The scarf wrapped once around her neck, wonderfully warm, and with the faint, unique scent of Kuang Qingshang’s perfume in her breath, Sang Xiao tucked her chin into the scarf, suddenly unsure what to say. It was Kuang Qingshang who broke the silence first.
“The weather is so cold, why are you wearing so little?”
Sang Xiao was wearing a sweater paired with a short cotton jacket, thickened leggings, and slightly platform cotton shoes. Her jacket was also unzipped, so she indeed looked less warm than wearing a coat.
Sang Xiao stubbornly replied, “It wasn’t cold in the car.”
She was used to wearing less at home and didn’t like to be too bulky and clumsy. Mainly, long and slender clothing made her look taller, and wearing too much made her look shorter. Kuang Qingshang was so tall that whenever they walked side-by-side, everyone knew she was the short one. Sang Xiao quietly sighed.
Kuang Qingshang didn’t say much: “Let’s go.”
Sang Xiao glanced at Kuang Qingshang’s suitcase: “I’ll pull it.”
One should look the part when picking someone up.
But Kuang Qingshang’s suitcase was a large one. Just as Sang Xiao touched the handle, Kuang Qingshang shook her head: “I’ll do it.”
Sang Xiao didn’t argue with Kuang Qingshang and silently followed beside her. The sounds around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the noise of the suitcase wheels against the ground. She was supposed to be the one picking Kuang Qingshang up, but Kuang Qingshang had taken the lead. The situation felt more like Kuang Qingshang was picking her up.
After getting into the car, Sang Xiao planned to take off the scarf, as driving with it on would be inconvenient.
Just as Sang Xiao prepared to undo the scarf, Kuang Qingshang said, “I’ll drive.”
She said this while taking off her wool coat, revealing a white fitted sweater underneath, with a firm curve at the chest. Sang Xiao quickly glanced and immediately looked away. Kuang Qingshang had such a good figure—muscles, breasts, and long legs. Although she had known this from the gym, this was the first time she had seen it so closely.
Kuang Qingshang driving a Beetle felt like an adult sitting in a child’s toy car. Sang Xiao silently suppressed the urge to complain.
Kuang Qingshang seemed to be in a good mood, maintaining an approachable demeanor throughout the drive.
“Are you used to living here?”
Sang Xiao nodded: “Yes, I am.”
Feng Shu was busy with work at the end of the year, and Sang Xiao hadn’t seen her many times since moving in. Kuang Xun, however, was often at home. Sang Xiao figured Kuang Qingshang probably had her move in.
If there was no formal business to discuss with Kuang Qingshang, Sang Xiao didn’t know what to talk about. Casual chat was nonexistent, and the topic came to an abrupt end.
Sang Xiao felt a bit restless. Her original plan was to drive so Kuang Qingshang could sleep in the car if she was tired, and they’d be home when she woke up. Sure enough, plans couldn’t keep up with changes.
Sang Xiao stared at the traffic outside, unconsciously rubbing her fingers. She really wanted to play with her phone, maybe play a casual game until they got home.
Kuang Qingshang: “If you want to play on your phone, go ahead.”
Sang Xiao: “…”
She quietly took out her phone and habitually checked WeChat for new messages. There were two, both from Su Xiao. One was a voice message. When she tapped it, Cheng Cheng’s voice said, “Teacher Sang, I drew this.”
It was a very long voice message, but he only said that one sentence. ChengCheng must have held down the voice key the whole time, so Su Xiao’s voice was recorded too, gently asking Cheng Cheng what he was doing.
Kuang Qingshang gripped the steering wheel, her eyes darkening when she heard the sound, but she said nothing.
Sang Xiao opened Cheng Cheng’s drawing. It had simple strokes and lines with bright colors, depicting various small things: houses, trees, birds on the trees, and white clouds in the sky. The drawing was secondary; the coloring was the main thing. A child’s drawing is the boldest; they color with whatever looks good. After praising ChengCheng briefly, Sang Xiao switched to messaging Bian Yan.
I’m done for. Why do I get nervous and start shivering the moment I see Kuang Qingshang?
Hahaha, you’re on your own.
Sang Xiao fiddled with her phone for a while, couldn’t find a game to play, and half of her head was buried in the soft scarf. It was a traffic jam outside; the car was inching forward. The heating inside the car seemed to have a hypnotic effect, and before Sang Xiao knew it, she leaned against the seat and fell asleep.
At first, Kuang Qingshang could see Sang Xiao playing on her phone in her peripheral vision. Gradually, she fell silent. Kuang Qingshang smiled helplessly. Taking advantage of the traffic jam, she took her coat from the back seat and draped it over Sang Xiao. Sang Xiao, a small figure, was perfectly enveloped in the coat.
Sang Xiao had a dream. In the dream, she was swinging on a swing, and the person pushing her from behind was Kuang Qingshang.
At first, it was a steady movement, and Kuang Qingshang’s expression was normal. Then, for some reason, Kuang Qingshang’s face suddenly changed, her eyes becoming gloomy, and she pushed Sang Xiao far away, causing her to fall directly off the swing…
Sang Xiao sat up abruptly, facing forward. Luckily, the seatbelt restrained her, preventing her from pitching forward. It was just a dream, after all.
Sang Xiao patted her chest, still shaken.
“What did you dream about? Such a big reaction.”
Sang Xiao said vaguely, “I forgot.”
She couldn’t tell Kuang Qingshang the truth—that Kuang Qingshang had persecuted her even in her dream.
Kuang Qingshang said, “Go inside and sleep some more.”
They were home already?
What time was it?
Sang Xiao looked up and saw that the car was parked in the parking spot. She didn’t know how long it had been there.
Sang Xiao nodded dully. Only then did she realize Kuang Qingshang’s coat was covering her. No wonder she felt so warm. Thinking of how cold it was outside, she didn’t want to move.
