Footnote of Youth (Two-in-One)

"Beep... beep..."

The busy tone on the receiver rang three times.

The call connected.

"Hello? Moshi moshi?"

A boy's lazy voice came through the receiver, mixed with the howling wind. It sounded a bit distorted, but it dispelled the chill surrounding Li Zhiyi.

Gripping the brand-new phone, Li Zhiyi stood in the wind and snow. She opened her mouth, not knowing how to greet him.

"Say something, who is this?"

The voice on the other end raised a notch. "If you don't speak, I'm hanging up. My phone is about to shut down from the cold in this godawful weather."

Li Zhiyi snapped back to reality and hurriedly pressed the phone tight against her ear.

"Chen Zhi..."

Her voice was trembling a little, whether from the cold or nervousness she didn't know. "It's me, Li Zhiyi."

The other end of the line fell silent for a second.

Then, that lazy tone became brisk and cheerful.

"How come Zhiyi has the time to call me?"

Li Zhiyi looked down at the snow beneath her feet, the corners of her lips curling up uncontrollably.

"Grandpa told me to come out and play."

She paused, her voice softening with a hint of hesitance. "Chen Zhi, where are you?"

"We're at the Citizen Park."

Chen Zhi's voice was accompanied by the crunching of snow underfoot. "That crazy girl Lin Wanwan insisted on building a snowman. She's treating this place like a construction site. Do you want to come?"

"We're going to build a super big snowman."

These words were like a spark, falling into Li Zhiyi's heart.

"Yes!"

She answered decisively, without the slightest hesitation.

"Alright, then hurry up. If you're late, all the snow will be ruined by this girl."

Hanging up the phone.

She looked up at the fine snow falling slowly from the sky.

At this moment, in her eyes, the sky seemed to brighten up.

She broke into a run, heading in the direction of the Citizen Park.

...

Citizen Park.

The once lush green lawn was now covered by thick snow, turning into a pristine white wasteland.

Because of the cold weather, there were hardly any visitors in the park, save for the occasional sounds of children playing in the distance.

Wrapped in his long black down jacket, Chen Zhi squatted under a tree like an old grandpa, his hands tucked into his sleeves, his neck shrunk back, and a look of absolute despair on his face.

Not far from him, a creamy-white figure was sticking her butt out, struggling to push a waist-high snowball.

"Chen Zhi! Are you a man or not!"

Panting with exhaustion, Lin Wanwan straightened up and yelled at Chen Zhi under the tree. "Come help! I can't push it anymore!"

Chen Zhi rolled his eyes and slowly stood up.

"Working so hard, aren't your hands cold?"

He complained verbally, but his body honestly walked over.

"Which way do we push?"

"That way! The snow is thicker over there!"

Lin Wanwan directed with certainty, her small face flushed from the cold, her eyes shining.

Chen Zhi sighed, pulled his hands out of his sleeves, and pressed them against the snowball.

"One, two, three, go!"

Working together, the two controlled the snowball to roll slowly across the snow, leaving a winding trail behind.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the distance.

Chen Zhi straightened up and squinted in that direction.

Through the wind and snow, a figure in a dark blue cotton-padded jacket was running over, stumbling with every step.

She ran very anxiously, her bangs wet with sweat and plastered to her forehead.

It was Li Zhiyi.

"Zhiyi! You're here!"

Lin Wanwan's eyes lit up. She dropped the snowball and lunged over.

"Slow down! It's slippery!"

Chen Zhi shouted from behind.

Li Zhiyi came to a halt, panting heavily, white puffs of breath rising in front of her.

She looked at the two people in front of her.

Chen Zhi's nose was bright red from the cold, and a few snowflakes had fallen on his hair, but his eyes were still clear and bright.

Lin Wanwan hugged her arm, brimming with youthful energy.

"Come help!"

Lin Wanwan dragged Li Zhiyi by the hand back towards the snowman. "We're going to build the biggest snowman in the whole park!"

Li Zhiyi nodded and held Lin Wanwan's hand in return.

"Okay."

With the addition of a new laborer, the progress instantly sped up.

Chen Zhi was in charge of the heavy lifting, pushing the snowball around to scoop up the snow on the lawn.

The two girls stayed behind, responsible for patching up the snowball's shape and filling in the gaps with the snow chunks Chen Zhi missed.

Half an hour later.

A massive, somewhat misshapen snowman prototype finally stood in the center of the lawn.

It was made of three giant snowballs stacked together, reaching half of Chen Zhi's height.

"This is way too ugly."

Chen Zhi clapped the snow residue off his hands, looking at the behemoth with disgust.

"How is it ugly? It's actually quite cute."

Lin Wanwan shot him a glare and turned to rummage through the nearby bushes.

A moment later, she ran back holding two dark stones.

"Move aside, move aside, I'm going to add the finishing touches."

Lin Wanwan shoved Chen Zhi aside and pressed the two stones into the top snowball.

One on the left, one on the right.

One high, one low. One large, one small.

Then, she found a dead branch and shoved it in below the stones.

A snowman with a crooked mouth, slanted eyes, and a comical expression was born.

