After crossing the street, Cen Jin hugged Teddy, exchanged "Happy New Year" greetings, and they went their separate ways.
The woman turned the corner and entered an elegant bakery, approaching the counter to ask if the four-inch cake she had ordered was ready.
The baker said they were still piping the frosting and it would take a while longer, promising to call her when it was done.
Surrounded by customers jostling shoulder to shoulder, Cen Jin had to step outside for some fresh air.
She looked up at the sky, where snowflakes rushed toward her face as if clouds had been torn apart and scattered. The woman freed one hand and held it in the air, letting snowflakes melt in her palm. Her eyes sparkled, revealing a touch of girlish innocence, but soon she withdrew her hand into her coat pocket, reverting to her usual detached nonchalance.
After standing idly for a moment, Cen Jin took out her phone to check.
The WeChat chatbox was empty. Logically, Li Wu's campus should also be experiencing snow—why hadn't this kid shared anything yet?
Moreover, wasn't he coming home for the New Year?
Suspicious, Cen Jin made a call.
The other end answered neither too quickly nor too slowly, with slightly noisy background sounds, but unlike usual, no one spoke immediately.
Cen Jin chuckled and said, "Hello? Where are you?"
After a few seconds of silence, the reply came: "Still at school."
"Huh?" Cen Jin frowned slightly. "Do you have an event today? It sounds pretty noisy there—are you at the student activity center?"
The young man gave a faint "Mm."
Cen Jin glanced at a streetlamp nearby. "So you won't be coming back today?"
Li Wu still replied with "Mm," then after a pause added, "I won't be able to come back this entire break."
Cen Jin was surprised. "Not even for your birthday?"
"I have things to do during New Year's, no time."
Feeling a bit disappointed, Cen Jin said, "Alright." Just then, someone inside the shop called out, "Miss Cen—" The woman quickly turned and waved before hurriedly saying into the phone, "I have to hang up now."
Cen Jin brought the cake that should have been for Li Wu back home, placed it in the refrigerator, and instead took out a bottle of wine, sitting in the living room to drink by herself.
This New Year felt particularly off for her, perhaps because the past two years had been spent with Li Wu, including his birthday, with clear and definite plans. This sudden disruption left her unsettled, unsure where to place herself.
She sent a message to Chun Chang, asking where she was.
Chun Chang said she had left for Star City with her parents that morning and even sent a picture of a milk tea topped with a thick layer of cream.
Cen Jin rolled her eyes, replied with "Tacky," closed WeChat, and turned on the TV to watch the New Year's gala.
Even though she and Li Wu were apart this New Year, before midnight, Cen Jin still sent him a blessing message.
The young man replied: Happy New Year, sis.
Cen Jin smiled and told him: I bought you a laptop. I was going to give it to you in person, but since you can't come back, I'll just mail it to you tomorrow.
Li Wu replied: No need, I'll buy one myself with my scholarship.
Cen Jin laughed: You haven't even finished your freshman year, and you're so sure you'll get a scholarship? Besides, it's already bought—do you want me to return it?
There was no reply for a while, then finally: Okay.
His sudden distance made Cen Jin slightly uncomfortable. She frowned and asked: What's wrong? I feel like you're not very happy.
Li Wu said: Nothing, just busy. Cen Jin wondered: Busy with what? It's already midnight.Li Wu said: "Let's set off fireworks outside."
Li Wu was indeed setting off fireworks with his roommates on the sports field, but not the large-scale kind that could illuminate the sky—only small, slender pocket-sized sparklers.
All three of his roommates were from out of town with short holidays, so none had gone home.
Seeing the boy return with a gloomy expression, his head and shoulders covered in snow, they were quite surprised.
Li Wu casually made up an excuse to brush it off, and his roommates didn't suspect anything, instead enthusiastically inviting him to join them for a night stroll.
The South Field was packed with students gathering to celebrate the New Year, a bustling crowd. Groups of girlfriends linked arms, while couples held hands or embraced.
The snow lay thick like a white carpet, glowing softly in the night.
Some stomped on it cheerfully, crunching loudly, while others molded snowballs to throw at each other, chasing and running; the entire campus overflowed with the joyous noise of youthful freedom.
The four single science majors from Li Wu's dorm were just there to join the fun.
Xu Shuo, from Jiangnan, found it all novel, rolling around like a cat, almost wishing to bury himself in the snow; Zhong Wenxuan, accustomed to such scenes, shouted loudly, wanting to kick him: "What's the big deal? Is it worth it—"
Li Wu gazed at a few rising sky lanterns, which gradually faded into faint stars in the twilight before disappearing entirely.
He felt like them—loaded with blessings, deliberately sent far away, only to leave no trace behind.
The young man sadly lowered his eyes.
The night was dark and heavy, and no one noticed. Wen Hui handed out a few sparklers, smiling as he distributed them to his roommates: "A girl over there gave them to us."
Zhong Wenxuan's eyes darted around: "Who?"
Wen Hui pointed behind them: "This beauty."
A ponytailed girl leaned out, tilting her head, and waved with a radiant smile: "No need to thank me."
