Chapter 648
Christmas
December 25th, Wednesday.
Christmas has arrived as scheduled.
This is a day that carries the hopes of countless people, but unfortunately, it is not a statutory holiday. Unless it happens to fall on a weekend, there will be no holiday on this day, just like today.
After rushing to the classroom and finishing his morning classes, Han Zhou went back to his dormitory to change his clothes and then vigorously washed his face with cold water. The person in the mirror finally looked less tired and more energetic.
Having endured the freezing cold all night, Chen Long had given up on waiting for his "angel" at Angel Lake. As soon as he got back to his dorm, he turned on his computer and saw Han Zhou washing his face with cold water. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Han Zhou, are you out of money on your water card? Why don't you use mine?"
"Thank you, but no need."
Han Zhou dried his face with a towel, then turned his head and saw the table almost completely covered with apples. He seemed a little helpless: "Didn't I tell you not to collect these things for me?"
"I can't help it."
Chen Long shrugged. "Even heroes have difficulty resisting the charms of a beautiful woman. That was a girl's heartfelt affection; how could I bear to refuse?"
"It's not like it's a gift for you, does it matter whether you can bear to part with it or not?" Chen Zheng, standing to the side, pushed up his glasses with his middle finger and interjected casually.
"It's not like you confiscated it," Chen Long retorted.
Chen Zheng was speechless for a moment, and then looked at Han Zhou awkwardly after a long while: "Well... Chen Long is right. Since it's a token of our appreciation, you should accept it."
"I've already received enough tokens of appreciation; I can't accept any more."
Han Zhou shook his head, exhaling a puff of white breath. "Return it to me."
Chen Long was logging into the game when he heard this and said, "Aren't you making things difficult for us? We don't even know many of these girls, how are we going to return them?"
“Now we can get to know each other,” Han Zhou said.
"What do you mean? Wait, this seems to make sense..."
Chen Long's eyes lit up, but then he seemed to remember something, shook his head vigorously, and gritted his teeth, saying, "No, I've already promised them. Returning the gifts will make them sad."
Han Zhou sighed, "Then let's divide these apples among ourselves, don't waste them."
"Can……"
"Shut up, you're lucky to have received any peace apples, go play your game."
Chen Zheng keenly sensed that Han Zhou was in a bad mood today, and changed the subject at the right time, "By the way, Han Zhou, where did you go last night? I called you several times but you didn't answer."
"Yeah, where did you go last night?"
Chen Long's attention was immediately diverted. "Speaking of which, Xiao Xiao messaged me a few times last night, but don't worry, even if the King of Heaven himself asked, you were in the dorm last night."
He patted his chest and gave Han Zhou a knowing look.
Han Zhou didn't answer, but took out his phone and glanced at the time: "I have to go out for a bit. You can handle these peace apples."
After saying that, he turned and left the dormitory, the door closing gently behind him.
……
The winter sun, mixed with lingering snowflakes, fell on the muddy cobblestone path below the dormitory building.
The snow fell intermittently, drifting down in scattered flakes. Half-melted snow clung to the bare branches, and occasionally a drop of water would fall and hit the umbrellas of hurried students, making a soft, pattering sound.
Han Zhou didn't use an umbrella and walked straight towards the school gate.
The bell for the last class of the morning hadn't rung yet, and the campus was still bustling with people. Some were laughing and discussing Christmas presents, while others were complaining about not finishing their papers. Everything was just like usual.
The guzheng, which had been waiting at the school gate for some time, was no exception.
She was dressed exceptionally neatly today, wearing a cream-colored short down jacket with a fluffy faux rabbit fur collar, dark blue fleece-lined jeans, and a pair of clean snow boots. Her shoulder-length short hair was a little messy from the cold wind, but she didn't care much. She just occasionally raised her hand to brush away a few strands of hair that were covering her eyes, revealing her smooth forehead.
"Han Zhou, over here!"
The girl saw him from afar, her eyes curving into crescents as she waved vigorously. But perhaps annoyed that he was walking too slowly, she simply jogged over from under the eaves, her gaze falling on the snowflakes on his shoulders and the tips of his hair.
"Honestly, can't you see it's snowing? Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?" she muttered irritably, opening the umbrella in her hand and holding it over their heads.
"I was in such a rush to leave that I forgot to bring it."
Han Zhou smiled and naturally took the umbrella from Gu Zheng's hands. "Where to now? Want to eat?"
"I'm not hungry yet, are you?"
I'm not hungry either.
