That night, Qiao Jingjing slept surprisingly deeply.
The next day was New Year's Eve.
When she woke up, daylight was already streaming in. As she opened her eyes, the aroma of food reached her nose first. Remembering something, she got up and pulled open her bedroom door. Sure enough, familiar voices came from the kitchen—her parents had arrived.
No matter how busy she was, New Year's Eve dinner had to be shared with family. Over the years, she had mostly returned home for the celebrations, but occasionally, like this year, her parents would come to her when work kept her away.
She walked to the kitchen doorway. Her parents beamed at the sight of her. "You're up! We didn't dare disturb you."
Qiao Jingjing walked over and hugged her mother.
Qiao's Mother was slightly surprised and patted her. "Jingjing, what's wrong? Suddenly acting so clingy."
"Nothing," Jingjing mumbled.
Qiao's Father glanced at them while busy cooking, sounding a bit envious. "Isn't your daughter always like this? Hungry?"
"Mhm." Jingjing released her mother. "What's there to eat?"
Qiao's Father had been simmering sweet congee for her. Jingjing sat at the small kitchen table, sipping the congee while listening to her parents bicker about the New Year's Eve feast.
"Why did you bring beef from home too? Such a big piece—we can't finish it. I told you to make more variety but smaller portions. We're leaving early tomorrow morning, and Jingjing doesn't eat much anyway." This was Qiao's Mother.
"The New Year's Eve feast can't be lacking. Having leftovers is a good omen," retorted Qiao's Father, who had recently taken up cooking as a hobby.
"Superstitious. Wasteful," Qiao's Mother concluded.
Jingjing looked up. "You're not staying to leave with me tomorrow evening?"
Her performance at Eastern TV would end around 8 or 9 PM tomorrow. She had assumed her parents would wait to return to Whale City together.
Qiao's Father, slicing the beef, explained, "This year, it's our turn to host the New Year's Day dinner. We need to go back early to prepare."
Jingjing frowned regretfully. "Then it would've been better for me to go back for New Year's Eve dinner today, so you wouldn't have to travel back and forth."
Qiao's Mother said, "But then you'd be the one traveling. We have free time—it's better we come. What if you got stuck in traffic and missed your performance?"
"Oh." Jingjing didn't say more, slowly sipping from her bowl.
A bowl of warm sweet congee slid down her throat, spreading comfort and warmth from within. The empty house once again filled with the lively atmosphere of human life.
The New Year's Eve dinner failed Qiao's Mother's expectations—there were plenty of dishes, but the portions were overly generous. After exchanging a few auspicious greetings, Qiao's Mother began nagging Qiao's Father again.
Soon, both turned their attention to urging Jingjing to eat more.
Jingjing felt troubled—she wanted to eat more too, but thinking of the dress she had to wear for tomorrow's performance, she had to restrain herself.
After dinner, they started watching the Spring Festival Gala. Her parents sat on the sofa, and Jingjing joined them for a while before taking her phone to sit by the floor-to-ceiling window.
Impatient people had already started sending New Year's greetings, but the WeChat message she had sent in the early hours remained unanswered.
At midnight, more New Year's messages flooded in.
She usually just copied and pasted replies, but this year, she seemed to have found patience, sitting by the window and typing countless "Wishing you a happy Spring Festival."
Even after everything quieted down, she didn't put down her phone, unconsciously scrolling through her WeChat feed. When she realized what she was doing, she abruptly stood up.As if awakening from a dream, she found herself ridiculous again.
Early on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Qiao's Father and Qiao's Mother had returned home. Qiao Jingjing ate some leftovers for lunch and went to the venue for rehearsal relatively early in the afternoon.
The performance went smoothly. After it ended around eight o'clock, Qiao Jingjing changed her clothes and left the backstage with Xiao Zhu. Walking toward the parking garage, the thought of finally having a few days off starting tomorrow lifted her spirits noticeably.
Xiao Zhu seemed even more cheerful, skipping along while carrying things, barely able to contain her excitement. Qiao Jingjing asked curiously, "What's got you so happy?"
"Ah, nothing, nothing." Xiao Zhu quickly shook her head in denial, but within three seconds, a mysterious smile spread across her face again.
Qiao Jingjing couldn't be bothered to press further.
However, when they reached the underground garage, she finally understood the source of Xiao Zhu's excitement.
Not far away, beside the car waiting for her, stood a tall, slender man leaning slightly against the vehicle, his eyes downcast as if deep in thought.
Perhaps hearing her footsteps, he seemed to sense her presence and looked up, his gaze shooting straight toward her.
Qiao Jingjing paused mid-step, then walked steadily over to the car.
