Chapter 25

The winter in L City this year is particularly cold. It is only mid-December, but it seems like we have already entered deep winter. When I woke up in the morning, the roads were covered with frost and the grass was covered with white.

Jiang Xu is very afraid of the cold, so she is fully armed on the way to school, wearing a scarf, hat, and gloves.

No. 3 Middle School has no special requirements for clothing in winter. Except for strange clothes, there is no requirement to wear school uniforms.

So Jiang Xu wrapped herself up like a dumpling, all in white, except for a white woolen hat with a small red ball on the top, a white woolen scarf knitted by Yu Jin herself, a long off-white down jacket that covered below the knees, white fleece trousers, and a pair of white snow boots. It was so airtight that it just kept her body temperature from dropping.

It was Friday morning and it was drizzling outside. Jiang Xu opened the door and a cold wind blew in her face. She couldn't help but shiver and shrank her little face into the scarf again.

Facing the cold wind and rain, every step seemed like torture. I finally reached the school gate and saw He Jin walking there.

Jiang Xu's eyes lit up and he trotted over.

The long down jacket made it inconvenient to move, and she couldn't stop the car when she started slowly, so she fell directly on his back. Fortunately, He Jin closed her umbrella early, but a few drops of water still fell on her eyelid, the only part of her eye that was not covered, and she shivered all over with cold.

He Jin was caught off guard and was pushed forward a few steps. When he turned around, he saw the girl wrapped up like a ball, wiping the water droplets from her forehead. "You are so afraid of the cold."

"Well... a little. Why are you wearing so little?" He Jin was wearing a sweatshirt inside, which seemed to be even fleece-less, and a school uniform jacket outside with the zipper open.

A man who prefers grace over warmth.

Jiang Xu frowned, took off the glove on one hand, and touched his hand holding the umbrella handle. Sure enough, it was as cold as a piece of iron.

He Jin shook the ball on her hat and said, "It's not cold."

“…”

How can you not take care of yourself? Do you have to be frozen to the point of losing consciousness to feel cold?

Jiang Xu's face fell, and she silently took his other hand in his pocket and put it in her own fluffy pocket.

Seeing the girl's gloomy face, He Jin smiled. He opened the umbrella, put his arm around the girl's shoulders, and pushed the umbrella handle back. The two of them hid under the umbrella. His lips touched her cold little face, but he moved away in just a moment. "You won't be cold now."

Jiang Xu felt the warm touch on her face a little late, and her face suddenly became hot. There are so many people here...

But my hands are so cold, but my lips are so... hot...

The heating was on in the class, and it was so warm that people didn't want to move. Jiang Xu's seat had just been changed two days ago. It was next to the window, and there was a standing air conditioner behind her. The warm air was blowing around her, and she felt a little hot.

It was raining outside and there was no break. Jiang Xu took out a large ball of gray wool and a knitting needle from her schoolbag. She was still not very good at knitting, so she wound the yarn up in circles very slowly, but at least she remembered the steps.

She has been working on this thing for almost two days, but why is it still only as long as her palm? When she saw Yu Jin doing it before, it was fast and beautiful, so why is it so difficult for her to do it?

——When Jiang Xu said she wanted to learn how to knit a scarf a few days ago, Yu Jin was puzzled for a while, but when she thought of her precious daughter's boyfriend, she understood.

Yu Jin is very patient, but Jiang Xu doesn't follow her. She was very active and impatient when she was a child. When she got angry, she would cause trouble everywhere like a little bully. The little boys in the kindergarten were all subdued by her. It was not until she entered junior high school that she calmed down and looked well-behaved.

Jiang Xu learns things very quickly, but unexpectedly, she couldn't even learn how to cast on a needle at the beginning. She looked very troubled. She didn't expect that her first setback in life would be caused by this small scarf.

But he didn't want Yu Jin's help and was determined to fight this ball of wool to the end by himself.

Yu Jin sighed for a long time, it is true that there is always something that can defeat something else.

