Chapter 34

Caught off guard by her question, and still fuzzy-headed from the fever medicine, Qiu Li didn’t react right away. He stayed silent for a few seconds.
To Yan Xiao, that silence felt like indifference.
She’d already been upset during the day, and now, half-asleep and learning that he was apparently awake in the middle of the night hating her, her irritation boiled over.
It was like a rock was lodged in her chest, stuck there, pressing hard and making her throat ache.
Just as she was about to hang up in anger, a low, hoarse voice came through the receiver:
“Happy New Year.”
Yan Xiao: “…”
“Happy New Year,” Qiu Li repeated, this time with a hint of laughter in his tone.
The pressure in her chest tightened and ached, though she couldn’t tell if it was from anger or something else entirely.
After a moment’s silence, she snapped, “Why are you even awake right now? You’re sick! Still up in the middle of the night, trying to kill yourself? Or do you think you didn’t get enough injections today? If that’s the case, fine, tomorrow, no, today, I’ll drag you back to the hospital for a few extra shots!”
On the other end of the line, Qiu Li said nothing.
He just listened, phone pressed to his ear, as her voice, equal parts annoyance and concern, spilled softly into the dark.
And in that darkness, he smiled.
Even his eyes turned to liquid warmth.
For a while, the faint muttering on the other end faded, leaving only her faint, irritated breaths.
Qiu Li turned his gaze toward the window. The city lights reflected in his clear, deep eyes like scattered starlight.
“Mm,” he said at last, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Okay.”
Yan Xiao: “…” Okay? What’s that supposed to mean, still being smug, are we?
“Sleepy?” he asked softly when she didn’t reply. “Don’t be mad. Go to sleep.”
Yan Xiao let out a muffled hum.
Just as she was about to hang up, she thought for a second, then said quietly, “Happy New Year.”
Qiu Li’s expression bloomed instantly.
He tried not to laugh out loud, but his eyebrows and eyes curved into pure delight.
Like an idiot, he grinned silently for a long while before saying, “Goodnight. Sleep early. You hang up first.”
Hearing him laugh so much, Yan Xiao couldn’t stay angry. The tightness in her chest had somehow disappeared. She raised an eyebrow. “Why should I hang up first?”
Qiu Li chuckled under his breath. “Fine. Okay.”
He knew her temper too well, if they kept arguing about it, she might stay up until morning just to win.
So he said goodnight again and hung up first.
When the busy tone filled her ear, Yan Xiao huffed proudly. Trying to tell me what to do? Hah!
But after scolding him over the phone, her irritation had all but vanished. Feeling oddly satisfied, she set her phone on the nightstand and drifted off to sleep.
Qiu Li, however, didn’t sleep right away.
He lay there in the same position, phone still in hand, staring blankly at the ceiling. It took him a while to finally set the phone down beside his pillow. The dim light traced the edges of his young face, softening it into something gentle, almost shy.
The medicine had left him light-headed and tired, but sleep wouldn’t come.
As he gazed at the ceiling, her question echoed faintly in his mind.

