Liang Qiao was in the middle of a conversation with Pei Qiansu.
Chu Hui sipped the wine in his glass, occasionally glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. His arm hung loosely at his side, swaying slightly, brushing against the edge of her stool as if by accident.
Her hand rested casually on her lap, barely ten centimeters from him. The finely draped tablecloth fell between them, touching the space before both their knees.
Over on the other side, Wei Ting was asking, "Why do you hate Sheng Fuzhou so much?" There was a hint of helpless amusement in his tone.
Pei Qiansu replied matter-of-factly, "Isn't he worth hating?"
"Actually…" Wei Ting hesitated for only half a second before Pei Qiansu fixed him with a dangerous look, arms crossed. He quickly changed tack. "…He is."
Liang Qiao rarely interjected, but she asked, "What about everyone else besides Sheng Fuzhou?"
Pei Qiansu turned her head. "What?"
Liang Qiao said, "Aside from Sheng Fuzhou—do you hate everyone else too?"
Pei Qiansu didn't quite understand why she was asking, but she caught sight of who was sitting beside Liang Qiao and immediately wore a look of comprehension. Lowering her voice, she said, "Are you saying you don't want to sit next to Chu Hui? Want me to have Wei Ting switch with you?"
"…"
All the prepared follow-up words lodged in her throat, blocked by the sincerity in Pei Qiansu's gaze. Liang Qiao was momentarily speechless. "…That's not what I meant."
…Never mind. She'd explain once Pei Qiansu figured it out on her own.
Pei Qiansu had always been thick-skinned and oblivious. Seeing that Liang Qiao had dropped the subject, she didn't press further. She simply opened the wine bottle beside her, and after a few glasses down, grew even more talkative, launching into a story about her training with Wei Ting. "Starting tomorrow, I'm locking myself in my room and sleeping. I haven't stopped since training ended."
"Do you know where they sent me for the special training? Old North! Old North! I submitted my report yesterday and didn't get home until the middle of the night. I'm about to pass out!"
The "Old North" she mentioned was formally known as the Old North Industrial District. Together with the Old River Valley District and the Old Coast, they were collectively called the Old Third District. There weren't many cities there, environmental pollution was severe, and the area's main functions revolved around repurposing abandoned industrial sites, scavenging heavy metals, and processing energy waste.
Wei Ting asked from the side, "I heard the Old North Industrial District has a pretty bad public security situation. Is that true?"
Pei Qiansu said, "Somewhat. There's a serious power shortage over there, and it's close to the Old Coast, so smuggling and black market dealings have always been rampant. But the base where we trained was pretty far from the city, so I never went to check it out."
Wei Ting asked, "Was it very tough?"
"Yeah," Pei Qiansu said. She didn't want to recall those three months at all. She wanted to curse but didn't know where to begin. She held it in for a long time before finally spitting out two words: "Inhuman."
Wei Ting asked worriedly, "Were you hurt?"
"Injuries are the least of it—that was pure psychological torture," Pei Qiansu said in a low voice through gritted teeth. "Do you know how disgusting that Alpha stress-resistance test was? They kept you awake for three days straight, and then when your mind was at its weakest, they locked you in a solitary confinement cell and pumped in the highest concentration of Omega pheromones."
Actually, they'd had similar stress-resistance tests during training at school, but never at that intensity. The pheromone concentration used for testing was generally kept within 15%, and they were even given some advance notice or preparation time.
Seeing her expression was extremely uncomfortable, Wei Ting's heart tightened along with it, but as a Beta, he couldn't understand the torment such a test could inflict on an Alpha. He pressed his lips together, wanting to speak but unable to find the words.
Pei Qiansu noticed the apologetic look on his face and casually patted his shoulder, saying, "Oh, it's all in the past. You had to ask before I'd tell you anyway. It wasn't that bad, really—we drew lots for our pheromone concentration levels, and I only got 15%. I just had to tough it out. Liang Qiao was the unlucky one—she drew 75%."
"Ah?" Wei Ting looked past her toward Liang Qiao and said, "That must have been awful, right?"
"Exactly," Pei Qiansu said, draping an arm around Liang Qiao's shoulder and continuing, "Our Liang Qiao here has barely had any contact with Omegas, so getting hit with that all at once must have been rough. I saw a few Alphas who drew 50% come out vomiting."
"Actually, I…" Liang Qiao hesitated, and faced with her concerned gaze, could only say, "…it was fine."
—After all, the Omega sitting beside her had been brushing his shoe against her calf for quite a while now.
