Chapter 664
New Year's Day
January 1st, New Year's Day.
The sky was cold and the landscape was pale. Han Zhou wrapped his coat tighter and walked alone on the bustling street.
The "aftereffects" of the various unexpected situations at the New Year's Eve party were not limited to Guzheng's request to go home.
After that day, it seemed that everyone's good luck had run out.
As the saying goes, "If you walk on the shore long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet." Despite having prepared a foolproof plan to skip class, Mo Yixia still slipped up and was caught red-handed by her mother, who ordered her to go home and reflect on her actions.
Wang Lengqiu's grandfather fell and was hospitalized. Although he was not seriously injured, he still needed someone to take care of him. So she hurriedly bought a ticket home on the afternoon of the 31st.
The situation is not good for Ouyang Lianyu either. Her father can no longer hide the news of her mother's deteriorating condition from her, and she has also set off on her journey home. She is still on her way.
The only ones who didn't go home were the Zhong sisters, but Zhong Yin kept avoiding him, and Zhong Ling's figure also disappeared.
The once-envisioned lively reunion and the beautiful vision of everyone celebrating the New Year together vanished in an instant. This sudden desolation left Han Zhou standing in the cold wind, feeling lost and helpless.
Amidst the bustling crowd, he stood there for a long time before turning around and walking into a convenience store.
The convenience store door opened automatically, and an electronic voice greeted customers. A warm breeze blew in. Inside, there was only one employee dozing off on the counter, probably exhausted from New Year's Eve. The world was so quiet that only the low hum of the refrigerator compressor could be heard.
Han Zhou slept until 11 a.m. this morning. Since breakfast was too late and lunch was too early, he was too lazy to go to the cafeteria and just grabbed two pieces of bread and a bottle of milk.
When he got to the cashier, he saw that the clerk was still asleep, so he didn't bother her. Putting himself in her shoes, he figured he would be sleepy too if he had to work on New Year's Day. So he simply picked up the barcode scanner, scanned the barcode, tore off the receipt, placed it on the cashier, paid, and left.
Returning to the hustle and bustle of the streets, a lyric inexplicably surfaced in my mind—
"Loneliness is a person's carnival, and carnival is a group of people's loneliness."
It wasn't that he suddenly understood the meaning of the lyrics, but he felt inexplicably sentimental. Sometimes people are like that, even if they know it's inappropriate, their emotions will still rise up first.
He chewed on the dry bread and walked all the way to the familiar pastry shop. As expected, the shop was closed. He wasn't disappointed. He casually found a bench, brushed off the snow, and sat down with a plastic bag on it.
If Han Zhou really wanted to find Zhong Yin, he had plenty of ways, but he didn't. Just like how Zhong Yin, despite avoiding him, would always reply to his messages, this could perhaps be considered a tacit understanding.
He sat on the bench and finished his bread until a car horn suddenly sounded on the street. When he looked up, he saw Lin Anyu grinning.
Why are you here?
Sitting in the passenger seat, Han Zhou subconsciously glanced at the back seat and, seeing it was empty, couldn't help but feel a little strange. "Weren't you going to take Ya Ya out to play today?"
He thought Lin Anyu had already gone home, but he never expected him to appear here.
"That girl has plenty of people to keep her company; she doesn't need me."
Lin Anyu shrugged and tossed him a piece of chewing gum. "But you, instead of spending New Year's Day with your girlfriend, why are you wandering around the streets all by yourself?"
"girlfriend……"
Han Zhou unwrapped the candy and casually replied, "Which one are you referring to?"
"I almost forgot, you're the real expert in love."
Lin Anyu chuckled and scolded, "So many female confidantes and no one's with you today, did you do something wrong?"
"probably."
Han Zhou smiled but didn't explain further, his gaze falling on the man's backside. "You just had surgery, is it appropriate for you to drive now?"
"There's nothing I can do; my brother is in trouble."
"Who said I'm in trouble?"
"That's why I came here. It's because you don't say anything."
Lin Anyu sighed and restarted the car. "Alright, buckle your seatbelts."
The wheels crunched over the snow, making a soft, squeaking sound. The air conditioning was on full blast, and the faint scent of cologne emanating from Lin Anyu made Han Zhou feel a little drowsy.
So, where are we going?
People really do change. Even Lin Anyu, who always talks about masculinity and hates perfume, has started using this stuff... He lowered the car window halfway, letting the cold wind in and blowing away that inexplicable feeling.
"Where else can we go? Since all your female confidantes are so 'busy,' then I'll have to trouble you to take you out for a good meal."
