Chapter 17: Movie

As the New Year approached, C City was brimming with festivity.

On both sides of the streets, shops hung bright red lanterns and promotional banners, while cheerful music played from one end to the other.

The joy carried by the bustling crowds bloomed into a fiery red in the silver-white winter world.

Su Zhi left Ming Yue’s house and drove through the lively commercial district.

On C City’s busiest shopping street, cars had already lined up in a long dragon, stretching from the central square all the way to the distant towers, their end nowhere in sight.

The traffic crawled forward slowly, almost at a standstill.

Crowds of all kinds passed along the sidewalks.

Couples held hands sweetly.

Parents led their children along.

The little ones, bouncing on their toes, carried cartoon balloons tied to their wrists.

Now and then, colorful streamers fluttered in the wind.

Su Zhi lowered her window and caught a narrow strip of confetti with her hand.

“Pretty sister, you’re so beautiful.”

At some point, a child wearing a knit hat had appeared by her window.

His cheeks were flushed red from the cold, and his sparkling smile carried an infectious warmth.

That day, Su Zhi wore only light makeup.

She hadn’t drawn dark eyeliner, just a touch of blush, and her lips were tinted with a sheer, pale-pink gloss.

Her skin looked even fairer and more luminous against the color.

She had on a soft beret, the fluffy brim making her look younger, like a gentle fairy out of a storybook.

She wasn’t very good at dealing with children, so she simply looked at him without speaking.

“Pretty sister, do you want to buy a rose? I picked them fresh this morning. The flowers are especially beautiful, just like your love will always be.”

Only then did Su Zhi notice the thin cord hanging from his neck, with a small QR code dangling at the end.

“No flowers.”

“Pretty sister, just buy one. It’s almost New Year. Buying flowers brings good luck, you know—new year, new blessings!”

Su Zhi remained unmoved.

“Pretty sister, just one! Only five yuan, it’s really cheap. Please, buy one!”

Her gaze passed over the flower-selling child, landing on the scene behind him.

The air was filled with the sweet, sticky aroma of roasted chestnuts.

Red tassels hung in front of store windows, while the flowering trees outside shopping malls were covered in crimson wish slips, forming a fiery sea of red.

“Go buy me a Chinese knot. You can keep the rest.”

She handed the boy a hundred-yuan note.

“Oh, oh, okay, sister, wait here a moment!”

The child rushed into the shop beside them.

Su Zhi turned her eyes to the stagnant line of cars, picked up the medical text at her side, and resumed reading from the page she had left off.

“Sister, sister, here’s your Chinese knot!”

After she finished the page, the boy came running back, panting, a bright red, finely-made Chinese knot in his hands.

Its silky tassels swayed lightly in the wind.

Closing the book, Su Zhi reached out to take it.

But the child also held out a vivid rose, its petals still tight in bud, jeweled with droplets of water that made its beauty even more striking.

“Sister, you gave me too much money. After buying the Chinese knot, there was still a lot left. So here’s a flower for you.”

His hand hovered in the air.

Su Zhi stayed silent for a moment before finally accepting the rose.

“Sister, happy New Year!”

The boy grinned brightly, waved, and ran off again—straight toward another couple.

The rose’s fragrance filled the warm air.

Droplets rolled off, falling onto her hand.

Su Zhi stared at the flower for a while, then set it aside.

The cars ahead began moving slowly again.

She rolled up the window and started the engine.

By the time she arrived at the villa, it was already one in the afternoon.

Above the villa, the sun had vanished.

Heavy clouds pressed down, and the cold wind in the distance howled fiercely.

The sky was darker than usual, as though it were already dusk.

Holding an umbrella, Su Zhi got out of the car, carrying the Chinese knot and the rose.

Once inside, she put away the umbrella, removed her light-blue coat and hung it neatly, then washed her hands before taking up the Chinese knot again.

She had bought it on a whim, but now she didn’t know where to hang it.

After thinking for a while, she tied it to the coat rack.

The tassels swayed gently, adding a bright splash of color to the otherwise quiet room.

As for the rose…

The stem snapped with a sharp crack.

Su Zhi plucked the petals one by one, tossing them into the trash without a second glance.

She had already said—she didn’t want flowers.

She poured herself a cup of steaming hot water and set it on the table, then descended the partitioned stairs into darkness.

In the basement, the only light came from a dim, yellow bulb.

Cold drafts stirred in the corridor as she passed through the darkness, stopping before a door.

She turned the knob, stepped inside, and switched on the light.

“Click.”

The light came on.

Su Zhi stepped over the dirty, cluttered cardboard scattered on the floor and walked up to Yu Zhu.

The thin, frail boy had a collar around his neck, with a long silver chain trailing down to the floor.

Su Zhi recalled Gu Wanting’s domineering manner as she picked up the chain and sat in front of the boy.

Only a few days had passed, yet he had grown even thinner.

His complexion was so pale it seemed almost translucent.

His lips were cracked from thirst, his body curled up against the head of the bed, one hand pressed tightly over his stomach.

Even in unconsciousness, his brows were drawn tight in pain.

“Yu Zhu?”

Su Zhi lifted him up, letting him lean against her.

After being injected with muscle relaxants for so long, he had no strength even when awake, let alone unconscious.

She placed his limp hands over her shoulders, suppressing a sudden urge, and touched his forehead.

His temperature was worryingly low.

Her hands slid downward, pressing lightly against his stomach.

The moment her palms met his icy skin, any hint of intimacy was drowned out by the violent spasms beneath.

His abdomen cramped uncontrollably.

He had gone far too long without proper food—hunger devoured him even in unconsciousness.

“Yu Zhu, wake up. Yu Zhu.”

She rubbed his abdomen gently, trying to rouse him.

His head rested against her shoulder, his hands hung limply at his sides, showing no sign of waking.

Su Zhi stopped, cradled him carefully in her arms, and bent forward to unlock the chains on his wrists.

He was even lighter than before.

Carrying him upstairs to the third floor, she suddenly remembered Ming Yue’s words.

“Sister is way too skinny. Hugging you hurts my hands. You need to eat more.”

Yu Zhu was far too light.

Not even up to the normal weight of a girl his age.

Beneath his loose clothing, he was so frail it seemed the wind could blow him away.

But Su Zhi was different.

She preferred him fragile like this—where she could feel every joint, every weak pulse, a smallness that stirred her pity.

She laid him on the sofa and wrapped him in a soft blanket.

Then she put on an old-fashioned romance film, turned off the lights, and let him lean against her shoulder as she watched in silence.

When Yu Zhu finally stirred, flickering light danced across his vision.

He dreamed he was walking through a desert.

The sun above was blinding, and the wind cut bone-deep with cold.

He was freezing, thirsty, on the verge of collapse—when suddenly, rain began to fall.

Rain?

Before his muddled thoughts cleared, a wet kiss brushed his lips.

Cool water flowed in with the kiss.

Yu Zhu swallowed blankly, and in the shifting light saw Su Zhi’s face.

Her long lashes brushed his cheek.

Sensing that he was awake, she finished giving him the water but didn’t withdraw.

Instead, she clasped his shoulders and deepened the kiss.

Yu Zhu almost couldn’t breathe.

The voices of the movie’s leads faded into the background, replaced by the deafening sound of his own heartbeat.

At last, she let go, bracing herself against the edge of the sofa, and whispered in a breath so faint it was almost inaudible.

“Happy New Year, Yu Zhu.”