Seeing the whole room full of people, Jiang Wen’s brow drew tight.

“Have you eaten yet?” Yin Yan spoke first.

Zhao Huiyun smiled and made conversation with Yin Yan. “This is your son?”

Yin Yan gave a slight nod. “Our second child.”

Actually, Zhao Huiyun had already seen Jiang Wen that night at the sugar shop, but there had been a crowd and dim lighting then, so now she just had the vague sense that the boy in front of her looked familiar, without being able to place exactly why.

Jiang Wen’s eyes swept past Feng Ning and he walked quietly to the bedside.

Jiang Yurou grabbed his hand and rubbed it. “Ah, brother, your hands are so cold, let me warm them up for you.”

Jiang Wen ruffled her hair. “Feeling better?”

“Feeling better.” Jiang Yurou glanced this way and that, her big bright eyes blinking. “Does that mean I don’t have to go to school anymore?”

Jiang Yuyun’s lips curved. “That’s the only thing you’re happy about.”

They spoke to each other in the local Chongxi dialect, which the others couldn’t quite follow. Feng Ning watched for a while and noticed—out of this whole family, there wasn’t a single unattractive one among them.

Most of Jiang Wen’s features clearly came from his mother. Unlike other women her age, Yin Yan wasn’t at all thickened by time; her face was well-kept, showing no trace of aging from the years, and there was still a faint trace of the allure she must have had when younger, visible in her brows and eyes.

Out of nowhere, Feng Ning recalled how Shuang Yao had once described Jiang Wen’s looks as especially “pure.” At the time she hadn’t understood it, but now she suddenly caught a hint of what she’d meant.

There was something distant and unapproachable about his presence—he was barely a teenager, and yet even his smile felt cold. On a clean, snowy day like this, he gave off an inexplicable air of icy purity.

Well-versed in reading a room, Zhao Huiyun said, “Let’s exchange numbers, and we won’t take up any more of your time.”

Feng Ning also stood up, taking hold of Zhao Fanyu, who’d been hovering off to the side, and gestured toward Jiang Yurou on the bed. “Quick, apologize sincerely to the little sister here, and then say goodbye.”

Zhao Fanyu glanced quickly at the girl in the hospital bed and mumbled out three timid “sorry”s.

Once they were out of the inpatient building, Zhao Huiyun patted Feng Ning’s shoulder. “You really saved us this time. I just had a friend check, and it turns out it’s the Jiang family’s youngest daughter who got hurt. That little brat Zhao Fanyu is always causing trouble for me.”

A gust of wind hit her face, like being slapped. Feng Ning wrapped her scarf up, tucking her face in, and breathed out a puff of warm air. “No need to thank me, no need. If you really want to thank me, boss, just give me a raise every month.”

“You and your smart mouth,” Zhao Huiyun muttered. “By the way, you know the Jiang family’s young son?”

“Who?” Feng Ning took a beat, then made a couple of “oh, oh” sounds. “Jiang Wen—we’re in the same class.”

“What a coincidence. Maybe I can use this chance to get closer to the Jiang family—I’ve been wanting to rent a few storefronts over in the Guangjiu area.”

Zhao Huiyun was a sharp businesswoman; her polite manner toward Yin Yan earlier hadn’t been without reason. Guilt was part of it, but there was also, to some degree, a desire to curry favor. She mulled it over. “When the time comes, I’ll get in touch again. During your break, could you find time to go tutor that little sister on her homework? I’ll pay you by the hour.”

Feng Ning thought about it. “Over break… aside from my KFC job, I don’t think I have anything else going on.”

“Huh, KFC still hires child labor?”

“It’s short-term work, they’re not that strict about it.” Feng Ning’s smile was bright. “Besides, don’t you employ child labor at your own shop?”

“How is it your mother managed to raise such a sharp kid, and not me a daughter like you,” Zhao Huiyun said, checking the time as she pulled a few large bills from her wallet and pressed them into Feng Ning’s hand. “Alright, I’ve got another deal to talk over, I won’t see you two off—grab a car back to school, the two of you.”

The snow kept falling. The two of them, one big and one small, stood by the roadside braving the cold wind for a good while. The road was frozen over, and taxis were scarce.

Having held it in for so long, dejected Zhao Fanyu watched his mother finally leave and burst into tears with a loud wail.

The little chubby boy’s sadness came on suddenly. Feng Ning stared, dumbfounded, standing beside him stamping her feet against the cold, and pulled out a tissue to wipe his nose. “What are you crying about?”

Zhao Fanyu’s cheeks puffed out. “I just want to cry. I feel awful inside.”

“Your mom hasn’t even hit you yet, what’s there to feel awful about?”

“I— I don’t want to tell you.” Zhao Fanyu hiccupped through his tears. “But I just feel awful, wuwuwuwuwuwuwu, I feel really awful inside, wuwuwuwuwuwu.”

