After starting graduate school, Pei You’s life became much busier. She joked that she was paying for her two years of leisurely post-graduate life.

Huo Yichi’s apartment was a bit far from the university, so Pei You hadn’t applied for on-campus housing.

The graduate student dorms were also four-person rooms, but they were more spacious than the undergraduate dorms.

Pei You didn’t always stay in the dorms, only when she had early morning classes.

That was only two days a week, which meant two nights a week away from Huo Yichi.

Her three roommates were friendly, but they were all younger than her, having come straight from undergrad, while she’d worked for two years before starting grad school.

So, they all called her “Pei-jie.”

It made her feel strangely… old, even though people had called her “jiejie” before.

Huo Yichi sometimes picked her up from class, so she’d been to the dorm a few times.

They seemed close, and Pei You’s roommates, assuming they were just good friends, hadn’t suspected anything else.

It was nearing Christmas, and since Pei You had an early class the next day, Huo Yichi had driven her back to school.

As soon as she entered the dorm, she was greeted by the excited squeals of her roommates. “He’s so handsome!”

Pei You, putting down her bag, asked with a smile, “Who’s handsome?”

Xiao Lu, one of her roommates, replied immediately, “Pei-jie, we’re watching a livestream of a handsome celebrity.”

Projected onto the wall was a livestream of a male celebrity Pei You recognized.

He was her roommates’ collective celebrity crush.

But while she knew who he was, she didn’t know much else about him.

“He is handsome,” Pei You agreed.

“He’s my ideal type!” Xiao Lu sighed dreamily, her eyes glued to the screen.

Pei You sat down at her desk. Just then, her phone lit up with a notification.

A message from Huo Yichi: 【Back in your dorm?】

【Yes,】 Pei You replied with a smile.

【I’m going home then.】

【Okay, message me when you get there.】

Huo Yichi, focused on driving, didn’t reply.

Pei You rested her chin in her hand, scrolling through her phone, a little bored.

The livestream seemed to have ended; she heard three disappointed sighs behind her.

Xiao Yu, another roommate, clutched her chest dramatically. “Dear God, let me dream of him tonight!”

“What kind of dream?” Xiao Lu asked. “A spring dream?”[1]

“That would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Xiao Yu replied.

“Put some clothes on!” Xiao Lu said, making a face.

None of them had boyfriends; otherwise, they wouldn’t be spending their nights obsessing over celebrities.

Pei You rarely talked about relationships with them, and she wasn’t in the dorm much anyway.

“Pei-jie,” Xiao Qin, whose bed was opposite Pei You’s, suddenly called out.

Pei You turned around. “What is it?”

“I heard Senior Xian confessed to you!” Xiao Qin said, looking excited.

The other two roommates immediately gathered around, curious. “Really? What happened?”

Xiao Qin nodded. “Everyone’s talking about it.”

Senior Xian was a second-year graduate student. He wore glasses and had a scholarly air about him, but he also exercised regularly and was in good shape. Plus, he was quite handsome and had his fair share of admirers.

If Xiao Qin hadn’t mentioned it, Pei You would have forgotten about it.

She didn’t know him well, but he had stopped her yesterday afternoon and confessed his feelings.

Pei You had, of course, rejected him. She’d been in a hurry to meet Huo Yichi, who was waiting for her at the school gate, so her rejection had been swift and decisive—

“I’m sorry, Senior, but I have a girlfriend.”

Not a boyfriend, not a partner, but a girlfriend. A clear and unambiguous statement.

Then she’d hurried off, leaving him behind. She didn’t know what his reaction had been.

And she didn’t care.

But she hadn’t expected the news to spread so quickly.

“Yes,” Pei You said, “and I rejected him.”

Her three roommates gasped in unison.

Pei You looked at them, puzzled. “What? I’m not single, so of course I rejected him.”

“What?! You’re not single?! Since when?! Pei-jie, is she pretty? Is she tall? Is she fair-skinned?” Xiao Yu bombarded her with questions.

Pei You chuckled, her smile widening. “Haven’t you met her?”

Her roommates gasped again.

They crowded around her, eager for details.

Even though Pei You wasn’t particularly close to them, she was always nice to them, bringing them snacks occasionally, and helping them retrieve packages.

Pei You cleared her throat, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “That girl who came to our dorm… she’s my girlfriend.”

Her roommates erupted in a chorus of shocked exclamations.

Pei You had wanted to tease them a little longer, but she decided against it.

While her roommates were still reeling from the shock, Pei You went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

This news, for her three straight roommates, required some processing.

By the time she’d finished washing her face, they seemed to have recovered.

Pei You raised an eyebrow. “All good now?”

“Yeah,” Xiao Lu grinned, “you two are so cute together!”

Pei You smiled. “Thank you.”

So, the next day, when Huo Yichi came to pick Pei You up, she was invited into the dorm.

Before she could even react, Pei You’s roommates greeted her with enthusiastic cries of “Saozi!”[2]

Huo Yichi: “…”

Pei You, standing beside her, was laughing.

Seeing how happy Pei You was, Huo Yichi just smiled and said, “Lunch is on me.”

Her car could fit five people.

Whether in the car or at the restaurant, Pei You’s roommates were a constant source of chatter, bombarding them with questions about their relationship.

Who liked whom first? When had they met? How long had they been together?

Pei You and Huo Yichi answered their questions patiently. Her roommates, thankfully, kept the questions relatively tame.

It was Friday, Christmas Eve, and many stores were decorated for the occasion.

