Where Winter is Warm Where Summer is Cool

As the meal progressed, the atmosphere became charged with animosity. Jaizhen and Lin Xiaodi were at each other’s throats about the dishes they had ordered.

“Enough of you two. I don’t know if we can still eat this dish from the amount of slander you guys have done to it!” said Qu Wei angrily.

“Okay, let’s not talk about food,” Xiaodi said, smiling. He pointed to Qu Wei. “Maybe we should talk about you.”

He then turned to Jiazhen.

“Mo Jiazhen, though my question is coming a bit late, I need to know how you, while being so ugly, could chase and then catch yourself a good-looking man? Tell us your secret.”

Jiazhen’s face turned stony at first, then suddenly changed into a smile.

“You should ask Yang Yali for the trick to chasing after men. She is better than me at it. I believe she was chasing Ye Lin from back then. It caused a sensation in the whole school!” Jia Zhen ended with a deadpan expression.

It had been no secret to me that Jiazhen hated Yang Yali, but today her hatred for her was glaringly obvious. 

There were two reasons why she hated her so much. First, due to my issue with her about Ye Lin, and second, because Yang Yali had snatched away Jiazhen’s first boyfriend from her. This combination of personal and public enmity turned her hatred of her more intense.

Yang Yali’s face turned ugly. 

“I have no comment. Two people who love each other belong together.”

“Two people in love belong together? Oh, well, that’s interesting. When you pursued young Ye Lin, I remember that he still belonged to my family member, Xiao Jie. Where did you fit in that love, Yang Yali? Could you have harbored feelings for him all that time?”

At Jiazhen’s remarks, the whole table fell silent.

I looked on at the scene unfolding before me, feeling helpless. I hadn’t expected Jiazhen to bring up my matter in this setting, making everyone so uncomfortable.

“Eat your meal. You talk a lot!”

Qu Wei picked up a pair of chopsticks and shoved them into Jiazhen’s bowl.

“This atmosphere is too lively. Don’t you prefer to eat in silence?”

Everyone stayed quiet.

“Actually,” Yang Yali said, breaking the silence, “although Ye Lin did have a girlfriend at the time, people still had the right to pursue him, didn’t they?”

“Yali,” Ye Lin warned.

“Not to mention back then–”

“Enough, Yali!”

My heart beating fast, I glanced at the person directly in front of me. He was obviously angry, and his face looked cold and melancholy.

Yang Yali had turned pale. She looked at Ye Lin, and after a long minute, murmured, “Don’t be angry. I didn’t mean to upset you, but can’t I explain how things were?’

It was a soft apology with no dramatics, but it spoke volumes. It dawned on me that Yang Yali really must love Ye Lin after witnessing her cautious behavior around him.

“Okay, okay, take it easy everyone,” said Lin Xiaodi standing up, trying to diffuse the situation. “It will be hard on everyone’s appetite if this trouble is taken seriously.”

She then turned to Jiazhen, her face solemn.

“Let me remind you that we gathered today to celebrate Anjie. If you dare mess up this meal, I won’t forgive you.”

Jiazhen must have realized her blunder because she’d stopped talking. She looked my way and then tapped me with her foot under the table.

“I’m sorry Anjie, I….”

“It’s okay,” I said, smiling.

“If we’re celebrating Jian Anjie today, why is the celebrant so quiet?”

My eyes shot back to Ye Lin, taken aback. I stared at him feeling powerless.

Ye Lin leaned back in his chair lazily, his eyes half-closed with an arm draped lightly on the back of his chair. The arrogance from the previous moment seemed to have been replaced with his usual, nonchalant self.

“Nothing to say,” I mumbled.

“Why?” Ye Lin asked, feigning surprise. “Have you nothing to say to your classmates after not seeing them for so long?” His voice was low, but I could hear his masked sarcasm.

“Yea Anjie” Qu Wei interjected with a smile. “Tell us about France. You’ve been there for so many years. You must have some interesting things to tell us.”

I deliberated for a moment before answering truthfully.

“Actually, there really is nothing interesting to say.”

I saw no need in going into all the negative things I had encountered.

“How could there not be?” Qu Wei asked in disbelief. “Tell us about your life in France, for example. Did you meet any handsome guys?”

I smiled.

“There are indeed many good-looking boys in France.”

“Then you must have had many love affairs there, right?” Yang Yali asked, her tone condescending.

I picked up the water glass in front of me, cupping it in my palm absentmindedly.

“Don’t drink that if you have a cold,” Liao Zheng said sharply.

I hadn’t been paying attention to the liquid poured into my glass during all of the commotion before. Feeling thirsty now, I’d picked it up to drink without realizing the contents of the cup. As I peeked in, I found red wine swirling around inside. 

Smiling sheepishly, I put the glass back down. In actuality, I am a person who can’t drink at all due to my alcohol allergy. One sip would have made my body start to itch and my throat swollen and painful. A larger dose would cause breathing difficulty. 

There were only two people who knew about this.

“Jian Anjiw, when did you become so obedient? Ye Lin asked, smirking at me.

I sighed.

“A lot can change in six years.”

His eyes flashed for a second, so fast I wasn’t sure I’d seen it. Then just as quickly, his mood turned frivolous.

“Yes, six years, 2,190 days, 52,560 hours or 3, 153,600 seconds. Indeed, anything could change between these numbers.”

My hand froze, and once again, the table fell silent. Nothing was making sense.

Ye Lin didn’t seem to be finished yet, as he pushed back his chair, stood up, and walked towards me. 

“Since we’re celebrating Jian Anjie, let’s come together for a toast and celebrate her first “Glorious Return” in six years!”

He threw back his head and downed his drink.

He was standing next to me, and the proximity of his body was wreaking havoc in mine.

“Don’t you look good?”

I felt my breath falter as my chest felt like there was something stuck in it. I bit my lips as I raised my head to meet those half-lidded eyes.

“Ye Lin!” Piao Zheng was now standing in front of me as well, his voice filled with anger.

Everyone now looked flustered. Qu Wei and Xiaodi were staring, while Yand Yali had also come round to join Ye Lin. She took his hand.

“What’s the matter? What are you doing? Stop throwing tantrums like a child.”

Did she just call Ye Lin a child? The manliest man in the city was labeled a child!

I raised a glass to my lips, and too late, felt the scorching liquid slide down my throat. I had grabbed the wine glass again without realizing it. I tried desperately to stop from swallowing, but I ended up choking on it in my haste, and several sips made it down. I started coughing uncontrollably as my lips burned. A sudden heat flared in my stomach, and I could feel myself beginning to lose consciousness.

A voice called out in the midst of my plight.

“Jian Anjie! How could you drink that? You know very well how allergic you are! Are you looking for death!? Are you feeling pain? I’m blabbering too much. Jian Anjie, I care about you, so don’t you dare die! I will be so angry with you. You have to come back to me…!”

The edges of my vision faded to black as one last thought seared through my mind.

Nothing has changed. It’s not all just a memory of the past…