{Jingle bells 2}

Modern New York was completely different from Ohio, which was far too rustic.

That day, Qian Xu rarely had a moment of leisure to herself. At first, it felt strongly uncomfortable, but later, she began to feel increasingly free. She realized she had lost touch with many new trends, having spent so much time caring for the two children. She didn’t recognize a single one of the trendy New York restaurants people kept talking about.

She wore a velvet hat. Her melancholy didn’t diminish her flawless beauty; instead, it transformed into a subtle sadness, adding a touch of depth to the stars in her eyes.

There were only three days left until Christmas.

The gift shops were full of holiday-themed trinkets. Santa Claus and triangular hats dominated the streets. Yan Li hurriedly pulled her into a gift shop to escape the cold wind. Qian Xu immediately spotted a gift and stopped in front of a beautiful snow globe.

Inside the globe was a dark-haired little girl, her face beaming with an eternal smile.

White, hexagonal snowflakes swirled up and down to the tune of “Jingle Bells,” eventually landing on the girl’s rosy, freckled cheeks.

“Do you want to buy it?”

“I’m just looking,” Qian Xu shook her head slightly and didn’t linger. “It’s too childish for me.”

No, it wasn’t childish. It was that she feared she would never be able to smile like the little girl in the snow again. She felt something within her had been sealed away, and no matter how much she pretended everything was fine, she couldn’t fully open her heart.

Qian Xu had to accept that she was a dark, supporting character, incapable of truly laughing with a carefree smile.

“Are you going home for the New Year?”

Yan Li casually picked out a bright red scarf, quickly wrapping it around Qian Xu’s neck as she asked, probing subtly.

Qian Xu shook her head without hesitation.

“Why would I go back?”

Was she supposed to return to Jiangcheng just to play out her ridiculous role as a supporting character and witness their glamorous love?

Qian Xu didn’t want to admit it, but she was actually afraid to go back—afraid to face the cruel reality and the impact of everything that had happened. That’s why she had no interest in going home for the New Year.

She would rather stay in the anonymity of New York.

Yan Li finally finished securing the red wool scarf around Qian Xu’s neck. Satisfied with her work, she admired her friend, whose fair skin was only enhanced by the bright color. “Alright, then it’s just the two of us. We’ll spend the holiday in New York together.”

“You’re not interested in a man?”

Qian Xu asked, somewhat skeptically, as they left the gift shop.

Yan Li had always been indifferent about relationships, changing boyfriends every three months—a habit well-known in the study-abroad circle. By that standard, she was quite consistent.

“I’m not making any promises,” Yan Li shrugged, amused by her endless stream of admirers. “But if I happen to meet a hot guy on the streets of New York who’s interested in me, well, that’s fate.”

She sneakily slipped her arm around Qian Xu’s waist. “And if someone starts chasing after you, don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud and push them away.”

After all, this was New York.

Flirting happened naturally every moment, with fast-food-style romances filling the streets long before Proust’s bell jar era.

Just as Yan Li finished speaking, the gift shop owner suddenly rushed out, muttering something urgently. It seemed like he was heading straight for the two of them. The shop’s doorbell chimed pleasantly as the owner poked his head out.

“Forget it, too old,” Yan Li pretended not to notice the shopkeeper running after them. She quickly turned around, tightened her coat, and walked forward with Qian Xu without looking back.

The middle-aged, bald, white store owner was exactly the type Yan Li disliked most.

The owner was still calling out, “Wait!”

He even left his shop, located on the busy street, to chase after them directly.

“These men, why do they always have improper thoughts about me?” Yan Li’s face showed disgust, though her words dripped with self-importance.

“What’s this?”

When the towering, six-foot-three shop owner finally caught up, he was out of breath. He understood part of the conversation, his face flushed with anger, and he spoke in broken Chinese, “I’m not looking for you. I’m looking for the other lady.”

“?”

“Even if you’re looking for my friend, that’s still not okay.” Bald men were a no-go, no matter who they were pursuing.

“No, no,” the man stammered, “A gentleman asked me to deliver this gift to the young lady…” He struggled to express himself in Chinese and eventually switched back to English.

In short, someone had seen Qian Xu lingering by the snow globe earlier, paid for it, and kindly asked the owner to deliver it to her.

Qian Xu accepted the special gift and glanced back at the gift shop. It was already empty, with not even a shadow of the mysterious person remaining.

Qian Xu smiled, “Please tell them ‘thank you’ for me.”

“It’s already been said.”

But the shop owner didn’t seem ready to leave. He stood there, frustrated by Yan Li’s earlier remarks, and finally spoke up, “My clever lady, how did you come to assume I was after your number?”

“I have absolutely no interest in you, please don’t misunderstand.”

“You Chinese have a saying, ‘overthinking things,’ right? I’m sure you understand the meaning of that phrase.”

“And do you know we also have a saying, ‘a wise person knows when to retreat’?” Yan Li retorted, clenching her fists. “Shut up, won’t you? Are you still trying to run a business or not?”

The red-nosed foreigner made a funny face.

He then waved politely to Qian Xu on purpose as he left, saying, “Your friend is nothing like you.”

From that moment on, Yan Li’s visible fury wasn’t just directed at Shen Qi anymore but at every bald man in New York.

“Do you know why his hair won’t grow back?” Yan Li’s gaze became unusually venomous. “It’s because of that filthy mouth!”

Qian Xu had to admit that Yan Li had a talent for this. Her attention was indeed diverted, at least somewhat. Being on the verge of heartbreak and witnessing someone else create such a commotion wasn’t so bad. At the very least, it reminded her that she wasn’t the only one stuck in endless sorrow.

Whether things were big or small, at this moment, as they exchanged mournful glances, Qian Xu finally revealed her true emotions for the first time that day.

The snow globe in her hand felt warm, glowing, and calling her to remember how she used to smile.