Zhang Jiting replied, “Well, she’s his little treasure. Of course he wouldn’t have any patience for anyone else.”
“How was I supposed to know she slept in…” Xiao Yan muttered under her breath. “So annoying. He guards her way too tightly.”
The restaurant was a northern-style eatery full of local character—everything from the decor to the dishes reflected the regional vibe. In the middle of the large table sat an iron pot, with firewood burning beneath it.
They ordered a few catties of pork ribs and some locally caught fish from the frozen lake, along with side dishes like dried potatoes and dried beans. Steam rose gently, filling the room with a rich, mouthwatering aroma.
Before eating, Chu Luyu wanted to wash her hands. Jiang Hezhou happened to be on a phone call at the time, so he didn’t go with her.
But when she came out of the restroom, she saw Jiang Hezhou standing in front of a group of college students—and among them, surprisingly, was…
Chu Luyu froze for a moment and asked the system: [Cuihua, am I seeing things? Isn’t that the female lead in that group?]
The system was silent for a long time. [No, you’re not. I saw her too. I’m shocked as well.]
Chu Luyu: [What is this? Fate bringing them together from a thousand miles away?]
Over there, Feng Yiyi had brought a group of underclassmen to the resort and never expected to run into their Professor Jiang here.
Feng Yiyi looked delighted, as if she had just come down from the ski slopes. Her bangs were a little damp—whether from being under her hat or from snow, it was hard to tell.
“Professor, are you here on vacation too?”
Jiang Hezhou nodded, his expression unchanged. “Yes, with your future professor’s wife.”
“Wow! Why don’t we all have dinner together then? What a coincidence!”
After Feng Yiyi said that, Meng Wantian behind her also couldn’t help holding her breath, waiting for Jiang Hezhou’s answer.
Running into him here was the last thing Meng Wantian had expected. She had already been upset by the way he had treated her before. When Feng Yiyi organized this trip, she hadn’t wanted to come at first, but her classmates, seeing how down she was before break, had chipped in to cover her share. With no way to back out, she had forced herself to come.
Now, she was immensely grateful to those classmates who had pooled money for her. If she had known Jiang Hezhou would be here, she would have agreed long ago.
Although Chu Luyu was far away, maybe because she was paying so much attention to the female lead, she caught every bit of the hopeful, affectionate look in the other girl’s eyes.
She pressed her lips together and couldn’t help asking the system again: [Cuihua, I feel like the female lead is already starting to like the male lead. Did they meet earlier in this life, so she’s fallen for him ahead of schedule too?]
System Cuihua: [Hard to say. You know how these emotional stories work—the male and female leads usually have this natural sense of destined connection and mutual attraction. Since they’ve already met, there’s probably some appreciation on both sides. But because the male lead still has you, his fiancée, even if he feels something, he has to hold it in. The female lead, though… not necessarily.]
Hearing that, Chu Luyu felt a little upset.
In fact, she had been deliberately avoiding the thought of her inevitable separation from Jiang Hezhou lately. But now, seeing the male and female leads standing together, looking as if they were about to be happy, she couldn’t help feeling down.
Without alerting Jiang Hezhou, she hugged the wall and circled around two tables before returning to their seat.
Zhang Jiting and Ji Chen were also discussing Jiang Hezhou and the students. Zhang Jiting said, “Jiang Er really is popular everywhere. Normally, when students run into a teacher outside, don’t they usually avoid them? But they’ve been talking to him for nearly ten minutes now.”
Ji Chen: “Aren’t you used to it yet? Jiang Er has been the center of attention everywhere he goes since he was a kid.”
A while later, Jiang Hezhou finally came back.
Ji Chen asked him, “What did those kids drag you into talking about for so long?”
“Nothing much. They wanted to treat Lu Yu and me to dinner. They kept at it for a while, but finally gave up when I insisted. I sent them off and paid for their meal at the front desk in advance.” With that, Jiang Hezhou turned to look at the girl beside him, his hand under the table covering hers. “Why didn’t you come over to me earlier? I thought you’d come up after standing there watching for so long.”
“I don’t really know your students, so why would I go over…”
Chu Luyu’s tone was listless. For some reason, just thinking about the way the female lead had looked at Jiang Hezhou made her uncomfortable. She unconsciously pulled her hand out from under his.
“It’s too hot,” she made up an excuse.
Jiang Hezhou had always been perceptive. He could tell from her expression and demeanor that something was off. Frowning slightly, he raised his phone and sent a message to their group chat with his childhood friends.
[Did something happen just now?]
Ji Chen replied first: [No, we were just watching you talk to those students.]
Jiang Hezhou: [Then why is she acting off?]
Zhang Jiting: [Don’t pin this on us. Your little treasure went to the restroom earlier, and she only sat down a little while before you came back.]
Jiang Hezhou frowned and didn’t reply further.
Throughout the rest of the meal, Chu Luyu didn’t have much of an appetite. On the surface, no one would have noticed anything unusual—she still ate several ribs and a bowl of rice soaked in broth. But Jiang Hezhou knew her too well. He could tell she normally ate more than that. After they finished, he pulled her aside and walked ahead.
“What’s wrong?”
