He was supposed to go home and write next.
But as an author with terminal laziness, he always relied on one tried-and-true tactic: procrastination. Most days, he couldn’t type even a single punctuation mark at his computer until after seven in the evening.
So he decided to take a walk outside. It wasn’t very cold today, and the fresh-fallen snow looked like a silver carpet. It took no time at all for Gao Sijin to think of all kinds of stories about snow.
Snow is cruel, but it’s romantic, too.
The cold is hard to endure, yet snow is so pure and flawless.
If he could, Gao Sijin really wanted to meet a girl in the snow, then have her tackle him into a snowbank. Even if he and the one he loved turned into ice sculptures and stayed that way until the end of time, he’d have no regrets, even if it cost him his life.
Before he knew it, Gao Sijin had passed Binhai No. 10 Middle School. Here, he could just make out a faint glimpse of his younger self. Back then, he’d thought they’d meet again someday. He never knew that graduation would mean goodbye forever.
The girl he’d once held in an embrace amid the confusion of young love eventually went to faraway Australia.
The girl who’d traded childish insults like “idiot” and “dummy” with him became someone else’s lover.
The feelings he’d never managed to voice had long since turned to dust and blown away with the passage of time.
Even though Binhai School wasn’t the one Gao Sijin had attended, he could still feel the youth he’d lost in other schools.
—Lingling.
The sky had grown dark. Middle schoolers came out through the school gates, backpacks on and bundled up in their thick uniforms.
Parents crowded around the school gate, packed in like sardines.
Maybe one day, Gao Sijin would be one of them. Or maybe that day would never come.
He stood farther away, holding the grilled cold noodles and teppanyaki squid he’d bought.
Among the parents was a figure who stood out from the rest. She wore an office-lady outfit like a female secretary’s. It was Feng Xiaohe.
Gao Sijin was worried she’d catch a cold. Her legs had been trembling slightly for a while now.
“Xiao Na!”
Feng Xiaohe called out to a girl with a backpack, brimming with youthful energy.
The girl immediately ran over to Feng Xiaohe.
“Sis, school’s out. Thanks for coming to get me.”
Gao Sijin couldn’t see Feng Xiaohe’s expression, but from the sight of her and her younger sister from behind, he could feel the warmth of family.
The girl called Xiao Na must really love her sister.
But when a man in a suit got out of a Volvo, Xiao Na’s smile immediately stiffened. Even Gao Sijin could tell she was faking it.
They got into the suited man’s car together, then disappeared from the school gates.
Gao Sijin wasn’t going to tell anyone what he’d seen.
Even if Feng Xiaohe really was a baton being passed among successful men, it was still her choice. In this day and age, everyone was doing their best just to live.
“Well, well. Checking out a pretty girl?”
A fair hand landed on Gao Sijin’s shoulder, startling him so badly he nearly spilled the Starbucks drink he’d just bought.
He turned around. It was Yu Qingxue. Her looks were as unforgettable as a movie star’s, and her dashing yet alluring presence was rare indeed.
Today, she wore a creamy-white dress. Her high ponytail, with its faint brown tint, made her stand out even more.
After giving Yu Qingxue a once-over, Gao Sijin asked:
“Do you women never wear long underwear in winter?”
“In autumn, you men give us women our first cup of milk tea. In winter, we women give you men your first pair of sheer black stockings. It’s only fair.” Yu Qingxue casually hooked her arm through Gao Sijin’s. “Why haven’t you been in touch much since we parted after our blind date?”
“I thought we were done.”
“You’re such an entertaining specimen of humanity. I could have fun with you for a whole year.”
Yu Qingxue smiled and took a cashmere scarf from her shoulder bag, then wrapped it around Gao Sijin’s neck.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s so cold in winter. Don’t catch a cold. It wouldn’t matter much if I got sick, but it’d be awful if you did.”
“A Burberry scarf? I can’t accept something like that.”
“Oh? You know your stuff.”
“My parents are fairly well-off, I guess. Though no matter how much money they have, it has nothing to do with me...” Gao Sijin swallowed, took off the scarf, and asked, “How much was this scarf?”
“Less than ten thousand. It’s a thank-you for the meal you treated me to last time. Just take it.”
Yu Qingxue looked completely unfazed. A rich girl who could afford a BMW i8 probably wouldn’t care about a scarf that cost less than ten thousand.
But Gao Sijin didn’t like taking advantage of people.
He pulled off the scarf and held it out to Yu Qingxue.
“I’m not taking it.”
“Sijin, don’t make me force it on you. I’m giving you this scarf because I think highly of you. If you don’t want it, next time I might have to get you a dog collar instead.”
A sharp glint flashed in her eyes. For a split second, Gao Sijin thought of a murder scene when he looked at her.
Even faced with a rotting corpse, Yu Qingxue would remain perfectly calm. That was the kind of girl she was.
“Come on, let me tie it for you, Sijin.”
Perhaps worried Gao Sijin would take the scarf off again, the woman even tied it in a knot that wouldn’t come undone.
“Qingxue, what do you actually want?”
“Can’t I come see you for no reason?”
“I’m going home. I’ve got my side job to work on.”
“Get in the car.”
Yu Qingxue pulled out her car keys. The silver-white BMW i8 spread its butterfly doors like wings.
Before Gao Sijin could even agree, Yu Qingxue grabbed his hand and pulled him into the car again. The door shut, and she locked it.
It was really comfortable inside. Yu Qingxue turned on the stereo, and a rock-style Touhou fan song was playing.
Gao Sijin sneaked a glance at Yu Qingxue. She looked especially cool behind the wheel. Her black boots stomped on the accelerator, and the scenery flashed past like a moon reflected in water.
In the confined space, it was just Yu Qingxue and him. All Gao Sijin could smell was her citrus perfume.
Suddenly, Gao Sijin realized something was wrong and shouted:
“Qingxue, my home’s the other way! We’ve already passed it!”
“Huh? That’s strange. When did I say I was taking you home?”
“Let me out! I want to go home!”
“Go home? What home? Do you even understand your position? You’ve been kidnapped. If you had the guts to be my blind date, then you’d better do your duty and go wild with me!”
She drove the car as if she’d never heard of traffic laws, leaving Gao Sijin on the verge of tears.
The wind roared in their ears as Yu Qingxue drifted around a bend and headed straight for the highway out of the city.
“I’m begging you, Dad—slow down!”
“Even calling me your ancestor won’t help!”
“Great-auntie, where the hell are you taking me?”
“You don’t have work tomorrow anyway. What does it matter where we go?”
“But I have my side job!”
“I’ll pay you double whatever you make from it. Why the long face? If we’re going to have fun, let’s do it properly!”
She held the steering wheel with one hand and, as if by magic, produced a can of stout with the other.
Gao Sijin snatched the beer away.
He swore that if he made it out of the car alive, he’d never get into one of Yu Qingxue’s cars again.
