Hu Xiu was still dazed in the back seat when Pei Zhen waved at her: "Come to the passenger seat..."
As soon as she slid into the passenger seat, Pei Zhen urgently grasped her hand. Hu Xiu let him hold it, hearing him say: "That Diao Zhiyu from basketball really doesn't hold back at all, always trying to unleash ultimate moves against me."
"Huh?"
"Diao Zhiyu used to be on the school basketball team, same as me. But skill-wise, he's still a notch below. People from drama academies don't seem to play much basketball, while guys from STEM schools are different—they spend all day pouring their youth out on basketball and soccer fields."
"You even compete over this..."
"Athletics are a matter of male pride, you know." He took a deep breath and exhaled: "Though I'd love to hold your hand longer, I need to drive now. There's a gift for you in the glove compartment—take your time opening it."
"Don't always buy me gifts. I've never given you anything."
Opening the glove box revealed a Moleskine smart notebook. The sensor pen could scan and upload handwritten content to computers and phones. Staring at this unexpected gift, Hu Xiu felt momentarily stunned.
Pei Zhen started the car but drove unusually slowly, stretching a five-minute drive into ten: "I noticed you prefer handwriting over typing, though it does waste some time. This might help improve efficiency."
Handwriting was indeed a habit Hu Xiu had retained, along with her preference for mechanical pencils and erasers—somehow he'd noticed even this.
After parking in the complex, Pei Zhen hesitated at the building entrance: "I'd really like to see your apartment."
"It's completely messy—you'd probably discover how sloppy I am." Hu Xiu understood. Hospital work was mostly tedious, and her interests lay far from medicine. Pei Zhen was trying hard to create opportunities for them to be alone together, or rather to understand each other better. Visiting her apartment was just an excuse to chat—he didn't seem like the type to expect physical favors.
"Then... I'll head off now."
"Okay. Thank you for the gift."
"Oh, one more thing..." He finally remembered a new topic in his nervousness: "Where are you spending New Year's Eve?"
"Probably at Zhao Xiaorou's place—we get together every year. How about you?"
"I'm on shift rotation." Pei Zhen smiled and patted his pocket: "Looks like we won't be able to celebrate together. It wouldn't be right to swap shifts with someone during this time anyway. Have fun with Zhao Xiaorou."
Sitting on the floor reading the product manual, Hu Xiu grew increasingly convinced the product was rather gimmicky.
Online reviews confirmed it—once you connected the writing, it struggled to recognize text properly. The sensor pen worked better for scanning entire pages as images to store on phones.
Marketed as "smartwriting," but it wasn't very smart at all.
Leaning against her bed while staring at this gift that would frustrate her if used yet make her feel guilty if ignored—priced at 1,298 yuan—Hu Xiu concluded Pei Zhen was truly clueless about life outside medicine.
This realization sparked growing suspicion. She dialed Li Ai's number: "What's this about basketball?"
"Diao Zhiyu invited me to play, so I set it up. Figured the only person I know who could join was Pei Zhen—good chance for some exercise."
"Tell me the truth..."
"Not a single lie..."
"Knowing you, this is your last chance to come clean.""Alright, I did it on purpose. When you two hugged on Christmas, I saw Diao Zhiyu's face turn green, so I gave him a hand. A master leads you to the door, but the practice is up to you. What, is Diao Zhiyu pursuing you?"
"Aren't you supposed to be heartbroken over Xu Mengzheng? Since when did you start playing matchmaker?"
"A father with a sore back can still cook for his daughter," Li Ai said with unusual calm. "Two guys pursuing you—fair competition."
"Diao Zhiyu rejected me in the back kitchen, that time I was hugging you and crying. I’ve decided... to give up on him too. After playing basketball, Pei Zhen took him home, and they seemed to get along quite well on the way."
"You’re truly naive. I was originally going to take Diao Zhiyu home, but Pei Zhen volunteered, saying you two live close by. Diao Zhiyu also said he wanted to chat with Pei Zhen. While you were asleep, Pei Zhen carried you into the car, and Diao Zhiyu deliberately took the front seat, saying you could lie down in the back without a seatbelt and he’d drive carefully. I was so embarrassed I immediately hailed a taxi and left."
"Think about it carefully—where do rivals in love ever have genuine friendship?"
