Gu Cheng was colder than Xi Zhou. Around the time of the Little New Year, a heavy snowfall blanketed the ground, covering the grass and burying the streets. The world turned a blinding white, so vast it felt almost suffocating.
Ye Qingli had gotten up early that morning to drive with her family to pick up her grandma. But when they headed back, the snow was still falling—if anything, it was getting heavier. Ye Yaohui focused on driving, wiping the windshield while maneuvered carefully. They happened to come across a traffic accident ahead, so he stopped the car and sighed helplessly. "Looks like we'll be getting home a bit late now."
Hearing this from the back seat, Grandma grew anxious and slapped her thigh. "Aiyo, I told you I didn't want to come for New Year's! In this snowy weather, you insisted on picking me up—it's not safe, and it's such a hassle driving all this way."
Ye Yaohui sighed. "Mom, don't say that. I've been busy lately and only had time today. Otherwise, we would've come earlier. It's not just me and A Luan who wanted you here—Qingqing missed you too. She keeps asking about you. I know you usually don't come stay with us, but it's New Year's now, so why not come?"
"Yeah, yeah, Grandma! My dad's a steady driver. Don't worry about all that." Ye Qingli moved closer, linked her arm through her grandma's, and leaned on her shoulder, acting spoiled like when she was little.
Her grandma's chin tickled from Ye Qingli's hair, and she shrank her shoulders, but in the end, she couldn't bear to push her away. Instead, she pulled Ye Qingli into a hug, stroked her face, and chuckled. "It's true that my granddaughter and I are close, but she's this grown up and still so clingy. What will happen when she gets a boyfriend?"
Ye Qingli stiffened.
Afraid her grandma might suspect something, she quickly relaxed again.
Zhang Luan chimed in from the front. "Mom, you don't need to worry about that. With Qingqing's personality—and I say this as her mother—even if she really liked some boy, she wouldn't dare to say it. I don't know when she'll ever have a boyfriend..."
"Why wouldn't I dare to say it!" Ye Qingli's voice suddenly rose, startling everyone in the car. Zhang Luan flinched and then patted her chest. "What's got you so worked up all of a sudden?"
Realizing she had overreacted, Ye Qingli's face flushed bright red, and even her ears burned. She touched her nose. "Nothing, Mom. I just think you're biased against me. I'm not that cowardly, okay?"
"How would I know? Did you confess to someone or something?"
Zhang Luan's casual remark hit a nerve, revealing the secret Ye Qingli had buried in her heart. Her face turned even redder. She really wanted to tell Zhang Luan she already had a boyfriend, but Xiao Yu had told her not to say anything.
She mumbled, "It's not what you think."
Zhang Luan frowned. She felt Ye Qingli was acting a bit off today—too defensive. She hadn't been like this before. Opening her mouth to ask something more, she made Ye Qingli's heart tighten. Luckily, Grandma stepped in to smooth things over, raising her aged hand.
"A Luan, that's enough. The child is grown up now; it's your fault for putting her down. Our Qingqing isn't that timid."
"Yeah, don't bully my daughter." Ye Yaohui backed her up from the front. Seeing that the road ahead had cleared, he started the car and slowly followed the car in front.
With two people defending her, Zhang Luan glanced suspiciously at Ye Qingli in the back seat. Seeing her grinning broadly without any ladylike demeanor, she thought, 'With such a carefree attitude, she probably doesn't have a boyfriend.' So she finally turned back and stopped talking.
The roads were slippery, making the drive extremely difficult for Ye Yaohui.
They arrived home three hours later.
Everyone was exhausted, so they didn't bother cooking dinner and just had something simple. After dinner, the elderly liked to soak their feet. Zhang Luan brought out two foot baths, and she and Grandma sat in the living room soaking their feet. Ye Qingli grabbed a yogurt from the fridge and headed back to her room.
Grandma pointed at her bedroom door and widened her eyes. "A Luan, her stomach is weak—how can you let her drink something cold? You need to keep an eye on her."
Zhang Luan was busy flipping through TV channels and didn't even look up. "It's fine, Mom. Qingqing isn't stupid. She lets the milk warm up to room temperature before drinking."
"Ah... I see..."
Grandma sighed. She had really been away from the child too long; Ye Qingli's habit of liking cold drinks had already changed.
Ye Qingli changed into her pajamas and slipped under the covers. Their house had good soundproofing, but she could still faintly hear Zhang Luan and Grandma talking in the living room. Relieved, she hid under the covers and texted Xiao Yu.
"What are you doing?"
He replied quickly: "Just got off work. On my way home."
The school didn't allow students to stay during the break, so Xiao Yu had rented an apartment near the Taekwondo Gym. At first, Ye Qingli worried he would be lonely there, but a few days later, Xiao Yu texted her to complain that Xu Qingsong was staying at his place, trashing it like a pigsty—there was barely any room to stand.
Ye Qingli had laughed out loud at that.
Noticing she hadn't replied, Xiao Yu added, "Why are you quiet?"
"Waiting for you to get home."
He frowned. "What does that have to do with anything? Can you call me?"
Ye Qingli glanced at her bedroom door and slowly typed back, "Yes."
The moment she sent it, Xiao Yu's voice call came through.
"...Why did you call so fast?" she answered, frantically pulling the covers over her head. She suspected he had already switched to the call screen before she even finished typing.
When she answered, she could still hear the whistling wind, but then it suddenly went quiet—he must have entered the stairwell. Then Xiao Yu's clear voice sounded. "How many days has it been since I heard your voice? Doesn't my being eager show my sincerity?"
Ye Qingli smiled.
"Why can you call today?"
"My grandma came. She and my mom are chatting in the living room, so they don't have time to bother with me."
Xiao Yu let out a soft 'oh,' then chuckled. "What's with us dating like we're thieves?"
"Wasn't it you who didn't want me to tell them? I'm just following your advice. Otherwise, I'm a very responsible person." Ye Qingli refused to be led astray and corrected him seriously. "I really wanted to say it; you're the one who made it sound like thievery."
Xiao Yu rented an old residential building with yellowing, peeling walls. Smiling, he inserted the key into the lock. "Mm, my mistake."
The building exterior wasn't great, but the interior was decent: good lighting, clean environment, and even a bit 'upscale.' Xiao Yu stood at the entrance, leaning against the wall to take off his shoes. Xu Qingsong heard the door and came bouncing over, wanting to play games. Xiao Yu raised his hand and made a 'shush' gesture.
Seeing that, Xu Qingsong knew who he was talking to. He backed off, then yelled toward the phone, "Liu Xu, you slowpoke, can you hurry up?"
"Almost there... I ate something bad." The voice sounded exhausted.
Xu Qingsong scoffed. "Would your stomach be bad if you weren't so greedy?"
"It's not like you're the one on the toilet..."
They started bickering again, like two elementary school kids. Xiao Yu rubbed his forehead, walked into his room, and closed the door, blocking out most of the noise.
"Are you in your bedroom?" Ye Qingli asked tentatively, now that the background noise was gone.