Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber when I left Li Jiaxin's house.

Chen Tingting walked along the roadside, kicking a pebble aimlessly.

She stopped and looked up at Bai Li, whose red hair was somewhat disheveled in the cold wind.

"Big brother," Chen Tingting's voice was a little hoarse, lacking her usual bossy spirit, "I miss my grandpa."

She sniffed and forced an awkward smile:

"Last month, my grandma called me and asked if I was coming home for Chinese New Year. I thought she was being annoying and said I was busy making big money in the big city and didn't have time to go back. Actually... I was too ashamed to go back."

My pockets are emptier than my face, what's the point of going back? Do I want to become a laughingstock in the village?

Lin Xiaoshuang also tugged at Bai Li's sleeve and whispered:

"Me too... I want to go home and see my brother. He's in his final year of junior high, and I don't know how his studies are going."

Bai Li looked at them.

At this moment, they were no longer the rebellious girls who wanted to save face in the billiards hall, but had returned to being the little girls who had run away from home and longed for warmth.

"Go back if you want." Bai Li said calmly, his hands in his coat pockets. "What are you waiting here for? To come and ask me for New Year's money?"

"But..." Chen Tingting looked troubled, her hand unconsciously clutching her pocket: "It would be too embarrassing to go back like this."

"What's so embarrassing?" Bai Li raised an eyebrow. "Aren't the clothes new? Aren't you alive?"

"No..." Chen Tingting bit her lip, "I can't go back empty-handed, can I? If those gossipy old women at the village entrance see me going back empty-handed, who knows what they'll say about my grandpa."

This is the truth.

In rural areas, saving face is more important than anything else.

Bai Li glanced at the time; it was four o'clock in the afternoon.

Today's rebate quota has long been used up, and even the money I just gave to Li Jiaxin was paid out of my own pocket.

If we give them money to buy things now, it will be a pure loss, and the system won't even say a word.

But Bai Li hesitated for less than a second.

"Let's go." He turned and walked towards a large supermarket not far away.

"Where are you going, big brother?" Chen Tingting was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.

"Buying New Year's goods."

Once inside the supermarket, Bai Li pushed two shopping carts and began to rummage through the shelves as if she were buying new stock.

"Take two of these oil barrels, that brand."

"Rice, the good kind from Northeast China, two bags."

"Two cases of pure milk, the kind high in calcium for seniors."

"And this, a nut gift box, looks festive, two boxes per person."

The three girls followed behind, watching in stunned silence.

Bai Li doesn't care about the price at all; as long as it looks practical, has decent packaging, and is presentable, he throws it all into the car.

Upon reaching the tobacco and alcohol section, Bai Li stopped and pointed to the bottles of liquor on the counter:

"Those red-boxed bottles of liquor look festive, take two bottles each. And cigarettes, don't take the expensive ones, the old man won't want to smoke them, just take that...that gold one, two packs each."

"Big brother! That's enough! That's enough!" Chen Tingting jumped up and down anxiously, looking at the shopping cart piled up like a small mountain. "How much does this cost? We can't take it!"

"Shut up." Bai Li slammed a carton of milk onto the top of the shopping cart. "This is for the elderly, not for you."

"Go back and say it's a benefit from your company, say you've made something of yourself in the big city, do you understand?"

"It was given to me by my workplace..." Lin Xiaoshuang murmured to herself, looking at the car full of things, tears welled up in her eyes again.

This isn't just a thing; it's the backbone that supports them.

When it was time to pay, the cashier's hand was sore from scanning so many barcodes.

"That's 1,500 yuan in total."

Bai Li didn't even blink before scanning the code to pay.

Money only becomes money when it's spent.

Spending money wisely can buy these girls' lifelong devotion; no matter how you look at it, it's a worthwhile deal.

After leaving the supermarket, Bai Li helped them hail a taxi and filled the trunk with their belongings.

"Go back and spend some quality time with your elders." Bai Li stood outside the car window, like a worried old father.

"Stay home for a couple of days, tie your hair up, don't look like a golden lion and scare the old folks."

"Got it, big brother!" Chen Tingting sat in the back seat, holding two boxes of nuts in her arms, smiling and revealing her little tiger teeth.

"When I come back, I'll bring you some sausages my grandma makes! They're so delicious!"

"I want to bring the dried radishes my grandpa pickled!" Lin Xiaoshuang retorted, not to be outdone.

