After the countdown, the crowd in the square dispersed, leaving behind a pungent smell of burnt fireworks in the air. As the night breeze blew, tiny flakes of ash silently clung to everything around.
By midnight, the traffic was no longer as congested as before, and Kang Chen took Xu Xing back to the parking lot at Baili Restaurant to retrieve his car.
Noticing Xu Xing curled up and shivering, Kang Chen turned on the heater. However, Xu Xing gripped her seatbelt tightly, her nerves still highly strung. If it weren't for the faint trust between childhood friends, she might have fainted right then and there.
His earlier murmured comment echoed in her mind: "Isn't it a bit interesting to have a countdown on New Year's Eve that kills people?"
Xu Xing was sure she wasn't imagining it, but when she asked, "What did you say?" and received the reply, "Nothing, happy New Year," she cowardly chose not to press the issue further.
Anxiously, they made it back to her home. Before she got out of the car, Kang Chen reminded her to keep warm and get some rest.
Xu Xing nodded like a little quail, and after saying goodbye, she hurried toward the stairwell.
Kang Chen rested one hand on the steering wheel, his fingers tapping lightly as he watched her petite figure until she disappeared through the building's entrance.
He lingered for another two minutes, and when he saw a dim light illuminate a window upstairs, the corner of his mouth turned up slightly before he drove away from the neighborhood.
---
Once the New Year's Eve festivities were over, the new year officially began.
During the first month, everyone was busy visiting relatives and exchanging red envelopes. The eternal topics at the dining table were gossip about family matters, mutual flattery and comparison, and introducing potential partners to the younger generation.
Li Yuanjun couldn't stand it and returned to Star City with her suitcase just after the third day of the new year.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw Xu Xing lying flat on the sofa, looking like a salted fish that didn't want to flip over, utterly lifeless.
Li Yuanjun's heart skipped a beat. Luckily, just before her imagination ran wild, this salted fish moved, grabbed a tissue to blow her nose, and then tossed the crumpled tissue into the trash can.
After all, the salted fish was still a fish. The aim was quite poor; if one out of ten tissues made it into the bin, that was already excellent.
Li Yuanjun changed her shoes and walked over, picking up the discarded tissues with a look of disgust while worriedly asking, "Xu Xiaoxing, are you still breathing?"
"..." The salted fish turned slightly, avoiding Li Yuanjun and murmuring, "Not dead yet, still have plenty of breath left."
Her voice had changed slightly, sounding muffled and a bit hoarse.
Li Yuanjun touched her forehead and felt it wasn't hot. She sighed in relief, glad that she hadn't burned out her brain at such a young age.
After a while, she couldn't help but ask, "What happened to you? It's only been a few days, and you look like this."
"..."
That question was a bit hard to answer.
For Xu Xing, aside from the New Year spent in jail, this year's celebration was probably the most memorable.
After Kang Chen dropped her off on New Year's Eve, she snuggled under the covers but couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
When she glanced at the set of books titled *The Mask* on her bedside table, an idea struck her. She quietly climbed out of bed and went to borrow a few books from Li Yuanjun to pass the time.
This turned into a marathon; she finished *New Life* by 8 AM, then brewed herself a cup of coffee and continued reading *Christmas Eve* and *Sky Street*.
She read until ten in the evening, at which point she felt she couldn't keep going any longer, so she cooked instant noodles. After eating, she prepared to go to sleep.
But as soon as she closed her eyes, scenes from the novels flashed before her.
It was eerie.
While reading, she felt the mysteries were thrilling and exciting, not scary at all.
But afterward, for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling of creeping dread; every time she tried to close her eyes, her mind spiraled into chaotic thoughts. So, she ended up keeping the lights on, wide awake until dawn.
When daylight broke, the comfort of the sun and the overwhelming sleepiness finally conquered her fear, and she curled up, clutching her pounding little heart, finally drifting off to sleep.
When she woke up, it was already afternoon. She typed away for a bit, and everything seemed normal. However, when night came, she found herself unable to stop imagining scenes from the novels again!
She had a million complaints, but had no idea who to direct them at.
After all, she wasn't a fifteen or sixteen-year-old anymore. After two days of sleepless nights, she proudly fell ill.
---
The cold hit hard, and Xu Xing lay at home for over a week.
During that time, Li Yuanjun was nearby reading *The Mask*, occasionally gasping in surprise, and after finishing, she wouldn't stop analyzing the plot and discussing the author's writing style in relation to other books.
"... I think his writing is really calm and rational, yet he uses the simplest vocabulary to paint the scenes. The ideas he comes up with are just amazing!"
The more Li Yuanjun spoke, the more excited she became. "Oh! By the way, he posted on Weibo on New Year's Day! He said he's found inspiration for his new book, and it should come out this summer. I can't wait to read it! You know, he's so interesting; he always posts on the first day of the lunar calendar…"
Could you please stop talking?
