That night, Zhu Wenshu’s Moments feed updated with a new post.

Just a single photo, captioned “today.”

In the picture, a fiery red sunset was sliced in half by the far end of the river, embedded between a crimson sky and the vast, sweeping water, its light stretching for miles.

But because of the unusual angle, the grand, open scene carried an unexpected softness — like a young girl’s lowered eyes, gazing tenderly at the setting sun.

This was a photo Zhu Wenshu had snapped secretly while Ling Chen wasn’t paying attention.

He’d actually been in the frame originally, but to be safe, Zhu Wenshu had deliberately cropped out his profile.

After posting it, by the time Zhu Wenshu had bent down to change her shoes, the post had already gathered a number of likes and comments.

Since the photo itself didn’t say much, most of the comments were just compliments on the scenery, or people asking where it was.

But one person’s version of that question came off a little smug.

[c]: Where’s this?

It was as if he’d sent a voice message — Zhu Wenshu could practically hear the tone in her head as she read it.

Back in her own familiar space, once everything went quiet and she was alone, that lingering, tangled feeling from where their lips had met came flooding back.

Zhu Wenshu touched the corner of her mouth but didn’t reply to him. Instead, Ling Xingyan popped up.

[Ling Xingyan replied to c]: Why don’t you tell me where it is — next time I’ll go jump in that river.

Zhu Wenshu smiled a little and ignored them both.

She’d just taken off her coat and was about to go into her room when Ying Fei came out of the bathroom.

Ying Fei saw her, but instead of greeting her as usual, she just stared, looking like she wanted to say something but was holding back.

“What’s wrong?” Zhu Wenshu asked.

“That Christmas Eve…” Ying Fei said. “You went to Ling Chen’s concert?”

Since this was someone who lived under the same roof as her, the sudden question made every nerve in Zhu Wenshu’s body go taut.

“How do you know?”

“…I saw you show up on the big screen.”

“Oh…” Remembering that Ying Fei didn’t like Ling Chen, Zhu Wenshu kept her expression carefully flat as she walked in. “I did go. Just to have a look.”

Ying Fei frowned. “Weren’t you supposed to be on a date, though?”

“…”

Zhu Wenshu stared blankly, suddenly not sure how to explain.

Luckily, Ying Fei was a smart person.

“So your date was going to Ling Chen’s concert?”

Zhu Wenshu thought about it — that framing didn’t seem wrong, actually.

“Yes.”

Fine, then.

Ying Fei now had a clear answer in her mind.

The signs over the past few months — including the fact that Zhu Wenshu had gotten mixed up with Xuemeiniang — all pointed to one conclusion: she liked Ling Chen, liked him a lot, an absolute diehard fan.

“Mm… never mind, I was just asking.” Ying Fei gave her a complicated look. “It’s supposed to get colder again tonight, remember to shut your window.”

“Okay, you too.”

Zhu Wenshu went back to her room and sat down, scratching her head.

Ying Fei really seemed to dislike Ling Chen. What if, one day, she found out about the two of them — would Zhu Wenshu get kicked out?

But Zhu Wenshu actually liked living with Ying Fei, and didn’t want to spend time adjusting to a new roommate.

She couldn’t come up with a solution no matter how long she thought about it, so she sighed, shoulders drooping, and went to take a shower. By the time she came back out, there were even more comments on her post.

[Zhu Qisen]: Where’s this, off on a date? [dog head]

[Shi Xue’er replied to Zhu Qisen]: What date, are you dumb, this is Ling Chen’s picture.

[Zhu Qisen replied to Shi Xue’er]: ?

[Shi Xue’er replied to Zhu Qisen]: Told you, no one can resist our Ling Chen’s charm! Teacher Zhu’s a fan now too, hehe~

Huh?

Zhu Wenshu’s eyelid twitched twice.

What did Shi Xue’er mean by that?

Completely baffled, Zhu Wenshu fumbled to open her chat with Shi Xue’er.

[Zhu Wenshu]: What do you mean… this is Ling Chen’s picture?

[Shi Xue’er]: Huh? You mean the one on your Moments? Isn’t that the photo from Ling Chen’s Weibo?

Zhu Wenshu immediately opened Weibo.

She didn’t even need to search — Ling Chen’s post had already been reposted onto her homepage.

It really was the exact same photo. Even the caption and the posting time… were the same?