Lin Anyu rested one hand on the steering wheel and took out his phone from his pocket with the other, unlocked it, and casually tossed it onto Lin Anyu's lap. "Choose whatever you want to eat, but try not to choose a place too far away, my butt can't take it."
"I've only finished two pieces of bread," Han Zhou said helplessly.
"It's just two pieces of bread, don't tell me you're not going to have lunch."
I can't eat.
"I can eat, consider it as you keeping me company for a meal." Lin Anyu urged, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and choose. By the way, I can't eat spicy food lately."
Han Zhou couldn't refuse him, so he picked up his phone and started searching for nearby restaurants: "How about hot pot?"
Lin Anyu gritted his teeth: "If you really want to eat it, then I'll gladly accompany you, even at the cost of my life."
Han Zhou looked at him suspiciously, and hesitated before saying, "You'd rather suffer the inconvenience of your own bottom than make me suffer, you wouldn't...?"
"Get out of here, stop saying disgusting things."
Lin Anyu shuddered. "You don't find it disgusting, but I do."
Han Zhou smiled, leaned back in his seat, and looked out the car window at the scenery rushing past on the street. The snow reflected the sunlight, making his eyes sting.
A short while later, Lin Anyu took the phone, looked at the screen, and his lips twitched.
"No way, you actually eat hot pot?"
……
The car stopped in front of a Western restaurant.
Even if Han Zhou were the most ruthless person, he wouldn't drag his good friend who had just had hemorrhoid surgery to eat hot pot. In the end, they chose this Western restaurant.
Actually, he didn't really like Western food, always feeling that it wasn't filling enough, but it couldn't be more suitable now, since he was already full.
"Hello sir, how many people are in your party?"
"two……"
Lin Anyu was about to speak when Han Zhou interrupted him, "Thank you, all three of you."
"Okay, this way please."
The waiter led the way, and Lin Anyu followed behind, asking in a low voice, "Didn't you say you couldn't eat anymore? Is it possible to get a group deal for three people or something?"
“You wouldn’t have suddenly come to me if no one had told you.” Han Zhou glanced at him. “I’m guessing that person is Xiao Xiao, right? Call her over.”
Besides Zhong Yin and Zhong Ling, the only other person still at school is Xiao Xiaoxiao. Even if the Zhong sisters wanted to help him, they wouldn't do it this way; only Xiao Xiaoxiao would do it so indirectly. Of course, Lin Anyu might have received instructions from someone else, but that's unlikely. After all, of everyone, only Gu Zheng is somewhat close to Lin Anyu, but Gu Zheng only wants to distance herself from him now and wouldn't have any intention of contacting him.
Lin Anyu's eyes darted away, and he guiltily looked away, saying, "What do you mean by 'small' and 'big'? I don't understand what you're talking about..."
"Call her over."
Han Zhou looked serious. "I have some questions to ask her."
Lin Anyu wanted to argue a bit more, but seeing his resolute attitude, he had no choice but to give up, took out his phone, and handed it to him.
"You should talk to her yourself. I don't know her well and I don't know how to trick her into coming here."
Han Zhou raised an eyebrow slightly: "You mean you want me to lie?"
He's been on a good diet for several days now and doesn't want to break it again.
"Anyway, I can't do something like deceiving a little girl." Lin Anyu shrugged, looking like he was saying, "You'll have to figure it out yourself."
Han Zhou really wanted to tell him that Xiao Xiaoxiao wasn't a little girl, but he held back. After thinking for a moment, he used Lin Anyu's phone to send Xiao Xiaoxiao a message—
"Oh no, Han Zhou is about to die!"
Ten minutes later, a taxi came to a stop in front of the Western restaurant. Before it had even come to a complete stop, a petite figure hurriedly got out of the car, pushed open the heavy glass door, and stumbled inside.
"Where is Han Zhou? How did he..."
Her words abruptly stopped, and the anxiety on her face froze instantly—Han Zhou was leaning against the booth by the door, smiling at her.
“I’m here,” he replied softly.
Xiao Xiaoxiao's red-rimmed eyes suddenly widened, and she gritted her teeth, kicking him with considerable force, clearly showing she was genuinely angry. She then ignored him and turned to leave, but Han Zhou grabbed her arm.
"Have a meal before you leave."
"I won't eat it!"
"Don't be angry, I didn't mean to, I just mistyped..."
Han Zhou was a little embarrassed, not because of the different looks from the customers in the store, but because when he sent a message to Xiao Xiaoxiao, he missed a word and typed "Han Zhou is about to die" instead of "Han Zhou is about to starve to death". By the time he realized it, it was too late to take it back, so he could completely understand Xiao Xiaoxiao's reaction.
What he didn't expect was that Xiao Xiaoxiao cared about him so much; she had clearly looked like she was about to cry just now, which further confirmed his suspicions.
