The first snowfall of the year blanketed City A just as the chemistry department at University S wrapped up its final exams.

Lu Shijing handed in his paper, and Professor Zhang accepted it with a bright smile.

“Well done.”

The admiration in his eyes was impossible to hide.

As the head of the chemistry department, chief exam supervisor, and one of the exam’s primary creators, Professor Zhang paid especially close attention to the department’s most promising student.

“Thank you, Professor,” Lu Shijing replied politely.

Professor Zhang gave his shoulder a warm pat. The more he observed this young man, the more impressed he became. Lu Shijing was brilliant, humble, respectful, and entirely free of arrogance.

After the exam ended, Lu Shijing returned to his dormitory to pack.

He would be taking the train back to Xicheng the next afternoon.

He was born and raised there, and compared to Yancheng, the difference in climate was enormous. While Yancheng’s winters were freezing and harsh, Xicheng remained comfortably warm all year round.

University A’s winter break started three days later than University S’s.

When Zhou Yang called, Lu Shijing was currently waging war against a thick C++ textbook, determined to survive until the very end.

“Shijing, if I somehow pass this class, I swear I’m going straight to a temple to repay the Bodhisattva!”

“If you spent even half the time you use on games studying instead,” Lu Shijing replied calmly, “Bodhisattva’s workload would probably be much lighter.”

“Uh…”

Fair point.

After finishing his packing, Lu Shijing realized he had nothing else to do that afternoon, so he headed to the library to return some borrowed books.

He sat there quietly for a while.

Lately, his phone had become strangely silent.

No constant WeChat notifications.

No endless stream of teasing messages.

No interruptions.

Almost unconsciously, he opened his chat history with Gu Nansheng again.

Their last conversation had ended two days ago.

He was leaving tomorrow.

His gaze lingered on her profile picture, the familiar slender silhouette of the girl staring back at him.

After hesitating for a moment, he typed:

Are you busy?

At that moment, Gu Nansheng was drowning in senior-year exams.

Her brain felt fried from nonstop revision, and her eyes had nearly gone blurry from exhaustion.

A few minutes later, a reply finally came.

Just a single crying emoji.

For some reason, the image of her looking pitiful and exhausted immediately surfaced in Lu Shijing’s mind, making him chuckle softly.

How could someone suffer so much over exams?

Very tired?

Yes, I’m so tired I don’t even have the energy to tease you anymore. Hurry and give this sister some motivation~

Lu Shijing lowered his eyes.

He was leaving for Xicheng tomorrow.

Which meant…

They would not see each other for a very long time.

Checking the time, he realized it was still fairly early.

Without another thought, he stood up and left the library.

Meanwhile, Gu Nansheng assumed he had simply gone back to whatever he had been doing when he stopped replying.

So she continued suffering through practice questions.

Half an hour later, her phone suddenly lit up.

A message popped onto her screen.

Come downstairs.

?

I’m outside your dorm building.

Gu Nansheng immediately rushed to the window.

Sure enough, standing below in a white down jacket was Lu Shijing.

Oh no.

She wasn’t wearing makeup.

Panicking slightly, she hurriedly typed back:

Give me ten minutes.

Alright. I’ll wait.

After sending the message, the corners of his lips curved upward ever so slightly.

Ten minutes later, after checking her reflection in the mirror three separate times to make sure everything looked perfect, Gu Nansheng grabbed her coat and ran downstairs.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” she asked as she threw herself into his arms.

Lu Shijing caught her instinctively.

Then, removing the black scarf around his neck, he gently wrapped it around hers.

As he adjusted it carefully, he said softly,

“To give this sister some warmth.”

Gu Nansheng grinned mischievously.

“Mission accomplished. I feel thoroughly warmed now.”

“Are you cold?” she asked, grabbing his hand and slipping it into her coat pocket.

“I’m not cold.”

Yet inside the pocket, his fingers quietly turned and wrapped around her hand.

Her fingertips felt noticeably colder than his.

“Are your exams finished?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m going back to Xicheng tomorrow.”

“So soon?”

Her expression instantly fell.

She looked up at him, eyes overflowing with reluctance.

“What time is your train?”

“One in the afternoon.”

Gu Nansheng only had one exam scheduled for the next morning.

Her afternoon would be completely free.

“Then I’ll come see you off.”

“You still have exams. Focus on studying,” he said, gently patting her head.

“No.”

