Chapter 27: Exception
Ye Qizhen called home and told them she was staying at a classmate’s house for the night. She had been independent and sensible since she was a child, so her parents weren’t worried about this and let her be.
It got dark at five o’clock in winter in Beilin.
“Hungry? Shall I take you to get something to eat?” Ye Qizhen turned her gaze from the window back to Wen Yu’s face and asked.
“Mn.” At the mention of food, her eyes practically lit up. Wen Yu had truly never met anyone who loved eating more than Ye Qizhen. To be precise, it wasn’t just enthusiasm for food; Ye Qizhen was someone who could maintain enthusiasm for everything, the kind of person she envied the most.
In a few minutes, the two changed clothes and set off. This area was the old city district, rich with the atmosphere of the New Year. As soon as they went downstairs, Ye Qizhen saw two little girls giggling and playing with sparklers. Watching this scene, she felt as if she had returned to her own childhood.
Wen Yu had no memories in this regard. Her personality had been lukewarm since childhood, with few friends. Her deepest impressions were being locked at home by Wen Qiuxian or dumped at the art studio. She didn’t love painting that much; it was just a habit formed over the years. Besides, when alone, one always had to find something to do.
Ye Qizhen took Wen Yu around the usually bustling snack street near the school, only to realize she had miscalculated. Not many shops were open tonight; the few that were open were families having their own reunion dinners.
The north wind was biting, several degrees below zero outside tonight; they couldn’t stay out for too long. Only a chain convenience store emitted the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes and Oden. With no other choice, Ye Qizhen looked at Wen Yu helplessly. “We’ll have to make do tonight.”
Wen Yu had no objections; anything was fine as long as Ye Qizhen was with her.
Seeing someone enter, the clerk on duty was very enthusiastic. “Happy New Year, welcome!”
“Happy New Year.” Ye Qizhen replied with a beaming smile. She would smile sweetly even at strangers; consider it a kindness to strangers.
Looking at the steaming Oden, Ye Qizhen immediately started craving it. She asked Wen Yu, “What do you want to eat?”
Wen Yu answered, “Whatever.”
Ye Qizhen also answered for her, “Whatever.”
The two voices merged perfectly together, and then the two looked at each other and laughed. Tacit understanding achieved.
“Knowing it’s ‘whatever,’ why ask me?”
“I was just asking casually,” Ye Qizhen retorted playfully.
Knowing her for half a year, Ye Qizhen hadn’t discovered anything Wen Yu particularly loved to eat. Every time Wen Yu said “whatever,” she really meant whatever; it seemed she was fine with whatever Ye Qizhen took her to eat. Ye Qizhen ordered two portions of Oden, picking every variety available, and dragged Wen Yu to pick out quite a few snacks. After all, it was New Year’s; it had to be a bit sumptuous.
Leaving the convenience store, the two hurried back. Walking on the road, Ye Qizhen looked at the dancing snowflakes and sighed out a cloud of white mist. “Winter in our Beilin is still the most beautiful.”
Wen Yu silently watched Ye Qizhen looking up, the corner of her lips hooking into a smile. Since when was she always infected by Ye Qizhen’s smile? “You like winter?”
“Mn.” Ye Qizhen liked spring, summer, autumn, and winter; each had its own beauty. She asked back, “Which season do you like?”
Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen, thought for a moment, and said, “Summer.”
Truly rare. Ye Qizhen thought she wouldn’t hear Wen Yu say she liked anything, since Wen Yu seemed indifferent to everything and couldn’t say she liked anything. She tilted her head and asked Wen Yu curiously, “Why?”
“Because I met you,” Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen and said with a leisurely smile.
An answer as romantic and moving as winter snow. Ye Qizhen looked at Wen Yu’s beautiful face in the night. In silence, she was a bit distracted, then smiled a beat slow and said very lightly, “Always teasing me.”
Wen Yu smiled lazily and said nothing more.
Ye Qizhen thought she was joking. Actually, she really thought so; she just said it in the most casual tone.
Sometimes she also wondered, Am I caring about Ye Qizhen too much? Is this good? Perhaps Ye Qizhen just treated her as one of many ordinary friends, nothing special. After all, Ye Qizhen was friendly to everyone.
