[121] New Year Cards from the Two Children

During evening self-study, fine snowflakes began to drift through the air, gradually growing heavier. By the time school ended, the playground was covered in a vast expanse of white.

This was the second snowfall of the winter, appearing slightly lighter than the first, and it would be the first snowfall of 2004.

Fang Chang'an stepped into the corridor to take a look, admiring the heavy snow in his hometown before the weather turned warm. He hummed softly to himself, "The first snow of 2002, arriving later than usual... I don't know how the rest of it goes..."

He then felt a bit uncertain. Which year was this song actually released? Why hadn't he heard anyone else singing it?

"What are you singing?"

Wang Ke and Zheng Lili came out holding hands to watch the snow and overheard Fang Chang'an’s muttering.

Fang Chang'an gestured with his chin toward the falling snow and the crowd surging toward the school gate, laughing, "I'm singing about the first snow of 2004, which is arriving slightly later than the one in 2003."

Wang Ke giggled and teased, "It’s still 2003, we haven't reached 2004 yet."

"That’s why I said it’s a bit late."

As the three were talking, Fang Dianqiu walked over from Class One, handed a greeting card to Fang Chang'an, and then held out her hand, asking, "Where's mine?"

"I haven't bought it yet. I'll give it to you tomorrow."

Fang Chang'an looked down. It was indeed a card featuring Zhang Wuji, with Zhao Min, Zhou Zhiruo, and Xiao Zhao beside him. On the back, it read: "Wishing Brother Chang'an to become more and more handsome." In the bottom right corner was Fang Dianqiu's signature.

Wang Ke and Zheng Lili leaned in to look, and upon seeing the message, both felt like laughing.

Since their interactions during the National Day holiday, Fang Dianqiu had gradually become familiar with Wang Ke and the other girls. Seeing them laugh, she asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Is being handsome not a good thing?"

Fang Chang'an laughed, "It’s very good, and it suits me perfectly—especially the words 'more and more.' Very accurate."

"Pfft."

"Ugh!"

The three girls expressed their protest against his shamelessness with different sounds.

Because of the snow, Fang Chang'an didn't go for a run. He returned to the classroom to read for a while. After 9:30, Wang Ke and Zheng Lili left the classroom on time, and he followed them back to the dormitory.

After washing up, Fang Chang'an took off his cotton-padded trousers and crawled into bed, taking out a stack of greeting cards to write on them.

Wang Hao was also sitting in his bed chatting with someone. He caught a glimpse and exclaimed, "Holy crap!" He leaned over and added, "You bought so many?"

"Get lost, get lost! You’re making me write crookedly every time you touch me."

Wang Hao wasn't tall, but he was quite sturdy. When the bed shook, Fang Chang'an’s handwriting went askew, and he shooed him away with annoyance.

Having shared the room for a semester, Wang Hao was no longer as intimidated by him as he had been at the beginning. He sat back down at the other end of the bed and asked, "Is there one for me?"

"No."

Wang Hao curled his lips, knowing full well he would get one, so he didn't press further. Hearing Wang Hao’s voice, Li Dongfeng, Hao Mingci, Liu Cheng, and the others all craned their necks to look.

"Brother Chang'an, you bought so many?"

"How many girls are you planning to give these to?"

"Bullshit, is Brother Chang'an the type to value romance over friends?"

"Brother Chang'an, is there one for me?"

Fang Chang'an retorted testily, "I have to smell your stinky feet every day. I tell you to wash them and you won't, and you want greeting cards? Keep dreaming!"

Liu Cheng put on a thick-skinned smile and said, "Give me one, give me one. I haven't received a single one yet; it's so embarrassing."

"Go away, don't disturb me while I'm thinking of messages."

"Eh, eh, I won't disturb you."

Li Dongfeng also chimed in, "Brother Chang'an, I want one too."

"I want one too."

"Alright, alright, shut up."

With over sixty cards, Fang Chang'an didn't finish writing them all by the time the lights went out, but fortunately, the most important ones were already done.

The next morning, he got up in the dark, dressed, and placed a card on Liu Cheng's bedside table in the shadows. Then, clutching a pile of cards, he walked through the snow, leaving footprints behind as he headed to the classroom.

