The night air was softly cold.

Xie Yichen glanced over at her for a second, then reacted quickly — the smile spreading on his face as he bent toward her, grabbed her hand, and tucked it into his arms.

As if taking her words to their logical conclusion with actions rather than words — and then some.

Ning Sui, pulled like this, leaned inevitably up against him, her chin naturally coming to rest against his broad shoulder. But the down coat was fairly thick, so there was still some degree of insulation to the sensation — only her fingertips were folded inside his warm palm.

Ning Sui’s coat was bundled around her like a small sushi roll, and her fingers shifted about uncomfortably. Xie Yichen gave her no chance to wriggle away — he deliberately pinched the soft flesh at the base of her thumb and pressed, being deliberately difficult.

“……”

They were very close now, facing each other, and she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. In the dim, hazy glow of the light, the atmosphere between them was indescribably soft with something unspoken.

Both their gazes caught and held for just a moment.

Ning Sui swallowed lightly, about to say something — when she felt Xie Yichen’s pocket vibrating.

It was the taxi driver calling.

Xie Yichen kept his eyes lowered and his posture unchanged. He paused for a brief instant, then reached for his phone with his free hand. Ning Sui came back to herself and quickly stood straight again, making as if nothing had happened: “Is the car here?”

It was.

She heard him answer the call and say a few quick words — the driver had pulled up at the main entrance. Ning Sui considered whether she ought to take her hand back. She hadn’t even made the move to slip her fingers free when Xie Yichen simply took her by the hand and walked with her toward the exit.

Ning Sui felt a small flutter inside, and followed passively.

……How could he be so natural about it.

Just as that thought flickered through her mind, she happened to glance up and catch sight of Xie Yichen’s ear.

Usually it was that thoroughly cool, pale white. But right now, it was a little red — for some reason she couldn’t determine.

The weather was too cold, perhaps.

Ning Sui felt as though a feather had brushed forcefully across her heart. Her lashes fluttered, and she couldn’t help letting her gaze drift down.

That hand — long-fingered, knuckles well-defined — had not let go of her the entire time.

Until they were inside the car, still holding hands.

The car pulled away. The driver seemed to be the friendly, talkative sort, and exchanged a few pleasantries with them — all answered by Xie Yichen. Ning Sui wasn’t sure if the driver could see their interlaced hands in the rearview mirror. She pressed her lips together and looked down in what she hoped was a subtle manner.

The streets flew past outside, neon lights retreating one by one. Perhaps sensing the energy between them, the driver also tactfully let the conversation drop.

Through the window, the tall buildings still blazed with light. Ning Sui didn’t know what state Xie Yichen was in — she only felt that her hand was gripped firmly in his, and her knuckles were gradually stiffening. After a while, a faint dampness gathered in her palm.

Because the car interior was a closed space, and no one was speaking, every small sound was audible with great clarity, including the slow and quiet rise and fall of his breathing from beside her.

She had the feeling Xie Yichen might be on the verge of saying something. Ning Sui turned her head quickly to the window and pretended to be absorbed in the view outside.

They sat in silence like this for a while. She composed herself quietly, picked up her phone with her free hand, and sent a simple text to Xia Fanghui with the license plate number.

Xia Fanghui replied quickly: 【Message me when you’re back at the dorm.】

Ning Sui: 【Okay.】

She privately felt that news of her and Xie Yichen should stay quiet from Fang Fang for the time being. Besides, Fang Fang’s information network was extensive — she was very active in the parents’ group chats, which meant news about what any classmate’s child had been up to usually reached her first. Fang Fang would then pass it on to Ning Sui as gossip.

So if enough of their classmates found out, Fang Fang would likely end up hearing about it too.

But Ning Sui didn’t know how to bring this up with Xie Yichen. She was afraid that if she expressed it wrong, he’d understand it as “we can’t go public” — which wasn’t what she meant.

Ning Sui pressed her lips together, wanting to say something but unable to begin.

At that moment, Xie Yichen glanced at her, but said nothing either.

