Yun Li heard the beep and felt the arms around her tighten. She turned her head, lifting her chin to look at Fu Shize, who gazed back at her expressionlessly.
As if waiting for her to continue.
Feigning composure, she pried his fingers loose and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, her mind racing.
She hadn’t told her best friend about their relationship. When Deng Chuqi asked, she hadn’t acknowledged his status either.
That probably wasn’t great.
Would he be upset about this?
Yun Li peeked out from the kitchen. Fu Shize’s eyes were lowered, his expression unreadable. Maybe she was overthinking it. Returning to the couch, she took a sip of water. "Let’s keep watching the movie," she said.
Fu Shize toyed with the remote, making no move to press play.
Yun Li nudged his knee, casually signaling him to hurry up. A few seconds later, Fu Shize hit play. Yun Li got up to turn off the lights, and the projection flickered onto the wall.
She sat on one side of the couch while Fu Shize reclined against the other, one leg drawn up.
It was a popular romance film, devoid of suggestive or risqué scenes—mostly innocent heart-fluttering moments and sweeping natural landscapes. After watching for a while, Yun Li shifted closer to him.
The only light in the room came from the projector, casting shadows across his face. She turned to look at him. His gaze was fixed on the screen, calm and unbothered, as if he wasn’t angry at all.
But his arms were crossed.
She inched even closer, sitting right in front of him.
She wasn’t paying attention to the movie at all, tentatively trying to coax him out of his mood. After a while, the person behind her relented, pulling her into his arms.
Relieved that he’d finally softened, Yun Li relaxed.
The movie was only an hour and a half long, ending on a happy note. As the credits rolled, Yun Li tilted her head back to look at him—only to find him leaning against the couch, eyes closed.
Asleep.
"……"
Yun Li thought the movie was a bit too wholesome, but apparently not boring enough.
She studied his sleeping face—his distinct lashes, the slight slant of his eyes. She reached out to touch his eyelashes. His brows furrowed slightly, his closed eyelids trembling faintly.
Another nightmare.
She remembered the first time she’d seen him curled up on the couch in EAW’s break room, his shoulder blades sharp under his shirt. She realized that whenever night fell, an invisible darkness enveloped him, trapping him in an endless cycle he couldn’t escape.
Yun Li gently smoothed the crease between his brows. His expression eased as if soothed. Encouraged, she lightened her touch until his eyes opened, his fingers closing around hers.
Caught off guard.
She instinctively tried to pull back, but he held her in place. With utter nonchalance, he guided her hand back to his forehead, closed his eyes again, and maintained steady breathing.
Yun Li: "……"
He couldn’t even pretend to sleep properly.
……
Before leaving, Fu Shize sent Yun Li the address of a revolving restaurant—he’d booked dinner for New Year’s Eve. Located on the top floor of Tianqi Mall, the restaurant offered a panoramic view of the city’s nightscape.
She called Yun Ye. The siblings usually spent New Year’s Eve together, and the thought of not being with him this time felt oddly unfamiliar. Yun Ye was leaning against his bed, playing a game on his tablet. He set his phone aside without looking up. "What?"
Yun Li, already confident about her perfect New Year’s plans, asked sweetly, "What are you doing tomorrow for New Year’s?""New Year's Eve?" Yun Ye glanced up at her, nonchalantly saying, "What's there to celebrate if you're not around?"
Yun Li was taken aback for a moment. Though the boy's features had matured over the years, his familiar aura still lingered between his brows. She couldn't resist teasing him, "How sentimental of you."
Changing the subject, she asked, "How did you convince Mom and Dad to let you play games?"
"This game is just a biology tree—basically reviewing what I learned in biology class." Yun Ye started explaining, then suddenly shut off his tablet. He jumped off the bed, shuffled over in his slippers, and leaned closer to the camera.
Yun Li warned, "Don't jump so hard you break the floor."
Yun Ye: "..."
He picked up his phone and flopped back onto the bed, his face close to the screen, his usual sulky expression intact. "Are you spending New Year's Eve alone tomorrow?"
When talking to Yun Ye, Yun Li often multitasked—scrolling through E-Station or playing games. Without looking at him, she replied offhandedly, "Why do you care?"
Yun Ye shot back, "I don't. I just hope you're as miserable as I am."
After exchanging their usual banter, they hung up. Her phone buzzed—Yun Ye had sent her a red envelope labeled simply: [For Yun Li's New Year's Eve].
"..."
Why did she suddenly feel a pang of guilt?
After the call with Yun Ye, Yun Li dialed Deng Chuqi. There was silence on the other end. Seizing the moment, Yun Li quickly apologized, "Qiqi, don't be mad. I was planning to tell you the next time we met."
"Fine, I'm not too heartbroken." Deng Chuqi laughed, pretending to be aloof for a moment. "Was that voice Xia Xia's uncle? Didn't take you long to get together."
Yun Li grew bashful and murmured, "Yeah."
