Resisting Winter

The mall has started playing music with a gentle note.

Sun Yuhe followed behind Xu Hui with his hands in his pockets and a dissatisfied face.

Originally they came to the pedestrian street to play video games. The results was halfway through the game, this great ancestor (Xu Hui) suddenly felt bored and left the place leaving his bundle a of friends there on their own. Sun Yuhe did not know what he had committed, Xu Hui threw his game console and dragged him out to follow to the shopping mall.

“What are you even searching for ah?” Sun Yuhe in the back push Xu Hui impatiently, “hurry up, I and Liu Yuhai had a bet which is about to start.”

Xu Hui’s eyes were attracted to a crystal jewelry store so he ignored Sun Yuhe’s complaining. The jewelries on the counter were shining brilliantly under the light.

“Hey!” Sun Yuhe saw Xu Hui lovingly looking at the store and discontentedly shouted.

Xu Hui walked to the jewelry shop while indifferently saying, “You can go back. I don’t need you to follow me.”

“Hey! But you-!” Sun Yuhe was speechless. He pointed a finger at Xu Hui’s face and exclaimed “Look at your lovesick look!”

Xu Hui ignored him, as if he had not heard and entered the jewelry shop. He skimmed his eyes on different jewelry on the counter. A beautiful necklace with a swan locket caught his eyes. He pointed at the locket and asked the salesman standing behind the counter, “Except for the swan locket, is there anything else with the same design?”

Xu Hui was already handsome with white skin and neat appearance. In the store under the strong light, he was also shining like a transparent jewelry.

The young salesman was happy to serve such a young and handsome man with good temperament.

“May I ask which models locket you are searching for?”

“Any other animals, except swans.” Xu Hui thought for a moment before asking, “Do you have ducks?”

Sun Yuhe snickered next to him, “look at your pretentious behaviour. Who are you calling a duck? You are a fucking duck yourself.”

Xu Hui glance at him faintly and said “Don’t just use ducks on men.”

Sun Yuhe paused, and then grinned, “I think you are being a pervert. Who knows which direction you are thinking?”

Xu Hui ignored his criticism and continued to choose a locket happily. But the salesman who was standing beside the counter wasn’t much older than them. His face turned red at their jokes.

Xu Hui looked over at the salesman who stumbled on his words and said: “No, sorry. Temporary we don’t have any duck shaped locket. But we have bears and rabbit, would you like to take a look?”

Sun Yuhe impatiently said in the back: “Just buy the swan and lets go.”

Xu Hui, who had a rare moment of patience said in harmony with the salesman, “Take them out.”

“Please follow me.” The salesman led Xu Hui to inside, Sun Yuhe was also painfully following him behind.

“Trapped, you are completely trapped. My goodness! Who would believe it? You, with such a good face lost to a weakling!”

Xu Hui was not angry, he hummed and smiled before asking, “Do you want to buy anything for Huizi?”

“Who will pay ah?”

The salesman put the bear and rabbit on the counter for Xu Hui to see. Xu Hui looked at the lockets before saying, “OK, which one do you like? I’ll pay for you.”

Sun Yuhe was choked. Grinding his teeth, he looked at Xu Hui who was buying a gift with a serious face. He was angry seeing Xu Hui not responding any of his teasing, he felt his heart wasn’t happy at all, but rather sour.

Sun Yuhe’s teenage heart ached, he endured and endured before finally kicking Xu Hui on the foot.

Xu Hui turned around with a expressionless face, “you wanna fight?”

Sun Yuhe pointed to the rabbit, “pick this one.”


“Are you sure?”

“Hmm.” Sun Yuhe responded casually.

Xu Hui nodded at the salesman, who took the rabbit locket out and packed it for him.

After buying the locket, Xu Hui and Sun Yuhe both left the store. On the way Sun Yuhe suddenly asked, “you two haven’t met for quite a long time, right?”

Xu Hui casually replied, “she has midterm exam so she is busy.”

“Busy for the exam? Is she good at studying?”

“I don’t know.” Xu Hui shrugged.

Sun Yuhe asked another question, “Which school does she read in?”

The automatic door was not working well, Xu Hui had to lift his foot to kick it, only then the door opened and the two of them went out of the mall.

