Jiang Cheng was woken up by the sound of children playing with firecrackers downstairs.
The sounds of crackling and popping, along with shouts and chasing, filled the air.
The building is not soundproof, so everything can be heard clearly.
Jiang Cheng subconsciously rubbed his temples; his mind was a little foggy, swollen, and a little painful.
Zhu Yuan's internet cafe was closed for the holiday, so he didn't go there and slept all afternoon.
In his long-awaited free time, he rarely followed such a disordered biological clock, sleeping haphazardly.
The room was completely dark, with only a little light coming from the outside lamp. Jiang Cheng got up and turned on the light.
He went to the bathroom and washed his face. The cold water splashed on his face, and he gradually woke up from his hazy state of consciousness.
I checked my phone; it was almost 8 p.m.
The aroma of stir-fried dishes wafted from someone's house, and the clanging of spatulas and woks could be clearly heard in the empty room.
Feeling a pang of hunger, Jiang Cheng opened the refrigerator, took out the dumplings he had bought, and prepared to boil water to cook some.
He turned on the stove, poured water, and stood by the stove, idly waiting for the water to boil, while Jiang Cheng scrolled through his phone with his head down.
It moved intermittently, as if waiting for something, or perhaps just idly scrolling without thinking.
The chat page remained calm, with no red notification numbers.
The only sound in the room was the hissing of the stove fire. After a while, the water gradually boiled, and steam rose up, slightly dampening his face.
Jiang Cheng realized what was happening, opened the dumpling box, and cooked more than a dozen dumplings.
Soon, all the dumplings floated to the surface.
He served it and placed it on the table, intending to turn on the TV to play the variety show and add some sound to the room, but unexpectedly found that the TV was broken and wouldn't turn on.
Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, then expressionlessly tossed aside the remote control and sat down to eat dumplings.
The frozen dumplings weren't very tasty; they weren't fresh at all, but he still ate them while they were still hot.
He took the plates to the sink to wash them. Because it was an old building, the tap only had cold water, and his hands became icy cold after washing them.
Jiang Cheng dried his hands and sat on the sofa to rest for a while. He wondered if the water was too cold, because his fingers didn't warm up for a long time.
For some reason, he suddenly remembered the roasted sweet potato he had eaten with Pei Xi on Christmas Day.
It was piping hot, and when I held it in my palm, it warmed my whole body.
Jiang Cheng picked up his phone again and glanced at it. The screen was silent; no messages had come in.
He stared at the cat icon, lost in thought for a long time, when suddenly a strange emotion welled up inside him.
Then he suddenly stood up, put on his down jacket, put on his shoes, and went out.
As soon as Jiang Cheng stepped out of the building, white snowflakes landed on his black down jacket, and he realized that it was snowing outside.
The snowflakes were small and fine; he wasn't wearing a hat as he walked through the snow.
As I walked, I arrived at the entrance of the mall.
He looked around and, sure enough, it was completely empty.
It's New Year's Eve tonight, and it's snowing. Everyone is busy celebrating the New Year, so why would anyone be setting up a stall?
There were only a few pedestrians on the street. Jiang Cheng stood by the roadside, the wind stinging his face.
He suddenly laughed, feeling utterly bewildered. Knowing full well he'd come up empty-handed, he still insisted on coming out to take a look.
He stood there for a while, looking at something, then turned and went back.
Passing by the entrance of Dayu Internet Cafe, the doors were tightly shut, and the once bustling cafe was deserted. Zhu Yuan had already gone home for the Chinese New Year and wouldn't reopen until the second day of the Lunar New Year.
Jiang Cheng walked slowly alone in the falling snow, his hands in his pockets, his chin buried in his collar, his eyes downcast.
Pei Xi didn't send him a message, which meant she was busy and had other things to do. He should not disturb her.
Jiang Cheng's pace slowed down more and more.
But he seemed to be unable to hold back any longer.
Jiang Cheng let out a deep breath and silently counted down in his mind, giving himself one last period of patience.
Five, four, three, two...
The countdown abruptly stopped, and a sudden ringing came from his pocket, making his heart skip a beat.
He took out his phone and saw the white kitten, as well as his own face appearing on the screen.
Pei Xi sent a video call.
Jiang Cheng was stunned for a moment, then quickly tidied his hair in front of the screen and pressed the green video button.
Pei Xi's face appeared on the screen. She was outside, surrounded by darkness, with only a few faint, scattered lights.
"Jiang Cheng, are you outside?" Her voice came through the phone.
Jiang Cheng stared at her without moving, then nodded, "Mm."
Pei Xi looked somewhat surprised. "What are you doing outside?"
Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, then said, "Just taking a walk."
Pei Xi said "Oh," then smiled and called out to him, "Guess what I'm doing?"
"What are you doing?"
Pei Xi did not answer immediately.
"Jiang Cheng, wait a moment."
A second later, her face disappeared from the camera's view, replaced by an endless, dark blue night sky.
Then she began to count down: "Five, four, three, two..."
Suddenly, with a loud "boom," the entire night sky on the screen was illuminated by fireworks.
Clusters of magnificent fireworks bloomed in the sky, pale yellow, pink, and silvery white, hovering in the air before falling like countless tiny stars.
A series of crisp sounds followed, the sky was lit up, and colorful stars fell like rain.
"Did you see that, Jiang Cheng!" Pei Xi shouted at him, the sound of the fireworks exploding was so loud that it almost drowned out her voice.
The stars continued to fall from the sky, and Jiang Cheng watched, unable to describe in words what he was seeing.
It's unclear how long it lasted, but it ended with a final loud bang, the fireworks gradually fell and disappeared, and the night finally returned to calm.
Pei Xi suddenly turned the camera around, looking at Jiang Cheng with excitement: "Is it good-looking? Do you like it?"
Her face was slightly red from the cold, and her eyes shone brighter than the stars.
Jiang Cheng was speechless.
He felt something gripping his heart tightly, tighter and tighter, squeezing out a sour, astringent liquid that made his chest ache.
He said in a very low, deep voice, "It looks great, and I like it very much."
He stared intently at Pei Xi, his expression serious and sincere.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds, then Pei Xi smiled and said, "Thank you for watching the fireworks with me. Happy New Year, Jiang Cheng."
Jiang Cheng looked at her face, a lump rising in his throat. He swallowed twice and smiled as he replied, "Happy New Year, Pei Xi."
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