Rаin and snow pаttеred agаinst the window, rustling sоftlу—this wаs thе first snоwfаll, arriving at thе tail end of 2006.
Wei Qingyue finаllу grasрed thаt sеnsе оf déjà vu, which саmе frоm thе lettеrs. It felt as though, just bу rеading thеse words, a quiеt, reservеd facе еmеrgеd bеhind thеm—аlways sееming aроlоgetiс.
Eаrlу in the morning, thе sсhoоl janitors werе sweeping thе раthwaуs. In the flower bеds, rеsiliеnt rosеs wеrе still in blооm, сrownеd with а laуer оf white snow whilе their vibrаnt rеd рetаls рееked through undernеath, giving off an eeriе, fragile beаuty. As Jiаng Du and Wаng Jingjing рassеd by the flower beds, Jiang Du lingered for a few seconds, pointing at the flowers and saying, "Look, there’s a flower that hasn’t withered yet."
This was the rose’s final act of defiance, but beneath the frost and snow, it wouldn’t hold out much longer.
Wang Jingjing also sighed, "It’s so cold, and they’re still blooming? I thought roses bloomed in spring or summer?"
A gust of wind swept up the powdery snow from the trees, scattering it down and making it hard to keep their eyes open. Yet the cool, fragmented flakes felt refreshing against their faces. In the corridors, traces of snow brought in by students’ shoes quickly melted, leaving irregular puddles of water. Students from each class’s cleaning duty were mopping the floors with dry mops. As they worked, some boys started chasing and roughhousing like children, filling the hallway with noisy commotion.
The snow fell just in time for the Western holiday season—Christmas and Christmas Eve. Somehow, the trend of gifting apples had caught on. A large red apple stamped with "Merry Christmas," wrapped in decorative paper, sold for five yuan—what a rip-off. Teacher Xu reminded everyone not to get too caught up in Western holidays and to focus on celebrating our own traditional festivals instead. The reasoning was sound, but some didn’t listen, still exchanging apples in private.
Jiang Du wasn’t one to join in the holiday festivities, but Wang Jingjing loved it. Seeing Jiang Du’s lack of enthusiasm, she kept nudging her arm, saying, "What’s wrong? You look like you’re observing Tomb-Sweeping Day."
As it turned out, they ran into Zhang Xiaoqiang and a few others at the small shop. They were trying on red headbands—fluffy and adorable. The girls exchanged greetings, browsing through the boutique, picking up random items and holding them up against each other, their laughter spilling everywhere.
"See, even Zhang Xiaoqiang, who’s such a good student, likes celebrating Christmas. Don’t be so aloof!" Wang Jingjing chuckled, suddenly plopping a Santa hat onto Jiang Du’s head. With her fair skin, the red hat made her face appear even more translucent, her features distinct and delicate.
Jiang Du looked at herself in the mirror, about to say something, when she suddenly yanked the hat off. Behind her, a pair of familiar eyes appeared in the mirror, watching her.
Her hair instantly became tousled and messy. While Jiang Du was still frozen in place, Wang Jingjing also noticed Wei Qingyue and exclaimed in surprise, quickly greeting him:
"Hey, Wei Qingyue, you shop at places like this too!"
Wang Jingjing didn’t hide her astonishment at all, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Wei Qingyue glanced at the Santa Claus doll in her hand and smiled, saying he was there to buy some things. The housekeeper who cooked for his family had brought her granddaughter over last time, and the little girl had insisted on having a Christmas tree. The child had heard about it somewhere but had no idea what a Christmas tree actually was. Wei Qingyue had promised to buy her a Christmas tree with lights that could glow. The housekeeper was quite embarrassed and repeatedly declined, saying the child had just mentioned it casually and he shouldn’t take it seriously.That time, the aunt had no choice but to bring her granddaughter along because the child's mother was sick and there was no one else to look after her. Wei Qingyue found the little girl too noisy—her chatter gave him a headache—but he felt too embarrassed to say anything. After agreeing to help, he believed he should keep his promise, even though the other party was just a child. Adults often think they don’t need to keep promises to children, just like his mother, who had promised to bring him abroad someday. Year after year passed, and nothing ever came of it.
But children are not without awareness.
Soon, Zhang Xiaoqiang also noticed Wei Qingyue and naturally walked over to talk to him, helping him pick out Christmas gifts.
