As December rolled in, the temperature plummeted, and the north wind cut like a knife.
It had been over half a month since Jiang Yuan's minor fracture. Chi Xu had been taking good care of her.
Recently, with the cold weather, the wind howled against them when riding the electric scooter.
So Chi Xu prepared a warm hot - water bag for Jiang Yuan every day, letting her hold it while his tall figure shielded her from most of the cold wind.
Jiang Yuan's heart was filled with both bitterness and sweetness.
She had only suffered a minor fracture. Being young and in good health, coupled with Chi Xu's daily culinary experiments to nourish her.
A minor fracture usually took over a month to fully heal, but when Jiang Yuan saw the doctor, the doctor said it wouldn't be long before she could have the plaster removed.
It had been an accident in the first place, and the fracture wasn't that serious. With some extra care, it would naturally heal.
But it was Chi Xu who insisted on putting on the plaster just in case.
Another week passed. Jiang Yuan went to the hospital and successfully had the plaster removed. Everyone celebrated, and Lu Zhen came over to congratulate her.
Back at the apartment, Chi Xu said he had bought some giant river prawns. The two of them sat at the dining table.
Chi Xu picked up a prawn, put on disposable gloves, and lowered his head to peel it carefully.
Actually, his eyes were very good - looking. He had faint double eyelids, the corners of his eyes curving slightly upwards, and his eyelashes were long and curly.
Jiang Yuan propped her head up with one hand and silently watched him, her heart in turmoil.
The bitter feeling surrounded her tightly, and those indescribable emotions grew wildly like weeds.
She noticed her own abnormality.
From the old lady in the nursing home saying, "You're just pretending to be confused and deceiving yourself," to asking Lu Zhen some time ago, who told her to ask her own heart.
Or a long time ago, when Chi Xu used to tease her, gave her the pearl bracelet, and rented the apartment with her. And since her minor fracture, his meticulous care.
Even an iceberg would have melted by now.
Moreover, Jiang Yuan wasn't an iceberg. She was a living person with strong emotions.
Her heart felt as if it was stuffed with water - soaked cotton, heavy and uncomfortable.
She turned her head, and her gaze unconsciously fell on Chi Xu's hand peeling the prawn.
His fingers were dexterous. In a few moves, a whole prawn was successfully peeled and then placed in her bowl.
Chi Xu went on to peel the second prawn.
"Why aren't you eating? Just watching me peel the prawns?" A voice tinged with laughter sounded.
Jiang Yuan lowered her eyes, picked up the peeled prawn meat with her chopsticks, and took a bite. The meat was plump and chewy.
After dinner, Jiang Yuan returned to her room, lay on the bed, and picked up her phone. She saw the enthusiastic message from Lin Suye.
[Yezi: Do you know why Chi Xu's WeChat name is forikyy?]
This question... Jiang Yuan had only been slightly confused about it at that time and hadn't thought about it carefully. She honestly replied that she didn't know.
[Yezi: I knew you didn't know. Forever like. The forik in front means forever like, and the yy at the back. Doesn't Chi Xu often call you Yuanyuan? The prefix of Yuanyuan's pinyin is yy.]
Her heart was like being hit hard, and a strong sense of joy swept over her.
Jiang Yuan's fingertips went numb and trembled. The air and the light in the room were soft.
Lin Suye continued to send messages.
[Yezi: I just found out about it. I saw it when surfing the Internet. Because it looked familiar, I took a closer look. Isn't the prefix forik the same as the prefix of Chi Xu's WeChat name?]
[Yezi: It turns out that the person Chi Xu has always liked is you. He has deep feelings for you. Even before you added him on WeChat, his WeChat name was always this. Jia Fang told me.]
The huge and inexplicable joy was like a tornado. Once it left, it left behind a mess, with empty and overgrown grass.
Jiang Yuan almost trembled as she typed on the phone keyboard.
[Prayer Must Come True: Yezi, you tell me... How does Chi Xu feel about me, and how do I feel about him?]
This was a question and an answer that she wanted to face but was afraid to.
She was just a coward.
[Yezi: Are you sure you want to hear it?]
[Prayer Must Come True: I'm sure...]
[Yezi: Chi Xu is very good to you. If it weren't for that incident when you were kids, I would almost think you two were already a couple.]
[Yezi: Chi Xu has been trying every means to get closer to you. Whether it was the pearl bracelet or his protection of you before, in the eyes of us outsiders, Chi Xu is whole - hearted.]
[Yezi: But they don't know how much Chi Xu's sudden departure during the high - school entrance exam hurt you.]
[Yezi: Yuanyuan, do you still remember when I joked with you and told you to be careful not to get involved? Facts have proved, Yuanyuan, you've already fallen in.]
Actually, there was something else Lin Suye hadn't told Jiang Yuan. She had secretly helped Chi Xu and given him a bad idea, which had led to the current situation.
She wanted to explain and ask for Jiang Yuan's forgiveness, but she was too scared. She was afraid that because she had helped Chi Xu, Jiang Yuan, her good friend, would drift away from her.
Lin Suye looked sadly at the phone screen. There was no message coming from the other side for a long time.
Maybe it was a wrong decision from the very beginning to agree to help Chi Xu.
She had seen that Chi Xu wanted to repair the relationship between him and Jiang Yuan, while Jiang Yuan was still stuck in the past, both missing and hating that person.
She had agreed on a whim and then given a bad idea.
Nevertheless, she had tried her best to stay out of their business and remain on the sidelines.
Was Jiang Yuan finally going to figure it out? Did she realize her own feelings?
Lin Suye stared blankly at the phone screen. If there came a day when the two of them completely reconciled, she would definitely tell Jiang Yuan everything and ask for her forgiveness.
But not now. She didn't dare.
Jiang Yuan was the first new friend she had made in college and was still her best friend.
The phone screen lit up and then went dark, then lit up again. Jiang Yuan was in a daze, and all Lin Suye's long - winded words were floating in her mind.
She admitted she had fallen for Chi Xu.
How could that be? How could she fall for Chi Xu again? Hadn't she learned the bitter lesson of love back then?
Hadn't that downpour taught her a lesson? Did she really have to fall for the same person twice or even three times?
Obviously, Chi Xu had guessed that she wanted to confess her love, but he didn't even send her a message and just left without a trace.
Now that they had reunited for two or three months, Chi Xu showed no sign of explaining.
Did he think she, Jiang Yuan, was so cheap that he could just play around with her?
Jiang Yuan was very sad. The water - soaked cotton in her heart made her chest feel swollen.
She had sworn that it was absolutely impossible, but now she was being slapped in the face mercilessly.
If Chi Xu liked her, it was only because she was good at chasing people, and Chi Xu had naturally fallen for her.
As for the WeChat name forikyy, it was very likely that Chi Xu had joined hands with Jia Fang to deceive Lin Suye, knowing that Lin Suye would tell her.
Chi Xu, I will absolutely never fall for you. Never.