Don't you recognize your boyfriend for the New Year?
After several days of snowfall, Huaicheng officially entered the depths of winter. The strong winds made it impossible for Lin Shiren to open his eyes. Song Ci, who was in front of him, cursed the awful weather a couple of times, then turned around and playfully entered the revolving door with Li Pengfei. Zhou Lin also put his arm around her and entered the lobby of Qian Gui KTV.
On the last day of December, the whole city was filled with a festive atmosphere. After school, a large group of them went to a karaoke bar to celebrate the New Year.
As she moved from the cold outdoors to the warm indoors, a layer of mist gathered on Lin Shiren's eyelashes. She took out her phone from her pocket, swiped her finger across the screen, and Xin Xiaomei's long-awaited voice came through the receiver: "You can spend New Year's Eve outside, but no drinking. Keep your phone on at all times. Come back after watching the fireworks, understand?"
The lobby of Qian Gui was bustling with noise. Zhou Lin was brushing the snow off her at the entrance, his expression as focused as if he were solving a competition problem. Lin Shiren silently curved the corners of her lips and sweetly said into the microphone, "Okay, Mom."
Yu Xuehui's incident served as a wake-up call for parents, reminding them that pushing their children to the extreme will only backfire. That's why many parents readily agreed when their children wanted to go out for New Year's Eve.
Although Xin Xiaomei agreed, she was still worried and repeatedly reminded her several times.
It was Lin Shih-ren's first time celebrating the New Year with her classmates, and she couldn't hide her excitement. She craned her neck to look around and saw many men and women dressed in formal attire sitting on the sofa in the lobby. Some people were even kissing in public amidst cheers. It wasn't just a simple lip-to-lip kiss, but a real French kiss. She quickly covered her eyes, leaving only a crack to continue peeking.
Zhou Lin turned her head to the right side and chuckled as he pried her hands away: "What are you looking at? Your face is so red."
Lin Shiren secretly withdrew his gaze and stammered, "No, I didn't see anything, I just thought they were all dressed very nicely."
"You're beautiful too."
After a straightforward compliment, Zhou Lin didn't give her time to react. He pulled her close and his hot breath fell on her ear: "I know you're anxious. Let's find a secluded place later so no one can see us."
Is she in a hurry?
Which eye of his did he see that?
Lin Shih-jen immediately glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes and rebuked him: "Stop talking nonsense."
Zhou Lin tried to help her recall: "Didn't you say that we'd kiss again next time?"
Lin Shiren immediately thought of the time he lost to her last time. He kissed her fiercely that night, and no matter how much she begged for mercy, it was no use. She could only say shamefully that she would kiss him again next time before he would let her go.
Now not only her face turned red, but her neck turned completely red too.
In every romantic contest between the two, she was always the one who got crushed. It seems that only by abandoning personal ethics can one enjoy a life of immorality.
Lin Shiren was so angry that she kept hitting him, but Zhou Lin wasn't annoyed. Her strength was like a cat scratching her, and she deliberately moved closer to him to hit him: "If we play games tonight, what are you going to use as a wager?"
Ultimately, it's still about holding a grudge from last time.
"I'll sell it to you. This time it's still an auction, the highest bidder wins."
"Lin Qiaoqiao, you're really brave."
...
When Song Ci returned after booking the private room, he saw the two of them pulling and tugging in public. He rolled his eyes speechlessly and said, "I've really had enough. You two need to separate in a bit. I don't want to eat dog food all night."
That's what he said, and that's what he did. As soon as he entered the private room, he pushed Lin Shiren into the group of girls, and then dragged Zhou Lin into the group of boys to play a dice game.
There were more than a dozen people in the private room, most of whom he knew. The few he didn't recognize looked familiar, as if they were from other classes. Lin Shiren sat on the sofa listening to them sing, unconsciously tapping his feet to the beat.
She doesn't like to take the initiative in social situations, but she will politely greet people when they come over. I don't know when it started, but she seems to have become more comfortable in the group and less afraid of other people's opinions.
The first stranger they met tonight was Xiao Xin, a well-known talented girl in the liberal arts class. Dong Rui introduced the two of them with winks and smirks.
Xiao Xin exuded a scholarly air, with delicate features but bright, intelligent eyes. She affectionately hugged Lin Shiren's arm, a gossipy smile on her face: "I'm here today to gather inspiration for my novel..."
Lin Shih-ren still remembered her writing her own novel, and covered his burning face: "Are you still writing?"
"Yes, we're almost at the finale."
They chatted briefly while eating fruit, and the topic of college applications came up again. Xiao Xin exclaimed in surprise, "You want to apply to S University? Doesn't that mean you and Zhou Lin will be in a long-distance relationship?"
She pronounced the word "long-distance" very clearly, sounding as if she had little confidence in long-distance relationships.
Lin Shih-jen didn't want to talk too much about personal matters, so he just smiled and remained silent.
Their eyes met at that moment.
His attention was focused on Lin Shiren, and he seemed uninterested in Song Ci's childish games. However, knowing that she was easily embarrassed, he didn't force himself on her.
The two stared at each other through the noise and bustle of the crowd, a sense of taboo in the public eye. After a few seconds, Lin Shiren was the first to give in. She looked away and mouthed that she was going to the restroom.
She went out discreetly, and even Dong Rui was so engrossed in singing that she didn't notice. Only Zhou Lin took the wine glass from Song Ci, drank it all in one gulp, and said that he needed to go out for some fresh air.
KTV restrooms are always a magical place. After Lin Shiren washed his hands and came out, he had completely lost track of the winding route he had just taken.