Her refusal came instantly.

“Be good.”

“No!”

She covered her ears dramatically like a stubborn child refusing to listen.

Lu Shijing looked down at her helplessly.

He truly had no defense against her behavior.

The next day, the moment Gu Nansheng finished her exam, she rushed frantically toward the train station.

Lu Shijing had repeatedly reminded her to be careful on the way.

He sat quietly in the waiting area, though his eyes kept drifting toward the entrance.

Across from him sat two girls who had already been sneaking glances at him for quite some time.

His soft bangs rested lightly over his forehead, making his tea-brown eyes appear even deeper.

Dressed in a white down jacket and dark jeans, he carried an effortlessly cool and youthful aura.

Even with the black mask covering half his face, the sharp, clean line of his jaw made it obvious he was exceptionally handsome.

The girls were still debating who should go ask for his WeChat when he suddenly stood up.

His eyes shifted toward the entrance.

Then, a smile appeared.

Soft.

Warm.

Tender enough to make someone’s heart skip.

From the distance, Gu Nansheng waved at him while running over, breathing hard.

“I thought I wasn’t going to make it.”

She stood before him, tall and elegant, with fair skin and bright eyes that shimmered like water under sunlight.

Her lips carried a soft, beautiful color, and every smile she gave seemed to melt the cold winter air around them.

The two girls across from them exchanged a silent look.

Good thing we didn’t embarrass ourselves.

“There’s still some time,” Lu Shijing said, glancing at the station clock.

12:29 PM.

“How was your exam?”

“Mm… it was okay, I guess.”

Truthfully, her entire mind had been occupied with the fact that he was leaving.

Concentrating had been nearly impossible.

“Attention please, passengers boarding Train D615 from Yancheng to Xicheng, boarding is now beginning. Please prepare your tickets and proceed to the gate in an orderly manner…”

“They’re boarding…” Gu Nansheng murmured quietly.

“There’s still time.”

Passengers slowly began lining up.

Gu Nansheng reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

“I don’t want you to go.”

The two of them had only just started getting closer.

Two whole months apart suddenly felt unbearably long.

A heavy ache of reluctance settled inside her chest.

“I’ll message you once I get home,” he promised.

“No. You have to message me the moment you get on the train.”

“Alright.”

“You have to text me every single day.”

“Alright.”

“When you wake up, the first thing you do has to be messaging me.”

“Alright.”

“You need to think about me at least fifty times a day.”

“Alright.”

“And absolutely not letting other girls seduce you.”

“…”

Did she really think he was that easily tempted?

“I really want a hug…” she mumbled softly before burying her face against his chest.

His heartbeat echoed steadily beneath her ear.

University A and University S had never felt far apart.

But now, with Xicheng and Yancheng between them, the distance suddenly seemed enormous.

The second boarding announcement echoed through the station.

12:36 PM.

Left with no choice, Lu Shijing picked up his luggage.

Gu Nansheng followed closely behind him.

At the very back of the line.

When he walked forward, she followed.

When he stopped, she stopped too.

Soon, it was almost his turn at the gate.

“Be careful going back,” he said softly as he turned toward her.

“Okay.”

Her fingers clung tightly to his hand, unwilling to let go.

But as the line grew shorter and shorter, she finally loosened her grip.

Standing there quietly, she watched him.

Lu Shijing retrieved his ticket.

Then paused.

He turned back.

Their eyes met.

Something surged violently inside his chest.

Before he could think twice, he spun around and ran back toward her.

A fierce light burned in his eyes.

Wrapping one arm around her waist, he pulled her tightly against him.

In a voice so soft and beautiful it nearly stole her breath away, he said,

“Sister, let’s kiss.”

Before Gu Nansheng could even react, his lips pressed gently against hers.

In that instant, it felt as though fireworks exploded inside her mind.

Her heartbeat thundered so loudly she could barely hear anything else.

She had imagined their first kiss countless times.

But never, not even once, had she imagined that he would be the one to make the first move.

When the kiss finally ended, Lu Shijing looked down at the completely flushed girl in his arms.

“This is your first kiss, right, sister?”

Gu Nansheng immediately protested weakly.

“Of course not!”

A soft smile touched his lips.

“It’s mine.”

His fingertips brushed lightly across her lips, his gaze filled with quiet warmth.

“So this time,” he murmured softly, “sister, you really have to take responsibility for me.”