"Why aren’t you saying anything? Asleep?"
"I’ve realized two things. First, male animals can be just as scheming and calculating. I really don’t understand men."
"And the second?"
"The way you spoke just now sounded exactly like Zhao Xiaorou. When men imitate someone they like, they can be eerily accurate."
The man who never hung up first quickly bid goodnight. Hu Xiu leaned against the bed, lazily wrapped in a thick coral fleece blanket, picturing herself asleep in the back seat before she woke up—just off work, wearing an old-fashioned down jacket (always afraid of the cold), black-framed glasses (for reading documents), and no makeup (no reason, just too lazy to wake up early). She looked utterly dreadful, yet somehow two handsome guys were fighting over her. Love... truly blinds people.
And what was up with Diao Zhiyu? So elusive—acting like he’s avoiding her on the surface, yet competing with Pei Zhen behind the scenes.
If what Li Ai said was true, then his feelings weren’t exactly straightforward either.
Her heart fluttered again at the thought of him, a tingling sensation spreading through her, her ears growing warm. Wrapped in the blanket, Hu Xiu refused to sleep. Thinking of him made her restless, upset, and angry—so much that she lost her appetite, and her drowsiness vanished entirely.
Unable to sleep, she picked up the notebook Pei Zhen had given her and started jotting down study topics: "BEC Business English from Beginner to Master," "MTI Translation Master’s Exam Guide," "How to Pass CATTI Level 3 Interpretation." Just writing the titles made her more frustrated. Aside from the subject of romance, her translation certificates were nothing short of impressive.
Her phone buzzed with a notification for Zhao Xiaorou’s new video and a WeChat message from her.
Zhao Xiaorou was sitting in a room full of cosmetics, testing them one by one, overwhelmed by unpacked delivery boxes. She simply sent a message saying, "No New Year’s gathering—can’t finish selecting products."
Hu Xiu knew Zhao Xiaorou’s selection process. With millions of followers, she wasn’t dealing with small brands anymore. Mid-to-high-end brands offered the same rates to influencers with similar follower counts, sometimes even stingier. She had to sift through mountains of cosmetics to find the genuinely good ones, record videos, and then revise them for the clients. Hu Xiu wondered how her team was holding up. With tensions between her and Li Ai, a straight guy might not be much help in this area anyway.
Thinking of this, Hu Xiu screenshotted Zhao Xiaorou’s message and sent it to Li Ai, along with the photo of the room crammed with delivery boxes.On the evening of December 31st, the administrative building was already more than half empty by five or six o'clock.
Hu Xiu's desk held a notebook and a stylus, ready to diligently write a two-hour BEC experience guide, starting with the basics.
Though it had been some time, she carefully recalled her college study methods—from vocabulary and grammar to written exams and interviews—feeling they might not quite align with the new question types.
After browsing Bilibili for other creators' advice, Hu Xiu couldn't help but envy how those with strong expression skills and a desire to share gained more viewers and attention nowadays.
Realizing this, she decided to scrap her draft entirely. Stubbornly grinding away at this piece on New Year's Eve would probably drive her mad, she thought.
She went out for a meal, then stopped by a local cuisine restaurant to pack some dishes for Pei Zhen and brought them to his office. Soon after, a message from Pei Zhen arrived: "Not going out for New Year's?"
"Zhao Xiaorou is too busy to spare any time for me."
"Come to my office."
As expected, the office was empty. Pei Zhen was overjoyed to see her and eagerly dug into the braised pork she brought. Noticing Hu Xiu wasn't eating, he asked anxiously, "Aren't you hungry?"
"I already ate. I thought I'd just drop this off and leave, but you're here too."
"On duty—just got back from rounds. If you're not hungry, have this." Pei Zhen pulled a konjac jelly from his drawer and handed it to her: "Bought it on a whim earlier. Figured you'd like this kind of stuff."
Whenever the mature Pei Zhen produced these little treats, Hu Xiu felt a touch of warmth in her heart—he was genuinely thinking of her every moment.
She pinched the jelly and stared at Pei Zhen until he grew uncomfortable: "What's up?"
Hu Xiu shook her head with a smile.
"Can't open it?" Pei Zhen took the jelly and twisted it. Suddenly, Hu Xiu said: "Seriously, I'm a bit curious about your... past."
