Chapter 25: Epilogue
On New Year’s Eve, it snowed. Without any warning, the gray and white, cool sky was filled with a flurry of snow. The momentum was great, and he didn’t know when it would stop.
In the afternoon, a thin layer of snow had already accumulated on the edge of the flowerbed. The mist was hazy, and the world was a vast expanse of white. The festive red lanterns were swaying in the wind, and they were even more eye-catching. The festive atmosphere was thick in the north wind that was howling between the tall buildings and the narrow roads.
Su Yu was standing on the balcony, and the vast expanse of snow had blurred the boundaries. After a while, the tip of his nose was red. He rubbed his hands and looked at the three people downstairs who were building a snowman. The pink winter clothes were jumping in the pale snow.
They were playing a little too crazily. An Zhi had fallen, and she had almost fallen on her face. He Mu Qing was laughing so hard that she was holding her stomach. Her calves were a little short, and she didn’t have the physiological conditions to catch up with the other two.
“Why don’t you let me go? I’ve barely played…”
Xia Qiange had come from behind, and she had held him from behind. Her slender arms had stroked the side of his neck, and her head was resting on his shoulder.
She was on her tiptoes, and her slender ankles were in purple fluffy socks. She was different from the her outside. When she was not out, she loved to wear bright-colored clothes, which illuminated her pale and transparent skin, and she was bright and beautiful. “You’re prone to frostbite on your hands. It’s warm in the house.” Su Yu had glanced at her and had met her eyes, which were covered with a layer of a water mist. The words he had said were cold and ruthless. “Did you put on the ointment this morning?”
She was a little guilty. She had lowered her head and had pressed her forehead against his shoulder blade. Her voice was whimpering in his ear, and it was a little resentful. “I’ll go in a while.”
Su Yu had closed the balcony window. “The balcony is also cold.”
“Don’t be too much. I’m not made of glass. How can I be so easily broken?”
Xia Qiange was not happy. She had kissed him on the neck in retaliation, and the soft and fair neck meat was printed with a bright red lip color. A faint tooth mark that she had carved a few days ago was still next to it. She had watched as the marks had slowly faded, and she was a little depressed.
So she had deliberately pricked him. “Don’t you care about me like this? One day, when I’m not here, will you be free? Wuwu…”
She had been choked, and she had wanted to cough… but her gaze was not right and was not good, and it had met his. A very faint sadness was in the deep part of the black, and the deep-colored eyelashes were gently trembling, as if they were speaking.
Their lips were bitten together, and their gazes were hazy. Her slender arms were wrapped around his waist, like a thin and white water snake, and it was wandering on the edge of reason, and her meaning was also in a mess.
“Here… no…”
She was coy and was welcoming, but she couldn’t even convince herself. Her hand was on his back, and she had wanted to deepen this kiss, but her lips were in pain, and she had let out a hiss.
“You bit me?”, Xia Qiange had twisted her eyebrows and had glared at Su Yu. “Su Yu, you’ve never bullied me before.”
Her thin-colored lips were a deep red, and she was delicate and beautiful, like a little wife who had been bullied.
“It’s unlucky to talk about death during the New Year. Just consider it as a punishment for you.”
Su Yu had taken out his warm hand and had put her hand in his pants pocket. The back of his hand was on the soft flesh through the cloth. Her hand was as cold as a wet ice.
“Punish me?”, she had lowered her eyes, and her cheeks were a little puffed out, and she was muttering. “I wanted someone to punish me yesterday. Who was it that said that work was so tiring? If you can’t, you can’t. Is Mu Qing a medical student? I’ll ask her next time…”
He had really been pricked this time. His expression had been stiff for a moment, and there was a sense of a frustrated feeling of being wronged. He had even explained to her as if he were possessed. “I was working overtime on an emergency over there and was busy all night. It’s not that I can’t…”
“Okay. Then let’s try again at night…”
Xia Qiange had quickly raised her head, and the corners of her lips were curved up with a cunning arc.
“Are you lying to me?”
He was so angry that he had scratched the soft flesh on her waist. She was sensitive there, and she was giggling. After a while, her eyes were wet.