Zhu Wenshu double-checked carefully — Ling Chen had posted his roughly a few dozen seconds after hers.

This counted as Ling Chen’s first “appearance” since the concert, and the comments were more numerous than usual.

[I really am eating Chen]: Is Classmate Little Silkworm real??

[One bite of spicy crunch]: Husband, I got my heart broken, waaah!

[Bellasleepmeer]: Is this the cover of the new album? It has to be!

[Keeping a good mood]: Bro, our hearts can’t take this, is Classmate Little Silkworm real or not?

Zhu Wenshu skimmed a few comments and found that almost no one cared what the photo was actually trying to say.

Naturally, no one made the connection that this was Ling Chen saving her photo and reposting it to his own Weibo.

She shook her head lightly, laughing a bit helplessly.

Switching back to WeChat, a friend she hadn’t talked to in a long time had also sent her a message.

[Zhang Xiaoxia]: You like Ling Chen too?

Zhu Wenshu replied with just one word.

[Zhu Wenshu]: Yeah.

[Zhang Xiaoxia]: Oh right, you even went to his concert—

The next day was Friday, also the last day of the year.

The three-day New Year’s holiday had left the students restless, and even the teachers weren’t much in the mood for class.

By the afternoon, plenty of teachers without classes had already trickled out one by one.

Zhu Qisen counted as one of the more unlucky ones — he had a class in the very last period of the afternoon.

Watching his colleagues head off cheerfully to ring in the new year, he wandered aimlessly around the office building a few times, and when he passed Zhu Wenshu’s office, he leaned against her window and asked, “What are you doing tonight?”

Zhu Wenshu glanced at him. “Why?”

“Xue’er asked me yesterday — if you don’t have plans, come ring in the new year with us.”

Zhu Wenshu tidied her desk, muttering, “You two lovebirds ringing in the new year, what would I be doing there, being a third wheel?”

“I invited some other people too — teachers from our PE department, a couple of college friends. There’ll be plenty of people.”

Zhu Wenshu’s hands paused over her desk. She was a little tempted.

After all, it was New Year’s — she didn’t really want to be alone, and besides, it would mostly be familiar faces on Zhu Qisen’s side.

But before she could answer, Zhu Qisen noticed the interest on her face and said with a teasing grin, “What about that legendary boyfriend of yours? Not spending New Year’s with you?”

“…”

Zhu Wenshu lifted her chin. “Mm,” she said, “of course he is.”

Zhu Qisen shook his head, unable to tell if Zhu Wenshu was just being stubborn or what.

The two of them had been friends for so many years — if she really had a boyfriend, why would she be hiding it?

And if she didn’t have one, why put up such a front in front of him?

He gave up trying to figure it out, got up, and stretched.

“Alright then, off to class. Happy New Year, Teacher Zhu.”

“Of course—” He turned his head back to add, “If you end up alone with nowhere to go, just call Xue’er. One more person won’t make a difference.”

The moment Zhu Qisen left, Zhu Wenshu immediately slumped over her desk and sighed.

She really was going to be alone tonight.

The friends around her were either having dinner with coworkers or going on dates as couples — she didn’t feel comfortable tagging along with either.

As for her newly appointed boyfriend — right now, he was in rehearsal for the New Year’s Eve concert.

After school.

The streets were strung with festive lights, bustling and loud, brimming with the atmosphere of the new year.

Looking around, even the dogs on the street seemed to be paired up.

Zhu Wenshu, like a stray cat, ambled slowly home along the street.

Pushing open the door, Zhu Wenshu saw that the balcony window had been left open, a frost-bitten kaffir lily swaying alone in the wind — she felt a deep sense of kinship with it.

Actually, last year she’d also spent New Year’s alone.

Back then she’d just started her job, and with the end of the term approaching, she’d had a stack of work piled up, so she’d turned down her friends’ invitations and rung in the new year alone at home with her computer.

But this year, things were different, and she felt like she was somehow getting weaker.

It wasn’t that she absolutely needed Ling Chen with her — it was just that, at this moment of bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new, not even getting to hear him say “Happy New Year” in person left her feeling a bit wistful.

“Why are you back?”

Ying Fei’s voice cut through her moment of sentimental brooding. “You didn’t go out?”

Zhu Wenshu shook her head. “No. You’re home too?”

“I had plans with a friend, but the guy she’s chasing suddenly reached out to her, so I got stood up.”

