Why are you back?
Actually, Ji Shuhe knew that spending the New Year in Xinhai would indeed be more lively.
From the start of winter break, Ji Shulang couldn't stay home. On cold days, if he wanted to go out, he'd drag the reluctant Ji Shuhe along, afraid his mom wouldn't agree, under the pretense of buying New Year supplies.
Ji Shuhe only went twice. Later, she really didn't want to join in the pointless mall wandering, and no matter how Ji Shulang coaxed or nagged, she refused to accompany him.
But Ji Shulang didn't have many good days either. His final exam results this time were mediocre. With senior year looming in the second half of the year, his mom was frantic. She paid extra to enroll him in some supposedly effective small-class tutoring—all subjects.
So from morning to night, eight hours a day, it was almost no different from school. Even lunch had to be grabbed at a nearby fast-food joint.
Once, Wen Shaoyu got an idea and dragged Ji Shuhe to "visit him in prison" during meal times.
The three sat in KFC. Ji Shulang miserably instructed Ji Shuhe on what snacks to buy before New Year's, angrily devouring three burgers while talking, only to get drowsy from the carb overload and fall asleep in class. The teacher found Chu Yue and filed a serious complaint.
The story of No. 86 Yong'anli on Fuxi East Road was supposed to be a movie for three, but because the middleman was forced to disappear, it turned into Ji Shuhe and Wen Shaoyu constantly running into each other in the drafty old alley during winter.
But later, they couldn't even see each other.
Before New Year's Eve, Wen Shaoyu's father took him and Granny Zheng to his house for the holiday.
Only one household remained in the two apartments. Upstairs and downstairs, doors were tightly shut.
But with no Wen Shaoyu standing at the stairway waiting for her to walk Lizi together, and without Granny Zheng's radio crackling morning news every day, Ji Shuhe found it very strange.
Thankfully, Lizi was left behind.
Before leaving with his backpack, Wen Shaoyu gave Ji Shuhe the key to his room. The attic was small, so it was more convenient for Lizi to eat and sleep there; Ji Shuhe just had to take him out to relieve himself every day.
He rarely showed reluctance. Even after going downstairs, he turned back, crouched to Lizi's level, rubbed the puppy's head, but looked up at Ji Shuhe while talking.
"I'll be back by the third day of the New Year at the latest."
Ji Shuhe sensed Wen Shaoyu was in a bad mood and, to comfort him, promised earnestly, "I'll take good care of Lizi. Don't worry, no need to rush..."
Wen Shaoyu interrupted, "It's not that I don't trust you. I just really don't want to go."
Ji Shuhe swallowed her words and sighed silently.
She thought she was beginning to understand the saying "every family has a hard nut to crack."
Wen Shaoyu's father, Wen Cheng, had made his fortune by founding an electronics company, riding the wave of information technology at its peak, and had been raking in money ever since.
When Wen Shaoyu's mother was alive, her sacrifices kept the family of three warm and harmonious. But after her death, people changed.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."
Wen Cheng remarried quickly, and his new wife was his late wife's former best friend. Then father and son had a major conflict, Wen Shaoyu left home, and Wen Cheng had other children.
Wen Shaoyu didn't want to return to that home full of betrayal, but he had to go along with Granny Zheng.
Of course, Granny Zheng didn't want to go either, but her grandson was still young and hot-headed. She had to plan for him to set his deceased daughter's mind at ease.
She thought that showing up with Wen Shaoyu in that harmonious, cheerful home would remind Wen Cheng of the past—of Wen Shaoyu's mother, who helped him start his business but died young from illness; of the other members who once made up the happy family.
It was a good thought, but whether it worked and whether everyone had a conscience was anyone's guess.
On New Year's Eve, the Ji family's New Year's Eve dinner was earlier than usual. Ji Shuhe planned to take Lizi out for a walk ahead of time. Ji Shulang, pestered by Chu Yue's nagging until his head hurt, volunteered to walk the dog with Ji Shuhe.
The streets of Xinhai were now empty and desolate. Shops along the street were closed, no one was in sight. Only buses ran on schedule, unimpeded, arriving at stops even earlier.
Lizi had grown a lot in these months. When he stood on his hind legs and put his front paws on Ji Shuhe, he was almost as tall as her. Bigger and stronger, when they walked, a sudden lunge often made Ji Shuhe unable to hold him back.
When walking the dog with Wen Shaoyu, he held the leash. Now it was up to Ji Shuhe alone, and it became a scene of Lizi running ahead, Ji Shuhe struggling to pull back, losing the tug-of-war and being dragged forward.
Ji Shulang couldn't stand to watch and took the leash from Ji Shuhe, but... he couldn't hold him back either.
A phone rang and vibrated in his pocket. Ji Shulang, one hand on Lizi, hurriedly shoved the phone into Ji Shuhe's hand, and in an instant, all that was left was his retreating figure being dragged away.
Ji Shuhe stood holding the phone, unsure what to do. She saw it was a video call from Wen Shaoyu and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I've been waiting for you to pick up forever. What's taking you so long... Why is it you?"
Wen Shaoyu's complaints trailed off as he saw Ji Shuhe on the other end. He looked surprised, then immediately sat up straight, scratching his hair awkwardly.
"Are you... walking Lizi outside?"
Ji Shuhe was also a bit embarrassed seeing Wen Shaoyu's face directly. She looked away slightly, not daring to meet his eyes. "Yeah."
Wen Shaoyu paused. "It got colder again today."
"Yeah, it's freezing out here." At the mention of this, Ji Shuhe had complaints. A puff of white mist escaped from behind her scarf. "Why is Xinhai so cold? Even colder than winters in Yuanjing!"
Clearly, she really hated Xinhai's winter. The undisguised dislike in her tone made her seem full of life.
Wen Shaoyu's peach blossom eyes curved. "If it's not cold now during the coldest days of winter, when will it be? Once Lizi's done his business, go back early. There's nothing to see outside."
Ji Shuhe's face was red from the wind. She looked around but didn't see the phone's owner, Ji Shulang. Wen Shaoyu asked again, "Is Ji Shulang with you? Where is he?"
He's being walked up ahead.
Ji Shuhe's gaze drifted. "Up ahead."
The camera switched to the front view. In the frame, Lizi was circling a streetlamp, while Ji Shulang finally found a chance to rest, panting white clouds of breath, leaning on the lamppost and looking back for Ji Shuhe.
"...Xiao Shu! Is that Wen Shaoyu's call, that idiot?!"
Ji Shuhe quickened her pace, unable to suppress a laugh. "It's him."