Chu Luyu’s little face was buried in her big white scarf. Hearing the male lead’s question, she blinked and played dumb. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”
Jiang Hezhou sighed inwardly. When he spoke again, his tone carried resignation. “You should know by now—I know you very well. You were clearly distracted during dinner and didn’t look happy.”
Biting her lip beneath the scarf, Chu Luyu thought, What am I supposed to say? That I’m unhappy because I saw you standing next to your destined match?
After agonizing for a while, she finally mumbled a small reply: “I am a little upset. Because I read online that there probably won’t be any northern lights around here in the next few days. But I really wanted to see them.”
Jiang Hezhou was a little surprised. “Really? That’s the only reason?”
Afraid he would keep pressing, Chu Luyu deliberately shot him a glare. “What do you mean ‘that’s the only reason’? Are you saying this is a small thing? That I shouldn’t be upset over it?”
As she spoke, somehow, genuine grievance welled up inside her, and her eyes suddenly reddened. “But is this a small thing? I can’t see the northern lights I want to see. I can’t hold onto everything I want. Is that a small thing?”
Jiang Hezhou was taken aback. He hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from her. Later, back at the cabin, she took a shower and burrowed into the blankets, ignoring what time it was, and mumbled that she was going to sleep.
For once, the man behind her didn’t disturb her. After a moment, Chu Luyu heard footsteps fading away. A few seconds later, she was alone in the room.
She felt a pang of hurt again. She thought Jiang Hezhou was angry. Hiding under the covers, she asked the system: [Cuihua, is the male lead annoyed because I lost my temper?]
System Cuihua: [No, he seemed perfectly normal to me. Don’t overthink it.]
Chu Luyu didn’t know what else to say. The room was eerily quiet, and even though the heated brick bed was still warm, she felt a chill spreading through her heart.
At some point, she must have drifted off to sleep. When she woke again, it was to the ringing of Jiang Hezhou’s phone call.
“Still sleeping?”
Chu Luyu slowly came to her senses, remembering the little spat before bed. Her voice was subdued when she answered. “Mm, but your call woke me up.”
There was the sound of howling wind through the receiver. Jiang Hezhou seemed to still be outside. At her words, he let out a low chuckle, unfazed. “Since you’re awake now, come out and find me.”
Then he added, “It’s even colder at night than during the day. Remember to dress warmly.”
Chu Luyu had no idea what he was up to. She wanted to ask, but he hung up quickly on the other end.
She frowned in confusion, got up, and layered herself up from head to toe before finally waddling out the door.
Jiang Hezhou seemed to have timed his return perfectly. The moment she stepped out, she saw him approaching from a distance.
When he drew near, he stopped to check her outfit. Satisfied that she had indeed bundled up as told, he took her hand with a pleased look.
“Where are we going? Are the other three coming too?”
“To the open space behind the ski resort.” His voice came low through the bitter northern night wind. “Just the two of us. No one else.”
Chu Luyu was confused and wanted to ask more, but another gust of freezing wind hit her, filling her mouth with cold air. She pressed her lips shut and stayed quiet.
Their cabin wasn’t far from the ski resort. They walked for about ten minutes and arrived.
Everything around them was pitch black, save for the howling wind. Chu Luyu couldn’t hold back any longer and turned to look at Jiang Hezhou.
“What exactly are we doing he—”
Before she could finish, the sky in the distance suddenly seemed to ignite. Huge swaths of fluorescent green aurora-like shadows danced gracefully in the air like thin veils of silk.
Chu Luyu gasped, her little face bathed in the greenish-yellow glow from the light display.
She stared at him wide-eyed. “So you’ve been out here this whole time—setting this up?”
Jiang Hezhou pulled her into his arms beneath that expanse of “aurora” and smiled. “Mm. I found someone to rush-order a batch of lights and generators. Luckily, the seller had a warehouse nearby, so they delivered it quickly.”
His low voice sounded softly by her ear. “Are you a little happier now?”
At that moment, it felt as if something had seized Chu Luyu’s heart. Her heartbeat stopped, and even her breathing involuntarily froze.
She looked up at the man before her, her eyes growing warm—
Forget it. I won’t overthink anymore. What did the unshakable destiny between the male and female leads matter? What did their inevitable separation matter? Right here, right now, he was still by her side. He had gone to all this trouble just for a casual remark she had made.
That was enough. That was enough.
The next second, standing beneath the greenish glow, Chu Luyu looked up at Jiang Hezhou with red-rimmed eyes and said, “Jiang Hezhou, thank you. And—I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“For what happened this afternoon… I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
He was briefly surprised, then held her closer and smiled helplessly. “No, my baby is already very well-behaved. When you get angry once in a while, I only find it adorable—like you’re being clingy.”
Chu Luyu’s eyes grew hotter and hotter. She couldn’t help burying her head against his chest. Behind them, the magnificent aurora danced across the sky, fluorescent green swirling in the night, and even the wind and snow seemed to turn romantic.
After a long moment, she couldn’t resist calling his name. “Jiang Hezhou.”
“Mm?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to say your name.”
A low, deep chuckle sounded.
A moment later, she called again. “Jiang Hezhou.”
“I’m here.”
“Jiang Hezhou.”
“Mm. I’m here.”
With that, he gently brushed his thin lips against the top of her head, through the brim of her hood. His deep, magnetic voice rang out under the night sky—
“No matter how many times you call, I will always be here.”
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