Her pearly white teeth and infectious grin made Zhong Wenxuan unconsciously break into a silly grin: "She really is a beauty."
Hearing this, Xu Shuo quickly stood up, brushed off his pants, and thanked her awkwardly.
Li Wu was replying to Cen Jin's text and was the last to take a sparkler. Noticing this, the girl pointed at Li Wu and asked, "Can these sparklers buy me his WeChat?"
Wow, Xu Shuo shrugged, wearing a look of amusement.
The girl turned to Li Wu, her gaze warm and direct: "I'm Wan Chun, a freshman in New Media. Can I get to know you?"
"Give it to her, Li Wu," Zhong Wenxuan nudged his arm, egging him on.
Li Wu looked at Wan Chun. The girl wore a pink down jacket, her face fair and bright, like a delicate cherry blossom petal lightly resting on the snow.
His roommates' urging voices buzzed incessantly.
In an instant, Li Wu remembered Cen Jin on the opposite sidewalk, the man beside her, and their final embrace.
They seemed sincere and well-matched, at least far more affectionate than the replies she sent him.
She was so bold, so taken for granted, while he, because of his youth and distance, would always be the one she dealt with last, casually.
A few malicious thoughts sprouted, struggling to break through. Li Wu clenched his fists involuntarily. But the next moment, before his vengeful flames could erupt, they extinguished prematurely.
The young man felt utterly disheartened. Without a word, he hurriedly shoved all the sparklers back into his roommate's hands and turned to leave.
Xu Shuo called after him twice, but the boy paid no heed, striding briskly toward the dormitory.
From the field came the unified countdown shouts as students surged forward, rushing toward the New Year. Only Li Wu moved against the tide, carrying a pain as if his heart had been split open.
—
Cen Jin sensed something amiss.That was when Li Wu gradually spoke less, no longer enthusiastic about sharing the colorful updates and observations of his daily life with her. His words became sparse, bland, and faded.
During the winter break when she celebrated the New Year with her parents, she had already sensed something was off. Although they still talked as usual, the young man seemed to stand behind a screen, his features blurred, no longer as transparent to her as before.
Whether intentional or not, he had begun to hide himself. It was as if he had put a lid on an alcohol lamp—the flame extinguished, and the chemical reactions he once sparked in her vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a faint, almost invisible wisp of smoke.
Cen Jin was not one to press her warmth against someone’s cold indifference, so her protective coloring shifted accordingly from warm to cool.
But she couldn’t quite figure out what had gone wrong.
Late at night, in the stillness, Cen Jin pondered for a long time and finally arrived at an answer.
Perhaps her words had become a self-fulfilling prophecy: the little prince had found a flower truly suited to him in a vaster universe, or a like-minded fox, while the tiny planet he once inhabited had indeed become, as she had described, “nothing special.”
Her pride would not allow her to voice her doubts first. Losing the initiative meant she would be relegated to a subordinate position in this relationship, becoming the defeated party.
After all, she was the one who held the power of life and death—the vain, proud rose.
And this vain, proud rose soon contradicted herself.
After Grain in Ear, the company planned to shoot on an island. Cen Jin, prone to seasickness, didn’t travel with her colleagues but drove to the destination herself.
Passing by F University on the way, she deliberately brought along the snacks and clothes she had bought two days earlier, intending to hand them to Li Wu in person.
It was a gesture of goodwill, almost parental in nature, subtly reminding him that she was still there, still within their agreement.
Moreover, she had chosen noon as the meeting time, so it would be natural to share a meal with him before leaving.
She called Li Wu in advance to let him know she was coming.
The young man said he had just left the laboratory and was about to go out for lunch, asking her to wait at the east gate.
Arriving at F University’s east gate, Cen Jin stepped out of the car carrying a paper bag. For no reason, she grew nervous, repeatedly checking her attire and makeup.
Under the bright sunlight, watching the young faces coming and going, Cen Jin suddenly felt a sense of disorientation.
Once, she had been one of them, but now she no longer fit in.
Standing there with an elegant posture, she seemed like a refined, polished product, yet she no longer possessed the purity and innocence of youth.
Soon, she snapped out of her daze as a familiar figure came into view.
The young man was walking from the main road, accompanied by several other students. But he was undoubtedly the most striking among them—tall, with deep, expressive eyes, his demeanor as resilient and outstanding as a cypress tree.
The group, a mix of boys and girls, chatted and laughed together.
Li Wu blended in, focused and undisturbed, not even glancing in her direction. After a moment, he swept a glance over and noticed her. He stopped talking to his companions but continued walking at an unhurried pace, devoid of the half-hesitant, reverent attitude he once had.
Soon, the young man and his group reached the gate.
But he didn’t break away to approach her alone. Instead, he asked the others to wait for him for a while.
It seemed he had no intention of having lunch with her.
Cen Jin curved her lips slightly, picked up the items in her hand, concealed all her emotions, and took the initiative to walk toward him.She raised a smile as exquisite and sharp as a diamond-studded pair of scissors, as if deliberately drawing a line between herself and all the uncut jade present: "I happened to have a business trip to Xianyou Island, so I brought you something along the way."