The girls planned to each buy something small, inexpensive enough for students to afford.
When Wei Qingyue went to pay, he suddenly glanced at them and said, “I’ll cover it for everyone.”
Everyone froze for a moment: Was the top student really this generous?
Everyone knew his family was wealthy, but Wei Qingyue was so aloof—he hardly ever spoke to girls. This time, though… The girls exchanged glances, unable to believe it.
Because it was Wei Qingyue, everyone felt a bit awkward and restrained. If it had been any other boy, they would have teased him and taken advantage of the situation, but in front of Wei Qingyue, they couldn’t bring themselves to do so. Seeing everyone’s hesitation—some fiddling with their hair, others covering their mouths—Zhang Xiaoqiang took the lead. With a straightforward gesture, she placed her items on the counter and said, “Well then, top student, go ahead and pay for us.”
Only Jiang Du remained near the mirror, quietly watching the scene. Wang Jingjing was so excited she tugged Jiang Du forward. “Hurry, Wei Qingyue is paying. Let’s go over too.”
Jiang Du didn’t move, making Wang Jingjing as frantic as an ant on a hot pan. She shoved something into Jiang Du’s hand. “Just buy this Christmas hat. It looks good on you.”
“I don’t want it,” Jiang Du gently pushed it back.
“Hey, you two, come over quickly. The big spender might run off,” Zhang Xiaoqiang called out with a laugh. Beside her, Wei Qingyue’s gaze shifted over. Under the lights, his eyelashes trembled slightly.
Zhang Xiaoqiang urged her, “Jiang Du, pick something. Everyone else has already chosen.”
Yes, everyone had picked something. Wei Qingyue was paying for everyone, so there was nothing special about it. At that moment, Jiang Du felt an inexplicable stubbornness rise within her. She didn’t want it—she didn’t want this kind of gift. Besides, she didn’t even like holidays like Christmas.
Jiang Du simply shook her head with a faint smile, then gave Wang Jingjing a gentle push from behind and walked out of the boutique first. As she passed Wei Qingyue, she sensed his gaze falling directly on her, light and silent like snow. But Jiang Du felt like she was about to cry. She knew this might be the only real interaction she’d have with him during her high school years—a gift he paid for, something she could treasure for a lifetime.
Yet it wasn’t what she wanted. Blending in with everyone else, her presence blurred, he might not even remember that on Christmas 2006, he generously bought small gifts for the girls.
It was with this profound sense of regret that Jiang Du walked out of the small shop. The cold wind howled, carrying the lingering chill of the snow.
Behind her, the shop bustled with people, filled with laughter and chatter—none of which belonged to her.
Evening self-study was even more chaotic. The class monitor went to the front of the classroom and banged on the desk several times. Restlessness filled the air. Someone had peeled an orange, and the fresh, fruity scent wafted through the classroom. Everyone was sharing the orange, and Lin Haiyang came over to give Jiang Du a piece—a large one.Wang Jingjing fiddled with the doll she had chosen, not forgetting to ask Jiang Du, "What's really going on with you? You were so hard to talk to today. Look, even the class monitor tried to persuade you, and you still didn’t give Wei Qingyue any face. Later, those girls are going to say you’re putting on airs. Ugh, I bet they’ll say that about you."
Maybe so, there was a bit of putting on airs, but it was the kind of feeling where you didn’t know how sad you really were. Jiang Du didn’t speak, just smiled and began eating the orange seriously. The sweet and sour taste spread across her taste buds, but her heart felt blocked, as if she were swallowing blades.
"Is it good? I’ll give you two more." Lin Haiyang tossed two more oranges over, accidentally hitting the doll, which made Wang Jingjing immediately throw them back in anger.
Lin Haiyang said, "What are you doing? You might not eat them, but Jiang Du still wants to!"
These two adversaries were like fighting roosters, never a day without puffing up their feathers and squabbling. Jiang Du’s hands grew sticky from eating, and the classroom was once again in a state of distracted idleness, so she simply stepped out.
The wind was dark, the air dry and cold. She buried her mouth in her scarf and, as she passed by Classroom One, quickly glanced inside. It seemed a bit chaotic there too.
