Although deep autumn has yet to bring snow, the wind is already cold.
Hua Jie looks down at Shen Mo’s feet clad in slippers and asks:
“Why did you come out in slippers?”
“My feet are hot,” he says.
“…” Truly a fiery youth.
Admirable.
Hua Jie gets off the car in front of the steep hill she was about to climb and wants to thank Shen Mo, but he has already left without looking back.
Leaving only a Lei Feng-like figure, exuding coolness with his good deeds seeking no thanks.
Hua Jie smiles and climbs the slope with light steps, carrying her drawing board.
Her hands are getting cold, it’s almost time to start wearing gloves and a scarf, wondering when the first snow will fall.
Over the weekend, when her mother is also off work, Hua Jie comes home to super delicious spare ribs stewed with green beans and the northeastern delicacy, Crispy sweet & sour pork.
Reminiscing the taste of her mother’s cooking, Hua Jie sits down and eats voraciously.
Her mother’s meals seem to be made with intense happiness as the main ingredient, the warmth and satisfaction flow down the esophagus into her body, spreading gradually to every part of her being as it digests.
After putting down her bowl, she insists on washing the dishes, humming a song while working, like a diligent and happy little bee.
Once, having not experienced the pains of growing up, she did not appreciate the smallest ordinary happiness in life.
Now… Ah, rebirth is really wonderful, all the trivial matters around her have turned sweet.
…
…
In the morning, Hua Jie still rides on the edge of Bian Hong’s bicycle to school since she hasn’t yet saved enough money to buy her own.
If she continues saving like this, she might have enough in a month.
If it’s still not enough, she could try drawing portraits at the station or other crowded places to earn money, like the plein air artists one often sees at future tourist spots.
When she enters the classroom, Hua Jie runs into Yu Tonglin head-on. They glance at each other, and Hua Jie wants to casually greet him, but unexpectedly, he quickly walks past her with averted eyes.
“…” Hua Jie wants to roll her eyes epically at him, but then thinks he doesn’t deserve it.
Standing by her desk arranging her books, Bian Ying sees this and feels immensely satisfied inside.
Successfully isolating Hua Jie gave Bian Ying a sense of accomplishment in causing trouble and a taste of the power in manipulating those around her.
As Yu Tonglin passed by, Bian Ying greeted him enthusiastically:
“Good morning~”
Her voice was soft, yet loud enough to be heard.
Hua Jie almost couldn’t suppress the urge to roll her eyes—high schoolers are really so childish.
Bian Ying acted as if Yu Tonglin was some kind of hot commodity.
Who cares.
After enjoying a friendly conversation with Yu Tonglin, and experiencing a warmth and friendship Hua Jie never had, Bian Ying saw Jing Nian walking into the classroom with his school bag, smoothing his sideburns—
Sideburns were particularly popular in the year 2000.
For boys, sideburns were a unique mark of their masculinity.
If someone naturally had long sideburns that reached down to their jawline, they were the wildest, coolest real deal.
Jing Nian, pinching his sideburns as if to help them grow, approached Hua Jie’s desk. Bian Ying thought he would definitely ignore Hua Jie, maybe even bump into her desk, and then when he turned around, she’d cheerfully greet Jing Nian.
She imagined the scene, feeling particularly popular while Hua Jie seemed particularly annoying, and couldn’t help feeling smug.
She even felt the fatigue of returning to school after the holidays fade away.
As Bian Ying’s smile grew, her face suddenly froze.
Because Jing Nian actually greeted Hua Jie first, and he took the initiative.
Bian Ying was stunned; previously the two had a conflict so intense that the teacher had punished them to stand in the hallway, as if it were a matter of life and death!
The next moment, Bian Ying’s jaw almost dropped.
Seeing Hua Jie looking up to respond to Jing Nian, she suddenly pointed to the ground behind him and whispered:
“My eraser fell over there, could you pick it up for me?”
Jing Nian Ju! But surprisingly, he obediently turned around and bent down to help Hua Jie pick up the eraser!
Shouldn’t he have immediately cursed, ‘Don’t you have arms yourself? Pick it up yourself!’
