Winter break, video calls, and the quiet growth
Winter vacation officially began amidst a flurry of snowflakes. For Su An, this was the first vacation in which she had someone else on her mind. The empty house no longer felt desolate, because her heart was filled with a warm feeling.
On the third evening of the holiday, Su An was nestled on the sofa reading when her phone screen lit up. It was a video call request from Jiang Qi.
His heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly tidied his hair and collar before taking a deep breath and answering the video call.
Jiang Qi's face appeared on the screen. He seemed to be in his own room, with a neat bookshelf behind him. The warm light softened his usually cold and hard features.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Qi's voice came through the receiver, deeper than usual.
"Reading." Su An pointed the camera at the book in her hand. "What about you?"
"Just finished a competition set of problems." Jiang Qi's gaze fell on Su An's face through the screen. "Are you alone at home?"
"Yes, Mom and Dad are away on a business trip." Su An nodded, then suddenly remembered something, "Have you eaten?"
"I ate." Jiang Qi paused. "What about you?"
"I cooked noodles." Su An smiled a little embarrassedly.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the video call before Jiang Qi spoke: "Don't always eat noodles."
And so, they began their first video call. At first, it was a little awkward, but it quickly became natural with Jiang Qi's occasional questions and Su An's casual sharing. Jiang Qi didn't talk much, but she listened attentively, occasionally raising the corners of her lips slightly when Su An mentioned something interesting.
After hanging up the video call, Su An rolled around on the sofa with her phone in her arms, burying her burning face in a cushion. So this is what being in love feels like—even through a screen, a single glance from the other person can make your heart race.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhao was idly playing video games at home. His phone vibrated; it was a message from Lin Jun:
"What are you doing?"
Jiang Zhao immediately quit the game and replied instantly: "Playing games is so boring. What about you, Jun-ge?"
"Read a book."
Jiang Zhao pursed his lips and typed rapidly: "What's so interesting about books! Let's play online games!"
After the message was sent, there was a brief pause. Just when Jiang Zhao thought Lin Jun was going to refuse, the reply came:
"Okay. I'll download it now."
Jiang Zhao jumped out of bed with delight and immediately dialed Lin Jun's number: "Brother Jun! I'll teach you! First, register an account..."
A helpless sigh came from the other end of the phone, but he still did as instructed. So, that evening, Jiang Zhao's shouts and Lin Jun's occasional instructions connected the two spaces through the telephone line.
"Left, left! Oh dear, Brother Jun, you're going the wrong way!"
"...This is the right-hand button."
"Sorry! Let's play one more round!"
After a few games, Jiang Zhao was still eager for more: "Brother Jun, you've improved so fast! Shall we continue tomorrow?"
The sound of turning pages came from the other end of the phone: "I'm going to visit relatives with my parents tomorrow."
"Oh..." Jiang Zhao's voice immediately dropped.
“Tonight is fine,” Lin Jun added.
"Really? It's a deal!" Jiang Zhao immediately perked up again.
This pattern continued throughout the winter break. Jiang Qi and Su An's video calls, which started once every three days, became a daily habit. Sometimes they wouldn't speak, but would simply do their homework, occasionally glancing up at each other on the screen and exchanging a smile.
Once, during a video call, Su An accidentally fell asleep on the sofa. When she woke up, she found the video call was still going on, and Jiang Qi on the other end of the screen was also leaning against the headboard with her eyes closed, her phone still in her hand. Soft breathing came through the receiver, and Su An looked at Jiang Qi's peaceful sleeping face, her heart softening. She gently said "Goodnight" before hanging up.
Jiang Zhao and Lin Jun developed a unique way of getting along. Sometimes they would play online games together, sometimes Lin Jun would read a book while Jiang Zhao rambled on about his day's events, and occasionally she would chuckle at one of Jiang Zhao's childish jokes.
"Jun-ge, I saw this snack at the supermarket today, it's super delicious, so I bought you a pack too. I'll bring it to you when school starts!"
"...You've been buying random things again."
"It's not about buying randomly! It's about sharing!"
As the Lunar New Year approaches, the festive atmosphere in the city is growing stronger. On the evening of the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, when Jiang Qi sent a video call, the background noise of a lively television and the laughter of family members could be heard.
"Are you staying up all night to welcome the New Year?" Su An asked curiously.
"Hmm." Jiang Qi turned the camera towards the window, where scattered fireworks were rising in the distance. "Can you see the fireworks from your end?"
Su An walked to the window: "A little. But it's not as beautiful as it was in the square that night."
When the topic of New Year's Eve came up, the two fell silent for a moment, and a sweet ambiguity filled the air.
"After school starts..." Jiang Qi suddenly spoke, her voice a few decibels lower than usual, "Can I bring you breakfast every day?"
Su An's face flushed instantly: "No, no need for that..."
“It’s no trouble at all.” Jiang Qi’s gaze went straight into Su An’s eyes through the screen. “I want to do it this way.”
Su An felt her heart pounding so fast that she could only manage a soft "hmm".
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhao was video chatting with Lin Jun. However, it was more of a one-sided "live broadcast" by Jiang Zhao than a video chat—he was making dumplings, his face and hands covered in flour.
"Brother Jun, look! The dumplings I made!" Jiang Zhao held up a strangely shaped dumpling, beaming with pride.
Lin Jun on the other end of the video couldn't help but chuckle: "Is this a steamed bun or a dumpling?"
"Dumplings!" Jiang Zhao declared confidently. "They may look a bit unusual, but they're definitely delicious! It's a pity you can't come and try them..."
Lin Jun looked at Jiang Zhao on the screen, who had made himself look like a little kitten, and said gently, "Bring him to me to try after school starts."
"Really? Then you can't be picky!"
"Yes, I don't mind."
On New Year's Eve, as the clock struck midnight, Su An received two messages on his phone at the same time.
Jiang Qi: "Happy New Year. I want to see you."
Jiang Zhao: "Su An! Happy New Year! Help me keep an eye on my brother and don't let him bully you!"
Su An couldn't help but smile as he looked at the two messages with such contrasting styles. He first replied to Jiang Qi: "Happy New Year. I miss you too." Then he replied to Jiang Zhao: "Thank you. He's doing well."
Putting down her phone, Su An could hear the deafening sound of firecrackers and dazzling fireworks outside the window. For the first time, Su An felt that this once desolate home had become warm because someone had taken up residence in her heart.
In the last few days of winter break, the four of them created a group chat. Jiang Zhao changed the group name to "New Semester Operations Command Center," although no one knew what kind of operations they were going to be fighting.
Most of the time, Jiang Zhao was the one flooding the group chat, posting everything from complaining about winter break homework to sharing funny videos. Lin Jun would occasionally reply, usually with a simple "hmm" or "read." Jiang Qi almost never spoke, but Su An knew he read every single post—because after Jiang Zhao posted something, Jiang Qi would quietly discuss it with Su An in private chat.
On the eve of the start of the school year, during a video call, Jiang Qi looked at Su An on the other end of the screen and suddenly said, "See you tomorrow."
Those three simple words made Su An's heart skip a beat.
"See you tomorrow," he replied softly.
After hanging up the video call, Su An lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. This winter break had been exceptionally different because of someone's presence. Those fleeting video calls, that companionship across the screen, those unspoken yet mutually understood feelings—all were quietly growing, waiting to blossom in their most beautiful form when they met again at the start of the new semester.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Jiang Qi closed her phone, her fingertips gently tracing Su An's smiling face that she hadn't had time to remove from the screen. Outside the window, the early spring wind had begun to melt the snow, heralding the arrival of a warmer season.
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