【Chapter 69】
It was another deep winter, and the first snow fell in Jingbei.
When she saw this news, Tao Shuran suddenly had a whimsical idea.
“Shall we go to Jingbei for New Year’s?”
The idea met with enthusiastic support. The group named 「Liang Yuanjing Illness Discussion Group」 was officially renamed 「Fuqing F5 Study Group」 after Fu Changpei joined.
Everything seemed unchanged.
Time marched forward, and the youth of their five friends remained forever.
On the day Fu Changpei joined the group, Fang Qingyi proactively sent out a red envelope in the group chat. The voice message she sent tried to cover up but only made it more obvious, “This lady is in a good mood today, so I’m treating everyone to a cup of coffee.”
“By the way, let me tell everyone that my work has been selected by the broadcast television station. You can see it on TV soon.”
During those two years abroad, Fang Qingyi traveled to various cities around the world.
She went to Africa, a place she had never dared to set foot in before, and witnessed the grand spectacle of the great animal migration. It was the most shocking scene she had ever seen in her life. It was also there that she took frame after frame of photos and found the meaning of her life.
‘Really? Is our Lady Fang going to become a big star from now on?’
‘Sign one for me when we meet tomorrow. Later, I’ll compare and see whose signature is worth more.’
Zhao Zhengnian never let the group chat go cold, especially when it was a message from Fang Qingyi.
He joked casually, and the atmosphere in the group livened up.
When asked about New Year’s plans, Fang Qingyi said casually, ‘I’m fine with anything. Anyway, I’m just an unemployed drifter.’
Zhao Zhengnian: ‘Me too. The team hasn’t had any activities lately.’
Five minutes later, Fu Changpei slowly replied with a message.
‘I can too.’
In this inconceivable way, the five of them who had started working quickly got together.
On the day they drove to Jingbei, the air was filled with excitement. With the car window rolled down, cold air rushed in like a rapid whirl.
Liang Yuanjing, sitting in the back seat, turned his head to look at her and casually picked up the scarf beside him, wrapping it tightly around her.
“So happy?”
Tao Shuran buried her face in the scarf and said softly, “This is the first time everyone’s gathered together since graduation.”
“It’s the first time.”
Liang Yuanjing held her hand in return. “But there will be many more times in the future.”
Hearing this, the brief sadness that had flashed through Tao Shuran’s heart was smoothed away.
She turned her head to look at Liang Yuanjing, her eyes overflowing with smiles. She always felt that no matter how many years passed, the youthful vigor on him had not changed.
He was still that boy full of infinite hope for the future and persistent in pursuing his dreams.
The car advanced steadily on the highway.
After five o’clock, the sky darkened in the blink of an eye. The night sky was dotted with a few bright stars, and music played in the car. Fang Qingyi sat in the passenger seat, humming along softly.
Tao Shuran rested her head slowly on Liang Yuanjing’s shoulder and listened.
In the quiet, she suddenly said, “Little Yi, tell me about your stories from these two years.”
At these words, Zhao Zhengnian, who was nestled nearby playing a game, threw down his phone. When he spoke, it was still in his usual devil-may-care tone.
“Yeah, tell us. You’ve been out of touch for two years.”
“I haven’t had anything special these years. I just traveled everywhere and saw a lot of different scenery.”
Fang Qingyi looked out the window and said casually, “But for this New Year, I plan to stay home.”
“I used to run abroad every year to avoid spending it alone. This year, I suddenly realized that I still have myself. Even if no one loves me, I love myself the most.”
Tao Shuran suddenly said, “Little Yi, my home will always welcome you.”
Fang Qingyi let out a puchi laugh. “If I come every day, our clingy Captain Liang won’t mind?”
At this, Liang Yuanjing immediately shrugged, his tone lazy.
“How could I dare to mind? The house is only in her name.”
“If you put it that way, then I won’t hold back.” Fang Qingyi tsked. “The best lakeside standalone villa in Fuqing City. I really want to check it out.”
The house was a three-year anniversary gift from Liang Yuanjing to her the year he proposed.
At that time, everyone joked whether it counted as a marital home. Liang Yuanjing whistled and laughed recklessly.