Ning Sui was being held at the left hand, leaving only her right free, so she used it to scroll through photos, wanting to post a New Year’s moment to her Moments. She chose pictures from the festival, none of which showed the four of them, and after a brief hesitation composed a simple, carefully chosen nine-square grid post.

Caption: 【Happy New Year!】

It was past midnight, and her Moments had already been flooded by everyone she knew. The moment she posted, likes began to come in immediately.

Along with comments from some closer friends.

Jin Ge: 【Wishing Sui a happy new year too! Please bless me to master math!】

Shen Qing: 【Happy New Year! Is this the Strawberry Music Festival? The photography is so good! [Wow]】

Yin Rui: 【Happy New Year～】

Zhong Lu: 【[Heart][Heart][Heart]】

Wu Zixiao: 【Beautiful [grin emoji]】

Cui Xian: 【Ahh babe you got tickets! You’re living your best life!】

……

Ning Sui replied to Jin Ge: 【You’re too modest, Jin Ge～[respect]】

Ning Sui replied to Shen Qing: 【Yep, that’s it — Happy New Year!】

Ning Sui replied to Cui Xian: 【Yes! It was incredible!!】

From beside her came the soft rustle of fabric. Xie Yichen seemed to also be on his phone.

In a distracted moment, that distinctive dark profile picture appeared among the likes.

“……”

He hadn’t left any comment.

But she suddenly felt something — a quiet, private something.

Ning Sui bit the inside of her cheek, and the corner of her mouth curved slightly. Then she refreshed the Moments page and saw that Xie Yichen had posted something too.

Oreo: 【Happy New Year [star][moon]】

The photo was of the picnic blanket on the grass, their snacks and drinks piled on it, with the colorful stage lights blurring in the distance behind. With the filter applied, the details were a little hard to make out — and moreover, his photo had no overlap in composition with Ning Sui’s.

Unless you had personally attended the festival alongside them, it would be very difficult to tell that they’d gone together.

……Strange.

She hadn’t said anything explicitly, yet he seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

Ning Sui’s dark eyes were lit faintly by the glow of her screen as she scrolled through the comments under Xie Yichen’s post.

She found that the two of them had a surprisingly large number of mutual friends. Many of the accounts that had liked her post also appeared in the comments section under his.

There were also some who had liked her post but not commented, who then went on to comment under his — classmates from the Huai’an Beijing group, or students from Tsinghua’s Computer Science department.

Jin Ge: 【wow, where is this? How dare you go alone without me! [hmph]】

Kuge Lin: 【[Rose][Rose][Rose]】

Classmate 1: 【Chen, why not post a photo of yourself!】

Classmate 2: 【Borrowing a bit of your good fortune [666]】

Classmate 3: 【Happy New Year!!!】

Qu Handong: 【[raised eyebrow]】

Sun Xiaozhen: 【Boss Chen, how’d you spend your New Year’s? Did you go to a concert? [wink]】

Sun Xiaozhen: 【When are you coming to the lab next week?】

……

Before she’d even put her phone down, she felt the fingertips of the hand holding hers being pinched lightly, and then a low voice from beside her: “Ning Sui.”

“Mm?”

“You’re not planning to say a word to me this whole ride, are you.”

Having only one usable hand was actually quite limiting — and her palm had grown a little damp. Her heart was beating faster than usual: “That’s not it.”

Xie Yichen gave her an unreadable look: “Enjoying watching the robots rack up likes?”

“What robots?” She didn’t follow.

Shen Qing had clearly been interested at the graduation trip, and anyone could see it — they were both guys after all. Not that Xie Yichen mentioned it right now. He just gave a quiet snort: “The one who jumps in and praises your photography every time you post.”

“……”

He had some nerve, bringing that up.

Ning Sui made a calm “oh” and drew the last syllable out slightly: “Funny, I was looking at a different robot.”

“Mm?”

“The one who comments under every single post you make asking when you’re coming to the lab.”

“……”

Ning Sui finished speaking, and then saw Xie Yichen lift his eyes and look at her. His dark, bright gaze held an unmistakable amusement. She was just about to ask what he was laughing at when he nonchalantly tossed his phone over.

