◎I would really want to kiss you, or let you kiss me◎
“Okay.” Ji Qingyou agreed without a second thought.
It caught Yu Qinjiu a bit off guard. She looked up in surprise. “Why did you agree so quickly?”
Ji Qingyou looked at her. “Today is a very important holiday.”
“True.” Yu Qinjiu let out a soft laugh. “I thought you might be scared off.”
“Why would I be scared?” Ji Qingyou said. “We used to sleep together sometimes when we were kids…”
“Yeah.” Yu Qinjiu drew out the word lazily, parking the car steadily before turning back to smile at her. “You said it yourself, it was when we were kids. I was worried you wouldn’t be used to it now that we’re grown up.”
“I’m not used to it.” Ji Qingyou didn’t deny it. “But it’s your request. I lost the bet.”
“Got it.” Yu Qinjiu opened the car door and stepped out, clutching the stingray plush tightly to her chest. Her voice sounded a bit more distant. “So whoever bets with you, you’d fulfill their wish just like that?”
Her tone was casual, as if she were just asking on a whim.
Ji Qingyou paused in the middle of opening her own door. She didn’t answer immediately. She just got out, walked for a while side-by-side with Yu Qinjiu out of the parking lot, until the elevator doors illuminated the expressions on both their faces.
Then she said softly,
“I don’t make bets like that with just anyone.”
The moment the elevator doors opened, the corner of Yu Qinjiu’s mouth lifted. Her gentle voice carried a hint of pleasure and satisfaction.
“I knew it.”
—
A New Year’s Eve dinner for two didn’t need to be overly extravagant, but Yu Qinjiu still bought a lot of ingredients, determined to cook the entire meal herself without letting Ji Qingyou lift a finger.
Fortunately, Ji Qingyou was there watching over her, so the flavors didn’t stray too far from the mark.
Three dishes and a soup were placed on the table.
Ji Qingyou frowned slightly. “Isn’t this too much?”
Yu Qinjiu glanced around. “It’s not much. It’s New Year’s Eve.”
With that said, she took out some cola and two glasses, raising her chin under the light. “My doctor won’t let me drink, so cola will have to do.”
Ji Qingyou assumed her doctor’s demeanor. “You really should cut down on the alcohol for now. If you have time, you should come to the hospital for a check-up…”
“I know.” Yu Qinjiu interrupted her, pouring a glass of cola for her. “It’s New Year’s Eve, don’t talk about that stuff. We can talk about everything tomorrow.”
Ji Qingyou nodded and took a sip of her cola. When she put the glass down, she noticed Yu Qinjiu’s glass was empty. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh…” Yu Qinjiu seemed to be spacing out. Hearing her voice, she pulled herself together, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass absentmindedly. “I was just suddenly thinking about that drink you mixed for me when we were kids. You used green pomelo juice, plain soda, and that green grape flavored liquor. It didn’t have much alcohol taste, but it was really good. I wonder when I’ll get to drink it again…”
As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on the empty glass.
Her voice was very soft, but carried a hint of muffled melancholy.
“It’s a shame my doctor won’t let me drink.” She added another sentence, then moved to pour herself some cola.
She had just raised her hand when her wrist was gently caught.
A warm, soft touch met her skin.
She looked up at Ji Qingyou, who had stopped her, a little surprised. “What are you doing? Not even letting me have cola now?”
Ji Qingyou glanced at her watch, then met her eyes.
After a moment, as if she had just made a decision, she said softly, “There’s still an hour and thirty-four minutes until the year ends. I’ll mix it for you.”
For a second, Yu Qinjiu was completely stunned.
Ji Qingyou’s tone was calm when she said this, but the content was the complete opposite of her expression—astounding, impulsive, childish.
——On New Year’s Eve, after cooking a whole dinner, just because she mentioned she wanted to taste that old drink, Ji Qingyou immediately stood up, put on her coat and scarf, and even grabbed Yu Qinjiu’s wrist while she was still in a daze, helped her into her coat, carefully wrapped her scarf around her, loop after loop, tight and neat, then smoothed out the wrinkles on the scarf.
Even at such an urgent moment.
She was still taking care of Yu Qinjiu’s need to look good.
Feeling the warmth around her neck, Yu Qinjiu stared blankly as Ji Qingyou held her wrist and pulled her along. It wasn’t until they were in the elevator that she finally reacted.
“I cooked a whole table of food, spent two or three hours…”
Her voice was very soft, but not aggrieved, more like a gentle, soft plea.
Ji Qingyou was calm. “We’ll eat it when we get back. I’ll reheat it for you.”
“Alright, but didn’t you just say I couldn’t drink?” Yu Qinjiu couldn’t help asking again.
Through the shiny elevator doors, Ji Qingyou gazed at her, her expression holding a rare kind of softness. “Today is a very important holiday, and you want to drink. A little bit is fine, it’s okay.”
She could use this reason for everything.
Yu Qinjiu didn’t quite believe that excuse, but she believed the latter part.
And the warmth of Ji Qingyou’s hand, very warm, and very soft.
Maybe she would remember this forever. January 21st, 2023. The last night of the Tiger Year. Ji Qingyou mixed her a very sweet drink again. Yu Qinjiu couldn’t help thinking this in her heart.
But this thought was quickly overturned.
No.
Even if she never got to drink this glass.
She would still remember this day.
Mhm, remember it for a lifetime.
Yu Qinjiu’s worry was not unfounded. It was almost midnight, and on New Year’s Eve, almost no supermarkets were open.
Especially since they needed to find the exact same drinks from over a decade ago.
This was an incredibly difficult task.
