Xie Ci brushed past her apricot-red lips, fleeting as a moment, not daring to linger.

That bit of warmth, however, sent tingles all the way to the bottom of his heart.

Xu You’s shoulders were held fixed by him. She couldn’t move.

Just that one touch froze both of them in place.

The streetlights emitted a dim yellow, warm halo. There were very few people on the street.

The cold wind of the winter night blew gently. Fingertips grew cold, and so did the neck.

“Can I kiss you one more time?” His voice dropped lower, becoming a bit hoarse. It seemed he was exercising restraint, his breathing heavy.

Before Xu You could make a sound, just as she turned her head aside, her shoulders were gripped by someone and pulled closer.

Xie Ci lowered his head and leaned in again. This time it wasn’t a light taste but forcefully sealing her lips and tongue, his movements intense.

The things in her hands fell to the ground.

Xu You’s eyes widened. She whimpered a few times. Lifting her head, she twisted her body desperately, trying to break free from Xie Ci’s restraint.

But he had already lost control, like an irritable prisoner. One hand cradled the back of her head while his wet tongue tip continuously swept across the seam of her lips, touching her teeth.

A very forceful kiss.

Saliva couldn’t be swallowed in time. Every nerve was trembling.

Xie Ci’s hand slowly slid to her slender neck and couldn’t leave anymore.

The pad of his fingers pressed against that delicate spot, rubbing back and forth.

In the end, he completely couldn’t stop.

He ignored her struggles, lowering his head even more, gently sniffing the scent on her body.

Bit by bit.

Restraint was only temporary.

Reason wasn’t there at all, because desire could never be extinguished.

—

When Xu You returned home and opened the door, she found her father sitting on the sofa.

Chen Xiuyun sat beside him knitting a sweater. Looking up and seeing Xu You, she complained, “Why are you coming back so late today?”

“I went to buy some things.” Xu You lowered her head, answering while changing her shoes.

At the dinner table, halfway through the meal, the topic of choosing between liberal arts and sciences came up again.

Father Xu put down his chopsticks. “Ah Chai, why do you keep spacing out today? I’ve had to ask you the same thing several times.”

“Ah, ah, what…” Xu You looked up with the appearance of just coming back to her senses.

Father Xu frowned. “What have you been thinking about lately? Don’t be like this at school too, or how will you study?”

The television in the living room wasn’t turned off. The voice of the evening news female host came through.

“Regarding XXX, citywide XXX complete halt of production…”

Xu You’s attention was diverted to listening.

“Your dad is asking if you’ve filled out that form.” Chen Xiuyun put a piece of meat in Xu You’s bowl, coming out to mediate. “This kind of thing should require our signatures, right?”

Xu You nodded. After a long moment, she lowered her head again, looking at the rice in her bowl, saying quietly, “I know.”

After bathing that evening, Xu You turned on the desk lamp and opened a physics exercise book.

This physics reference book was bought in her first year of high school. A thick stack, every page inside had notes and annotations written all over it.

She sat at the desk in a daze for a few seconds, flipped the book to where she hadn’t finished last time, pulled out a sheet of scratch paper, and continued calculating.

Midway through, Chen Xiuyun came into the room once. She placed a cup of milk by Xu You’s hand and instructed, “Drink it while it’s hot. You’re resting tomorrow, so go to sleep early tonight.”

Xu You nodded. “I know, Mom.”

“Don’t blame your father for being strict with you. He just hopes the best for you.”

“Mm, I know.”

“Are you adapting to the new school? How are you getting along with your classmates? Are you still in touch with your old friends?”

“I’m adapting. I rarely contact them anymore.”

Xu You skipped the middle question, and Chen Xiuyun didn’t ask further.

Father Xu was watching television in the living room, the volume turned very low.

Chen Xiuyun looked at the scratch paper on her desk covered densely with writing, sighed inwardly, and went out, closing the door behind her.

Next week would be monthly exams again.

Xu You propped her chin with one hand, twirled the pen in her hand, and planned to continue calculating the problem she hadn’t finished.

This was a major physics problem combining electromagnetic fields and the kinetic energy theorem. She had been calculating for a long time but kept finding it wasn’t right. Her thought process was stuck at one point and couldn’t progress.

She had listed several equations, arranging them together.

Looking at those numbers and letters crowded together, Xu You became distracted for the first time.

She threw down her pen, lay on the desk, face turned to the side, staring blankly at the snow-white wall.

How could there be such a shameless person…

Xu You’s mind was a bit chaotic, her eyelashes slowly fluttering.

The phone on the bed rang.

Xu You pushed back her chair and stood up, walked to the bedside, grabbed her phone, and looked at the caller ID.

The contact name “Xie Ci” kept jumping on the screen.

Xu You froze for two seconds, her finger pausing on the disconnect button.

She didn’t use her phone much and didn’t know how to add someone to the blacklist.

The phone rang continuously several times. Chen Xiuyun heard the commotion and called from the living room, “Ah Chai, why does your phone keep ringing?”

Xu You was sitting on the edge of the bed. Hearing her mother’s call, she turned her head and answered hastily, “It’s nothing, a call from my classmate!”

In her flustered state, somehow she pressed the answer button.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she still put the phone to her ear and said, “Hello.”

No one spoke on the other end. Only the background noise was a bit loud.

The door was suddenly knocked, startling Xu You. The phone was still held to her ear.

Father Xu opened the door and poked his head in. “Whose call is it?”

