Zhou Wan didn't know whether Lu Xixiao actually suffered any losses, but by Monday, she still saw him at school.
He was wearing the school uniform.
Zhou Wan rarely saw him in uniform.
During Monday's flag-raising ceremony, over thirty formations were arranged on the playground.
Lu Xixiao stood at the back of Class Seven, looking as if he hadn't fully woken up. His expression was weary and tired, eyelids drooping. The school uniform hung loosely on him, even the zipper wasn't properly fastened, revealing his slender, elegant collarbones and outlining his straight, sharp shoulder lines.
Zhou Wan overheard girls whispering about how Lu Xixiao had actually come to school today and was wearing the uniform.
They said it proved that clothes depend on the wearer - even such an ugly uniform looked youthful and vibrant on Lu Xixiao.
Zhou Wan lowered her head, pressing her lips together to suppress a smile.
The principal stood at the podium giving a speech.
No one was really paying attention. Today was Christmas Eve, tomorrow would be Christmas.
Such holidays were particularly popular at school. Everyone had already bought various beautiful greeting cards over the weekend, and now they were quietly discussing the cards and gifts they had received.
Zhou Wan had received quite a few cards too.
She had a good personality and was well-liked by her classmates.
Though this year, most cards came from female classmates - none from boys. Probably because of Lu Xixiao, they all kept their distance from her.
After the flag-raising ceremony ended, classes returned to their rooms in order.
Gu Meng linked arms with Zhou Wan and said, "I wish it would snow tomorrow. Snow would really create the Christmas atmosphere."
"Does the weather forecast say it will snow?" Zhou Wan asked.
"Of course not," Gu Meng said. "It hasn't snowed in Qiaoxi for two years. When it does snow, it's usually around Chinese New Year, not this early."
Zhou Wan remembered what Lu Xixiao had said before: "This year seems to be a warm winter."
Gu Meng sighed and said, "I must get into a university up north!"
Zhou Wan laughed: "Just to see snow?"
"And for the heating too!"
As they went upstairs back to the classroom, Zhou Wan suddenly paused, frowned, and asked Gu Meng in a low voice: "Mengmeng, do you have any sanitary pads with you?"
"Your period came?" Gu Meng immediately checked her pockets. "I have some in my backpack."
Zhou Wan went back to the classroom to get a sanitary pad and immediately hurried to the restroom.
Her period was often irregular - sometimes over a month, sometimes less than a month. But whenever it came, she would feel very uncomfortable with abdominal pain, backache, and feeling particularly cold.
After changing her pad, Zhou Wan sighed.
She hated getting her period in winter the most.
There was no hot water in the school restroom. Zhou Wan washed her hands with cold water, shivered, dried them immediately and stuffed them back into her pockets. Her lower abdomen ached and swelled, as if a hand was pulling all her internal organs downward.
When she walked out of the restroom, she happened to run into Lu Xixiao.
Lu Xixiao glanced at her and frowned: "Why do you look so pale?"
Zhou Wan shook her head: "It's nothing."
Disregarding the classmates passing by, Lu Xixiao raised his hand and pressed the back of it against Zhou Wan's forehead. It wasn't warm - quite cold instead.
"Caught a cold?"
Zhou Wan shook her head: "Really, I'm fine."
His voice deepened: "Zhou Wan."
Zhou Wan didn't know how to explain it to him, feeling embarrassed.
Lu Xixiao grabbed her wrist: "Let's go to the infirmary."
"No need, Lu Xixiao..." Zhou Wan tried to pull her hand back. "Really, I'm fine."
Unable to break free from his grip, she had no choice. After checking that all the other students had left, she finally whispered: "I just... got my period."Lu Xixiao paused, looked at her for a moment, then released his hand and asked in a low voice, "Does it hurt?"
"It's not too bad, just a bit uncomfortable."
The class bell rang at that moment. Zhou Wan quickly waved goodbye to Lu Xixiao and hurried back to the classroom despite the discomfort in her lower abdomen.
Chinese class.
Zhou Wan took out the greeting cards from her desk drawer. Christmas cards nowadays were becoming increasingly exquisite, mostly three-dimensional with vibrant colors.
Zhou Wan carefully read through each card one by one, then wrote reply cards.
When she reached the last card, she paused with the pen in her hand.
What should she write for Lu Xixiao?
After thinking for a while, she lowered her head and wrote seriously—
Lu Xixiao, happy Christmas Eve, merry Christmas.
Wishing you happiness every day, smooth sailing in everything you do, and success in all matters.
Zhou Wan tucked the card into her textbook and placed it in her desk, planning to give it to him after school.
The third period was physical education class. Because she was on her period, Zhou Wan didn't have to run, but after being exposed to the cold wind for dozens of minutes, she felt increasingly uncomfortable with cold hands and feet.
When the class bell rang, Zhou Wan returned to the classroom. While reaching for the textbooks for the next class, she discovered a bag had been placed in her desk.
She froze for a moment, then pulled it out.
Inside the bag was a steaming cup of Jujube Brown Sugar Tea and a hot water bottle.