“Thank you.”
Sang Xiao returned the coat to Kuang Qingshang.
When getting out of the car, Sang Xiao shivered from the cold. Sure enough, it’s easy to feel cold after waking up.
They came back late, and dinner was ready and waiting for them at home. Feng Shu asked, “Was the road from the airport very congested?”
Kuang Qingshang: “Yes, too many cars.”
Feng Shu hadn’t seen Kuang Qingshang in a long time. She scrutinized her, pinched her arm through her clothes, and frowned: “Aren’t you cold wearing so little? Don’t prioritize style over warmth! Look at your neck, completely exposed. You should wear a scarf.”
Sang Xiao felt very guilty.
The scarf was with her.
She was the one who was originally wearing too little, but with Kuang Qingshang’s scarf on, she looked much warmer overall. Instead, Kuang Qingshang was the one being criticized.
Kuang Qingshang said, “It’s fine. I’m not cold.”
Feng Shu didn’t believe her: “Xun said the same thing before, exposing her ankles in the middle of winter.”
Kuang Xun, who was dragged into the conversation: “…”
Feng Shu knew Kuang Qingshang was healthy but reminded her that getting a cold wouldn’t be good. She then looked at Sang Xiao: “Xiaoxiao, why is your face so red? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Kuang Qingshang also looked over.
Sang Xiao raised her hand and touched her cheek. It did feel a bit warm. She said, “Maybe the heating in the car was too strong.”
Feng Shu nodded: “Come, let’s eat.”
During dinner, they talked about what New Year’s goods were still missing and their plans for the New Year.
“Xiaoxiao, are you celebrating the New Year here or with your parents? You and Qingshang can discuss it yourselves, but you must come back to have New Year’s Eve dinner with Grandpa on Lunar New Year’s Eve.”
Sang Xiao understood, but there was no need to discuss it. Her parents went to her maternal grandparents’ house for the New Year every year.
Feng Shu really liked Sang Xiao and started talking about other things: “The house has been very quiet all these years. Qingshang and Xiaoxun are both quiet. I don’t know how a chatterbox like me ended up having two quiet children.”
Kuang Qingshang and Kuang Xun both had a precocious quality and rarely acted spoiled. Sang Xiao was different; she easily blushed when teased. Feng Shu practically wanted to treat her like a daughter.
Sang Xiao thought to herself that it was probably inherited from Kuang Qingshang’s father. She was quite curious about her father, but no one in the family ever mentioned him, as if he didn’t exist. It was strange.
Feng Shu asked, “But with you this year, it’s livelier. Can you drink?”
Thinking of how she was after drinking, Sang Xiao shook her head without hesitation: “I can’t hold my liquor well. I talk nonsense after drinking.”
Kuang Qingshang smiled softly.
Feng Shu immediately understood: “Then we won’t drink.”
Sang Xiao didn’t have a good appetite today. After dinner, she was listless. After returning to her room, she felt an abnormal coldness. She had taken a hot shower, and her pajamas weren’t thin, but her entire back felt cold, yet she had no other symptoms.
She searched on Baidu and got two odd answers: either she had done too many bad things, or she had a kidney deficiency.
Sang Xiao: “…”
She gasped and scrolled down. Fortunately, there was a third, normal answer: she might have a cold, as it’s easy to catch one after sleeping in the car in winter. Alas, Sang Xiao dreaded catching a cold the most.
Where was the cold medicine? Although she had lived here for a few days, Sang Xiao was not very familiar with the place.
Sang Xiao went out and happened to see Kuang Qingshang. Kuang Qingshang was sleeping in a separate room from her this time. The last time they were forced to share a room was because there were many guests at home.
Kuang Qingshang asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Sang Xiao nodded: “I think I’ve caught a cold.”
Kuang Qingshang reached out and put her hand on Sang Xiao’s forehead. Her palm was cool. Sang Xiao quickly stabilized her center of gravity, afraid that Kuang Qingshang might push her and make her fall, just like in her dream.
Kuang Qingshang withdrew her hand: “You don’t seem to have a fever. Are you dizzy? Or is there anything else that’s uncomfortable?”
Sang Xiao thought for a moment: “Not dizzy, but my back feels cold, and I’m a bit sensitive to the cold.”
Kuang Qingshang worried: “Should we go to the hospital?”
Sang Xiao didn’t want the trouble and shook her head: “No need. I’ll take some medicine and sleep it off. I just don’t know where the medicine is.”
Kuang Qingshang found her cold medicine. When Feng Shu learned Sang Xiao had a cold, she also touched her forehead. Sang Xiao instantly had a vision of kindergarten children—when they were unwell, the teachers would check their temperature like this.
Feng Shu warned: “Be careful. The flu has been very serious lately.”
“Mhm, mhm.” Sang Xiao took her temperature and, feeling sleepy after the medicine, said, “I’m going to sleep.”
Sang Xiao lay in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter what, and reported the situation to Bian Yan: “I think I have a cold.”
Bian Yan asked, “Is it serious?”
Sang Xiao said, “It should be fine. I took my temperature, no fever, just sensitive to cold. I’ve taken the medicine and am going to sleep well.”
“Remember to set an alarm in case you have a high fever in the middle of the night and don’t wake up, and don’t silence your phone. I’ll call you tomorrow morning.” Bian Yan, who lives alone, always did this.
“Oh, it’s just a small cold,” Sang Xiao muttered. Besides, she wasn’t living alone; it shouldn’t happen that she has a high fever and no one notices.
“You always say that. When was it ever not a bad cold?” Bian Yan threatened, “Otherwise, I’ll have Kuang Qingshang come and sleep with you.”
Sang Xiao: “…”
Uh, then she’d better set an alarm.