Homecoming

Long Aotian took the clothes out of the bag, the scent of laundry still lingering on them. He held the garments and looked at Shen Mengjie.

After a long silence, Shen Mengjie spoke coldly, "Don’t remember?"

"These clothes... seem to be mine."

Shen Mengjie nodded. "Drop the 'seem.'"

"How did my clothes end up with you?" The moment those words left his mouth, Long Aotian felt a cold sweat break out over his body.

Shen Mengjie stared at him, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Seeing her laugh, Long Aotian let out a sigh of relief. "You—you scared me to death."

"What did I scare you about?" Shen Mengjie blinked playfully.

"Nothing..."

"Did you think you slept with me? Should I make you take responsibility, then?"

"Don’t joke like that. It’s not funny at all."

"I’m not joking."

Hearing this, Long Aotian froze, staring at her blankly.

Her gaze was serious—more serious than he had ever seen before.

"I kindly took a certain someone to a hotel, only for that someone to lose control under the influence of alcohol, forcing himself on me against my will. My clothes were torn, so I had no choice but to wear his to escape."

"Do you think that explanation makes sense?"

A few days ago, Long Aotian had learned from Huang Fei and others that it was Shen Mengjie who had taken him to the hotel.

But as for what she was describing now, he had no memory of it whatsoever.

"Wasn’t I... drunk at the time?"

"So you’re saying you blacked out? Or do you remember everything except how you treated me so roughly?"

Watching Long Aotian’s nervous, flustered expression, Shen Mengjie clenched her fist and lightly punched his chest. "As if you’d get that lucky!"

Then, her tone softened. "A certain someone got drunk and vomited all over me. I had no choice but to borrow his clothes."

"Stop joking around like that—you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Looking all tough, but so easily scared. Here, take your stuff back. Goodbye!"

With that, Shen Mengjie turned and walked away.

Watching her retreating figure, Long Aotian chuckled helplessly. "This girl loves teasing people so much, it’s hard to tell when she’s serious..."

He tucked the clothes away.

After walking a few steps, he paused and glanced back in the direction Shen Mengjie had gone.

Her figure was already small in the distance...

When he returned home, the two girls were in the sunroom, engrossed in their phones, tapping away at the screens.

As he opened the door, a cold draft rushed in, making Hu Yuying and Lin Wanning shiver.

"You’re back."

"Yeah. What are you two up to?" Long Aotian tried to peek at their phones, but they shielded them tightly, refusing to let him see.

"So secretive."

Hu Yuying and Lin Wanning exchanged glances before giggling softly. "That’s because it’s a secret!"

"Our little secret."

A notification chimed on his phone.

Long Aotian checked it—it was a message from Li Qingxue.

He didn’t know which city she was passing through now, but the snow there was heavy. In the photo, Li Qingxue stood in the snow, her smile bright and carefree.

Not just him—Hu Yuying and Lin Wanning had also received photos from Li Qingxue.

But while he only got this one, the two girls had received several, though none matched the one on his phone.

She looks beautiful!

After replying, he quickly got a response from Li Qingxue: "Hmph, lucky you!"

A video call notification rang from Hu Yuying’s phone.

She answered, and Li Qingxue’s cheerful voice came through. "Sisters, look how heavy the snow is here!"

Knowing Hu Yuying and Lin Wanning loved snow, she had specifically called to show them.

"I miss you guys so much!"

Hu Yuying covered her mouth with a light laugh. "We’ve only been apart for less than three hours."

"Exactly. Seems like you can’t live without us," Lin Wanning teased.

"Look, someone even built a snowman here!" Li Qingxue turned the camera, and the screen shook as she ran toward the snowman.

She flipped the camera back and struck a peace sign beside it.

Soon, snow had dusted her shoulders. Through the video, they could hear someone calling her name.

"Gotta go."

For a moment, her words stirred a pang of melancholy in their hearts.

But her next sentence instantly made Lin Wanning want to ignore her.

"I hid a bunch of snacks in the bedside drawer—don’t forget to eat them!"

Staring at the stash of snacks by Li Qingxue’s bed, Lin Wanning grumbled, "No wonder the snacks I brought home kept disappearing. Turns out Qingxue hid them all here..."

"Is she a little hamster or something?" At this, even Lin Wanning couldn’t help laughing.

It was just a few snacks—she didn’t really mind. She just found Qingxue hilarious.

Even though she was gone, she had left them with laughter.

Two peaceful days passed.

That afternoon, Long Aotian carried his suitcase and turned to Lin Wanning. "Take care of yourself at home. Check the doors and windows before bed..."

Before he could finish, Lin Wanning threw herself into his arms. "Don’t worry, brother. I’ll be fine on my own. I still have to win the PK rounds and stand on the stage in Capital City—I’ll be okay!"

"You and sister have a safe trip back to Haiwan City. Message me when you arrive. I’ll be thinking of you here."

Then she let go of him. "Hurry up, it’s getting late. I won’t see you off—don’t miss your train."

After winter arrived, the nights came early.

There was still some distance to Capital Station.

After seeing Long Aotian and Hu Yuying into the taxi, Lin Wanning didn’t leave until the car was out of sight.

The house, once filled with laughter, now only had her in it.

But even so, it was warmer than the home she had left behind.

In the taxi, watching the city lights recede outside, Hu Yuying gently rested her head on Long Aotian’s shoulder.

After living somewhere for so long, leaving again made her reluctant.

"What are you thinking about?" Long Aotian asked softly.

"About the first time we came to Capital City." Back then, everything had been new and exciting.

From strangers to familiarity—it had only taken a few months.

She hooked her finger around his. "Long, do you remember our first time here?"

"I remember. I had two little followers back then. Even though I didn’t know my way around either, I had to act like I knew everything in front of you two..."

Hearing this, Hu Yuying laughed too...

If you can’t find the book by title, try searching for the author—maybe it was just renamed!