Just as Gu Meng walked over and saw it, she exclaimed softly, "Wanwan, who gave this to you?"
"I don't know either."
"It must be Lu Xixiao!" Gu Meng said. "Besides Lu Xixiao, who else would dare to court favor with you now?"
"..."
Zhou Wan lowered her eyes, still feeling this wasn't something Lu Xixiao would do, and said softly, "I'll ask him later."
[Zhou Wan: Did you buy the things in my desk?]
[6: Yeah.]
Zhou Wan pressed her lips together, an unusual feeling spreading through her heart.
[Zhou Wan: Thank you.]
[6: Do you still have competition training after school today?]
[Zhou Wan: Yes, we'll have training until the competition day next March.]
[6: I'll wait in the classroom. Come find me after class.]
[Zhou Wan: Okay.]
...
6 PM, training ended.
Zhou Wan returned to the classroom to retrieve the card she had written for Lu Xixiao and put it in her pocket.
When she reached Class 7's doorway, the empty classroom contained only Lu Xixiao. He was sleeping with his head on the desk. Outside the window, darkness had fallen, and with the lights off, the classroom felt particularly desolate.
Zhou Wan walked in and gently pushed his arm.
"Lu Xixiao."
After a moment, he straightened up, frowning, looking very irritable.
Zhou Wan fell silent.
Another two minutes passed before Lu Xixiao ran a hand through his hair and looked at Zhou Wan. The impatience in his eyes faded slightly as he asked in a still-hoarse voice, "Finished?"
"Yeah."
As he straightened up, Zhou Wan saw his textbook lying open on the desk—completely blank, without any notes.
Zhou Wan: "Did you study today?"
He raised an eyebrow: "Can't understand it."
"..." Zhou Wan lowered her eyes. "Then next time I'll give you my notes."
Lu Xixiao curled his lips: "Alright."
He stood up and took the backpack from Zhou Wan's shoulder. It was heavy, weighing down his hand.
As he stood, Zhou Wan caught a glimpse of his desk drawer stuffed full with greeting cards and Peace Apples.
She froze for a moment.
Noticing her gaze, Lu Xixiao said nonchalantly, "Don't know who put them there."
They must be from girls who liked him.
Every year during such holidays, Lu Xixiao's desk drawer would unknowingly fill with various gifts.
Zhou Wan blinked and said softly, "Oh."She clutched the greeting card she had written for him in her pocket—a simple Christmas card with a Christmas tree on the cover, completely incomparable to the exquisite and thoughtful cards in his drawer.
"Let's go," Lu Xixiao said.
Zhou Wan hummed in response, but the card in her pocket ultimately remained ungiven.
She felt a strange discomfort in her chest.
First, she thought the card she had prepared was too plain to be presented, and second, Lu Xixiao had already received so many cards—she didn't want hers to be lost among them.
If that were the case, she would rather not give it at all.
As they walked out of the school gate, Lu Xixiao asked, "Still feeling unwell?"
"Huh?"
He didn't explain, just looked at her.
Zhou Wan understood and lowered her head, biting her lip. "Much better."
She followed Lu Xixiao as they walked further and asked, "Are we having dinner?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"My place."
Zhou Wan froze.
Lu Xixiao lowered his head, idly playing on his phone, and casually explained, "We had leftovers from the barbecue place last time. They’ll go bad if we don’t eat them soon."
Zhou Wan was more familiar with the layout of Lu Xixiao's kitchen than he was. She took out the induction cooker and utensils, then retrieved the refrigerated leftovers from the fridge, checking that they were still fresh.
"Do you have rice at home?" Zhou Wan asked. "There’s no cooked rice yet."
"Probably not," Lu Xixiao said as he sat down at the dining table. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had sat there with someone else. "I’ll order takeout."
The food arrived quickly, and the lamb slices and meatballs in the induction cooker were soon cooked through.
Zhou Wan picked up a piece to taste—it was still delicious.
Lu Xixiao ate faster than she did. After finishing, he lit a cigarette.
Zhou Wan glanced at him, wanting to tell him to smoke less, but in the end, she said nothing.
She finished the last bite of rice in her bowl and asked, "Lu Xixiao, are you still eating?"
"No."
She automatically cleared the dishes and took them to the kitchen to wash.
After a while, Lu Xixiao walked in, went straight to her side, and turned the faucet in the opposite direction. "Didn’t you know to use hot water?"
"...I thought there wasn’t any."
Lu Xixiao leaned against the counter beside her, watching her wash the dishes.
After a moment, he suddenly clicked his tongue in irritation, grabbed Zhou Wan’s arm, and pulled her aside. Then, rolling up his sleeves, he plunged his dry, pale hands into the murky dishwater.
His hands clearly weren’t used to manual labor. Zhou Wan tugged at his sleeve. "Let me do it."
His school uniform was rolled up to his elbows, his bangs hanging over his forehead. His profile was sharp and clean, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The ash had grown long and, as he spoke, it fell onto his sleeve before he shook it off.
"Go study."
The young man worked deftly, wiping the bowls clean with a cloth.