“My classmate.” Xu You secretly clenched her palm, forcing herself to stay calm. “He’s asking me about a problem.”

Father Xu was suspicious. “Why is your classmate calling you at this hour? Is it a boy or a girl?”

“It’s my deskmate, a girl.”

“If you’re not doing homework, go rest. Don’t waste time.”

“I know, Dad. I’ll sleep after I finish the physics problems.”

Father Xu still had doubt between his brows, but he didn’t say much more and closed the door.

Xu You secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A teasing voice came from the other end. Xie Ci couldn’t help but laugh. “What were you chattering about just now?”

Xu You had conversed with her dad in the Jiangnan dialect, which sounded like gibberish to outsiders.

He laughed on his end, though she didn’t know what he was laughing at. Xu You just listened silently.

“Why are you calling me?”

She waited for him to finish laughing and asked very calmly.

Xie Ci squatted by the roadside, looking up at the dark curtain of the sky. He held his phone, stubbing out the cigarette held between his fingertips on the ground.

Cold wind blew across his cheeks, pouring into his neck.

“Nothing much. I miss you. Is that okay?”

—

A circle of friends was still eating and drinking at the table, drinking wine and laughing, clinking glasses with each other. The aroma of food, the smell of alcohol, and cigarette smoke swirled together.

Yet he found these activities increasingly boring.

He had drunk several bottles of wine and smoked several cigarettes. Xie Ci couldn’t muster interest in anything. Suddenly, he wanted to hear Xu You’s voice.

Her Mandarin wasn’t very good. Sometimes when she got anxious, she would still stammer and scold people in that soft voice of hers.

He took out his phone from his jacket, placed it on the table with one hand, eyes watching the phone screen as he dialed over and over.

The other end kept not answering, but didn’t disconnect either.

Song Yifan sat right next to him. With a casual glance, he could see the contact name.

He thought of Xie Ci’s countless previous relationships and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Before, whenever they came out to play, those women would constantly call Xie Ci, either checking on him or being clingy with a few words.

Every time the calls came.

Xie Ci would just put his phone on the table, letting it ring, too lazy to answer.

His undisguised perfunctory attitude directly infuriated Song Yifan, who was still single at the time.

This guy, with this kind of dog attitude, actually still had a girlfriend.

Song Yifan said with both envy and jealous resentment, “With so many calls, why don’t you just bring your girlfriend out to play together?”

“What’s good about bringing her?” Xie Ci didn’t care at all.

“Damn, dating without being clingy—are you emotionally invested at all, brother?”

When Xie Ci expressionlessly dialed for the fourth time, Song Yifan finally couldn’t help but mock, “Dude, do you still remember what I said to you before?”

Xie Ci was absent-minded.

“What words?”

“Emotionally invested now?” Song Yifan asked tentatively.

Before he could continue, he saw Xie Ci stand up and leave his seat, pushing open the private room door and going out.

People who didn’t know the situation looked at each other.

Someone asked, “Xiao Hei, what’s Brother Ci doing leaving?”

Song Yifan leisurely crossed his legs and sighed affectedly, “It’s all karmic retribution. Your Brother Ci went to repay his debts.”

—

Xu You stared at the ground without blinking, not saying a word.

The wind on the other end was quite strong. Occasionally, she could also hear the sound of motorcycles roaring past.

“I’m going to hang up.” After Xu You finished speaking, she paused for another two seconds.

Xie Ci: “Mm?”

“Nothing…”

He laughed once. “Going to sleep so early?”

Xu You gripped her phone and couldn’t help saying, “It’s not early at all now. Who’s like you, still outside playing until so late?”

After saying this, she seemed to realize it was somewhat inappropriate and stopped talking.

“Okay, okay, okay, fine, fine, fine. You’re the good baby.” He coughed once, his tone a bit coaxing.

Another stretch of silence.

Xu You didn’t make a sound.

He suddenly said, “Can I come find you? I want to see you.”

And kiss you too.

Xu You guessed that Xie Ci had probably drunk some alcohol. His mind wasn’t very clear right now.

She said flatly, “Is there something wrong with you?”

Xie Ci gave a “heh” sound. Being scolded by her, he didn’t get angry but laughed instead. “If you scold me one more time, I’ll kiss you ten times.”

“Believe it or not?”

Her parents were urging from outside the door.

Xu You responded and wanted to hang up the call. As the phone left her ear, she heard him say, “What do I have to do for you to be with me?”

She froze.

“Just give me one chance, okay?”

“Give me one chance, and I really won’t pester you anymore after this. I promise.”

An idea floated through Xu You’s mind. She was a bit distracted.

After a long time.

She asked softly, “If you can’t do it, will you really stop pestering me?”

“………”

“Xie Ci?”

“Probably.”

Xie Ci hadn’t expected her to relent so quickly. His reaction was half a beat slow. “Don’t make it too difficult for me either.”

Her finger joints were twisted until they turned white. Xu You’s eyes looked at the window, where there was a small patch of light and shadow.

She heard herself say, “I want a box of Zhenzhibo lollipops. If you can buy them today, I’ll agree to be with you.”

His last words before hanging up were:

Don’t sleep. Wait for me to come find you.

—

Xu You turned off the lights, lifted the quilt, and climbed onto the bed.

The phone in her hand was still lit.

Thinking of the news she had heard during dinner in the evening.

Xu You opened a webpage and typed the three characters: Zhenzhibo.

Related searches popped up. The first one:

Year 20XX, Zhenzhibo completely halted production citywide.