At that, Ying Fei eyed Zhu Wenshu suspiciously. “Don’t you have… someone chasing you? He didn’t ask you out?”

Zhu Wenshu licked her lips and confessed honestly, “He locked in a work commitment four or five months ago. Can’t change the schedule now.”

“Huh?” Ying Fei asked. “What kind of work needs him at a time like this?”

“Entertainment industry stuff. He’s putting on a big show.”

Oh… that made sense.

Ying Fei didn’t ask further. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, then suddenly looked up at each other at the same time.

“So, should we…”

“Go out for dinner?”

The two of them left right away, rushing out the door before the traffic peak hit.

But they’d clearly underestimated how intense New Year’s Eve would be — it wasn’t even six o’clock yet, and every restaurant was already packed.

The two of them waited nearly two hours without getting seated. Ying Fei was the first to want to give up, suggesting they just go home and eat instant noodles.

But then they heard from a friend that traffic was terrible right now, that it was impossible to get a taxi, and even the subway was jam-packed.

So the two of them had no choice but to keep waiting, finally getting a table for dinner at nine at night.

Because of the crowd, the restaurant was slow bringing out dishes, and Zhu Wenshu didn’t get her first bite of food until nine-thirty.

Her phone buzzed on the table, and she reached for it before even swallowing the food in her mouth.

Ying Fei watched her flustered reaction and shook her head, smiling.

[c]: [Photo]

The scene in the photo looked like backstage at a broadcast hall, cluttered and crowded — a man with his back to the camera was getting styled, wearing a garishly colorful jacket, with a few streaks of blue dyed into his hair, sprinkled with tiny flecks of glitter.

Zhu Wenshu actually wasn’t a fan of this style, but since Ling Chen had sent it, she figured she’d swallow her pride and gush over it anyway.

[Zhu Wenshu]: So handsome!

[c]: ?

What, was that not enough flattery?

Seemed she needed to show him the vocabulary range of a Chinese language teacher.

[Zhu Wenshu]: You’re truly as graceful as jade and as elegant as a crane! Dashing beyond compare! Utterly unmatched in looks and bearing!

[c]: This isn’t me.

Zhu Wenshu: “…”

Then why send a photo that isn’t you?

[c]: Just as I thought.

[c]: One day apart and you’ve already forgotten what your boyfriend looks like.

Almost the instant she received those two messages, Ling Chen’s video call request popped up.

Zhu Wenshu declined the call without even thinking, and when she looked up at Ying Fei across the table, she felt a guilty flare of panic, like she’d been caught red-handed.

[c]: ?

[Zhu Wenshu]: I’m out having dinner with a friend.

[c]: Oh.

[c]: Can you get home by eleven forty?

[Zhu Wenshu]: Not sure.

[Zhu Wenshu]: Are you getting home at eleven forty?

[c]: I’m going on screen at eleven forty.

[Zhu Wenshu]: ?

She waited a few minutes before the reply came back.

[c]: Just had a fight with Ling Xingyan.

[Zhu Wenshu]: ?

[c]: That last message was from him.

Zhu Wenshu lowered her head, hiding her smile behind her hand.

She kept laughing until she practically collapsed onto the table.

“That’s about enough.”

Ying Fei coughed from across the table. “There’s a single dog sitting right in front of you, you know.”

“Oh… sorry.”

Zhu Wenshu sat up and pressed her lips together. “I’ll watch it next time.”

Since she was preoccupied with thoughts of Ling Chen’s live segment, Zhu Wenshu suddenly regretted coming out for dinner at all — she should have just stayed home glued to the TV.

So as soon as Ying Fei put down her chopsticks, Zhu Wenshu said, “Should we head back?”

“Sure.” Ying Fei checked the time, brow furrowing. “It’s already past ten. No telling if the traffic’s cleared up.”

Jammed.

Of course it was jammed.

So jammed that Zhu Wenshu and Ying Fei waited half an hour and were still No. 304 in line on the ride-hailing app.

They tried the subway station too, only to find the subway had come to a complete standstill.

The two of them stood at the subway entrance, freezing in the cold wind, staring at each other blankly.

“What do we do?”

“Walk back?”

“It’s seven kilometers…”

“Guess we wait, then.”

With it nearly eleven o’clock, Zhu Wenshu knew there was no way she’d make it home in time to catch Ling Chen going live, and couldn’t help but sigh where she stood on the roadside.

