When he used to live at his aunt's house, his cousin would fall asleep while doing homework late at night, his head resting on the desk.
Worried that he might catch a cold, his aunt would bring out a blanket and drape it over him, an act that Tingyang watched with some envy.
Ji Tingyang also hoped someone would treat him with the same care, but as the eldest of three siblings, he usually was the one covering his younger brother and sister with blankets when they fell asleep.
When he first met Wen Li, she indeed covered him with a blanket once, and her presence seemed to fill a void in his heart.
Later, when he saw his aunt praising his cousin for winning first prize, he too took his trophy to Wen Li, hoping for similar praise.
On his birthday, the same day his cousin was celebrated, he went to see Wen Li…
But then Wen Li's attention shifted from him to a poor boy, and Tingyang, afraid of losing even that bit of warmth, panicked.
He confined Wen Li in the villa, as if by doing so he could hold onto that last bit of warmth. But in the end, Wen Li grew increasingly fearful of him, and whatever warmth there was evaporated.
The more he tried to hold onto something, the more surely it slipped away.
Wen Li was like this, his siblings too…
In a dazed state, Ji Tingyang adjusted the blanket on himself, feeling the exhaustion in his body ease; he sniffed at the blanket, finding comfort in its warmth.
"There's still some paperwork I haven't finished, I'll go to sleep after I'm done," he said, his voice carrying the laziness of a man just awakened.
Today, after a whole day of shenanigans with Lin Xu, he still hadn't finished his work.
"Okay," Lin Xu didn't insist but told him to take care of himself before she left to rest.
Tingyang twiddled with the blanket on him, a thought crossing his mind. On impulse, he called out to her, "Mom…"
Lin Xu turned back, "Hmm?"
Tingyang swallowed hard, "I'd like some noodles…"
His aunt used to pity his cousin for studying too late and would cook him a bowl of noodles.
He had never had that.
After calling Lin Xu back, he felt a bit uneasy; such a simple task could be handled by Aunt Zhang, there was no need to involve her.
What if Lin Xu got angry, finding him bothersome?
Lin Xu was surprised, yet intrigued.
She had seen the young Ji Tingyang acting spoiled many times, but this was the first time she witnessed the assertive Ji Tingyang doing so.
Lin Xu smiled and said, "Alright, I'll go cook it now."
She then left the study.
Ji Tingyang started working on the documents on the table, planning to complete them before eating the noodles, but he found himself repeatedly glancing towards the door, clearly distracted.
After about fifteen minutes, he had yet to finish the first line.
In less than half an hour, Ji Tingyang felt a sense of time dragging on endlessly for the first time.
As he anxiously waited, Lin Xu finally entered with a bowl of hot noodles topped with green onions.
The bowl was too hot; she hurriedly placed it on the table, unintentionally turning his unfinished paperwork into a placemat.
Lin Xu didn't notice, but Ji Tingyang did and didn't mind.
"Try it, see how it tastes?" Lin Xu asked excitedly.
Lin Xu hardly ever entered the kitchen, coming from a wealthy family where the daughter hardly needed to cook. After getting married, she had tried once or twice to cook for her husband, making a dish of sweet and sour pork ribs.
The pork ribs looked unappealing and tasted even worse.
Her confidence shaken, she never entered the kitchen again.
Today, she had prepared thoroughly for making the noodles, even following recipes from a renowned chef, which took her twice as long.
Lin Xu watched expectantly as Ji Tingyang picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. Without hesitation, "Delicious."
Lin Xu was skeptical, "Really?"
Ji Tingyang smiled, "Really."
It was just a bowl of ordinary scallion noodles. Even if poorly made, it couldn't taste that bad, especially since Ji Tingyang had been looking forward to it.
As if to prove his point, Ji Tingyang quickly finished the noodles, not even sparing the soup.
"If you like it, I'll cook it for you again next time!" Lin Xu was happy.
Ji Tingyang was certainly willing, "Okay!"
That long-missed warmth seemed to have returned.
---
Lin Xu had been back for over a week and after settling down, she thought of visiting her parents.
Ji Tingyang hesitated for a moment before telling her that her grandparents had already passed away.
Lin Xu was an only child in her family. Shortly after her death in a car accident, her parents died of grief within a year.
As he spoke, Ji Tingyang watched her expression, worried she might start crying.
Although Lin Xu was sad, she had already vaguely guessed this.
If her parents were still alive, why would her child be living in someone else's home?
"Your grandparents are buried in South Mountain Cemetery. Shall we go see them together?" Ji Tingyang said cautiously.
"Okay."
South Mountain Cemetery was in the suburbs, covering a large area and beautifully landscaped.
As they passed the flower shop at the gate, Lin Xu asked him to stop, and she went in and bought two bouquets of white chrysanthemums.
Then, she and Ji Tingyang walked into the cemetery one after the other.
Her parents' tombstones were adjacent. Looking at the photos on the tombstones, Lin Xu's eyes reddened and her suppressed emotions finally gave way to melancholy.
To her, only a week had passed, and suddenly they were lying in the cemetery.
Half a month ago, she had called her parents, who were traveling, expressing her craving for her mother's pumpkin cakes. The day before her accident, her parents had just returned from their trip, telling her they had bought the pumpkin and would make pumpkin cakes when she returned.
She had laughed and said she would bring the whole family of five the next day, but she never got to taste those pumpkin cakes and was separated by life and death.
Twenty years ago, they had come to the cemetery to visit her. Twenty years later, she came to visit them.
A breeze brushed past her cheeks, blowing the tears from her eyes onto the ground.
As Lin Xu had some words she wanted to say to her parents alone, Ji Tingyang waited near the entrance.
Worriedly glancing her way, he touched his empty pocket, took out his phone, contemplating whether to call the driver for a pack of tissues.
Suddenly, a message popped up on the screen from Wen Li. Just a few days ago, Ji Tingyang had mentioned the blacklist, and she had already taken him off it.
"I have something on today and can't make the curfew, can I be late?"
Ji Tingyang frowned, just as her friend circle updated. He clicked in.
There was a picture capturing half of a man's body—no need to guess, it was definitely Xiao Yu.
Ji Tingyang's first reaction was no, wanting to trap that bit of warmth that belonged to him. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lin Xu approaching.
Somehow, that somber mood faded. He casually replied with a "Hmm" and put his phone back in his pocket, walking up to meet Lin Xu.
"Shall we go back?"
Lin Xu shook her head, "Take me to see mine and your dad's tombstones."
She remembered Ji Tingyang mentioning that the tombstones of her and her husband were also buried here.