She kept telling herself not to care about the people and things around her; caring made it easy to get hurt.
But with Ye Qizhen, she seemed to be an exception.
It was past six when they got back.
The two laid out dinner on the table one by one: Oden, roasted sweet potatoes, a pile of snacks and drinks, and a portion of dumplings. It looked quite sumptuous. They bought the dumplings on the way home; luckily, they ran into a dumpling shop still open, and Ye Qizhen followed the smell inside.
“You like eating dumplings?” Wen Yu thought the dinner they bought at the convenience store was enough.
“Eating dumplings gives the feeling of New Year.” Ye Qizhen pulled the tab of a drink can, handed it to Wen Yu, then opened one for herself and raised it to Wen Yu. “Happy New Year.”
The feeling of New Year? Wen Yu was unfamiliar with it; her family never had the concept of New Year reunion. She picked up the drink can, clinked it with Ye Qizhen’s, and also tried saying, “Happy New Year.”
Strange to say, with the crisp sound of two cans clinking, the atmosphere seemed to appear instantly. The small dining room was full of warmth.
Ye Qizhen put a dumpling in her mouth, chewing with relish, cheeks bulging. Seeing Ye Qizhen eating happily, Wen Yu also started eating. The Oden was still piping hot. Eating together warmed the stomach and the heart.
Wen Yu bit half a dumpling, tasting it carefully, and suddenly said to Ye Qizhen, “Thank you.”
Ye Qizhen was drinking the Oden soup, her lips hot and red. She looked up at Wen Yu. “Why suddenly say thank you?”
Wen Yu lowered her head and ate the remaining half of the dumpling, smiling faintly. “My family never celebrates New Year.”
Ye Qizhen was dumbfounded.
Looking at Ye Qizhen’s reaction, Wen Yu expected it. The most mundane and ordinary life in others’ eyes was a luxury to her. But over time, it was no big deal.
Ye Qizhen considered herself good at comforting people, but at this moment, she didn’t know what to say to Wen Yu. Wen Yu must have experienced too many unhappy things, right? After a long delay, she said, “Eating dumplings during New Year means getting better year by year.”
Wen Yu raised an eyebrow. “Did you just make that up?”
“If I say it is, it is.” After being exposed, Ye Qizhen was righteous. Then her voice softened, carrying a smile. “I know how to make dumplings. I’ll make them for you next time.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
…
After dinner, the two nestled on the sofa watching TV. The broadband previously subscribed to hadn’t expired yet. Wen Yu tried turning on the TV in the living room, and it worked perfectly.
The coffee table was piled with snacks. Ye Qizhen held a bag of potato chips in her arms, crunching on them while watching. Her small mouth hadn’t stopped since dinner. Wen Yu noticed: “You weren’t full tonight?”
Ye Qizhen: “Snacks go to another stomach.”
Wen Yu: “Another stomach for dessert?”
Ye Qizhen nodded solemnly. A commercial was playing on TV, quite boring, so she said, “How about watching a movie?”
“What do you want to watch?” Wen Yu asked.
Ye Qizhen had difficulty choosing in this regard. She stuffed the remote into Wen Yu’s hand. “You pick.”
Wen Yu didn’t know what to watch even more. But remembering Ye Qizhen saying she was bold before, she said on a whim, “Watch a horror movie?”
“You watch horror movies at night?” Ye Qizhen was dumbfounded.
“Watching with the lights off at night has more atmosphere, don’t you think?” Wen Yu said seriously.
Lights off too? Seeing Wen Yu was serious, Ye Qizhen regretted it. Compared to being scared half to death, admitting cowardice was more practical. She mumbled to Wen Yu, “Don’t, I don’t want to watch…”
Seeing someone chicken out, Wen Yu asked, “Scared?”
Ye Qizhen didn’t make a sound, counting as a default yes.
Seeing Ye Qizhen’s cowardly look, Wen Yu insisted on questioning her: “Didn’t you say you go first into haunted houses?”
“I…” Ye Qizhen hesitated, telling Wen Yu the follow-up she hadn’t finished last time. “So I was almost scared to tears, and never went to a haunted house again…”
After a second of silence in the air, the room was filled with Wen Yu’s laughter, which didn’t stop for a long time.