On a snowy night like this, watching Ji Qingyou’s tightly pressed lips and her fingers and ears reddened by the winter cold, Yu Qinjiu felt a twinge of guilt. “Maybe we should just go back? It’s okay if we can’t find it. There’s always tomorrow.”
At this point, Ji Qingyou showed an unprecedented stubbornness. She stood in the snow, her hair and shoulders covered in a thick layer of falling snow, yet she was still scanning all the surrounding lights through the flurry.
“There are a few convenience stores over there. I’ll go look.”
With that said, she looked at Yu Qinjiu with some concern. “Do you want to wait somewhere out of the snow for me?”
Yu Qinjiu pressed her lips together. “There are only forty-three minutes left, Ji Qingyou.”
Ji Qingyou frowned. “I want to try a bit more.”
Yu Qinjiu didn’t understand why Ji Qingyou was so stubborn tonight, but looking at her reddened nose tip, and the faint mist and hope in her dark eyes, she knew she shouldn’t stop her.
Ji Qingyou rarely got to do things like this.
And it was because of her.
Even though they were surrounded by the cold snowflakes, even though the roadsides were a world of pure white snow, Yu Qinjiu’s eyes felt hot. A warmth from the inside out…
Made her willingly, without reservation, bind herself to Ji Qingyou.
To share this crazy and fervent winter night.
She gripped Ji Qingyou’s hand tightly and said softly,
“We’ll try together.”
Ji Qingyou didn’t stop her. She just gently brushed the snow from her shoulder, smiled, a warm and soft smile appearing in her bright eyes, and said,
“Okay.”
The snow was heavy that night, almost enveloping the world in a curtain of white. Snowflakes were trapped under the cocoon of light created by the intersecting yellow streetlights and red and blue car lights, becoming swirling dust in the air.
It was very cold. Hands would freeze almost immediately upon being exposed.
But perhaps the excitement and impulse inside could withstand all external cold. After searching many convenience stores that were still open, they finally found all the necessary ingredients.
As they walked back carrying the plastic bag.
Ji Qingyou couldn’t help thinking:
So the twenty-nine-year-old her.
Could still do things that her nineteen-year-old self wouldn’t have done.
Was it the same for Yu Qinjiu?
Thinking this, she glanced at Yu Qinjiu walking closely beside her, belatedly realizing the impulsiveness of her actions tonight.
Covered in snow, Yu Qinjiu saw her stop and instinctively urged her on, exhaling a puff of white breath. “What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking maybe I was too impulsive.” Ji Qingyou said.
“Isn’t it a bit late for that now?” Yu Qinjiu lifted her wrist, pointing at the watch. A smile spread across her face. “There are only a few minutes left. It’s too late to go back now, and you can’t regret it anyway. The food is cold.”
Ji Qingyou lifted the corner of her mouth slightly. “Then let’s be a little more impulsive.”
“Hm? What do you mean?” Yu Qinjiu asked back.
Ji Qingyou looked around, found a shop awning, took the bottles and cans out of the plastic bag, and quickly unscrewed all the caps.
The snow was still falling. Yu Qinjiu followed her over, once again having her perception of that night refreshed. “You’re going to mix it here? But we don’t have a cup…”
Before she could finish.
She saw the calm, restrained Ji Qingyou, after unscrewing the bottle of green grape soju, check the volume marked on the bottle, then just pour it straight into her mouth. After taking one sip, she stared at the remaining liquor, frowned, and even tried to take a second sip.
Yu Qinjiu quickly grabbed her. “Wait a second.”
Ji Qingyou lowered her eyes. A snowflake had landed on her eyelashes. “If we wait any longer, it’ll be too late.”
With that, she looked up again, meeting Yu Qinjiu’s gaze. Her dark eyes were full of emotion, a stubborn, childish determination, as if she were desperately trying to accomplish this for her.
Confronted with a Ji Qingyou this soft.
Yu Qinjiu couldn’t hold out; she had to admit defeat. As soon as she let go, Ji Qingyou immediately took another gulp, calculating the amount as she drank, then started adding the green pomelo juice and soda.
In the falling snow, separated by ten years, they were both grown up now. Ji Qingyou, whom everyone at the hospital knew didn’t touch alcohol, crouched under the eaves of a closed convenience store, desperately trying to recreate the drink from the depths of her memory for Yu Qinjiu.
Her usually immaculate hair was now scattered over her shoulders and back, tousled by the wind. The scarf around her neck was whipped wildly by the strong gusts. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, her soft features burning with passion and tenderness in the snow.
Yu Qinjiu also crouched down, gently brushing the snow from her back and hair, then quietly gazed at her.
Trying to engrave this image in her heart.
At that moment, Yu Qinjiu felt incredibly lucky that she could come back and see Ji Qingyou again. And she was certain, this image would be harder to forget than anything else in her life.
So much so that later.
When Yu Qinjiu boarded the plane to England, looking out at the endless clouds, her mind still uncontrollably tried to reconstruct this winter night of swirling snow, to reconstruct the taste of that sweet alcohol.
It wasn’t much different from what she remembered.
It was even deeper and more sincere than the memory of her youth.
Even though Ji Qingyou was in a hurry, she still managed to mix the drink for her before midnight. Amidst the drifting snowflakes, she raised the simple bottle and handed it to her, carefully and cautiously, and told her,
“Don’t drink too much.”
Yu Qinjiu couldn’t describe what she felt at that moment, but in that instant, she really wanted to hug Ji Qingyou tightly. Or just kidnap Ji Qingyou, completely sever her from the Yu family, tie her up and take her to England to live with her. Or have Ji Qingyou tie herself up. Or the two of them simply escape from this world together…
——Even if it meant just maintaining this kind of friendship.
