Pei Chen returned home from the mall, had a meal, and then helped Pei Yongxia take a bath.
Helping a paralyzed adult male bathe is not easy. When Pei Chen was smaller, it was especially difficult for him, but now that he’s grown, he’s much more adept at it. However, it still takes a lot of time.
After the bath, he helped Pei Yongxia get dressed and finally assisted him in lying down on the bed, covering him with a blanket.
This was something Pei Chen had done every day for ten years.
Once everything was taken care of, Pei Chen returned to his room and started working on his homework.
Around eleven o’clock, the sound of fireworks and firecrackers began to echo outside, adding to the strong New Year’s Eve atmosphere.
Just before midnight, his phone on the desk lit up.
He picked it up and saw that it was a video call from Liang Zhiyi.
He was slightly surprised, but after a second, he pressed the answer button, and the girl’s beautiful face appeared on the screen.
Liang Zhiyi was curled up, her cheek resting on a pillow, smiling at him.
“Pei Chen—guess where I am?”
Pei Chen was slightly taken aback. “Are you lying down?”
“Yeah, I’ve already snuggled into bed, hehe.”
He was stunned. “Weren’t you going to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your classmates?”
“They dragged me to see the fireworks, but I didn’t want to go, so I came home early,” Liang Zhiyi’s dimples appeared as she smiled. “Besides, I wanted to spend New Year’s Eve with just you. I didn’t want anyone else around.”
Hearing her say this, Pei Chen felt a warm and tingling sensation spread through him. He gently asked, “Did you have fun tonight?”
“I did! I caught three stuffed toys, and look, this Psyduck only took me two tries!” She proudly showed him the toy she had pulled into the warm bed. “So, am I amazing or what?”
She looked like a little kid seeking praise, and Pei Chen’s lips curled up slightly. “Yes, very amazing.”
“It was fun, but Pei Chen, it would have been better if you were there.”
Seeing the disappointment in her eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
Suddenly, he regretted not going to find her tonight, leaving her with a sense of loss.
“Zhiyi… I’m sorry.”
Liang Zhiyi rested her chin on the stuffed toy and smiled, “What are you apologizing for? It’s okay. Next time, you can come with me to catch toys, okay?”
He looked at her intently.
“Okay.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me.”
As Liang Zhiyi looked at her phone, her eyes lit up. “Pei Chen, it’s midnight! Happy New Year!”
Outside the window, fireworks blossomed one by one in the dark night.
The noise was so loud that it drowned out the sound of people talking.
A new year had arrived.
Pei Chen gazed at Liang Zhiyi’s smiling face and softly said, “Happy New Year.”
“Pei Chen, in the new year, you can make a New Year’s wish.”
She closed her eyes with a smile, clasping her hands together.
She made a wish: that in the new year, all her good fortune would go to Pei Chen.
On the screen, the boy stared straight at her, his gaze filled with warmth.
After making her wish, Liang Zhiyi opened her eyes. “Pei Chen, I’ve made my wish. Did you make yours?”
He responded with a soft “Mm.”
“I’ve heard that you shouldn’t be too greedy when making a wish—one wish is all it takes for it to come true. But that’s okay; when the Lunar New Year arrives, you can make another wish.”
She really was a clever little thing.
After chatting a bit more, she yawned, and Pei Chen noticed how sleepy she looked. He said, “It’s very late; you should go to bed.”
“Do you usually stay up late?”
“If I don’t have anything to do, I don’t stay up past midnight.”
“… You don’t usually stay up late studying?”
“Do you think I need to?”
“…” Well, that was just the privilege of being a top student.
Liang Zhiyi rubbed her sleepy eyes. “Pei Chen, I’m going to sleep now. Good night.”
“Mm, good night.”
After Liang Zhiyi ended the call, Pei Chen looked at the darkened screen. The sense of loss he had felt earlier was slowly being replaced.
He raised his head and looked out the window.
In the new year, the luckiest thing was meeting her.
Her presence made him realize that this world has its moments of charm, and that he too could be loved purely and passionately by someone.
°°°
During the three-day New Year’s holiday, on the first morning, Liang Tianming and Zhongrou both set aside their work and took their two children out for a day trip, enjoying a rare moment of warm family time.
Usually, Liang Tianming is at the company and Zhong Xinrou is at the hospital, so both are very busy, making it difficult for the whole family to go out together.
In the afternoon, when the family returned home and stepped inside, the housekeeper mentioned that Zhang Xinxin’s mother had already been sitting in the house for a while.
