14 “He was also not used to it and didn’t like it at the time.”

Someone passed by behind her and kicked a chair, and Tao Wanji was woken up. Her eyes were not fully open yet, but a familiar fragrance wafting towards her nose immediately woke her up from the chaos.

He Yu always uses the same perfume. Even if she were blind, she could still recognize the scent on him.

After realizing that he was leaning on his shoulder, Tao Wanji raised his head.

The needle had been removed, leaving a small amount of blood on the white tape. She tore off the tape and threw it into the trash can nearby.

"I'll take you back."

He Yu felt a lightness on his shoulder and turned his head to the side, but because he had maintained the same posture for a long time, his neck became stiff and it hurt a little when he turned his head suddenly.

"No need." Tao Wanji stood up, his body much lighter. He turned his wrist and looked at the slow-moving man. "Don't you still need to buy medicine?"

She smiled, ignoring the lingering smell at the tip of her nose, and her expression was natural.

"I won't waste your time. Thank you for being my human pillow. I'm much better now. Bye."

Tao Wanjia walked briskly, waved goodbye to him, and disappeared in front of him like a gust of wind.

The pain in his shoulder was still clearly there. He Yu watched the person who made him slow down leave, but he didn't feel as panicked as before.

Compared to Tao Wanjia's stiff defense and boundaries towards him in the past few days, today at least she did not deny their past.

Thinking of this, the wound about her gradually shrank.

Thanks to his previous physical condition, Tao Wanjia recovered completely after two days of rest.

After being discharged from the hospital, Mai Xiang did not go to work for a while. Her boyfriend, who was as immature as her and deliberately pretended to be an adult, did not leave her. After learning that she had not even paid the heating bill to save money, he bought her an electric heater and bought all the other necessary things for the house.

At the end, he knocked on the door again and wanted to treat her to dinner to express his gratitude.

The boy said sincerely, "I'm not usually here, so I'm afraid Maixiang still needs your help. She often mentioned it to me on the phone, and she even said that it was you who helped her last time when the lock broke and she couldn't get in. It's only natural that we should both thank you, so please don't hesitate."

Tao Wanjia was surprised by this boy who looked dull but was actually very eloquent. His way of dealing with people was completely different from Mai Xiang's. But on second thought, he could understand that boys and girls are always different. Even if they enter society at the same time, their growth speed will always be different due to different environments.

Unable to refuse, Tao Wanjia thought of a compromise to save money for both of them: they could just eat hot pot at home when it was cold.

Mai Xiang agreed with a smile and dragged her boyfriend out to buy ingredients. As it was getting dark, the three of them gathered around the hot pot steaming on the induction cooker for dinner.

This time, Tao Wanjia stopped being a cold listener and asked Mai Xiang why she was burning charcoal. She was filled with shame and said, "I remember when I was a kid, everyone in the village used braziers to keep warm..."

"The room needs ventilation. Didn't you see that grandpa and grandma put a basin of water in the room?" The boy beside her put some meat slices into her bowl. Upon hearing her words, he reached out his free hand to touch her hair. "Don't do that next time. It's too dangerous. Luckily, Sister Tao found out, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable."

Mai Xiang was quite scared when she thought about it, and nodded and vowed never to do it again.

Tao Wanji watched the two of them get along naturally, and the corners of his lips unconsciously rose.

On the last day of 2024, Tao Wanjia got up early and went to Huang Zheng.

The community is decorated with lights and red lanterns are hung on the dead branches, and the atmosphere of New Year's Day is everywhere.

Dressed in black, she wandered through the hustle and bustle, feeling a bit disconnected. It was nothing more than the fact that family reunions over the years had nothing to do with her.

The elevator door opened, and Huang Shengsheng's cute little face appeared.

"Auntie!"

Before Tao Wanjia could react, someone rushed forward. She opened her arms and hugged him, holding him tightly. She felt the weight in her arms and said, "Tell me, auntie, are you still feeling uncomfortable? Does your throat still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt. I've recovered a long time ago." Huang Shengsheng hugged her neck and put his hand close to her chin. "What about you, auntie? Mom said you were infected by me. Does it still hurt?"

Tao Wanji's heart warmed, and he smiled and pinched her face, "I don't feel any pain anymore."

Huang Zheng heard the two of them talking, and asked Huang Shengsheng to come down when she changed her shoes. Before closing the door, she saw Tao Wanjia dressed casually and stopped.

"The kindergarten event is held in a shopping mall, so it might be a bit hot for you to wear a down jacket."

After saying this, he didn't wait for Tao Wanjia to answer and pulled her into the cloakroom.

Huang Zheng didn't care much about appearance when she was young. She started to rebel after entering puberty. First, she followed her classmates in technical school and wore all kinds of suspenders and shorts. Later, she taught herself to apply colorful makeup that would make her mother say "yes, my mother would say it!"

At that time, Tao Wanjia was often forced to be her model and test subject. Once, she went to find He Yu with "fly-legged" eyelashes and "lard-lipped" lipstick, which scared him. Before he could say anything, he took out wet wipes from his pocket to wipe her.

