Before the New Year, Zhou Yi organized a gathering, inviting Yu Feng and Xie An’yu to dinner. Besides them, he also brought Shi Wuyang along. Professor Zhou said that during the New Year, everyone would return to their own homes and families, so they couldn’t celebrate together. Fortunately, they could still gather for a meal to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new.
Xie An’yu had obtained his driver’s license, and today he was the one driving. The four of them arrived at the restaurant in two separate cars, one following the other. When Xie An’yu stepped out of the driver’s seat, Zhou Yi closed his car door and exclaimed, “Oh!”
“Xiao Xie can drive now?”
Xie An’yu nodded. “I just got my license.”
“You just got your license, and your Brother Yu is already making you work as a driver? How impressive.”
“I wanted to drive myself.”
“Then you’re quite brave. How does it feel to drive on the road?”
“Pretty good.” Xie An’yu walked toward the restaurant with Yu Feng and asked beside him, “Boss, is my driving skill okay?”
Yu Feng chuckled and glanced at him. “Not bad.”
Xie An’yu drove just like he was as a person—bold yet careful, very steady.
Xie An’yu hummed in affirmation and said, “Then I’ll drive the boss to work from now on.”
Zhou Yi had many friends, and Yu Feng was undoubtedly the closest. He rarely brought outsiders when dining with Yu Feng. However, when they traveled to Shuangye Isle in the summer, he had brought Shi Wuyang along, and now for this New Year Eve’s meal, he had invited him again. This was enough to show Shi Wuyang’s importance in his heart.
However, the nature of this ‘importance’ was still worth pondering.
As soon as Yu Feng sat down, he sensed something off between the two people across from him. There was no overly intimate contact, but their eyes held hidden meanings.
Yu Feng didn’t ask during the meal. Before leaving, Shi Wuyang went to the restroom, and Zhou Yi waited at the entrance for the designated driver. Yu Feng asked Xie An’yu to wait for him in the car first, then finally asked Zhou Yi, “Are you two together?”
Zhou Yi was taken aback, then laughed. “You’ve got sharp eyes.”
To be honest, Yu Feng was still a bit surprised. Before this, Zhou Yi had been a straight-as-an-arrow guy—no doubt about it. He had dated girls and was genuinely shocked when he first learned Yu Feng was gay. Although he hadn’t been in a relationship for a few years, during his single years, there had been no signs of such inclinations.
Yu Feng asked him: “When did this happen?”
“Not long, just a few days ago.”
“Just for fun, or serious?”
Zhou Yi chuckled. “Would I risk pissing off my parents just for fun?”
“Then you must really like him.”
“Yeah, I do,” Zhou Yi admitted openly. “Being with him is just comfortable, and he’s good-looking, isn’t he? Easy on the eyes.”
Yu Feng scoffed lightly.
Although Zhou Yi was often unreliable, he had always followed his parents’ wishes in major matters. This was probably the most rebellious thing he had ever done in the first half of his life.
Shi Wuyang walked out from inside, and Yu Feng waved at Zhou Yi. “I’m heading off.”
“Has the driver arrived?” Shi Wuyang asked as he approached Zhou Yi.
“Not yet. Let’s wait in the car first.”
Zhou Yi gently touched Shi Wuyang’s arm. “Professor Shi.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll come to wish you a Happy New Year on the first day of the year.”
Shi Wuyang smiled. “Sure, I’ll have a red envelope ready for you.”
After Zhou Yi returned home, he received a compressed file from Yu Feng on WeChat.
Zhou Yi: 【What’s this?】
Yu Feng: 【A New Year’s gift for you】
Zhou Yi opened the compressed file on his computer. After extracting it, he found a folder containing photos of him and Shi Wuyang together, taken at Shuangye Isle. They were all candid shots—not many, but each had a special feel, as expected from a photographer like Yu Feng.
Yu Feng hadn’t taken these photos specifically for them. He had shot many pictures at Shuangye Isle and kept the ones he thought were good. The photos of Zhou Yi and Shi Wuyang were selected from that batch.
Zhou Yi: 【You’re something else】
Zhou Yi: 【[cup one fist in the other hand emoji]】
Yu Feng: 【No need to thank me】
***
Yu Feng hadn’t spent New Year’s Eve with anyone for several years. In the past, Zhou Yi would always invite him to celebrate with his family, but Yu Feng never went. He also wouldn’t spend it at his mother’s place—he would deliver gifts but never stay for the meal. Their relationship was too strained, to the point where they couldn’t even share a New Year’s Eve dinner together.