Unfortunately, Pei Qiansu didn't believe her, convinced it was just a claim of having things under control now that time had passed. Liang Qiao didn't explain further. As she set down her wine glass, she swept a sidelong glance at Chu Hui beside her.
She intended it as a warning, but Chu Hui apparently interpreted it as something else entirely. He raised an eyebrow and grew even bolder, his shoe tip slowly trailing downward, directly nudging aside the hem of her trousers.
Liang Qiao: "…"
Sometimes she really wanted to call the police, but she was afraid the responding officers would be their classmates.
The circumstances really weren't conducive to taking action, so she could only let him be, sitting quietly among the group and exchanging a few words with Pei Qiansu from time to time.
After sitting for what felt like a long while, the Twin Towers in the distance suddenly lit up, immediately drawing everyone's attention. Someone checked the time and said, "It's almost midnight! Ten more minutes!"
At that, the well-fed and well-watered crowd began drifting toward the railing. Chu Hui had wanted to seize the moment to say something to her, but no sooner had he stood up than he was pulled away by Chaoye. Liang Qiao lingered half a step before rising, lowering her hand to swap the positions of her freshly poured juice and Chu Hui's wine glass, then gripped the rim of her glass and walked toward the crowd.
Humanity had endured a long era of wandering, and many cultures had vanished beneath the rising floodwaters, but the unified calendar had survived. January 1st had become the Federation's unified New Year, complete with a bonus of fifteen days of paid leave.
With less than ten minutes to go, Tregini Center was packed to the brim. Looking down from above, the broad cross-shaped streets were a sea of bobbing heads. Countless glass curtain walls and steel frameworks interlocked and stacked like enormous luminous building blocks, stretching all the way to the vanishing point of one's vision.
New Year's Day was probably when the Federation shone brightest. In view, there was hardly a single fully dark building—every structure's silhouette was precisely outlined by dazzling neon lights, and countless streams of colored light wound through the canyons between towers, finally converging into an ocean beneath their feet.
Soon, the bells rang. The lights within sight slowly dimmed, and a massive holographic projection rose among the buildings. A seed took shape beneath the Twin Towers, and in an instant, sprouted into a seedling, then branches and a trunk.
The leaves were woven from billions of points of light, spreading wantonly against the night sky, scattering stardust-like fragments of brilliance in their wake, until they reached the summit of the Twin Towers and grew into a colossal tree that eclipsed the moon. In the next instant, the great tree scattered into a flurry of numbers and symbols, reassembling into an image of the Earth—its continental outlines as clear as if drawn, wrapped in a soft halo of light.
The final ten-second countdown began.
The roar of the crowd rose from below like steam, coalescing into a deep, resonant hum. Every light became a pulse, flickering in sync with the changing numbers.
The people beside him joined in the chant: "Ten, nine, eight, seven… three, two, one!"
The instant the numbers hit zero, the world seemed to hold its breath for a single frame. The next second, twin bursts of colossal light erupted from the tops of the Twin Towers, illuminating every face in an instant.
Between the two towers, a bridge formed from fireworks appeared. Countless dazzling meteors streaked across it in opposite directions, colliding into layered rings of light that assembled into patterns both rhythmic and breathtaking. Everyone watching was unconsciously drawn into the spectacle, until a pure white arc of light slowly swept across the sky, and countless dense beams converged and interwove before their eyes.
The beams condensed into a giant heart. Through its translucent surface, its interior was faintly visible—myriad tiny particles of light raced along vein-like pathways. For several seconds, this heart hung suspended in the night sky like a fiery red sun, casting the entire city in a warm, golden-red glow.
Then, it imploded gently.
All the light collapsed inward, then diffused soundlessly outward. Countless minuscule specks of light drifted slowly down from the heights, touching building surfaces, streets, and people's cheeks before extinguishing with lingering reluctance.
After a brief silence, the dazzling lights blazed back to life, and the cheers below surged into a tidal wave. Many raised their glasses toward the Federation Twin Towers, shouting, "Happy New Year!"
Everyone hurried back to their tables to grab their glasses, and the clinking of toasts quickly rang out in a cascade. Pei Qiansu and Wei Ting finished their drinks, then looked around for Liang Qiao. They searched left and right without finding her, until finally, looking past the crowd, they spotted her leaning alone against the railing, one arm propped on it, with the city's dazzling lights sprawling magnificently behind her.
