Walking out of the hotel, they stood at the roadside.

With temperatures around zero degrees at night, the street was crowded with people, bustling and flowing like water. Although the night was deep, the city was still ablaze with lights.

This place wasn’t too far from Xu You’s home, about a ten-minute walk.

Along the way, there were street musicians holding guitars singing love songs. The tune was mellow. Xu You stopped in her tracks, listening with great interest for a while.

“You’re listening quite happily, can you sing it?” Xie Ci stood to the side, watching her relaxed expression, his heart itching, unable to help teasing her.

She didn’t respond.

Xie Ci curved his lips, thinking of something, laughing again, “Even singing a children’s song you can go off-key.”

Xu You’s eyes looked around. Her chin was wrapped in her scarf, her voice muffled, “Why must you be able to sing just because you listen to a song?”

“If you don’t sing, why listen?” His response was quick.

Xu You glanced at him, seriously asking back: “Does studying necessarily mean you’ll get good grades on exams?”

“I don’t study.”

“…….”

The wind was cold and clear, she walked forward aimlessly following the crowd, quiet and leisurely, her black and soft long hair draped behind her back.

The crowd hurried past beside her, those coming toward her were all couples holding hands. Xie Ci was right beside her, still continuing the previous topic, “Seriously, when I take exams, if I don’t show the teacher what I can do, he’d really think he taught me something.”

Xu You paused for quite a while before laughing out loud.

“There’s something wrong with your brain, I don’t want to communicate with you.”

“Damn, you’re even cursing now, huh?” Xie Ci squinted, moving closer to her, “Not afraid I’ll beat you up? Don’t you know I’m the boss?”

He spoke seriously, and Xu You was amused again, “You’re the boss, of course I’m afraid.”

“You have a bad temper.”

She somehow recalled, “On my first day transferring here, I saw you fighting, and then I was forced by you to write physics homework.”

“Stop, stop, stop.”

Xie Ci was confused, “Forcing you to write homework for me is true, but when did I fight?”

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

She said quietly: “Because of your ex-girlfriend.”

Hearing Xu You bring up old accounts, Xie Ci still felt a bit guilty.

After all, he’d caused quite a few incidents, who could still remember which one she was talking about…

But…

“You’re wronging me here, besides you, when the hell have I ever fought over a girl?”

“I even heard you guys chanting slogans.”

Xu You’s expression was bland, deliberately embarrassing him, “It seemed to be this line, whether First High is chaotic or not… Brother Ci has the final say?”

“………”

“You’re quite impressive.”

Xie Ci laughed and cursed, “That’s just for fun, hahahaha holy shit, but did you hear the first half of that sentence, it’s connected together.”

He didn’t feel embarrassed at all, pursing his lips, directly reciting smoothly: “First High’s little tyrant, several houses in the neighboring city; whether First High is chaotic or not, Brother Ci has the final say.”

His tone proud and arrogant.

Xu You stared at him silently.

But this line…

Xie Ci blinked, recalling for a moment.

Suddenly realizing, he turned to ask: “You’re not talking about Fu Yishun, are you?”

Xu You: “How would I know who it was?”

“Fuck, that idiot.”

He was very irritated, uncomfortably touching his nose, “Someone else actively looked for trouble with me, of course I couldn’t back down, where would the grade boss’s authority be, it wasn’t for some girl.”

“Why are you the grade boss, self-proclaimed?” She asked seriously.

Xie Ci made an “ah” sound, his face showing a roguish smile, “Because I’m handsome, just this handsome to be first, cool or not?”

Xu You looked at his profile, not wanting to dwell on this kind of question.

She turned around, walking toward another street corner.

Xie Ci followed behind, smiling yet not quite smiling, tilting his head to the side, coughing once.

“You’re jealous.” He asked slowly.

Xu You couldn’t be bothered, “I’m not, who’s jealous?”

“You, little vinegar jar.”

He couldn’t help but raise his hand, pinching her ear cartilage, his fingertips intimately touching.

Xu You was about to struggle when her neck was embraced from behind.

Xie Ci tilted his head slightly, his arm drawing in a bit, saying low and slow by her ear: “We’re all almost adults, can we be a bit more honest?”

The two of them were walking and talking, their attention not focused, when they bumped into a small child running and bouncing toward them.

That little girl was holding a pinwheel, bumping into Xu You’s leg with a thud, then falling to the ground and bursting into loud tears.

Xu You was caught completely off guard, frozen in place. After reacting for two seconds, she hurriedly stepped forward, crouching beside the little girl, gently patting her back: “Are you okay, little sister? Big sister didn’t mean it…”

The little girl only cared about crying, not paying her any attention. Her hand covered her face, her big eyes filled with crystal tears, falling one by one, her face flushed bright red.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry yet.”

