Eating Ice Cream in Winter Is the Best

Winter in Yangcheng.

The wind wasn’t strong, but it wormed its way into your bones. This kind of cold had little to do with the temperature. Wearing three layers instead of five merely changed “shivering from the cold” into “shivering slightly less.”

“Hey, Old Mo, which feels colder to you—Tianjing or here?”

Fang Jun rubbed his hands together and blew out a puff of white air.

Lin Mo shot him a glance. So you’re the one trying to start another regional rivalry, huh?

Every winter, they had to drag this debate out again.

The argument between southerners and northerners over whose winters were colder was comparable to the eternal disputes over sweet or savory tofu pudding and sweet or savory zongzi. It would never have a conclusion.

“Tianjing is definitely colder. It snows there, and the temperature drops several degrees below zero. But it’s dry, so as long as you bundle up, you’ll be fine. Here, it’s different. The dampness seeps through your clothes. No matter how many layers you wear, it’s useless.”

Yangcheng’s humidity stayed between sixty and ninety percent year-round. Even at its driest, it was still forty percent.

Put simply, northern cold was a physical attack. You could withstand it by putting on more clothes, though the temperature kept dropping relentlessly.

Southern cold was a magical attack. No matter how high you boosted your defense, it was useless. Even when the temperature was above freezing, it could still make you feel as if it were below zero.

“The logic is simple, too. If your dry hand touches ice, heat transfers slowly, and you can hold out for a while. But if your hand is soaked and you touch ice, that’s an instant, soul-deep chill.”

“Didn’t you attend nine years of compulsory education? Do you even know what heat conduction is?” An Yuexin mocked without hesitation.

Fang Jun said, “Theory is one thing. How am I supposed to know whether Tianjing is actually that cold?”

Lin Mo nodded. “It really isn’t that cold. After all, they have heating indoors.”

Fang Jun and An Yuexin fell silent.

After exiting Changshou Road Station, they went straight up into the shopping mall.

From a distance, they spotted two girls standing outside the McDonald’s dessert counter, eating ice cream.

Eating ice cream in the dead of winter—now that took guts.

Jiang Yunlu was eating a cone, with Chu Miaomiao beside her. The two girls chatted and laughed, while two bodyguards followed three meters behind Chu Miaomiao. They wore dark-colored coats and kept a neither-too-close-nor-too-distant distance.

The two bodyguards belonged to Chu Miaomiao.

Jiang Yunlu no longer needed to bring bodyguards whenever she went out.

But Chu Lintian couldn’t put her mind at ease about her daughter, so she naturally arranged for bodyguards to accompany her.

“Oh! Look who’s here—the two young ladies arrived so early!” An Yuexin waved to them.

He had originally wanted to invite Mai Chuwen as well, but her family had made other arrangements, and she had to go to Tianjing Road.

Tianjing Road and Shangxiajiu were Yangcheng’s two most famous old commercial streets. Basically, people went either to Tianjing Road or Shangxiajiu.

“We didn’t arrive that long ago. We only got here a little before you,” Jiang Yunlu said.

She ate the crispy cone and glanced casually at everyone in front of her.

Then she added, “Come to think of it, I’ve never really visited Shangxiajiu before.”

After all, the young lady’s schedule had always been packed. If she wasn’t attending tutoring sessions here, she was taking some kind of class there.

It was only after meeting Lin Mo that her life had become more colorful.

Now that she was practicing martial arts as well, all but the necessary tutoring and private lessons had been canceled.

Fang Jun walked over and glanced at the ice cream cones in their hands. He couldn’t help saying, “You’re eating ice cream in weather this cold?”

“Winter is exactly when you’re supposed to eat it.” Jiang Yunlu was perfectly matter-of-fact. “It doesn’t melt as quickly, so you can eat it slowly. Much better value.”

The way she put it, eating ice cream sounded like an economics problem.

Still, she really wasn’t afraid of the cold.

