Old Testament
A fine, first snowflake suddenly fell, drifting across the glass window Jiang Yizhou had just washed, creating a hazy patch of white. Chen Yu was sorting through her class notes in her notebook, the rustling of her pen across the pages when she heard a soft sound coming from the balcony—Jiang Yizhou approaching on the light snow.
"I just got some hot ginger tea from the student union and gave you half a cup." Jiang Yizhou pushed open the door, his eyelashes still caked with snowflakes. In his hand, he held a thermos cup with water droplets condensing on the walls. "I just ran into your roommate and he said you were staying here to work on your report right after class?"
When Chen Yu looked up, he saw him raise his hand to brush away the snow on his shoulders. As he moved, he saw a Band-Aid on his wrist exposed by his sleeve - it was scratched by a nail when he was helping the club move the exhibition board yesterday.
"It's almost done, just need to finish it." Chen Yu moved to the side to make room for someone to sit. "It's snowing so fast, why don't you use an umbrella?"
"I ran over here because I was worried the ginger tea would get cold." Jiang Yizhou pushed the cup closer to him and glanced at the laptop screen. "Which part are you stuck on? I just heard your roommate downstairs say you frowned at the data for half an hour."
Chen Yu tapped the chart on the screen: "This error analysis doesn't seem right. The formula is obviously correct..."
Before he could finish his words, Jiang Yizhou leaned over, his warm breath brushing against the tip of Chen Yu's ear. He tapped a line on the screen: "Look here, did you miss the control group when you took the sample size? The teacher specifically emphasized in the last lab class that this kind of variable analysis must be taken into account..."
The snow was falling harder and harder, crackling against the window. Chen Yu held a cup of warm ginger tea and listened to Jiang Yizhou's low explanation. Suddenly, he remembered last winter, on a snowy day just like this, when Jiang Yizhou had stuffed his red, frozen hands into his school uniform pockets and said, "Don't put them in your sleeves all the time, you'll get frostbite."
"Oh, right," Jiang Yizhou suddenly straightened up and took out a small box from his pocket. "The owner of that sugar painting shop you said you liked last time is setting up his stall today, and he brought you a little rabbit."
The box was opened, and the glass candy reflected the snow, crystal clear like an ice sculpture. Chen Yu picked up the candy and took a bite. The sweetness mixed with the warmth of ginger tea spread from the tip of his tongue to his heart.
"Thanks." He held the candy in his mouth, his voice a little unclear.
Jiang Yizhou smiled, his eyes curved into crescents. "What are you thanking me for? Have you forgotten that you wrapped me in a scarf during the snowy day last year?"
The snow was still falling outside the window. The shadows of the two people huddled in front of the computer to edit a report were cast on the wall. The warm yellow light stretched them out very long, like two exclamation marks leaning against each other.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
