“I know, you’re a couple.” The little girl’s ghost raised her index fingers and smiled as she held them side by side. “You’re a perfect match.”

Lin Feiran: “......”

This was bad! This child better not be a fujoshi in her next life!

“Big brother, goodbye.” The little girl’s ghost waved to Lin Feiran, then ran to the podium nimbly. Ms. Zheng had finished patrolling the classroom and had returned to her seat behind the podium. She was engrossed in writing something down.

The little girl’s ghost ran to Ms. Zheng’s side, nestled close, and placed a light kiss on Ms. Zheng’s cheek. With a smile she said, “Mom, I’m leaving.”

Lin Feiran saw Ms. Zheng pause her writing, as if she had felt something. With a perplexed expression, she raised her eyes and glanced around, then bent her head and returned to her work.

The little girl’s ghost took her rabbit plushie and doll out from under the podium, kissed them both, and placed them by Ms. Zheng’s feet, as if wanting her two companions to accompany her mother on her behalf.

After that, the little girl’s ghost walked out of the classroom, her footsteps light and carefree...

As Lin Feiran watched this scene with rapt attention, Gu Kaifeng was watching Lin Feiran. Seeing Lin Feiran fall into a daze with his cheeks a little red, Gu Kaifeng assumed his mind was running wild with dirty thoughts, and made a suggestive cough in the hopes of teasing him. But Lin Feiran did not so much as glance at him before suddenly getting up and walking quickly out of the classroom.

As he passed the podium, Lin Feiran whispered to Ms. Zheng, “Ms. Zheng, I’m going to the toilet.”

Ms. Zheng did not even raise her head. “Mm.”

Lin Feiran chased the little girl’s ghost out of the classroom. The little girl’s ghost was walking down the corridor without a looking back. Her legs were short and her steps were small; her pace was slow, but even though Lin Feiran was running, he could not catch up with her. She was always two or three meters ahead.

The little girl’s ghost skipped down the dark hallway, down the stairs, and out the school building’s front door...

It was unknown from where, but a woman’s ethereal voice was floating through the campus, singing the English carol ‘Silent Night’.

“Silent night，holy night，all is calm，all is bright......”

Under the illumination of the streetlights, the thin layer of freshly fallen snow seemed especially fluffy and pristine, as if moonlight had frozen solid upon a bank of clouds, only to shatter into fine white particles and scatter over the ground. The little girl’s ghost stepped barefoot in her dress into the snowy field, took several slow steps, then broke into a run. As she ran, her slender silhouette suddenly vanished into the wind, becoming one with the gently floating snowflakes that filled the entire sky, and disappeared from sight.

She had gone on to her next life.

On the pristine, untrodden snow, a set of small footprints remained.

Lin Feiran stood frozen in front of the school building, gazing at that set of footprints.

Could it be that just before reincarnating, there was a moment when a spirit’s energy was especially strong and could influence the real world, just like how a living person on their deathbed might see their life flash before their eyes? Lin Feiran let his mind wander as he pondered this. The fine snow had moistened his eyelashes, and his face and hands were red with cold, but he did not feel the cold at all. He just stood in the doorway contemplating these things, staring intently at the set of footprints.

They were the last evidence that she had once existed in this world.

While Lin Feiran was standing in a daze, he was suddenly embraced from behind.

Lin Feiran knew it was Gu Kaifeng without needing to turn around. The shadowy spirits nearby had disappeared. The set of shallow footprints left on the snowy ground had also been covered by fresh snow, like a secret now hidden away.

Gu Kaifeng did not notice the strange little footprints in the snow. He took hold of Lin Feiran’s shoulders and turned Lin Feiran to face him, asking gently, “What’s baby doing?”

Lin Feiran was still thinking about the scene of the little girl’s ghost as she headed towards reincarnation, and could not keep a shadow of melancholy from settling upon his face. Like a young poet, he said quietly, “Looking at the snow.”

Gu Kaifeng laughed. “Always so moody. If you wanted to look at the snow, why didn’t you ask me along?”

Lin Feiran explained, “Originally, I just wanted to go to the toilet. After I went, I came out here to look. Why are you here too?”

“You’ve been gone for ten minutes. Ms. Zheng thought you fell in and sent me to fish you out.”

Lin Feiran: “......”

When he mentioned Ms. Zheng, Lin Feiran remembered that he needed to write another anonymous letter soon, to let Ms. Zheng know that her daughter had moved on to her next life without regrets.

Gu Kaifeng was worried that his obedient baby Lin Feiran was unlikely to tell a lie, and advised him earnestly, “When we get back, if Ms. Zheng asks, just say you had a stomachache. Don’t say that you came out to look at the snow.”

“Got it.” Lin Feiran rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, “I’m not stupid. Let’s go.”

After that, he turned to walk back to the classroom.

“Wait.” Gu Kaifeng stopped Lin Feiran. He pulled out a tissue from his pocket and meticulously wiped the tiny droplets of melted snow from his hair, then used his own warm palm to heat Lin Feiran’s cheeks, which were rosy from the cold. He teased, “The way you look right now, it’s obvious you just came in from outside.”

Lin Feiran’s heart felt warm. He gently covered the hand Gu Kaifeng had laid on his cheek, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.

Outside, the strains of “Silent Night”still lingered. Lin Feiran’s heart was filled with an emotion he could not describe. The corridor was dim, and the faint light made Gu Kaifeng’s handsome face look very gentle. The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, and a strong desire suddenly rose from the bottom of Lin Feiran’s heart — he wanted this person in front of him to be able to see these things too.