Two days before New Year’s Eve, Wang Minying informed Yu Feng in advance, asking him to come to her home for the celebration and to bring Xie An’yu along.
The two went to the supermarket and bought a pile of gifts, arriving at her doorstep before four o’clock that afternoon. Wang Minying complained they came too early, but Yu Feng said they arrived early to help her.
With both cooking and making dumplings to do, his mother definitely couldn’t handle it all alone.
They carried the gifts into the living room and noticed a box of Want Want Gift Packs[mfn]Want Want Gift Packs 旺旺大禮包 (Wàng wàng dà lǐ bāo)
[/mfn] on the coffee table.
Yu Feng glanced at his mother. Wang Minying walked toward the kitchen, her back to them, and said, “I bought those for Xiao Xie.”
Xie An’yu, not yet twenty, was still a kid in Wang Minying’s eyes. She genuinely treated him like a child, even gifting him Want Want Gift Pack for the New Year.
Xie An’yu was completely bewildered—it was his first time receiving something like this. Yu Feng smiled and ruffled the back of his head, saying, “Open it and see if there’s any Koukou candies inside.”
Wang Minying overheard Yu Feng’s words and glanced toward the living room, thinking to herself, Still such a child’s taste.
Xie An’yu hurried to the kitchen and said to Wang Minying, “Thank you.”
“No need,” Wang Minying replied while washing vegetables. “Tell Yu Feng to come in and help me mix the filling.”
“I can help you.”
“No, you go sit. Let him come.”
As they spoke, Yu Feng had already arrived, rolling up his sleeves and pushing Xie An’yu out. “Go enjoy your Want Want Gift Pack.”
Wang Minying turned and said, “We’re about to eat. Don’t eat that now—take it home.”
Yu Feng chuckled. “Then go watch Calabash Brothers. I’ve turned on the TV for you.”
After Xie An’yu left, Wang Minying muttered, “How old is he, still watching Calabash Brothers?”
Yu Feng chuckled. “How old is he, and you still bought him a Want Want Gift Pack?”
Before the meal, Wang Minying brought out two sweaters from the bedroom—one for Yu Feng and one for Xie An’yu. Both were blue-gray but with different patterns, looking like a couple’s set.
“Try them on to see if they fit,” Wang Minying said.
“You knitted these yourself?” Yu Feng asked his mother.
Wang Minying hummed in agreement. “I was bored at home, so I knitted them casually.”
Xie An’yu was overwhelmed by the unexpected kindness. He bowed to Wang Minying, holding the sweater. “Thank you, Auntie.”
The sweaters fit perfectly, and the fabric was soft and comfortable, fragrant from fabric softener. Most importantly, wearing them really did feel like wearing matching couple’s outfits.
Wang Minying placed three small liquor cups on the dining table and turned to ask Xie An’yu, “Can you drink? Baijiu.”
Xie An’yu nodded: “Yes.”
“Then have a little later.”
“I won’t drink. I’m driving later,” Yu Feng said, pouring a full cup of liquor for himself. Wang Minying looked at him in confusion as he stood up, carrying the cup to Cheng Sheng’s room.
Yu Feng placed the filled cup on the bookshelf in front of Cheng Sheng’s photo.
“Happy New Year,” he said to the person in the picture.
Wang Minying loved to drink, and Xie An’yu had a decent alcohol tolerance, so he could keep her company for a few drinks. In high spirits today, they drank quite a bit. By the time they headed home, Xie An’yu’s face was flushed. As soon as he got in the car, he snuggled into Yu Feng’s arms, warm all over, like a little puppy.
Yu Feng gently stroked his hair and asked, “Feeling unwell?”
Xie An’yu shook his head.
“Drank so much,” Yu Feng said, leaning over to kiss his forehead. “You’ll have a headache tomorrow.”
Xie An’yu lifted his head, his pupils hazy: “It’s New Year’s today, I’m happy. Are you happy, Brother?”
Yu Feng hummed in affirmation: “Happy.”
Xie An’yu buried his face in the crook of his arm, murmuring softly: “If you’re happy, then I’m happy.”
Yu Feng helped fasten his seatbelt. Xie An’yu was growing drowsy, and with his eyes closed, he mumbled sleepily, “Happy New Year.”
By the time they got home, he was already fast asleep. When he opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning. Xie An’yu struggled to open his eyes, squinting as he glanced out the window.