Gu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Let's walk around for a while. It's been a long time since we went shopping together."
Han Zhou was taken aback, then nodded slightly: "Where do we want to go?"
"You're a grown man, don't make me decide everything," Gu Zheng rolled her eyes.
Han Zhou pondered for a moment: "Then let's go to some different places."
"What do you mean by 'different place'?" Gu Zheng asked curiously.
"You'll find out when you come with me."
Han Zhou didn't explain much, and walked out of the street with the guzheng.
The two walked side by side, their shoulders just touching, separated by several layers of thick winter clothes. Occasionally they would touch, then quickly separate again. Neither of them tried to get closer, nor did they create any distance between them.
"Han Zhou—"
"Guzheng—"
The wind suddenly stopped, and the two spoke at the same time, then froze in surprise.
"You go first," Han Zhou said.
"You go first," Gu Zheng rolled her eyes.
"I guess we're talking about the same thing."
"yes……"
Gu Zheng let out a breath and punched his chest lightly. "Didn't you sleep last night?"
"Yes." Han Zhou didn't deny it, and asked with a smile, "You too?"
"……Um."
Gu Zheng wasn't as candid as he was when she admitted it. She lowered her eyes and stared at the footprints the two of them left in the snow. Seeing that Han Zhou didn't speak for a long time, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed: "Aren't you curious why I'm not sleeping?"
"It's probably because of me," Han Zhou said with a smile.
Gu Zheng was stunned. Looking at that tired face, she could no longer suppress the grievances in her heart: "You knew this was the case, yet you still didn't answer my call?"
"I'm sorry, a lot happened last night."
"Are there so many calls that you can't even answer them all?"
Han Zhou was silent for a moment: "I'm sorry."
Gu Zheng quickly composed herself and snorted coldly, "I asked you to come out with me today, not to hear your apology." "I know."
She pursed her lips, and after a long while asked, "Why didn't you explain it to me properly?"
"If you want to hear it, I can tell you everything."
"Then we'll talk about it later."
Gu Zheng covered her frostbitten ears, exhaled a puff of white breath, and instantly disappeared into the cold wind. "Do something fun first."
It seems she also understands that the so-called "all" is an unhappy thing.
Han Zhou didn't reply for a while before asking, "Is there anywhere you'd like to go this afternoon? I heard there's a pretty good ski resort..."
"Han Zhou".
Guzheng suddenly spoke, interrupting him, "Is something on your mind?"
She paused, then added earnestly, "Things that have nothing to do with me."
Han Zhou paused for a moment, but did not stop.
"No." He seemed somewhat surprised, and said with a wry smile, "Why do you ask that?"
This was probably the most perfect lie he had ever told in his life; even if Yi Xia were there in person, she wouldn't have noticed anything amiss.
Because he wasn't lying; he did have something on his mind, but it was still related to her.
Gu Zheng, however, refused to give up and said, word by word, "Han Zhou, you promised you wouldn't lie to me."
He turned his head and looked over. The girl's eyes were somewhat obscured by the wet reflection of the pavement, but the emotions in them were clearly visible, making it impossible to tell whether it was sadness or disappointment.
Just like snow and sleet, they seem indistinguishable from a distance, but can only be clearly distinguished when you get close.
So he moved his face closer.
What are you doing!
Gu Zheng was startled and instinctively wanted to back away, but she held back, letting the other person's hot breath hit her face. "Don't think you can get away with this!"
"I've heard that you can tell if someone is lying by looking into their eyes. You can tell if I'm lying by looking into my eyes."
Han Zhou stared into her eyes, his own pale face reflected in her pupils. "I really didn't lie to you this time."
Gu Zheng felt flustered under his gaze and quickly pushed him away: "Then why do you look so listless?"
"Didn't you already know? I didn't sleep last night."
Han Zhou chuckled, his expression gradually returning to calm. "Maybe it's because finals are approaching and I'm a little tired."
"Is that all?" Guzheng pressed on, unwilling to give up.
"It's just..."
Han Zhou was about to answer when his gaze suddenly turned to the distance, and he said softly, "We're almost there."
Guzheng followed his gaze.
Unbeknownst to them, the two turned into a shady old street. The plane trees on both sides had long since lost their leaves, and the bare branches intertwined under the gray-blue sky, like a frozen sketch. The street was paved with old bluish-gray flagstones, and the gaps were filled with unswept snow, which had been trampled and turned black and shiny.
