Chapter 23

At the New Year’s dance, Du Ruo stole the spotlight.
But that spotlight faded, just as quickly as it had come.
Everyone got busy with their own lives and studies. Du Ruo was no exception.
After the dance, the excitement subsided, leaving life to slip quietly back to its usual routine. Calm and steady, day by day.
She wanted to try being all kinds of new versions of herself, but she also knew how to come back down, wiping off her makeup, shedding the red dress. There was always a real road ahead to walk.
The Spring Festival would come in early February, so winter break started late January.
Just a couple weeks after the dance, final exams arrived, swirling down with the snow.
Du Ruo and her classmates darted through the icy campus, heads buried in review and study guides.
Finally, the last exam finished, and winter break began.
A mass exodus followed, students packing up and heading home.
Xia Nan and Qiu Yuchen went home that very day; He Huanhuan, too, had booked a last-minute flight to get back as soon as possible.
But Du Ruo planned to work tutoring jobs over the break, saving up cash; she wasn’t going home for New Year’s.
Her two Beijing roommates invited her to hang out, and Du Ruo promised she’d catch up with them if she was free.
By sundown, the whole dorm was empty.
The dorm building buzzed with the chaos of break, boxes rolling, doors slamming, teary hugs at the end of hallways.
But none of it really had anything to do with Du Ruo.
A few hours later, the halls were silent, everyone else had gone home.
With exams over, Du Ruo had no reason to hit the library. She washed her clothes, shoes, bedding, sheets; hung them out to dry, then scrubbed the dorm spotless again.
Late at night, the dorm manager dropped by, taking names of students staying for the Spring Festival.
When Du Ruo wrote down her name, she noticed there were maybe a dozen others scattered here and there. Who knew what kept the rest of them at school, maybe for reasons like hers, maybe not.
After the check-in, Du Ruo called her mom.
Her mom and grandma were back home, doing fine, no arguments, just a gentle reminder to take care of herself.
Late at night, He Huanhuan posted nine photos from Chengdu, hotpot, skewers, spicy noodles, a feast of comfort food.
Xia Nan liked the post.
Qiu Yuchen commented one word: “Wild!”
Du Ruo grinned, liked it too, then rolled over, shut off her lamp, and went to sleep.
She had the slightest ache of missing home, but quickly pushed it aside.
No time for nostalgia, she was teaching a tutoring lesson early the next morning.
Her student was a total character, an art major catching up on general subjects, after chasing off a handful of male teachers. His mom had finally decided to hire a girl, and as expected, he shaped up right away.
Honestly, Du Ruo didn’t find him so difficult, he wasn’t exactly warm, but at least he wasn’t rude. A saint compared to that brat Jing Ming.
Even after the one-on-one lesson, she’d hustle to cram school for group classes during break.
Back at campus each night, she was still busy, always some project in the lab to distract her.
Lately, she was obsessed with inertial measurement units, digging through research, running experiments, doing everything she could to boost their sensitivity and accuracy.
Life alone was busy in its own peculiarly satisfying way.
But sometimes, walking across campus, she’d notice just how eerily quiet everything was, dorms, library, classrooms, cafeterias, all deserted. Everywhere silent as if the world had paused to take a breath.
Another cold winter, everything faded, the world like a post-apocalyptic movie set.
She wondered where all the other students sticking around had hidden themselves. She felt like Wali the robot, keeping herself entertained in a great, empty city.
As Spring Festival approached, classes ended at the cram school.
Campus grew even emptier, the whole city hollowed out. One evening, out to grab a bite, Du Ruo found the busy main street deserted, not a soul or car in sight.
Now, she really was the only one stranded in the lonely city.
With Lunar New Year’s Eve looming, even Du Ruo found herself helplessly missing home, bittersweet ache creeping into her chest.
On New Year’s morning, Xia Nan, Qiu Yuchen, and He Huanhuan all called her in turn with their greetings. Du Ruo put on a cheerful front, laughing along. Qiu Yuchen was living it up with family in Thailand. Xia Nan invited her over for New Year’s dinner, but Du Ruo declined politely. That was their family thing, she didn’t want to intrude.
Toward afternoon, she got ready to head out and find someplace selling food for a takeaway dinner.
She was just about to head out when Ming Yi called: "You didn't go home? Why didn't you tell your aunt?"
It turned out Ming Yi had called Du Ruo's mom to wish her a happy new year, only to find out Du Ruo was still in Beijing.
Ming Yi instantly insisted she come spend New Year's at their house.
Du Ruo tried to decline, but Ming Yi said, "If you don't come, I'll drive over and pick you up from school right now."
She had no choice but to say, "I'll go by myself."
Hanging up, Du Ruo let out a sigh.
Spending New Year's alone in the dorm wouldn't have been so bad. Missing home? Just sleep through New Year's Eve. When you wake up, it'll be a new year.
But going to Jing Ming's house...
Du Ruo braced herself and decided to go.
She washed her hair and took a quick shower, tidied up, pulled on a brand new red sweater, and layered a crisp white wool coat on top.
She spent ages tracking down a supermarket still open, bought a few gifts, and took the subway over.
The subway station was eerily empty.
Because it was New Year's Eve, even the staff greeted her with big smiles: "Happy New Year!"
Arriving at the Jing family villa, she stepped inside to find the whole house buzzing. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, a true four generations under one roof.
The Jing house was massive, the living room alone was easily over a hundred square meters, busy but never crowded.
Ming Yi greeted Du Ruo at the door, took her hand, shot her a look, and simply sighed under her breath: "Silly girl."
That one line filled Du Ruo with warmth, and no small amount of guilt.