“Not close to her.”

“Don’t believe me? Go check.”

“……”

Was this that legendary girlfriend privilege of being allowed to check up on him?

She could look through his phone now. Look at his conversation records with other people.

It wasn’t that she genuinely doubted him — it was just that the act itself was rather……

Thrilling.

Ning Sui’s gaze lingered temptingly on the lit-up screen for a few seconds. On the other hand, she considered it from his perspective — she definitely wouldn’t want someone prying into her own private conversations. Back when Fang Fang used to go through her chat records, she had always felt deeply uncomfortable.

So despite the curiosity that was inconveniently prodding at her, she went against her inclinations and said: “It’s fine, that probably wouldn’t be right.”

Xie Yichen raised an eyebrow.

——The courage of a sesame seed, and the moral standards of a watermelon.

How could she be so endearing.

“What’s not right about it?” Xie Yichen held her hand and pulled her a little closer, his tone easy and entirely unencumbered: “With me, do whatever you want — no rules, no limits.”

His smile was practically falling right into her ear. There was even something faintly coaxing about it. Ning Sui’s ear tips warmed, but she still shook her head in composure: “Really — it’s fine.”

Xie Yichen made a show of reaching for the phone: “Sure?”

The words had barely left his mouth when she snatched it away and held it protectively to her chest, eyes bright: “Well — since you’re offering so sincerely.”

“……”

—

They got out at the gate of Peking University.

After passing through the entrance, Xie Yichen walked her back to the dormitory as he had before, at an unhurried pace.

They had briefly let go of each other to scan their faces at the gate. The winter night air wasn’t too bad in terms of temperature with all the layers she was wearing, but the palm of her hand still felt cool from the wind, damp with the lingering sweat from before.

She had glanced at his conversation history with Sun Xiaozhen.

There hadn’t been anything particularly notable — Sun Xiaozhen’s attitude toward him was certainly warm, but Xie Yichen’s replies gave no room for complaint. Their private messages were also sparse.

She hadn’t looked at anything else. There were probably a lot of girls who had found their way to add him on WeChat, and she wasn’t sure how Xie Yichen handled all of that.

She let her thoughts wander as they walked, until they arrived at the entrance of the dormitory building.

Although it was past midnight, quite a few people were just now returning from the library, and Ning Sui scanned the scene automatically and wanted to shout for help.

……Why were there so many couples here?

Including some in full embrace, kissing passionately as if no one else existed.

She pretended not to see, and chose a relatively secluded corner with composure, in a spot away from the streetlights where fewer people were gathered.

Xie Yichen’s striking features were half-submerged in the shadows, looking even more languid and deep. His hands were in his pockets, gaze lowered, looking at her from beneath the arch of his brows.

Ning Sui didn’t quite know what to say. With great earnestness and gravity, she announced: “This is it.”

“Mm.” He gave a lazy response.

“Then,” Ning Sui’s lashes flickered, “you get back safe.”

Xie Yichen smiled a little: “Nothing you want to say to me?”

Ning Sui looked up at him, their gazes twining vaguely in the space between them.

There was something she should say, yes — but she didn’t know how to say it.

Everything she’d been about to say, she’d swallowed back down.

The Strawberry Music Festival had been wonderful, and she had enjoyed being with him — but Ning Sui was genuinely not very good at laying herself open like this.

“Then, you just — ” Ning Sui glanced behind Xie Yichen again and saw a couple pressing close together, and she swallowed, keeping her voice as level as she could manage: “Could you send me a message when you get home? And it’s already very late — please don’t stay up anymore, get some rest early.”

Xie Yichen looked at her from under lowered lashes, lips curving: “Mm.”

Ning Sui’s thoughts wandered for a moment: “Also — could we meet up sometime tomorrow?”

Tomorrow was still a holiday — New Year’s Day. She’d probably not surface until noon anyway.

Xie Yichen smiled: “Sure.”

“And then finals are coming up, so we could study together.”

“Works for me.” He said gently, “Anything else?”

Anything else?