Feng Ning teased him. “Just tell me, then. If you don’t, you’ll just have to cry alone and keep it bottled up—isn’t that even worse?” Suddenly, as if something had occurred to her, “Wait, don’t tell me—that Anna toy you wanted at KFC last time, was that meant for this little girl?”

At that, Zhao Fanyu cried even harder.

Feng Ning was about to burst out laughing, but kept a straight face and needled him further. “Little chubster, do you have a crush on her? And now you’ve put her in the hospital—she’s definitely going to hate you forever.”

Unable to argue back, Zhao Fanyu just cried and sniffled, glaring at her between sobs.

“What are we going to do about this, huh?”

Right as Feng Ning was having fun teasing the kid, a sleek black car slowly pulled up beside them.

The window rolled down, and Jiang Yuyun asked, “Are you two headed back to school? It’s hard to catch a cab right now, hop in.”

“Sure, sure, thank you, sister.” Feng Ning perked up, pleasantly surprised. She wasn’t shy about it either, quickly pulling Zhao Fanyu up. She opened the car door and only then realized someone else was already sitting in the back.

Feng Ning stared at him. Jiang Wen turned his head away, looking out the window.

The sudden rush of cold air fogged up the window with a thin layer of white mist. Feng Ning patted the snow off Zhao Fanyu’s head; her cheeks, flushed pink from the cold, broke into an especially sweet smile. “Sister, you’re so nice—beautiful and kind.”

While the driver drove, Jiang Yuyun smiled and asked, “What was the kid crying about?”

“Nothing, nothing, his mom just yelled at him a bit.” Feng Ning explained quickly.

Zhao Fanyu’s chest heaved. “Sister’s bullying me.”

Feng Ning reached over and covered his mouth. “What are you talking nonsense about.”

There was a traffic light up ahead, and the car slowed gradually. Jiang Yuyun scanned through some work emails for a bit, then asked, “How old are you, little one?”

“I’m a freshman.”

“Oh? Xiaowen’s a freshman too.”

“We’re in the same class.”

“You two are classmates?” Jiang Yuyun glanced at them through the rearview mirror. “I thought you two didn’t know each other.”

“School just started, nobody really knows each other well yet.”

Jiang Wen hadn’t said a word this whole time, deliberately giving her the cold shoulder. Just then, a call came in, and he picked up.

The heater in the car was running strong. Zhao Fanyu took off his gloves. As he pulled off his scarf, the gloves he’d set on his lap slipped down near his feet, and Feng Ning bent slightly to pick them up.

Jiang Wen, distracted on the phone, glanced over and impatiently spread his legs apart to give her more room.

On the other end, Zhao Binlin was shouting loudly, “Where’d you go, why can’t I find you? Hello, hello, hello, Jiang Wen? Jiang Wen? Hey, why’d you go quiet? Bro!”

Jiang Wen snapped back to attention, responding offhandedly, “What are you yelling about.”

“Oh, oh, oh, what were you doing just now, you suddenly stopped talking—I thought there was no signal.”

Jiang Wen’s brow was cold and handsome, his expression irritated. “I’ll be at school soon. Hanging up now.”

“Was that Zhao Binlin?”

Jiang Wen kept his face stiff and gave a curt “mm.”

“Why are your dark circles so bad?” Jiang Yuyun tilted her head slightly. “You’re barely into freshman year—don’t put so much pressure on yourself at school.”

Whether Jiang Wen was even listening was unclear.

“Seriously, what’s going on with you lately? Even at home you’ve looked like you’ve lost your soul. Did something happen at school?”

Jiang Wen cut her off. “Enough.”

Jiang Yuyun wasn’t about to let it go. “Did you have a fight with your girlfriend?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Really? When I was your age, I don’t even know how many boyfriends I’d been through. Why are you hiding it from me?” Jiang Yuyun turned to Feng Ning instead. “This kid, is he popular with a lot of girls at school?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Feng Ning laughed. “Jiang Wen’s super popular in our grade.”

While they chatted, he glanced sideways at Feng Ning for a moment, then quickly looked away again.

“Haha, back in middle school, when I’d take him out to eat, there were always little girls trailing after him.” Jiang Yuyun switched topics quickly. “But he’s never caught on, though.”

“True enough.” Feng Ning nodded in complete agreement. “No harm in taking a few more years to catch on. He’s still young after all.”

The car pulled up to the school gate.

Feng Ning helped pull Zhao Fanyu’s hood over his head, patiently instructing, “Go change your clothes back in the dorm, and be good and go to class this afternoon, okay?”

Zhao Fanyu answered listlessly.

Feng Ning straightened up and patted his back. “Alright, go on now, sister needs to get to class too.”

