Because Xu You’s vacation time was short and she didn’t have time to return to Lin City for the New Year, on New Year’s Eve night, she invited Chen Lizhi’s family to celebrate together. The two families gathered to eat a reunion dinner, which counted as celebrating the New Year.

At the dinner table, Chen Lizhi and Father Xu talked about Xu You’s grades.

“What school does Chai plan to take in the future?” Chen Lizhi asked.

Father Xu answered conservatively, “Depends on her performance in the college entrance exam.”

According to Xu You’s current normal level, if her grades in senior year didn’t drop, there shouldn’t be any major problem entering China’s top universities. She also had a steady temperament and could calm her mind to focus, so the family all felt very reassured about her.

“I’m just afraid she’ll be influenced by others at school.” Father Xu shook his head and sighed.

Students studying at Lin City No. 1 High School generally came from families with upper-class economic conditions, and there would definitely be comparisons among them regarding food, clothing, and expenses.

Chen Lizhi knew what Father Xu was worried about and offered a few words of comfort.

After a while, Chen Xiuyun brought out sliced fruit and placed it on the dining table, “Oh, you all eat more, rest for a bit, let’s talk about something else.”

“You stop busying yourself too. Hurry up and eat, sister.”

“I’m not hungry. Was today’s food good?”

Chen Xiuyun frowned and gently patted Xu You’s shoulder, “Chai, I’m talking to you. Why do you keep spacing out?”

Hearing her mother’s urging, Xu You stopped being dazed and looked up from her eating motion.

“I’m asking you if today’s food was good?” Chen Lizhi came to her rescue on the side.

Xu You came back to her senses and nodded, “It was good.”

“Have you been under a lot of pressure lately? I see you don’t talk all day, just stay in your room. Even on vacation, I haven’t seen you go out to play with classmates.”

Chen Xiuyun wiped her hands on her apron, pulled out a chair beside her and sat down, looking at Xu You with some concern, “Studying is important, but your health is also important.”

“That’s right, Chai, don’t always be like this. Go out and walk around more. Always staying home like this, you’ll easily stifle yourself.”

Father Xu interrupted them, tapping the bowl with his chopsticks, “Go out and play what? What time is it now? Xu You has her own sense of proportion. She’s almost in her senior year, so necessary effort is needed. She’s young now, working a bit harder won’t hurt her. If she can’t even endure this bit of hardship, how will she manage when she enters society later?”

Xu You lowered her head and ate silently, listening without saying anything.

After dinner, she called her grandmother. Xu You hadn’t seen her in a long time and missed her very much.

Grandmother had been discharged from the hospital some time ago and had been recuperating at home. Receiving Xu You’s call made her very happy. She repeatedly called out in the familiar country dialect: “Chai, Grandma misses you so much. You’re not coming back for New Year, so you won’t get to eat the oil cakes Grandma makes for you.”

There were still two or three cousins of the same generation as Xu You at home, but Xu You was the one Grandmother loved most. She had grown up by Grandmother’s side since childhood. After transferring here for school, Grandmother always worried that Xu You had nothing to eat, or not enough to eat, or wasn’t used to the food. But Grandmother was getting old and couldn’t remember many things well, liking to repeatedly mention the same thing many times.

“Grandma, I’ll come back to see you on vacation. Is your health any better?” Xu You suppressed the faint sadness in her heart and asked with a smile.

“My health is much better. Are you eating well over there?”

“I eat well every day. I can come back when summer vacation comes.”

“Good girl, my Chai. Come back during summer vacation, and Grandma will make you red bean soup to drink, and steamed cakes too. Grandma has prepared a lot. You just say the word, and I’ll prepare it for you.”

She obediently agreed, “Okay, Grandma. You must also take good care of yourself over there. I’m being obedient.”

After listening to Grandmother’s chatter, she hung up the phone.

Xu You lowered her head and sat on the living room sofa in a daze. In front of her, the TV was showing the cheerful and festive Spring Festival Gala. Occasionally she could hear the laughter of children playing and running past downstairs, accompanied by the crackling sound of fireworks and firecrackers.

She took off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the sofa, unconsciously scrolling through her phone.

In her inbox were many mass-sent blessing messages. Xu You was too lazy to reply and scrolled down one by one.

Suddenly, when she saw a certain name, her finger paused.

Xie Ci…..

When was the last time she saw him? Half a month ago? A month? She couldn’t remember clearly.

Since that night, she hadn’t contacted him. Xie Ci hadn’t looked for her either. The connection between the two seemed to have been severed just like that.

Except a few days ago late at night, Xu You was working on test papers when she received a phone call from Xie Ci.

After connecting, he didn’t say a word. Xu You was never good with words to begin with and didn’t know what to say, nor did she know the intent of this phone call, so she also remained silent.

“Xie Ci?” After a while, Xu You tentatively called out.

On the other end was only barely audible breathing, then he spoke, “Where are you?”

“At home.”

“Oh.”

She had nothing to say.

He asked: “If I don’t call you, you’ll never look for me, right? Now that classes are reassigned, you want to dump me?”

At this moment, a soft, delicate voice suddenly came through the phone calling his name, followed by crisp laughter.

“You’re outside. Are you drunk?” Xu You asked quietly.

“You don’t want to be with me, you just want to brush me off. Now you can finally avoid being with me. Are you very happy?”

