Shаng Zhi Тао сomposеd hеrself and knоcked оn Sun Yuаnzhu's dооr fоr thе first time, wanting tо thank him in person.
He wаs wаtching аn Amеriсаn ТV seriеs, аnd Shаng Zhi Таo sаw his room pilеd high with bоoks. Нe didn't seem tо carе about thе hоlidау, аs саrefreе аs usual.
"Wоw." Shаng Zhi Тaо pоkеd her heаd in frоm the dоorway. "Yоu have so mаnу bоoks!"
"Nоt many othеr hоbbiеs." Sun Yuanzhu wаs а bit еmbаrrаssеd. "Why аrеn't yоu out hаving fun? Where's Sun Yu?"
"Sun Yu's сomраnу orgаnizеd а sоcial evеnt today, said it'll go until midnight. Нas Zhang Lei nоt returned frоm his business triр уet?"
"Nоt yet."
Suddenly unsure what else to say, they fell silent. Sun Yuanzhu noticed Shang Zhi Tao's gaze repeatedly landing on the piles of books in his bedroom and asked her, "Want to come in and see if there are any books you'd like to read?"
"Is it convenient?"
"Of course."
Shang Zhi Tao had never carefully looked at Luan Nian's bedroom—she always felt Luan Nian's bedroom was far removed from her—but she thoroughly examined the books in Sun Yuanzhu's room. For the first time, Shang Zhi Tao understood what a book lover looked like. Apart from books, Sun Yuanzhu had nothing else. He was like a scholar; no matter how the world changed, all he needed was a quiet desk.
Sun Yuanzhu made Shang Zhi Tao feel at ease, a sense of stability that would accompany her for many, many years.
Shang Zhi Tao looked carefully. His reading was eclectic—politics, economics, history, geography, art, physics, astronomy, literature—he had it all. Shang Zhi Tao casually flipped through a few books. On the first page of each, he had tucked his reading notes—just one sheet of paper, with handwriting so beautiful that Shang Zhi Tao even thought it was better than her own. And those books, aside from the covers, had no creases or stains, clean and pristine. Like him as a person, too precious.
"Want to pick a couple to read? Books must be borrowed to be truly read." Seeing her interest, Sun Yuanzhu asked.
Shang Zhi Tao quickly waved her hands. "No, no." She didn't dare borrow Sun Yuanzhu's books. She didn't treat books the way he did—she would scribble in them and fold corners wherever she stopped reading. She was afraid of ruining Sun Yuanzhu's good books.
Sun Yuanzhu was amused by her caution and glanced at his watch. "Huh, it's eleven. Should we two start a book club? Share some good books we've read recently?"
"The book I've been reading lately is Business English." Shang Zhi Tao said self-deprecatingly. "My colleagues at the company are really good at English. Sometimes during international meetings, I can't understand what they're saying."
"Then you can share Business English." Sun Yuanzhu suggested.
"Can I share books I read in college?"
"That works too."
The two hit it off and even went through the motions of washing fruit, sitting face-to-face in the living room, each holding a book. Shang Zhi Tao held "Chronicle of a Blood Merchant," while Sun Yuanzhu held "National Geographic."
Without Sun Yuanzhu, Shang Zhi Tao would have found this Christmas unbearable. Especially when she held her computer, repeatedly reading that travelogue and seeing Luan Nian's smile, she felt utterly absurd.
"I love this book. I've read it four times, and each time I cried uncontrollably."
"I've read it too. Me too." Sun Yuanzhu said.
"Really?"
"Really."Shang Zhi Tao suddenly noticed that Sun Yuanzhu’s sitting posture was very similar to his own—both sat with such straight backs, appearing somewhat humble. Shang Zhi Tao thought her own humility stemmed from her perpetual mediocrity, yet Sun Yuanzhu, so outstanding, still carried himself this way.
Shang Zhi Tao smiled faintly. Just then, the lock on the door clicked, and they both turned to see Sun Yu, who looked as though she had been out under the stars and moon. Her expression was not cheerful, but she still managed a smile toward them. Noticing the books on the table, she murmured, “Are you two reading?”
