The car moved smoothly along the road. Ji Zhaoxi was bundled up in a black padded coat, her face flushed slightly from the warmth of the heater.
Lu Huainan held her in his arms, lowering his eyes as he patiently massaged the soles of her feet, which were marked with several red lines from being bound.
Half asleep, Ji Zhaoxi curled her toes. Lu Huainan softened his voice. “You have to massage them now, or they’ll be swollen tomorrow.”
The lights outside flickered past, and the car was extremely quiet. Yet his heart felt especially full.
When they arrived at the school gate, the snow on the ground was thick. With Ji Zhaoxi on his back, Lu Huainan walked toward the women’s dormitory, leaving one footprint after another in the snow.
Ji Zhaoxi rested against his shoulder, her warm, even breaths brushing gently against his ear. Lu Huainan’s eyes were full of laughter.
As he exhaled a cloud of warm breath, he thought about all the time he had spent with Ji Zhaoxi recently. The smile on his face grew wider, and before he knew it, he had laughed aloud.
“Ji… Zhaoxi…”
He stepped through the snow, whispering her name one syllable at a time. Her name melted in his heart, filling him with warmth.
Under the cover of night, he turned his head slightly and held his breath before pressing a gentle kiss to her warm forehead.
“Ji Zhaoxi…” he couldn’t help whispering again.
He liked her so much. He always had.
But someone who was exhausted to the point of sleep could not hear him at all. In her dreams, Ji Zhaoxi was still thinking about the moves to the hand-sign dance.
By the time they reached the dormitory entrance, Ji Zhaoxi was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open as she climbed the stairs.
Just before stepping into the dormitory building, she instinctively glanced back. Through the fogged-up glass, Lu Huainan was still standing motionless in the same spot.
The two of them froze when their eyes met unexpectedly.
Lu Huainan looked a little awkward at first. Then his tense body suddenly relaxed, and he looked at her with curved eyes.
Ji Zhaoxi pulled her coat tighter around herself and smiled as she waved at him.
The fan group stayed up all night.
[Xixi Kitty: Kitty is just too adorable. She’ll wear anything you put on her. I’m going to kiss her to death! You all called me a cat-stan for Xixi, so I’m not showing you these Polaroids either [heehee].]
[Please, I never called you that. Let me see them…]
[Is that him? [Attached: a photo of a man in a mask and black clothes]]
[Probably, but can we not post pictures of men in the group? They stink up the place!]
[Qinqin: It’s only been a few days, but this girl’s work skills have improved so much. She even learned all those hand-sign dances. Praise her!]
[I messed up the dance and she laughed at me. Who’s going to teach her a lesson?]
[Xixi Kitty: She actually made fun of you? I’m going to kiss her to death and avenge you!]
Winter break was just around the corner, and the atmosphere in the lab had already become cheerful.
“Even if going home means getting pressured to marry, I’m still going back!” Senior Brother prayed devoutly.
He had dark circles under his eyes every day. The last time he video-called his mother, she had even asked him whether he was on drugs.
He rolled his eyes dramatically.
Wen Shuning watched the people beside her fool around with a smile. In truth, compared with going home, she seemed to prefer staying at school.
The school had single dorm rooms, and they were warm. The cafeteria food was good, too. She felt that staying at school would be easier.
“When you’re sleeping at home, I’ll help you walk Ji Xinxin,” Lu Huainan said as he looked at Ji Zhaoxi.
Ji Zhaoxi nodded vigorously.
Ji Xinxin was in Lu Huainan’s hands now.
Senior Brother silently rolled his eyes at the two of them. Seeing his expression, Wen Shuning couldn’t help laughing.
Senior Brother lowered his voice and mimicked Ji Zhaoxi in a soft, delicate tone. “Lu Huainan, are you not listening to me anymore?”
Then he put on a helpless expression. “I’ll listen. Don’t ignore me.”
Everyone nearby burst out laughing. Someone immediately went to report him to Ji Zhaoxi.
“Ji Zhaoxi, Senior Brother is making fun of you!”