Xie Ci’s voice was weary, his words confused, evading the question.

“Brother Ci…..” That side had another faint voice coming through.

Xu You couldn’t understand what he was saying and lowered her eyes. The small reading lamp illuminated the words on the book. She turned a page and put the phone aside.

A few minutes later, she picked up the phone again. The other side had already hung up.

—

Dating was really too exhausting. Xu You couldn’t guess what Xie Ci was thinking. The two had grown up in vastly different living environments, and their concepts of material consumption were also different. The form of being together at the beginning was still fairly beautiful, but the future was really vast and unclear.

She had never had such an intimate relationship with a boy, and her interpersonal interactions were also very limited. Although Xu You was very good at self-restraint, she was also often at a loss, losing judgment and speculation, as if groping forward blindly.

He, to her, had emotions that constantly changed unpredictably, too strange and difficult to discern.

But she had no way to hurt Xie Ci. Even if she had to leave, she didn’t want to be the one to actively speak up first.

After thinking for a long time, Xu You took the remote control and turned the TV volume up a little. Looking back, her parents and Chen Lizhi were still talking at the dining table.

She dialed Xie Ci’s number.

Ring…. ring ring…..

Each ring sounded like tapping on her heart.

“Hello——.” Xie Ci answered.

Silence.

Xu You heard his voice and somehow felt relieved. She put the phone to her ear and said softly: “Happy New Year.”

“It’s not past twelve yet.”

“………..”

She didn’t know what to say anymore.

Xu You heard that his side seemed to have no noisy sounds at all and couldn’t help but be a bit curious, “Are you in your room? Why is it so quiet?”

“I’m outside.”

“Outside? You didn’t have a reunion dinner with your family tonight?”

“No.”

“Oh…..”

Xu You held the phone, spacing out. Just as she was about to say “let’s leave it at that,” Xie Ci on the other end of the phone asked: “Are you at home?”

“Yes.” She was confused.

He said: “……..”

Behind her, Chen Xiuyun called her, “Chai, are you still eating?”

Xu You was startled and hurriedly turned around, responding, “No more, Mom.”

“Who are you on the phone with?” Chen Xiuyun cleared the dishes and asked casually.

Xu You steadied her expression and said: “A classmate.”

After speaking, she put on her slippers and ran into her room, gently locking the door from inside before daring to continue putting the phone to her ear, “Hello?”

The other side was silent again. Xu You explained, “I didn’t hear what you just said.”

Xie Ci’s voice was very light, as if saying casually: “I’m at your residential complex.”

Xu You froze on the spot, not reacting for a moment, then heard him continue saying, “Waited for you all day without eating. Very hungry.”

“It snowed this afternoon. I’m about to freeze to death.”

Xu You’s heart felt as if it were being tightly clutched by a hand. Although she was slow, she wasn’t completely unaware.

—

“Mom, is there any food left?” Xu You changed her clothes, put on a coat, and ran to the kitchen.

Chen Xiuyun saw what she was wearing and paused in her movements, “You’re going out? Why are you changing clothes?”

“…..” She had no plan and could only make up a lie on the spot.

“My classmate lives nearby. She didn’t eat dinner tonight and just called me, asking me to bring her some food and keep her company for a while.”

Chen Xiuyun asked: “Huh? Your classmate’s parents aren’t home?”

Xu You felt guilty like a thief, lowering her eyes and answering: “She didn’t say. Anyway, she’s spending the New Year alone, so I’ll go keep her company…….”

“Oh… that’s fine then. Take your phone with you.”

Xu You was usually so obedient that Chen Xiuyun didn’t suspect much and believed her, saying: “There are still some hot dumplings. You can take them to your classmate to eat, okay?”

“Mm mm, okay.” Before leaving the kitchen, Xu You hesitated for a moment and said: “Mom, tell Dad for me. I’m leaving now….”

—

The residential complex was pitch black, with streetlights only every dozen meters or so. The bone-chilling air made a trip through the lungs, causing people to involuntarily shiver.

A faint plum blossom fragrance drifted in the night.

The thin snow on the ground had already formed into broken ice and melted into water. Stepping on it produced fine crunching sounds.

Xie Ci sat on a long bench.

There was a white flower that had fallen from a branch onto his shoulder. He was completely unaware of it.

She hugged the thermos container in her arms, standing not far away with a small, thin, plain face.

The two looked at each other wordlessly. His pitch-black eyes had slender tails, his cool contours submerged in the darkness.

“Xie Ci.” Xu You walked forward a few steps and sat beside him.

She picked up the flower on his shoulder and spread it in her palm, bringing it to her nose to smell.

A light and faint fragrance.

In the silence, there was only the breathing of the two people.

“I brought you food.” Xu You remembered and lowered her head to pry open the lid of the thermos box.

The hot air from the food contacted the cold air and quickly dispersed into white mist.

She handed the thing over with both hands, saying softly: “There are only dumplings. Do you eat them with vinegar? I added a little for you.”

“If you don’t like it, I’ll accompany you to buy something else.” She added.

Xie Ci first looked at her face, then lowered his gaze to look at the thermos box. He moved his lips, “Tired of waiting for you. Don’t want to move.”

Xu You: ………

Quiet for two or three seconds, she sighed in her heart.

Xu You picked up the spoon, scooped up a dumpling, and brought it to his mouth.