“Should’ve known better than to come out.” Ying Fei was thinking about Ye Shaoxing’s performance too, and her whole mood had turned irritable. “All these couples out here on a big holiday — why aren’t they home rolling around in bed instead of crowding the streets like this!”

“…”

Zhu Wenshu said nothing, quietly scrolling on her phone.

Tonight, a lot of people were posting to Moments. As Zhu Wenshu scrolled, she saw that Shi Xue’er had posted something just a few minutes ago.

[Shi Xue’er]: Changxing Road is totally jammed, everybody avoid this way [enraged] Can someone send a helicopter to get me out of here? I want to get home to watch the New Year’s concert!

Zhu Wenshu left a comment: Same here.

A few minutes later, Shi Xue’er messaged her privately.

[Shi Xue’er]: You’re stuck on Changxing Road too?

Zhu Wenshu had originally meant to say she also just “wanted to get home to watch the New Year’s concert,” but seeing what Shi Xue’er said, she looked up at the road sign.

Sure enough.

[Zhu Wenshu]: I’m right by the Changxing Road subway entrance.

Shi Xue’er called her immediately.

The moment she picked up, Zhu Wenshu heard the noise in the background.

“Teacher Zhu, you’re taking the subway? The subway’s shut down tonight!”

“I know,” Zhu Wenshu said. “We’re waiting for a car, can’t get one.”

“There’s no way you’ll get a car tonight. Here — just stay right where you are, don’t move. We’ll drive up one block and we’ll be right there, we’ll pick you up on the way.”

Zhu Wenshu was about to agree, but then it occurred to her that Shi Xue’er’s sworn enemy was standing right beside her, so she said, “No need, it’s too much trouble, we’ll just keep waiting…”

“Oh come on, what trouble? We’ve already turned the corner, just wait there.”

“But—”

Sure enough, as they spoke, Zhu Wenshu saw a white Audi round the corner not far away, inching forward slowly.

Shi Xue’er rolled down her window and leaned out, waving frantically at her.

“…”

A few minutes later, the car pulled up to the curb.

Shi Xue’er stuck her head out, about to speak, but froze the moment she spotted Ying Fei standing next to Zhu Wenshu.

Still, she managed to say, “Teacher Zhu, hop in, it’s cold out there.”

Ying Fei had, of course, also seen Shi Xue’er, but she said nothing, turning her face away to look at the crowd on the other side.

“Um…”

Zhu Wenshu looked at Ying Fei, then at Shi Xue’er, at a loss for what to do.

“You go with them,” Ying Fei said. “I’ll keep waiting.”

“Forget it, I came out with you, I’ll stay.”

Zhu Wenshu turned back to Shi Xue’er. “We’ll just wait a bit long—”

“Wait for what!”

Zhu Qisen, thoroughly fed up with the traffic, bellowed, “It’s freezing out here, you two gonna wait till sunrise? Hurry up! Traffic’s moving up front!”

Seeing Ying Fei still stubbornly holding her ground, Shi Xue’er propped her chin on her arm against the car window and said with a smile, “Really not getting in? It’s supposed to get colder tonight — wait a few hours out here and you’ll turn into a snowman.”

After a long standoff, Zhu Wenshu tugged Ying Fei’s sleeve. “So…”

“Let’s go.”

Ying Fei suddenly strode forward and yanked the car door open, sliding in without further ado. “Thanks.”

Shi Xue’er turned back around leisurely. “No trouble at all. I’m a generous person by nature.”

Zhu Qisen was pretty oblivious as men went, but even he could tell the atmosphere between these two women wasn’t quite right.

Once Zhu Wenshu got into the car, he shot her a look, but Zhu Wenshu said nothing, instead making a zip-the-lips gesture, signaling for him not to say anything either.

The whole car sat in silence, and half an hour later, they’d only moved two hundred meters.

At least there was heat in the car — no need to freeze.

Zhu Wenshu took out her phone and checked the time — already eleven thirty-five.

Given the state of things in the car, she didn’t feel comfortable pulling out her phone to watch the concert.

Sigh.

This was really complicated.

Just as she thought that, Shi Xue’er in the front seat pulled out her phone quite naturally and opened a video app to watch the concert.

Not only did she turn up the volume, she muttered to herself, “Why hasn’t our Ling Chen come on yet?”

