At last, the dinner was nearly over. Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, everyone prepared to leave.
“I’ll go get the car first. Put on this coat—it’s a little chilly outside.” Lu Huainan lowered his voice as he handed his coat to Ji Zhaoxi.
She had been complaining the whole time that the air-conditioning was turned down too low.
Ji Zhaoxi, who had already been shivering from the cold, immediately draped the coat over her shoulders.
Her senior, who was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt, hunched his neck and called out, “Junior, junior sister, I’m cold too.”
“Just bear with it, Senior.” Ji Zhaoxi wrapped herself tightly in the coat.
The weather was getting colder and colder.
The group walked to the entrance to wait for Lu Huainan when a cheerful voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
“Ji Zhaoxi, you came too?”
Seeing that Ji Zhaoxi and the others were still standing together, the young man’s gaze settled on her, and he smiled. “Have you called a taxi? They’re probably hard to get right now. I can give you all a ride back.”
Ji Zhaoxi smiled politely. “It’s okay. We have a car.”
Her senior hurriedly nodded. Where was her junior? They were all about to freeze to death!
The young man smiled again. “There are so many of you. Why don’t I take you home first? We’re all heading back to the university anyway.”
“It’s been so long since we last saw each other—don’t tell me we’ve become strangers. How about letting me be your driver this once?”
Just then, a calm voice suddenly sounded.
“No need. She has her own driver.”
Her senior instinctively asked, “Who?”
Lu Huainan: “…”
“Me.”
Her senior and Ji Zhaoxi exchanged a silent glance.
Junior sister was amazing. She even had her own personal driver.
Lu Huainan took the bag from Ji Zhaoxi’s hand and opened the car door for her like a professional chauffeur, then let her get in.
The others watched this entire display of service in silence for a moment.
“It’s still warm.” Lu Huainan handed Ji Zhaoxi the tea he had brewed.
Ji Zhaoxi cupped the mug in both hands to warm them and took a few sips. Steam was still rising from it.
“Junior sister, now that you’ve caught the bouquet, you can’t refuse to pursue a doctorate,” her senior said gloomily from the back seat.
Wrapped up in his coat, Ji Zhaoxi was so warm and comfortable that she took another sip of tea. “I think I’ll save this good luck for something else.”
“Senior, I hope you still have hair left in a few years.”
Her senior immediately clapped a hand over his hair in alarm. Wen Shuning snorted with laughter. “You’ll probably be almost bald by the time you graduate.”
Her senior studied everyone else’s hair, then promptly ordered several bottles of hair-growth serum online. He absolutely couldn’t let himself develop a bald spot.
It was already very late, and there were hardly any cars on the road. Ji Zhaoxi leaned against the car window and watched the dark sky outside. Before long, she fell asleep.
The occasional sound of lively conversation came from the back seat.
“My mom tried to set me up on a blind date last New Year. She’ll probably do it again this year.”
“Ah, you’re still so young. Why are you going on blind dates? We may not be teenagers anymore, but we’re not that old either.”
“What about you, junior? Has your family ever pressured you?”
“No…”
The voices gradually faded away as Ji Zhaoxi’s breathing became steady. Wrapped up warmly and cozily, with the heat in the car set just right, she slept soundly.
At some point, the car came to a smooth stop. Ji Zhaoxi’s head slipped from where it rested against the window, and she immediately woke up, gazing around blearily.
Something kept tapping against the car, and the wind was howling outside.
“It’s snowing lightly now. It’ll probably snow heavily tomorrow, so remember to wear more layers.” A voice sounded inside the car.
Ji Zhaoxi still hadn’t fully woken up. She looked at the snow outside, her face flushed from sleep, with faint marks pressed into her cheek.
Lu Huainan’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment. His throat tightened, and he awkwardly looked away.
“Are you going back to the dorm?” he asked stiffly. “The others have already left.”
Ji Zhaoxi didn’t answer. She simply wrapped herself more tightly in the coat and leaned back against the window again, her eyelashes drooping with exhaustion.
She didn’t want to leave. She just wanted to sleep in the car.
Lu Huainan could naturally tell. He gripped the steering wheel stiffly and said awkwardly, “But sleeping in the car won’t be as comfortable as sleeping in bed. How about I take you back to the dorm anyway?”
The only answer was her steady breathing.
Lu Huainan was completely at a loss. He looked helplessly at Ji Zhaoxi beside him and secretly thought:
A certain hugely popular influencer doesn’t pay attention to the dangers of sleeping in a car, doesn’t care about her own safety, and is about to have her image ruined!
“If you’re too lazy to walk, I can carry you back to your dorm,” Lu Huainan tried again.
If only Ji Xinxin were here.
If Ji Zhaoxi refused to get out of the car, it would have bitten her out itself—but he didn’t have the nerve.
Lu Huainan opened the car door on Ji Zhaoxi’s side. The cold air immediately slipped down the back of her neck, jolting her fully awake.
She sniffed and glanced at the sky. “It’s so cold.”
Wrapped in the fluffy coat with only a pair of misty eyes visible, Ji Zhaoxi climbed onto Lu Huainan’s back. Wave after wave of sleepiness washed over her.
Lu Huainan was so nervous that he planted each step firmly, afraid he might drop her.
The sound of his shoes pressing into the thin layer of snow was especially clear.
He wasn’t wearing a coat, only a single shirt. The wind had turned his ears bright red.
Ji Zhaoxi rested her chin on his shoulder, her voice still carrying the nasal softness of someone who had just woken up.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Lu Huainan’s nose had turned red from the cold too. He was just about to deny it when Ji Zhaoxi laboriously reached one hand out from around his chest and covered his ear.
Her warm palm trembled slightly when it touched his freezing ear.
Lu Huainan’s footsteps faltered, and his back instantly went rigid.
The warmth of her palm traveled from his ear into his heart. In the wind, he could even clearly smell her fragrance, which made his face burn even hotter.
“I’m not cold…” His voice was terribly hoarse.
At last, they reached the dormitory. Ji Zhaoxi took off the coat and returned it to him.
Lu Huainan handed her the warm cup as well. Ji Zhaoxi drained it in a few gulps, and heat immediately spread through her body.
“I’m done.” Ji Zhaoxi awkwardly handed the cup back to him.
Lu Huainan answered in a low voice, “Then I’ll bring you more tomorrow. Wear more tomorrow. Today, you—”
“Oh, come on!” Ji Zhaoxi glared at him.
He had already said it several times that day!
Lu Huainan immediately lowered his head and murmured, “Then I won’t say it.”
Ji Zhaoxi was finally satisfied. “Stop saying things I don’t like hearing!”
Lu Huainan obediently nodded.
Only then did Ji Zhaoxi finally let Lu Huainan leave.
But the moment she returned to her dorm, her mother called.
“Xixi, I saw that it’s snowing where you are. Did you put on enough clothes?”
Ji Zhaoxi answered guiltily, “Of course!”
Mother Ji couldn’t be bothered to indulge her. “I bought you some winter clothes. You’d better wear them. They’ll arrive in a few days.”
Ji Zhaoxi immediately wilted. “Mom, I’m old enough to buy my own clothes now.”
“Hmph. Keep wearing those and you’ll catch a cold. Last year, you were trying to look stylish at the expense of staying warm…”
Mother Ji began listing all of Ji Zhaoxi’s offenses. Every so often, the sound of a dog barking came through the phone—and if one listened carefully, there even seemed to be a mocking tone in it.
Ji Zhaoxi obediently listened to her mother’s lecture, along with the gloating of a certain stinky dog.
