Chapter 134: Every Snowflake Writes 'I Love You

Xia Xi thought she was hallucinating; she fluttered her eyelashes, making sure she hadn't misseen. She exited the edit note interface, and a small window popped up—"Save this edit?"

Of course she chose not to save.

She wanted to retract her previous comment; Xu Yanfeng wasn't iron-hearted at all, he would ask if she got home safely. After thinking, she felt a bit unwilling, yet still changed the note, calling him "a person whose words don't match his heart."

Xia Xi smiled at those few characters and replied: "Just got off the high-speed rail, on my way home, arriving soon. How about you, did you finish the exam?"

The person whose words don't match his heart: "En."

The red light turned green, the car crept forward, Xia Yue didn't miss the person in the passenger seat suddenly lifting the corner of their mouth, teasing: "Chatting with that guy you couldn't win over?"

Xia Xi typed while answering her sister's question: "Don't bring up that I failed to win him over." She looked at her sister's profile, earnestly: "I'm quite satisfied with the current state, and besides, I believe it won't be long before I achieve my wish."

Xia Yue nodded, "En," that's the Xia Xi I know: "Your happiness matters most; if you're not happy, there's no need to continue." She trusted Xia Xi's judgment, so she didn't overly interfere in her private affairs.

After arriving home, Xia Xi warmly greeted Su Jinru and her grandmother, then headed to the kitchen to see what tasty food was available for lunch.

Su Jinru personally cooked, preparing a tableful of sumptuous dishes; the staple was the shepherd's purse dumplings Xia Xi had mentioned repeatedly on the phone.

Xia Xi took a photo of the untouched dishes and sent it to Xu Yanfeng: "Meal's ready! Let you enjoy it virtually first, then I'll treat you to the real thing after school starts."

After sending, she put down her phone, not stubbornly waiting for Xu Yanfeng's reply. She first picked up a dumpling, dipped it in vinegar, and put it in her mouth, eating with a satisfied expression: "This is the flavor; I've missed it so much at school I couldn't sleep."

Grandma smiled and pushed the plate toward her: "Eat more then."

Xia Xi's mouth was full, she couldn't speak, just nodded several times.

"Where's Dad?" she asked, still eating, only then realizing someone was missing.

Su Jinru added a few more vegetables to her bowl, saying: "Recently I've been partnering with someone to set up a food processing factory, busy every day, not coming home. Don't worry about him, you eat yours; he won't be back for lunch."

"Opening a factory? Is it reliable?" Xia Xi asked while picking fish bones, casually.

Su Jinru: "He has an old friend who used to do this, knows the ropes, should be fine."

Xia Xi stopped asking further, finished her meal, grabbed her suitcase, went upstairs to her room, took a shower, flopped onto the bed and rolled around; the scent of fresh, clean detergent filled her nostrils, along with the fragrance of sun‑dried linens.

She held her phone to chat with Xu Yanfeng; even if he didn't reply, she could send a dozen messages in a row, relaying the minutiae of her life, lest long absence dull his feelings for her.

Victory was within reach, waving at her; she had to keep pushing forward.

After returning to Qianlin, the first week Xia Xi attended several gatherings with her former high‑school classmates; the rest of the time she helped out at her family's restaurant.

As the New Year approached, streets and alleys were hung with lanterns and decorations, brimming with festive cheer.

With nothing to do on the weekend, Xia Xi invited Zhou Du and Liang Yuan to dinner in the three‑person group chat, promising them a month's worth of feasts; so far not a single meal has been fulfilled, which would make her seem stingy.

Zhou Du and Liang Yuan, each more idle than the other, readily agreed, agreeing to meet at a hot‑pot restaurant.

In the mid‑afternoon, around five o'clock, Xia Xi freshened up, drove out from home, and on the way snowflakes began to drift down.

At first it fell like salt grains, striking the windshield with a faint patter, bouncing up, quickly melting into water. Gradually, like willow catkins blown by the wind, flakes and clusters drifted down, laying a thin layer of white.

After a moment, the snow fell harder, and a rustling sound could be heard.

Xia Xi glanced around, found a spot to pull over to the side, rolled down the window; the icy north wind carrying snow instantly hit her face, she squinted, unafraid of the cold, took out her phone, turned the screen sideways, and filmed the swirling wind and snow.

The lens faced several verdant osmanthus trees; the pure white snowflakes landing on the leaves were especially conspicuous.

