In winter, Shengjing was brightly lit at eight o’clock. Inside a high-end residential complex, a young girl sat curled up in a makeshift dog bed. Dressed in pink-and-white rabbit pajamas, she looked even more delicate and adorable.
Her hair was tousled, as if she had just woken up.
Surrounded by blankets and pillows, the space looked like a cozy, secure little nest.
She had maintained this position for four hours, her fingers tapping away nonstop on the keyboard.
Just then, a voice message arrived from her good friend Lin Xitang.
“Calling Little Zhizhi, calling Little Zhizhi—”
Xu Zhizhi’s train of thought was abruptly cut off. Her fingers curled slightly, and her dazed gaze slowly shifted to the phone screen.
“Oh—”
She closed her eyes for a moment and flexed her wrist. Hmm, so sore.
Lin Xitang quickly asked, “What are you up to? Writing again?”
“Mhm.”
She couldn’t dissuade her anyway. Fortunately, Xu Zhizhi’s wrists hadn’t suffered any damage, and Lin Xitang had dragged her along for regular check-ups.
Lin Xitang said, “Write less of those angsty stories. I don’t like reading them.”
She really couldn’t understand how such a pretty girl could write those heart-wrenching novels with a straight face. Late at night, Lin Xitang had lost count of how many tissues she’d soaked with tears.
“You… read them (oo)/”
What difference was there between that and stripping her bare?
As if she hadn’t spoken in a long time, her voice was dry and hoarse, each word enunciated slowly, almost robotic.
If they hadn’t known each other for years and understood her way of speaking, Lin Xitang would have sworn she was talking to a machine.
“I did. I’ve been reading them for a month now. Aren’t you tired from writing? Come out and hang out tonight.”
“No.” Writing angsty stories made her happy.
“I’m about to go to the University of Hong Kong as an exchange student, for two whole years, you know. Xu Zhizhi, I suggest you take back what you just said.” Lin Xitang’s tone carried a hint of danger. “Otherwise, I’ll come to your place and make hotpot!!!”
“No, (/＼)..”
Knowing she couldn’t be threatened, Lin Xitang drawled, “I’ll dismantle your dog bed and see where you sleep tonight.”
“Don’t!”
Shocked face with raised hands
This little nest that brought her a sense of security was something Xu Zhizhi cherished deeply. No one was allowed to touch it.
Her friends couldn’t understand why she insisted on squeezing into that dog bed instead of sleeping in her perfectly good big bed.
“We’re having dinner tonight. Zhou Zhou and I will pick you up.”
Zhou Zhou was Lin Xitang’s childhood friend and also her boyfriend, named Zhou Che. But Lin Xitang had called him Zhou Zhou since they were kids and was too used to it to change now.
“Did you hear me? We’re leaving at five. Don’t you dare go out wearing those childish little rabbit or panda pajamas.” Lin Xitang sounded like a worried old mother, while the person on the other end of the line was like a disobedient, hard-to-manage willful daughter. “Wear thick socks and winter shoes. Don’t just slip on sandals and go out.”
“Okay.”
“Forget it, forget it. Zhou Zhou and I will come pick you up early and help you pick out clothes.” Lin Xitang gave her usual instructions. “Alright, get up and walk around a bit. Don’t just sit there all the time. Drink some water and eat some fruit. Did you finish what I brought you the day before yesterday?”
“No.” She wanted to say she hadn’t eaten what was brought the previous days either; it was still sitting fresh in the fridge.
Lin Xitang knew her too well. She rolled her eyes. “Then eat some fruit, stand up and move around, do a couple sets of calisthenics. See you tonight.”
“……” Xu Zhizhi stared at the phone screen until it went dark after the call ended. Then she turned back, cradled her tablet with both hands, flopped back onto the pillows, and resumed her furious typing.
At 5:30 p.m., after Lin Xitang’s afternoon classes ended, Zhou Che picked her up, and they headed to Xu Zhizhi’s place together.
One went into the kitchen, the other into the bedroom—a clear division of labor.