Most of the shops along the street had their iron gates shut, with only a few still open. The owner of a roasted nut shop, wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat, guarded a buzzing popcorn machine, the sweet, warm aroma of caramel wafting across half the street. A yellowed "Christmas Special" poster was pasted on the glass door of a used bookstore, and the window was piled with thread-bound books and expired magazines, like a corner forgotten by time.
There were few pedestrians, and occasionally an elderly person wrapped in a scarf would walk by slowly, the snow underfoot making a soft "crunch, crunch" sound. The wind was stronger than on campus, swirling up bits of snow and sneaking into her collar. Gu Zheng subconsciously shrank her neck: "Where is this place?"
Han Zhou remained tight-lipped: "You'll find out when you come with me."
They continued walking and turned into a relatively quiet alley, lined with old residential buildings, their balconies adorned with cured meats, adding a touch of human warmth to the pure white winter day.
Gu Zheng looked around, thinking there might be a hidden private restaurant in the area, but then she saw Han Zhou suddenly stop in front of an apartment building.
The stairwell entrance was fitted with a heavy security door, and the intercom was rusty and looked quite old. Clearly, even the most discreet private restaurant wouldn't be located in such an apartment building.
"Have we arrived yet?" Guzheng asked.
Han Zhou didn't answer, but just looked up and counted the floors. His gaze finally settled on a window on the third floor with a faded floral curtain drawn, and he didn't move it for a long time.
The window was dark and empty, like a silent eye, coldly watching the two uninvited guests downstairs.
"arrive."
After a long while, he closed the umbrella in his hand, opened the security door, and walked into the corridor. Although Gu Zheng was puzzled, she immediately followed him.
The building was clearly not designed with lighting in mind, and the hallways were very dark. To make matters worse, the motion-activated lights were old and in disrepair. The guzheng was practically pounding the hallway before the dim yellow light bulb above finally lit up, occasionally accompanied by a buzzing sound of electricity.
Dust particles floated slowly in the dim beam of light, and the air was filled with a faint musty smell unique to old houses.
Gu Zheng followed behind Han Zhou, her steps unconsciously becoming lighter. She originally wanted to ask, "Whose house is this?", but looking at Han Zhou's expression at this moment, she seemed to have a vague idea of what was going on.
A short while later, Han Zhou stopped in front of a door on the third floor. He didn't take out his key because he didn't have one at all.
He simply stood in front of that dark brown wooden door, his hand outstretched, his fingertips hovering above the door panel, as if feeling the warmth seeping through the panel, or perhaps hesitating whether to touch the memories.
"This is where my mother and maternal grandparents used to live."
He finally spoke, his voice low but exceptionally clear in the empty hallway, "Actually, I've wanted to come here for a long time, but I just haven't been able to find the key."
really……
Gu Zheng felt a slight tightness in her heart. Han Zhou rarely mentioned his family, but she still knew two things: first, Han Zhou's father was an irresponsible gambler, and second, his mother had died young. She never expected that Han Zhou would bring her here, to show her this place filled with sorrow.
"So... have you found the key yet?" she asked softly.
"No." Han Zhou shook his head, then took two steps back in a slump.
Gu Zheng felt a pang of sadness and was about to say, "How about I break the door open for you?" when she saw Han Zhou suddenly pull a wire out of his pocket and insert it into the keyhole as if no one else was there.
"But I don't need the key anymore."
Guzheng: "?"
She stared blankly as Han Zhou opened the door and walked into the room. When she turned around and saw Han Zhou still standing outside the door, her expression even showed some confusion.
"What are you standing there for? Come in."
It seems like Han Zhou came here not to remember his mother...
Gu Zheng stood frozen at the doorway until Han Zhou reached out and grasped her wrist, at which point she seemed to snap out of a dream and stepped across the threshold.
The room wasn't covered in cobwebs as I'd imagined; there was only a thin layer of dust. Sunlight filtered through the faded floral curtains, casting dappled shadows on the old floor.
The living room was small, furnished with a worn-out fabric sofa, and there was even a chipped enamel mug on the coffee table, as if the owner had just gone out to buy groceries and would be back at any time.
Han Zhou walked to the window and gently brushed his fingertips across the windowsill, where a thick layer of dust had accumulated, but unexpectedly a clear fingerprint remained—clearly someone had been there not long ago.
He gave a knowing look: "I knew that bastard had been here."
Gu Zheng could, of course, guess who the "bastard" he was referring to was—the gambling addict who had abandoned his son. Surprised, she became even more puzzled.
"Han Zhou, you came here...to find your father?" (End of Chapter)