He hadn't expected her to agree so quickly, without even asking why.
Xiao Yu stared at her for a few seconds. For some reason, he felt a surge of happiness. He hurriedly rubbed his nose to suppress the smile tugging at his lips, then turned and walked away.
Without looking back, he said, "You'd better keep your word."
"Of course. I never lie," Ye Qingli followed him.
"Keep pretending."
"What am I pretending?"
Xiao Yu remembered clearly. "The first time we took the high-speed rail back to school, you glared at me and I caught you. You lied and said you were doing eye exercises."
"..." She had almost forgotten.
Ye Qingli walked beside him, lowering her voice. "That time was an exception. I had a reason."
Xiao Yu didn't believe her. "That was the first time we met. What reason could you have?"
She replied obediently, "You always had a grumpy face. I was afraid you'd hit me."
"..."
There were still some leftover tokens. Xiao Yu put them in Ye Qingli's pocket and told her to play with her classmates later. There were enough to grab a doll.
They went down to the first floor and chose a hotpot chicken restaurant. Ye Qingli ordered chicken feet after scanning the menu. It was cheap, and when it arrived, the portion was generous. She had shopped many times, but this was the first time the product matched the picture.
She was really hungry. As she sucked on the bones, her cheeks puffed in and out like a little hamster. Xiao Yu occasionally glanced at her and curled his lips into a smile.
He also paid the bill. Ye Qingli saw him heading to the restroom, but she couldn't keep an eye on him. Never mind; she would pay him back later.
Since there were no more high-speed trains to Xi Zhou at night, they bought tickets for the latest train to minimize missing class.
The machine spat out two tickets, which Xiao Yu held between his fingers. He suddenly leaned down to tease her. "Your mom called you for something, didn't she? Not going home?"
"..." Ye Qingli blushed and turned away without answering.
The night train wasn't too crowded. They sat next to each other and soon both felt drowsy. Ye Qingli forced her drooping eyelids open and asked the conductor for a blanket.
"Why a blanket?" Xiao Yu asked. "Are you cold?"
"I'm not cold. You are."
They hadn't bought sleeper tickets, so technically they weren't supposed to get one. But the conductor looked at Xiao Yu's thin clothes and brought a blanket anyway.
"Thank you," Ye Qingli said as she took it. The blanket was slightly dirty; the white fabric had obvious water stains. She hesitated, then said, "Ma'am, do you have a new blanket? I'd like to buy one."
Before the conductor could answer, Xiao Yu grabbed the blanket and draped it over himself. To be honest, he was repulsed, but he had to get used to it. He turned to the conductor and smiled. "No need to trouble yourself. This one is fine. Thank you."
The conductor smiled back and left. Ye Qingli watched the scene, feeling a lump in her throat. She blinked a few times, then leaned back in her seat and said nothing.
She understood.
He was short on money.
Xiao Yu's hand, which had been resting on the armrest for a while, was numb. He clenched his fist, then spread his fingers in the light. Just as he was about to lower it, a peace sign appeared next to him.
Startled, he looked over. Ye Qingli's eyes sparkled as she smiled. "Does this count as my win this time?"
Xiao Yu realized she was fond of teasing him today. He half-closed his eyes and smiled. "Yeah."
"Then you owe me a promise."
"Yes."
Ye Qingli suddenly leaned closer and asked, "Xiao Yu, were you happy today?"
Xiao Yu didn't pull away. Today had been awful, but he replied softly, "Pretty happy."
Today's happiness was all thanks to her.
"Then this is my punishment." Ye Qingli's expression turned serious as she looked into his eyes. "Promise me you'll be happy. Every day from now on."
Xiao Yu would always remember these words. He would never forget that a girl appeared when he needed someone the most, on a cold winter night, making him laugh and go wild with her.
She was the redemption the gods gave him when he was in darkness.
"Hey, look! It's snowing outside!"
"You're right!"
Someone suddenly shouted, and the passengers grew excited, turning to look outside.
Ye Qingli wiped the fog off the window. Just as the train entered a tunnel, the snowflakes glittered in the dim light. She turned to Xiao Yu, her eyes bright with excitement. "Xiao Yu, they're right!"
"Hmm." He didn't look at the snow outside; he looked at her.
For some reason, Xiao Yu's eyes suddenly felt hot and ached.
The first snow of the year had finally come.
Looking back over the long river of memories, it must have been at this moment that his heart began to stir for her.