She headed to the comprehensive building, where there were fewer people. On campus, a few figures lingered, and occasionally a sudden burst of laughter would erupt, only to end abruptly, leaving her unsure who was roughhousing. The more clamorous it felt, the more desolate it seemed. Jiang Du remembered watching the myriad lights from her aunt’s window on New Year’s Eve. In the living room, her aunt’s family was watching the Spring Festival Gala, while she had returned to her room early, listening to the intermittent laughter. Her heart felt as if a bleak snow were falling endlessly. Her aunt was actually very kind and warm to her, but she felt no sense of belonging. She was a guest, and she thought, probably no one liked having an outsider in their home on New Year’s Eve. So, she avoided staying in the living room, drank little water to minimize trips to the bathroom, and tried not to make her presence felt.
When Grandma said she could go back, she immediately ran home.
Next week was New Year’s Day. Grandma and Grandpa always called it the solar calendar New Year. Once the solar calendar New Year passed, the Lunar New Year wasn’t far off, and she would be another year older.
Jiang Du’s mind was filled with random thoughts as she stood in front of the comprehensive building, noticing that the flowers and plants in the flowerbeds on both sides had long since frozen to death.
"Jiang Du." Someone called her.
The tall, slender figure of the boy stood under the streetlight, somewhat shadowy. Jiang Du stared in surprise at Wei Qingyue. How could he be here?
"I thought it looked like you, and it really is you." Wei Qingyue walked over. He seemed like a passing dragonfly, pausing briefly here.
The faint scent of smoke lingered on the boy. Jiang Du knew he must have been hiding somewhere to smoke.
"I came to wash my hands. I just ate an orange," Jiang Du said awkwardly, holding her hands out, which were quite cold.
Wei Qingyue smiled. "Come all this way? Earlier, why didn’t you pick a gift?"
Caught off guard by the question, Jiang Du clearly wasn’t prepared. In her haste, she said, "I don’t really feel anything about Christmas. There wasn’t a gift I liked, so I didn’t want to waste your money."
"Is that so? I thought all you girls liked little trinkets." He paused briefly, finally remembering something. "Don’t you have a charm on your pencil case?"
It was that Tweety Bird.
Jiang Du didn’t know how to respond. Explaining it would require saying too much. She fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke somewhat gloomily, "I just don’t like some of the things I have, but there are things I do like."Wei Qingyue didn’t seem to mind this matter either. He sniffed lightly, exhaling puffs of white vapor, and said, “Could you help me deliver a letter to—” he paused briefly, “to Wang Jingjing, your classmate.”
Something seemed to shatter before her eyes, like stars exploding across the sky. For a moment, Jiang Du felt blinded. She looked up and saw the vast expanse of sky behind Wei Qingyue. In reality, there were no stars—it was just her illusion.
Just like how she had never imagined Wei Qingyue would write back.
Jiang Du stared blankly at the boy, suddenly overwhelmed by a fresh wave of bitterness. He had written back—to Wang Jingjing.
“Is it inconvenient?” Wei Qingyue’s tone remained as natural as ever.
She was too stiff to utter a single word.
“If it’s inconvenient for you, I can—”
“It’s fine!” Jiang Du abruptly cut him off. She lowered her head, tugging at her scarf, trying her best to hide her unease from Wei Qingyue.
“Thanks,” Wei Qingyue joked again, “In that case, I really should buy you a gift. After all, I’m troubling you.”
Would she become the go-between for the two of them now? Replacing Lin Haiyang with her.
Jiang Du’s eyes stung fiercely. She could hardly breathe, but her mind wasn’t filled with resistance or any other thoughts. She didn’t even know what this overwhelming emotion was.
“No need, you’re too polite,” she said slowly.
Wei Qingyue pulled something out of his pocket—a crumpled letter, hastily written on a torn page from a diary, without an envelope. When he handed it to Jiang Du, she glanced up at him again.
Their eyes met in silence.
“You and Wang Jingjing are good friends, right?” Wei Qingyue had more to ask. Jiang Du nodded.
“At the end of the letter, I left my QQ number. Tell her to add me,” the boy explained straightforwardly.
Had he fallen for Wang Jingjing? The thought flashed through Jiang Du’s mind like a shooting star. Clutching the letter tightly, as if she were temporarily holding someone else’s treasure, she silently walked back to the classroom building.
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