“Zhiqiu, look.”
Fan Xue tilted her chin toward Ye Zhiqiu. Following her gaze, Ye Zhiqiu spotted Yue Mingyuan’s figure not far away.
“He’s here to pick you up, so I won’t crash your romantic little date.” Fan Xue waved at Ye Zhiqiu. “I’ll come find you in a few days, okay?”
Ye Zhiqiu said goodbye to Fan Xue and quickly ran toward Yue Mingyuan. He spotted her at the same time and jogged over to meet her. Amid the flow of the crowd, their eyes were fixed only on each other.
“What are you doing here?”
Ye Zhiqiu took his hand, her almond-shaped eyes especially bright.
“Coming to get you, of course.”
Yue Mingyuan took all of her luggage. “Was the trip smooth?”
“Very smooth. There weren’t many people in the sleeper car—Fan Xue and I just lay there the whole way.”
They’d been too excited about going home to sleep. Plus, she’d been mulling over Wen Shengnan and wondering what kind of sabotage she might have pulled on her belongings.
“Are you on leave or did you ask for time off?”
“Leave.”
Yue Mingyuan slipped Ye Zhiqiu’s hand into his coat pocket. Her fingertips brushed against something warm, and she sniffed the air. “Sugar-roasted chestnuts?!”
“And this too.”
He pulled a baked sweet potato out of his other pocket.
Ye Zhiqiu’s face lit up with surprise. “These are all my favorites.”
“Wait until we’re in the car to eat—it’s windy out.” He pulled her scarf up a little higher.
She shrank her neck and pressed closer to him. “It’s so cold. In Jiangning, I can get by with just a trench coat.”
Yue Mingyuan wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his embrace. “Jiangning stays warm for a shorter time—it gets mild as soon as spring starts. Back here, we have to wait until April or May before it warms up.”
Once they were in the car with the heater on, Ye Zhiqiu finally felt better. Yue Mingyuan took out the baked sweet potato and sugar-roasted chestnuts and placed them in her hands. “Go ahead, eat.”
“Okay.” Her eyes curved into happy crescents.
It felt wonderful to be so cherished.
“Did you come straight to pick me up?”
She took a bite of the sweet potato and held it out to him. “It’s so sweet—try some.”
“Mhm. I came to get you first, then we’ll head back together.”
He only took a tiny bite. “You eat it—I’m not really a sweet potato person.”
He much preferred roasted yam with a bit of pickled veg. Throw in some chili paste, and that was pure perfection.
“How long can you stay this time?” Ye Zhiqiu asked, her eyes full of hope.
His voice came out a little heavy. “Only three days. I won’t be able to come back for the New Year either.”
“Only three days? I was hoping for at least a week.”
Suddenly the sweet potato didn’t taste so sweet anymore. “I was thinking we could take Yaya back to Fu’an Alley and stay for a few days.”
“There are two people who haven’t been home in three years.” Yue Mingyuan glanced sideways at her, his heart tightening.
He hated seeing that disappointed look on her face more than anything.
Ye Zhiqiu adjusted her mood and put on a bright smile. “Then I’ll come see you with Yaya before the New Year.”
“On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, I’ll definitely be home with Mom and Dad. On the second day, I’ll take Yaya to see Grandpa. And on the sixth, I want to take her to the Great Northern Wilderness for a few days to see Second Uncle and Second Aunt.”
Yue Mingyuan offered, “Sister Jiawen and Xiao Wu are both in the capital. Why not ask Second Uncle and Aunt to come celebrate the New Year with us here?”
“I’ll call Second Uncle when I get back and see if they’d be willing. If not, I’ll take Yaya over there.”
“Good.”
“How are Sister Jiawen and Xiao Hang doing?”
Ye Zhiqiu asked Yue Mingyuan. “I’ve only called Sister Jiawen twice. The second time, her voice sounded off, but when I asked, she said everything was fine. I was wondering if she and Xiao Hang had a disagreement?”
“Sister Jiawen and Xiao Hang are fine. It’s just…”
When Ye Zhiqiu saw his expression shift, she panicked and gave his shoulder a little shove. “Just what? Come on, don’t keep me in suspense.”
Yue Mingyuan replied, “Sister Jiawen hit someone at school.”
Ye Zhiqiu frowned. “Sister Jiawen hit someone at school? She wouldn’t do that for no reason—what happened?”
“You know there’s a male classmate who likes her, right?”
Ye Zhiqiu nodded. “I know about that. When I visited her school before, I actually saw him—shoulder-length hair, looked very scholarly.”
“I heard he’s the president of the poetry club, regularly publishes poems in the school paper, and plays a mean guitar. A lot of people at their school like him.”
“But Sister Jiawen finds him pretty annoying.”
Yue Mingyuan continued, “He tried to take advantage of her. She kicked him in the groin and did some serious damage.”
“Both his parents are professors, and they raised a huge stink—they demanded the school expel Sister Jiawen.”
“Their son is the one who acted like a creep, and they think they’re in the right?” Ye Zhiqiu was furious. “So much for being professors—can’t they teach their own kid right? Just because his parents are professors doesn’t mean he gets to harass people!”
“Why should Sister Jiawen be expelled? They should be sending their son to jail!”
The more she talked, the more worked up she got. Yue Mingyuan turned the steering wheel, pulled over to the side of the road, and tried to calm her down. “Don’t be so upset—it’s already been resolved.”
“When Ling Hang found out, he went to the school. Uncle Ling also stepped in. The school isn’t going to do anything to Sister Jiawen, and that male student was arrested.”
“Still, it caused quite a stir. Aside from his parents, there was another girl who had a crush on him—she was in the same dorm as Sister Jiawen, and she also did some hurtful things to her.”
“What did that girl do?” Ye Zhiqiu could probably guess, but she wanted to hear the full story.
“That girl invited Sister Jiawen out to eat. Sister Jiawen had no idea the guy would be there. Then, using the alcohol as an excuse, he tried to get handsy with her.”
“What happened to the girl?” There was a sharp chill in Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes.
“She got expelled.”
Hearing that outcome, Ye Zhiqiu finally felt a little better.
“Let’s not go home yet. Let’s go to Sister Jiawen’s school instead—I want to see her.”
School was already out for break, but Ye Jiawen had stayed behind to help her advisor organize some materials. She was planning to head back in a few days with Ye Jiawu.
When she heard a knock at the door, Ye Jiawen looked up and saw Ye Zhiqiu. Her eyes lit up with warmth as she came over and hugged her. “Zhiqiu, when did you get back?”
“Just now.”
Ye Zhiqiu noticed how much weight Ye Jiawen had lost and felt a pang of sympathy. “Sister, I brought these back for you from Jiangning.”
She handed over a few books and a silk scarf she’d bought for Ye Jiawen. Her sister beamed. “Zhiqiu, thank you.”
“Sister, since when are we so formal with each other?”
“Come, sit down.”
Ye Jiawen led her into the office and poured her a glass of water. Ye Zhiqiu brought up her idea: “Sister Jiawen, I was thinking—how about we have Second Uncle and Second Aunt come to the capital for the New Year? You and Xiao Wu don’t need to go back. What do you think?”
“Xiao Wu and I are fine with that. I’ll just have to check with Mom and Dad.”