The morning light streamed in through the gap between the two curtains, casting a slanted glow on the corner of the nightstand.
Xie An’yu tilted his head slightly and saw a thick red envelope placed on the nightstand. A simple silver ring lay quietly on top of the red envelope. In the morning light shining on that corner, the plain ring emitted a soft glow.
The author has something to say:
I won’t go into Professor Zhou and Professor Shi’s story too much in this book. If you’d like to read about them, I might write some free extra chapters in the future with little snippets of their daily lives. As for Xiao Xie and Brother Yu’s story, let’s pause here for now.
While writing this, aside from the sweet romance, I always wanted to write about something more. The process was a bit stumbling, and there were many shortcomings, so I went through a lot of mental turmoil during the serialization, with my emotional state constantly fluctuating. But no matter what, I tried my best to write it.
I’m really not very good at writing characters who face difficult circumstances. I can’t bear to see the characters I create struggle so much, and I empathize too easily. Every time I thought about certain planned plot points, I’d end up crying, and after crying, I’d abandon those plots. My emotions are easily influenced by the storyline—when I write lighthearted, sweet scenes, I feel happy, but when I write conflict and depressing scenes, I get really down. So as I wrote, I ended up racing in the direction of sweetness.
And that’s fine. I hope that when you read my stories, you feel happy and relaxed.
You’ve probably noticed that even when I write realistic stories, they still feel like fairy tales. Their encounters, their personalities, their experiences—all of it carries my own biases and hopes, very idealized. The real world is much harsher, and I can’t capture even one ten-thousandth of its reality.
As I’ve said before, though Jijing’s story have ended, their story will never truly end. Xiao Xie and Brother Yu’s outlooks on life and values influence and permeate each other. Because of Xie An’yu, Yu Feng saw himself and learned to love himself. We all need to love ourselves, too.
Reality is harsh and complex, and each of us is an ordinary yet vibrant existence. Life is like what Monica said to Rachel in 《Friends》: [Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You’re gonna love it.[mfn]歡迎來到現實世界。它糟透了，但你會喜歡的 (huān yíng lái dào xiàn shí shì jiè. Tā zāo tòu le, dàn nǐ huì xǐ huān de):
[/mfn]]
Pay attention to yourself, focus on yourself, and you’ll probably come to love it.
I hope this story has brought you a little warmth and strength. If you ever find yourself feeling lonely or confused, just look ahead. Don’t be too hard on yourself—there’s no such thing as ‘best’ choice in life. Every step we take has meaning.
Thank you all for walking this path with me again. If fate allows, we’ll meet again in the next story. Mwah.
/Jijing, 2023.7.16
The title of this extra, Promising [可期 (kě qī)] is part of the idiom 未來可期 (wèi lái kě qī), the future is worth looking forward to; have a promising future; the future is promising; there will be a good outcome in the future, and it is worth looking forward to. The idiom originates from the complete expression 流年笑擲，未來可期 (liú nián xiào zhì, wèi lái kě qī), time flies by, but the future is promising, which contains both a calm attitude towards the passage of time and an emphasis on an optimistic outlook for the future.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Extra 3″]
膽大心細 (dǎn dà xīn xì): bold but cautious; brave but not reckless; courageous and wise; bold yet meticulous. Originally referring to the need for both decisiveness and meticulousness in medical practice, it has evolved into a general idiom describing someone who is decisive and thoughtful in handling matters.火眼金睛 (huǒ yǎn jīn jīng): lit. fiery eyes and golden pupils; piercing eyes; discerning eyes; penetrating insight; sharp eyes; eagle eyes. It originally refers to the story of Sun Wukong in Journey to the West, who was imprisoned in the eight-way trigram crucible by Laozi for forty-nine days to be distilled into an elixir by samadhi fires in order to regain his pills of longevity, but instead gained fiery eyes and golden pupils. Later, it was used to describe a person with sharp eyes, capable of distinguishing truth from falsehood.
毋庸置疑 (wú yōng zhì yí): no need to question; without any doubt; undoubtedly; beyond all doubt; be undisputed; without doubt/question; doubtless; the facts are obvious or the reasons are sufficient, leaving no room for doubt.
受寵若驚 (shòu chǒng ruò jīng): overwhelmed by favor from superior (humble expr.); be overwhelmed by unexpected favour/flatter/honour; feel extremely/immensely flattered; be astonished by an unexpected favour; being overwhelmed by favor (favor: to be pampered, to be appreciated) refers to being surprised and uneasy because of being pampered or appreciated.
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