“Ugh, it’s already eleven thirty, he should be up soon, right?”

Zhu Qisen tried to soothe her: “He’s the headliner, of course he’s saved for last.”

Zhu Wenshu cleared her throat lightly, but no one paid her any attention, so she just took out her own phone and pretended to be a bystander.

Ling Chen’s message happened to arrive just then.

[c]: Home yet?

[c]: Getting ready to go on.

“Right, he’s just too popular, can’t be helped,” Shi Xue’er kept muttering. “All those other messy performances should be wrapping up by now, Ling Chen must already be backstage getting ready.”

From the back seat, Ying Fei suddenly said, “Or maybe he’s backstage whispering sweet nothings to your sister-in-law.”

The “sister-in-law” in question flinched so hard her phone nearly slipped from her hand.

But no one in the car noticed her reaction at that moment.

Shi Xue’er laughed and turned around. “What’s wrong with the sister-in-law? All of us fans are just dying for Ling Chen to hurry up and fall in love. Once he gets married, we’ll set off firecrackers for three days straight — after all, the man makes it on talent, he’s not some idol type. It’s not like we’re foolish enough to dream he’s still, you know, untouched.”

Finishing her thought, she tipped her chin toward Zhu Wenshu. “Right, Teacher Zhu?”

“Huh?”

Caught off guard, Zhu Wenshu said, “How would I know if he’s untouched or not?”

“…”

The car went dead silent for a moment before Shi Xue’er burst out laughing. “Teacher Zhu, you really know how to zero in on the important part.”

Beside her, Zhu Qisen reached over and patted Shi Xue’er’s shoulder cluelessly. “Babe, look, look, they’ve got it up on the big screen over there.”

Everyone in the car turned to look toward the road.

This road ran along the river — one side was a pedestrian street, the other lined with riverside food stalls.

One of the shops nearby was packed with people; the owner had set up a projector, playing the New Year’s concert.

“Hey! Hey! Ling Chen’s out!” Shi Xue’er practically threw herself onto Zhu Qisen. “Move, move, you’re blocking my view!”

The bustling, crowded food stalls buzzed with people — some drinking and playing finger-guessing games, others watching the big screen.

From half a street away, the car couldn’t make out any sound from the show, only the figures on the screen.

Well, that would have to do.

Zhu Wenshu’s lips curved as her gaze swept past the bustling crowd, “watching” Ling Chen finish all three of his songs.

She wondered if he’d always been like this before, constantly glancing at the camera. He seemed to have looked into every single one of the dozen or so camera angles.

By the time he left the stage, only a few minutes remained in the year.

All six hosts came onstage together to deliver New Year’s greetings, and no one at the food stalls was watching the big screen anymore.

Not until the countdown began — the whole street grew even livelier, but the liveliness took on a strange kind of unity.

“10, 9, 8, 7—”

Gradually, the passersby at the food stalls began counting down along with the hosts on TV.

“6, 5, 4—”

Everyone was swept up in the atmosphere — even Ying Fei, who’d kept a cold face the whole time, leaned against the car window, staring up at the sky, her expression finally softening.

“3, 2—”

At the last count of the countdown, fireworks bloomed across the sky in full splendor, the light rippling across the river’s surface.

“Happy New Year!”

Inside the car, outside the car — the words drifted everywhere.

Shi Xue’er’s eyes curved into a smile as she turned to the people in the back seat. “Happy New Year, everyone!”

Ying Fei froze for a second, then said, stiff and quiet, “Happy New Year.”

Zhu Wenshu lowered her head and sent Ling Chen a message.

[Zhu Wenshu]: Happy New Year to you ^^

Looking up again, Zhu Wenshu watched the big screen as the camera swept across the guest seats.

When the image froze on Ling Chen’s face, he turned and looked straight into the camera, his gaze deep and distant.

As if, across the lens, across some far, impossible distance, he was looking at someone waiting in front of a television screen.

His lips moved, but no sound came through.

“Did Ling Chen just say something? Huh?” Shi Xue’er shook Zhu Qisen’s shoulder. “What did he say?! I missed it!”

Zhu Qisen: “He didn’t say anything, he doesn’t even have a mic.”

“He said—”

Zhu Wenshu tilted her head, her gaze still fixed on the big screen, though the picture had already cut to fireworks blooming above the concert hall, “Happy New Year.”