He would wonder how his Meimei spent the New Year, who she ate New Year's Eve dinner with, what they ate, whether they stayed up all night, or set off firecrackers...

Since receiving Ji Wanmei's letter, she said she would find some time after the New Year to come to Pingdong City to see him.

The Thunder team was eagerly anticipating this day.

He just hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

Holding the phone, Ji Wanmei felt a surge of sweetness in her heart upon hearing his anxious and worried tone.

“No, I’ve already come to Huadong from Pingquan today,” she said. “Tomorrow I will go to wish Grandma Song a happy birthday first, and after that I will take a bus to Pingdong City.”

Lei Tingjun immediately replied, "Tomorrow? Okay, I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

Ji Wanmei twirled the telephone cord with her fingers and said, "Aren't you very busy? It's so late, you didn't get back to the construction site until 9:30. If you come to pick me up, what will I do for work tomorrow?"

"It's alright, I can manage." Lei Tingjun was so eager to see her that he wished he could fly to East China right now.

They had only been apart for about twenty days, but it felt like two centuries had passed.

Ji Wanmei laughed and said, "Okay, then I'll have lunch at the Lu family's house tomorrow, and then I'll wait for you at our usual spot outside in the afternoon."

Every time Lei Tingjun came to East China University, he would park his car just across the street from the university and then get out to wait for Ji Wanmei.

So that place became his and Ji Wanmei's old haunt.

Lei Tingjun thought for a moment and said, "I should be able to get there by two o'clock. Don't come too late. Come over at two o'clock. If I arrive early, I'll wait for you a little longer."

"You really don't want to see me soon, huh? You even told me not to come early." Ji Wanmei adjusted her scarf.

"No," he said softly. "It's going to snow tomorrow, and I'm afraid you'll get cold if you arrive too early."

Finally, he added in a hoarse voice, "How could I not want to see you? I wish I could see you right now."

He probably won't be able to sleep when he gets home tonight.

He would keep looking forward to tomorrow.

Ji Wanmei chuckled; it was truly rare to hear him utter such sweet words.

She discovered that this man could be quite shy at times, and the more reserved he was, the more he could express himself, such as in letters, or now, over the phone.

But in front of her, he couldn't bring himself to say those cheesy and tender words.

"By the way, do you have a stove where I can cook? When I went home for Chinese New Year this year, my dad brought me a lot of dried goods and insisted that I take them to school to eat, but we eat in the school cafeteria and there is nowhere to cook."

Ji Wanmei was both amused and exasperated. "But my dad is so protective of his son, so I didn't stop him. He packed a lot of cured meat for me. I'll bring some over for you tomorrow so you can try some too."

“There’s a coal stove specifically for cooking,” Lei Tingjun said. “We guys on the construction site eat very roughly and casually. We just throw everything in the pot and cook it.”

Ji Wanmei thought for a moment and said, "It's okay, as long as it can be cooked."

Lei Tingjun had so much more to say to her, but he was worried that it was unsafe for her to be out alone in a public phone booth so late at night, especially since it was snowing and very cold. He was concerned that she might catch a cold.

He said, "Alright, you should go back and rest early. It's not safe to go back too late."

Ji Wanmei actually wanted to chat with him a little longer.

She really missed him after not seeing him for so long.

She thought that having lived two lifetimes, she would be more clear-headed and rational about relationships than the average woman, but once she truly fell in love with someone, she still couldn't help but miss him.

While she was standing in front of the phone booth waiting, she felt her hands and feet getting cold and shivering from the cold wind.

But now, listening to his deep, resonant voice on the phone, she felt very safe and didn't feel cold at all.

But it's almost 10 o'clock now, and it wouldn't be safe to go back any later, since there aren't many people on the streets anymore.

Lei Tingjun reminded her on the other end of the line, "Remember to drink some hot water when you get back to warm yourself up."

"Okay, I got it. Bye."

"See you tomorrow," he said softly.

"See you tomorrow." Ji Wanmei smiled and hung up the phone.

Turning around again, Ji Wanmei looked up at the snowflakes falling from the sky, reached out to catch them, and watched them melt. A smile curved her lips, feeling that everything was just right.