Xu Xing stuffed her ears, not wanting to listen to Li Yuanjun's endless chatter.
If it weren't for this annoying person constantly bringing up the topic of the first day of the lunar new year, Xu Xing felt her illness could have healed a couple of days earlier. Now, she found herself having wasted her entire Spring Festival holiday lying around.
---
When Xu Xing returned to work after the holiday, she had just recovered from her cold, but her face was still somewhat pale.
Early in the morning, Xia Qingqing from the finance department was distributing candy. When she saw Xu Xing approaching, she cheerfully handed her a bag, saying, "Xiao Xing, come have some candy! Hey, what's wrong with your face? You look so pale."
"It's nothing, I just had a cold a couple of days ago. I'm all better now."
As she accepted the candy from Xia Qingqing, a sudden bad premonition arose in her heart.
Sure enough, Xia Qingqing continued, "Oh, I see. Make sure you don't catch a chill these next few days. By the way, I got my marriage certificate during the New Year, and we're having the wedding next week! You have to come!"
Xu Xing was stunned for a few seconds and managed to respond, "Of course, I'll definitely come…"
Once Xia Qingqing was satisfied and turned to leave, Xu Xing's complexion instantly turned from pale to ghostly white.
She just knew that fate wouldn't let her go through the month with a calm $2,000 in her pocket!
Heaven knows, she had only been employed for half a month, and the number of times she had interacted with the finance team could be counted on one hand.
This Miss Xia Qingqing? They had spoken only three times in total, and two of those were her being sent on errands to buy coffee.
And it didn't help that this Miss Xia was not someone to offend. She was reportedly the boss's cousin, just here to pass time watching TV, and her boyfriend—no, husband—seemed to be quite well-off.
Thinking about how she would have to attend the wedding and shell out money for a gift made her feel like she was suffocating.
She glanced around and saw that the other colleagues who were also not familiar with Xia Qingqing but had been invited to the wedding wore equally miserable expressions.
… Why do rich people have to make life hard for little poor folks like us?!
The whole morning, Xu Xing felt dejected and resentful.
Xia Qingqing had bombarded the entire office with her wedding announcement, and she didn't forget to chat in the tea room, subtly showing off her big diamond ring and small designer handbag, as well as her travels with her husband.
"... We went to the desert this time. Hey, did you see my photos on WeChat? It's that one..."
Xu Xing only caught half of what she said before quietly pouring herself a cup of water and drifting away, a bit admiring of the other girls who continued to listen to Xia Qingqing's boasting.
Looking at Xia Qingqing's photos on WeChat, she realized not a single one was focused. Hair flying everywhere, bright red lips, and a cotton dress amidst swirling dust—without knowing she was abroad, Xu Xing would have thought it was just another level of smog in the capital!
While she grumbled inwardly, she returned to her desk to continue working.
After the Spring Festival, she was set to teach a new small class, which had finished registration before the holiday and included five children in total.
She glanced at the registration forms; the oldest was five, and the youngest was only three and a half.
What's the point of enrolling a three-and-a-half-year-old in a 15,888 yuan brain training class? Xu Xing couldn't quite understand.
To be fair, she thought the training class's main purpose was probably to help kids memorize a string of numbers or solve a basic Rubik's cube for social gatherings.
It was impossible to turn them into child prodigies who could participate in math competitions just because they attended a training course; after all, the teachers were hired after just three months of training.
But temporary teacher Xu Xing was determined to prepare well to live up to her conscience.
Before classes started, she made sure to communicate with the parents, carefully studying the lesson plans, and preparing in advance.
On the day of the first class, she waited at the entrance to greet everyone, striving to present herself as gentle and amiable, so the parents would trust her to take good care of their adorable little ones.
After welcoming four parents, Xu Xing raised her hand to check the time and frowned slightly.
Classes started at 3:30, and it was now 3:20. Why hadn't anyone arrived yet?
She stood outside for another five minutes. Just as she was about to turn back to the classroom, a silver-gray sedan unexpectedly pulled up in front of her.
The car's polished surface gleamed, and the smooth lines combined with the classic shield emblem and the number plate with five 1s indicated it was quite an expensive vehicle.
Xu Xing was momentarily stunned.
But that wasn't the main point; the key detail was that this car seemed to have dropped her off on New Year's Eve.
As she watched a man get out of the car and open the rear door, pulling out a chubby little toddler from a car seat, Xu Xing remained in a daze the entire time.
…?
Oh no, this can't be Kang Chen's child, can it?
Has Kang Chen gotten married? Does he have a kid now?
Kang Chen lifted the little boy, Lu Xiaoke, by the back of his collar and casually glanced up.
Seeing Xu Xing looking completely shocked, he lowered his gaze again and ordered Lu Xiaoke, "Call her Teacher Xu."
No! I'm not your Teacher Xu! I don't want to pay a wedding gift!