Ye Qingli truly experienced the difference between university and high school. In high school, it was all about burying your head in studies; the principal never thought festivals were important—he cared about the college entrance rate. But in university, she found that the current principal placed great importance on every festival, always organizing various activities to celebrate, even more enthusiastic than the students themselves.
December had Christmas Eve. That night the dorm didn't turn off the lights at the usual time; it was allowed to stay up all night. Ye Qingli and her roommates held a small party for the four of them. Long tin foil sheets covered the table, lined with snacks. Jiang Mo scratched her head regretfully and said, "If we finish all this, we'll all turn into big stomachs."
"What's there to be afraid of? Eat up! There's only one Christmas Eve a year. Why overthink it?" Zhang Yan turned to rummage through her bag. She had bought four Santa hats, red with white edges and a little pom-pom on top, and handed them out for everyone to wear. Xu Yan laughed as she put hers on: "As if we usually eat less."
Jiang Mo nodded again: "Yeah, that's true."
After speaking, the four of them burst out laughing.
Xu Yan took a sip of her sparkling water; bubbles popped in her throat. She sighed contentedly: "I can't believe how fast time flies. It's already Christmas Eve today, and in a few days it'll be winter break. Meeting you all feels like it happened yesterday."
Zhang Yan propped one foot on the stool, hugging her knees like a monkey: "Exactly. I'm really glad to have met such reasonable roommates. I used to read posts online cursing their college roommates, saying how snarky they are. After reading those, I was so anxious."
"Yeah, yeah, I saw those too. I kept nagging my mom about it every day. Eventually she got annoyed and said this school isn't far enough, maybe she should send me abroad, hahaha..."
Jiang Mo made herself laugh after saying that. Ye Qingli was holding a skewer of grilled meat; she had wanted to eat it earlier, but every time she brought it to her mouth, one of them made her laugh. It was almost cold before it even touched her lips.
After sincerely complimenting each other on their roommates, the conversation drifted to dating. This was a unique part of girls' youth—they joked but never went too far. Among them, Zhang Yan was the first to find a boyfriend, a tall, muscular guy who gave her a strong sense of security.
Xu Yan pouted and sighed despondently: "Ah, now we can't bully you anymore."
Putting on a dramatic act, Zhang Yan pushed her playfully: "Don't keep talking about me. Let's talk about you. When are you and Xu Qingsong going to get together?"
The topic shifted too quickly; Xu Yan hadn't processed it. Even if she had, she couldn't hide her feelings. Her face instantly turned as red as a sunset cloud: "Hey, what are you talking about? What's between us?"
"Oh, stop pretending. Your intentions are written all over your face. We're not blind." Every time she saw Xu Qingsong, she pretended to hate him, but she loved messing with him. Jiang Mo had dated before, so she knew exactly what was going on in her mind.
The gossipy looks made Xu Yan embarrassed; her face was hot enough to fry an egg. Finally, Ye Qingli stepped in to smooth things over, and the matter was dropped.
While they were busy eating, Xu Yan caught her eye and mouthed a thank-you.
She didn't want to hide it either; she wanted to expose her feelings to the world. But she just couldn't bring herself to say it. To her, her feelings for Xu Qingsong were like a time bomb. If she tried to defuse it hastily, it would only explode faster.
The idea that Xu Qingsong might like her back was simply a fantasy, a pipe dream.
Xu Yan understood this deeply. She felt pathetic. She never thought she'd fall for a player one day.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the ability to be the ship that could bring him back to port.
Seeing her low mood, Ye Qingli knew Xu Yan liked hamburgers, so she slid the burger closer to her. Xu Yan took it with a stiff smile, looked around, and asked, "Where's the ketchup? Didn't the clerk give any?"
"They did. It's in my coat pocket. I forgot."
"I'll get it for you." Ye Qingli got up, found her coat on the rack, and reached into the pocket. She felt the ketchup packets and also something hard.
When she pulled them out, she froze.
It was the lighter Xiao Yu had used when he took her to dinner, the one she never returned.
...
Christmas Eve was followed by Christmas, and Christmas by New Year's Day. The holidays were connected. The school could skip events for the first two Western holidays, but New Year's Day was a traditional Chinese festival. The principal made it clear that the New Year's Eve party must be done well.
Since he put it that way, everything had to be done to perfection. No one dared to slack off.
This was the second time they went to the auditorium, the first being the welcome party. Last time, their class sat way off to the side; their eyes were slanted the whole time. Xu Yan was afraid that if they kept doing that, her eyes wouldn't be able to straighten out. So this time, she started discussing with Ye Qingli early on where they should sit. They couldn't be too demanding, but at least they should be able to see the performers' faces, right?
Ye Qingli smiled at her antics. "Then we'll go early this time to grab good seats, preferably in the middle."
Xu Yan was about to say yes when the dorm door opened. Zhang Yan and Jiang Mo walked in. Seeing Ye Qingli still sitting in the dorm, they were surprised: "Hey, Qingqing, why are you still here? Didn't the counselor call you?"
"Why would the counselor call me? I don't think... I did anything wrong, did I?" Ye Qingli had always been considered a good kid. Even when called to the teacher's office, it was for praise. She had only been summoned once for a parent meeting, and that was a misunderstanding. Since starting university, she had never been called by the counselor. Her heart was pounding like a ping-pong ball dropped on the floor.