Yu Tu straightened up, watching her approach the vehicle, and said in a low voice, "You're heading back to Jing City. I'm here to hitch a ride."
Qiao Jingjing fell silent for a moment before turning to Xiao Zhu and asking, "When did he call you?"
"Yesterday afternoon," Yu Tu answered instead.
Xiao Zhu stood nearby, beaming with a sweet, silly grin.
Qiao Jingjing could easily imagine how thrilled Xiao Zhu must have been when she received the call yesterday, then conspired with him to keep it a secret and give her a "surprise." After all, Xiao Zhu didn't know anything—though even if she had known something, Yu Tu probably would have found a way to persuade her.
The driver got out to help them with their belongings. Without a word, Qiao Jingjing pulled open the rear door. The vehicle today was an SUV. Xiao Zhu ran to the other side, about to get in as well, but Qiao Jingjing stopped her, "You don't need to come with me. Spend a few more days with your mom."
Xiao Zhu came from a single-parent family; her mother had long been brought to Shanghai, so they had celebrated the New Year there.
Xiao Zhu said, "It's fine, I can come back tomorrow with the driver. I already told my mom."
Jingjing glared at her. Xiao Zhu raised her hands in surrender, "Alright, alright, I won't tag along. I'll come pick you up later with the driver. You always forget things when you pack by yourself."
Yu Tu suddenly spoke up, "The driver doesn't need to take us either."
Everyone was taken aback. Qiao Jingjing looked at him.
Yu Tu said, "I'll drive."
Although Qiao Jingjing didn't want to speak to him, she couldn't help herself this time: "You have a driver's license?"
"Yes," Yu Tu replied. "Sometimes our unit conducts field environment surveys in extreme conditions—deserts, snowy areas, things like that. I've driven in all of them. You can trust me on a regular highway."
As he spoke, he took out his wallet from his pocket, opened it, and handed a license to Qiao Jingjing. "My driver's license."
Yu Tu sat in the driver's seat as the car slowly pulled out of the underground garage.
Only the two of them were in the car. Qiao Jingjing sat in the back seat, holding Yu Tu's driver's license—she didn't know how she had been so bewitched as to take it from him. Now, holding onto it felt awkward, but returning it seemed strange too.
She turned her gaze to the vibrant street scenes outside the window. The car was excessively quiet. After a while, Yu Tu spoke up, "Jingjing, could you turn on the navigation for me?"Qiao Jingjing gazed out the window without moving, speaking softly, "You don't even know the way—why take over the driver's job?"
Yu Tu fell silent, driving quietly. Yet his presence had already unsettled Qiao Jingjing's heart. After a moment, she asked, "Why are you here? Don't you need to go home for the New Year?"
"I came from Jing City this morning. If yesterday hadn't been New Year's Eve, I would have come yesterday." Yu Tu's voice was equally soft. "Jingjing, I'm impatient."
Qiao Jingjing's heart trembled, and she couldn't help but glance at him. From her angle, however, she could only see his tense jawline and the unusually tight grip he had on the steering wheel.
After a while, Qiao Jingjing said, "I'm going to rest for a bit."
"Alright."
Qiao Jingjing leaned her head against the rear window, though she felt no drowsiness and didn't even pretend to sleep. The phrase "rest for a bit" was merely a polite excuse to maintain silence—a fact both of them understood.
The car left the dazzling city behind and entered the monotonous highway. With no streetlights along the expressway, the interior of the car was dim, illuminated only briefly when passing oncoming vehicles.
Each time the fleeting light flashed, Qiao Jingjing would jolt out of her reverie.
She lowered her head and opened his driver's license.
The photo showed a handsome, sharp-featured face.
He said he was impatient...
She snapped the license shut with a soft "thud."
After an indeterminate amount of time, the car exited the highway and curved into a service area. Qiao Jingjing stirred slightly, and Yu Tu immediately noticed, explaining briefly, "Refueling."
The driver hadn't filled the tank?
She glanced at the dashboard but couldn't make much sense of it. The clock indicated they were about an hour away from Jing City. Hesitating, she said somewhat awkwardly, "I'm going to use the restroom."
Yu Tu adjusted the car's direction. "Alright."
He parked the car in a corner near the public restroom.
Qiao Jingjing put on her mask and got out. When she emerged from the restroom, she saw Yu Tu standing with his back to her near the public sinks, seemingly waiting for her.
Her steps slowed, and Yu Tu turned at just the right moment, explaining calmly, "It's late. I was a bit worried."
Qiao Jingjing hummed in acknowledgment, and they walked back to the car together.
It was the dead of winter, late at night, and the first day of the New Year. The service area was nearly empty, quiet and desolate, so silent that they could almost hear each other's breathing.
