Summer in Your Name - Extra 2

It was Christmas and Hou Junqi, having returned to the country, hosted a gathering. It happened to be the weekend, so everyone promised to come.

Sheng Xia had been busy preparing for a Chinese character culture exhibition lately, with plenty of contracts to review, so she spent the entire day with Xin Xiaohe. As dinnertime approached, Zhang Shu arrived at the law firm to pick her up: “Where’s my wife?”

Xin Xiaohe looked up, “No hello or anything?”

Zhang Shu chuckled, plopping down on the sofa as if he were in his own office: “Attorney Xin, where’s my wife?”

Before Xin Xiaohe could fire back with a quip, Sheng Xia returned from the bathroom, wrapping her arms around Zhang Shu’s neck from behind the sofa. “You got here so fast!”

Zhang Shu turned his head, reaching back to ruffle her hair: “Done with your meeting? Ready to go?”

“Yeah, all done.”

Zhang Shu grabbed her hand, and she was gently pulled around the sofa to sit beside him. Naturally, she hooked her arm around his, resting her head on his shoulder as they waited for Xin Xiaohe.

Xin Xiaohe, organizing files, sighed dramatically—come on, even someone in a relationship couldn’t handle their level of mushiness, okay? The worst part was, their actions weren’t overly affectionate, but somehow the intimacy was just unbearable.

“Go, go, go, get out of here. You two go ahead, I’ll head out on my own.”

Zhang Shu asked, “Where’s Yang Linyu?”

Xin Xiaohe rolled her eyes: “His workplace is twenty kilometers from my office, what do you think? Of course, he’s fending for himself.”

“What’s the difference between that and a long-distance relationship?” Zhang Shu jabbed.

“What else can we do? Be like you two, practically tying each other to your belts? Look at Sheng Xia, she still can’t drive!” Xin Xiaohe shot back.

A world where only Sheng Xia got hurt was achieved.

She’d renewed her driver’s license once already but still didn’t dare hit the road. But she loved watching Zhang Shu drive, unable to fathom how he made the same steering wheel look so effortless.

The festive streets were bustling with cars and people. Sheng Xia gazed at Zhang Shu for a long moment. Since it was the weekend, he hadn’t styled his hair. His dark hair was dry and voluminous, with fluffy bangs that made him look like a college student. His outfit was casual too. He’d taken off his jacket after getting in the car, revealing a hoodie with sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He steered with one hand, the watch on his wrist glinted sharply under the shifting light.

He was youthful yet mature.

“I wonder how everyone’s doing…” Sheng Xia suddenly mused.

“You’ll see them in a bit, won’t you?” 

“I hope everyone’s doing as well as they seem.”

At a red light, Zhang Shu turned to look at Sheng Xia’s serene profile, her bright eyes filled with sincere wishes.

He lifted her hand and kissed it lightly, saying nothing. When the light turned green, the car moved forward. After a while, he chuckled softly and murmured, “Such a baby.”

When they arrived at the venue, stepping into the private room, they saw everyone looking radiant and dressed to the nines, Sheng Xia felt her earlier sentimentality was unnecessary.

What happened to a casual old friends’ get-together? Everyone was so dressed up, making her and Zhang Shu look like they were crashing the party.

They were all familiar faces. The guys bantered loudly, and after a few jokes, the atmosphere warmed up. Everyone caught up on work and life, reminisced about high school antics, talking over each other so much that slower speakers couldn’t get a word in.

Xin Xiaohe, after finishing her master’s, had joined a law firm and recently became a mid-level A-grade attorney, aiming to become a partner by thirty-five. Yang Linyu worked at a research institute with some confidentiality and kept a low profile. His biggest presence was in the group chat, debunking beauty ‘scams’ for the girls. Han Xiao, after graduating, became a civil servant with a stable job, he went on blind dates weekly, and had grown more reserved, his social media was all reposts of official news, devoid of personal updates or dreams. As for Wu Pengcheng and a few others, Sheng Xia wasn’t too close with them since Zhang Shu didn’t hang out with them often. She’d once casually asked Yang Linyu about Wu Pengcheng and he said, “He’s loyal as a friend, but a bit too casual with relationships. A-Shu doesn’t want you around that.” Sure enough, Wu Pengcheng showed up with yet another new girlfriend.

“All you guys are so successful! I’m just a lowly undergrad who hasn’t graduated, dragging everyone down!” Hou Junqi sighed, half-joking.

Hou Junqi had spent a year in a prep program abroad, failed the exams, then took two more years in a language course to finally pass. He’d barely started university when he found it boring, dropped out, and started a business. Surprisingly, he opened several well-known Chinese restaurants, fulfilling his ‘Grill King’ dream. Then he returned to propose to Tao Zhizhi.

“Oh, please! You’ve got love, money, and everything. What are you sighing about?” Han Xiao was fed up with these rich guys’ fake complaints.

“Heh, fair point!” Hou Junqi grinned, wrapping an arm around Tao Zhizhi, looking innocently happy.

Tao Zhizhi gave him a playful side-eye.

