With less than a month to go before the Spring Festival, the festive atmosphere in the air is getting stronger every day. The streets are filled with lanterns of all sizes and couplets. In the shops, there seem to be more people buying things than goods, and the queues are like a long dragon.

People were all beaming with joy and full of energy. The streets were bustling with people, some buying New Year pictures and others buying New Year's goods. In Sichuan, an even more distinctive feature was that everyone was playing mahjong.

The streets were vibrant with color, filled with all sorts of people and a wide variety of goods, creating a lively atmosphere where everyone was actively involved.

Cao Yujiao stood on the embroidered tower, feeling utterly isolated from the festive atmosphere. In this new city, the New Year's spirit was still so strong, yet it only made her feel more lonely. Where was her home?

Every time she saw Chen Niannian's family reunited, she was genuinely happy for her friend, but she also felt a pang of envy. That kind of family atmosphere was what she longed for.

"It's snowing! It's snowing!" The cheerful shouts of children outside interrupted her sorrow.

Suddenly, a name popped into her mind: what was Li Wengang doing now? It had been so long since they'd been in contact; he'd probably forgotten her. Thinking of this, Cao Yujiao felt a pang of pain in her heart. Wasn't this the outcome she wanted?

But why was she still sad? Actually, she just didn't want to admit it. Li Wengang had already quietly taken up residence in her heart. During this time, she studied desperately and stayed up late every day, just to avoid thinking about him. But the more she tried to forget, the more vividly she remembered him.

"Cao Yujiao, when are you going home?" Teacher Chang appeared beside her without her noticing.

"Teacher, are you trying to get rid of me?" Cao Yujiao asked playfully.

"How could your teacher bear to send you away? It's just that it's snowing, and it looks like it'll snow for several days. The roads will be difficult to travel then, and I'm worried about you." Teacher Chang looked at Cao Yujiao with affection.

This child was the most insightful child she had ever met, with a pure and simple heart, but there was always a worry lingering between his brows.

"Yujiao, when you go back this time, I hope you can handle the things on your mind. This way, your state of mind may be elevated, and these experiences will be reflected in your works, thus becoming your own style. I hope that no matter what happens, you will stay true to yourself."

Cao Yujiao's nose tingled with emotion. "Teacher, I will handle it well. Thank you for your trouble."

"Pack your things tonight and leave tomorrow morning. You don't need to come and say goodbye. We'll meet again someday." After saying that, Teacher Chang left.

Cao Yujiao arrived with very little luggage, but returned with two large suitcases. Here, she fell in love with hot pot. The spicy flavor, from her mouth to her stomach, was an indescribable pleasure. So, she brought a lot of hot pot base back to Beijing. Thinking of her friends slurping and sucking on the spiciness, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

Unsure if he could handle spicy food, Cao Yujiao couldn't help but think of Li Wengang again. She shook her head, gave a self-deprecating smile, and thought, "It's time to wake up from this dream."

As the year draws to a close, people who have been away from home are beginning to return to their hometowns and cities.

"Fang Yuan? You haven't gone home yet?" Wan Qing asked in surprise as she saw Fang Yuan walk in from outside.

"Auntie, I'm taking the train tomorrow morning. I wanted to come and wish you a Happy New Year in advance before I leave." Fang Yuan held up the meat and fruit she was carrying.

"You silly boy, it's still early for the New Year, why did you bring so much stuff? You're a young man, you probably don't even have enough to eat by yourself usually," Wan Qing complained.

"Auntie, I'm the only child in my family. My parents would rather go hungry than let me go hungry. Look, I've gained almost a lot of weight since I started university," Fang Yuan said with a smile.

"You child, you don't come here often, and it's rare for you to come, yet you're so polite, bringing all these things. Don't be so polite next time. Come more often when school starts next year, and Auntie will cook you delicious food to improve your meals." Wan Qing liked Fang Yuan more and more as she looked at him.

Fang Yuan was overjoyed. With Wan Qing's words, he could come over more often in the future. So what if he was shameless? Yue Jiaoyang had only spent a lot of time with Chen Niannian; he had only lost to time and distance.

No, he hasn't lost yet; he must fight for his chance. Fang Yuan has never been one to admit defeat or sit idly by and wait for death. On the contrary, he is very opinionated and has his own ideas. He just lost because he didn't stay by Fang Yuan's side.

He was traumatized that day, and when he went back and asked himself, he really didn't want to give up. Yue Jiaoyang had been so disregardful of Chen Niannian's reputation in public, hugging and embracing her like that, which was completely disrespectful to her.

Fang Yuan immediately got angry when he thought of this, and he was determined to keep Chen Niannian away from this person.

"Come on, Fang Yuan, Niannian is upstairs. Let's go up together. Auntie washed the fruit. We'll have lunch at home." Wan Qingtian took Fang Yuan's hand and walked upstairs.

We waited until we got upstairs.

"Sit on the sofa first and change the TV yourself. Make yourself at home. Niannian, Niannian, come out here quickly, look who's here." Wan Qing called out towards the study.

"Mom, I told you not to disturb me when I'm in the study," Chen Niannian said, opening the door with a hint of dissatisfaction.

However, upon seeing Fang Yuan, her expression immediately changed to one of surprise. "Fang Yuan, you're here?"

"What? Aren't you welcoming me?" Fang Yuan asked, his tone slightly probing.

"Welcome! But you never contacted me at school. I thought you had become distant from me."

"I was afraid that constantly visiting you would affect your studies, so I didn't have the heart to bother you." Fang Yuan was secretly delighted; it seemed that Chen Niannian still had feelings for him.

"What impact does it have? You're overthinking it. Besides, don't you have my pager number? I haven't seen you call it. If you forget, you can call my dorm." Chen Niannian casually pulled out a pen and paper from the drawer under the coffee table, quickly wrote down the phone number, and handed it to Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan held the piece of paper, glanced at it twice, and had already memorized the string of numbers on it.

"How could I forget my pager number? I was just worried about wasting your time. If you're out and don't have a call back, you won't know if it's an emergency, and that would be bad. I'll call your dorm from now on," Fang Yuan said considerately.

"You think quite a lot. Indeed, every time I see a pager, I rush to call back. I never expected that you, who were so carefree when you were little, would be so thoughtful and considerate now." Chen Niannian pretended to be looking Fang Yuan up and down as if she had just met him, and even made a clicking sound.

"Chen Niannian, girls should be reserved. Don't look at people like that in the future." Fang Yuan was extremely embarrassed, and her face turned red.