Ming Yi introduced her to everyone, and Du Ruo greeted each person in turn. The family was polite and friendly. They all knew her background but never pressed with awkward questions.
Once introductions wrapped up, Ming Yi called across the living room: "Jing Ming, Du Ruo's here!"
Jing Ming acted like he hadn't heard a thing.
While the elders chatted and laughed on one side, Jing Ming sat smack in the center of the couch on the other, glued to a giant TV, lost in the roar of a video game battle.
He'd dressed up for the holiday too, in a red sweater that made his skin look even paler than usual.
A boy and girl who looked like middle schoolers sat beside him, his younger cousins, Jing Zhi and Jing Ning.
He had two older cousins: one already married with kids, whose toddler was currently rolling on the floor at Jing Ming's feet; the other, still young and single.
The little boy tumbling around the floor, maybe three or four, clung to Jing Ming's leg and whined, "I want to watch Baldy Qiang! Turn it to Baldy Qiang!"
Jing Ming let the boy tug at his jeans, eyes never leaving the TV, thumbs flying, totally ignoring him.
The little nephew bounced harder, but Jing Ming just kept gaming, occasionally shoving the kid aside with a quick hand.
When it was clear Jing Ming wasn't giving up the TV, the boy shrieked at the top of his lungs, "I wanna watch Baldy Qiang!! I wanna watch Baldy Qiang!!"
The yelling was absolutely ear-splitting. Jing Zhi and Jing Ning both plugged their ears.
Jing Ming's brow furrowed, clearly losing patience. He barked, "Bro, come get your kid!"
His sister-in-law immediately scooped up the child and soothed him, "Okay, okay, let's go upstairs and watch cartoons, don’t bother Uncle Ming!”
Not a single elder told Jing Ming to stop his game and turn on the TV for the child. His spoiled-royalty status at home was obvious.
Du Ruo could tell from the way the family dressed that Jing Ming's branch was the richest, and everyone probably depended on them.
Jing Yuanshan and Ming Yi were the definition of doting parents. They’d scold him for show every once in a while, but in reality, they spoiled him rotten, giving him free rein. Forget food and clothing, a new sports car worth millions every time he wanted one. He’d grown into an arrogant brat, and all the relatives pampered him even more.
His fourth younger brother, Jing Zhi, stuck himself to Jing Ming’s side, trying to butter him up: "Third bro, let me play a round."
"I'm ranked, you noob," Jing Ming scoffed.
"Fine, then lend me your Transformer for a bit."
"In your dreams."
"Then I’ll go upstairs and get it myself."
"Try it and I’ll break your legs."
"Broooo~"
Jing Ming kicked at him: "Scram."
Jing Zhi pouted but refused to move, latching on to his brother stubbornly.
Their younger sister, Jing Ning, who was still in junior high, was draped on his other side watching him play. Her second brother tried to lure her away, but she wouldn't budge, she insisted on sticking close to Jing Ming.
Jing Ming was getting annoyed. "What, am I a sack of gold? Why do you two refuse to leave?"
Jing Ning protested, "I haven’t even said a word! I’m not bothering you!"
Somehow, with a temper this bad, he still had people clinging to him.
Du Ruo couldn't help but roll her eyes at the back of his head. Just her luck, right as he finished his game, the screen went black, reflecting her expression perfectly on the TV like a mirror.
He caught her eye roll in high definition. He glared daggers at the TV’s reflection.
Du Ruo: "……"
She spun on her heel and made a quick escape.
That night, for New Year's Eve dinner, the whole clan gathered around the table.
Du Ruo hesitated, waited until the other younger family members had sat down, and then quietly took a seat herself.
The table was loaded with food, not just chicken, duck, fish, and meat, but abalone, sea cucumber, king crab, and dishes Du Ruo couldn't even identify.
The Jing family laughed and chatted, passing toasts around the table and wishing each other good fortune for the new year.
Du Ruo kept her head down, eating quietly while carefully studying the relatives around her, trying to decide if she should toast everyone or not.
She was an outsider, to be honest, so it felt awkward to make a toast, but not toasting anyone would seem rude.
She glanced at Jing Ming. Elders and juniors alike raised their glasses to him: wishing him a bright future, wishing him health, even wishing him to get more handsome, and Jing Ning wished him a good girlfriend soon.
He responded to each toast, offering blessings in return, but never took the initiative to toast anyone else.
Right after dinner started, Du Ruo saw that everyone else was about finished exchanging toasts. She stood, raised her glass to Grandma and Grandpa first, and wished them a long and healthy life.
Jing Ming sat directly across from her. She’d been here for hours, and that was the first time he actually looked her in the eyes.
It had been almost a month since the last time they’d seen each other at the dance, that night when everything changed.
His gaze lingered on her for a bit. The girl from that night had been dazzling. But now, she was just, ordinary. Like Cinderella after midnight, once the magic had worn off. She didn’t look as shabby as she did at the train station, not as lost or insecure, but watching her try to curry favor with his family, he couldn’t help a mocking smirk at the corner of his mouth.
Du Ruo sat down, only to lock eyes with him right at that moment, across the round table, as he lifted his wine glass, red wine passing his lips, his smile barely hidden behind the glass.
Her heart clenched. She couldn't help noticing how the wine glided across his vivid red lips.
Pale-skinned, sharp-tongued, with lips the color of blood, he really was like a vampiric jerk, she thought viciously, tightening her grip on her own glass.
He stared at her a beat longer, put his wine down, wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth with his thumb, and then casually looked away.
Du Ruo ignored him, sat quietly for several seconds, then smiled and toasted Jing Yuanshan and Ming Yi, wishing them good health and all the best in the new year.
That done, she sat down and didn’t toast anyone else.