Xu's mother called Xu Zifan to tell him that Yan Yuxin had come. She felt that her son was now very opinionated and had grown into a man who could stand on his own, so she was used to telling him about everything.
Xu Zifan, of course, ignored her. He had already blocked all of Yan Yuxin's contact information, so she couldn't find him at all. After arriving in Harbin, he and Ji Yaru first went to eat the local classic barbecue. The barbecue here tasted different from other places; the dipping sauce was mainly powder, with almost no sauce.
Ji Yaru had never eaten barbecue before. After the meat dishes were served, she watched Xu Zifan place slices of meat one by one on the perforated flat pan in the middle of the table. Xu Zifan smiled at her and said, "Why don't you try it? It's quite fun."
Ji Yaru's first thought was that the food grilled over charcoal might contain carcinogens. She then looked around; all the tables were full of customers, enjoying their meals. This restaurant was supposedly the best barbecue place in Harbin, and they had even booked their seats in advance. So her assumption was probably wrong; after all, others hadn't experienced any problems, it was just that she hadn't eaten there before when she lived at the Yan family's house.
Ji Yaru picked up her chopsticks and tentatively placed a few slices of meat on the plate. Then, she tried to imitate Xu Zifan's actions, flipping the meat occasionally. However, she had no experience, and after Xu Zifan had picked out several cooked slices of meat, she suddenly noticed that one of them had been charred! She quickly picked up the charred slice, frowning with regret.
Xu Zifan picked up the meat from her chopsticks, ate it in one bite, and laughed, "Roasted meat has a different flavor. Some people especially like this kind of slightly burnt aroma, and it's crispy. Why don't you try it?"
Seeing that he was eating with relish, Ji Yaru actually picked up a piece of burnt food and ate it. A special aroma spread in her mouth. She nodded and said, "It is quite delicious, but you definitely can't eat too much of this. Burnt food is not good."
"Yes, let's grill carefully, and eat it quickly once it's cooked." Xu Zifan put a lot of meat on her plate and then started grilling potato slices, cilantro, chives, and so on.
Ji Yaru was dazzled by the variety of dishes. She had never known that some dishes could be grilled, and they actually tasted quite good. Xu Zifan said, "This is northern-style barbecue. Korean barbecue is also very unique. If the sauce is prepared well, it's delicious too. We can try it when we get back. If you like it, we can go to the suburbs to grill it ourselves during our holidays. It's really fun. Many people eat it like this when they get together."
Ji Yaru imagined such a scene and actually felt a little longing for it. "Then let's go when it gets warm in spring."
"Yeah, we can make hot pot at home in winter. It's so lively eating with several people in one big pot." Xu Zifan glanced at her and smiled. "You've never experienced these things before. They're actually quite fun. Don't think too much about it, just enjoy it. Isn't the point of living to be happy and carefree?"
Ji Yaru swallowed the potato slice in her mouth; it was fragrant and tasted especially good. She smiled faintly and nodded, saying, "Yes, you're right."
That evening, they saw the ice sculptures. These weren't just one or two pieces; they were a large park filled with ice sculptures, including walls that resembled the Great Wall, tall slides, various figures and animals, ice trees, and an ice rink. The colorful lights shining on the ice were simply mesmerizing!
They walked among the crowds, occasionally hearing exclamations of amazement from tourists. The wonder of nature, combined with human artistry, had created a breathtaking ice city. Walking through it, one was afraid of missing something in the blink of an eye; everyone was incredibly excited. Xu Zifan took Ji Yaru to all the available activities, taking many photos of each other and even asking someone to take a group photo. When it came to ice skating, Ji Yaru didn't know how, so Xu Zifan held her hands and taught her by skating backwards, guiding her along the way.
Ji Yaru took a long time to learn, during which she fell into his arms several times. From that moment on, Xu Zifan never let go of her hand, and said to her with a smile, "There are too many people, I don't want to lose you."
Ji Yaru didn't know how to react, but she felt her heart beating a little fast.
Xu Zifan then asked, "Why is your face red?"
Ji Yaru lowered her head and touched her face, whispering, "I'm cold."
Xu Zifan chuckled twice, took off his scarf and wrapped it around her face, making her wear two scarves. Ji Yaru felt her face getting even hotter, not knowing whether it was from the cold or from embarrassment, but her lips were always upturned, and her mood was inexplicably cheerful.
After returning to the hotel that evening, Ji Yaru took the sun jar out of her suitcase and placed it on the bedside table. She lay in bed looking at it for a while, and then, being a bit of a light sleeper, she quickly fell asleep again and had a good night's rest.
The next day, Xu Zifan took her out for hot pot. They only ordered one pot, and the two of them put food in to cook together, took it out to eat, and then cooked it again. To Ji Yaru, this was practically like an indirect kiss!
Xu Zifan tilted his head and glanced at her a few times, then suddenly asked, "Why is your face red again? Did you catch a chill yesterday?"
Ji Yaru took a sip of cherry juice and calmly said, "I like spicy food, this hot pot is too spicy."
Xu Zifan raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Then next time we'll have mushroom hot pot, hmm, maybe you'll say it's hot then."