Ji Zhaoxi hurriedly turned around. Senior Brother quickly lowered his head and pretended to be working on his experiment.
When he saw that Ji Zhaoxi had turned away, Senior Brother continued to tease Wen Shuning. “What’s the difference between dating a fellow student and being palace companions in ancient times?”
Wen Shuning laughed so hard her stomach hurt.
“Stop making fun of your junior sister all the time,” she said.
Was it just her imagination, or was everything he said inexplicably funny?
And as a funny guy, Senior Brother was happiest when someone played along. That was why he especially liked acting like an idiot in front of Wen Shuning.
The days passed one after another, and at last, winter break arrived. Their advisor reluctantly sent his graduate students home.
Ji Zhaoxi’s mother had long since prepared for that little menace to return.
She made Ji Zhaoxi’s bed with freshly dried sheets. Ji Xinxin excitedly bounced around nearby. Just as it was about to jump onto the bed, Ji Zhaoxi’s mother grabbed it and pulled it down.
“You stinky dog, your sister hasn’t even lain down yet and you’re already trying to take her spot?” she scolded.
Ji Xinxin tucked its tail between its legs and went outside, where it lay at Ji Zhaoxi’s father’s feet.
Her father sipped his tea and smiled. “Got scolded again, huh?”
Sometimes, he really felt that Ji Xinxin was a lot like him.
Neither of them had much of a sense of timing…
At the same time, the Lu family was also preparing for Lu Huainan to come home.
Lu Jiangbai was sprawled on the sofa, playing a game. “Dad, is the period-drama pretty boy coming home?”
Lu Huainan’s mother rolled her eyes at him. “You can call him that to his face if you’ve got the nerve.”
Ever since Lu Huainan had gone to apologize on bended knee, Lu Jiangbai had taken to calling him “period-drama pretty boy” at every opportunity.
Whenever she thought of the scene at the hospital that day, she couldn’t help wondering whether she was really living in modern society.
Lu Jiangbai grinned. “Don’t worry, Mom. He won’t get mad.”
Lu Huainan posted on his social media feed all day long. Sometimes it was a picture of a flower, sometimes a snowy landscape, sometimes a blurry figure from behind, and sometimes a photo of food showing nothing but the corner of a sleeve.
He was being so obvious in his subtlety, yet no one knew what exactly he was trying to post…
Cars continued to pass outside. Ji Xinxin stood on the seat, excitedly watching the scenery through the window.
“Has she replied yet?”
“Xixi said she’s waiting at the entrance.”
The moment Ji Xinxin heard the key words, it began barking several times.
Ji Zhaoxi’s mother reached back and patted the dog’s head with a smile. “You heard your sister’s name, didn’t you?”
This time, Ji Zhaoxi wasn’t in a hurry. In the past, whenever her parents came to pick her up, she would call them so many times that they nearly lost their minds.
Once they arrived, however, her parents finally understood why she hadn’t been calling them anxiously this time.
The two young people were standing at the entrance, their arms bumping against each other every so often. Neither of them was looking directly at the other, but both wore constant smiles.
The young man lowered his head and kissed the young woman on top of her head, murmuring something to her. The woman promptly rammed her head into him, making the man laugh as he stumbled back several steps.
Ji Zhaoxi’s father watched the scene silently from the car.
As expected of his daughter. Even her way of dating was completely unconventional.
“Woof, woof, woof!”
Ji Xinxin was frantic. It had already spotted Ji Zhaoxi.
Why weren’t they opening the door?!
It grew so anxious that it began biting Ji Zhaoxi’s father’s hat.
The corner of Ji Zhaoxi’s mother’s mouth twitched. “Call her and tell her to get in the car.”
When she turned her head, she saw Lu Huainan’s mother in the car beside them.
The two women froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded at each other.
Then both families watched helplessly as the young couple received a phone call, hugged each other again, and finally let go with great reluctance.
Ji Zhaoxi’s parents: …
Lu Huainan’s parents: …
Lu Jiangbai: munching on potato chips.
Ji Xinxin: Awoo… woof, woof, woof!
