Extra chapter

The moon shyly slipped into the clouds, and tonight’s breeze was especially gentle. The snowy scene outside the window was far more beautiful than the one at Wen University. Ye Mian didn’t check that message first.

She listened to her father’s rambling, telling her to eat well and take care of herself.

She agreed to everything, and only then did Ye Haisheng hang up the phone.

She was quite good at taking care of herself—it seemed to be an innate talent.

She walked to the open balcony, leaned against the railing, her head wrapped in a woolen hat, her hair tousled by the wind. Her toes tapped lightly on the ground, almost absentmindedly.

She looked at the brief message on her phone.

Her feelings were complicated.

Was it a mass message?

After a moment of thought, she still carefully pressed the voice recording button and cheerfully said, “Jiang Chen, happy New Year. May the new year be better than the last.”

Jiang Chen hadn’t replied yet. Ye Mian, chilled by the wind, yawned, rubbed her nose, and hurriedly wrapped herself in her coat and went back inside.

The heating was turned up high; the whole house was warm. Ye Mian took off her shoes and curled up on the sofa.

Qin Feifei and Wang Xiang both sent red envelopes and well wishes in the group chat, and Ye Mian did the same.

Just like every year, she switched to Jiang Chen’s chat window and sent him a red envelope. However, the amount had changed from 88 to 588.

She hoped that even in a foreign country, Jiang Chen would take good care of himself.

After sending the envelope, she turned on the television.

Every channel was broadcasting the Spring Festival Gala, with raucous laughter and hilarious skits enough to make anyone double over in amusement.

After watching for a while, on a whim, she opened Weibo, searched for the word “America,” and scrolled through pictures from the real-time plaza, hoping one of the landscapes might be a place Jiang Chen had visited.

She knew it was a rather silly thought.

But when you’re in love, who hasn’t done a few silly things?

There was still an hour until midnight. Ye Mian scrolled for a long, long time, and suddenly she saw someone post a scenic photo.

In the picture—

It was a river in an unknown city. The shadows of trees on both banks were reflected in the water, and sunlight made the river glimmer like scattered diamonds drifting on the surface.

It seemed to be winter there as well.

Passersby all wore thick hats and down coats, with scarves wrapped tightly around their necks, filling the gaps in their clothing. Their pale faces bore the distinctive features of foreigners, breath visible in the cold air. It looked freezing.

Ye Mian’s gaze lingered on the photo. Suddenly, she noticed someone standing in the corner—it looked just like Jiang Chen.

Her fingers froze for an instant, and she immediately tapped the photo to enlarge it.

In the soft morning light, through the pure falling snow—

The young man stood in the snow holding a black umbrella. Fine snowflakes, carried by the wind, drifted under the umbrella and settled in his hair. He stood sideways, making a phone call, his tall figure and elegant profile appearing clearly before her eyes.

It really was him.

The Jiang Chen she hadn’t seen for so long.

She nearly cried out, thinking she was hallucinating, and rubbed her eyes.

When she looked again, she was even more certain—it was Jiang Chen.

No one else had that air of cool detachment mingled with gentle warmth, like the wind.

Her mind was a jumble; she couldn’t tell if she was nervous or excited.

She hadn’t expected that she would actually see the place Jiang Chen had been to.

And!

She had seen Jiang Chen’s figure in a stranger’s real-time Weibo post.

She saved the photo.

Her smile nearly reached her ears.

Then, unable to help herself, she stared fixedly at the picture.

It seemed the blogger had taken the photo casually, but the comment section below had exploded.

“@LikeTheWind: Wait, isn’t there a handsome guy in the photo?!”

(End of this chapter)