A freshman in college, pampered by a female CEO worth hundreds of billions.

After washing the dishes, Zhang Yan went upstairs and saw Nie Qingcheng signing documents as he passed the study door.

The port redemption documents came in three copies, each one thick and heavy.

She signed quickly and efficiently, turning the page, signing, turning the page, signing, without even looking up.

Zhang Yan leaned against the door frame and looked at it for a few seconds.

His memories are now complete, every single frame is there.

During that eleven-day gap, everything his body remembered for him has now come together perfectly.

What color clothes did she wear on the day she mortgaged the port? Which medical team did she switch to on the third day of his coma? How long did she stand in the corridor before pushing open the door to deliver breakfast?

Everything is here.

What are you doing standing there?

Nie Qingcheng didn't look at him, turned the page and continued signing.

Zhang Yan walked in and went around to her back.

Nie Qingcheng paused for a moment, her hand holding the pen still.

Zhang Yan wrapped his arms around her from behind, rested his chin on her shoulder, tilted his head, and gently bit her earlobe.

The pen tip dragged a crooked line of ink across the paper.

"A beauty that could topple a city".

"...What are you doing?"

"I remember now."

Zhang Yan's voice was close to her ear.

"What were you planning to do to me that night when you wore that black outfit?"

Nie Qingcheng tensed up for a moment.

three seconds.

She grabbed Zhang Yan's collar with her other hand. He wasn't wearing a tie today, so she gripped the collar of his T-shirt with considerable force, pulling him down a bit.

"Fool."

Her voice was hoarse and her eyes were red, but she didn't shed a tear.

Nie Qingcheng was never the type to shed tears in front of others.

Zhang Yan was held by the collar, keeping him bent over. He didn't move, just letting her hold him like that.

"Do you know how I spent those ten days when you were in a coma?"

"Know."

"You know nothing."

Nie Qingcheng released her grip, pushed him away, and picked up her pen to continue signing documents.

My hand didn't shake at all, and the words didn't tremble.

Go to sleep.

Zhang Yan stood up straight and looked at the back of her head.

"Is the schedule still next Thursday?"

"Um."

"Then I'll go order crabs."

"...Go to sleep."

Zhang Yan is gone.

When he reached the door, Nie Qingcheng called out to him.

"Zhang Yan".

"Um."

I've read the guarantee you wrote.

"Um."

"Just four words?"

"Enough."

Nie Qingcheng didn't say anything more.

Zhang Yan returned to his room, lay down, and fell asleep three minutes later.

He slept soundly and had no dreams all night.

half a month later.

Hokkaido.

The snow fell heavily, starting in the afternoon and accumulating to half a foot thick by evening.

Zhang Yan booked the entire hot spring hotel.

The owner was a Japanese man in his sixties. His hands were shaking when he took the money, so he probably had never done this kind of business before.

The hotel is small, with a total of twelve rooms. It is built against the mountain and has an open-air hot spring pool at the highest point, offering a wide view of the distant mountain ridgeline and the continuous white expanse.

Nie Qingcheng took a bath in the indoor hot spring in the afternoon, changed into a dark blue bathrobe, and loosely held her hair back with a wooden hairpin, revealing the back of her neck.

Zhang Yan is in the kitchen.

He fired the hotel's original chef and started cooking for himself.

The long-legged crabs were air-freighted in that morning and were still alive. Zhang Yan steamed them for twelve minutes and then peeled them one by one.

He cleaned the crab legs by peeling off the shells, pulled out the whole meat and arranged it on a plate, and served it with his own homemade ginger and vinegar dipping sauce.

Nie Qingcheng sat on the tatami mat with her legs crossed, a pot of sake in front of her, the TV on but she wasn't watching much.

Zhang Yan brought out a plate, placed it in front of her, and poured her a glass of wine.

"taste."

Nie Qingcheng picked up a crab leg, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in her mouth.

He chewed twice and nodded.

"Can."

Zhang Yan sat down opposite her and poured himself a glass of wine.

The news is on TV.

The image shows Qin Xiao, dressed in military uniform, standing in front of a long table, with three non-humanoid creatures sitting opposite him.