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you even ask?” Sun Yuhe asked in puzzlement. He couldn’t understand why Bai Lu wasn’t revealing her identity completely to Xu Hui or why Xu Hui doesn’t care. Is this even called liking?

Xu Hui tilted his head as he asked, “What’s the point of asking? It’s not important anyway.”

“Then what do you do together?” After asking Sun Yuhe looked at him with misbehavious eyes and asked “Tell me, what did you do? Is it straight to the point?”

Xu Hui snorted, “I can’t bother with you ……”

“What’s there to be shy about? Aren’t you going to stay with her for a long time?”

Xu Hui shrugged his shoulders. He still isn’t sure about his heart so he doesn’t know what is waiting for him in the future.

The two of them each lit a cigarette at the entrance of the mall.

The sun was about to set, and since it was late autumn, the wind was getting colder as the night fell.

“I’m thinking of going home.” Xu Hui suddenly said in a low voice.

Sun Yuhe looked over, “Your father is back?”

“Mm.”

Involving Xu Hui’s family, Sun Yuhe was strict in his words. He couldn’t understand which words should he choose that wouldn’t hurt Xu Hui’s feelings, then again he doesn’t know if he should interfere in Xu Hui’s family matters at all.

“Then go and…… Will you come back in the evening?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t take them too seriously.” Sun Yuhe patted Xu Hui on the shoulder, “Those two old bitches in your house love to torment you. Don’t go if your brother–“

“All right.” Xu Hui frowned, lowered his head, and flicked his cigarette. His mood had suddenly turned irritated.

Sun Yuhe closed his mouth. He could understand he had touched a sensitive point. Xu Hui’s bottom line was his brother, every time he mentions things regarding his family, Xu Hui would turn irritated.


Both of them became silent.

After the silence, Xu Hui’s lonely feeling of needing help became more obvious.

But Sun Yuhe did not know how to help him.

They all wanted to help him, but no one could find a way. This occasionally made Sun Yuhe feel a little powerless. Xu Hui was good to his friends, but no one knew how to pull him out of his own shadow.

“Ah He ……” Xu Hui looked at the ground, his bangs falling on his forehead and covering his eyes.

Sun Yuhe quickly looked up, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Hui: “I want to ask my father for some money ……”

Sun Yuhe: “What money?”

Xu Hui said faintly, “I don’t want her to work so hard every day. I want to borrow some money for her to give her sister for treatment.”


Sun Yuhe froze and said with a bit of emotion, “Really?”

Xu Hui heard the question, did not immediately answer but let out a smile.

That smile was brief. It soon left like the sky painted in red, only its afterglow remaining.

Seeing him smile so openly after a long time, Sun Yuhe felt the cigarette in his hand involuntarily trembled, as if the problem that has been bothering him for a long time was solved so easily.

No matter what method was used, someone had found the breakthrough to his heart.

Xu Hui dropped his finished cigarette on the ground, raised his head and looked at Sun Yuhe before saying, “I considered it before. My family doesn’t want to accommodate me anyway, and I also don’t want to go back. Now I’m an adult. I intend to borrow 500,000 dollars from my father and pay him back later.”

“What about after?”

“Wait for her to graduate, see if she wants to go to college. If she wants to go another city we will go, or if she wants to stay here, we will stay here.”

Sun Yuhe’s eyebrows rose when he heard him, “Ah? To another city? What would you do there? How will you live?”

“I’ll figure something out.”

“Can you live that way!?” Sun Yuhe’s eyes involuntarily widened, he gave a strong slap on Xu Hui’s shoulder as he exclaimed, “Don’t think living alone is easy. You are fucking living a young master’s life now. Half a million is only enough for you to live for a month. How can you say you will figure something out!”

Xu Hui tilted his head, looking at Sun Yuhe, slightly puzzled as he asked, “I’m living a young master life …… really?”

Sun Yuhe clenched his teeth. He could understand Xu Hui’s desire to leave his family but Xu Hui doesn’t know how hard it will be for him to live without his family’s support. He is used to people serving him at his beckon how can he be the one who serves others? Thinking this his heart couldn’t help but feel suffocated.

“Ah He, believe it or not, I am don’t want to live a young master’s life.” Xu Hui looked at the gift bag as he said.

