"Xie Wanyu, don't let me catch you again." Lin Jinran gulped down a bottle of water, and the bitterness on her tongue faded a bit. "It's not certain who will catch whom. Come on, let's keep playing and see who the next lucky one will be."
Xie Wanyu urged everyone to continue playing.
"Lin Jinran, are you okay?"
Su Qinian's smiling voice rang in her ear.
Lin Jinran's face involuntarily flushed again. The scene of her blushing and heart - pounding just now kept lingering in her mind and wouldn't fade away for a long time.
"I'm fine. It's just a little game. It's no big deal. It's all in the past."
As she spoke, Lin Jinran almost bit her own tongue. Seeing that it was almost her turn to count again, she instinctively pushed him. "It's almost your turn. Be careful not to get caught by them."
"Okay, you too."
The gentle voice faded away in an instant.
Lin Jinran poured herself another glass of cold water to cool down her flushed cheeks.
It must be because the air - conditioner in the private room was set too high. It must be.
Outside the window, the night was thick, and the sky was as black as ink.
When the time on the phone pointed to 11:50, everyone finally stopped playing. They got up in twos and threes and planned to go to the riverside to watch the fireworks.
"Hey, Su Qinian, are you okay?"
Now it was Lin Jinran's turn to ask him if he was okay.
Later, everyone got tired of and familiar with the counting game, so they simply switched to a new game: the idiom chain game.
As the name suggests, the next person has to pick up the last character of the idiom spoken by the previous person.
Idioms are difficult. After several rounds, including his own turns, Su Qinian had drunk quite a bit.
Although the fruit wine had a low alcohol content, it was still alcohol.
No matter how you looked at it, Su Qinian was a bit tipsy.
"I'm fine. Let's go get our coats. It's cold outside." Su Qinian walked steadily. He picked up his own coat and Lin Jinran's, then handed hers to her.
Lin Jinran put on the coat and followed Su Qinian. She left the hotel with her friends.
As soon as they stepped out of the hotel, the cold wind cut their faces like a knife.
Lin Jinran shivered with cold. She quickly put on her hat and wrapped her scarf around her face, leaving only a pair of glistening eyes.
Suddenly coming from a warm place to a cold one, many classmates in the class were complaining.
Moreover, since they were by the river, the wind was even more bone - chilling.
"Damn, it's so cold! Where's my scarf?"
"I suddenly don't want to come out. Watching the fireworks and ringing in the New Year from the hotel window is also an option."
"I second that!"
Su Qinian put on his scarf. A streak of Klein blue stood out clearly in the night.
Lin Jinran looked up at his scarf and secretly snickered in her heart.
With his all - black outfit, it would be hard to find him if he got lost. One could only rely on the scarf to locate him.
"What are you laughing at? You look so happy." Su Qinian lowered his head slightly and saw the girl smiling with curved eyes. He couldn't help but curl his lips, and his mood instantly improved.
"Ah? Nothing, nothing." Lin Jinran touched the corner of her mouth, wondering if it was that obvious.
A gust of wind blew, carrying with it a faint smell of alcohol.
"Wait for me here. I'll be back soon."
As if thinking of something, Lin Jinran left a word and trotted back into the hotel in a hurry.
Did she leave something behind?
Su Qinian stood at the hotel entrance, tall and upright. The light slanted on his body, and his facial features were dimly visible in the wind.
Occasionally, he would look up just to check if the girl he was longing for had come out of the hotel.
"Class monitor, why aren't you going yet? It's almost twelve o'clock." Lu Youchuan's voice came from afar through the crowd.
Su Qinian looked up slightly and pointed at the hotel with one finger, indicating that he was waiting for someone.
Lu Youchuan didn't urge him anymore. He went ahead with his friends to grab a good front - row spot.
The sound of light footsteps approached. Su Qinian's ears twitched, and he looked in the direction of the sound.
His originally cold phoenix eyes seemed to have seen the most beautiful scenery in his life. His eyes were filled with boundless joy.
Something was stuffed into his hand. He looked down and saw it was a bottle of milk.
Lin Jinran explained, "You drank a lot for me during the truth - or - dare game. I'm afraid you might feel uncomfortable. Drinking some milk might make you feel better."
His heart suddenly warmed. Su Qinian let out a soft laugh. His laughter was incredibly pleasant. He took the straw, inserted it into the milk, took a sip, and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Thank you, my dear deskmate."
Actually, he didn't have any discomfort or feel unwell.
He just simply didn't want to waste Lin Jinran's kind intention.
"It's getting late. Let's hurry over there. Otherwise, we won't make it to twelve o'clock sharp. They've already gone far." Lin Jinran muttered. She didn't expect it would take several minutes to buy a bottle of milk.
Su Qinian glanced at the time. It was still two minutes to twelve o'clock.
"We can see the fireworks from here too. We can walk over slowly, watch the fireworks on the way, and meet up with them."
He would never admit that he wanted to watch the fireworks alone with Lin Jinran.
There were a lot of people by the river, and it was very lively.
But there was no private space, and Su Qinian was a bit annoyed.
"Ah?" Lin Jinran thought for a while and agreed.
Without the previous hurry, Lin Jinran and Su Qinian walked slowly.
There were streetlights along the river railing. Under the dim streetlights were overlapping shadows.
The crowd was bustling, and the cold wind was howling.
Suddenly, her nose felt cold. Lin Jinran instinctively reached out to touch it. The snowflakes on her fingertips melted rapidly at the touch of her warm fingers, leaving behind a small water stain.
It's snowing?
Lin Jinran looked up. Under the moonlight, crystal - clear white snowflakes were falling one by one.
"Su Qinian, look! It's snowing!" Lin Jinran tugged at the arm of the person beside her, pointed at the snowflakes falling from the sky, and shouted excitedly like a child.
Su Qinian looked at the hand that was holding his arm. His breathing grew a bit heavy. After a while, he finally looked up following her gaze.
The snowflakes covered the sky and were gently falling. Countless silver - white snowflakes gathered together, as if they were going to light up this part of the world.
The fireworks hadn't arrived yet, but the snow had come first.
The snowflakes had first covered the ground with silver.
The people waiting for the fireworks by the river let out waves of cheers and screams, enlivening the once - calm water.
"Yes, it's snowing." Su Qinian smiled brightly, his eyes glistening.
As soon as his voice fell, the crowd by the river began to count down in an organized way.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!"
The New Year's bell rang. A cluster of fireworks shot into the sky, illuminating Lin Jinran's face.
"Happy New Year, Lin Jinran." He said.
I also wish you a happy New Year, leaving behind the old year, filled with joy and success, and may all your wishes come true.