In the end, Li Rui couldn’t hold Zheng Yang off for long. Dragged by the collar, he was hauled all the way to find Ye Xi and Bai Yue.
“What’s the rush…”
He resisted fiercely, dragging his feet like a weight, but it was no use. Zheng Yang’s steps were unwavering.
By now, the fireworks festival had already been going on for twenty minutes. Li Rui glanced at the time, thinking Ye Xi should be finished by now.
So he gave up struggling.
A few minutes later, they returned to the bar’s narrow veranda.
Inside, the place was still lively. Some people crowded by the windows to watch fireworks, others watched a ball game. Whether a goal had been scored or not, the room erupted in such deafening cheers it nearly blew the roof off.
Meanwhile, Ye Xi and Bai Yue stood in that narrow corridor. The vintage tulip-shaped light above them swayed, making their shadows sway with it.
They gazed at each other.
By now, Bai Yue had let go of Ye Xi, but the two were still very close.
Ye Xi stared at him blankly, lost in thought.
It was a beautiful scene.
Under the dim yellow light, both were striking in appearance—tall, long-legged, with refined features and flawless bone structure. Just standing there quietly, they looked like a still from a film.
Li Rui, sharp-eyed, noticed something new on Bai Yue’s wrist—a black bracelet.
Perfect. He knew Ye Xi’s gift had been delivered.
“Ahem.” He coughed loudly twice to announce himself, breaking the statuesque stillness of the two.
“Zheng Yang and I are back. I just grabbed us a really great spot—why didn’t you two come…”
He stretched out his words, climbing the steps slowly.
Ye Xi finally snapped back to his senses. Reluctantly, he tore his gaze from Bai Yue’s face, first meeting Zheng Yang’s suspicious stare.
Then he looked at Li Rui.
He smiled. “Really? I thought you two went to buy roasted apples.”
But they all knew it was a lie.
Li Rui couldn’t help but grin too.
From Ye Xi’s expression, he could tell more than a birthday gift had been exchanged—something else, something secret.
He bounced over to Ye Xi’s side and stood with him, looking up at the fireworks still blooming above.
“Forget it,” he said cheerfully. “So what if we missed it? The view’s not bad from the corridor anyway.”
Zheng Yang, arms crossed, listened with a face full of suspicion.
He glanced from Bai Yue to Ye Xi. Ever since they’d come back, he’d felt the three were hiding something from him.
But with no proof, all he could do was frown.
Soon though, he had no time to dwell.
It was already 9:27. Just three more minutes until the fireworks ended.
From somewhere on the beach came the sound of a guitar.
People began singing along.
It was a light, cheerful pop song. Li Rui hummed a couple lines, then poked Ye Xi to sing too.
Even Bai Yue joined in, humming two lines as he walked over to Ye Xi’s side. He sang while lowering his head, smiling as he looked at him.
He whispered something in Ye Xi’s ear.
Ye Xi burst into laughter, turned his head, and rose on his toes to whisper back into Bai Yue’s ear.
Tsk.
Zheng Yang was beyond irritated. He shoved himself in between them like a stone guardian at the gate, glaring at Bai Yue with hostility.
When the final firework fell and the sky returned to darkness, a wave of sighs rippled through the crowd.
The people began to scatter.
They shouted for friends, searching the crowd for companions they’d been separated from, while others discussed where to go next.
Li Rui sighed regretfully. “Ah, it’s already over. That was fast.”
But his regret lasted only a few seconds before his energy returned.
“Alright, let’s go for late-night snacks!” he cheered.
Zheng Yang nearly exploded. He stared at Li Rui in disbelief. “Is your stomach some kind of dimensional pouch? You’ve been eating all night!”
Earlier, while pushing forward to watch the fireworks, Li Rui had even bought a grilled sausage. He hadn’t stopped chewing the whole way, like a hamster.
Li Rui bristled. “What? Having a big appetite is a crime now?”
He glared back at Zheng Yang. “It’s not like I gain weight. So what if I eat more?”
Zheng Yang was stared down so hard he took a step back, raising his hands in surrender.
Seeing him like this, Ye Xi couldn’t help but laugh too. He thought, how come he’d never realized before that Zheng Yang was actually pretty easy to bully?
That night ended with them at a late-night barbecue restaurant.
There were only a few tables of customers inside, and the four of them took over a private booth by the window.
They grilled meat over the charcoal themselves while gazing out at the quiet snowy scenery. The river flowed slowly past, carrying away the floating lanterns tourists had released.
Li Rui raised his bottle of sparkling soda, lamenting, “How come the trip’s already ending tomorrow, and the day after we’re back in school? I feel like I didn’t get to play enough at all.”
Zheng Yang, meanwhile, was feeling smug. “Sorry, can’t relate to your pain—my vacation’s already started.”
Since his guaranteed admission list was confirmed, he technically didn’t have to go to school anymore.
Li Rui got even more irritated and kicked him under the table.
Ye Xi didn’t really want school to start either, but he was more concerned about something else.
Chewing on a skewer of chicken drumsticks, he asked tentatively, “Bai-ge, once school starts, won’t you be busy too?”
“It’s not too bad,” Bai Yue said lightly. “I’ll be entering a business competition, so I might be a bit busy around March and April.”
But after a pause, he added, “Still, once it’s over, I can continue tutoring you. Before the college entrance exam, you’ll need a good sprint.”
He gave Ye Xi a smile.
Ye Xi immediately felt relieved, though also a little shy. He quickly offered Bai Yue the lotus root slices he had just grilled.
Zheng Yang caught this little scene and snorted dismissively.
What was with that act?
It was just tutoring. He could do it too.
He was about to say something, but Li Rui shoved a forkful of Wagyu beef cubes into his mouth.
Zheng Yang: “?!”