The subtitles indicate that Earth and the first interstellar civilizations have officially signed a non-aggression pact.

Qin Xiao kept a straight face in front of the camera, showing none of his usual carefree demeanor.

Zhang Yan glanced at it twice and took a sip of wine.

"He looks better in military uniform than in civilian clothes."

Nie Qingcheng glanced at the television.

"You taught him."

"I didn't teach him how to dress."

"Let's get down to business."

Nie Qingcheng ate another crab leg.

"The Great Wall Group did a good job representing the outside world, but how about the Star Gazing Group?"

"Last week, I received a message that the reconstruction of Guixu is 40% complete. Mo Yuan and Mo Ling are working together smoothly, and she said it can be completed next year."

Aren't you going to go see it?

"I'm not going."

"I'm on vacation."

Nie Qingcheng glanced at him, said nothing, and took a small sip of her wine.

The snow is still falling.

The courtyard lights outside the window illuminated the snowflakes, which fell one by one without any wind.

After finishing the crab, Zhang Yan cleared away the plates.

Nie Qingcheng got up and walked out.

"Where to?"

"Open-air pool."

Zhang Yan glanced at the temperature display outside.

It's seven degrees below zero.

"You're wearing so little."

Nie Qingcheng had already reached the door, but she turned back to look at him.

Aren't you coming?

Zhang Yan put the plate back in the kitchen, changed into a bathrobe, and followed.

The open-air hot spring pool was small, surrounded by a bamboo fence, with steam rising from the water and mixing with the falling snow.

Nie Qingcheng went into the water first, folded her bathrobe and placed it on the stone by the pool.

Zhang Yan was half a minute late. After getting into the water, he sat down against the pool wall, with an arm's length between the two of them.

There was a moment of silence.

Snowflakes fall onto the surface of hot water and melt instantly upon contact, creating a small ripple.

Nie Qingcheng moved closer and leaned against his shoulder.

Zhang Yan didn't move, letting her lean against him.

Her hand found his hand underwater, and their fingers intertwined.

The wedding ring on his ring finger was digging into his knuckle; the metal was warm from being soaked in water.

"Is it finished?"

Nie Qingcheng asked.

"I got it last week."

Zhang Yan raised his left hand, showing her the ring on his ring finger.

Same style, with the character "倾" engraved on the inside.

Nie Qingcheng looked down at it, then looked at the one in her hand.

"Good."

It's quiet again.

The snow fell thicker and thicker, leaving a thin layer of white on my hair.

Zhang Yan reached out and tucked the damp stray hairs from Nie Qingcheng's forehead behind her ear.

Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was steady.

"Zhang Yan".

"Um."

"Is the trip over?"

Zhang Yan turned his head away.

She opened her eyes and looked at him; the beauty mark at the corner of her eye seemed very close in the steam.

Zhang Yan lowered his head and kissed him.

Their lips touched, enveloped by the steam of the hot spring water.

They kissed for a few seconds, then released each other, forehead to forehead.

"I will never give a refund in this lifetime."

Nie Qingcheng's right corner of her mouth turned up first.

This time she laughed out loud.

Light, short, it disappears without a trace once it falls into the snow.

She leaned back on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Zhang Yan held her close, watching the snow fall from above.

A dense mass of white snow fell endlessly from the black sky.

The bracelet vibrated.

Qin Xiao.

Zhang Yan took out his phone with one hand and glanced at the message.

"Yan-ge! Did you watch the live broadcast of the diplomatic ceremony? Wasn't he handsome?! Grandpa said I..."

Zhang Yan turned off the bracelet and put it back by the pool.

Nie Qingcheng did not open her eyes.

"Who?"

"Nobody's here."

"Qin Xiao?"

"Um."

"Not replying?"

"I'm on vacation."

Nie Qingcheng adjusted her position in his arms, burying her face in the junction of his neck and shoulder, her breath hitting his collarbone.

"Then you can continue your rest."

Zhang Yan hummed in agreement and tightened his arms around her.

The snow is still falling in Hokkaido.

The whole world was quiet, with only the sound of water and breathing.

enough.

(End of the article)