Li Wu reached out to take the paper bag and thanked her.
They had been looking into each other's eyes the whole time, but it didn't seem like a contest—just an ordinary, casual gaze.
Cen Jin took the opportunity to secretly analyze him, trying to catch a flicker of emotion in the young man's eyes. Unfortunately, his eyes were like a tranquil lake, and nothing more.
Cen Jin averted her gaze and said indifferently, "I'm leaving."
"Alright, drive safely," Li Wu replied in a similar tone before turning to rejoin his classmates.
They had been curiously watching for a while, and a black-haired senior sister with a smile asked, "Li Wu, who was that?"
The young man's voice, carried by the wind, reached Cen Jin's ears with just two casual words: "My sister."
—
After returning from Xianyou Island, Cen Jin fell into a strange loop—a dead end she was too ashamed to admit even to herself.
She no longer initiated contact with Li Wu, but she began consciously studying youthful fashion styles, makeup tutorials for reducing one's apparent age, and those laughable, eye-roll-inducing youth films.
She seized every opportunity for cosmetic treatments and gym sessions, obsessively fixating on her appearance and age like never before.
She had never been like this in the past.
Li Wu's indifference had shattered her confidence, ease, and composure. She once believed that she was the best, most beautiful, and most unique at every stage of her life, but now it seemed that wasn't entirely true.
At least, her long-term ex-husband didn't think so, and her young flirtation didn't either.
Chun Chang noticed this change and grew concerned about her state. During a weekend gathering, she asked what had been going on with her lately.
Cen Jin pushed away any dessert that might hinder her anti-aging efforts, stubbornly denying it: "I'm fine."
Chun Chang eyed her suspiciously: "Are you dating Li Wu?"
"Impossible," Cen Jin denied. "Why would I date a kid like him?"
Chun Chang scooped a spoonful of dessert into her mouth: "Your style has changed so much lately. I thought you were worried about looking out of place next to him."
Cen Jin kept a cold expression: "I'm working; he's in school. How would we even be seen together? I just wanted a change of mood."
"But you look completely unhappy, haha," Chun Chang said bluntly.
Cen Jin's emotions suddenly crumbled, and she could no longer hide her resentment: "I've realized all men are the same, no matter their age."
Chun Chang rested her chin on her hand: "What makes you say that?"
"Li Wu was head over heels for me before. And now? He's only been in college for a short while, and he's a completely different person," Cen Jin said with self-disgust. "I even made a one-year pact with him and stuck to it strictly. It feels so ironic—like I'm the silly eighteen-year-old girl, and I'm almost thirty."
Chun Chang puffed her cheeks with her hands: "Jinjin, I've always thought you were a bit of a girl at heart, at least when it comes to emotions. You seem rational, but it's really because you're afraid of getting hurt by your own sentimentality."
Cen Jin smiled wryly: "That's why I've always ended up miserable—always the one abandoned ahead of time."
Chun Chang looked puzzled: "What's going on with Li Wu?"
"How should I know? Men change their hearts for no reason at all."Chun Chang asked, "You're the one who insisted on that one-year agreement. You should've just held onto him last year."
Cen Jin thought for a moment. "I don't want to use love for trial and error anymore."
Chun Chang took a sip of juice. "How will you know what's right or wrong if you don't try?"
"Shouldn't I be afraid?" Cen Jin's eyes grew slightly warm. She rested her fingers against her lips and turned to look out the clean window of the restaurant. "I don't want to fail in love again. So what's wrong with conducting a small experiment in advance? The results prove I was right—a boy who promised he'd contact me every day became cold and perfunctory after just one semester."
Chun Chang asked, "Then how did you treat him during this experiment?"
"I tried my best. After leaving the supportive relationship and the confined space of recovery, I kept trying to explore and develop a new rhythm for our interactions. But I found it too difficult. Maybe it's because we're too different, and now we barely see each other a few times a year. All efforts seem futile in the face of age and distance. Li Wu probably feels the same way—he's not as passionate about me as before. I'm no longer sure if he still likes me."
Cen Jin sniffled. "Maybe it's because I've never lacked for anything since I was young. I don't need to use love to exchange for anything—fame, status, material things, none of it matters. So I have particularly high standards for the purity of love. The love I want is just love itself. Does the world truly lack that kind of solitary courage, fierce devotion, unwavering commitment, one hundred percent love? Must I really reshape myself to obtain it? Does the price have to be so high? If love requires changing and compromising, is it still true love? Would they still like the real me?"
"I'm so tired of who I've been lately—losing confidence, trying to change. What have I been doing? I won't be like this anymore."
A warm drop escaped from her right eye. Cen Jin quickly wiped it away, pulled her dessert plate back, and began eating it bite by bite.
...
On the first day of August, Li Wu, who had stayed at school over the summer for experiments, received a text message from Cen Jin.
Her tone was as it had always been—not questioning the outcome, but rather like issuing a pardon, along with the promised blessing:
Our one-year agreement ends here. Wishing you happiness and a bright future.
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