To be able to see all of this... might not be such a bad thing after all.

At this time Gu Kaifeng said indulgently, “You’d get in trouble without me, little fool.”

Lin Feiran’s expression instantly turned cold: “......”

He was obviously intelligent, need it be said?!

The two returned to the classroom. Ms. Zheng was happy to let Lin Feiran return to his seat without giving him a hard time. Another half-hour passed, and evening self-study ended. The moment Ms. Zheng left, the classroom erupted with activity. Wang Zhuo raised his voice and called out to his friends, gathering together the classmates he was closest with to have a wild Christmas Eve.

“Kai-ge, sister-in-law, let’s go have fun, shall we?” Wang Zhuo hopped onto to Gu Kaifeng’s desk like a monkey. “We’re singing karaoke first. Everyone is going.”

“Does baby want to go?” Gu Kaifeng turned to considerately ask Lin Feiran’s opinion.

With a wicked grin, Wang Zhuo repeated Gu Kaifeng’s words. “Yo, baby!”

He Hao, schoolbag slung over one shoulder, hooked his arm around Wang Zhuo’s neck and asked, “What’re you calling me for?”

Wang Zhuo was stunned for a second, but went with the flow and replied with a cheeky grin, “Nothing, just wanted to call you. Was thinking of you!”

He Hao gave a slight smile. “Good, now kiss me.”

With that, the two turned in sync to face each other and air-kissed.

Really, straight boys with no hidden desires in their hearts just like to joke around like this!

While those two were horsing around, Lin Feiran took the opportunity to whisper in Gu Kaifeng’s ear and tactfully ask him, “They’re going to sing karaoke. Do you like that? If you don’t, why don’t we go to the amusement park? There should be performances tonight.”

“Why wouldn’t I like that?” Gu Kaifeng flicked Lin Feiran’s nose. “I like hearing you sing. If you don’t mind that it’s crowded and noisy, let’s go.”

Lin Feiran’s eyes were bright. “Then let’s go.”

It had been a while since he transferred, but he still did not have many close friends. Now that he had the chance, he wanted to go have a good time with his classmates. Besides, singing for a crowd appealed to Lin Feiran’s vanity, so singing karaoke with his friends was what he usually did for fun before he transferred.

So the ten people called three cabs and went to the shopping district nearest to the school.

Of the ten of them, three were boys who usually played basketball with Gu Kaifeng, Wang Zhuo, and He Hao. The three of them all happened to have girlfriends, so they added up to ten in all.

In the taxi, Wang Zhuo said with exaggerated melancholy, “I found that of the ten of us, only me and He Ritian are single! Two single dogs against four pairs of lovers! This is heartless!”

Lin Feiran calmly accepted the term ‘lovers’, and wittily suggested, “Then you and He Hao be a couple!”

He Hao gave a low laughed. “That could work.”

Wang Zhuo was gleeful too. “All right, today He Hao is my wife.”

“Not sure yet who is whose wife,” Lin Feiran added, looking for revenge. “Wang Zhuo, you might as well be nicknamed Tiantian. He Ritian and Tiantian, so compatible.”

Lin Feiran, who was constantly made fun of by Wang Zhuo, had finally made a comeback!

He Hao caught on immediately. “This is good. Wang Tiantian, Wang Tiantian.”

Wang Zhuo waved his hand dismissively. “Get out, get out! You’re the Tiantian!”

The groups arrived at the KTV one after the other. Aside from Gu Kaifeng, the remaining nine people each took turns to sing an entire song. After that, the three girls and Lin Feiran were excitedly choosing more songs, while the other boys started to play drinking games with dice. For someone without professional training, Lin Feiran’s vocal ability could be considered pretty good, and after each of his songs he would receive a round of enthusiastic applause and cheers. Of course, Gu Kaifeng shouted the loudest and clapped the hardest.

“Did you drink a bit too much?” Lin Feiran sat down next to Gu Kaifeng after finishing another song.

“Not too much... Baby sings so well.” Gu Kaifeng’s cheeks were slightly red, and he lay down on Lin Feiran’s thigh and wrapped his arms around his waist, rubbing his cheek against Lin Feiran’s belly. He inhaled deeply and murmured, “So sweet-smelling.”

Lin Feiran tugged Gu Kaifeng’s flushed ear and said shyly, “Where are you smelling?”

“Hey hey, why are you lying down over here? You still haven’t drank these three glasses from the round you lost just now!” A boy pushed over three glasses full of beer unsteadily.

Gu Kaifeng refused to listen, and ignored the boy completely. He buried his face in Lin Feiran’s embrace and crooned in a low and seductive voice, “Wife, baby, RanRan...”

The music in the room was loud enough that Lin Feiran assumed that no one else could hear what Gu Kaifeng was saying, so he dared to answer, “I’m here.”

Pressing his advantage, Gu Kaifeng took Lin Feiran’s shirt between his teeth and said with some slurring, “Can’t drink any more. RanRan, take me home...”

“I’ll drink for him. He’s drank enough already,” Lin Feiran suggested.

Wang Zhuo drunkenly explained to the boy who brought the glasses over,“Let Lin Feiran drink them. They’re a family, and can more or less be considered one person.”

Lin Feiran: “......”

Lin Feiran was calm and collected as he picked up the three glasses of beer one after the other and drained them in a single gulp.

He had inherited his grandfather’s alcohol tolerance. Although he did not like to drink and was not used to it, a few glasses of beer like this had no effect on him.

His stomach was just a little full!

He had become a little sticky cake with an alcoholic center!