Playing in the Snow
Christmas Eve.
The convenience store’s glass door was covered with snowflake stickers and all sorts of Christmas decorations, making the holiday vibe even stronger. The store was running a promotion — spend thirty and get an apple, spend ninety-nine and get twenty off.
There were so many people that I had no time to reply to the messages Zhou Shou sent me.
I felt like I’d completely turned into a part-time working robot.
Fake smile, say “Merry Christmas,” hand out apples.
So tragic.
If studying could be this easy and formulaic, that’d be great.
Even more tragic.
My brain was mechanically reviewing a few English words while my hands numbly handled the cash register.
As time passed, the line got shorter and shorter, and I was finally about to be free.
Zhou Shou was at the end of the line. He didn’t buy anything but was holding a stuffed paper bag printed with the logo of that famous bakery near the store.
“Good job, little one.” He placed the paper bag on the counter and pushed it toward me. “Freshly baked gingerbread and some little cakes.”
Seeing that there were no other customers left, I purposely put on a stern face and said seriously, “Sir, are you trying to bribe a store clerk? Our manager said we can’t accept expensive gifts from customers.”
Zhou Shou pretended to be surprised, looking regretful. “Originally, this was for my boyfriend. But he didn’t want it. What should I do? Maybe I should tie him up and bring him home, huh?”
After saying that, he grabbed a few boxes from the nearby shelf and put them next to the bag.
My expression shifted slightly, and I muttered, “Who said I didn’t want it?”
I quickly finished ringing up his items, but Zhou Shou didn’t show me his payment code, so I repeated the total.
“Why didn’t you say Merry Christmas to me?” he asked. “Aren’t I a customer?”
So that’s what this was about, huh.
I repeated “Merry Christmas” to him several times like a robot, then picked out a big, shiny red apple from the pile beside me and handed it to him.
“Hmph. Wishing you and your boyfriend a happy Christmas Eve, a merry Christmas, and happiness forever.”
Zhou Shou laughed, picked up the paper and plastic bags, and said softly, “Then I wish this little clerk happiness too.”
He didn’t leave. He stood by the door like a security guard, waiting for me.
When Li-ge came in for his shift, he nodded to Zhou Shou. Ever since he found out the two of us were together, he started coming a few minutes early every time.
I still didn’t know whether to praise him or curse him.
If the manager ever found out, we’d both be dead.
“Xiao Ji, hurry up and go on your date. Don’t keep him waiting, it’s the holidays after all.”
I mumbled back, “You too, Li-ge, happy holidays,” quickly changed out of my uniform, threw on my down jacket, and walked briskly toward the door.
Zhou Shou naturally reached for my hand and tucked it into his coat pocket.
He led me out of the store step by step. The cold wind immediately hit my face, and Zhou Shou unwound the scarf from his neck and wrapped it carefully around mine, one loop after another.
I buried my red, frozen nose into it.
“Why did you park the car so far today?” I asked softly, a little tired from walking.
His hand tightened around mine.
“Because I wanted to hold your hand a little longer.”
“……”
Wait, since when did Zhou Shou become such a soft-hearted romantic after we started dating?
I’m not used to this.
But I really, really like it.
It had been snowing for days, and the snow had piled up past our ankles. The ground was soft and fluffy under my feet, so I hopped a few times.
Snowflakes splashed up, landing on Zhou Shou’s pant legs, like a layer of sugar dust sprinkled over chocolate.
“Wanna play in the snow?”
My eyes stuck to that patch of white and couldn’t look away.
This city always snowed, but I’d never really gotten to play in it. There was always someone in the family who needed support, so I could only keep busy.
I remembered seeing people online rolling around in the snow — it looked so fun. So I pulled Zhou Shou down with me to lie on the ground.
Cold.
And I could hear the soft rustling sound in my ears.
Even though I was wrapped in snow, it didn’t feel that cold — maybe because Zhou Shou was beside me. His body temperature was always warm, almost hot.
“Wanna build a snowman?” he tilted his head and asked.
As he spoke, his breath came out in little puffs of white mist. Snowflakes clung to his fringe, and when he stood up, a pile of snow slid off his shoulders.
He scooped up a handful of snow from the side, carefully shaping it into a snowball. Before long, it was starting to take shape.
I lay there in the snow watching him, completely absorbed, until a sudden sting hit me.
Sitting up, I looked down at the small wet spot on my coat — he’d hit me with a snowball.
Oh, you’re dead, Zhou Shou!
I yelled his name, grabbed a handful of snow, and threw it right back at him.
We chased each other around in the snow, leaving messy footprints behind that wouldn’t melt for a long time.
When we finally got tired, we fell back down onto the ground, lying side by side. Our breaths turned into soft white clouds that intertwined in the freezing air.
Then Zhou Shou suddenly started rolling another snowball. I nudged his leg with my foot. “Stop! I surrender!”
He held up the snowball in front of my eyes and asked, “Is this big enough for the snowman’s body?”
I thought, maybe he’s never played in the snow before either.
“Should be,” I replied, half teasing.
“Then it is,” he said.
I mimicked him, gathering up loose snow and pressing it tightly together.
“Here.” I handed him a small, round snowball.
Zhou Shou took it carefully and placed it on top of the slightly bigger one. The snowman’s head wobbled a little, so he steadied it and added some extra snow at the joint.
Before us stood a crooked, lopsided snowman.
The snowball at the bottom trembled under the weight of the one above it, yet somehow, it didn’t collapse.
Maybe Zhou Shou was an Eskimo in his past life — his first time playing in the snow, and the snowman still turned out so solid.
“It still needs eyes and a nose,” I said, looking at him.
Zhou Shou stood up, grabbed the plastic bag from the side, pulled out the paper bag, and took out a small cake.
There were two round chocolate balls sitting on top of the cake.
“These work?” he asked.
A moment later, a round, chubby, adorably ugly little snowman with chocolate eyes stood proudly in front of us.
Zhou Shou looked at the snowman, then turned to me — my face was flushed red from the cold, but I couldn’t stop smiling.
His cold hands came up to rub my cheeks.
And somehow, I didn’t feel cold at all.
Snow really was fun.
“Very cute,” he said.
I didn’t know whether he meant the snowman or… someone else.
I reached out, brushed the snow off his hair, and said softly, “I wanna go home.”
“Mm. Let’s go home.”