Sheng Xia smiled. Their journey wasn’t easy either. Tao Zhizhi’s parents, both teachers, looked down on Hou Junqi as a ‘spoiled rich kid’. When they heard he dropped out, they furiously demanded Tao Zhizhi break up with him. Unexpectedly, Hou Junqi showed up to propose, somehow convincing them he’d left school for her sake. Feeling guilty, they learned he’d built his business without family money, which earned him major points. He promised to finish his degree and return, finally winning over his future in-laws. Now he was graduating, while Sheng Xia had been a doctoral student for two years.

As the conversation got lively, the waiter brought Christmas desserts, apple-shaped ice cream adorned with tiny Christmas trees and reindeer, cute and tasty. Sheng Xia finished hers and reached for Zhang Shu’s. He pushed her hand away with the back of his, saying firmly, “No more.”

Sheng Xia hesitated but put down the spoon, looking adorably obedient. She’d been taking Chinese medicine lately and was supposed to avoid cold foods.

Xin Xiaohe, halfway through her second dessert, wasn’t having it, “Seriously, Zhang Shu? You’re micromanaging her!”

Zhang Shu slid the dessert to Xin Xiao he, “Here, take it. Eat and shut up.”

Yang Linyu intervened, “No, no, it’s too cold.”

“Tch, tch, tch…” Han Xiao groaned, “Are you all trying to drive me out?”

“Hey, Sheng Xia!” Hou Junqi suddenly slapped the table, excited. “Seeing this reindeer reminds me—do you know how your husband got that little reindeer he gave you back then?”

Caught off guard, the usually quiet Sheng Xia let out a soft “Hm?” She knew. He bought it at a stationery store, right? 

“Remember Chen Mengyao?” Hou Junqi’s face lit up with gossip.

Tao Zhizhi nudged him, her eyes signaling, Why bring her up now?

Everyone glanced over.

Zhang Shu leaned back casually, his right arm draped over Sheng Xia’s chair, looking at Hou Junqi with a calm, open gaze that seemed to say: Let’s see what nonsense you come up with.

Hou Junqi grinned: “Back then, your husband put together a set of our school’s practice exams and answer key, right? He sold a copy to Chen Mengyao. That fool paid over a hundred yuan for it, haha, kills me! Then he used the money to buy your reindeer.”

Wu Pengcheng asked, “Why buy practice exams? Couldn’t she just photocopy them?”

Hou Junqi explained, “You couldn’t find those online back then, okay? A-Shu typed them up word for word from the exam papers. The diagrams in the physics and math sections? He borrowed tools from an ad shop to draw them!”

“No way, really?”

“That’s nothing! He even wrote the answer key himself, believe it or not? Our school’s teachers made those questions, so there were no official answer keys. You think it was some official mock exam?”

Wu Pengcheng rubbed his face, unable to comprehend what these lovestruck guys were thinking, “That’s insane.”

After the gathering, some suggested a second round, but Zhang Shu declined, citing ‘my wife’s health’ to skip the late-night ‘wild’ activities, and the two headed home.

The streets were packed with cars and pedestrians, a giant Christmas tree glowing in front of a mall.

“A-Shu, let’s get out and stroll?” Sheng Xia suggested.

They were one traffic light away from home. Zhang Shu told the driver to take the car back, and they got out.

“Cold?” he asked, tucking her hand into his pocket.

His coat was thin, and his pocket wasn’t even as warm as her hand.

Sheng Xia stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, “Not cold.”

Zhang Shu raised an eyebrow, surprised by her public display of affection. He leaned in for a kiss, but she dodged, giggling as she walked ahead.

“Hubby, wanna play a game?”

It’d been a while since they’d played their word-chain game on a winter stroll, but their couple’s tacit understanding was still perfect, they never tired of it.

Zhang Shu started, “Kissy.”

Such bad intentions! Sheng Xia shot him a look and followed, “Kissy-kiss.”

Before she could react, he pulled her close and pecked her lips, then continued, “Kissy-kiss me.”

“…”

Sheng Xia glanced around. The street was full of couples out for the holiday, hugging and holding hands, nothing unusual. So, leaning into him, she quickly kissed his cheek.

Zhang Shu wasn’t satisfied, his gaze dropping to her lips, hinting at what he wanted.

Sheng Xia shook her head, racking her brain for what word could follow ‘kissy-kiss me’.

Zhang Shu teased, “You’re running out of time.”

“Kissy-kiss me, please!” she blurted out.

Zhang Shu let out a short laugh, then broke into a full grin. “Alright,” he said, cradling the back of her head and kissing her deeply.

Sheng Xia froze for a moment, then wrapped her arms around his back, tilting her head to return the kiss. She forgot they were in public, forgot the crowds around them, only wanting to give him her most passionate response, releasing the lingering flutter that had built up at the dinner table.

How much more had he done for her that she never knew about?

She didn’t know.

All she knew was that when he said, “I like you more than I can imagine,” he meant it.

He liked her even more than she could imagine.

In the biting winter, a couple kissed under a Christmas tree, like lovers newly in love. 

In truth, they’d been in love for eight years.

Nearby, joyful music played, neon lights flickered; in the distance, birds nestled in the woods, and stars fell from the galaxy—the world was never lonely.

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