Suddenly, her face had turned serious again, and she had asked him to squat down, and her tone was serious.
“What?”, Su Yu had obediently half-squatted, and he had seen her hand in his hair, and she was seriously picking.
“There’s a white hair…”
Xia Qiange had found a few white hairs in a pile of dark black hair. They were very thin, and they were not that long, but they were as sharp as a needle, as if they could pierce her hand.
Her heart had suddenly cramped, and her nerves were suddenly and extremely sensitive. For a moment, her thoughts were in a mess.
“This, well, it’s a blessing that I don’t lose a lot of hair in my line of work.”
Xia Qiange had looked at his indifferent lips, and she had hit him on the heart, and it was not light and not heavy.
“What’s wrong?”
She had not said a word, and she was just staring at him. The roles of the two of them had suddenly been reversed.
He had stopped smiling and had raised his hands in surrender.
“Alright, alright. I’ll go to bed early and get up early in the future. I have to take care of my body.”
“Okay. You promised me.”
She had squinted her eyes and had smiled with satisfaction. A deep love was flowing in her gentle eyes.
She had suddenly started to wonder what their future would be like.
…
“Gu Zhi seems to be coming tonight…”
An Zhi was wiping her wet hair and had asked, “How do you know…”
“You’re so stupid. Do you guess where we’re going to eat on New Year’s Eve this year? The fire hasn’t been started at home yet.”
“Hey, I’m a little afraid of Sister Gu Zhi…”
An Zhi was drooping her head, and her attention had soon moved to other places. She had remembered what had just happened downstairs. “Why did you and Mu Qing cover my eyes just now and not let me see the balcony?”
“A little brat doesn’t need to understand.”
“I’m older than you. I’m your teacher!”, she had stomped her foot.
Su Xi had opened her phone and was having a video call with Nian Nian. The little guy was wrapped up tightly by her grandmother, and only a pair of dark and black, big eyes were exposed. She was staring at her with a piercing look, and she was very similar to the him of that time.
“Nian Nian, be good. Hurry up and call Auntie An Zhi…”
Su Xi had turned the camera to An Zhi, and her angry expression had suddenly been held back. She had smiled and had greeted the child, and she had seriously corrected her. “You should call me sister, not auntie.”
Su Yu was smiling on the side and was hiding from the camera.
“What were you doing on the balcony just now?”
He Mu Qing had come over, and her eyebrows were furrowed, and her gaze was not good.
“Huh? What did you say?”, he had widened his eyes, and he didn’t understand.
She had pushed him. “Confession is lenient, and resistance is strict.”
“I really don’t know.” He had lowered his head and was looking at the floor and was pinching his fingers, and they were making a clicking sound.
He Mu Qing had slightly squinted her eyes, and her gaze was focused. She had pinched his arm. “Are you lying to a ghost? You’re like this as soon as you lie.”
“You two… how can you be on the balcony, doing… that kind of thing? If you want to kiss, you should go into the house…”
As she was speaking, she had blushed, and her earlobes were burning hot. She couldn’t say any more. So she had laid her cards on the table, and she had lowered her head and had threatened and had questioned him. “In broad daylight, Su Yu, do you have any shame?”
“My stomach suddenly feels uncomfortable.”
He Mu Qing had held his sleeve, and her gloomy voice was frightening. “What are you running for?”
“I didn’t…”
His expression was dazed, and his words were stuck in his throat. His hand was subconsciously on his lips.
“Alright, that’s it. Yeah… we’re even.” He Mu Qing had touched her lips, and the heat was lingering. The smile she had raised was as sinister as a dagger. “You dare to wipe it off?”
She had seen that he was not making a sound, and she had touched the faint red halo on the corner of his lips with satisfaction. “Just consider it as a farewell gift. We haven’t seen each other for a year. I have to collect some interest.”
“When are you leaving?”, he had helplessly put down his hand.
“After the New Year. But I don’t have to stay for a full year. It’s three months less. I’ll be back in the autumn.”
He had said that he had to call him often.
“I’ll annoy you to death then.”