When Huo Yichi dropped them off at the school gate, her roommates gave them Christmas apples.

“Thank you,” they said.

Once they were out of sight, Huo Yichi said, “Your roommates are fun.”

“They are,” Pei You agreed, “they’re all three years younger than me, but they’re mature and easy to talk to.”

“Let’s go home,” Huo Yichi said, starting the car.

Pei You lowered the window slightly, letting in a blast of cold air, then quickly rolled it back up.

“Tomorrow is Christmas. Another Christmas…”

Huo Yichi nodded. “Yes, another Christmas, and I’m still by your side.”

Pei You smiled. “That’s good.”

They arrived back at the apartment at 10 pm. Xiao Xing was dozing on the sofa.

Hearing the door open, it looked at them, then closed its eyes again, continuing its nap.

Pei You squatted down beside it. “Always sleeping, Xiao Xing,” she murmured, gently stroking the cat’s head.

Xiao Xing purred contentedly.

“I’m going to shower,” Huo Yichi said, emerging from the bedroom with her pajamas.

Pei You looked at her. “Alone?” she asked playfully.

“Do you… want to join me?” Huo Yichi asked.

“Is that allowed?” Pei You teased.

“It is,” Huo Yichi said.

They’d showered together before, after all.

After their shower, Pei You was exhausted.

She didn’t know why, but Huo Yichi hadn’t held back tonight, leaving Pei You completely spent.

As she drifted off to sleep, Pei You, her arms around Huo Yichi, murmured, “I’m so tired.”

“Then go to sleep,” Huo Yichi said, kissing her forehead.

The bedside lamp was still on. Pei You, lifting her head slightly, looked at Huo Yichi. “You weren’t going to let me sleep until I begged for mercy, were you?” she teased.

Huo Yichi chuckled. “I was.”

“You were?!” Pei You playfully pinched Huo Yichi’s waist.

Huo Yichi coughed lightly. “I was jealous.”

“Jealous of what?” Pei You asked.

“Your roommate mentioned that senior confessing to you at dinner. So, I got jealous,” Huo Yichi said, her forehead resting against Pei You’s, her voice low and a little husky.

“I rejected him so clearly; why are you still jealous?” Pei You asked.

“I also wanted to confess to you back in school,” Huo Yichi said, her voice soft with longing.

Pei You chuckled. “Then why didn’t you?”

Huo Yichi glared at her playfully. “If you’d even looked at me, I wouldn’t have been able to resist, would I?”

Pei You: “…”

True.

It had been her fault.

Huo Yichi had always treated her differently; it had been obvious to everyone.

Perhaps that was why no one had suspected they were faking it.

Huo Yichi’s feelings had been clear to everyone, except Pei You.

How could she have been so oblivious?

Someone as amazing as Huo Yichi had offered to pretend to be her girlfriend just to help her out.

No one else would have done that for her.

Every time she thought about the past, she saw things differently now.

Pei You pursed her lips, leaning in to kiss Huo Yichi. “I like you,” she murmured.

“I like you, too,” Huo Yichi said.

After two days at home, it was time to go back to school.

Pei You groaned dramatically. “I regret this now. I should have stayed at my old job. I should have never applied to grad school.”

Huo Yichi gave her a dry look. “Then drop out.”

Pei You: “…”

She was, of course, joking.

She just didn’t want to leave Huo Yichi.

She had an early class tomorrow morning, so she had to go back to the dorms tonight.

“Oh, right,” Pei You remembered something, “my parents invited you over for dinner on New Year’s Eve.”

“Okay,” Huo Yichi said. “I know.”

Pei You smiled. “You spent the last two New Year’s Eves with me, and you’ll be spending this one with me, too.”

Huo Yichi looked at her, a playful smile on her lips. “Two years ago, someone didn’t even like me.”

Pei You was speechless, then replied, after a moment of thought, “I wouldn’t say I didn’t like you, I just… hadn’t realized it yet.”

She sat up, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Seriously, I must have liked you back then; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been so… concerned about you, wouldn’t have responded to your confession so quickly, wouldn’t have wanted to kiss you…”

Huo Yichi chuckled. “You’re just slow on the uptake.”

Pei You smiled sheepishly, getting out of bed and hugging Huo Yichi. “As long as I realize it eventually, it’s fine, right?”

After dropping Pei You off at school, Huo Yichi didn’t leave immediately.

Pei You took her for a walk around campus, as if Huo Yichi was also a student.

The snack street was bustling with activity.

Students were running and jumping rope on the sports field.

Pei You, holding Huo Yichi’s hand, walked slowly, finally finding a spot to sit down on the bleachers.

It was a cold winter night in Yuncheng; they were both bundled up in down jackets, while the students exercising were dressed more lightly.

Huo Yichi warmed Pei You’s hands in hers.

Other couples were also sitting nearby. Pei You looked around, sighing. “So young…”

“Mm-hmm,” Huo Yichi agreed, blowing warm air onto Pei You’s hands.

“Huo Yichi,” Pei You said.

“Hmm?” Huo Yichi looked up.

Pei You pulled Huo Yichi’s hood up, covering her head.

The lights near the bleachers were dim, but Pei You could still see the sparkle in Huo Yichi’s eyes.

Pei You smiled, pulling up her own hood, then leaned in and kissed Huo Yichi.

“So? Does it feel like we’re in college, having a secret rendezvous?”

“It does,” Huo Yichi said, licking her lips, “very sweet.”

The world was vast.

And it was best to be with the person you loved.