Ning Sui suddenly felt like he was a wish-granting tree. She blinked lightly: “Not for now, Doraemon Chen.”

“……”

Xie Yichen looked at her with a meaningful expression, then after a moment reached up and settled her coat’s hood over her head: “About telling people — what are you thinking?”

Ah, right.

Ning Sui had been planning to find a better moment to bring this up, but hadn’t expected him to raise it first.

The hood fit softly over her head, making her feel safer somehow. Ning Sui’s heart steadied. She hesitated briefly, her voice dropping slightly: “I don’t want my mom to know just yet — so could we only tell the friends we’re really close to?”

She’d been holding this back all along because she couldn’t predict how he’d react — wasn’t sure whether he could accept it. So even now, having said it, her heart carried a tiny knot of anxiety.

Xie Yichen only considered it for a few seconds before saying, perfectly composed: “Alright.”

Ning Sui was a little taken aback: “Just like that?”

Xie Yichen shrugged with careless ease: “What else?”

Though he didn’t say it outright, Ning Sui could see that he understood where she was coming from. And, very considerately, hadn’t pressed her with a single extra question.

In an instant, somewhere deep inside her quietly softened — how wonderful it was, to feel truly understood and held with generosity.

Ning Sui didn’t think of herself as a particularly emotional person — at least she hadn’t been during third year of high school. But standing here now, lowering her head, something unexpected welled up in her eyes.

“Xie Yichen.”

“Mm?”

“There is something else I want to say.”

Without missing a beat: “Then say it.”

Ning Sui stood with her hood on, face half-hidden, and after a long pause she said softly: “I actually have no experience in relationships at all, so I’m probably still adjusting — worried I might make mistakes, or do something that upsets you.”

The love Ning Sui had received growing up was always excessive, demanding, and suffocating, so she had always held herself in check. She wasn’t used to being close to anyone. She didn’t know how to do it — or rather, she genuinely didn’t understand how to draw near to another person. She was afraid of misjudging the right distance, and so had always needed him to take the lead in everything.

Ning Sui pressed her lips together, maintaining her composure, and said gently: “If I ever do something wrong, please tell me — I’ll try to fix it. And wherever I don’t understand, please teach me. Is that alright?”

She said all of that, and heard no response.

The light here wasn’t very bright. Around them, the noise felt like it had ebbed away. The air was quiet. Something in her chest seemed to be dangling from a thread, pulling tighter — slow nerves and unease rising.

Ning Sui kept her eyes down, and noticed more small green blades of grass pushing stubbornly up through the cracks in the paving stones below.

Her lashes had just trembled once when she heard Xie Yichen’s voice from above her head — breezy and careless, with a trace of what sounded almost like fond amusement: “Ning Coconut.”

His breath was slow and warm, with a hint of that magnetic quality: “You’re the one being kept as the secret underground lover here — how is it that you’re the one feeling aggrieved?”

“……”

Ning Sui curled her fingers inward, thinking to herself — that was actually a pretty accurate description.

Then she heard him speak again: “Worrying that you’ll be bad at this on your first time — isn’t that perfectly normal?”

Ning Sui raised her head abruptly, meeting his upright, handsome gaze.

Xie Yichen bent slightly toward her level, letting some of the lift at his lips settle away, his expression turning genuinely serious. His jet-black eyes seemed to hold a gleam of light.

He paused: “I’m also a first-timer, and I’m also worried about making mistakes, about doing something that upsets you.”

Ning Sui froze for a moment, wanting to say something, but finding no words.

Before she could react, Xie Yichen had already reached out both arms and pulled her close.

Not with a forceful grip — it was gentle, unhurried, drawing her in until her cheek rested against his chest.

“So you have to teach me too.”

Ning Sui looked up, dazed, and found she very much liked being held like this by him.

“It’s okay if you haven’t adjusted yet.” He raised his hand and touched her head gently, his breath falling, low and soft, like a murmured private comfort — and the sound of his quiet laugh was lovely.

“Then just stay close to me a little longer — and we’ll keep adjusting, little by little.”