Someone walked past nearby.

Heading toward the classroom building, Feng Ning kept her hands in her pockets, quietly trailing two or three meters behind Jiang Wen. Then she suddenly quickened her pace and called out, “Hey, Jiang Wen, did your lottery ticket from last time win anything?”

“Don’t know.” His tone was as flat as ever.

“Damn.” Feng Ning still clung to a shred of hope. “So you didn’t even check when they announced the numbers?”

“No.”

Jiang Wen had no interest in engaging with her, not even sparing her a glance. He walked ahead, his pace quick.

She kept talking anyway. “Why are you walking so fast, careful you don’t fall—the road’s slippery today.”

Thinking it over, Jiang Wen had never once given her a decent expression the entire time she’d known him. Feng Ning decided not to bother chasing a lost cause any further.

Hmph, what a rotten temper. Hope he falls flat on his face.

Feng Ning kept her eyes on Jiang Wen’s retreating back, fantasizing in her head—him walking along, and then suddenly eating dirt. And then, she’d strut past him triumphantly, without sparing him so much as a glance.

As if the heavens had actually heard her curse, karma struck immediately. Feng Ning, lost in her own imagination, failed to notice the ground beneath her. Her right foot suddenly lost its footing, her ankle twisting with her lower leg, and caught completely off guard, she let out an instinctive shriek that startled snow off the branches overhead.

Jiang Wen turned around.

He saw Feng Ning collapse onto the road in an extremely, extremely unflattering position, sprawled flat on her knees.

Piercing pain shot instantly from her ankle up through her nervous system. Feng Ning’s face went pale, sweat beading at her temples, and she let out a couple of pained curses, tears nearly springing to her eyes.

She’d been knocked completely dizzy by the fall.

Fortunately, her winter clothes were thick, so despite the ugly fall, the rest of her body didn’t hurt much. Her foot was still wedged in a small snow-covered dip in the ground; when she shifted it, the pain flared so sharply that Feng Ning had no choice but to sit on the ground and wait it out.

Luckily, it was lunch break, so the campus had few people around. Nobody witnessed her humiliating fall.

Jiang Wen stood still for a few seconds, then walked over, bent down, and looked her over. “Are you okay?”

Any movement hurt. Feng Ning glared at him, furious with embarrassment. “Do I look okay to you?” Jiang Wen made a noncommittal sound, his manner utterly detached, as if it had nothing to do with him. “Can you still stand?”

“I’ll try.”

The pain was so intense that every time she shifted position while getting up, she had to pause, absolutely agonizing. Under his watchful eye, she humiliatingly, slowly, climbed up out of the snow.

“Let’s go to the infirmary.”

He hadn’t completely lost his conscience after all—her heart eased a little at that. Feng Ning, supported by Jiang Wen, features scrunched up in pain, hopped along awkwardly on one leg. After a bit of hopping, she slipped again, nearly taking Jiang Wen down with her.

She exploded. “Aren’t these supposed to be my non-slip snow boots?? What kind of knockoff garbage is this—I’m basically ice skating out here, I’m filing a complaint the first chance I get! This shady manufacturer, blatantly ripping off consumers!”

The road ahead stretched on forever, with no telling how long it would take to hop her way to the infirmary. Feng Ning finally gave up entirely. “Why don’t you go find someone to help? I really can’t hop anymore.” She sounded utterly exhausted. “Just go borrow me a wheelchair or something.”

Watching her miserable, unlucky state, for some reason his mood suddenly lifted.

Jiang Wen scooped her up in his arms, cradling her sideways.

Startled, Feng Ning nearly slipped out of his grip, her arms instinctively wrapping around his neck. “Whoa, are you carrying me bridal style? That’s not really appropriate, is it. We’re still on campus—what if someone sees, that’d be so awkward.”

That single remark thoroughly killed whatever faint, tender atmosphere might have been forming.

“Can you not talk so much.” Jiang Wen sounded thoroughly annoyed, jostling her slightly. “Even if someone sees, I’m the one who loses out here.”

“What do you mean, you’re the one who loses out?” With no ability to move on her own, Feng Ning could only let him carry her. “Forget it, not going to argue with you. You look thin, but you’re pretty strong, huh.”

After enduring it for a moment, Jiang Wen forced the words out through gritted teeth. “Are you trying to strangle me?”

Feng Ning glanced up and saw two patches of red creeping across his face. She smiled apologetically and loosened her grip slightly. “I just didn’t want to fall, no sense of security otherwise.”

As they walked, his breathing grew heavier. Suddenly, Jiang Wen crouched down and set Feng Ning back on the ground.

“Now what?”

Jiang Wen’s arm had gone numb; he shook it out, a fine sheen of sweat on his face. His tone was cold and blunt. “You’re too heavy, I can’t carry you anymore.”

