After composing herself, Shang Zhitao knocked on Sun Yuanzhu’s door for the first time. She wanted to thank him in person.

He was watching an American TV series. Shang Zhitao could see that his room was filled with books. He didn’t seem to care about the holiday, appearing as comfortable as usual.

“Wow,” Shang Zhitao poked her head through the doorway. “You have so many books!”

“I don’t have many other hobbies,” Sun Yuanzhu said, appearing a bit embarrassed. “Why aren’t you out having fun? Where’s Sun Yu?”

“Sun Yu’s company organized a social event today. She said it would last until midnight. Hasn’t Zhang Ling returned from his business trip yet?”

“Not yet.”

Suddenly not knowing what else to say, they fell silent. Sun Yuanzhu noticed Shang Zhitao’s gaze falling on the books piled in his bedroom several times, so he asked her, “Would you like to come in and see if there are any books you’d like to read?”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s fine.”

Shang Zhitao had never carefully examined Luan Nian’s bedroom; she always felt his bedroom was very distant from her. Yet here she was, carefully exploring the books in Sun Yuanzhu’s bedroom. This was the first time Shang Zhitao understood what a book lover looked like. Besides books, Sun Yuanzhu had nothing else. He was like a scholar—regardless of worldly changes, all he needed was a quiet desk.

Sun Yuanzhu gave Shang Zhitao a sense of stability, a feeling that would accompany her for many, many years.

Shang Zhitao looked at everything carefully. His reading materials were diverse—politics, economics, history, geography, art, physics, astronomy, literature—everything. Shang Zhitao casually flipped through a few books. In each one, he had inserted his reading notes on the first page, just a single sheet of paper. His handwriting was extremely beautiful; Shang Zhitao even thought it was better than her own. And those books, except for their covers, had not a single crease or stain, completely clean. Just like him—too precious.

“Would you like to pick a couple to read? Books are meant to be borrowed,” Sun Yuanzhu said when he saw how much she liked them.

Shang Zhitao quickly waved her hands: “No, no.” She didn’t dare borrow Sun Yuanzhu’s books. She didn’t read like him; she would casually mark on books and fold the corner of a page to mark her place. She was afraid of ruining Sun Yuanzhu’s beautiful books.

Sun Yuanzhu was amused by her cautiousness. He looked at his watch: “Oh, it’s eleven o’clock. Would you two like to have a book club? Share some good books we’ve read recently?”

“The book I’ve been reading recently is Business English,” Shang Zhitao said self-mockingly. “My colleagues at work have really good English. Sometimes during international meetings, I can’t understand what they’re saying.”

“Then you can share about Business English,” Sun Yuanzhu suggested.

“Can I share books I read in college instead?”

“That works too.”

The two immediately agreed and even formally washed some fruit. They sat facing each other in the living room, each holding a book. Shang Zhitao held “Chronicle of a Blood Merchant,” while Sun Yuanzhu held “National Geographic.”

Without Sun Yuanzhu, Shang Zhitao would have found this Christmas unbearable. When she was hugging her laptop, repeatedly looking at that travel blog, especially seeing Luan Nian’s smile, she felt how absurd she was being.

“I love this book. I’ve read it four times, and each time I couldn’t stop crying.”

“I’ve read it too. I feel the same way,” Sun Yuanzhu said.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Shang Zhitao suddenly realized that Sun Yuanzhu’s posture was very similar to his. When they sat, they both sat very straight, looking somewhat humble. Shang Zhitao thought her humility came from her perpetual ordinariness, yet Sun Yuanzhu, being so excellent, was the same way.

Shang Zhitao smiled gently. The door lock clicked, and they both looked toward it to see Sun Yu coming in late. She didn’t look happy, but she still smiled at them. Seeing the books on the table, she hesitantly said, “Are you reading?”

“We’re having a book club,” Shang Zhitao got up to take Sun Yu’s coat and hang it up, then carefully looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I saw my ex-boyfriend. At the place where our event was held, he was with his girlfriend, spending Christmas Eve together.” Sun Yu said softly. “Should I not be talking about this? Your book club was going so well.”

“I’d like to hear about it, if you want to talk,” Sun Yuanzhu suddenly spoke up. “But I think just talking like this is too dull. We’d better eat while we talk.” When he smiled, he revealed a row of neat teeth, single-handedly rescuing the two women from their unhappiness.

Many years later, Sun Yu, drunk, would grab Shang Zhitao’s collar and cry with tears and mucus streaming down her face, gritting her teeth and saying, “How wonderful it would be if there were more people like Sun Yuanzhu in the world?”

He didn’t just suggest it; he also went to the kitchen and found their only instant noodles, tomatoes, and greens, making them dorm-style noodles. The three each had a bowl of noodles. After the first bite, they saw Sun Yu’s tears dripping into her bowl: “When we were together, we never went out to celebrate holidays.”

At first, when they got together, they were both penniless, with pockets cleaner than their faces. On holidays, they’d just stay home, claiming they didn’t want to wait in lines, but actually, they couldn’t keep up with the soaring holiday prices. Or perhaps they were each in different parts of the city, making a brief phone call that counted as celebrating. She hadn’t even received flowers.

Shang Zhitao seemed to have tasted this kind of grievance, yet also seemed not to have. She didn’t know how to comfort Sun Yu. She wanted to curse her ex-boyfriend as a jerk but remembered Sun Yuanzhu was there and swallowed her words.

“Men, a small portion of men, are very terrible,” Sun Yuanzhu voluntarily criticized. “You just happened to meet one of them. I don’t know how to comfort you, but how about I treat you both, and we go see a midnight showing?”

Sun Yu broke into a smile through her tears: “A midnight showing? I’ve never been to one.”

“Neither have I!”