Xu Zhizhi only glanced at them before returning to her own tasks.
This wasn’t the first or second time they’d done this; she was long used to it.
Soon, Zhou Che’s exasperated voice came from the kitchen, “Coach Lin, this kid really doesn’t listen. I suggest you give her a talking-to later.”
All the vegetables and fruits were still perfectly intact in the fridge, the plastic wrap not even opened.
In the bedroom, Coach Lin, expressionless as she picked out clothes for Xu Zhizhi to wear out that day, couldn’t help but roar, “Xu Zhizhi—! How many times have I told you to put away the autumn clothes? You forgot again!”
The door wasn’t closed, and the soundproofing wasn’t great. Xu Zhizhi shuddered.
She felt like she was… done for.
In a flurry, she put down the tablet, pushed the laptop aside, and scrambled out on all fours.
“Wife, the suspect is attempting to flee.” Zhou Che leaned against the doorframe, perfectly at ease, ready to watch the show.
“Xu Zhizhi, get your ass in here!!!”
Xu Zhizhi hunched her shoulders, shot a glare at Zhou Che, and shuffled step by tiny step into the bedroom.
Extremely reluctantly.
“Didn’t I throw this dress in the trash?” Lin Xitang held up a very skimpy short skirt—it looked like a nightgown she had given Xu Zhizhi once.
Several years ago.
“I… picked it back out.” Her voice was low, but if you listened closely, there was a slight upward lilt at the end.
“You were fifteen when I bought this. How old are you now? Twenty.”
She pressed her lips together. “I haven’t grown taller.”
Meaning it could still fit.
“……”
Lin Xitang was speechless, suddenly realizing she had a point.
“Forget it, forget it. Just throw away the old clothes. And don’t always leave the new ones buried at the bottom of the drawer.”
“New clothes aren’t comfortable.”
The new couldn’t compare to the old. Xu Zhizhi didn’t want to discard them.
“Fine. I’ll come over tomorrow to help you sort things out.” Lin Xitang sighed, genuinely wondering how this kid would take care of herself after she left.
“Xu Zhizhi.” Her expression turned somewhat serious. “I’m going abroad for my master’s. You stay put at home, don’t go running around, don’t meet up with online friends, tell Zhou Che if you want to eat anything and he’ll buy it for you, don’t attend any author meet-and-greets, just focus on writing your novels…”
She gave a long list of instructions, but the person most prone to zoning out was listening quietly for once.
“Where’s Sister Sijia?”
Lin Xitang’s words faltered, unsure what to say. After Sheng Sijia had that incident, ran away from the hospital, no one had seen her since.
It wasn’t just Xu Zhizhi who missed her; Lin Xitang did too.
Unusually gentle, she pulled out a set of light blue cotton outerwear and pink trousers, then rummaged for a hat. Taking the round little bundle by the hand, she said, “Let’s go. Time for dinner.”
Zhou Che raised an eyebrow. “A little blue ball today?”
“……”
Lin Xitang shot him a glare, and he promptly shut up.
Xu Zhizhi remained completely unaffected. Even after getting in the car, she kept asking the two of them, “What are we going to eat?”
“Christmas is coming up. Let’s eat something fitting for the season.”
Images of pizza parlors and cherry cakes floated through Xu Zhizhi’s mind when she heard Zhou Che lazily say from the passenger seat, “Hotpot?”
Xu Zhizhi’s eyes widened. She wrapped both arms around the driver’s seat headrest and shook her head vigorously.
“Barbecue?”
Lin Xitang felt like kicking him. “Can’t you be a little more romantic?”
“French restaurant?” Zhou Che suggested. “Too quiet. Don’t you dislike that?”
He had no solid ideas. Lin Xitang said, “How about an Italian restaurant? Zhizhi likes their ice cream sandwich bread, right?”
Zhou Che nodded. “Perfect. You both like that place’s black truffle cream pasta and tiramisu.”
Lin Xitang added, “And the basil pesto penne.”
She could eat two portions.
Xu Zhizhi’s eyes lit up. She raised her hand. “Me too—!”