“That depends on whether she agrees to marry me.”
Tao Shuran would never forget that day. Under the gaze of everyone, she said to Liang Yuanjing, “I do.”
In that moment, it was as if her entire youth’s secret crush story had received a response.
Her love was no longer a one-sided soliloquy.
In the years that followed, whenever she said “I love you,” Liang Yuanjing’s smiling eyes would lean in to kiss her cheek.
Everything was too blissful.
Tao Shuran sighed from the bottom of her heart, “May every year be like today.”
By the time they arrived in Jingbei, it was almost eleven at night.
The temperature had dropped very low. Driving up the rugged mountain road, the sudden drop in temperature made one shudder involuntarily.
Liang Yuanjing carried the luggage with one hand and held hers with the other, a relaxed smile on his face.
He suddenly said, “Tomorrow night, I’ll take you to the observatory to see the stars.”
Tao Shuran’s eyes lit up for a moment. “There’s an observatory in Jingbei?”
“There is. A friend works there. I’ll borrow some equipment from him later.” Liang Yuanjing bent down, pinched her nose tip, and teased with a smile, “It’s about time for you, Banyue Xing, to see the real starry sky.”
Tao Shuran felt embarrassed by his teasing.
She stopped, couldn’t help but look up at the starry sky, and sighed from the heart—
“Do you think all secret crushes in the world come true?”
“I don’t know.”
Liang Yuanjing stopped with her and looked at the distant night sky together.
He smiled and said warmly, “But sincere feelings deserve all gentleness.”
Not far away, Fang Qingyi had already strode far ahead of them.
The hem of her wool long skirt fluttered in the wind like lotus leaves, her chestnut long curls swirled in the wind, and she waved vigorously at them with a beaming smile.
“Ranran, hurry up and get on the shuttle. We’ll go soak in the hot spring later.”
The resort hotel in the suburbs of Jingbei featured a natural living water hot spring. After continuous development, it had formed dozens of distinctive warm springs, the most famous of which was the Bamboo Tip Hot Spring built on the mountaintop.
With a wave of his hand, Liang Yuanjing booked the whole place.
While changing into swimsuits in the changing room, Fang Qingyi whispered secrets to Tao Shuran.
Tao Shuran opened her suitcase and looked at the few outfits inside, hesitating to speak.
She tentatively picked up the two thin pieces of fabric and said awkwardly, “Can this really be worn?”
Fang Qingyi guaranteed, “Trust my taste. You’ll look absolutely stunning in it.”
“Besides, it’s a private hot spring just for you and Liang Yuanjing. What are you shy about?”
She teased, “Don’t tell me you two haven’t had intimate contact before?”
Tao Shuran widened her eyes blankly and asked her, “How intimate do you mean?”
Fang Qingyi was amused into silence and couldn’t help sighing.
“Ranran, you’re too pure.”
“Tonight’s contrast will definitely catch Liang Yuanjing off guard.”
Because of Fang Qingyi’s words about her being too pure, Tao Shuran gritted her teeth and put on the carefully prepared swimsuit.
The swimsuit was a two-piece style, somewhat like a bikini. The rose-red color was boldly striking, Fang Qingyi’s favorite choice, but it surprisingly made her skin look fairer.
A layer of thin gauze draped outside, with delicate golden chains extending from the waist like fireflies in the night, swaying left and right with her steps.
As she walked out of the room, Tao Shuran trembled with nervousness all over.
She turned back wanting Fang Qingyi for encouragement, but when she looked, the person was already gone.
With no choice, she braced herself and went down, glad she had grabbed a large bath towel to cover herself on the way out.
When Tao Shuran reached the hot spring, Liang Yuanjing was already sitting inside. He wore black swim trunks, his broad shoulders and narrow waist forming an inverted triangle figure that was fully displayed.
The muscle lines from years of exercise were clear and defined. The thin mist on the mountaintop made his skin appear even cooler and fairer.
No matter from which angle, every part of Liang Yuanjing’s body perfectly matched Tao Shuran’s aesthetics.
So she was always involuntarily infatuated with him.
Her overly dazed gaze caught Liang Yuanjing’s attention. Amid the sound of water, he slowly turned around and looked at her leisurely.