"Pfft—"

Lin Wanwan took two steps back, looked at her masterpiece, put her hands on her hips, and burst into manic laughter.

"Hahaha! Chen Zhi! Look! This is you!"

Chen Zhi's face darkened.

He pointed at the ugly thing and asked in disbelief, "Me? This is freaking me? Am I this ugly?"

The snowman had a large left eye and a small right eye, and its mouth was crooked all the way to the base of its ear, looking like a paralyzed stroke patient.

"It looks just like you! Exactly the same!"

Lin Wanwan laughed so hard she couldn't stand straight, pointing at the snowman and then at Chen Zhi. "Especially that punchable vibe, it's identical!"

Standing on the side, Li Zhiyi looked at the ugly-cute snowman and couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.

Chen Zhi took a deep breath, feeling his blood pressure soaring.

"Fine."

He nodded through gritted teeth. "Lin Wanwan, just you wait."

Chen Zhi crouched down, his hands frantically scraping at the snow.

"I'll build one of you, too."

Moving swiftly, he rolled up a small snowball in no time.

"I'm going to make you look like Zhu Bajie's second aunt."

Unwilling to be outdone, Lin Wanwan teased, "Blegh, go ahead. I'm naturally beautiful anyway, I'll look good no matter how you build it."

Chen Zhi sneered and began his grand revenge project.

However.

Reality was cruel.

He originally wanted to build a pig's head, but ended up with a lump of unidentified matter.

"Forget it."

Chen Zhi gave up, flattened the lump of snow, and started rolling it round again.

Soon, two new small snowmen stood next to Chen Zhi.

The one on the left was round and chubby, with two leaves on its head for ears, looking endearingly silly.

The one on the right was a bit thinner and slenderer; Chen Zhi had even specifically found a few thin grass stems to stick on its head as hair.

"This is Lin Wanwan."

Chen Zhi pointed at the fat snowman on the left. "Ate too much, got stuffed round."

"This is Li Zhiyi."

He pointed to the one on the right. "Quiet, elegant."

Although the craftsmanship was still rough, these two snowmen had clearly been finely tuned; their surfaces were smooth and their features were proper.

Compared to the crooked-mouthed, slanted-eyed "Chen Zhi" in the middle, it was like night and day.

"How is that fair!"

Chen Zhi stared at the family of three... wait, no, the three snowmen, and felt completely defeated.

"Why are both of yours so cute, and mine is so ugly?"

This was blatant discrimination.

Lin Wanwan leaned in and carefully examined the chubby snowman that represented her.

"Hmm... it's a bit chubby, but acceptable."

She frowned in thought for a moment, as if feeling something was still missing.

The next second.

Lin Wanwan reached up and untied the red scarf around her neck.

"Don't catch a cold."

She gently wrapped the scarf around the chubby snowman's neck.

After doing this, she clapped her hands in satisfaction.

"Looks much better now."

The red scarf looked especially vibrant against the white snow, adding a touch of life to the freezing snowman.

Chen Zhi watched, dumbfounded.

"Damn, Lin Wanwan, aren't you a bit too narcissistic? Giving a scarf to a snowman?"

"Mind your own business!"

Lin Wanwan raised her chin haughtily. "Of course my avatar needs to look presentable."

She turned her head and looked at Li Zhiyi.

"Zhiyi, you should decorate your snowman a bit too."

Li Zhiyi froze for a moment and instinctively touched her own neck.

She didn't have a scarf.

Li Zhiyi shook her head in slight embarrassment. "It's fine, no need."

Chen Zhi acutely caught her movement.

Without a second thought, he reached out and took off his own gloves.

Black knit gloves, still carrying his body heat.

"Here, take them."

Chen Zhi handed the gloves to Li Zhiyi and said in an unquestionable tone, "Put them on your snowman. Don't let its hands freeze."

Li Zhiyi looked at the offered gloves, her heart skipping a beat.

"What about you?"

"My hands are hot, this will help them cool down."

Chen Zhi spouted nonsense casually, grabbed the gloves, and slipped them onto the hands of the snowman representing "Li Zhiyi."

The black gloves hung on the snowman's bare branch-arms, looking somewhat comical.

The three snowmen stood side by side.

In the middle was the ugly Chen Zhi with a crooked mouth and slanted eyes.

On the left was the wealthy-looking Lin Wanwan wearing a red scarf.

On the right was the quiet Li Zhiyi wearing black gloves.

"Perfect."

Lin Wanwan looked at the scene. Although she was slightly jealous that Chen Zhi gave his gloves to Li Zhiyi, seeing the ugly "Chen Zhi" sandwiched in the middle taking the brunt of it instantly improved her mood.

"Blegh, you're the ugliest anyway."

"You're ugly, your whole family is ugly."

Just as the two were bickering like elementary school students.

A voice suddenly popped up from the side.

"Um... excuse me."

The three of them turned around simultaneously.

A man wearing an army-green overcoat, with long hair and a face full of stubble, was standing not far away.

He held a Polaroid camera in his hand, looking like a wandering artist.

"I saw you guys having a lot of fun, the scene has a really nice vibe."