As Yu Tu walked beside her, her down jacket occasionally brushed against his overcoat, creating an inexplicable, suggestive intimacy. Qiao Jingjing moved slightly away and instinctively quickened her pace.
When they reached the car, Qiao Jingjing headed for the back seat as usual. But just as her hand touched the door handle, a man's hand suddenly shot out, pressing firmly against the door.
His sharp, masculine presence enveloped her instantly.
Qiao Jingjing's heart raced, but she didn't move. After a long moment, Yu Tu's restrained, husky voice came from above her.
"Does it really mean nothing anymore?"
Qiao Jingjing stared fixedly at his hand on the door.
"Why did you write to me, answering those questions? Do you regret it? Because I was so foolish back then, and it moved you?"
Qiao Jingjing whispered, "I don't want it like this, Yu Tu."
A flicker of bitterness passed through Yu Tu's eyes. "Did I do something incredibly stupid?"
Qiao Jingjing pressed her lips together."These days, I've been writing letters late into the night, yet I never felt tired—filled with ambition and anticipation, thinking you'd be happy when you received them. Jingjing, for thinking this way, has my IQ dropped below zero?"
His voice was hoarse. "All the foolish things I've done in my life have probably been for you."
"But I couldn't think of any other way," he said softly. "It wasn't because I saw the chat history that I regretted it—I'd already regretted it long ago, I just didn't dare admit it."
"Later, I went on a business trip and stayed in the desert for a month. I thought I was still struggling, but one day I realized I spent very little time struggling—most of the time, I was thinking about how to win you back."
"I even started blaming you."
Blaming her?
Qiao Jingjing finally turned to look at him.
Yu Tu slowly raised his hand and removed her mask, his gaze gentle yet bitter. "Blaming you for why you came to ask me so soon. If you had given me a little more time, I would have surrendered to myself, and then it would have been me asking you."
Even though she knew she shouldn't let him lead her like this, Qiao Jingjing couldn't help asking, "Ask what?"
"Ask, 'Are you willing to be with me?'"
The air seemed to freeze.
Facing each other, Yu Tu looked at her seriously and solemnly, asking once more: "Jingjing, are you willing to be with me?"
Qiao Jingjing looked at him, unable to suppress the stinging in her eyes.
The person before her—she had liked him for far too long. There was a time when she had let go, yet he returned so easily.
He embodied everything she loved; he defined her understanding of what it meant to love someone.
Could she refuse him?
Deep down, she knew it would be incredibly difficult, but this realization only made her feel aggrieved and sad.
After a long silence, Qiao Jingjing lowered her head, her voice subdued. "I'm somewhat willing, but saying that doesn't make me happy."
In an instant, Yu Tu felt as if his heart had been shattered, a sharp pain piercing through his entire body. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he pulled her tightly into his embrace.
"I'm sorry."
In that moment, all intelligence and emotional wisdom turned to ashes. Facing the deeply aggrieved girl in his arms, he felt utterly confused and helpless.
He held her even tighter, murmuring repeatedly in her ear, "I'm sorry."
Qiao Jingjing didn't struggle, allowing him to hold her close, her cheek pressed against the soft collar of his overcoat. She felt weak, but right now, she didn't want to think.
"I don't want to be with someone I like more than he likes me," she said.
"That reason doesn't hold," Yu Tu replied. "I don't like you any less."
"You do," she accused him. "You said we weren't suitable."
"That was because I was considering some very mundane reasons, like income," Yu Tu said with difficulty. "Like what I could give you, whether I'd have time to take care of you properly."
"I don't have time to take care of you either," Qiao Jingjing said. "When you truly like someone, you act impulsively—you don't hesitate or struggle, you don't overthink."
"Then I guess I'm different from you. I overthink—more than you can imagine."
"What else?"
"Probably, I've thought through almost an entire lifetime."
Qiao Jingjing stayed quiet in his embrace for a while before stubbornly saying, "Anyway, it's less than me."
Yu Tu's heart ached with tenderness."Then how about this." He lowered his head, "Tell me your calculation method. How to calculate the amount, then I'll make up for it, but you can't even tell me your calculation formula."
Qiao Jingjing blinked, feeling somewhat confused. What on earth was this calculation formula?
Why did this suddenly appear in their conversation?
She remained dazed for a moment, "...You're bullying me again."
Yu Tu: "..."
He immediately said, "I was wrong."
"I didn't agree to you."
Yu Tu sighed: "I know."
After a while.
Qiao Jingjing said softly, "I'm cold."
"Then let's get in the car, but will you sit in the front?" Yu Tu was practically coaxing her, "Help me with the navigation, I really don't know the rest of the way."
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