Sun Yuhe sighed. He knew he wouldn’t be able to stop Xu Hui if he really thought of living. He just simply asked, “When are you planning to leave home?”

Xu Hui seemed a little confused as he replied, “I’m slowly thinking ……” the future has a lot of uncertainty, but he still tried to cheer up and said, “I’ll take one step at a time.”

Sun Yuhe tsked twice as he joked, “Yo, having a sister-in-law is different. Come on, I’ll buy you a drink to celebrate.”

Xu Hui took out his cell phone and said, “I’m going to call her, we’re supposed to meet in the evening.”

Sun Yuhe waved his hands generously, “Then I’ll go back.”

Xu Hui, whose heart was stirred by the conversation he just had, nodded and said goodbye.



Two teenagers went to different paths with two different thoughts on their minds.


****


The bell for the last class rang, and the invigilator clapped his hands on the podium.

“Students sitting on the last row, collect their test papers and answer cards. Other students remain sitting.”

In mid to late November, the north wind began to sting people on their skin with its cold nature.

The flowers were all gone, the leaves of the tress had started to fall.

The clothes worn on people’s body were getting more and more heavy everyday as the temperature drops.

In the late autumn, the sky had been flushed with red and orange hue.

Bai Lu carried her school bag, pulled the collar of her school uniform, covering half of her face and walked outside the school with her head bowed.

The sound of footsteps came from behind her and her shoulder was tapped. Bai Lu looked behind.

“Where are you going?”

Wu Hanwen asked with increasing nervousness.

Bai Lu replied in a soft tone, “I’m going for a walk.”


Wu Hanwen fully understood what her ‘going for a walk’ meant. He was sure she was going to meet him, Xu Hui. He couldn’t understand why haven’t she still left him and continued to stick to him. Everytime he thinks them together, he felt his inside being twisted with a blunt knife. Wu Hanwen was completely unable to hold the vulnerable expression on his face as he requested, “Don’t go.”

Bai Lu did not speak, Wu Hanwen stood in front of her and whispered, “I know, the more times the same words are said, the less powerful they are. But I will still say, don’t get distracted by him.”

Bai Lu replied helplessly, “I won’t ……”

“Even if there is no reason, I will still say.” Wu Hanwen looked at her squarely as he finished, “Bai Lu, don’t go to Xu Hui, you don’t know him.”

Bai Lu looked at him in puzzlement, “What do I need to know him?”

“Are you already ……”

“Nope.” Bai Lu denied so fast that it startled him. Wu Hanwen’s heart sank, but he still said, “Bai Lu, you can’t make this kind of mistake.”

“What mistake?”Bai Lu again asked stubbornly.

“It’s already a mistake for you to deliberately meet him!” Wu Hanwen suddenly said in a stern voice, “You are so smart, I don’t believe you don’t understand the meanings of my concern. You should have known long ago that this is meaningless, why are you still dragging it?”

Bai Lu remained quiet.

Wu Hanwen couldn’t help it anymore.

“You like–“

“I said no.”Bai Lu replied with a cold tone.

The cold wind blew as if it were touched by her coldness.

“I knew it …… I knew it ……” Wu Hanwen’s voice trembled slightly as he whispered, “Xu Hui, this person… ..I knew sooner or later ……”

“Wu Hanwen.” Bai Lu narrowed her eyes as she said word by word, “I, said, no.”

“Then you go and tell him clearly!” Wu Hanwen was full of energy as he exclaimed, “Just say him clearly if you don’t like him. Bai Lu, you are not the same as him, the more time you spend with him now, the more he will drag you to hell. You will lose more than you gain!”

Bai Lu nodded, “I understand what you are saying.” After saying that she bowed her head, repeating Wu Hanwen warning again and again in her head.

She knew, If she and him continued to spend time like that, many things will change.

In fact, many things had already changed before she knew. She couldn’t understand if she was going to the right path anymore, and she had to admit that what Wu Hanwen said made sense.

This man(Wu Hanwen) was so cunning that she had to divide a lot of strength to answer him, and she didn’t dare to do that.

“What do you know!?” Wu Hanwen said excitedly, “If you understand, don’t play with him, okay?”