After taking up martial arts, a person with abundant qi and blood could get through winter while wearing two fewer layers.

Of course, even before she started training, she would have eaten ice cream regardless.

Jiang Yunlu’s devotion to ice cream cones had nothing to do with the weather.

Chu Miaomiao added from the side, “Besides, McDonald’s ice cream is half-price for the second one.”

“I want one too. Do you want one?” Luo Ruiyu turned to Fang Jun.

Everyone else’s eyes instantly landed on Fang Jun.

How should one describe that look? It was incredibly unified and perfectly synchronized, carrying a strong air of teasing.

Fang Jun remained expressionless. “Sure. Get me one.”

“Tsk!” Everyone voiced their disdain in perfect unison.

“You’re all just jealous,” Fang Jun said.

Xie Yuling burst out laughing. “Don’t give it to him. Give it to me instead.”

Luo Ruiyu laughed as well. “Sure, I’ll give it to you.”

Fang Jun’s expression instantly stiffened.

Lin Mo walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

“It’s all right. An Yuexin and I will share one. We’ll make sure to save you some.”

Fang Jun said, “You never intended to let me off, either.”

In the end, Fang Jun went and bought two cones for himself.

Fang Jun would rather eat two ice cream cones in below-freezing-feeling weather until his teeth hurt than waste the chance to get one at half price.

An Yuexin summed it up: “You’re not saving money. You’re using your life to defend cost-effectiveness.”

Holding one cone in each hand, Fang Jun took a bite from the left, then the right, eating with complete composure.

“You don’t understand.”

The group strolled slowly beneath the arcades.

The old buildings on both sides of Shangxiajiu retained the style of the Republican era. The arcades formed a continuous stretch, with all kinds of shops underneath.

The street was lively on ordinary days, but as the Lunar New Year approached, it became even more bustling. Red lanterns hung everywhere—along the street and from the branches of the old banyan trees overhead.

They swayed in the breeze, one string after another, glowing bright red. The New Year atmosphere came alive at once.

There were more roadside stalls than usual.

Some sold spring couplets, some sold the character for “good fortune,” some sold Chinese knots, and others sold paper cuttings with golden lettering.

An elderly man sat on a small stool, writing spring couplets on the spot. He dipped his brush into ink mixed with gold powder and wrote with bold, flowing strokes, attracting quite a few onlookers.

Chu Miaomiao pulled Jiang Yunlu and Xie Yuling over to take a look. After watching for a while, she began itching to try the calligraphy brush herself.

Then the other two dragged her away.

As for the bodyguards, they stayed ten meters away from the group.

Chu Lintian had instructed them that with Lin Mo there, there was no need to worry about Chu Miaomiao’s safety.

The festive atmosphere of the New Year was infectious.

The girls were clearly becoming more and more interested. Every few steps, they had to stop and look at something, or touch something else.

Xie Yuling squatted in front of a silver jewelry stall for five minutes. In the end, she bought a pair of earrings for fifteen yuan.

Luo Ruiyu said they looked nice, so Xie Yuling waved her hand grandly and bought another pair for her.

The boys followed behind, serving as pack mules and human placeholders, standing around wherever they were told to wait.

An Yuexin said quietly to Lin Mo, “Weren’t we here to buy clothes? How have we still not made it past this tiny stretch of street after twenty minutes?”

“What are you in such a hurry for? It’s not even the weekend yet, so there aren’t that many people. Come back on Saturday and try it. You’ll be carried along by the crowd just walking down the street.”

An Yuexin thought about it and decided that made sense. He shut up.

The group continued forward. When they passed an old-fashioned dessert shop, Jiang Yunlu wanted to go inside again.

Fang Jun held up his second ice cream cone, which he still hadn’t finished, and wore an utterly world-weary expression.

Just then, the phone in Lin Mo’s trouser pocket vibrated.

He took it out and glanced at the name displayed on the screen, raising an eyebrow.

But I can’t—I still haven’t finished writing the university arc!