Watching Jing Nian’s almost impeccably obedient demeanor, Bian Ying stared at him, and when he approached, she completely lost the desire to greet him.
Disappointed, she gave him a cold look and irritably flipped through her book loudly.
Jing Nian raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was Bian Ying just cranky from waking up?
Slamming his backpack on the desk, he quickly dismissed Bian Ying’s odd behavior from his mind, and began recalling the 11 types of line techniques that Hua Jie had discussed with him on Sunday.
Heavier on the left, heavier on the right, evenly balanced, side strokes, central strokes… practicing flat strokes… what else was there?
…
…
To thank Shen Mo for tutoring her last week and even giving her a ride over the weekend, Hua Jie took some used drawing paper and folded a wind block, placing it on the windowsill to Shen Mo’s left after the first class on Monday.
Last Friday, after she noticed Shen Mo using a curtain to block the wind, she realized the window was drafty.
This way, he was sure to suffer from shoulder pain from the cold air.
Her makeshift wind block was simple but effective. She placed her hand on the windowsill to test it, and couldn’t feel any draft at all.
Hua Jie then used a marker to design some cool graffiti, decorating the ugly paper wind block, and it immediately looked much prettier.
When Shen Mo returned during the break, he saw the little gadget, fell silent for a moment, tapped his fingers on the windowsill, and did not turn around to thank Hua Jie.
Hua Jie had been secretly observing him. Initially disheartened by the lack of positive emotional feedback, her spirits lifted only when the teacher entered the classroom, and from the corner of her eye, she saw him leaning back in his chair, suddenly tilting his head towards the window and quietly smiling to himself.
Hua Jie felt a bit sweet inside. She thought, is this how those men who chase their goddesses feel so joyful?
Having always been passive to the point of almost being invisible, she never knew that offering kindness to others and receiving positive feedback could be such a proud moment.
She felt she was now a qualified “mom fan,” even a prominent one at the forefront, possessing the right to fervently support her idol directly.
Totally cool.
During the second long break, after completing the essential eye exercises and following her classmates to perform the second set of broadcast calisthenics, the class disbanded without running around and went straight back to the classroom.
She took out the milk and loose-leaf Jin Jun Mei tea she brought, brewed a large pot of tea with hot water, and after the tea aroma had filled the class, she filtered out the leaves, leaving only the tea broth.
Jing Nian passed by her side and, seeing her drinking tea, mocked her with a sneer:
“You actually drink tea? That’s something my grandpa would do. Are you an old person or what?”
Hua Jie glared at him fiercely. This brat always starts pushing boundaries if he hasn’t been scolded in a few hours.
Jing Nian, who had been glared at, just chuckled and went to pour himself a cup of hot water. When he came back, he saw Hua Jie adding rock sugar into the tea, furiously stirring, and then beginning to pour in milk.
The fragrance of milk, sweetness, and tea suddenly spread, invigorating and mouth-watering.
Jing Nian instantly forgot his earlier mockery about only old people drinking tea—he actually found himself craving it.
In Jinsong, a small northern city, there was salty Mongolian milk tea but not the sweet Taiwanese milk tea.
Spicy hotpot and milk tea, which later became common street food, only started appearing in Jinsong three or four years later.
As the aroma spread, classmates began to gather around in small groups.
“Hey, what’s that smell? It’s making me hungry.”
“Wow, what is this, Hua Jie?”
“Give me a taste, it smells so good~”
Hua Jie modestly refused everyone’s offered cups and didn’t share her milk tea with any of the begging classmates.
The Jin Jun Mei tea and milk were bought with money she earned from her paintings—she was really poor, the kind of poor that counts every penny.
Besides, if everyone had good things, how could she enjoy the exclusive pleasure of drinking milk tea while others could only look on and salivate?
She only brewed two large cups—one for herself, and one for Shen Mo.
This delicious treat was only for her and her deskmate—who was not only handsome to the point of being unfair but also good at studies and willing to tutor her, and who she had once secretly adored.
Classmates, particularly the girls, who returned to the classroom one after another, were practically drooling.
Milk tea, in the future, would become a vital boost of energy and strength for countless women!