Xu You was flustered, using her hands to wipe the little girl’s tears. She had no experience coaxing children, could only say whatever came to mind, her tone anxious yet gentle: “Little sister, don’t cry, will big sister take you to buy candied hawthorn, okay?”

The little girl instantly stopped crying, her continuously shrugging shoulders froze, and she quickly, softly agreed, “Okay.”

After speaking, as if afraid Xu You hadn’t heard, she added another sentence: “I want to eat candied hawthorn, Auntie buy for me.”

Xu You: ………

Xie Ci stood to the side with his hands in his pockets, simply laughing out loud.

Only then did the little girl notice a big brother standing nearby.

His appearance was clean and handsome, especially when he smiled, very appealing to women.

Because no matter what age, females all like good-looking people.

The little girl without thinking opened her arms, sobbing while saying: “Want a hug.”

Xu You had no choice but to use a tissue to wipe her nose. Supporting herself on her knees, she stood up, slightly bending at the waist, her arms passing under the little girl’s armpits, using force to lift her up.

Oh my, so heavy.

She grimaced, a bit unsteady, stepping back two steps, her waist supported by Xie Ci’s hand.

“Can big brother hold you instead? Auntie doesn’t have much strength, can’t carry you.”

Xie Ci raised his eyebrows lightly, speaking to the little girl in Xu You’s arms.

“Okay!”

So Xie Ci took the little girl.

Xu You walked two steps, picking up the fallen pinwheel from the ground and stuffing it back into the little girl’s hands.

“Little sister, where are your mommy and daddy?”

Xu You was about half a head shorter than Xie Ci, just the right height to be eye-level with the little girl.

She wiped the tears from the little girl’s face dry, patiently asking, “Why are you alone?”

“Don’t know…”

The little girl hugged Zhou Dang’s neck, her head moving left and right, “Daddy disappeared.”

Xu You now frowned with worry, “Ah, how far did you run by yourself?”

“Auntie, I want to eat candy…”

Xie Ci silently watched the two of them interact, his gaze just stuck on Xu You like that.

She was completely unaware, still worrying about the lost little girl. Looking around, there were bobbing heads everywhere.

“Take her to buy candied hawthorn first?” Xie Ci tilted his head toward Xu You, asking low by her ear.

Xu You immediately refused, “No, we can’t take the child away, we need to stay in place and wait for her parents to find her.”

The phone in his pocket vibrated at this moment, Xie Ci pulled it out with one hand, putting it to his ear, “Hello?”

On the other end was Xu Xiaocheng’s voice, noisy as hell, as soon as he connected he asked loudly: “Are you coming back today or not?”

Xie Ci was almost exhausted holding that chubby girl with one hand, his tone impatient, wanting to end the call quickly, “What is it? I still have things to do.”

“Holy shit, Xie Ci, are you even a brother, just focusing on accompanying the girl,” Xu Xiaocheng was dissatisfied.

Xie Ci’s tone became even more impatient, “You’re so long-winded, what the hell do you want, just say it quickly.”

Xu Xiaocheng made a “hey” sound, “No, we’re planning to go to Four Carats, that’s the bar Chen Jing’s friend opened.”

“Can you cut the nonsense or not?”

Xie Ci still hadn’t caught the main point in Xu Xiaocheng’s words.

“I just ate a lot of stuff, I’m stuffed, probably won’t be able to drink much later.”

“Feel free to eat, your ugliness isn’t because you’re fat.”

Xu You had originally been lowering her head carefully asking the little girl about things, when she suddenly heard Xie Ci being poor-mouthed again.

She couldn’t help but curve the corner of her mouth.

Xu Xiaocheng laughed on the other end, “Are you coming to celebrate New Year’s with us or not? Qiu Qingqing is also coming.”

“She’s coming?”

“Yeah, Chen Jing managed to pursue her, tell me, aren’t you upset?”

“With me jj things.”

Xie Ci was very calm, bursting into English.

The other side didn’t understand, quiet for two seconds before asking, “What does that mean? Why did A Ci suddenly become so sophisticated?”

Xie Ci was amused himself, “It’s none of my dick’s business, you don’t even understand that?”

“Hahahahahaha.”

“Who’s Chen Jing?”

He had no impression at all.

“The one whose hair looks like a wifi transmitter.”

Xu Xiaocheng tentatively asked, “Are you coming?”

Xie Ci smiled coldly, noncommittal, “Is the wife important, or are you guys important?”

…..

Time passed minute by minute, the little girl’s parents still hadn’t come.