………

Actually, it’s not bad. I worked hard all morning and formed a small piece, but it seems to be a little crooked.

Jiang Xu fell headfirst onto the table with a thud.

Suddenly someone tugged at her sleeve, and she turned to look at Ji Jing, "What's wrong?"

Ji Jing pointed to the door and said, "He's been standing there for a long time."

As soon as Ji Jing said that, she knew it was He Jin. She turned around and saw He Jin standing by the back door. There were not many people coming in and out, so no one dared to go up and ask, at most they would just take a few more glances.

He Jin's gaze fell on her with a smile in his eyes, perhaps laughing at the distressed expression on her face when she was struggling with the wool just now. Seeing her turn her head to look at him, he raised the thing in his hand and shook it, motioning her to come over.

Jiang Xu stood up, trotted over, and took his arm as they walked out the door. The seat was quite hot, so she took off her scarf. The cold wind blew in, and she shivered uncomfortably. "Why are you here?"

"Look at you." He Jin used his free hand to zip her up to the top, then pulled up her hat. He pinched the rabbit ears hanging down from it, then handed her the milk tea in his hand, "I just bought this."

Jiang Xu held the hot milk tea, looked up at him and blinked.

He Jin knew what she meant. He covered her hand. It was warm, not cold. "I just changed my clothes. They're fleece-lined."

Jiang Xu smiled then, looked around, saw that there was no one around, stood on tiptoe, and quickly kissed him on the lips.

He Jin put his hands in his pockets, curled his lips, and pulled her hat down, almost covering her eyes. He took out a small hot water bottle from his pocket, put it in her pocket, and pinched her face that was red from the heating, "Go back."

"Um."

After school, Jiang Xu asked his father to pick up Jiang You from school, saying that he and his friends were having dinner outside and would be back later. They quickly agreed.

Jiang Xu couldn't wait to drag He Jin to Liyue Plaza. She suddenly changed her mind and thought that by the time she finished knitting the scarf, winter would be over.

As soon as she entered the mall, Jiang Xu let herself go and went on a shopping spree. Yu Jin had already topped up her card, so she didn't need to pay herself.

He Jin held the bag in one hand and held her hand with the other, fearing that she would fly away. There were many people at this time of night.

Jiang Xu didn't let the salesperson follow her. When she saw some clothes that fit her, she wanted He Jin to try them on.

In the end, Jiang Xu fell into deep distress. What should she do since her daughter Jiaohua was so beautiful? She would look good even if she wore a sack. She looked good in all these clothes, so she was reluctant to let her take them off.

He Jin found it a little funny to see her so distressed. Hasn't this girl changed her mindset yet?

“Buy whatever you like.”

"But... it's so beautiful, I don't want others to see it..." Jiang Xu held up her chin and looked at him, really distressed.

He Jin lowered his head and kissed her lips, then smiled and said, "Then don't buy it."

"I want to see it." Jiang Xu smiled, his eyes sparkling.

He Jin laughed stiflingly, leaned close to her ear, and agreed unconditionally: "Then I'll wear it for you to see in the future."

He Jin's hands were full of bags filled with his clothes, gloves, and scarves. Seeing that the girl was still very excited and seemed to want to move the entire shopping mall home for him, he agreed and let her choose.

Jiang Xu walked into a store and the phone rang. She picked it up while looking at the clothes.

There was a clamorous voice on the other end of the line, and the environment was still a bit noisy. Xu Zhixin called out in a loud voice: "Jiang Xiaoxu, come quickly, some of your brothers from No. 1 Middle School are here, come and get together."

Jiang Xu paused, remembering that they had been strolling around for so long without eating, and turned to ask, "Brother Jin, Xu Zhixin and the others asked me to go to dinner. Do you want to go?"

"Okay." He Jin responded while sitting on the sofa waiting for her.

Xu Zhixin on the other side heard it and immediately said, "I've sent you the address on WeChat, come quickly."