Several gazes met through the night wind and flowing light. She raised her glass slightly in their direction, a faint, elusive smile at the corner of her lips, and mouthed silently: "Happy New Year."
Happy New Year.
…
Wait, why is this juice?
As midnight passed, the gathering drew to a close. People parted reluctantly, clustering in twos and threes to chat.
Pei Qiansu had drunk too much early on—he'd barely held on until midnight—and was taken back to school by classmates from the same dormitory building. Wei Ting hadn't drunk much, but he was preoccupied with his unfinished experiment, so he left with Pei Qiansu as well. Liang Qiao sat for a while longer, then looked toward Chu Hui not far away.
The two reached a silent agreement to leave with a single exchange of glances. But Sheng Fuzhou, noticing him rise, immediately asked, "You're heading back?"
Chu Hui gave a casual reply, clinked glasses with Chaoye, and finished the last of his juice.
“No, I’ve noticed you’ve been especially off this past year,” Sheng Fuzhou said. “You’re always disappearing on us, and you’re never in the dorm. Be honest—what are you sneaking off to do behind our backs?”
“Piss off,” Chu Hui said, not bothering to entertain him. “I didn’t exactly crash at the dorm all the time before either, you know.”
Sheng Fuzhou said, “Back in the day, when you got sick of lab work, you’d still come hang out with us. Now, when you get sick of it, you toss your stuff in the dorm and vanish without a trace.”
“Mind your own business,” Chu Hui said. “If you’re feeling possessive, go drink some Suppressant.”
While they were talking, Liang Qiao had already reached the entrance to the skybridge. Chu Hui caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye—a woman in the School of Materials uniform dawdled up behind her, raised a smile, and tilted her head to say something.
“I’m done talking to you—catch you next time.” Though she couldn’t tell the gender at a glance, Chu Hui was highly alert around anyone. She cut the conversation short and headed toward the skybridge, but by the time she got close enough to hear, the two had already finished talking. The woman wore a disappointed expression and said, “Alright.”
Liang Qiao didn’t reply, stepping into the open elevator doors. The woman looked about to leave too, but didn’t go in with her. Seeing the doors about to close, Chu Hui didn’t have time to think—she quickened her pace and slipped inside.
“Why did Chu Hui get in?” Since the two groups had always been at odds in public, anyone who saw it was a little puzzled, murmuring, “They’re not going to fight, are they?”
“Shouldn’t… probably not,” someone answered. “That Liang Qiao seems pretty even-keeled.”
“Well, it’s graduation season now,” someone said, glancing at Sheng Fuzhou, who was still sitting where he was. “Weren’t they saying this morning they’d settle old and new scores once and for all?”
“—I really will settle old and new scores with you. You added an Omega during the graduation assessment before, and now you’re adding one again, huh?” Chu Hui couldn’t hold it in for a second longer. The moment the skybridge started moving, she blurted it out. Liang Qiao steadied her, saying, “You really did drink a bit too much.”
“I didn’t!” Chu Hui said. “Did she want to get to know you?”
Liang Qiao didn’t deny it. She hummed in acknowledgment and said, “She invited me to spend the night with her today.”
Chu Hui hadn’t expected the woman to be so blunt. In a dangerous tone, she asked, “And then?”
And then?
Liang Qiao glanced sideways at her, her calm gaze seeming to condense into something tangible, and said, “Then I said I already have someone to spend the night with.”
That line was hardly sweet talk, but perhaps because it came from the person standing right in front of her, Chu Hui felt that uncontrollable dizziness again. She leaned in, looked at her for two seconds, let her gaze drop slightly, and kissed her lips without warning.
The skybridge plummeted downward, like a drop of water cutting through the city’s skyline, fully transparent on all sides. They hung suspended a hundred meters in the air, the glittering city below their feet.
A sense of weightlessness crept up from her soles, mixed with the faint vertigo of adrenaline. The golden streets melted into honey, the indigo buildings became a surging ocean, the clamor of voices filtered into distant tides, and thousands of faces blurred into patches of light.
Neon lights flowed into a luminous river, and fiercer than the glow were the eyes of her lover.
…
When they got home, the two finally rode in the same car.
As soon as the door closed, Chu Hui threw himself onto her, tumbling into the back seat. The 0916 auto-calibrated its route and merged smoothly into the main lane.
Liang Qiao gently stroked the warm skin behind his ear, indulging his endless kiss. As he kissed her, Chu Hui mentally calculated the time—well, it was New Year's Day today, so traffic was bound to be heavy.
That being the case, he might as well find something to do.