Ye Qizhen laughed along with Wen Yu. She was someone who liked to pretend, but in front of Wen Yu, she felt she didn’t need to pretend anything. Anyway, Wen Yu had seen her most embarrassing moments. She continued munching on her potato chips, watching Wen Yu laugh, and unknowingly laughed along too. Sitting side by side on the sofa, looking at each other, inexplicably joyful.
They didn’t watch a horror movie that night. Wen Yu was just bluffing Ye Qizhen; she didn’t have such heavy tastes to watch these at night. Clicking on a random comedy movie, an hour and a half passed quickly.
Only the master bedroom in this house had a bed, but they had squeezed into a dorm bed last time, so this was nothing.
Past ten o’clock, after showering, Wen Yu took out the clean three-piece bedding set she brought to make the bed. Putting on the duvet cover, the two stood on both sides of the bed, grabbing the corners and shaking it together. The messy duvet was quickly straightened out and flattened. Neither Wen Yu nor Ye Qizhen grew up pampered; they did housework decently.
Ye Qizhen even childishly shook it a couple more times, looking happy just putting on a duvet cover.
Wen Yu looked straight at the person opposite and smiled. She had never thought about what her future life would be like, but when interacting with Ye Qizhen, she seemed to have a faint expectation—expecting someone by her side in the future, two people together, plain and happy would be enough. Or rather, just like this with Ye Qizhen.
The 1.5-meter bed wasn’t too big, but more than enough for two people. After lying down, Ye Qizhen turned to lie on her side looking at Wen Yu, and just like Wen Yu before, suddenly said, “Thank you.”
Wen Yu: “Thank you for what?”
“Taking me in tonight. The atmosphere at my home is very depressing, and I don’t really like staying home.” Ye Qizhen said truthfully. Her parents and sister were all serious and strict. Tang Tang always teased asking if she was biological, saying it was a miracle her personality could be so cute growing up in that atmosphere.
Wen Yu also turned over at this moment, looking at Ye Qizhen across half a pillow’s distance. “Like staying with me?”
“Mn.” Ye Qizhen admitted. And it was an indescribable, very special kind of liking. She was too embarrassed to say it out loud to Wen Yu; thinking about it in her heart was enough. Saying it out loud would seem so melodramatic and cheesy.
“Me too.” Wen Yu’s voice was low and pleasant.
Is night chat suitable for sentimentality? Ye Qizhen smiled comfortably. Looking at Wen Yu again, she slowly tried to move closer, extending her arm to embrace Wen Yu lightly. Separated by a little distance, a not-too-intimate hug was still a hug. When Wen Yu said her family never celebrated New Year, she had wanted to hug Wen Yu like this.
When Wen Yu came back to her senses, another person’s warmth had already wrapped around her. She stared intently at Ye Qizhen’s face. Reaching out, she didn’t hug back, but instead placed her palm gently on Ye Qizhen’s cheek.
A very ambiguous gesture.
Like testing the other party, and also testing herself.
Ye Qizhen held her breath slightly. This should have been a very innocent hug, but when Wen Yu touched her cheek like this, the thoughts popping up in her brain weren’t innocent at all. Especially remembering Wen Yu saying she wasn’t interested in boys before—even if it was a joke, it was enough to make her imagination run wild.
Wanting to say something to mask her unease, Ye Qizhen whispered, “Does your stomach still hurt?”
“Doesn’t hurt,” Wen Yu said.
“Mn…” Ye Qizhen responded, swallowing quietly. Just touching a face, don’t know what I’m nervous about. The next moment, she was even more nervous because Wen Yu’s fingertips gently touched her lips.
“Your lips are so soft.” When Wen Yu rubbed Ye Qizhen’s lower lip, her breathing was noticeably faster.
“Are… they?” Ye Qizhen’s lips parted slightly. She was using almost all her effort right now to maintain her composure.
“Mn.” Wen Yu hummed with lowered eyes. Only then did she move her hand away. Leaning against Ye Qizhen, she closed her eyes nonchalantly. Qi Yun asked her that day if she liked Ye Qizhen. She had been thinking about this question. She thought what she felt for Ye Qizhen was being moved, but it seemed… more than just being moved.
Ye Qizhen also closed her eyes, letting Wen Yu press against her, but her heart didn’t calm down for a long time.
