “…”

Surely not… her biological clock was very good…

She wasn’t just waiting for the new year; she was also waiting for… a certain person’s call.

For the past two years, they had celebrated the new year together. The first year, Lin Zhihua had come to the building downstairs. The second year, she had called Lin Zhihua.

This year…

She was waiting for Lin Zhihua’s call.

Unfortunately, she waited until almost one o’clock, and there was still no call.

Not even a single message!

“Jiaojiao, go to sleep now.” Cheng Suo beckoned.

Xue Jiao nodded, frowning, and staggered back to her room.

Though she should have been very sleepy after drinking, Xue Jiao lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

It wasn’t until nearly two o’clock that Xue Jiao finally realized—

He definitely wouldn’t call.

Thinking of this, she felt a surge of anger from somewhere.

Her hand gripped tightly, then threw the phone she had been holding onto the cabinet, before pulling the blanket to wrap herself completely.

Ahhhhh!

If he doesn’t call, then he doesn’t call!

Who’s waiting anyway?!

Covering her head, after a while, she felt she couldn’t breathe, so she stuck her head out, closed her eyes, and finally fell asleep.

——

Li Sitong was right; when Xue Jiao woke up, it was ten o’clock.

This was unprecedented!

Had she become “slack” since starting university?

While scolding herself, she got up and dressed.

Then she reached under her pillow and found three red envelopes.

The first one was thick and had written on it—

“Jiaojiao, Happy New Year. May you be happy every day in the new year—Dad.”

The second one had written—

“Jiaojiao, Happy New Year. Mom loves you.”

The third one—

“Sister, little sleepyhead, Happy New Year.”

Xue Jiao looked at the third red envelope and gave it a fierce glare.

Cheng Mingze, that bad guy.

But she still happily collected all the red envelopes, neatly folded her blanket, and opened the curtains.

Huh?

Xue Jiao froze. There was a red envelope clipped on the small balcony outside, standing firmly.

She looked around but saw nothing else.

Xue Jiao pushed the window open on both sides and walked out.

The red envelope had two characters on it, written with vigorous and clear strokes—Jiaojiao.

Lin Zhihua’s handwriting.

She was very familiar with it.

Xue Jiao slowly approached, then reached out and picked it up.

It was very thin; there probably wasn’t money inside.

Xue Jiao’s lips twitched slightly, but she quickly composed herself.

When had he put it here?

She hurriedly opened it, and inside was a folded piece of paper.

Xue Jiao was a bit confused and slowly opened it—

Look up.

Hmm?

What did “look up” mean?

Xue Jiao was startled and unconsciously looked up.

A shadow fell over her, and something pressed against her forehead.

Gentle and warm.