Zhong Xinrou walked in and saw Zhang Xinxin’s mother lounging on the sofa, casually eating fruit. She smiled and said, “Why didn’t you call me before coming over?”
Zhang’s mother stood up with a smile. “Sis, brother-in-law, I heard you were out having fun, so I didn’t want to disturb you. Oh, Tongzhou and Zhiyi, it’s been a while since I last saw these two kids.”
Neither Liang Zhiyi nor Liang Tongzhou liked Zhang’s mother very much, but out of politeness, they greeted her.
“Mom, Dad, we’re going upstairs.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
Liang Tongzhou, with his usual nonchalant attitude, grabbed Liang Zhiyi by the arm and they headed upstairs.
Liang Tianming asked the housekeeper to make two cups of coffee, and the three of them sat down on the sofa. Zhang’s mother said, “Since I had some free time today, I thought I’d drop by, and I brought you some supplements…”
After some small talk, Zhang’s mother brought up the matter of her husband’s company wanting to collaborate with Liang Group. “Brother-in-law, you know we’re all family, right…”
Although Zhang’s mother often compared her family to the Liang family behind their backs, she didn’t hesitate to ask for help when needed.
Liang Tianming had long seen through Zhang’s mother’s intentions, but since she was Zhong Xinrou’s sister, he didn’t want to make a fuss. He responded warmly, “Have Jianxin contact me, and we can discuss it at my office.”
Hearing this, Zhang’s mother beamed with joy. “I’ll have him reach out to you directly.”
As the conversation shifted to family matters, Zhong Xinrou asked, “By the way, how has Xinxin been doing lately?”
Zhang’s mother felt a bit awkward, recalling how she had once boasted in front of the Liang couple about her daughter’s academic performance, only for Xinxin to perform worse than Liang Zhiyi in the midterms. She laughed awkwardly and said, “Xinxin’s studies are going well, and she’s been performing exceptionally in her orchestra. She even has an out-of-town performance during the winter break…”
“That’s great. She should consider furthering her studies in piano.”
Zhang’s mother smiled and said, “Sis, brother-in-law, I’ve heard that Zhiyi is doing very well in school.”
“She’s doing alright.”
Zhang’s mother sighed theatrically and remarked, “But if her thoughts are focused on the wrong things, that wouldn’t be good.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, I heard from Xinxin that Zhiyi is openly pursuing a boy at school.”
“Pursuing someone?”
Zhang’s mother claimed she had heard it from Zhang Xinxin, who said that there were rumors circulating in their grade. Apparently, many people were talking about it. “I heard that the boy is quite a good student, and it seems he’s Zhiyi’s deskmate.”
Liang Tianming and Zhong Xinrou were slightly taken aback.
“Sis, brother-in-law, you really need to be on guard about kids falling in love too early. Next year is the most crucial for them as they’ll be in their final year of high school. If they start dating, how can they focus on their studies? Their grades will definitely plummet, and then what will you do?”
Zhang’s mother clicked her tongue twice. “I’m just saying, girls shouldn’t get too close with boys. When a boy and a girl sit together every day, something is bound to happen. You really need to manage Zhiyi better; a girl shouldn’t be so unreserved. And I heard that boy’s family is very poor—how could he ever be a match for our Zhiyi?”
Liang Tianming didn’t know much about Pei Chen, but hearing this made his face darken. He retorted, “Were we born rich? Didn’t we also earn every penny we have today?”
Zhang’s mother was momentarily speechless.
Liang Tianming had started his business from scratch, growing the Liang Group to its current size, and the Zhang family had only recently become wealthy.
Zhong Xinrou added, “I heard that boy’s family went through a lot before ending up like this. It’s not fair to talk about them like that.”
“Sis, brother-in-law, you know this boy?”
“Zhiyi mentioned him to me, and I’ve met him.”
Liang Tianming continued, “Times are different now. It’s not shameful for a girl to like a boy first, and normal interactions between boys and girls aren’t as terrible as you’re making them out to be.”
Zhang’s mother noticed the Liang couple’s displeased expressions and felt awkward. She hadn’t expected her eager gossip to backfire. With an embarrassed laugh, she quickly added, “I didn’t mean anything by it, just looking out for Zhiyi.”
After a bit more small talk, Zhang’s mother claimed she had other things to do and left the Liang house.