Li Rui beamed. “Eat more, talk less.”
No need to bother the little couple.
…..
After their late-night snack, Bai Yue drove them back to the hotel.
They were all too exhausted from the day’s fun. None of them had the energy to play cards, so the three high schoolers exchanged quick goodnights and returned to their rooms.
On the third day, they visited the last few attractions on their itinerary.
In the morning, they toured a mountaintop lake and observatory—another filming site from Snow Traces.
In the afternoon, they visited a winery and then played at a newly opened amusement park.
By nightfall, the four of them rode the Ferris wheel together and ended the trip with hotpot at a restaurant Zheng Yang had been wanting to try.
Li Rui even dragged Zheng Yang to the convenience store to say goodbye to the owner.
But Zheng Yang stammered, saying nothing in the end, only giving her a pair of ceramic earrings he had bought.
He said softly, “I think they suit you.”
After they left, Li Rui sighed. “You’re useless. I gave you the chance and you still couldn’t make it work.”
Zheng Yang just shrugged.
He didn’t deny he had some admiration for her.
But he said, “It’s not like I have some grand feelings for her. We just met by chance, I felt a bit of fondness. She probably only sees me as some random boy passing by—I know that.”
He smiled openly. “So being able to give her a pair of earrings, and having her accept them, that’s enough to make me happy.”
Not every encounter needs to have a sequel.
Li Rui was taken aback.
He looked at Zheng Yang with curiosity. “Didn’t expect that… you’re actually kind of pure-hearted.”
Honestly, even though Zheng Yang and Ye Xi were polar opposite brothers, in moments like this, they did resemble each other a little.
Zheng Yang shot him a glare.
…..
When everything ended, Bai Yue drove them back home.
Same as when they had come, Ye Xi and Li Rui sat in the back, Zheng Yang in the passenger seat.
But this time, both Li Rui and Zheng Yang had fallen asleep, leaving only Ye Xi awake.
At a rest stop, he followed Bai Yue out to get some air in the vast open space.
Bai Yue asked him, “Did you enjoy yourself these past few days?”
Ye Xi nodded hard.
Holding the hot chocolate Bai Yue bought him, he whispered, “I was really happy.”
Looking at Bai Yue over the rim of the paper cup, steam blurring his brows and eyes, he said softly, “This is the happiest winter break I’ve ever had.”
He smiled, his dimples deep and clear.
Because it was true.
In past winter breaks, he had either stayed at home or traveled alone to avoid Ye Shuyue.
He only started staying at Li Rui’s house in his second year of high school. Before that, he had always been too timid to impose.
But this year, not only had he spent more than ten joyful days at Li Rui’s, he had also been looking forward, from the very first day of break, to Bai Yue’s promise to celebrate his birthday with him.
And these three days out with Bai Yue had been even more wonderful than he’d imagined.
His gaze fell to Bai Yue’s left wrist, where the birthday gift he had given still rested, warming his heart all over again.
“That’s good then.”
Bai Yue smiled too, ruffling Ye Xi’s hair gently. “After your college entrance exam, I can take you out again.”
Without Zheng Yang tagging along.
Ye Xi laughed out loud.
They stayed outside for about ten minutes. As they were heading back toward the car, Bai Yue hesitated and then called him.
“Wait, Ye Xi.”
He pulled a small box from his pocket and handed it over. “I actually wanted to give you this yesterday, but never found the chance.”
Ye Xi froze, confused.
It wasn’t even his birthday—why was he getting a gift?
Being stared at by Ye Xi, Bai Yue—usually so composed—felt a flicker of shyness.
“This is an opal I dug up myself during a study camp field trip to a mining site. Out of the dozen of us, I was the only one who found one. Guess it was a stroke of luck. So I had it polished and brought it back to give to you.”
His voice was soft. “It’s small and not very eye-catching, but I hope you won’t dislike it.”
Ye Xi was genuinely stunned this time.
He opened the box to find a small brooch inside.
The design was simple—made of 18k gold and tiny diamonds, shaped like a mechanical heart. At the center, where the heart would be, gleamed a black opal with shifting colors.
It wasn’t large, only thumb-sized, but it was far from unremarkable.
Bai Yue said quietly, “Before the college entrance exam, it’s tradition at our high school to hold an adulthood ceremony for seniors. I thought if you wore a suit that day, you might need a brooch.”
Ye Xi stared at it for a long time, speechless.
At the quiet rest stop, still full of late-night travelers, he suddenly gathered his courage and stepped forward, hugging Bai Yue.
“Thank you, Bai-ge.”
His voice was soft, his nose a little sore for some reason. Too embarrassed to look up, he buried his face in Bai Yue’s chest.
Bai Yue froze for a moment, then let out a soft laugh and hugged him back.
He patted Ye Xi’s head.
Ye Xi hadn’t said much, but somehow Bai Yue understood what he meant.
He knew that, setting aside all his improper thoughts and the feelings he shouldn’t have—this year, as Ye Xi stepped into adulthood, he really had played a significant role in his life.
It left him a little helpless, smiling wryly as he sighed.
Meanwhile, back in the car, Li Rui had woken up.
Groggy, he opened his eyes and realized Ye Xi wasn’t inside. Leaning against the window, he craned his neck to look outside.
And that was when he saw the two of them hugging.
In truth, the sight wasn’t anything unusual.
These past few days, it had been clear to everyone that Bai Yue was close to Ye Xi. That kind of closeness could be explained as brotherly, or as friendship.
Any way you put it, it made sense.
But as he looked at them in the distance, some blurred memory was stirred.
Just last night, half-dreaming and half-awake, he seemed to have seen something…
Li Rui froze.
His fingers tightened on the window, and suddenly he remembered the Polaroid Ye Xi had tucked carefully away in his bag.