"Alright, alright, take them all." Bai Li waved his hand. "Get lost."

The taxi started and slowly drove into the traffic.

Inside the car window, two young faces were pressed against the glass, waving frantically at him until they disappeared from sight.

Bai Li stood by the roadside, exhaling a puff of white breath, watching the streetlights gradually come on, a faint smile curving his lips.

This feeling of being a "savior" is fucking intoxicating.

After seeing off the chattering Chen Tingting and Lin Xiaoshuang, the world seemed to suddenly go silent.

Li Jiaxin stayed home to take care of her grandmother, while the other two went back to their hometown to visit relatives.

At this moment, only Zhang Qian remained by Bai Li's side.

Winter dusk always comes quickly; just moments ago there was still some warmth from the sun, but now the wind blows and it's bitterly cold.

Zhang Qian was wearing the gray lamb wool coat that Bai Li had bought for her, with her hands in her pockets, standing half a meter away from Bai Li.

She didn't fawn over him like usual, nor did she deliberately show off her S-shaped curves.

She stood there quietly, her blue hair disheveled by the wind, obscuring her eyes that always seemed to reveal shrewdness and calculation.

"Let's go." Bai Li tightened his collar. "Want me a ride?"

The two walked side by side on the somewhat empty street, the streetlights casting long shadows of them.

"Big brother," Zhang Qian suddenly spoke, her voice no longer that cloyingly sweet tone, but a normal girl's voice: "You're so good to them."

"It's alright," Bai Li replied casually. "Since they call me 'Big Brother,' I can't just watch them starve to death."

"It's not just about money." Zhang Qian shook her head, then turned to look at Bai Li's profile. "You really want them to be happy, you want them to be able to hold their heads high in front of their families."

She smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in her smile: "They must be incredibly lucky to have met you."

"Unlike me, the people I encountered before were either looking to get something for nothing or just wanting to see me make a fool of myself."

Bai Li glanced at her sideways.

This girl, who always wore her desires on her sleeve, now exuded an indescribable sense of loneliness.

"Do you want to go home too?" Bai Li asked casually. "I bought too much stuff earlier. If you want to go home, I'll give you some too. It won't make a difference."

Upon hearing the word "home," Zhang Qian stopped in her tracks.

Her expression froze for a moment, a complex mix of panic and disgust flashing in her eyes, but the emotion vanished in an instant, too quickly to be grasped.

The next second, she put on that standard, slightly ingratiating smile again.

"No need, big brother." Zhang Qian brushed a stray hair behind her ear, her tone light and cheerful. "I can go home every day."

She is lying.

Bai Li had seen countless people and saw through her clumsy pretense at a glance.

Chen Tingting and the others dared not return, fearing they would lose face;

Zhang Qian didn't want to go back, and was even afraid to go back.

That so-called "home" was probably not a safe haven for her, but another abyss.

"Fine, if you're not going back, then you're not going back." Bai Li didn't expose her, but simply nodded lightly: "Then you can come with me for the next few days. I happen to need someone to carry my bags."

Zhang Qian was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up, as if she had grabbed a piece of driftwood while drowning.

"Really, big brother? Does it include food and lodging?" She leaned closer, reverting to her clingy self, half her body pressed against Bai Li's arm.

"Meals are included, and as for accommodation..." Bai Li glanced down at her, a half-smile on his face, "It depends on your performance."

"Ugh~" Zhang Qian lightly punched him, the force barely a tickle: "I'll definitely do my best, I'll do all the positions~"

Although he was spouting flirtatious remarks, Bai Li clearly sensed that...

Zhang Qian gripped her sleeve tightly, her knuckles turning white.

That's not flirting; it's the instinct to fear being abandoned.

"Stop being so cheeky." Bai Li pulled her arm away and flagged down a car on the side of the road. "Let's go eat first, I'm starving."

Zhang Qian quickly followed and obediently opened the car door for him.

As Zhang Qian sat in the warm car, watching the street scenes rushing past the window, the smile on her face slowly faded.

She secretly glanced at Bai Li, who was resting with his eyes closed, and felt a mix of emotions.

Is this what it feels like to be cared about?

Even if it's just a casual act of charity, even if it's just because it's extra concern left over for others.

But in this cold winter, for a homeless, wandering ghost like her,

That lingering warmth was enough for her to cling to it desperately, even if it meant being a moth drawn to a flame.