The man raised the camera in his hand and smiled. "Want me to take a picture of you? It's free."

"A picture?"

Lin Wanwan's eyes lit up instantly.

She loved taking pictures the most.

"Yes, yes!"

Lin Wanwan agreed immediately, not giving Chen Zhi any chance to refuse.

She grabbed Chen Zhi's arm and pulled Li Zhiyi over.

"Quick, quick, stand nicely!"

The three of them stood behind the three snowmen.

The background was a snow-covered lawn and a clear blue sky.

"Get a little closer. Yes, closer."

The photographer half-squatted on the ground, directing their positioning.

Lin Wanwan unceremoniously claimed the spot on Chen Zhi's left.

She practically hung herself onto Chen Zhi, her hands tightly hugging his arm, her cheek pressed against his shoulder.

She flashed a brilliant smile at the lens and threw up a big peace sign.

"Yay—"

Chen Zhi was squeezed so tight he could barely breathe. Looking helpless, he tried to pull his arm out, only for Lin Wanwan to hug him tighter.

"Don't move! We're taking a picture!"

Lin Wanwan whispered a threat into his ear.

Chen Zhi had no choice but to give up resisting, letting her hug him.

And on Chen Zhi's right side.

Li Zhiyi stood quietly.

She didn't boldly link arms with Chen Zhi like Lin Wanwan did, but instead kept a slight distance, perhaps only a few centimeters.

Her body tilted slightly toward Chen Zhi, her shoulder faintly brushing against his arm.

Li Zhiyi held her hands behind her back, fingers intertwined.

She looked at the camera a bit shyly, a faint smile playing on her lips.

It was a secret, youthful joy unique to a young girl.

The wind and snow seemed to pause at this moment.

The photographer looked at the image in the viewfinder.

The flamboyant and radiant young girl, the indulgent boy, the quiet and introverted girl.

And the three distinct snowmen in front of them.

This was simply the best footnote to youth.

"Okay, hold it."

The photographer's finger rested on the shutter.

"Come on, smile. One, two, three, say cheese—"

"Cheese!"

Lin Wanwan shouted loudly.

Li Zhiyi's eyes gently curved into a smile.

"Click."

The shutter was pressed.

The flash lit up in the dim snowy day, instantly freezing this second in time.

In this winter of 2015.

"Bzzzt—"

The photo slowly slid out of the camera's slot.

The photographer held the photo and shook it, waiting for the image to appear.

The three immediately gathered around, their heads close together.

As the colors gradually deepened, the picture became clear.

In the photo.

Lin Wanwan smiled like a little sun, dominating the frame, with that red scarf being particularly eye-catching.

Even though Chen Zhi wore a look of disdain, his body honestly leaned toward Lin Wanwan, and there was no real impatience in his eyes.

And at the edge of the frame.

Li Zhiyi stood quietly. Her gaze wasn't on the camera; instead, her head was turned slightly, as if she were secretly glancing at the boy beside her from the corner of her eye.

That look—clear, gentle, and hiding certain unknown romantic feelings.

"It came out really well."

Chen Zhi looked at the photo, for once not being snarky.

In this photo, everyone was in their truest form.

"Mister, could we each get one?"

Chen Zhi looked up and reached for the phone in his pocket. "I can pay for them. How much for one?"

This kind of Polaroid film was pretty expensive, he knew.

The wandering artist waved his hand dismissively and handed the photo to Chen Zhi.

"No charge."

He operated the camera.

"Bzzzt— Bzzzt—"

Two more photos slid out.

"I bought this camera just to record beautiful moments."

The man handed the three photos to the three of them respectively, bearing a weathered yet gentle smile on his face.

"It's so good to be young."

He sighed with emotion, packed up his camera, and turned to leave.

"Keep them. Cherish your youth, and don't grow up too fast."

Chen Zhi held the photo that still carried some warmth, watching the man's retreating back, and didn't speak for a long time.

"I want this one!"

Lin Wanwan was quick with her hands. She snatched the one from Chen Zhi's hand and shoved hers into his.

"My eyes are half-closed in that one! This one looks better!"

"Lin Wanwan, are you a bandit?"

Chen Zhi looked speechlessly at the close-up in his hand where Lin Wanwan was smiling so wide her eyes disappeared.

"Blegh."

Lin Wanwan carefully slipped the stolen photo into her phone case. It was a clear case, perfect for showing it off.

"Time to go home!"

In a great mood, she spun around and took off running.

"Chen Zhi, Zhiyi, hurry up! I'm starving! I want to go eat hot pot!"

Chen Zhi let out a sigh, tucked the photo into his pocket, and turned to look at Li Zhiyi.

"Let's go, Li Zhiyi."

He reached out and casually brushed the snow off her clothes. "If we don't get moving, we're going to turn into ice sculptures."

Li Zhiyi clutched the photo tightly in her hand.

She stared at the image of herself standing next to Chen Zhi in the picture.

"Mhm."

Li Zhiyi gave a firm nod and hurried to catch up with Chen Zhi.

The snow was still falling.

Their three sets of footprints stretched across the snowy ground, intertwining as they led off into the distance.