Thinking about the private room number Song Ci had mentioned, I followed my memory and searched back, getting so engrossed in the search that I almost bumped into the person who happened to open the door.
The two were less than half a meter apart, and both reacted quickly by taking a step back. The open door slowly closed, and Lin Shiren scanned a group of familiar faces through the increasingly narrow gap: Xu Yiqiao, Ruan Ya... When she looked up again, she saw surprise in Shen Xuqing's eyes as well.
"What a coincidence."
"You're here to celebrate the New Year too?"
The first sentence was spoken by her, and the second sentence was asked by Shen Xuqing. He scratched his head, a clear smile on his face: "I didn't expect to meet you here. Would you like to come and sit in our private room?"
Lin Shiren didn't think the private room would welcome her, so she politely declined with a smile: "No, Dong Rui is urging me to go back and sing."
"Which private room are you in? I'll go and say hello in a bit."
She was a little embarrassed: "I've been looking for the private room because I forgot the room number..."
"Oh? Then I'll help you look for it."
Her phone vibrated in her palm, and Zhou Lin's name appeared on the screen. She gave Shen Xuqing an apologetic gesture and quickly pressed the answer button: "Hello."
Where are they?
The background noise on the other end of the line was a bit loud, so she covered the microphone and said, "I'm going to the bathroom, but I think I'm lost."
"Don't you know to call me when you get lost?"
The boy's voice, transmitted through the electricity, had an added layer of hoarseness that soothed the eardrums. Lin Shiren's ears burned, and he coughed lightly: "Then come and pick me up now."
"Turn around."
Without any hesitation, she turned around and saw Zhou Lin leaning against the wall five meters away.
In the starry-themed corridor, countless afterimages of him were reflected on the glass walls. As she walked, those afterimages slowly converged, and he stopped a meter away, reaching out his hand to her: "Don't you recognize your boyfriend?"
Lin Shiren looked at him, then at Shen Xuqing. She didn't want to publicly acknowledge their relationship in front of her classmates, but Zhou Lin had already said it.
At the same time, Shen Xuqing also heard Zhou Lin's words, and his brows furrowed slightly: "You..."
Lin Shih-ren waved to him and said softly, "I'm leaving now."
The sight of the two of them standing together made Zhou Lin very uncomfortable. Instead of taking her back to the private room, he went to the corridor, found an empty sofa, picked the girl up, and leaned down to look at her: "How did you run into Shen Xuqing?"
Lin Shih-jen sat like a well-behaved child: "I ran into him as soon as I came out of the bathroom."
Zhou Lin gave a cold sneer: "Is that so? What a coincidence."
Lin Shih-jen was speechless with confusion. She and Shen Hsu-ching had clearly bumped into each other by chance, so why did he look like a husband who had caught his wife cheating?
She could only blink her innocent-looking big eyes and emphasize again, "I really didn't know he was here too."
"..."
Damn it, it was still that suffocating silence.
An idea flashed into my mind in a flash...
Is he jealous?
Lin Shiren felt his heart start pounding again.
She closed her eyes, tilted her head back and gave him a quick kiss on the chin, then shyly buried her face in her hands, her voice barely audible, almost pleading: "Zhou Lin, don't be upset, we really just bumped into each other by chance."
"If that's what you say, then I'll believe you." Zhou Lin's eyes were pitch black, his long eyelashes held a dark allure in the flickering light, and his voice, though seemingly calm, was actually incredibly turbulent.
He felt utterly hopeless. He had originally intended to use this incident to make Lin Shiren completely sever ties with Shen Xuqing, but she only used a little coquetry and he was easily led around by the nose.
The two hugged silently for a while, then Lin Shiren looked up from his embrace and asked, "Shall we go back?"
"I want to be alone with you." With so many people around, he had to restrain himself from hugging or kissing her, and Zhou Lin exuded an aura of wanting to be coaxed.
Lin Shiren hooked his arm around the back of his neck, his eyes bright and piercing: "Zhou Lin, let's elope."
She's amazing; she made him surrender with just one sentence.
Zhou Lin stared intently at her, his breath hot and menacing: "Where are you going?"
"Let's go somewhere where no one can find us."
At 11:59 p.m., light snow was falling throughout the city, and everyone was preparing for the countdown.
After losing another round of the game, Song Ci realized that Zhou Lin and Lin Shiren were not there, and she was looking around for her phone to call them.
Xu Yiqiao, who was also at Qian Gui KTV, received the news that she had passed the director's interview. She excitedly shared the news with her parents, and Ruan Ya and Shen Xuqing raised their glasses to toast her.
After finishing her last rounds, Xin Xiaomei returned to the nurses' station and saw a still-steaming pizza. She invited the nurses on duty to come and eat with her.
Lin Zhiyuan was dragged home by the ear by his second wife, and he vowed never to go out to play mahjong again...
There was also a young couple kissing.
The moonlight was hazy, the wind whistled in my ears, and in the distance came the earth-shaking countdown from a crowd—
"ten."
"Nine."
"eight."
...
"three."
"two."
"one."
Countless fireworks rose and fell across the sky like musical notes, illuminating the night sky. Zhou Lin's face flickered between light and shadow. Across the crowd of people who were enjoying themselves, Lin Shiren suddenly felt a flutter in his heart.
Zhou Lin didn't watch the fireworks; he kept looking at Lin Shiren.
In the gaps between the broken fireworks, Lin Shiren saw a tiny version of himself reflected in the dark eyes of the fireworks.
She tiptoed and lightly touched his lips: "Zhou Lin, meeting you this year has been the happiest thing for me."
-----------------------
Author's note: 50 red envelopes~
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