With a playful tone, he said, “Took you so long to change. What did Fang Qingyi say to you in there?”
“Nothing.”
Tao Shuran flusteredly withdrew her gaze. Her lowered eyelashes trembled. She held the bath towel with one hand and gripped the edge stone with the other as she slowly squatted down, her calf dipping into the water to test the temperature.
Unexpectedly, Liang Yuanjing pulled her over. The sudden weightlessness made her exclaim, and then the surging water formed an invisible force, sending her whole body crashing into Liang Yuanjing’s firm chest.
He chuckled lowly, wrapped his arm around her waist in return, leaned close, and asked, “Hmm, tell me.”
“What did that girl teach you?”
In an instant, many not-so-wholesome images flooded Tao Shuran’s mind. With the water nearly 40 degrees, her whole face flushed crimson in the steam. She lifted her head, pretending to complain.
“The water is so hot.”
“Is it because of the water temperature?” Liang Yuanjing said slowly in an understanding tone. “Why do I feel like someone did something naughty?”
He was unhurried, his fingertip hooking away the bath towel she gripped tightly.
A dim yellow light hung by the hot spring, casting a hazy ambiguity over everything in sight. Liang Yuanjing’s fingertip lifted the thin gauze near her thigh, and his voice rose with a smile.
“Is this a surprise for me?”
Tao Shuran was mortified and snatched the thin gauze from his hand, turning away without daring to look at him.
She said stubbornly, “No, I just picked it randomly.”
“Is that so.”
Liang Yuanjing’s scorching fingertip brushed her cheek. He chuckled lightly, spread his legs, and pulled her into his lap amid the floating water surface.
“You’ve learned to be naughty, Tao Shuran.”
Tao Shuran reached out to push him away.
The rippling water restricted her movements. She struggled to rise amid the deliberately rocked waves but fell back into his arms carelessly.
Liang Yuanjing supported her loosely, then lifted his hand and looked down at her provocatively.
“That’s all the tricks you’ve learned?”
His tone was casual, sounding a bit cocky, but it inexplicably ignited Tao Shuran’s competitive spirit from her student days.
She huffed lightly and couldn’t help retorting, “No.”
Liang Yuanjing raised an eyebrow slightly, opened his arms, and lifted his chin at her.
“Then go ahead.”
Tao Shuran was suddenly at a loss.
She was stuck in this dilemma. They had been dating for so long, and Liang Yuanjing often teased her like this. The most infuriating part was that in such similar battles, Tao Shuran was almost always at a disadvantage.
This time, probably because she had Fang Qingyi as her strategist, she felt a bit more confident.
So she mimicked him by tossing her head, casually brushed the long hair falling on her shoulder, placed both hands on his shoulders, lifted her foot, and tentatively and carefully stepped onto his thigh.
Liang Yuanjing raised his eyebrow, the corner of his lips curving up slightly.
His powerful thigh steadily bore her weight. He watched her movements leisurely, waiting for her further “provocation.”
In the dark night, every tentative attempt became a cautious initiative.
From Liang Yuanjing’s perspective, every breath she took, every inadvertent brush of her fingertips, was magnified countless times by his keen senses.
Actually, the technique Fang Qingyi had taught was not wrong at all.
He had long since been unable to get enough of everything about Tao Shuran.
Not to mention at this moment, her eyelashes trembled nonstop as she closed her eyes, and her lips, which pressed down her breathing yet still panted rapidly, drew near.
Liang Yuanjing couldn’t help but chuckle.
They had kissed so many times already, yet she was still so inexperienced.
He reached out and pressed down on the back of her head, catalyzing this sweet atmosphere.
In the instant their nose tips rubbed together, he exhaled her breath, and his ambiguous gaze swept over her eyes.
He said in a low voice, “Aren’t you a good student? Why are you learning so slowly?”
Tao Shuran blushed until her face seemed about to drip blood. The heat spreading from her ears made her suspect she was about to be roasted alive.
Her voice also carried a shimmering, watery hue. She lowered her eyelids, not daring to look at him, and her momentum weakened a bit.
“That’s because Little Yi only taught me once.”