Once the living room was quiet, Liang Tianming looked up at Zhong Xinrou and asked, “You’ve met this boy?”
Zhong Xinrou nodded and recounted Pei Chen’s story, including how he had been injured and how Zhiyi had offered to pay for tutoring, which Pei Chen had refused. She sighed, “I could tell early on that our daughter has feelings for that boy. It’s the first time I’ve seen her care for someone like this.”
She also told Liang Tianming about Pei Chen’s difficult family situation and how he was an outstanding student despite his hardships.
After listening, Liang Tianming nodded and said, “He seems like a good kid, but you’ve also heard that Zhiyi is now pursuing him.”
Zhong Xinrou lowered her head as Liang Tianming spoke sternly, “I won’t oppose her dating in the future. We don’t need Zhiyi to find a boy from a wealthy family or arrange some kind of business marriage. But now is the time to focus on her studies. This kind of thing can be a distraction.”
Zhong Xinrou sighed, trying to console him. “But Zhiyi’s grades haven’t dropped, have they? Both she and that boy are doing well academically.”
“If their grades start to drop, it’ll be too late to fix it. Better safe than sorry,” Liang Tianming said with a serious expression. “If they truly like each other, they don’t need to rush into anything.”
Zhong Xinrou sighed again, “So, what should we do?”
Liang Tianming, his expression stern, finally patted Zhong Xinrou’s hand and said, “I’ll take care of this.”
After the New Year’s holiday ended, the busy academic schedule resumed, and preparations for the final exams were put on the agenda.
One morning during the week of final exams, the Chinese language teacher couldn’t make it to class, so the students were allowed to study on their own.
Sang Xunling, who was on duty today, sat at the teacher’s desk, maintaining order in the classroom.
At her desk, Liang Zhiyi rested her chin in her hand, trying to do her homework, but she was drowsy.
Pei Chen noticed her head nodding as she struggled to stay awake. “Are you really tired?”
“Mm…”
She was having her period.
Every time her period came, drowsiness was a given.
She rubbed her stomach. “My tummy feels cold.”
Pei Chen seemed to understand what was going on. After a moment, he reached into his backpack, took out something, and handed it to her. “You can use this.”
She saw that it was a heating pad, and her eyes lit up. “How did you know to bring this?”
Of course, he knew her period usually came around this time.
Pei Chen wasn’t going to admit to such an embarrassing reason. He simply said, “I bought a bag this morning, and the shopkeeper gave it to me as a freebie.”
“Huh?”
“The shopkeeper is really considerate. Is this for the bag or for people to use?”
Pei Chen gave her a speechless glance, while the girl smiled brightly. She placed the heating pad on herself, and Pei Chen calmly replied, “It’s for the bag.”
“…”
“Who are you calling a bag?”
She huffed and glared at him. “Watch what you say, or I’ll switch seats next semester and won’t sit next to you anymore.”
Pei Chen responded nonchalantly, “That’s fine.”
“Pei Chen, I won’t be friends with you anymore…”
She leaned sideways on the desk, looking at him, and playfully tugged at his sleeve. Her voice was soft, almost like she was teasing him.
Pei Chen’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he reached out to gently pry her mischievous hand away. His voice was husky, carrying a hint of helpless fondness, “Stop it and focus on your studies.”
His hand, warm and well-defined, enveloped hers, their fingers brushing against each other, sending a tingling sensation through her. Liang Zhiyi’s heart skipped a beat, and she murmured softly, “I wasn’t causing trouble…”
Just as she was about to say something else, a female voice interrupted from beside her desk, “Zhiyi, could you please stop talking?”
She looked up and met the gaze of Sang Xunling.
Sang Xunling had silently left the podium and walked over to their desk, her eyes filled with both hostility and jealousy as she looked at Liang Zhiyi.
In a soft but pointed tone, Sang Xunling said, “I noticed you’ve been talking non-stop. You’re disrupting the class’s study time.”
She had been paying attention to them from the podium for a while, watching the intimate atmosphere between Liang Zhiyi and Pei Chen. The sight made her increasingly frustrated, and she couldn’t hold back any longer, so she came down to stop them.
Liang Zhiyi lowered her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
Sang Xunling was taken aback: What? How can she act so innocent?!
Pei Chen frowned slightly, looking at Sang Xunling as he immediately defended her, “I was the one talking to her.”
It was the first time Sang Xunling saw a hint of annoyance on Pei Chen’s usually indifferent face—and it was because she had criticized Liang Zhiyi?!