Time changes, and so do people's tastes. Huang Zheng has honed her fashion sense over the years she's been running her shop, but today's fashionistas wouldn't accept Tao Wanjia dressing casually for an event, which would be a major downfall for the family.

"How about you wear this? We have the same color but different styles."

She was in a good mood and took out a white coat with a dust bag from the outermost layer of the closet.

Tao Wanji smiled, and Huang Zheng reached over to unzip her pants, just like the countless times they role-played as children, hurriedly draping the sheets over her. Finally, without giving her any resistance, she pushed her to sit on the dressing table.

"That's not necessary!" Tao Wanji watched her take out the makeup brush and shrank back, "I wiped my face today."

"Why are you wiping it? The dark circles on your face haven't been covered yet." Huang Zheng looked serious and bent down to put makeup on her.

The two of them were very close, so close that Tao Wanjia could see the slight gleam on her eyelids.

A faint fragrance lingered around Huang Zheng. It was not perfume nor anything else. It was very light and subtle, but it repeatedly penetrated into her nostrils as she moved.

The fragrance lingered for a long time until the New Year's activities began in the afternoon, when the two of them and all the other parents tied their legs together to participate in the three-legged race.

The air conditioning in the mall was very hot, and nearly two hundred parents and children gathered in an activity area.

Tao Wanjia and Huang Zheng each raised their hands and hugged each other. As the teacher blew the whistle, they ran forward with all their might amid the countless cheers from the opposite side.

Most of the people participating in the activities around me are parents. There is a huge difference in strength between men and women, and if one of them is slightly unbalanced, they will fall.

What gave them an advantage was that Tao Wanjia and Huang Zheng had comparable strength and pace, and perhaps also a tacit understanding in their bones. In short, the two of them were far ahead of the crowd.

Huang Shengsheng was so excited that he almost jumped up, raised his hands high, and shouted proudly to the classmates on both sides: "This is my mother and my aunt, awesome!"

After she finished speaking, she waved her hand again, staring at the two figures that crossed the line first.

"Mom and aunt, you two are amazing!"

Huang Shengsheng staggered forward and gave a thumbs up to the two people who were still sweating profusely.

"No one can run faster than you two, so we won!"

Tao Wanji smiled, took the mineral water Huang Zheng handed over, drank it, and patted her head. "How about it, are you happy this time?"

"Happy!" Huang Shengsheng held their hands, one on each side, "Then Mom and Auntie, let's go eat together."

On New Year's Eve, this newly built shopping mall was particularly crowded.

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor, He Yu looked down at the crowd gradually gathering in the square.

With only half an hour left until midnight, the mall manager finished his report and began to chatter away in flattery. He Yu found it boring and, drawn downstairs by the lively atmosphere, he went downstairs.

Xiao Zhang followed him and asked in confusion: "Don't you dislike crowds?"

He remembered his brutal, almost robotic routine outside of work, so dull and boring that his life felt like a stagnant pool of water. Winter was supposed to be a freezing season, but he didn't know what had gone wrong with him today.

"Don't worry about me. I'll call you when we get back."

He Yu took the scarf from him and walked straight out.

There was a lot of noise all around, and the people walking back and forth brought a cold wind.

He followed the crowd that was slowly gathering, and recalled a time when, as a child, Tao Wanjia secretly took him out to see a movie on New Year's Eve.

Back then, Rongcheng's infrastructure was still mediocre. They were in the only old movie theater, still with wooden seats. Behind them was a family of three. Shortly after the movie started, the child, restless and unable to sit still, began kicking the backs of the chairs. Tao Wanjia was furious. He turned around and glared at him, then lowered his voice to ask the two adults nearby if they could stop him.

She has always been a sensitive person. She will not accept being wronged or treated unfairly. She just suppresses herself at Huang Zheng's house and never hides herself in front of him.

After coming out of the cinema, they saw a car of acrobatic troupe performing magic tricks on the street, surrounded by people. When Tao Wanjia heard the noise, he put aside his previous unpleasantness, grabbed his hand and squeezed into the crowd.

At that time, he was not used to it and did not like it, but in order to avoid being separated by the crowd, he had no choice but to follow her in. Their hands were pulled tighter and tighter until their fingers were intertwined, and in the darkness where neither of them could see each other, they were as strong as glue.

That feeling seems to still exist after all these years.

When he was distracted, someone ran over and accidentally bumped into his shoulder. He Yu withdrew his thoughts and when he looked up again, he found a figure standing not far away.

When the clock struck midnight, Tao Wanjia looked up and saw the balloons flying in the dark sky slowly drifting to the horizon like waves.

She followed the direction of the balloons, her thoughts drifting further and further away. She recalled that this was the first time in so many years that she felt the festive atmosphere. She wasn't running around everywhere, or having a meeting with people in the commentary department with lots of saliva flying, or writing articles all night on the green train.

This was a long time since she last saw life. She hadn't felt it for a long time and now she felt that life was right in front of her.

Tao Wanji looked quietly for a long time before looking away. The moment he lowered his head, he met He Yu's eyes in the bustling crowd.