I immediately dismissed my own thought. Mi Cai couldn’t possibly be that long-haired woman with hair falling over her shoulders. Even if there was some dependency between us, it was merely the result of long-term struggle. Often times, these struggles dispelled my melancholy and loneliness, and I assumed it was the same for Mi Cai.
Finally, I replied to Mi Cai’s message: “It’s not that I can’t accompany you to build a snowman, but first you have to make me happy.”
Mi Cai still replied quickly: “Then kick me too, and we’ll be even.”
Once again, I was impressed by Mi Cai’s formidable logic, and after a while I replied: “This is a harmonious society; who would want to kick you? … Bring me some breakfast tomorrow, including hairy crab buns and spicy soup.”
“Okay.”
“Mm.”
Finally, we ended this late-night conversation with just these two simple words. I finally felt sleepy, brushed my teeth, and soon fell asleep lying in bed.
When I woke up the next day, the first thing I did was draw the curtains. As I had hoped last night, the world outside the window was now completely covered in snow.
I checked the time—it had just passed 8 a.m.—but I couldn’t help sending Mi Cai a WeChat message: “Have you arrived yet? I’m hungry!”
A moment later, Mi Cai replied: “I’m in line now; wait a bit.”
It felt a bit awkward making Mi Cai queue up to buy me breakfast, so I quickly replied: “You can just buy from any shop nearby! Why wait in line?”
Mi Cai responded playfully: “Because I kicked you, of course I need to buy you the best hairy crab buns in Suzhou to compensate you… You’re so delicate!”
I replied with a hint of “anger”: “Then don’t bother buying anything. Come over here and let me kick you!”
Mi Cai just sent me a sweating emoji and then went silent. I got up, quickly washed up, and sat at the desk by the window to continue the marketing plan I hadn’t finished last night, but I kept glancing out the window involuntarily.
Finally, I saw Mi Cai’s car appear in my line of sight. Then I saw her step out of the car carrying an insulated food container, so I sat up straighter, preparing to present myself as a hardworking, positive man when she arrived, so she wouldn’t keep thinking I was boring.
…
A little while later, I heard the sound of keys unlocking the door, followed by Mi Cai’s voice: “Zhaoyang, are you home?”
“Mm.” I replied with just that simple word, but managed to convey a tone of busyness, secretly admiring myself.
Mi Cai pushed open the door and walked into my room. I lowered my head even further, my fingers “clattering” away on the keyboard.
Mi Cai indeed exclaimed in admiration: “You’re working so early!”
“A man, for work, doesn’t care whether it’s morning or night. When effort is needed, it must be given wholeheartedly.” I was “too busy” even to spare a glance at Mi Cai.
“Then do you even have time to eat breakfast?”
“Just wait… Let me finish this part first. You go ahead and eat.”
Mi Cai didn’t leave, but walked over to my side, bending down to look at my computer screen. Finding nothing suspicious, she said to me: “Then I won’t interrupt your thoughts. I’ll go eat first.”
“Mm.” I responded busily again, my fingers striking the keyboard even faster. This wasn’t just pretense—my mind was indeed very active, and I was smoothly expressing the entire plan in writing.
Ten minutes later, I felt I had faked it enough and finally put the computer on standby, then headed toward the living room. Mi Cai was sitting quietly at the dining table, eating alone.
I stretched and sat down opposite her, then unceremoniously picked up a hairy crab bun and started eating.
Mi Cai unusually took the initiative to speak: “On my way here just now, I saw many people building snowmen by the roadside.”
“Mm.” I responded again, still sounding very profound, as if I had instantly transformed into a mature man.
“The kids were having so much fun!”
“Really?”
“Yes.” Mi Cai replied, gazing absentmindedly out the window where the snow had stopped.
In an instant, I understood her loneliness. The kids were having fun because their parents were with them, accompanying and protecting them. But what about Mi Cai?
Perhaps she had once had a happy memory in the snow, but such memories could no longer be replicated because of life’s hardships.
Understanding Mi Cai’s sense of loss, I quickened my pace eating, finishing before her, then went to the storage box and took out a foldable military shovel, saying to her: “Eat quickly. After we finish eating, let’s go build a snowman.”
“Aren’t you very busy? You don’t need to accommodate me. Work is important.”
“You’ve already brought me breakfast. Even if I’m busy, I can’t afford to break my promise to you… Don’t worry, I’ll build you a snowman in a few minutes, no time wasted.”
Mi Cai’s face immediately lit up with a smile. She took out scarves, hats, and other props from her bag, then grabbed my hand and pulled me downstairs.
At that moment, I realized that everyone has multiple sides. For example, I could be very boring, but I could also pretend to be serious and upright.
Similarly, Mi Cai could be very serious and upright, but she could also show a childish side. It all depended on who we were facing. Perhaps in front of each other, we were completely open, so I could pretend to be serious with her, and she could show her childish side to me.
Originally, we didn’t live on the same level, but fate had tied us together by this very room. Without this room, we might never have crossed paths, but destiny was so magical—by chance, we met.
But I didn’t even dare to hope that fate would bring us any closer, because the current state was already very good. From this state, I could gain a lot of happiness that I had never experienced before…
But I didn’t think this vague state could be defined as ambiguity. As I had told Luoben before, I was no longer at the age of first love. After experiencing love, it was difficult for me to feel something called love for a woman again… Because without love, there would be no pain!
Looking at Mi Cai, she was even less likely to fall in love with me—perhaps just some dependency. Of course, I saw this clearly, and this clarity came from my self-awareness. Because any unrealistic fantasies about her would be shameless.
So being better friends than ordinary friends was quite good! More practical.
…
After arriving downstairs, I rolled several snowballs of different sizes, then used the military shovel to shape them. Soon, I had built a snowman with a human-like shape. Mi Cai somehow found some branches to use as arms. Finally, she put on a hat and tied a scarf around it, completing the snowman.
Then we imitated the process to build another snowman. To distinguish genders, Mi Cai deliberately made the second snowman very slim and tied on a female-style scarf, gazing at it for a long time with a satisfied expression.
I was basking in her satisfaction, feeling proud. Finally, we took photos with the snowmen, capturing in pictures the most beautiful smile she had shown since we met.
Suddenly, the ringing of a phone interrupted my attempt to etch this most beautiful smile into my mind. I reluctantly took out my phone from my pocket, annoyed to see who was so inconsiderate as to call me at such a moment, only to be surprised that it was a call from Xiang Chen.
I hesitated slightly before answering. Xiang Chen invited me to have lunch together at noon because today was the official opening day of his tobacco and alcohol specialty counter at Baoli Department Store. Of course, I didn’t refuse. Such a gathering was worth attending, at least because I still considered Xiang Chen as a brother, not just a friend.
However, I was still afraid of facing Jianwei with Xiang Chen alone, so I thought of involving Mi Cai again. After all, today was Saturday, and she was free. Going together for a meal shouldn’t be a problem, right!
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