“I’m heavy? You’ve got to be kidding!”

Feng Ning was speechless, straightening her clothes in embarrassment, muttering under her breath in her own defense. “Where am I heavy, I’m just wearing a lot of layers today. My weight’s not even over a hundred pounds, I’m not fat at all!”

After resting a moment, Jiang Wen lowered himself, condescendingly, into a half-crouch. “Get on.” Feng Ning climbed onto his back indignantly. “A man who can’t admit he’s not up to the task—so pathetic.”

Jiang Wen hooked his wrists under her legs, his muscles tensing, and paused. “Say that again?”

“Fine, I won’t say it.” Feng Ning sighed. “You wouldn’t actually be petty enough to just abandon me here, would you?”

He turned his head. “You could test that theory.”

“I’d rather die than let go!”

On the way, Zhao Binlin’s call came in again. Feng Ning dug the phone out of his pocket and held it up to his ear. By the time the call ended, her arm was sore from holding it up.

They finally, with great difficulty, made it to the infirmary, both of them out of breath. They took off their shoes for the doctor to examine—thankfully, no fracture, just a sprained ankle.

It was the same female doctor as last time. As she applied medicine, she asked with suspicion, “Haven’t I seen you two before?”

Feng Ning sat on the bed and nodded. “Yes, we came in once before, when he had heatstroke.”

The room’s heater was on. Jiang Wen unzipped his windbreaker and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

Zhao Binlin chattered away beside them. “Wow, Feng Ning, how’d you fall so badly?”

“I was thinking about something and not watching where I was going—who knew I’d have such rotten luck.”

Zhao Binlin’s expression turned odd. “So how’d you end up with Jiang Wen, then?”

Feng Ning ran through what had happened that day, giving him the general story.

Zhao Binlin nodded. “Guess you two are pretty fated after all.”

The female doctor said, “That should about do it, you’re free to go. Remember, no strenuous activity for the next couple of days, and apply the medicine on schedule.”

“Do you guys have a wheelchair or anything?” Feng Ning turned her head, looking around.

The doctor laughed. “No wheelchairs, but I’ll write you a slip—go grab some crutches from logistics.”

Feng Ning threw up her hands. “So how am I supposed to get there like this?”

The doctor gave an amused hum. “Aren’t there two boys right here?”

Zhao Binlin grinned and raised his hand. “How about I carry Feng Ning back to class, and you go get her the crutches.”

Jiang Wen didn’t say yes or no, his face blank, looking thoroughly indifferent.

“So, how about it?” Zhao Binlin asked.

No response.

“No, huh?” Zhao Binlin asked again.

Still no response.

Zhao Binlin dropped the joking act. “Never mind, I just remembered my back’s not been feeling great lately—carrying people is really more of a Jiang Wen job.”

Feng Ning climbed back onto Jiang Wen’s back. Zhao Binlin stood off to the side, grinning and letting out an obnoxiously long wolf whistle.

Halfway there, Feng Ning patted down her pockets. She let out a yelp. “Damn, where’s my phone.”

Jiang Wen’s footsteps stopped.

“Did it fall out back where I tripped?” She clicked her tongue in irritation. “Lend me your phone to call it.”

She dialed, and heard it ring—it wasn’t off yet. Feng Ning breathed a small sigh of relief. “It’s ringing, good, no one’s picked it up yet.”

So they headed back toward the school gate.

Even though this phone had been a gift from Qi Lan for topping up her phone bill, losing it so carelessly still made Feng Ning’s heart ache.

She rambled on. “I’ve been terrified of losing things since I was little. When I was in elementary school, I lost my bus card and ten yuan once, and I genuinely felt like the sky was falling—I hid on Shuang Yao’s rooftop and didn’t dare go home.”

As she talked, Feng Ning sniffed a couple of times. “Jiang Wen, what shampoo do you use? It smells really nice.”

Jiang Wen stayed silent.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“Saying what?”

She sniffed again. “What brand your shampoo is.”

“You couldn’t afford it,” Jiang Wen said flatly.

“…”

Feng Ning was seething.

Ugh, ugh, ugh! Disgusting rich people!!!!

But with her legs out of commission right now, finding her phone depended entirely on Jiang Wen. She swallowed her anger and didn’t embarrass herself further.

Jiang Wen set her down on a bench.

Feng Ning held out her hand. “Let me borrow your phone again, I want to look up how to reduce swelling quickly.”

Jiang Wen hesitated for a second, then took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it over.

A gust of wind blew past, rustling the bushes with a rattling sound, and Feng Ning shivered. She cradled the phone, which looked expensive at a glance, admiring it for a moment.

She opened the browser and had just typed the two characters for “how to” into the search bar when the search history immediately popped up, auto-linked:

—— How do I stop liking someone?