Now only Ji Zhaoxi and Lu Huainan remained on the road. The two of them walked cautiously across the snow, bundled up so heavily that they looked like two penguins struggling to keep their balance.
Ji Zhaoxi was still marveling at how cold the winters in City A were when, in the next second, Lu Huainan’s foot slipped. He tried to grab hold of something, but still fell hard onto the ground with a loud thump.
The person beside her suddenly disappeared. Ji Zhaoxi turned around in confusion.
When she saw Lu Huainan sitting in the snow, his face cold as he brushed uselessly at the ground with both hands, she burst out laughing.
Lu Huainan’s expression remained remarkably calm while Ji Zhaoxi crouched beside him, laughing nonstop.
Lu Huainan tried to get up, but there was no way to find any traction on the icy surface.
He raised his head, and his gaze collided with Ji Zhaoxi’s eyes. Suddenly, all the cold surrounding him vanished.
She had been laughing so hard that her cheeks were slightly flushed. Her lively eyes were filled with mischief and amusement, and several snowflakes clung to her eyelashes.
Lu Huainan stared at her blankly, his breathing suddenly growing softer.
“Lu Huainan, I’ll help you up.” Having laughed enough, Ji Zhaoxi kindly extended a hand.
Lu Huainan took it absentmindedly. Her hand was warm. Just as he felt Ji Zhaoxi pulling him up, an icy chill suddenly appeared at the back of his neck.
All the fluttering in his heart was instantly extinguished, leaving only the cold at his nape. Lu Huainan instinctively tried to dodge it and shouted in embarrassment and anger, “Ji Zhaoxi! Character-collapse warning!”
Ji Zhaoxi ignored him completely. He was sitting there pitifully all alone in the snow—wasn’t that practically inviting her to bully him?
“My character hasn’t collapsed!”
Ji Zhaoxi had reduced Lu Huainan to a state of utter despair. He was frantically clearing the snow from his neck when Ji Zhaoxi accidentally slipped. Lu Huainan instinctively reached out and protected her waist.
Now he understood why Ji Xinxin was so mischievous…
In the confusion, Ji Zhaoxi slipped again. With another loud thud, the two of them fell into the snow together. Their breathing stopped for an instant, their faces only inches apart.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Snowflakes drifted lazily through the air, yet they could not conceal the sudden, ambiguous tension between them.
Lu Huainan’s eyes widened, and his face turned bright red. Her breath brushed lightly against the tip of his nose. He looked at her slightly reddened eyes and suddenly became dazed.
Their breathing grew heavier and heavier. Lu Huainan’s hand was still clasped around her waist. When he realized what position they were in, his entire body stiffened.
He stared at her, his mind completely blank. Suddenly, an incredibly bold thought occurred to him.
Would she… kiss him?
As soon as the thought appeared, Lu Huainan felt it become difficult to breathe.
Ji Zhaoxi watched his stiff expression and curved her eyes. She lowered herself slightly, seeming as though she really was about to kiss him.
Lu Huainan could no longer feel his heartbeat at all. Every thought vanished from his mind. He pressed his lips together stiffly and hurriedly closed his eyes.
He waited for the kiss that was about to come…
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
…
He had no idea how long passed. The softness he imagined never arrived. Instead, a muffled laugh sounded beside him.
Lu Huainan: …
With his ears burning red, he opened his eyes. Ji Zhaoxi was lying on his chest, her body trembling as she tried to hold back her laughter. The amusement in her eyes was practically overflowing.
Their gazes collided again. He looked at her smug expression after successfully pulling off her prank, and his face grew even redder.
But she had probably only teased him like this…
Lu Huainan climbed to his feet and summoned the courage to ask, “Ji Zhaoxi, do you still hate me?”
As he brushed the snow off Ji Zhaoxi, she let him do it. Gazing at the snowbank in the distance, she asked in return, “Then do you hate me?”
Lu Huainan’s face turned red at once. His throat felt tight as he whispered, “You know I like you.”
He had told her that while crying at the hospital.
Lu Huainan clumsily brushed the snow from Ji Zhaoxi’s hair. When she heard his voice, she replied dryly, “Oh.”
Lu Huainan’s ears turned even redder. The two of them walked forward awkwardly.
At last, they arrived downstairs at the women’s dormitory. The streetlights stretched their shadows long across the ground.
Ji Zhaoxi was just about to say goodbye when Lu Huainan suddenly took a small step forward.
“Wait,” he said softly.
He bent down toward her, then suddenly noticed that a snow crystal still clung to her eyelashes.
A subtle distance remained between them. They could feel each other’s breath brushing against their skin, raising a faint itch. Ji Zhaoxi could even catch the scent of his body wash.
For no apparent reason, Ji Zhaoxi suddenly felt nervous. Her eyelashes trembled, and her hands tightened around the thermos he had given her.
If Lu Huainan dared to kiss her, she would pin him to the snow and torment him mercilessly.
As Ji Zhaoxi’s thoughts ran wild, Lu Huainan leaned closer and closer. Seeing how stiff she had become, a faint smile flashed through his eyes.
“We’re even now.”
Ji Zhaoxi was stunned for a moment before quickly realizing that he was getting revenge for what she had done earlier. Her face instantly grew hot.
The moment Lu Huainan turned around, a snowball hit him squarely in the back.
“Lu Huainan, you’re never going to graduate!”
Ji Zhaoxi unleashed her most vicious curse.
The impact made Lu Huainan stagger. He did not turn around, merely raising a hand and waving it in the air, his voice carrying a hint of laughter.
“Go upstairs. Get some sleep.”
After Ji Zhaoxi returned to her dorm, she came across a post online about a fan being arrested for spending too much money sending gifts to a streamer. Frightened, she immediately sent a message to her fan group, telling everyone to spend responsibly.
Even this late at night, many of her fans were still awake.
“No, no, we have to send our snack-money to Xixi! ［shaking head］［shaking head］”
“Don’t worry. It seems our family hasn’t done many PK battles lately.”
“Does anyone know who that L is? We don’t want Xixi to have to help him get a refund for being underage. ［eye roll］”
“You worry about useless things all day long. When are you going to sing us to sleep?”
“Go listen to it yourself!”
“Xixi’s Little Cat: Didn’t we say not to talk to Xixi like that in the main group? Xixi’s singing really is beautiful, okay? Stop putting her down all the time. I’ve seriously had enough!”
Seeing that several people were about to start arguing again, Ji Zhaoxi quickly sang a song to calm everyone’s anger.
It was better not to go to sleep angry so late at night.
After Ji Zhaoxi sent the audio recording of her singing, the group finally fell silent.