The location is not far away, in a barbecue restaurant next to Liyue Plaza. They don’t like those formal restaurants very much and can’t eat to their heart’s content. They all like to make noise in small roadside shops. In the past, they would make noise until one or two o’clock in the morning, and their family members would let them do whatever they wanted and no one would care about them.

It took them a while to walk there. Xu Zhixin had been waiting at the door and took them to their seat.

Almost all of the friends from No. 1 Middle School who used to be good friends with them had arrived. Jiang Xu didn't say anything polite. He held He Jin's hand, introduced them briefly, and then sat down.

Xu Zhixin and the others sat on the other side of Jiang Xu. With them around, the atmosphere was lively and the whole table was filled with noise.

Jiang Xu skillfully hung his feet on the bar of Xu Zhixin's stool, supported his elbows on his knees, and fetched a bottle of beer from somewhere. He opened the can with one hand, as if he had returned to the days before liberation, when there were endless waves of joy.

"Don't drink." Jiang Xu just put the bottle to her mouth when a hand blocked it. An opened bottle of Wangzai milk was placed on the table in front of her.

Jiang Xu: ...I forgot that she is a married woman now.

Xu Zhixin, Cheng Yuan and others noticed it, and they looked like they were watching a show. The little ancestor who used to cause trouble was finally subdued by someone.

Jiang Xu was inconsolable as she watched helplessly as the beer in her hand was taken away. She decided to struggle a little longer and leaned towards He Jin, pulling at his sleeve to prevent him from moving away. She looked up at him and said, "Brother Jin, just this one drink. I won't get drunk. Aren't you here too?"

He Jin thought for a few seconds, looked at the girl's aggrieved eyes, and finally compromised. He hummed and handed the wine back: "Just this one."

Hearing this, Jiang Xu immediately regained his spirits, tightly gripped the wine, and nodded repeatedly.

Only later did He Jin realize what a wrong decision he had made.

"Come on, drink as much as you can. It's my treat today!" Xu Zhixin immediately stood up, grabbed the cup and poured it into his mouth.

At the beginning, several people drank one sip at a time and started to play the game of "You have it, I don't have it". If you have experienced something that others have not, then others have to drink. If more than two people have experienced it, then you drink alone.

After playing for a while, I got so excited that I had to drink, no matter if I had any or not. I jumped up, put my feet on the stool, and poured the wine into my mouth. After drinking several bottles, the alcohol got to my head and I couldn't stop. I didn't care about the people around me and almost wanted to have sex.

The food on the table was almost finished, and the beer bottles were flattened and piled up in all directions on the table. The tables next to it were still in high spirits, drinking and fighting, and the roof was about to be blown off.

Jiang Xu, holding onto the last bit of her rationality, called her parents and told them she was out playing with friends and would not be going back to sleep, asking them not to worry. Yu Jin and Jiang Yuanshan thought Jiang Xu was a sensible child, so they just let them do what they wanted.

After the call ended, several people wanted to continue, but as Jiang Xu just pried open the bottle cap, his hand was held down.

He Jin's face darkened. He knew he shouldn't trust this girl, but he couldn't argue with her, especially since the girl was drunk and acted like a spoiled child without any regard for others.

By the end, almost everyone at the last table except He Jin had passed out. Jiang Xu was thinking of having a crazy night and had forgotten about the people around him. He was even thinking about reaching for the beer cans. He Jin's face became even gloomier. He didn't care about anyone else. He pulled everyone up, put on his clothes, paid the bill, and walked out.

Seeing that the girl's steps were a little crooked, He Jin sighed, squatted down, zipped up Jiang Xu's long down jacket to cover her neck, put on the hood, hooked her legs and picked her up sideways.

Jiang Xu frowned. Although she felt a little dizzy, she at least knew that the person who took her away was He Jin.

She noticed that the person who was pulling her was in a bad mood, so she kept silent.

It was almost twelve o'clock and the rain had stopped, but the ground was wet and cold.

The girl didn't make a fuss even though she was drunk, and just slept quietly. He Jin sighed helplessly and hugged the girl tighter in his arms to prevent her from getting cold.