She had no one she liked, and had long seen through the essence of marriage.
Without any illusions about love or marriage, this outcome was quite good for her.
Yet, she still felt uncomfortable.
She scrolled aimlessly through her phone, with over 400 WeChat contacts.
It seemed she had many friends, but in the end, she couldn't find anyone suitable to talk to.
It wasn't until New Year's Eve that Ah Zhong sent her a WeChat message, and Zhou Jinbei finally understood what was bothering her.
Midnight on New Year's Eve.
Zhou Jinbei leaned against her pillow alone, watching the giant projector on the wall with little interest.
Her phone suddenly rang.
She picked it up and saw it was from Ah Zhong.
Although it was much simpler than what others might send, just four words: Happy New Year, her heart instantly leaped with joy.
She should reply with Happy New Year.
But after thinking it over, she felt it was too simple and would easily kill the conversation.
Ah Zhong had such low emotional intelligence; if he killed the conversation, the rare opportunity to talk to him would be gone, which would be a pity.
So, after much deliberation, she typed out a message.
"Are you staying up for the New Year?"
Ah Zhong replied quickly.
"Kind of. Are you too?"
"I kind of am. Are you celebrating at home or with your second brother?"
"I'm back in my hometown. Aren't you out partying tonight?"
"Partying what. Am I that kind of person?"
Zhou Jinbei rolled her eyes at him, then sent a photo.
"I'm watching a movie alone at home."
Ah Zhong chuckled, "Oh, Life is Beautiful. On New Year's, you're quite artistic."
Zhou Jinbei's lips curved into a smile unconsciously.
"Don't look down on me, I've always been artistic, okay?"
"Didn't you say your dad raises cattle and sheep? Can you show me?"
Ah Zhong said, "Sure. It's just a bit far. I'll go out and take pictures, wait a moment."
"Okay."
Ah Zhong returned home at midnight to find his father waiting with a table full of New Year's Eve dinner.
The father and son ate and drank, then tidied up the house.
After watching the Spring Festival Gala, his father went to bed.
Ah Zhong also planned to sleep. Before going to bed, he felt he should greet Zhou Jinbei.
Hence the conversation above.
He turned on the lights in the yard and walked towards the sheep pen with a flashlight.
He took two photos in the not-so-good light and sent them to her.
"The light is bad at night, and it's dirty. Please bear with it."
"They're not as cute as the cows and sheep in cartoons."
Did Zhou Jinbei really want to see cows and sheep?
She just wanted an excuse to talk to him more.
"Your photography skills are really not good. It was tough on you, going out in this dark to take ghost images for me."
Ah Zhong sent her a laughing-crying emoji.
Zhou Jinbei then asked, "How many cows and sheep do you have?"
"Thirty cows, and over fifty sheep."
"Wow, a wealthy family."
"Not really. Selling them all wouldn't even buy one of your family's toilets."
"Then shall I trade you one of my family's toilets?"
"I'm afraid not. They're not mine, so I don't have the right to dispose of them."
They both laughed.
Zhou Jinbei had no sleepiness and didn't want to sleep.
"Do you think it will snow this winter?"
Ah Zhong said, "I checked the forecast when I was eating. There's none for the next week, at least."
"How boring."
"You want to see snow?"
"What? Can you take me to see it?"
Ah Zhong said, "It's not impossible. I don't have many relatives to visit anyway. I'll be free at home for the next few days, so I have time to go to the Northeast."
Zhou Jinbei suddenly became very happy, "Then shall we go to Harbin together?"
"Uh… don't you have to visit relatives for the New Year?"
"Whether they want me to or not. I don't have to."
Ah Zhong chuckled again, "If you really want to go, I'll check flights now."
She suddenly became sentimental, "Your dad only has you as a son. After finally waiting for you to come back, will he be sad if I take you away?"
"That's simple. My dad hasn't been to Harbin either, so let's bring him along… you don't mind an extra person, do you?"
Being able to go with the person she liked and his family, Zhou Jinbei couldn't be happier. How could she mind?
"I don't mind. Send me your location, I'm driving to your place now. We'll set off together tomorrow!"
"...It's New Year's today, aren't your parents angry if you leave home so late at night?"
Zhou Jinbei was willful, "Just tell me if you're sending it or not! If you don't want me to come, just say so!"
Ah Zhong could only say, "If you really want to come, I'll come pick you up. I'm afraid it's not safe for you to drive alone."
Wow, he was coming to pick her up?
She would see him soon?
Zhou Jinbei was so excited, "How many hours will it take for you to get here?"
"Three hours at most. Can you wait?"
"Of course! You drive here, and I'll drive back!"
The two of them thus made a happy decision.
Putting down her phone, Zhou Jinbei immediately jumped out of bed to change and put on makeup.
When Ah Zhong arrived, she grabbed a small suitcase and went out.
Getting into the car, they looked at each other. Both of them felt a bit shy, like teenagers in their first love.
After a couple of seconds of awkward smiling, Ah Zhong spoke first.
"Did you tell your family? Do they agree to you coming out?"
"They agree." Zhou Jinbei lied. "You go down, it's my turn to drive."
"No need. I'm not sleepy." Ah Zhong was more energetic than ever. "Then buckle up, here we go."
With gentle music playing in the car, the heater on, and the person she liked sitting beside her.
The car sped along the brightly lit wide road, and her heart was suddenly filled with contentment.
When they arrived home more than two hours later, Zhou Jinbei had fallen asleep.
Gazing at her in the warm yellow light of the car, her small face was flushed, her lips were plump, and her dark, beautiful hair fell across half her face. She looked incredibly cute.
Ah Zhong really couldn't bear to wake her.
He kept the car running and watched her sleep inside until it was almost dawn. The car ran out of gas, and Zhou Jinbei finally woke up.
Looking around, seeing that they were still in the car and hadn't gotten out, with Ah Zhong sitting beside her with his eyes open, the clever girl immediately understood what was happening.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"You were sleeping so soundly, I couldn't bear to."
"..."
Ah Zhong smiled, "Just kidding. Actually, there wasn't an extra room prepared at home. If you had gotten out, you would have had to share a bed with me yesterday."
Zhou Jinbei remained silent, then turned her head to look out the window and stretched her arms and legs. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
"We don't need to go to Harbin anymore."
"Huh?"
"Look, it's snowing outside."
Ah Zhong had been so focused on looking at her that he had ignored the outside.
Now, looking out, he saw that indeed, the roofs of the cattle and sheep pens in the distant yard had turned white at some point.
"Heaven is trying to save me money in various ways."
Zhou Jinbei reached out and playfully hit him, "Look at your ambition."
Ah Zhong instinctively grabbed her hand, "So, are we still going to Harbin or not?"
A jolt of electricity surged through Zhou Jinbei's entire body, and her voice became soft.
"We're not going."
"I'm still sleepy. Come on, let's go down and get some more sleep. When I wake up, the snow will be heavier, and you'll play snowballs with me."