This caught Pei Zhen off guard: "Digging up ancient history out of nowhere. Is that what you've been brewing?"
"Of course not, I'm just... curious."
"Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you."
As if suddenly wanting to test her eloquence, Hu Xiu said: "Then let's do a rapid-fire Q&A. Answer intuitively—no excuses. How many girlfriends have you had?"
"Seven..."
"What? Are you Snow White with seven dwarves?"
"This isn't rapid-fire."
"How long did the longest relationship last?"
"Five years..."
"How many girls did you fall in love with at first sight?"
"You; and the ex I dated for five years."
"Did she like Super Junior too?"
"Yeah, just like you."
This line of questioning stumped Hu Xiu. He didn't even bother hiding it—just admitted it openly. Someone he loved for five years couldn't easily be forgotten.
The thought made Hu Xiu somewhat dejected: "Then... do you like me because I resemble your ex?"
"You have nothing to do with her. You're you, she's her. When the Korean drama 'Reply 1997' came out, I'd still think of her. She was fiercely into celebrity culture—spent all her free time traveling to concerts, failed so many classes she lost her grad school eligibility."
"Later she went to study in Seattle and stayed in the US. We broke up amicably. Still seems unbelievable to me."After all, we had done everything possible during the craziest phase—I even stayed up late scrambling for tickets on Korean concert websites for her, and when I couldn’t get any, I flew to Taiwan to buy scalped tickets.
Back then, I didn’t understand the appeal of singing and dancing. At the airport concert, I accompanied her and was mistaken for a celebrity, followed by fans for a long time. I even playfully wore sunglasses and walked all the way to the van before leaving, leaving them guessing who I was.
Later, we argued constantly—because she wanted to go to the U.S., and I refused to follow. Then even the smallest things could spark a fight, until eventually, we grew tired.
Many voices had tried to pull us apart for various reasons, but we defied them all, as if the whole world were against us. Yet when we finally broke up, it ended with just a few words, and we never contacted each other again.
After that, I dated other girls—not that many, just kidding.
But perhaps I had poured too much energy into that one relationship, leaving little passion for what followed. The joys of medicine always surpassed those of love, so I grew lazy about dating and found more fulfillment in research. Until… I met you again."
This left Hu Xiu with a bittersweet feeling. Though these were long-faded memories, they still stirred complex emotions—a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She wanted to be the girl loved uniquely and intensely, the one who occupied the best years of his youth, the one who held his "best timing" in life. Regrets were inevitable.
"What happened with her was truly a coincidence and has nothing to do with why I like you. But chasing stars is a strange phenomenon—distant stars can illuminate so many young boys and girls, making them shine brightly too, whether through songs or charismatic personalities.
Diao Zhiyu was someone who illuminated you. I’m reluctant to admit it, but I have to acknowledge he’s a special guy with qualities that make people want to follow him. He’ll surely step onto bigger stages—it’s just a matter of his choices."
Hu Xiu sat there dazed. As Pei Zhen stood up, he ruffled her hair gently. "I’m not telling you this to push you away. I’ve only had three ex-girlfriends in total, including my middle school crush—so don’t go thinking I’m some seasoned old man with a record."
Hu Xiu pretended nonchalance. "I won’t…"
"Then I’ll go on rounds."
"If you’re not busy later, could you take me somewhere? I promise she’s still awake."
After a short nap, she was woken up at 3 a.m. They drove to Xiafei Court, where Hu Xiu deftly retrieved a key from the mailbox and led Pei Zhen into the elevator.
In the elevator, Hu Xiu remarked that Zhao Xiaorou was definitely still awake at this hour. Though she seemed like a party girl, she took her work seriously—she’d stay up all night finishing product selections if needed. Unfortunately, being terrible at organizing, her place was currently a mess.
When they knocked, both were taken aback. Li Ai answered the door, wearing an apron full of pockets as he sorted products.
Arranged by launch date and ingredients, each box was labeled with a coded sticker.
Zhao Xiaorou sat on the floor, cream still smeared on her arms. Spotting Hu Xiu and Pei Zhen, she greeted them with dark circles under her eyes. "You’re here."