…
The neighborhood had started to have an access control system to collect the property management fees at some point. So Su Yu had been delegated by everyone to go downstairs to pick up Gu Zhi.
The thin and light snowflakes were falling. The woman was standing at the entrance of the neighborhood. She had a high bun, and her figure was tall and slender. Her black down jacket was covered in snow, and the black and white were distinct, and it was a little monotonous.
Her wet and damp black hair was on her face. When he had gotten closer, there was a faint and indistinct neroli fragrance, with a hint of a refreshing and wet air.
Her face was a little haggard, and she was still beautiful and moving. But it was completely different. It was as if her high and mighty beauty and nobility had been crushed, and she had become fragile and brittle.
“Xiao Yu…”
Gu Zhi had raised her hand and had touched his face. Her deep brown eyes were filled with a complete him. Her slender and delicate hand bones were graceful and charming, and they were filled with a gentle and pale and weak look.
He had lowered his head and had breathed out a mist. He had raised his head and had smiled at her.
“Happy New Year.”
She was stunned for a moment, and her pupils were trembling violently. She had pulled at the corners of her lips and had slowly curved them up. A joy had spread from the bottom of her heart, and she had nodded and had agreed.
“Happy New Year.”
…
“Happy New Year!”
The night sky in the suburbs was actually still shining with stars. A sky full of brilliant and beautiful fireworks was rising from the end of the tall buildings, and it had covered the thin and sparse light of the stars, and it was shining in everyone’s eyes.
“Su Xi often doesn’t come home at night. You should persuade her.”
An Zhi had just helped Auntie Jing to send a few tired children into the house to sleep. She had seen that there was no one in the house, and she had found that everyone was on the balcony. So she had carefully approached Su Yu, and she had thought for a long time before she had squeezed out this topic.
“She… went home. She’s not running around.”
“Oh, oh. I see…”
She had nodded foolishly, and she had forgotten what she had come here for.
“Everyone has changed.” Su Yu had looked at the sky and had suddenly said, “You too, An Zhi.”
She had heard him call her name, and her toes were on the ground. She had lowered her head and didn’t know what she was thinking.
“Then what did you think of me before?”
“A little silly. At that time, I even said that you were the easiest to fool in the class.”
An Zhi had stood on her tiptoes and had patted his head. She had frowned, and she had a bit of a teacher’s scolding look. “You’re the silly one. You two with the surname Su just know how to bully me.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Su Xi had turned her head and had looked at the two of them. She had inadvertently glanced at the thin and short stubble on Su Yu’s chin, and she had frowned with a little dissatisfaction. “Su Yu, you shouldn’t shave your beard recently. Nian Nian is going to elementary school and is going to have a parent-teacher conference. You look like her brother like this. How can you look like a father?”
Su Yu: “…”
“You promised me to go to bed early and get up early, hmm?”
Xia Qiange had come from behind at some point and was leaning on his shoulder. She was lightly sniffing the strong masculine scent. She was half-turned, and the high bridge of her nose was casting a shadow. The clear and handsome corners of her eyebrows were seductive.
She had stared at him for a long, long time. The fireworks were easy to get cold, and they had not made her stop for a single moment.
“Okay. I’ll go to sleep right away.”
He had agreed, and he had remembered something. He had then turned his head and had asked her, “Qian Ge, you’ve also changed a lot.”
“Yeah. Everyone has changed.”
She had nodded. They could no longer be their original selves. Life was pushing them forward, and they had to welcome new things.
But no one dared to say that change was not a good thing, and that the new things had to be worse than the past.
“What are you doing?”
“Writing a diary.”
Su Yu had known that Xia Qiange had a habit of writing a diary. The old one had been burned, and this new diary was bought for her by him. The two of them’s names were on the title page. Now that he had opened it, there were a few more, and the handwriting of each was neat.
“It’s so late. You can write it tomorrow after you’ve slept.” He had smiled and had asked her.
“It’s very short. Just one sentence.”
…
New Year’s Eve, light snow.
An ordinary day, but very happy.
If this is our future, then there’s nothing to be afraid of.
(End of the Main Story)