After filming for nearly three minutes, Xia Xi pressed pause, raised the window, rubbed her cold hands, blew on her palms, then turned the car's air conditioning up two degrees, and sent the just‑taken video to Xu Yanfeng.

She felt a bit excited, and the text reflected her mood.

WeiaiXYF: "It's snowing here! Is it snowing in Nancheng too?"

Xu Yanfeng probably was looking at his phone; his reply speed was faster than usual, though still characteristically brief: "No."

WeiaiXYF: "Then it's perfect—I'll show you Qianlin's snow."

The person whose words don't match his heart: "I saw it."

WeiaiXFY: "What did you see?"

The person whose words don't match his heart: "?"

Snow, what else could it be? Oh, and the trees.

WeiaiXYF: "Look more carefully—do you see that every snowflake writes 'I love you'?"

Xu Yanfeng didn't reply; another message popped up first, from Zhou Du, asking where she was.

Xia Xi stared blankly, slapped her forehead, realizing she had been chatting with Xu Yanfeng in the car and forgotten that Zhou Du and Liang Yuan were waiting for her at the hot‑pot place. She hastily messaged Xu Yanfeng "Bye," then drove off.

In the old hot‑pot restaurant that had been open for decades, the place was bustling and noisy; Liang Yuan pushed the menu over to Xia Xi: "We've already ordered, take a look and see if you want to add anything."

Xia Xi glanced at the checked‑off dishes on the menu; the three of them often ate together and knew each other's tastes well; two‑thirds of the checked dishes were ones she liked.

She only added two items, handed the menu to the server, and picked up the pot of brown‑rice tea on the table to pour herself a cup.

"You're half an hour late—what were you doing?" Liang Yuan settled the score.

Xi Xi held the cup with both hands, took a sip of tea, lowered her eyes, looking slightly guilty, and blurted: "Isn't it snowing? The roads are slippery; for traffic safety I drove slowly."

Liang Yuan tilted her head to look for her eyes: "Really?"

Xia Xi couldn't hold back her laughter, nodded: "No lie."

Liang Yuan was inexplicably amused and also laughed: "See if I believe your nonsense."

After Zhou Du finished a game, the dishes he ordered arrived one by one and were put into the boiling pot; he held the public chopsticks, scooped out the beef that shouldn't be overcooked, and divided it between the two ladies.

"Thanks for your hard work, here's a big watermelon for you." Xia Xi pushed the plate of sliced yellow‑fleshed watermelon toward him, "I just tried it—it's really sweet."

"Thank you." Zhou Du took a piece of watermelon and bit into it; it was indeed sweet.

They ate for over an hour; outside the sky had turned completely dark. Before the snowfall the sky had been a dull gray, but now the heavens were like a huge inkstone, black without a speck of impurity.

Looking out through the window glass, the streetlights and the light leaking from shops along the road reflected on the snow, as if a ground of glittering fragments had been laid down.

In this scene, Xia Xi couldn't resist lifting her phone to snap a photo of the window; she originally meant to post it to her Moments, but couldn't control her fingers and sent it to the chat window with Xu Yanfeng.

"Still eating? If not, I'll turn off the heater." Zhou Du asked.

Liang Yuan waved her hand, saying she couldn't eat more; Xia Xi also said she was full, casually put her phone on the table, stood up and said: "Just a moment, I'm going to the washroom."

"Wait, I'm coming too." Liang Yuan placed both hands on her shoulders, guiding her forward.

Zhou Du turned off the power, the pot stopped boiling, he leaned lazily against the booth backrest and played with his phone.

Suddenly, a ringtone sounded; Zhou Du absentmindedly lifted his eyelids, the ringtone coming from the phone of Xia Xi opposite him. He stretched his arm to take the phone, glanced at the screen, and furrowed his brow.

It was a voice call from a contact labeled "a person who says one thing but means another".

Who is this?

Zhou Du hesitated for two seconds, pressed the green answer button, held the phone to his ear: "Hello, who is this?"

"Is Xia Xi not here?"

A young man's voice, with a hint of hesitation.

Zhou Du slightly tilted his head; he had never heard this voice before, probably someone he didn't know; he truthfully said: "Xia Xi went to the washroom; if you have something, you can first talk to me..."

Before he could finish saying "speak", the other party hung up.

Zhou Du blankly took the phone from his ear, held it up before his eyes, his head full of question marks, unable to figure out the intention behind this person's call.