She accidentally blurted out the truth. Tao Shuran annoyedly bit the tip of her tongue. When she looked up, she met Liang Yuanjing’s eyes, which seemed to smile yet not.
He pretended to suddenly realize with an “ah,” and lifted his hand to stroke her long hair.
He said leisurely, “Then Teacher Liang will have to test your homework.”
Was he addicted to role-playing now?
Tao Shuran bit her lower lip. Just as she raised her head, her chin was pinched by his fingertips, and Liang Yuanjing’s face suddenly came within inches.
In the instant she closed her eyes, he kissed her fiercely, carrying misty hot breath as he pried open her teeth.
Her breath was entirely plundered, a sense of life or death fully under his control.
A damp, itchy sensation swept over the corner of her eye. In her daze, Liang Yuanjing leaned close to her ear and commanded lowly, “Ranran, open your eyes.”
Tao Shuran involuntarily opened her eyes. This was probably the first time she had opened her eyes while kissing. She was always very shy about this matter and rarely took the initiative.
So this was also the first time she saw what Liang Yuanjing looked like when he kissed her.
Devout, beautiful, filled with intense love for her.
Tao Shuran stared in a daze. She was completely immersed in this atmosphere, to the point that she forgot to respond.
Liang Yuanjing discontentedly nipped her lip. His dangerous breath lingered as his fingers wound around a few thin layers of gauze, then tugged lightly—
He pulled her back into his embrace.
“Got it? This is what a kiss is.”
Tao Shuran’s face burned. She let out a barely audible “mm.”
Unexpectedly, it wasn’t over yet. Liang Yuanjing released his hand and leaned back entirely. He raised his brow bone slightly, his gaze landing on her face with interest.
He smiled and said, “Then demonstrate it. Teacher Liang will inspect the teaching results.”
Tao Shuran’s eyelashes trembled. She slowly leaned down, her entire body shaking faintly as she approached.
Her two arms slowly encircled his neck, stiff and tentatively probing closer.
But imagination and action always had a gap. The stone under her foot slipped, and she stumbled accidentally. Her lips slid past the right side of Liang Yuanjing’s cheek.
Liang Yuanjing “tsked.” His fingertip pressed against his cheek, seemingly a bit regretful.
“Baby, didn’t I teach you how to kiss a couple days ago?”
Heat rose on Tao Shuran’s face. She lowered her head, her fingertips pinching the corner of her clothes. She unconsciously slipped into the “student” perspective.
She murmured softly, “I learned it before.
“This time was a mistake!”
Liang Yuanjing cooperated by saying, “Ah, it’s just that every time is a mistake.”
“My baby is the smartest top scholar baby in the world.”
For some reason, Liang Yuanjing had a particular fondness for calling her “baby.”
But Tao Shuran couldn’t stand him calling her so intimately. She felt as if a fire had ignited all over her body, and her head spun dizzily, as if she had soaked in the syrup of peach bubble wine.
She straddled Liang Yuanjing’s lap and cupped his face, kissing him messily again.
She wouldn’t let him keep calling her so lingeringly.
But the serious Teacher Liang still said—
“Wrong. Punishment.”
And so, in the instant the clock struck midnight, the four man-made snow machines placed on both sides of the hot spring slowly sprayed out large snowflakes.
Tao Shuran, entirely drenched, was fished out of the water by Liang Yuanjing. With her unsteady breathing, she leaned in his arms, all her attention drawn to the snow falling before her eyes.
This scene immediately reminded her of the first winter in Fuqing City.
That year, there had been a rare heavy snowfall. In the boundless snowscape, she had secretly written wishes for his safety and smooth success, shooting straight to the clouds.
Tonight, it all came true.
Tears welled in Tao Shuran’s eyes. She turned her head to look at him and asked, “Did you arrange this specially?”
Liang Yuanjing raised his eyebrows, neither confirming nor denying.
The clock tolled, signifying the arrival of the new year.
People always had many expectations for the future on this day.
But Tao Shuran couldn’t help looking up at the moon.
She asked, “Will we always be happy like this?”
Liang Yuanjing embraced her deeply from behind. His low, magnetic voice gave the unchanging affirmative answer.
“We certainly will.”