Jiaojiao pushed him away, her face red, and feeling unsatisfied, she gave him a fierce glare before turning around, running off in her slippers with a clatter.
Duan Xi watched her small figure running away quickly, his gaze extremely gentle.
āā
After Jiaojiao and Duan Xiās engagement party, Beidu officially entered winter. In late December, it snowed in Beidu, and the snow was heavy, turning the entire city into a silver-draped wonderland.
Many classmates from the south might have never seen snow before, or at least not such heavy snow. The moment they saw such a big snowfall, they dashed out to play wildly. Wu Huan, also a southerner, ran over after class to drag Jiaojiao out: "Jiaojiao, letās go play in the snow together, itās so big!"
Jiaojiao was already being dragged out of the classroom, so she quickly refused: "Wu Huan, Iām not going. You go ahead. Iām afraid of the cold."
"Itās not cold when itās snowing; itās only cold when the snow melts." Chen Hui also chimed in excitedly. She had seen snow before, but not as heavy as in Beidu.
Jiaojiao still refused, somewhat embarrassed, "My health isnāt great; I better not go. I just recovered from a cold not long ago."
After entering December, the weather got colder, far colder than when she was in Yuansu. Previously, although Jiaojiao often came to Beidu, she mostly stayed indoors and rarely went out; her home had heating, so she didnāt feel the cold.
But now, being a student, even though the classroom was warm, outdoor activities were inevitable. As soon as December began, she caught a cold that took more than half a month to recover from.
Wu Huan remembered Jiaojiaoās lack of energy when she had a cold a few days ago, so he didnāt insist anymore: "I totally forgot, Jiaojiao, you go back to the classroom and rest. Chen Hui and I will go down. Do you want a snowball? I can bring one up for you."
Jiaojiao shook her head with a smile.
After Wu Huan and Chen Hui went down, Jiaojiao didnāt hurry back into the classroom. Instead, she stood on the balcony, watching people playing in the snow. Some were rolling around, others having snowball fights, and laughter filled the air. Just watching them, Jiaojiao seemed to be infected by their joy and couldnāt help but smile.
"You donāt like snow?" Jiang Xun asked, having somehow walked up beside her without her noticing.
Jiaojiao was a bit surprised and then nodded.
She really didnāt like snow, not at all, because past events had left her with an indelible shadow. She truly disliked such cold things.
She had never told anyone before, and she hadnāt expected him to know.
"I donāt like it either." Jiang Xun looked into the distance, as if he was seeing something beyond the snowfield, his tone carrying a hint of gloom, "Especially the snow before I was twelve."
Jiaojiao turned to look at him. She knew he was probably referring to his life in Xiahe Village back then, but she didnāt know what to say or how to respond.
In fact, she found it strange herself; every time she was alone with Jiang Xun, she felt awkward and stiff, even though it wasnāt like this when they were kids.
Although she told herself last time that she wanted to be ordinary classmates, she always subconsciously minimized their interactions whenever possible.
"Are you familiar with Feng Nianian?" Jiang Xun didnāt seem to expect an answer from Jiaojiao. The topic shifted so suddenly it was baffling, switching to Feng Nianian.