“We’re having a reading session,” Shang Zhi Tao replied, standing up to take Sun Yu’s coat and hang it for her. She glanced at Sun Yu carefully. “What’s wrong?”
“I ran into my ex-boyfriend. At the place where we held the event, he was with his girlfriend, celebrating Christmas Eve together,” Sun Yu said softly. “Should I not be talking about this? You were having such a nice reading session.”
“I’d actually like to hear it, if you want to share,” Sun Yuanzhu suddenly spoke up. “But I think just talking about it might be too dull. We should eat while we talk.” When he smiled, he revealed a row of neat teeth, single-handedly lifting the spirits of the two women.
Many years later, Sun Yu, drunk, would clutch Shang Zhi Tao’s collar, crying uncontrollably, and grit her teeth to say, “What if there were more people like Sun Yuanzhu in the world?”
Not only did he suggest it, but he also got up and went to the kitchen, rummaging through their limited supplies—instant noodles, tomatoes, and vegetables—to cook a simple dorm-style noodle soup for them. Each of the three had a bowl, and with the first bite, Sun Yu’s tears fell into her bowl. “When we were together, we never went out for holidays.”
At the beginning of their relationship, both were penniless, with pockets emptier than their faces. Every holiday, they would stay at home, claiming they didn’t want to deal with the crowds, but really, it was because they couldn’t keep up with the soaring holiday prices. Or sometimes, they would each be on opposite sides of the city, making a brief phone call to mark the occasion. She had never even received flowers.
Shang Zhi Tao felt as though she had tasted this kind of bitterness before, yet also as though she hadn’t. She didn’t know how to comfort Sun Yu. She wanted to curse her ex-boyfriend as a rotten man, but remembering Sun Yuanzhu was there, she held back.
“Men—there’s a small fraction of them who are truly terrible,” Sun Yuanzhu took the initiative to criticize. “You just happened to encounter one of them. I don’t know how to comfort you, so how about I treat us to a midnight movie?”
Sun Yu laughed through her tears. “A midnight movie? I’ve never been to one.”
“Me neither!”
“What a shame. When I was in school, I always went to midnight movies with my classmates. Shall we go?”
And so they went.
Late on Christmas Eve, the three young people left their home and walked through the bustling streets. The city was already lively, but on such a holiday, the crowds seemed endless. As they moved through the flow of people, they keenly felt their own insignificance.
Everywhere was bustling—even the midnight movie theater on Christmas Eve.
The three of them waited in a long line before finally buying their tickets. The theater was packed, and sitting among couples made them stand out even more. Sun Yuanzhu bought Coke and popcorn for the two women and said to them, “Let’s be as happy as children.”Watching a romance film on Christmas Eve, the beautiful scenes on screen were enviable. Shang Zhi Tao checked her phone several times. She wanted to wish Luan Nian a happy holiday, but felt he must be enjoying himself, and her greeting would likely seem absurd. Sun Yu, noticing her constant downcast gaze, leaned in and whispered, "Don't say anything, trust me."
Sun Yu seemed to have seen through love—the more proactive one was, the worse the outcome, and no one could escape this curse. She didn’t want Shang Zhi Tao to end up like her, utterly defeated. What Shang Zhi Tao had couldn’t even be called love; it was just a man unable to control his impulses, swept away by momentary desire.
"Yeah. I know." Those who are sad tend to cry heavily during romance films, and Shang Zhi Tao was no exception. She didn’t understand what was happening to her. As someone usually so emotionally slow, she had never actively liked anyone before. In the past, Xin Zhaozhou had fallen for her first, and only then did she gradually develop feelings. She never knew that liking someone could feel so bittersweet and timid.
From then on, she fell in love with midnight screenings.
Many times later, she would go to midnight screenings alone. If it wasn’t a holiday, the cinema at midnight was nearly empty. She would choose a quiet film to watch, leaving behind the sadness, confusion, and resentment of certain periods in the theater.