"Oh, don't get so nervous!" Jiang Mo laughed. "It's just that when we were coming back, we heard them talking about choosing hosts for the New Year's party. We heard your name, and it sounded like it was already decided."
"... That can't be, right?" She didn't have much presence in this school. There's no way that responsibility would fall on her.
"It's true. Don't doubt it."
No matter how much they insisted, Ye Qingli didn't believe it. She was sure they had misheard. She had no hosting experience. How could such an important task find her?
The result: in the afternoon, the counselor sent her a message. It really was about that.
Ye Qingli stood there, extremely awkward. The desk reached her waist, and she secretly fidgeted with her fingers under the desk: "Thank you, Teacher. I really appreciate you giving me this opportunity. I'm grateful for your kindness, but I still—"
"Stop, stop, stop." The counselor didn't let her finish the "but" sentence. She raised her hand and said, "You said you appreciate us giving you this opportunity, so you should make use of it!"
"..." Ye Qingli was speechless. She was just trying to be polite. How did she end up trapping herself?
While she was stunned, the counselor continued to brainwash her earnestly: "It's good to get some practice. If you refuse now, what will you do when you stand on a podium after graduation? Will you refuse then? Not become a teacher? And it's not just me who recommended you. You've been performing well, all the teachers like you. They say you're attentive in class and pretty. Everyone thinks you deserve to be a host. What do you think?"
After the counselor's earnest persuasion, refusing now would make her seem stubborn and ungrateful.
So Ye Qingli nodded reluctantly.
With less than a week until the New Year's party, Ye Qingli had to rush to the auditorium for rehearsals right after class. When she arrived, she found that besides her, there were three other hosts: two boys and two girls. One of the boys was Huang Xu.
Huang Xu smiled and greeted her, walking over to shake her hand: "What a coincidence. You're a host too."
"Ah... yeah." Ye Qingli's mind went blank. She barely touched his hand and quickly pulled back.
Huang Xu noticed but didn't show it. Still smiling, he asked, "Haven't heard from you in a while. How have you been?"
"Good." After his mother's sarcastic remarks last time, Ye Qingli was completely resistant to any contact with Huang Xu. But in the coming days, she'd have to practice lines with him. Out of politeness, she smiled and asked, "Senior, aren't we supposed to rehearse? Where?"
"Oh, over there." He pointed.
"Okay, let's go then." She turned and walked away without even glancing at him.
Huang Xu stood there for a moment, then quickly caught up.
During the discussion, they learned that Huang Xu and the other boy had taken broadcasting classes in high school. They had intended to pursue art but didn't stick with it. Still, they had some experience, while Ye Qingli and the other girl were completely clueless.
They needed to learn from them. Coincidentally, the other girl had a bit of a crush on Huang Xu. She hesitantly asked Ye Qingli if she could partner with Huang Xu, leaving Ye Qingli to work with the other guy. Ye Qingli was very pleased with this arrangement and nodded eagerly.
The girl was grateful.
Even without talent, hard work always pays off. So even after everyone else had left, the auditorium lights remained on. The two of them often stayed behind, rehearsing until just before the dorm curfew.
Finally, the New Year's Eve party arrived, held on Saturday night.
The path to the auditorium was lined with camphor trees, their branches decorated with colorful lights—red, orange, yellow, green—blooming brilliantly in the winter night.
Ye Qingli changed into her gown early and went backstage to wait for makeup. The school had hired two makeup artists, both quite young but highly skilled. The other one was assigned to the boys, while the makeup artist in front of her worked on the other female host. Ye Qingli sat watching, genuinely admiring how deft her hands were.
That girl was already beautiful bare-faced, but after the artist's transformation, she looked like she had stepped out of a painting.
The girl herself was very pleased. She smiled at her reflection again and again. Finally, after her lips were done, she hopped up to give Ye Qingli her seat: "Your turn."
Ye Qingli sat down. The makeup artist removed the cotton pad from her face and began squeezing foundation onto her hand. Looking at Ye Qingli's smooth skin, she smiled: "Ah, to be young. Your skin is so good—fair and supple."
Then she began applying makeup. Following the artist's instructions, Ye Qingli opened and closed her eyes. She noticed the artist liked working on her eyes especially, spending a lot of time on that area. The eyeshadow on her upper lid was light and subtle, shimmering under the lights when she blinked. Then the artist added a hint of red to her lower lash line and drew a natural aegyo sal, creating just the right mood.
As the artist said, "It's rare to see such beautiful eyes. If I don't do them justice, I think we'd both be losing out."
No wonder she had been smiling the whole time. Even Ye Qingli couldn't stop grinning from all the compliments.
Finally, the last step. The artist braided her hair into a side braid, saying it would make her look softer. She was right. The girl in the mirror was cool and aloof, but her captivating peach blossom eyes held a gentle ripple. She didn't seem too distant, yet there was a sense of purity untouched by the world.
The makeup artist couldn't imagine how stunning these two girls would look in a photo shoot at her studio.
So she asked, "Can I take a picture of you two?"
"Sure!" they both agreed. They couldn't let her skill go to waste.
That said, when they actually posed, the artist smiled wryly. They only knew how to do peace signs. She had to step in and demonstrate. This time, they finally looked like budding flowers, blooming with the most vibrant colors of their lives.
Meanwhile, classes filed in and took their seats. The backstage door was left ajar. As the Physical Education department passed by, Xiao Yu caught a glimpse through the crack. He felt his heart thump heavily—rarely, intensely.