Where Winter is Warm Where Summer is Cool

When I entered the dormitory, I found Liang Aiwen sitting on her bed chatting with another girl, Audrey. Audrey was talking about the boredom of being with of a German man, “He doesn’t have sex with me.”

“A German man is strict, but when put with others, they become a group of lunatics. Didn’t they start the two world wars?” Liang Aiwen asked.

“I would rather he be a lunatic!”

I passed by them and went into the bathroom to wash my hands.

“No man is loyal, and Carll is still dating three women at the same time, and so is Ken!” Liang Aiwen was dissatisfied.

“Ken? I think he called me once,” Audrey smiled triumphantly.

“Anastasia Jian looks down on the man you still rush to ask for.”

They didn’t mind my existence, and they talked without fear.

“The oriental man I saw last time is outstanding! What a pity…” Liang Aiwen said sadly.

Just as I was drying my hands, my phone rang from my bag. I took it out to see, and found it was him.

“You arrived?” his gentle voice said.

“Um.”

“Is this call bothering you?” He could hear that I was not natural, and this would be the first time we talked peacefully on the phone.

“Um.”

“Anjie,” he whispered softly, “Can you come here early tomorrow? If you are busy with graduation work, you can come here and do it.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Everything’s okay, I just want you to come over. Or I could accompany you, like in the past?” He chuckled lightly, as if he felt embarrassed.

I looked at the orchid leaves on the washstand, and whispered, “Let’s talk about it.”

There seemed to be a sigh. “Okay. Don’t hang up yet…Don’t you want to say something to me?”

“What?” I was a little embarrassed to think that we had just separated a moment ago, and I was still not used to this kind of lover-like dialogue.

“No, it’s nothing.” After a pause, he said again, his tone still gentle, “Then, I will contact you tomorrow.”

“Good.”

Hanging up, I held the phone for a while before I turned around and found Audrey leaning against the bathroom door looking at me. “Man?”

I didn’t laugh, and walked around her to my desk.

“I was just saying how they are not a good thing. They really treat you as the reincarnation of Maria.” Audrey said.

I didn’t reply and sat down to read a book.

When I got up early the next morning, I picked up my phone, and was surprised to find a text message that my aunt had arrived in France along with three missed calls from her. I quickly changed and hurried to the airport.

My aunt’s flight was set to arrive at 8 o’clock, and it was already 8:30.

The fiery, mature lady waiting for me at the gate of the airport made me smile. Seeing her was better than anything, really.

When Auntie saw me, she ran forward to hug me, “Anjie!”

“Why are you here suddenly?”

“Are you surprised? Surprised!” Auntie looked me up and down. “I received the package you sent. When I saw your clothes, I realized I missed you very much. It just so happened that the company had a few days of holidays, so I came.”

Her familiar voice made me feel calm. “Are you tired? Shall we go find you a hotel to rest first?”

“No, I have already slept on the plane. Let’s sit down in a coffee shop and have a good chat with your aunt.”

One of the most beautiful coffee shops in Paris is located on the banks of the Seine, where you can watch the sunrise and sunset.

My aunt looked at me and said, “Anjie, you seem to be a little happier. I was worried that something like the past would happen again this time and I was uncomfortable. Seeing you like this, no matter what the reason is, makes your aunt so much more relieved.”

“I am happy to see you.” This was the truth.

My aunt smiled. “You are happy to see me, but there’s something different.”

I didn’t understand what difference she meant.

My mobile phone vibrated on the round coffee table, and when I checked, it was a text message from Xi Xichen.

[Xi Xichen: Are you here?]

[Jian Anjie: Not coming anymore. Something’s come up.]

Auntie waited for me to put down the phone before asking, “Who is it? Piao Zheng?”

I thought for a while before answering, “Auntie…Xi Xichen, do you remember him?”

“Shen Qingyu’s nephew.”

“Yes. Recently, I have been wondering about something. Is it possible that the money you received back then was sent by him?”

If all my most desperate moments in life had all been resolved by him, then what could I give him to pay him back?

“Is he in France now?” She asked.

“Um.”

“Were you texting him just now?”

“Yes.”

She sighed lightly, “Anjie, I trust you. I believe you know everything you are doing.”

I pondered her wording for a moment, before I said, “It’s not just the money,” I paused. “I was detained for review when my roommate committed suicide. Auntie, you couldn’t come here at the time because you were in Germany, but a lawyer did come forward to bail me out. He said it was legal aid sent by the government. I didn’t think about it much, but later I realized that the magnanimity of the French government was impossible. And then there’s my accident.”

My aunt’s brows began to furrow, her expression mixing with solemnity.

“This Xi Xichen…I only met him a few times six years ago. To be honest, he is not a friendly person. In fact, if you want to make an analogy, Anjie, you just don’t like others approaching you superficially, but he is indifferent to his bones.”

“What does Auntie want to say?” I sighed.

“Anjie, the only thing you told me about him is that he kept you out of the shadows for a long time. Every time you woke up from a dream, you felt a deep sense of guilt. You hated him before, didn’t you?”

I looked at the ice cubes floating in the coffee cup.

“And now you want to turn a hate into a love?”

I looked up into my aunt’s probing and worried eyes. “Auntie…”

“Although Xi Xichen’s personality is still unclear to me, Anjie, I can tell you clearly that he is not suitable for you. He is too complicated, yes, too complicated. If you’re telling me everything you’ve been through, or more, has been controlled by him, then, I can only come to the conclusion that he must be really powerful.”