Xu You looked at her watch, standing on her tiptoes looking around.

Xie Ci didn’t care, holding the little girl teasing her, “Hey, why do you call her Auntie and call me Big Brother?”

“Huh?” The little girl was a bit sleepy, stammering: “Because Big Brother is handsome.”

“Oh…”

Xie Ci deliberately drew out his tone, his eyes glancing toward Xu You, “Handsome means Big Brother, then isn’t Auntie pretty?”

Xu You was on the side calling her parents to explain the situation, too lazy to pay attention to him.

“Mm, a little sister, wait a bit longer, if the parents don’t come we’ll take her to the police station.”

Xu You lowered her head, kicking the small pebble in front of her, saying: “It’s fine, I’m with my classmate, don’t worry…”

After a few more words of instruction from the other end, she hung up the phone.

Xie Ci was still playing, saying: “She’s Big Brother’s girlfriend, can’t call her Auntie, you know?”

His patience with kids was really good.

However, listening to them talk, Xu You’s temple still twitched painfully.

The lively scene on the street completely didn’t show that the night was already very late. New Year’s Eve had an unimaginable magical attraction for young people, as if this special time period could bring them enormous joy, everyone was playing with all their might.

They held the little girl waiting for a long time, blowing in the wind, until finally they waited for a young couple.

The little girl’s parents.

Obviously they had also nearly gone crazy searching, that mother was crying while holding her daughter.

The father was much calmer emotionally, still having energy to constantly thank Xu You and Xie Ci.

By the time everything was finally handled, it was already very late.

Voices clamoring, lights wandering.

Xu You sighed tiredly, crouching on the ground resting for a while.

Xie Ci leaned against the railing watching her, not saying anything either.

Just spacing out like this for a minute.

“Hey.” Her scarf was lifted and tugged by someone.

Xu You turned her head.

Xie Ci held a corner of the scarf in his hand, his gaze wandering over her face, “Since it’s already so late anyway, want me to take you to the riverside to watch fireworks?”

“Very big fireworks?” Her gaze didn’t look at him, but drifted to somewhere further away.

“You’ll know once you go.”

—

The riverside was indeed very lively, bustling crowds, young couples being affectionate everywhere could be seen, holding glow sticks in their hands.

“Want me to buy you some flowers?” Xie Ci’s eyes casually swept over the small stalls and vendors along the way.

Xu You walked forward, saying carelessly “Don’t want any.”

He took her hand, “Don’t get lost.”

Xu You struggled a bit, baffled, “Don’t pull me.”

“Wife, stop making a fuss, I’ll admit my mistake, isn’t that enough?”

Xie Ci’s voice was deliberately very loud, causing people around to look over one after another.

There were even people nearby teasing, “The young couple is quarreling?”

Xie Ci replied, “No, my wife is very well-behaved.”

Xu You was stunned, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Seeing her expression tightly strained, Xie Ci laughed once, also not letting go, but instead pretending to casually ask: “Am I not your boyfriend?”

Xu You sighed inwardly. Her hands twisted behind her neck, wrapping the long scarf around in circles.

Her chin shrank into the scarf, her eyes squinting a bit from being blown by the wind.

Xie Ci clenched his back teeth.

“Xu You.” He called her name in a light voice, “If you dare say no, you’re done for.”

Xu You was about to speak when the crowd around them suddenly became restless.

Thousands upon thousands of people counting down together, quite a few couples already embracing and kissing, whistling sounds, screaming sounds, various excited sounds echoing by the riverside.

Five, four, three, two, one.

The last second of this year, the first second of next year.

In an instant, fireworks exploded across the sky.

Bang bang bang, continuous fireworks, illuminating the dark black curtain. Sparks falling from the sky and scattering seemed to fall into her eyes.

Xu You looked up.

So beautiful.

Xie Ci pulled down Xu You’s thick scarf, exposing her smooth, delicate chin.

His eyes were like a wolf’s, the corner of his mouth slightly pulled, slowly leaning down, “You want to play me to death?”

After speaking, Xie Ci’s face pressed down.

His thin lips pressed close to hers sucking, he used fierce force, kissing very heavily.

She heard his deep and heavy breathing.

Turning and reversing, the lips stuck together separated slightly, connecting with a thread of silver. He withdrew a tiny bit of distance, his eyes pitch black, tightly capturing Xu You’s pupils.

His voice low and hoarse, “Try it? If it doesn’t work, forget it.”

Waiting until the end.

Finally waiting for her ultimately helpless sigh.

Xu You lowered her head, pressing against Xie Ci’s shoulder, murmuring: “Next time don’t bite my mouth, it hurts.”