Deng Chuqi pressed, "How did it happen? What's the progress like?"
Yun Li skimmed over the details, giving a rough outline.
"After chasing him for so long with no results, now that you've stopped, things are moving full steam ahead." Deng Chuqi teased, "But looking at it this way, you were probably the one he wanted to meet all along."
After sharing the story, Yun Li circled back to her question: "He asked me to have dinner on New Year's Eve. Does that mean we're celebrating together?"
"Of course it does."
Deng Chuqi pondered deeply. "I can't figure out Fu Shize. I thought he was asexual, but now it seems like maybe not."
Confused, Yun Li asked, "What do you mean?"
Deng Chuqi suddenly turned serious. "Lili, you need to protect yourself. New Year's Eve ends at midnight—no sleepovers."
Yun Li: "..."
The next day, after lunch, Yun Li sat at her vanity, spending a long time on her makeup before pulling out a camel-colored sweater dress from her closet.
Before changing, she texted Fu Shize: [Can you send me a full-body photo of what you're wearing today?]
Without asking why, he sent a photo a few minutes later.
A dark gray sweater and light gray casual pants.
Yun Li: [What about your coat?]
Fu Shize sent another photo.
A black trench coat.
Using his photos as reference, Yun Li picked out a similar dark gray fitted sweater, a skirt, and a long black wool coat from her wardrobe.
After trying them on, she took a photo and sent it to Fu Shize.
Caption: [We're matching today.]
Yun Li left early to stop by Sea Sky Mall and look for a gift for Fu Shize.
After browsing the mall, she paused in front of a scent diffuser store.
He had trouble sleeping.Yun Li picked out a vetiver scented candle, giving it a test sniff—it carried hints of lemon and lemongrass. The candle was neatly packed into a small box, then placed inside an elegant paper bag.
Standing by the roadside, Yun Li drafted a text message, intending to ask Fu Shize to pick her up at Sea Sky Mall. The two shopping centers were quite a distance apart, and as she stood there, she didn’t notice the commotion behind her.
Suddenly, someone’s panicked shout pierced the air: “Robbery! Robbery!”
Alert, Yun Li glanced to her right but saw nothing unusual. Then, rapid footsteps pounded behind her, followed by a rough yell: “Get out of the way!”
Before she could react, Yun Li was knocked to the ground from her left side. The gift bag she had been holding flew out of her hand.
The robber staggered slightly from the collision but quickly regained his balance and sprinted off, snatching her gift bag along the way.
The incident happened too fast. Kneeling on the ground, Yun Li felt a wave of bewilderment. “My things…”
Someone from behind continued chasing the robber, but within seconds, both figures had vanished.
Her phone rang from her pocket. Brushing the dust off her knees, Yun Li struggled to stand up. She pulled out her phone—the caller ID showed Fu Shize. She tapped to answer. “Hello?”
“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
Yun Li scanned her surroundings. “I’m on the road behind the north gate of Sea Sky Mall.” A sharp pain shot through her right hand, forcing her to switch the phone to her left, making her movements awkward. She examined her right hand—the back of it had scraped against the concrete when she fell, leaving a large patch of skin torn. Blood mixed with dirt.
The sight made her queasy, and she quickly looked away. Frustration welled up inside her. “I might be late.” Not only had she fallen, but her gift was also gone.
Fu Shize: “What happened?”
As a child, whenever she fell and returned home, Yun Yongchang would scold her harshly, calling her a troublemaker. Out of instinctive fear, Yun Li hesitated to explain the situation directly.
Fu Shize asked patiently again: “What happened?”
His tone put her at ease.
Not wanting to worry him too much, Yun Li deflected. “The restaurant you booked seems hard to get into. I might be late—can we push back the reservation?”
Fu Shize ignored her question. “Wait for me at the north gate of Sea Sky Mall.” The call didn’t disconnect. Yun Li heard the sound of an engine starting. She thought he had forgotten to hang up, but then his voice came through again—
“Keep the call on.”
Not wanting Fu Shize to arrive and find her missing, Yun Li stood in a conspicuous spot by the roadside, gently blowing on the wound on her hand.
Fu Shize’s car arrived quickly. Once Yun Li settled into the passenger seat, he pulled over to a temporary parking spot by the road.
He turned off the engine, his gaze sweeping over her from head to toe, not missing a single inch of her skin.
Under his laser-like scrutiny, Yun Li asked again, “Can we delay the restaurant reservation?”
The man beside her remained silent. He unbuckled his seatbelt, leaning closer. Yun Li froze as Fu Shize found her injured hand, lightly supporting it. His brows furrowed. “What happened to your hand?”
There was no hiding it now. Yun Li admitted bluntly, “I bought you a gift, but it was just stolen…” With each word she spoke, his dark eyes visibly chilled, as if he could obliterate the entire galaxy in the next second.Yun Li turned around to comfort him: "That person bumped into me, and I just took a little fall. It's nothing serious, just a bit of scraped skin."
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