In the soft light of the small kitchen, everything took on a warm, almost illusory quality.
Zhou Wan hesitated for a moment but eventually turned and left the kitchen.
She wiped the dining table clean, then went to the sofa and took out her test papers.
The coffee table was low, and sitting on the carpet was just the right height for her to work.
As she picked up her pen, Zhou Wan noticed faint red spots reappearing on the back of her hand from the cold water, though they were already fading.
When Lu Xixiao finished washing the dishes, he saw the girl curled up on the floor, doing her homework.
So small.
"There’s a table," he said.
Zhou Wan looked up at him and smiled. "It’s fine, I like it this way."
Lu Xixiao let her be and didn’t disturb her further.He was playing on his phone by himself.
After finishing one test paper, Zhou Wan turned to look at Lu Xixiao and asked, "Don’t you have any homework?"
As soon as she asked, she realized he hadn’t even brought his backpack home.
Zhou Wan thought for a moment and said, "Lu Xixiao, let me teach you math first."
He raised an eyebrow, staring at Zhou Wan without speaking, leaning lazily against the sofa with one long leg bent. After a while, he chuckled lightly, "Studying is fine, but no credit."
Zhou Wan paused, then blushed.
Lu Xixiao knew she understood.
Hesitating for half a minute, Zhou Wan awkwardly and slowly stood up, walked over to Lu Xixiao, leaned down, and gave him a very light hug.
"Is that enough?" Zhou Wan asked.
He smiled, sitting up straight with a generous expression. "It’s enough."
Zhou Wan felt that suggesting he study was like lifting a rock only to drop it on her own foot.
She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out the math textbook. "The final exam is coming up soon, and the math scope for this term is based on this book. I’ll start teaching you from the first unit."
Lu Xixiao watched her profile.
He knew Zhou Wan had excellent grades, but only now did he realize that when she was doing something she was good at, her demeanor was completely different from usual.
Confident and resolute.
It was as if beneath her gentle and obedient exterior lay traits like resilience, strength, and tenacity.
She explained everything meticulously, breaking down even the simplest concepts and explaining them thoroughly. After covering the key points of one lesson, she picked corresponding exercises from the workbook for Lu Xixiao to solve.
Lu Xixiao twirled his pen, studied the problems for a while, and then wrote a few formulas on the paper.
The formulas were correct.
Zhou Wan pursed her lips, her mouth curving upward, a faint smile spreading in her eyes. "Now plug in the numbers."
Lu Xixiao was indeed clever—he grasped things quickly.
He soon solved the problem.
Zhou Wan picked two more slightly advanced problems, and he solved them just as quickly.
"Lu Xixiao," she said, her eyes curved into crescents, her pupils sparkling with delight. "You’re really smart."
He stared at her for a moment, slightly dazed, and laughed. "Trying to coax me into studying more, huh?"
Zhou Wan shook her head. "You really are smart. If you study seriously, you’ll see improvement in no time."
Using the opportunity to teach Lu Xixiao, Zhou Wan also treated it as a review for her own final exams. By the time they finished the first three lessons of the first unit, it was already quite late.
"It’s getting late. I should go now."
"Mm." Lu Xixiao stood up.
Zhou Wan stopped him. "No need to walk me back. It’s too cold outside. I’ll run home and be there in no time."
"It’s too late."
After their time together, Zhou Wan’s impression of Lu Xixiao had shifted again. She wasn’t as afraid of him as before.
Hearing his concern, she smiled again and praised, "Lu Xixiao, you’re really a good person."
He paused while putting on his shoes and looked at her. "Don’t give me a 'good person card.'"
"..."
Zhou Wan tightened her scarf and walked with Lu Xixiao through the chilly winter wind.
As the wind blew, she felt a slight, uncomfortable ache in her abdomen.
As they approached the entrance of the neighborhood, a glaring red and blue light caught her eye. Zhou Wan looked up and saw an ambulance parked at the gate.
The usually quiet neighborhood entrance was unusually noisy tonight.
She frowned slightly, feeling inexplicably unsettled by the sound of the ambulance siren.She unconsciously quickened her pace. A neighbor auntie caught sight of her and immediately waved her over, shouting, "Wanwan! Your grandma has fainted—come quickly!"
Zhou Wan’s mind went blank with a buzzing sound.
She rushed over and saw her grandma already being carried on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance.
The neighbor auntie explained beside her, "The property management said there would be a power outage tomorrow. I wanted to bring your grandma some candles, but then I found her collapsed in the living room—it scared me to death."
Life is unpredictable.
Perhaps this is the only universal law in the world.
Zhou Wan’s hands and feet turned cold as she stared at her grandma’s pale face, a creeping dread washing over her heart.
All sorts of terrible thoughts invaded her mind. She couldn’t make a sound—only tears kept falling.
"Zhou Wan." A voice cut through all the chaos and reached her ears.
Her icy hand was enveloped by a warm touch.
Lu Xixiao gripped her hand tightly, his gaze fixed on her eyes as he said in a low, firm voice, "Zhou Wan, calm down."
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