"Wow, you bought so many?"

Only Zhang Lu, Li Xiaoyi, Liu Bei, and Mao Shanshan were in the classroom. Seeing Fang Chang'an walk in with a stack of cards, they all exclaimed in surprise.

"Here, this is yours."

After a semester, Fang Chang'an knew exactly who arrived early. He had already written the cards for these four, and starting with Mao Shanshan, he handed them out one by one.

"Thank you, Class Monitor." Mao Shanshan hadn't interacted with him much and hadn't spoken to him often, so she was surprised and delighted to receive a card.

The card featured a landscape photo of a road leading into the distance, with a faint white contrail left by an airplane in the corner of the sky. On the back, written in fluid, elegant semi-cursive script, was the message: "Study hard, become more and more beautiful, and strive to contribute your strength to building the motherland."

The bottom right corner of the teasing message was signed: "Wishing classmate Mao Shanshan a Happy New Year 2004, from Fang Chang'an."

Through the semester, Fang Chang'an had gradually remembered fragments about his classmates—like how Zhou Xiaoyan would eventually marry Li Dongfeng, have two children, and then get divorced.

He knew that Mao Shanshan and Liu Bei were the highest-educated in the class, both eventually becoming graduate students—Mao at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Liu at Fudan.

Thus, the message for Liu Bei was similar to Mao Shanshan's: "Study hard, become more and more beautiful, and I hope I grow taller than you in the future!"

Liu Bei was caught between laughter and tears upon reading the message. She shot him a glance, tucked it away, and said testily, "Thank you, Class Monitor!"

The message for Zhang Lu read: "Fate will not let down anyone who works hard. All your efforts will be rewarded in the future. I hope classmate Zhang Lu will look up more, smile more, and talk more to your classmates in the new year. You look very pretty when you smile."

Zhang Lu was undoubtedly diligent. While perhaps not the hardest worker in the class, she was firmly in the top five. However, her grades weren't good—in the midterms, she had ranked outside the top thirty-five, trailing even the slacker Li Dongfeng.

Zhang Lu thanked him, flipped the card over to read the message for a while, and then silently tucked it into her book. However, she seemed distracted as she continued her reading.

Li Xiaoyi's personality was similar to Zhang Lu's—he was hardworking and had decent grades, ranking ninth in the class. Fang Chang'an's message to him was: "A roommate of mine has a wish. He hopes that in the new year, he can hear classmate Li Xiaoyi speak a few more words, even if it's just discussing homework. Otherwise, he can't taste his food or sleep in peace; he even dreams of shouting, 'Li Xiaoyi, say something!'"

Li Xiaoyi read it over and over, confirming it was indeed a New Year's card. He turned to look at Fang Chang'an, but Fang Chang'an was too busy to pay him any mind, hiding the cards intended for Wang Ke and Shen Mo, sitting at his desk, and secretly writing cards for others.

Perhaps because of the cold, Wang Ke arrived a bit late, appearing near six o'clock. Just as she reached her seat and was about to sit down, Shen Mo, wearing a bright red down jacket, appeared at the classroom door.

Wang Ke let Zheng Lili pass behind Wang Hao first, then sat down herself. Habitually reaching into her desk compartment for her books, she caught sight of the greeting cards resting quietly on the edge of the desk.

The front side was facing up, depicting the figures of Xiao Zhao and Zhang Wuji. She paused for a moment, then a joyful smile broke across her face. She reached out to pick up the cards and flipped them over to see what was written on the back, only to find there were two.

She separated the two cards and discovered that the one underneath depicted Li Yuhu, holding a sword in both hands with a bright, beautiful smile. The greater surprise made her almost cry out. She didn't rush to read the messages, but instead leaned over and asked, "You actually bought these?"

Fang Chang'an turned back and flashed her a smile. Shen Mo had already approached and, catching a glimpse of the cards in Wang Ke's hand, hurried over to Wang Ke's desk. She let out a soft "Ah," looked at them carefully, and turned to ask Fang Chang'an, "Where did you buy these?"

Before Fang Chang'an could answer, she asked impatiently, "Where's mine? Where's mine?"