"Is Hokkaido cold?" she suddenly asked as they left the cinema.
"Not too bad," Sun Yuanzhu replied. "It has a temperate monsoon climate. For someone from Ice City, Hokkaido would feel quite cool compared to this time of year back home."
Shang Zhi Tao laughed. "Am I a fake Ice City native? I’m really afraid of the cold. Look at me—I have to wear layers and layers of clothes in winter."
"That’s good, knowing when to bundle up and when to shed layers." Sun Yu linked arms with her. "I’m fine now. Thank goodness I have you both tonight."
"That’s good to hear."
Sun Yuanzhu smiled faintly, his glasses fogging up with frost. He took them off to wipe them clean, leaving faint marks around his eyes from the frames, but it didn’t detract from his clean-cut, gentle appearance. Shang Zhi Tao was about to speak to Sun Yu when she noticed her gaze resting on Sun Yuanzhu—unusually quiet, not at all like her usual playful self. Shang Zhi Tao seemed to understand something in that moment, yet also felt she understood nothing at all.
She quietly shifted positions, moving to Sun Yu’s other side, no longer standing between them.
At three in the morning, Beijing unexpectedly began to snow.
"Many students at our university sing 'Loving Wind and Dust' at times like this," Sun Yuanzhu said to them. "Have you heard it?" He hummed a couple of lines softly.
That evening, white snow began to fall.
It was six kilometers from the cinema back to their residence. All three of them refused to take a taxi, choosing instead to stroll slowly through the snow. They walked in silence, not speaking a word until they reached the building. Suddenly, Sun Yuanzhu asked, "Do you want me to take some photos for you?"
"Sure!" Sun Yu loved taking photos, so she welcomed the idea.
"Wait here, then. I’ll go up and get my camera." Sun Yuanzhu was a photography enthusiast. Sometimes he would buy expensive equipment and bring it along on business trips to capture different cities and people.
He raised his camera and said to the girls standing in the snow, "Yes, just like that, turn your faces slightly to the side." His voice was soft, careful not to disturb the sleeping neighbors. Fortunately, the three of them shared enough tacit understanding to understand even without words.
That day, they wandered through a world of snow, the camera capturing these fleeting moments like light passing by. The girls looked lovely, but their smiles weren’t entirely joyful. Upon closer inspection, traces of melancholy still lingered in their eyes."Should we take a group photo?" Sun Yuanzhu asked.
"Sure."
He set up the tripod in the pavilion of the residential complex, amidst the thin misty dawn light in the snow. They stood there, with Sun Yuanzhu in the middle, his smile bright and clear. Sun Yu looked at him, while Shang Zhi Tao gazed into the lens.
After the photo was taken, a sudden sense of melancholy settled over them.
"How about we go to Mount Tai together to watch the sunrise this summer?" Sun Yuanzhu suggested.
"Great! Let's find a weekend when Zhang Lei isn't too busy either."
Meanwhile, in Hokkaido at that moment, Zang Yao stood facing Luan Nian. A few friends had stayed up all night together. Tan Mian suddenly asked Zang Yao, "Is there any secret about Luan Nian that you've been keeping from us?"
"Truth or dare?" Zang Yao resisted.
"No, just pure curiosity."
Zang Yao nodded and said, "All I know is that we are very, very good friends now. But at the beginning, I remember, neither of us wanted to be friends with each other."
She looked at Luan Nian, testing the waters a little.
Luan Nian had had a bit to drink and was somewhat dazed. He couldn't quite recall what they were like at the start, but he shook his head firmly. "I remember from the very beginning, I only ever wanted to be friends with you."
No one seemed surprised by Luan Nian's words. Everyone knew what kind of person he was—he never minced his words. Even if what he said today might cost him Zang Yao's friendship, he wouldn't have phrased it any differently.
"He's had too much to drink, too much," Tan Mian chimed in, trying to smooth things over. The group laughed together, attempting to laugh away the awkwardness.
"I'm not drunk. I know exactly what I said," Luan Nian cut through their laughter. "Zang Yao, come outside with me to talk."
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