Zhao Tingyuan and Su Qingyou maintained a seemingly friendly relationship.

“I don’t even want to go home anymore,” Zhao Yayuan complained. “Every time I go back, I see her.”

Lu Nian, working on her math homework, admonished him, “Quiet, we’re in the library.”

Zhao Yayuan sighed, accepting his fate.

Indeed, she thought, the fate of the main characters always seems to find a way to bring them together.

“Only six months left until the college entrance exams,” Zhao Yayuan said. “Do you want to go out and have some fun after?”

Without looking up, Lu Nian replied, “Didn’t you promise to take me to Nanqiao?”

“Nanqiao?” Zhao Yayuan lazily rested his head on the desk. “You actually remember that?”

Lu Nian nodded. “Of course I remember.”

With his peach blossom eyes half-closed, Zhao Yayuan murmured, “But will your family trust you to go out alone with me?”

Lu Nian was at a loss for words.

“No third wheel,” Zhao Yayuan said firmly. “It’s either just the two of us or not at all.”

Lu Nian relented, “…I’ll figure something out.”

She reassured herself that Zhao Yayuan wouldn’t actually try anything.

They’d known each other long enough for her to have a basic understanding of his character.

Besides, being the son of the Zhao family, he had a reputation to uphold.

He couldn’t just disappear without consequences.

She told herself that she was now an adult, and by the time she graduated from high school, she would be more independent.

The Lu family’s control over her might even loosen.

Winter break arrived quickly.

For seniors, the break, including the New Year, was a mere eleven days.

In a flash, she realized she hadn’t seen Qin Si for half a year.

It felt as if he had vanished without a trace.

He was already a man of few words, and he never posted any updates or photos.

Lu Nian had no idea what he was doing or how he was.

This year, winter came early.

Lu Nian stared at the key to Qin Si’s home and, unable to sit still any longer, wrapped herself in a scarf and quietly left the house.

When she visited Qin Si’s home, she found a thin layer of dust covering everything, the place silent and empty, showing no signs of recent habitation.

She called a cleaning service to tidy up the place.

Meanwhile, Ming Ge’s business was booming.

Xiao Qu and Huang Mao had saved up enough money to open a hotpot restaurant next to the bar, which was doing well in the winter.

“Is that you, Nian Nian?” Ming Ge asked, noticing her standing at the door, wearing a white knitted scarf and fluffy gloves, her long hair cascading around her sweet face.

Removing her scarf and gloves, she said, “I wanted to have hotpot.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen you,” Ming Ge remarked. “You’ve gotten even prettier. There’s no need for you to pay; order whatever you want.”

Huang Mao added, “This is our place now. How can this be a favor? Come on, Nian Nian, your Huang brother and Xiao Qu brother are treating you.”

Lu Nian joined them at the table, engaging in casual conversation.

Casually, she inquired, “Is it just the three of you here?”

She knew that Ming Ge, Huang Mao, and Xiao Qu were all alone, either estranged from their families or without any family left.

“Yeah, just us,” Huang Mao replied. “We used to play cards, but now with you, we can play a full game of mahjong.”

Their camaraderie and warmth made Lu Nian feel at ease, even as thoughts of Qin Si lingered at the back of her mind.

Ming Ge, seemingly remembering something, cursed, “That brat ran off and never came back.”

“I asked him, and he said he didn’t have time,” Ming Ge added. “Who knows what he’s so busy with.”

Lu Nian naturally knew who “that brat” referred to.

“Is freshman year in college really that busy?” she couldn’t help but ask.

University should be more relaxed compared to high school, right?

“He’s busy with his own things,” Xiao Qu explained. “Qin Ge took on a lot of courses because he wants to finish them early.”

Xiao Qu seemed to know quite a lot… Lu Nian felt a bit uneasy.

Everyone here seemed to know more about Qin Si than she did.

It seemed that Qin Si was still in touch with the people in Ancheng, just not with her.

After finishing the hotpot meal, Lu Nian thanked them all and gave out the New Year’s gifts she had prepared, each one different to express her gratitude for their care over the years.

“Wow, Nian Nian, you’re really something. Beautiful and kind-hearted,” Ming Ge laughed, eyes crinkling with joy. “Whoever marries you in the future will be very lucky.”

Huang Mao quickly added, “That’s right, beautiful and gentle. If our future sister-in-law isn’t up to this standard, we’ll absolutely reject her.”

Xiao Qu nodded vigorously in agreement.

Lu Nian blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She really didn’t mean anything by it; she just wanted to thank them for their care over the years.

After all, they had always been kind to her whenever she didn’t want to stay at home and visited them.

“I’m leaving now,” she said, covering her slightly flushed face. “Happy New Year!”

After she left, Ming Ge happily took his gift home, and the three of them took pictures of their gifts.

He sent the pictures to Qin Si, “Nian Nian prepared these gifts herself. She’s grown even prettier.”

“We got gifts too.”

Huang Mao and Xiao Qu also sent pictures to him.

[Huang Mao]: Nian Nian is really sweet. She calls us ‘brother’ so sweetly, it melts our hearts.

[Xiao Qu]: She gave me a mechanical keyboard with a cute little card she drew herself.

[Ming Ge]: Did you get any gifts? You’ve known her for so long, your gift should be better than ours.