Fang Chang'an hadn't expected Wang Ke to arrive so late, turning two separate surprises into one. However, seeing the sparkle in the two young girls' eyes, the effect was achieved nonetheless. He gestured with his lips toward Shen Mo's desk compartment.

Shen Mo quickly sat down and looked inside her desk. Sure enough, two cards lay quietly stacked together, the one on top featuring Zhao Min.

She didn't pay attention to the fact that hers was a single portrait of Zhao Min while Wang Ke's was a duo of Xiao Zhao and Zhang Wuji. She separated the two cards, and the one underneath was indeed Du Bingyan.

The young girl’s face lit up with joy. Having just arrived from the snow-covered outdoors, her fair, crystal-clear face was flushed with excitement, and her eyes shimmered. She said to Fang Chang'an, "You are amazing!"

She couldn't put the two cards down, reading them over twice before asking, "Where did you buy them?"

Wang Ke, who had just finished reading the messages on her own cards, also looked up. Fang Chang'an laughed, "I couldn't buy them; I drew them myself."

"Liar!"

Shen Mo, of course, didn't believe him and pouted in protest, then flipped the cards over to read the messages.

The Du Bingyan card read:

*Bingyan means an icy heart, crystal clear. "An icy heart in a jade pot" refers to this. Wishing classmate Shen Xiaomo to always maintain a clear, icy heart, worry-free, happy, and joyful.*

The Zhao Min card read:

*A shooting star streaks across the night sky, brief yet brilliant, carrying the beautiful wishes made upon it as it journeys on. I hope classmate Shen Xiaomo will study hard, grow up quickly, and use her own light to illuminate the world around her.*

Both were signed with the name "Fang Chang'an."

Although the message for Du Bingyan was a bit literary, it was easy to understand. Shen Mo didn't quite grasp the full meaning of the Zhao Min message, but words like "shooting star," "brilliant," "shining," and "illuminating the world" were clearly blessings. She happily said to Fang Chang'an, "Thank you!"

Then she turned to Wang Ke and asked, "Wang Ke, what did he write for you?"

Wang Ke held her two cards against her chest, watching Shen Mo guardedly, "You show me yours first."

Just as Fang Chang'an was about to stop them, Shen Mo had already handed over her two cards. Wang Ke didn't play dirty either and readily handed her cards to Shen Mo.

"...You can't do that!"

Fang Chang'an let out a weak, futile protest.

The two young girls ignored him and read the messages he had written for each other.

Shen Mo first looked at the Li Yuhu card, the content of which was very similar to her Du Bingyan card:

*Yuhu means a jade pot, the height of purity. "As clear as the ice in a jade pot" refers to this. Wishing classmate Wang Xiaoke to always maintain a positive and optimistic spirit, worry-free, happy, and joyful.*

The message on the other card, featuring Zhang Wuji and Xiao Zhao, was completely different, consisting only of a faint, simple sentence: *The first New Year of knowing you.*

Both were also signed "Fang Chang'an."

Shen Mo read them repeatedly, focusing intently on the Zhang Wuji and Xiao Zhao card, which differed from her own. No matter how she looked at it, she felt the one written for her was better—shooting stars, shining light—much better than that dry, flat sentence, "The first New Year of knowing you." She glanced at Fang Chang'an, then happily returned the cards to Wang Ke.

Wang Ke was two years older than Shen Mo and perhaps a bit more thoughtful. She could faintly feel the lingering undertones of that simple sentence, "The first New Year of knowing you," though it was only a vague and blurry feeling, not entirely clear.

Thus, she also felt that the one written for Shen Mo was better. After reading it, she returned it to Shen Mo, saw her beaming face, and glared at Fang Chang'an, feeling a bit wronged.

Fang Chang'an was already reading his book seriously, even reciting it out loud:

"'Confucius traveled east and saw two children arguing, so he asked them why.'

'One child said: "When the sun first rises, it is as big as a carriage cover, but by noon it is as small as a dish. Isn't this because things that are far away look small and things that are near look big?" The other child said: "When the sun first rises, it feels cool, but by noon it is as hot as boiling water. Isn't this because things that are near feel hot and things that are far away feel cool?"'

'Confucius could not decide who was right.'"