“Why do you hate going to hospitals so much?”
He remembered the way she’d asked, her little face taut with seriousness, eyes lowered as if afraid to meet his, then finally lifting them, determined, waiting for his answer.
Why, indeed?
His smile slowly faded. Then, after a pause, it returned, fainter this time.
It wasn’t a complicated reason.
When he was four, Qiu Zhan had nearly killed him in a hospital.
His father had known exactly what happened, but said nothing, just looked annoyed, as though Qiu Li had been the one making trouble.
He’d been so small then, and in his memory, the hospital was nothing but a dark, devouring void.
Ever since, he had avoided it completely.
He’d grown cautious, meticulous, doing everything he could to avoid getting sick. Even if he did, he’d never tell the Qiu family, he’d either take medicine on his own or just endure it.
Even now, well, before yesterday, he still hated hospitals with every fiber of his being.
Even though he was almost sixteen now, and Qiu Zhan could no longer hurt him that way, the feeling hadn’t faded.
But now…
He blinked.
With her by his side, the hospital didn’t seem so terrible anymore.
Just as he was about to fall asleep, one final, distinct thought drifted through his hazy mind:
She’s the best person in the world to me, the one who actually cares. I’ll treat her well. I’ll give her everything I can.
[Ding! 936 points!]
Already fast asleep, Yan Xiao didn’t hear the notification.
If she had been awake, or if that sound had woken her, she would’ve stormed straight to Qiu Li’s house demanding to know what kind of late-night curse he was casting on her this time.
The next morning, when Yan Xiao opened her eyes, the world outside was still dim and gray.
Strange. She reached for her phone. Seven o’clock already? Why’s it still so dark?
She crawled out of bed and pulled open the curtains. The moment she saw what was outside, sleepiness vanished completely.
Grabbing her phone, she pushed the window open and started recording, shouting into the camera:
[It’s snowing!]
[It’s snowing!!]
After sending the messages to Qiu Li, she was hit by a gust of icy air that made her shiver, so she hurriedly shut the window.
She hugged her phone and burrowed back under the blanket for a bit of warmth before tossing it off and jumping out of bed.
The first snowfall of winter, also the first snow of the new year! She had to go outside and see it.
But then she thought of Qiu Li, still recovering. He shouldn’t be out in the wind, so he definitely couldn’t join her, or let her throw snowballs at him. What a pity.
While brushing her teeth, she mumbled regretfully about it to herself.
Because she’d been under such heavy study pressure lately and had stayed up late the night before, her parents hadn’t come to wake her that morning. They figured she’d sleep in, rest up for once. They never expected her to come bouncing into the kitchen, eyes sparkling.
“It’s snowing!” she said, nearly hopping in place. “I’m going out to see it later! I’m gonna make a snowman!”
“It just started,” her mom, Chen Ziyi, said with a smile. It was rare to see her daughter this cheerful, not thinking about studying for once. She peeked outside, the snow had only started around five or six, and there wasn’t much buildup yet. Still, she nodded happily. “All right then, I’ll go with you. We’ll build a snowman together!”
Yan Xiao took a bite of an apple and was about to say no need when the doorbell rang.
Who could it be this early?
Still chewing, she jogged to the door.
When she opened it, there stood Qiu Li, wrapped up like a snowball himself, dusted with white, and smiling faintly in the morning cold.
“You’re here already?” she asked, startled.
Qiu Li stepped inside, removing his scarf, coat, and shoes.
“I figured you wouldn’t be able to wait, so I came early to go play in the snow with you.”
From the kitchen, Chen Ziyi poked her head out at the sound. “Oh, Xiao Li’s here! Have you had breakfast yet?”
Qiu Li smiled politely. “Not yet.”
“Perfect timing,” Chen Ziyi said kindly. “Xiao-xiao hasn’t eaten either. I’ll cook your favorite, three-flavor dumplings.”
Qiu Li’s smile softened. “Thank you, Auntie.”
Yan Xiao frowned. “You’re still sick, you can’t go out in this weather! It’s freezing!”
“I don’t have a fever anymore.” He leaned down slightly, lowering his head toward her. “Check for yourself.”
Caught off guard, Yan Xiao hesitated, then instinctively reached out and touched his forehead. Honestly, she couldn’t tell if he had a fever or not.
“Well?” Qiu Li asked, smiling. “All better?”
“Uh… yeah,” she muttered, dazed, and nodded.
After breakfast, Chen Ziyi still wasn’t reassured. But with Qiu Li’s repeated promises and a detailed demonstration of how thick and warm his down jacket was, she finally agreed to let them go, on one condition: they could only stay out for an hour and not leave the neighborhood.
The two of them nodded eagerly and dashed out.
In the short time it took to eat, the snow had thickened. Every step crunched pleasantly beneath their boots, and even the sound lifted their spirits.
Watching Qiu Li all bundled up, hat, scarf, gloves, and coat, Yan Xiao suddenly felt a mischievous spark. She lagged a few paces behind, scooped up snow from a flowerbed, packed it into a ball, and,
Whack!
The snowball hit him square in the back of the head, exploding into a puff of white across his hat.
Qiu Li stopped and turned around.
Whack!
The next one landed right on his face. The scarf caught most of it, leaving a white patch, but his bewildered expression was priceless.
[Ding! 938 points!]
Yan Xiao, mid-snowball-formation: “…”
She paused, then started making snowballs even faster.
Let’s see how much you ‘hate me’ now, you evil villain! I’ll pelt you to death with snow!
Qiu Li stood there, watching her hopping around joyfully, bright as a wild foal in the snow, and couldn’t stop the smile that spread beneath his scarf.

Author’s Note:
Yan Xiao: guna! You’re the wild foal, not me! (ノ｀Д)ノ
Young Master Li: Okay, I am. (#^.^#)