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Zhou Jinchuan closed the bedroom door and quickly walked to Su Yi, “I’ll walk you back.”
Su Yi was about to say she didn’t need him to, but he had already taken a step out.
After locking the main door, they walked towards the dormitory, one in front of the other.
“It’s snowing!”
Seeing large flakes of snow suddenly falling, Su Yi, who grew up in the south, excitedly reached out to catch them.
Zhou Jinchuan also stopped and turned to look at her.
Under the dim streetlights, the snowflakes fell like catkins, scattering down and landing on her hair.
Zhou Jinchuan grew up in Beijing, where it snowed frequently every winter.
He didn’t find it particularly unusual.
But she, on the other hand, was so excited as if she had never seen snow before.
Su Yi enjoyed the snow for a while, then suddenly remembered that Zhou Jinchuan was waiting for her ahead.
She quickly ran forward.
However, the ground had become slippery, and she slipped without paying attention.
Just as Su Yi thought she was going to have a close encounter with the earth, her arm was suddenly pulled tightly in the next second.
Su Yi quickly straightened up, “Thank you!”
Zhou Jinchuan subtly curled his lips, “Are you going back?”
Su Yi nodded quickly, “Yes, I’m going back.”
After saying that, she started walking towards the stairs with small, quick steps.
It was past curfew, and the lights in the corridor and stairs were all off.
Su Yi walked halfway in the dark, when she suddenly heard a click, and a faint light appeared in the stairwell.
Su Yi turned her head and saw that Zhou Jinchuan had followed her at some point.
“It’s too dark, I’ll walk you to the door.”
Su Yi responded with an “oh” and led the way.
The hallway, which usually took a few steps, seemed unusually long today.
Su Yi stopped at the door and saw that Zhou Jinchuan was still holding the lighter, his hair and shoulders covered in moisture.
Su Yi suddenly felt embarrassed and politely asked,
“Would you like to come in and have a cup of hot water to warm up?”
Zhou Jinchuan paused for a moment, “That would be good.”
Su Yi hadn’t turned off the heater when she went out that night, so the room was still warm.
As soon as they entered the room, Su Yi took off her cotton jacket, which was damp from the snow, leaving her in a gray sweater.
Then, she found a dry towel and handed it to Zhou Jinchuan, “It’s clean, you should quickly dry off.”
Zhou Jinchuan glanced at the gray sweater she was wearing out of the corner of his eye, and it seemed familiar.
He remembered the gray scarf Xiao Wu had given him yesterday.
He instantly understood.
He took the towel as usual and wiped his head. He raised the corner of his mouth, unseen by her.
Su Yi hadn’t realized anything yet. She was busy pouring two cups of water from the stove and placing them on the table. “Drink some hot water first.”
Zhou Jinchuan hummed in agreement and sat down. He then pointed to the two milky white bottles on the table and asked, “What’s this?”
Su Yi answered truthfully, “It’s rice wine I made.”
“You’re not allowed to drink alcohol in the dormitory.”
“This is rice wine, how is rice wine considered alcohol?”
Zhou Jinchuan smiled faintly, “Alright!”
Su Yi raised an eyebrow, feeling that his tone was a bit unconvinced.
She immediately stood up, took a cup, poured half a cup for him, and handed it to him. “Try it. It really can’t be considered alcohol, it’s just a drink at most.”
Zhou Jinchuan looked at her, his eyes smiling, “Are you trying to get me to break the rules and then use it to get yourself off the hook?”
Su Yi dryly laughed, “Then don’t drink it.”
She was about to take the cup back, but Zhou Jinchuan was quicker, and he had already taken a sip.
“Hmm, it’s not bad.”
Seeing that he approved, Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh, “Do you want to warm it up?”
“No, it’s just right like this, cool.”
Su Yi saw that he liked it quite a bit, and she suddenly felt a little bit hungry, too.
Plus, she had rushed out that night and hadn’t eaten much.
She picked up her own teacup and poured half a cup. “It’s really good.”
Zhou Jinchuan smiled and asked, “Is that like the saying ‘a woman praising her own melons’?”
“This is the first time I’ve tried it. I hadn’t brewed it successfully before.”
Su Yi had originally planned to drink a couple of cups by herself when she came back that night.
After all, it was New Year’s Eve.
She had even specially prepared a pot of braised dishes beforehand.
Unexpectedly, she had accidentally invited Zhou Jinchuan over. Now, the two of them were drinking together, which was more fun than being alone.
Plus, it was snowing outside, and Su Yi’s mood inexplicably rose a few degrees.
“I have some braised dishes here. Do you want some?”
Zhou Jinchuan glanced at the small pot on the table and nodded, “That would be good.”
Actually, he had smelled the aroma earlier and hadn’t been comfortable asking what it was.
Seeing that he didn’t hesitate, Su Yi quickly placed the small pot on the stove, and it started bubbling and simmering again after a short while.
“Xiao Wu and Nuannuan won’t wake up, will they?”
“Have you ever seen them get up in the middle of the night?”
“Haha, that’s true.”
The two of them chatted casually, and Su Yi casually placed the pot on the table.
“Try it. There are mushrooms, quail eggs, duck gizzards, wing tips, and potato slices in it.”
Su Yi had originally planned to braise pig trotters, but she couldn’t find any, so she replaced them with these.
Otherwise, it would have been a bit awkward.
With the braised dishes to go with the wine, the two of them quickly finished a bottle of rice wine.
Su Yi felt a little bit pained. If they drank any more, there wouldn’t be any left. She was also embarrassed to directly stop them.
So, she asked, “This rice wine gets a little bit strong if you drink too much. How are you feeling? Are you feeling tipsy?”
Zhou Jinchuan looked at her with dark eyes, and softly mumbled, “It does make you tipsy.”
Su Yi didn’t hear clearly, “What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Their eyes met, and the atmosphere became a little strange.
Zhou Jinchuan twirled his fingers, forcefully changing the subject, “I heard that Officer Qin and Comrade Bai are going to have a wedding banquet in a couple of days. Did they go to the canteen to bother you before?”
“It wasn’t really bothering. We couldn’t agree on the price in the end, so they went to Chef Wang to handle it.”
“That’s good. They’re getting married… you seem pretty happy?”
Su Yi was stunned for a moment, and dryly laughed, “Really? Is it that obvious? It’s alright!”
[I’m just happy to set off fireworks.]
[Not only am I happy, but you should be happy too. After all, it’s like you’ve been freed from Bai Ruolin’s entanglement for the rest of your life.]
[Once they get married, I’ll retire with honor. Maybe I can leave then.]
Zhou Jinchuan had been listening with a faint smile, but when he heard the last sentence, he suddenly looked up at her.
Leave? Where would she go?
Before Zhou Jinchuan could figure out how to ask, he suddenly heard a knock on the door.
“Su Yi, are you there?”
Su Yi and Zhou Jinchuan looked at each other. It was Qin Yunfeng?
Why was he here?
Su Yi didn’t want to answer him, but she was afraid that his voice would wake up the people around them.
She softly replied, “I’m asleep. Talk about it tomorrow.”
Qin Yunfeng didn’t seem to give up. He called her name again in a low voice, “I have something important to tell you.”
Su Yi was completely confused.
But she still stood up and opened the door a crack. Then she asked softly, “What important thing?”
“Can I come in to talk?”
“No.”
Qin Yunfeng stared at Su Yi for a moment, “Before…”
“Don’t mention the past. Just get to the point.”
Qin Yunfeng’s heart tightened, “I’m going to get my marriage certificate with Bai Ruolin tomorrow.”
“Is that all?”