They bundled themselves up tightly before venturing outside. They were probably the only two people in the steelworks neighborhood to brave the snow and howling wind to go out and set off fireworks in the middle of the night.
Luckily, Gu Fei was equipped with a magical item.
Jiang Cheng felt infinitely blessed as he climbed into the little dumpling car amid the wind and snow. “Start driving, dear.”
“We’re off.” Gu Fei closed the car door and started the engine. “Sit tight, dear.”
“Hurry up!” Jiang Cheng clapped Gu Fei on the back.
The little dumpling set off into the night.
There wasn’t a single hair of a person to be found on the streets. The only things out tonight were the snowflakes dancing in the light of the streetlamps. Jiang Cheng enjoyed looking at the flurry of snow; through its movements, he could see the path of the wind.
Wind was a very special thing. It had no shape, color, or smell, yet you could see it—in the fallen leaves, in the drifting snow, in the dancing swirls of the remnants of firecrackers on the ground. It had the same smell as the yellow of the wilting grass, the white of cool frost, and the red of smoky gunpowder…
Even though there was no one else on the streets, Gu Fei still drove them all the way to the river. They hadn’t been here since their fight.
There was no water in the river at this time of year, only a sheet of white coating it from bank to bank.
“If we came during the day, there’d definitely be other people here,” Gu Fei said as he got out of the car. “This river is the most romantic place in the whole neighborhood. You can just about claim that it has the grass, trees, and water for a pretty view.”
“The two of us coming here is just barely meeting the romantic requirement.” Jiang Cheng pulled his scarf tight and made his way toward the dried river with Gu Fei.
The ground on the riverbank was covered in loose soil and rocks, and with the blanket of snow on top, every step felt like their feet would slide out from under them and carry them all the way to the bottom of the riverbed.
When Gu Fei reached his hand back, Jiang Cheng took it and said, “Are you afraid I’ll lose my balance and knock you right into the river?”
“No. You were on the school basketball team—I trust your athleticism.” Gu Fei looked back at him. “I just wanted to hold your hand, it’s actually pretty warm—”
Gu Fei didn’t get to finish before he stepped on something and lurched forward violently.
Jiang Cheng gripped Gu Fei’s hand tightly out of reflex. When he felt a strong forward tug, he tried leaning back to counteract the force—but to no avail. Unable to find purchase on the slippery ground, Jiang Cheng lasted no more than half a second before he was dragged down and landed on his butt. His legs immediately took out the already unbalanced Gu Fei.
As Gu Fei fell on top of him, the two of them collapsed into a ball like two children hurtling down a slide together, rolling and tumbling all the way down the slope to the edge of the river.
“Fuck!” Jiang Cheng yelled. He felt like someone had taken a stick and given his entire backside a beating.
“Did I land on your balls?” asked Gu Fei. He seemed to be doing okay, with Jiang Cheng as a cushion.
“Would you still be hearing from me right now if you had?” Jiang Cheng pushed off against the ground, but his butt had yet to recover. “What a unique Valentine’s Day this is, huh, boyfr—”
Gu Fei reached out and pinched his leg, cutting him off. It was right at that moment when he sensed in his peripheral vision that along the river’s edge, there was another person.
Jiang Cheng whipped his head around and froze in place.
“Fuck,” Gu Fei said in a low voice. He stood up and extended his hand to Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng grabbed it and pulled himself up. Then, the two of them turned around together, coming face-to-face with the person standing about thirty feet away.
The atmosphere had never been more bizarre.
It was indeed strange for someone else to be here at this time and place. But if they’d thought of coming to “the most romantic spot in the whole steelworks neighborhood” for a date at this hour, then, naturally, so could other people.
It wouldn’t be a big deal if they ran into anyone else, since not everyone recognized him and Gu Fei, and not everyone had such fantastical imaginations as the creatures who frequented the Fourth High forum… Not to mention, ever since he came out to Shen Yiqing on the phone that day, Jiang Cheng had felt as if he’d put down a bag of cement he’d been carrying—he felt like nothing could faze him anymore.
But this person was by himself.
Moreover, it was a person who not only knew them, but someone who knew them rather well.
For the sake of his peace of mind during these final months of studying, Jiang Cheng didn’t want anyone they knew to know about them, for fear that the trouble it would bring would ruin his mood before the exams.
Therefore…it was finally time to silence Wang Xu once and for all. He was rather surprised that the first one to go was him and not Zhou Jing.
Gu Fei was the first to speak up. “What…are you doing here?”
“It’s Valentine’s Day,” Wang Xu replied. Against the chilly wind, his voice sounded especially desolate and…pained.