Someone who didn’t get any gifts: …

[Ming Ge]: Serves you right for not coming back. You can forget about Nian Nian. You’ll just have to watch her being affectionate with other men while you stand by and watch.

…

This New Year, Lu Nian found herself bored.

Luckily, being in her senior year, Lu Zhihong understood that she was tired from studying, so many New Year activities were canceled.

Lu Nian had been in a bad mood for a while, and one day, she felt dizzy from working on problems.

Usually, her contact with Qin Si was limited to math problems.

Every time she sent a problem, she would receive a reply by the end of the day.

But there were never any phone calls, only detailed solutions written on white paper, clear enough for anyone to understand.

However, there were never any phone calls.

Feeling frustrated with her homework, Lu Nian didn’t want to text him again and decided to leave the questions blank.

The heating in the room was turned up quite high.

She didn’t feel like doing any more exercises, so she put down her books and took out her drawing tablet from the cabinet.

Drawing was her way of releasing stress.

On her account, she kept her original works and fan creations separate.

Most of the fan creations were about the character Deer in “Star Strike,” while her original works were from the “Black and White” series.

Old fans knew that most of the time it was a black-clad young man and occasionally a “white” girl.

Under the username Lu Nian, she posted a new drawing. Her account had already gained quite a few followers.

Replies quickly flooded in.

“Where’s Black?”

“Why is it just White this time?”

This was the first time there was only the girl and not the boy in the drawing.

Lu Nian typed coldly, “Gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?”

“Waaah, does this mean Black won’t come back in the future? I really like Black.”

“He won’t be back.”

“No way?”

Lu Nian didn’t reply further, staring at the drawing, feeling a bit angry inside.

Men.

They were all heartless.

Lu Nian chuckled.

She went outside and saw the big world. Probably overwhelmed by what she saw, she should have known from the incident with Bai Xi that he wasn’t a good person.

Unfeeling and shameless.

She hugged her drawing of Deer, turned off her phone, and fell asleep, angry.

After New Year’s, there was a heavy snowfall, covering everything outside.

Ming Ge got up in the morning to open the shop, grumbling as he shoveled the snow. Suddenly, he saw a tall figure at the end of the street corner.

He couldn’t help but rub his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. “Damn, you actually know how to come back?”

He threw the broom and hit the young man’s shoulder hard.

He had matured a lot. Compared to before, his demeanor seemed more reserved, and he had grown taller.

Ming Ge thought of something and angrily picked up the broom again, handing it to him. “Damn it, you do the sweeping.”

You’ve grown taller and stronger; you might as well put it to use.

“Come inside the shop and take a look.” Ming Ge said excitedly, “In the six months you’ve been gone, we’ve managed quite well.”

Snowflakes had gathered on the young man’s long lashes. He didn’t throw away the broom, but looked into the shop indifferently. “It’s good. At least the shop didn’t explode.”

Ming Ge muttered, “… You’re a pain in the ass.”

“No wonder Nian Nian doesn’t want you.” Ming Ge grumbled, “I’m sick of you.”

“Where did you go for the New Year? No time to even come home?”

Qin Si remained silent.

He had too much to do, and there was simply no time to rest.

Ming Ge led him into the shop and habitually pushed over a glass of wine.

“Nian Nian came that time, you know,” Ming Ge said.

Qin Si nodded.

He seemed to have no particular expression, holding the transparent glass with long fingers.

Ming Ge suddenly realized that he hadn’t refused the drink, something he never used to do.

“By the way, she said something else,” Ming Ge continued.

The young man lowered his long lashes and glanced at him nonchalantly.

Ming Ge braced himself and said, “She said, if you come back, go find her. She can’t come out, and her phone is unreachable.”

They were both aware of the situation at the Lu family.

But of course, Lu Nian hadn’t said those words.

Qin Si was not easy to deceive, but whenever it came to matters related to Lu Nian, his judgment would falter.

Just a little sugar, and he would be enchanted.

Ming Ge watched as he silently finished the drink, leaving an empty glass.

“Where’s your luggage?”

“It’s at your place,” he said.

Ming Ge sighed.

He could skip New Year’s, and now he was missing just half a day, as if he was rushing to catch a sedan chair.

By the third day of the New Year, most of the guests at the Lu residence had dispersed.

Only a few close friends who had been invited separately would still visit.

This was the first time Lu Zhihong had chatted casually with Zhao Yayuan.

Before, he had only spoken with Zhao Tingyuan and hadn’t had a one-on-one conversation like this with the rumored rebellious son of the Zhao family.

Zhao Yayuan was quite different from what he had expected.

Although he had the arrogance of a young man, he wasn’t unreasonable and knew how to behave.

A pleasant conversation was coming to an end.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Lu Zhihong said.

Miao Miao walked in, initially with a smile on her face. When she saw Zhao Yayuan, her smile faded a bit.

“It’s okay, go ahead,” Lu Zhihong said, giving a meaningful glance to the young man beside him.

Clearly, he didn’t regard Zhao Yayuan as an outsider.

Miao Miao had no choice but to say, “Mr. Qin is here.”

“Little Qin?” Lu Zhihong said. “You must have come back for winter break too. Ask him to come in. It’s perfect; I also want to chat with him.”

“Then I’ll go find Nian Nian to play later,” Zhao Yayuan stretched lazily.

“Go ahead,” Lu Zhihong said.