It was an irresistible temptation of life!
Everyone couldn’t help but lean over to ask what it was and why it smelled so good.
Could they have half a cup to try? No? Then how should they make it themselves?
In the end, only Bian Ying managed to resist the temptation and did not join the crowd. She suppressed her cravings, grinding her teeth in irritation as she inhaled the faint scent of milk tea permeating the air.
Shen Mo was drenched in sweat from playing basketball, his jacket casually draped over his shoulders, sweat seeping from his hot forehead.
When he stepped into the classroom, it was as if a ball of sun had plunged into the calm galaxy.
His skin was slightly flushed and moist, making him appear even paler, and the steamy heat mixed with a wildness speckled with the distinctive lethargy and laziness following intense running and jumping—a charm unique to athletic youths.
His usually elegant short hair was slightly damp with sweat, with his forehead hair and temples sticking together in strands.
It lost its neatness and finesse.
But this vigor…
Had the wildness of a man and the earthiness of soil, rough in appearance, yet emanating the most pure and primal cleanliness from within.
Subtle and sexy.
It was truly a feast of colors for the eyes of those who relish beauty and art.
So breathtaking, it almost suffocated Hua Jie.
The milk tea in Hua Jie’s hand was beyond her control now; it wanted to fly immediately to Shen Mo’s hands, to dive straight into his stomach.
Shen Mo crossed the podium and strode to the ‘seat of honor’. He sniffed the air—what was this strange aroma?
It seemed like milk, yet also like tea.
At that moment, Jing Nian had just finished the cup of warm water he had poured earlier and was preparing to get another when he passed by Hua Jie. Unable to resist the ‘what if’ thought, he decided to try his luck again:
“Hua Jie, that milk tea, can’t you really share half a cup with me? I’ll even buy it~”
“No!” Hua Jie decisively refused.
In her previous life, she was someone who couldn’t say no, but… refusing felt really great.
Moreover, she realized that saying no didn’t cause her to lose friends nor did it provoke conflicts. Jing Nian just sulkily touched his nose.
Hua Jie stood up as Shen Mo crossed her seat to sit at his own by the window.
Once he comfortably spread his long legs and settled in, Hua Jie handed him a large cup.
He took it casually, overwhelmed by the rich fragrance, and without a second thought, he brought it to his lips.
He had just finished exercising and was feeling thirsty, with the energy from breakfast seemingly depleted, leaving his stomach feeling hollow and empty.
A sip of the hot drink, aromatic and slightly sweet, instantly triggered a crazy secretion of saliva, and he couldn’t help but gulp down two more mouthfuls.
Jing Nian watched enviously, thinking to himself: You’re drinking too quickly, like Zhu Bajie devouring the ginseng fruit, why not savor the taste a bit?
Seeing Jing Nian’s expression, Hua Jie laughed and said:
“This milk tea is just for my deskmate to drink.”
“…” Jing Nian’s face stiffened, and he turned around with a forced smile to pour himself some boiling water.
Boiling water is quite good too, healthy for the body, quenching thirst, and also tasty…
Uh… Sigh!
Hua Jie had seemed like an easy target before, and he hadn’t expected her to pull such stunts.
If he had known earlier… he would have treated her better, and then he would be the one leisurely sitting and drinking milk tea right now!
Jing Nian swallowed his saliva as he poured the water, inwardly sighing deeply.
…
Shen Mo, who was gulping down the milk tea, heard Hua Jie’s words and stared as Jing Nian walked away, then savored the taste in his mouth again.
His gaze swept over the female classmates nearby, finally noticing everyone’s thirst.
The emotions of young people are always direct, and these undisguised ‘wants’ were so blatantly obvious.
His lips seemed about to curl into a smile, but whether out of pride or shyness, he pressed them back into a straight line.
Turning towards the windowsill, he avoided everyone’s gaze but couldn’t help gripping the milk tea cup, leaning on the desk, and covertly showing off the drink Hua Jie had given him to his classmates.
“What’s this thing? It’s strangely tasty.” He asked her casually, his head cocked; the stubborn youth never thanked anyone.