Ji Yaru thought this person was really annoying; he always had to ask questions he already knew the answer to, just to tease her. She piled a bunch of food into Xu Zifan's bowl and smiled, "You ordered so much, you'll finish it all."
Xu Zifan looked down and readily agreed, "Miss, you've been smiling a lot these past two days. I'll eat as much of this as you want."
Ji Yaru felt her face flush even more; this time it definitely wasn't spicy. She humbly admitted that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't compare to Xu Zifan in this area, so she simply conceded to avoid him saying anything even more embarrassing. She figured she might as well eat more; after all, they were eating from the same pot.
West...it's actually quite delicious.
Afterwards, the two went skiing and tried many thrilling activities. Ji Yaru would scream when she was scared, but gradually her smiles became more frequent, and she completely relaxed. At that moment, she didn't think about anything; she could only feel excitement and joy. There was no Yan family, no Ji family, no restraint, no wild thoughts; only Xu Zifan by her side. She truly experienced pure relaxation, not having to think about anything at all. It felt as if no matter what happened, he would be there to accompany her. This feeling was so wonderful that she wished the journey would never end!
Over the course of a few days, the two of them explored every fun place in Harbin and ate all the delicious food. Ji Yaru even broke her own boundaries and went to the night market food street with him, eating many things she previously thought were unhygienic, but surprisingly, they were all very tasty. They ate their way from one end of the street to the other, and by the time they got back, they were so full they could barely walk. But it was such a wonderful experience; they were smiling even as they slept that night.
The last stop on their trip was a hot spring. After being frozen for so many days, they needed to warm up and get rid of the cold before going home. Of course, they soaked separately, as the hot springs were in their respective rooms, which were next to each other.
Ji Yaru soaked in the hot spring, leaning against the edge as she looked through the photos she had taken over the past few days. She smiled unconsciously many times, and sometimes she would stare blankly at a photo. But in the end, thinking that she would be going home soon, and after the New Year she would have to go back to school as usual, and everything would be the same as before, she felt a sense of loss.
She stared blankly for a while, then picked up her phone and slowly started posting online. She wrote, deleted, and revised repeatedly, finally managing to post it after a long time. She wanted to know why she felt happy when she was with a guy, but uncomfortable thinking about the end of the trip. Was this what it meant to like someone?
Netizens responded quickly, all giving her affirmative answers, saying that if this wasn't liking, what else could it be? This was definitely falling for her. However, being able to travel together meant that good things were coming soon, and netizens were all congratulating her.
After reading it, Ji Yaru had a mixed feeling. It was as if she knew it was true—she really had fallen for Xu Zifan. Yet, she also felt a little disappointed because Xu Zifan hadn't explicitly expressed anything to her, and she couldn't be sure what he meant. She also felt a sweet warmth, because from her birthday party onwards, Xu Zifan had always been by her side, never missing a single one of her events. Then she thought of Yan Yuxin. If Xu Zifan liked a girl like Yan Yuxin, he wouldn't like her. If he didn't like her… what should she do?
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Xu Zifan's voice came in, "Ya Ru, is your soup ready? Shall we go get something to eat?"
Ji Yaru was startled, and her hand trembled, causing her phone to fall directly into the water! She hurriedly tried to retrieve it, but slipped and fell into the water herself, instinctively letting out a scream.
Xu Zifan frowned and knocked on the door forcefully, "Ya Ru? What's wrong? Ya Ru?"
Ji Yaru coughed a few times and called out loudly, "It's okay, I'm fine, wait a minute." She finally retrieved her phone, scrambled upstairs, and ran into the bathroom. By the time she dried herself and changed, five minutes had passed. She quickly went to open the door for Xu Zifan.
Xu Zifan glanced at her and asked with concern, "What happened just now? I heard you call out?"
Ji Yaru shook her head sheepishly, "It's nothing, my phone just fell into the water and I tripped and fell while picking it up."
"So careless?" Xu Zifan noticed her evasive eyes and felt there was more to it than met the eye. Afraid he would press her for answers, Ji Yaru said, "Weren't we going to eat? Let's go."
Xu Zifan quickly stopped her, "Your hair is still wet, where are you going? Let me dry it for you." He then went into the bathroom to get a hairdryer, and immediately noticed the still-wet phone. He grabbed a dry towel and carefully wiped it clean. This was a phone Ji Yaru had bought at the Yan family's house; it should be waterproof. He pressed a button on the phone, and sure enough, it lit up. The screen displayed… Is this the feeling of liking someone?
Ji Yaru hid the sun jar on the bedside table, walked over and said, "I can blow it myself, you..."
She saw what Xu Zifan was looking at and her eyes widened in shock. Why was her phone so durable? How could she explain that?!
Before she could speak, Xu Zifan turned around, raised his hand and braced himself against the wall, trapping her in front of him, and said with a smile, "Now you have the surname Ji."
"Huh?" Ji Yaru, with her back against the wall, looked up, puzzled.
"The Xu family and the Ji family have a marriage agreement, do you remember? So we are engaged."
Ji Yaru's heart was racing, but then she thought of Yan Yuxin, "Didn't you just discuss marriage with Yan Yuxin before my birthday? I'm not the one who's engaged."
Xu Zifan looked into her eyes and said softly, "From now on, I'll only discuss marriage with you. Will you be my girlfriend, Xiaoru?"