This guy definitely remembered something.
Mo Yixia analyzed that perhaps the information provided by the mysterious brocade pouch was not recorded on paper, but elsewhere.
He had long suspected that the mysterious brocade pouch might have been created specifically for Xiao Xiaoxiao. On the night he unlocked the mission reward, besides receiving a blank piece of paper, the only person he had in common with the mysterious brocade pouch was Xiao Xiaoxiao. Did this imply that Xiao Xiaoxiao was the key to unlocking the mysterious brocade pouch?
Or perhaps... she had already remembered everything and possessed the information he wanted?
...including the "past".
All signs indicate that the two must have known each other in the past, but he still can't remember it at all. Perhaps it's because his encounter with Xiao Xiaoxiao also stemmed from a time travel in the future, such as the time he went back to save Zhong Yin's family.
If that's the case... would she know the whole story of that time travel?
Han Zhou was eager to find out what was going on, which was one of the reasons why he chose to stay at school instead of going home today.
He thought it would take a long time to calm Xiao Xiao down, but after hearing his words, the girl, who was still struggling, seemed to be stunned for a moment and asked, "What word did you misspell?"
"To be precise, one character was missing."
Han Zhou looked apologetic and said sincerely, "I forgot to type the word 'hungry'."
"So the message you originally wanted to send was..." Xiao Xiaoxiao gradually stopped struggling, "You're starving to death?"
His expression was extremely serious, as if this was something very important.
But it's not surprising; joking about life and death is completely different from ordinary jokes.
“…Yes.” Han Zhou nodded.
"Swear it."
"I swear."
"That's more like it."
The girl, who had just been furious, inexplicably calmed down and kicked him in the shin again, saying, "Where's the food? I'm starving."
Han Zhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief, noticing that all eyes were on the two of them. He immediately smiled apologetically, "Excuse me, this is my sister, we..."
"Who's your sister!" Xiao Xiaoxiao kicked him again, this time even harder than before.
Han Zhou gasped, forced a smile, and then quickly led her to a private room on the second floor.
Inside the private room, Lin Anyu was on the phone, and the words "I'll be back this afternoon" could be faintly heard. Hearing the door open, he hung up the phone and looked over with a smile.
"Come sit down, come sit down, dinner will be ready soon."
Han Zhou led Xiao Xiaoxiao to a seat and asked, "Ya Ya's phone call?"
You heard all of that?
Lin Anyu was a little surprised, but when he thought about how this guy could even hear the girl named Zhong Ling's voice, he wasn't surprised. He shook his head and complained, "That girl kept insisting that I take her to buy the latest comic books. Her parents are both at home, and my parents could take her too, but she just had to bother me. Honestly."
Although he expressed his dissatisfaction, his eyes were practically overflowing with pride. Clearly, being relied upon by his dull-witted younger sister was a great achievement for him.
Han Zhou smiled. Today is New Year's Day, a very important day for everyone. Lin Anyu should have been with Ya Ya all day, but he still came to have dinner with him at Xiao Xiaoxiao's instruction. Even though the two had a deep friendship, he was still curious about what Xiao Xiaoxiao and the other person had talked about.
He hadn't forgotten the words he'd heard in the car: "Brother, you're in trouble."
He went along with what the other person said, saying, "I heard that if a younger sister didn't like her older brother, she wouldn't stick to him all the time. The fact that Ya Ya insists on having you with her means that she likes you a lot."
"Haha, how could that be? That girl would never like me."
Lin Anyu's face was practically beaming with joy, but he still wouldn't admit it, waving his hands repeatedly before asking, "Are you free this afternoon? Ya Ya really wants to see you."
The girl next to me is arrogant enough, but how come even my best buddy is like this... Han Zhou felt helpless, pointed at Xiao Xiaoxiao's head, and shook his head, saying, "I have to spend the afternoon with this guy, so I won't disturb your family reunion."
Xiao Xiao glared at him and slapped his hand away.
Lin Anyu said "Oh," and glanced at the petite girl without making a sound. He knew of Xiao Xiaoxiao, but he was unaware of her relationship with Han Zhou.
Considering that Han Zhou already had enough female confidantes, and that this girl, in terms of both height and appearance, was more like a middle school student, he immediately had his answer. He smiled slightly and tried to use a high-EQ joke to bridge the gap:
"I understand, this girl must be your sister too, right?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Xiaoxiao's bright eyes, which had been glaring at Han Zhou, suddenly turned cold. She looked over expressionlessly, as if she wanted to etch his silly, grinning face into her mind and settle scores with him later.
Lin Anyu's heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, it seems I guessed wrong again... (End of Chapter)