Her relief was palpable. Li Ai, holding various bottles, asked, "Why are there so many niacinamide products?""Because of the fire. Keep this one separately in a box—I’ll test a few other niche but effective brands along with it. Don’t throw away any of the boxes. Viewers prefer unboxing new products or seeing empty containers."
Zhao Xiaorou watched Li Ai’s retreating figure, her expression devoid of any lingering sentiment. Impatience was her default work style.
It seemed she had also learned within a few days not to take Li Ai too seriously. The unpleasantness between them had dissipated like smoke, leaving only friendship in its wake.
Other sounds filled the room as Diao Zhiyu emerged, dark circles under her eyes, clutching a mouse: "Your special effects aren’t enough. I bought the installation package for you."
"I’ll reimburse you. How much?"
"It’s nothing…" Noticing Hu Xiu and Pei Zhen arriving together, Diao Zhiyu greeted them with a cold glance.
"Then I’ll pay your salary."
Diao Zhiyu scoffed dismissively: "Forget it. I’m expensive."
Hu Xiu’s heart swelled with emotion—nothing compared to the loyalty of friends spontaneously gathering to help in the early hours. Friends—two simple words that always carried a sense of unwavering support.
All five in the living room were exhausted, yet they bustled about diligently for Zhao Xiaorou.
Diao Zhiyu remained within her small circle of friends, immersing herself more deeply than expected.
She wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about cosmetics, but she could handle manual tasks. Squatting beside Zhao Xiaorou, she pondered: "Do you need a hair model? Someone specifically for shooting hair? I can do it."
Zhao Xiaorou sprang up and pressed Hu Xiu down: "Don’t move! Diao Zhiyu, get a close-up of her. Add a subtitle saying ‘after use’—we can’t pass up such a high-quality model."
Diao Zhiyu stood before Hu Xiu with the camera: "Excuse me…"
She then smoothed Hu Xiu’s hair with her hand. That familiar tingling sensation surged through Hu Xiu again.
Diao Zhiyu said nothing, but the memory of untangling knots with coconut oil seemed to flicker simultaneously in both their minds.
Once everything was done, Zhao Xiaorou announced: "Everyone, Happy New Year. Thank you for staying up all night with me. I, Zhao Xiaorou, don’t have much to offer, so I’ll treat everyone to Snowpiercer. We can even invite a few giveaway viewers to join us. Pei Zhen, are you in?"
"Of course. I’ve been curious about what this actually is."
Hu Xiu sighed inwardly. Whether horizontal or vertical, it’s just Snowpiercer.
She glanced sideways at Diao Zhiyu, who said, "You’re lucky. There are six last-minute cancellations for the 9:30 AM session. We need to hurry and fill the slots."
Checking the time, they realized they could head straight over. Diao Zhiyu dressed and left first: "Actors need to prepare early. I’ll go ahead."
The long-awaited Snowpiercer. Hu Xiu’s heart pounded with nerves. Though Snowpiercer had become her sanctuary, the fear of familiarity made her uneasy about Pei Zhen discovering her secret haven.
Pei Zhen, a seasoned night owl, appeared drowsy while driving but grew excited while changing: "Role-playing is a first for me. It’s completely outside my comfort zone."
"Don’t worry. I’m a veteran."
"What Role does Diao Zhiyu play?"
"She plays an illiterate sheriff—can’t read, fiercely violent, and has to wear a fake mustache."
Hu Xiu chuckled at the thought. On review platforms, everyone described Diao Zhiyu’s character Feng Youjin as an icy-hearted handsome guy with flawless features—aloof, shy, and utterly ideal.She found it rather unimpressive—a charming young man deliberately playing dumb to act the brute. Once seen through, there was no reason to be moved.
But as luck would have it, just as she feared, the heavy iron gate creaked open, and Diao Zhiyu stepped out wearing Qin Xiaoyi's white suit and black vest. His short hair made him appear taller and better-proportioned, and his gaze fixed on Hu Xiu, making it clear he was targeting her.
Her heart raced like a rollercoaster with no speed limit. Hu Xiu instinctively hid behind the platform. What the hell was going on? Hadn't he stopped playing Qin Xiaoyi?
Diao Zhiyu remained utterly calm, acting with effortless ease: "I am Qin Xiaoyi, the Finance Minister of Rong City. My apologies for the wait. Please bring your Invitations and follow me."
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