“That’s too bad. When I was in school, I often went to midnight showings with classmates. Shall we go?”

They left immediately.

On Christmas Eve night, the three young people left home and walked along the bustling streets. The city was always lively, and on such holidays, the crowds never dispersed. They moved through the flow of people, truly sensing the smallness of human beings.

Everywhere was bustling, even the midnight showing on Christmas Eve.

The three of them waited in line for a long time before finally buying movie tickets. The Christmas Eve theater was packed, and the three of them sitting among couples stood out awkwardly. Sun Yuanzhu bought cola and popcorn for the two women and said to them, “Be as happy as children.”

Watching a romantic movie on Christmas Eve night, the beautiful love portrayed in the film was enviable. Shang Zhitao checked her phone several times. She wanted to wish Luan Nian a happy holiday but felt that he was amid happiness, and her holiday wishes would surely seem absurd. Sun Yu saw her constantly looking down and leaned to her ear to say, “Don’t say anything, trust me.”

Sun Yu seemed to see through love—the more initiative one took, the more miserable the outcome. No one could escape this curse. She didn’t want Shang Zhitao to be like her, losing so completely. What Shang Zhitao had couldn’t even be called love; it was just a man who couldn’t control his lower half, blinded by impulse.

“Mm. I know.” People who are sad cry terribly during romantic movies, and Shang Zhitao was no exception. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She was such an insensitive person, never actively liking anyone before. In the past, Xin Zhaozhou loved her first, and she only gradually fell for him. She didn’t know that liking someone could be so heartbreaking and timid.

From then on, she fell in love with midnight showings.

Later, many times, she would go to midnight showings alone. If it wasn’t a holiday, there weren’t many people in the theater at midnight. She would choose a quiet film to watch, leaving the sadness, confusion, and unwillingness of a certain period in the theater.

“Is Hokkaido cold?” They asked as they left the theater. Shang Zhitao suddenly asked.

“It’s okay,” Sun Yuanzhu said. “It’s a temperate monsoon climate. For people from Ice City, Hokkaido, compared to Ice City at this time could only be considered cool.”

Shang Zhitao laughed out loud: “Am I a fake Ice City person? I’m especially afraid of the cold. Look at me, I have to wear so many layers in winter.”

“That’s good, knowing cold and warmth,” Sun Yu linked arms with her. “I’m better now. I’m glad I had you both tonight.”

“That’s good.”

Sun Yuanzhu smiled slightly. His glasses had frosted over. He took them off to wipe them, and there were marks left by the frames around his eyes, but that didn’t detract from his refreshing gentleness. Shang Zhitao wanted to talk to Sun Yu but saw her gaze falling on Sun Yuanzhu, not mischievous as usual, but very quiet. Shang Zhitao seemed to suddenly understand something, yet also understand nothing.

She silently changed positions, moving to Sun Yu’s other side, no longer standing between them.

At three in the morning in Beijing, it started to snow.

“Many students at our school would sing ‘Love in the Dust’ at times like this,” Sun Yuanzhu asked them. “Have you heard it?” He hummed a couple of lines.

That evening at dusk, white snow began to fall.

From the theater back to their place was a six-kilometer walk. All three refused to take a taxi, slowly strolling through the snow. Walking like this, no one spoke, all the way until they reached the building. Sun Yuanzhu suddenly asked them, “Would you like me to take photos of you?”

“Sure!” Sun Yu liked taking photos, so she liked this proposal.

“Then wait here. I’ll go up and get my camera.” Sun Yuanzhu was a photography enthusiast. Sometimes he would buy expensive equipment and take it on business trips to photograph different cities and people.

He raised his camera and said to the girls standing in the snow, “Yes, just like that, turn your faces slightly.” His voice was very soft, afraid of disturbing the sleeping neighbors. Fortunately, the three were in sync enough that they could understand each other without words.

That day, they walked through a world of snow, and the camera recorded these moments like fleeting light. The girls looked beautiful, but neither smiled heartily. Looking closely, there was still worry in their eyes.

“Shall we take a group photo?” Sun Yuanzhu asked.

“Sure.”

He set up a tripod in the neighborhood’s pavilion. In the morning mist amid snow, they stood there—Sun Yuanzhu in the middle with a sunny smile, Sun Yu looking at him, and Shang Zhitao looking at the camera.

After taking the photo, they all suddenly felt a bit lonely.

“How about, when summer comes, we go to Mount Tai to watch the sunrise together?” Sun Yuanzhu suggested.

“Sure! We’ll find a weekend when Zhang Ling isn’t busy.”

At that same moment in Hokkaido, Zang Yao stood opposite Luan Nian. Several friends sat together, staying up all night. Tan Mian suddenly asked Zang Yao, “Do you have any secrets about Luan Nian that you’re keeping from us?”

“Is this Truth or Dare?” Zang Yao resisted.

“No, just curious.”

Zang Yao nodded. She said, “I only know we are very, very good friends, but, in the beginning, I remember, neither of us wanted to be friends with each other.”

She looked at Luan Nian with a bit of testing in her gaze.

Luan Nian had had some alcohol and was a bit absent-minded. He didn’t remember what they were like at the very beginning, but he firmly shook his head: “I remember at the very beginning, I only wanted to be friends with you.”

No one was surprised by Luan Nian’s words. Everyone knew what kind of person he was; he never spoke circuitously. Even if what he said today might cause him to lose Zang Yao as a friend, he wouldn’t say it differently.

“You’ve had too much to drink, too much,” Tan Mian tried to smooth things over. Everyone laughed together, trying to laugh away the awkwardness.

“I haven’t had too much to drink. I know what I said,” Luan Nian interrupted everyone’s laughter. “Zang Yao, come outside with me to talk.”