After a moment of silence, Bai Lu spoke, “You don’t need to lecture me, I know what I have to do.”

“You have to–“

“I thought about it.” Bai Lu’s voice was very soft, “I thought about it …… I will make everything right.”

She had indeed thought about it.

Not to tell him anything, not to explain anything, just to pinch off their few months relationship and make everything clear. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t make herself tell him the reason of her approaching him first……

Wu Hanwen didn’t even listen to Bai Lu’s words, and was still talking the same thing. “You don’t understand, you simply don’t know. I warned you a few months ago, you shouldn’t –“

Before he could finish his sentence, Bai Lu turned around and left with her school bag hanging on her shoulders.

Wu Hanwen looked at the back that was moving away and gritted his teeth. He narrowed his eyes and made a decision.

When Xu Hui got down from the taxi, he saw Bai Lu standing in front of the bushes of Lonicera flowers with her head down.

The flowers in the bushes were long gone, but she was still looking at the bush with fascination. He wondered what there was to be fascinated about with a bunch of bushes.


Xu Hui quietly walked over, he originally wanted to go around behind her to scteam on her ears loudly and give her a jumpscare. But seeing the small figure looking even smaller staring at the bushes, he changed his mind and opened his arms to hold Bai Lu from behind.

Bai Lu was startled a little and quickly turned her head. Xu Hui cocked his head to look at her.

“You aren’t scared?”

She didn’t reply and pushed him away.

Xu Hui stood up straight and said as he walked towards home, “I should have shouted in a loud voice to scare you.”


Bai Lu kept quiet. None of them spoke on the way to Xu Hui’s house. After getting into the house, Xu Hui fell on the sofa.

“So tired ……”

Bai Lu went to the kitchen and poured two cups of water and brought it out. Xu Hui, who was still lying in the sofa only rolled over to lie on his back but didn’t got up.

Bai Lu offered him one cup of water, but seeing him not taking it and staring at her, she threatened in a soft voice, “I’m going to pour it down on your face.”

Xu Hui: “……”

Xu Hui pulled Bai Lu to sit down on the sofa. He held the cup of water in one hand and brought the delicate paper bag to Bai Lu with the other.

“For you “

Bai Lu put the bag to the side, “Drink the water.”

Xu Hui sipped the water, paused as he remembered something and asked to Bai Lu, “How was your exam? You did well?”

Bai Lu nodded, “Not bad.”

Xu Hui stared at her for a moment before asking, “Which college do you want to go?”

Bai Lu looked at Xu Hui in puzzlement, “Why?”

Xu Hui shrugged, “Nothing, just asking.”

“I don’t know ……”

After a while, Xu Hui asked with a little hesitantly, “Xiao Bai, how much money do you need for your sister’s treatment?”

Bai Lu sat on the sofa unanswering. The action of drinking the water paused as her eyes kept looking at the corner of the coffee table.

Xu Hui who was beside her asked again not getting the reply he wanted, “Well? How much do you need?”

Her voice was too soft to be heard.

“Not much.”

Xu Hui seemed relieved, “That’s good. If it was too much I don’t know if I can get it. How much do you need? One hundred thousand? Two hundred thousand?”

Bai Lu blinked and the gift packet caught her eyes. Who knew what happened, she suddenly stood up.



There seemed to be no place in this house where she could drop her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Hui who was nestling in the sofa sat up, “What if–“

Bai Lu turned her head to look at him with expressionless eyes which made Xu Hui stopped talking. “What’s wrong?”

“Xu Hui.”

“Hmm?”

Bai Lu looked him in the eyes and whispered, “I’m leaving. I will meet you in a few days, I have something to say to you.”

“What do you want to say?” Saying this Xu Hui suddenly remembered, “Oh, right …… I have to go home too.” Xu Hui smiled as he said, “I also have something to say to you.”

Bai Lu picked up her school bag, “Well then, we’ll talk later, bye.”

She hurriedly left the house, Xu Hui followed him and shouted her name from the back but she ignored and left.

When Xu Hui entered the house again, he saw the gift box on the sofa.


Walking over, he picked up the bag, before putting it back on the coffee table.

“She didn’t take it either ……”


For some reason, his tone sounded gloomy.