Rabbit Graffiti
Yun Mi changed into her ski suit and sat on the bench, leaning against the giant pink rabbit. She lowered her eyes, thinking silently that she had never actually cried in front of Chen Yiyang.
He was talking nonsense.
The 12,000-square-meter indoor ski resort was now just the two of them.
Not far away, the boy, wearing a loose silver-black ski suit and a pair of polarized blue-green sunglasses, stood bent over in front of a vending machine.
Yun Mi secretly raised her phone and quickly clicked the shutter.
Just as Chen Yiyang was about to pull up WeChat Pay, his phone suddenly popped up with a voice call.
"..."
Xie Yue.
"Brother Yang."
Interrupted, Chen Yiyang's tone carried a hint of impatience: "Say what you need to say."
"You're at Grey Star, right?"
Chen Yiyang was slightly taken aback.
Grey Star was the name of this ski resort.
He looked back thoughtfully. Yun Mi was still holding up her phone, apparently pointing in his direction. Even caught red-handed, she showed no embarrassment; instead, she made a peace sign at the lens, pretending to take a selfie.
"Did Yun Mi say that?"
"She posted on her Moments. I recognized the background and knew you took her there."
Xie Yue had only gotten to know Chen Yiyang in his first year of high school. Earlier, Zhou Shihui had mentioned that Chen Yiyang used to be wild before the incident in junior high, and Xie Yue had always admired that.
He hinted deliberately: "You know, I'm still near the school and haven't gone home... and Ding Yuan... Oh right, I just saw Zhou Shihui liked your post too."
Xie Yue said, "I already told the classmates that Yun Mi's with you."
"..."
Yun Mi was still secretly taking pictures when she suddenly saw the boy walking straight toward her. She quietly exited the camera interface.
Chen Yiyang raised his hand and pressed a can of hot chocolate directly against her cheek.
The cool skin suddenly met the warm can, and Yun Mi flinched, looking up sharply. She grabbed the drink and asked, "Chen Yiyang, what's wrong?"
Chen Yiyang sat down beside her, with the giant pink rabbit between them.
The nighttime cooling in the ski resort was strong. It had been even colder when they first entered, and their breath formed a thin mist as they spoke.
Chen Yiyang looked down and asked, "Don't you like being alone with me?"
His tone was indifferent. Yun Mi was confused.
Holding the hot chocolate, she turned away and replied casually, "Yeah, who'd want to be alone with you?"
She was grumbling inwardly when a very light laugh drifted past her ear—faint and spreading through the empty slopes.
The next second, a voice slowly recited: "'So, hap-py, to-day.'"
"..."
That was the caption of Yun Mi's just-posted Moments update.
Yun Mi clearly remembered setting it to be invisible to Chen Yiyang only.
Realizing something was wrong, the girl abruptly turned her head, her ponytail drawing a shallow arc in the air.
Through the pink rabbit, she met Chen Yiyang's eyes and asked frantically, "How do you know?"
She... hadn't she blocked him?
The boy's eyes held a hint of teasing. He raised his chat interface to her eye level and said flatly, "Those few..."
He mouthed a few names silently, and Chen Yiyang saw Yun Mi's face instantly fall. Only then did he smirk. "Saw your Moments post and rushed over right away."
...
The school had issued the final exam notice. There was only one month left until the exams.
Ding Yuan was lying nearby, sighing: "After the exams, summer vacation is only forty days, and we have to come back early for military training. Seniors say the winter break homework at Shanfu is terrifying. I really miss the carefree days after the high school entrance exam."
Not far away, the others had already hit the slopes.
Yun Mi rested her chin on her hand, watching Chen Yiyang.
Xie Yue and the others had arrived quickly, grabbed their ski suits and boards, and started playing wildly.
Xie Yue couldn't ski at all, and Chen Yiyang was teaching him.
"Mimi, are you listening?"
Yun Mi silently lowered her head, staring at her neatly tucked pant legs: "I'm listening."
Ding Yuan had long noticed she was distracted. She turned sideways and poked her: "What are you thinking?"
...Thinking about why the one being taught hand-in-hand wasn't her.