The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

As 2012 drew to a close, with Christmas Eve followed by New Year's Day, a blizzard struck Chunyang County, turning everything outside into a blanket of white.

Chen Shi was in the office, warming himself by the fire.

The phone rang, and Chen Shi picked it up to see that it was Shen Xiaorong calling.

"Shen Xiaorong"

"Brother, I have a cold and I'm getting an IV drip at the infirmary. Could you come see me?"

Chen Shi wasn't in a hurry, and after thinking for a moment, said, "I'm coming now."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi grabbed his down jacket, opened the office door, and was immediately met with a gust of cold wind, biting cold.

Chen Shi asked Yang Bin to drive to No. 1 Middle School.

Upon arriving at a traditional Chinese medicine clinic, Chen Shi saw several students receiving intravenous drips. He immediately spotted Shen Xiaorong, walked over, and sat down beside her: "How long have you had this cold?"

Shen Xiaorong looked at Chen Shi: "Brother, you don't care about me at all. You never call me or show any concern for me."

"I'm busy with work, and many times when I want to call you, it's already past midnight, and I'm afraid of disturbing your sleep."

I've been keeping an eye on you; Yi Qiu often tells me about your situation.

"You believe whatever she says? I've had a cold for a week, and she didn't tell you."

Chen Shi looked at Shen Xiaorong: "It's been so long and you're still not better. You need to go to the hospital for a checkup."

"It's been checked; it's just a respiratory cold. It'll be fine in a couple of days."

Chen Shi looked up at the IV bottle; it was almost finished.

Shen Xiaorong said, "This is the last bottle. I timed it perfectly. You're here just in time."

Shen Xiaorong asked the nurse to remove the needle, and the two walked out of the infirmary. Chen Shi checked the time; it was almost 5:30.

"School's almost over, are you still going to the classroom?"

"No, come with me for a walk."

Shen Xiaorong didn't want to stay at school, afraid of running into Jiang Yiqiu.

Chen Shi smiled and said, "What's there to see on such a cold day?"

Shen Xiaorong had a cold and wasn't in a good mood. She looked at Chen Shi and said, "Brother, just tell me if you're going to go shopping with me or not. If not, I'm going back to my dorm."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Why are you still angry? Wherever you want to go, I'll go with you."

"I'm not angry," Shen Xiaorong said, quickly walking out.

Chen Shi brought Shen Xiaorong to the mall. After they got out of the car, Chen Shi told Yang Bin to go back first.

Shen Xiaorong looked at the snowman at the door and said, "Brother, let's build a snowman too."

Chen Shi became interested and wanted to build a snowman too: "I'll go buy the tools."

The two quickly built a snowman. Shen Xiaorong decorated the snowman according to Chen Shi's style. Chen Shi looked at the snowman and said, "It looks a lot like mine."

It was you all along.

Shen Xiaorong took out her phone and asked a passerby to take a few photos of the two of them together.

After walking into the mall and browsing for a while, Shen Xiaorong said, "Brother, I'm hungry. There are many restaurants on the fourth floor. Let's go check them out."

The two arrived on the fourth floor, and Chen Shi asked, "What would you like to eat?"

"It's so cold, let's have hot pot. Any kind of hot pot is fine, you decide."

Chen Shi glanced at it and pointed to Little Sheep Hot Pot: "Let's go eat mutton hot pot."

Shen Xiaorong was in a good mood, enjoying the steaming hot pot and eating the mutton with gusto.

"Brother, can you spend New Year's Eve with me?"

Without a second thought, Chen Shi replied, "Sure, I'll spend New Year's Eve with you this year."

Shen smiled, her big, bright eyes looking at Chen Shi: "Brother, you're so kind."

After finishing their hotpot meal, Chen Shi accompanied Shen Xiaorong for a while before taking her back to rest.

Chen Shi had just returned to his residence when his phone rang. It was Jiang Yiqiu calling.

Yi Qiu

"Isn't the school in front of you No. 1 Middle School?"

"You saw it? Shen Xiaorong has a cold. She wanted to go out for a walk, so I took her home."

"You've already arrived at No. 1 High School, but you haven't come to find me."

Jiang Yiqiu was a little jealous.

"I didn't want to bother you because I was afraid you were busy with work."

"What are you busy with at this late hour?" Jiang Yiqiu said softly, "Darling, you have to stay by my side on New Year's Eve."

Chen Shi had agreed to spend New Year's Eve with Shen Xiaorong, but he couldn't refuse to spend it with Jiang Yiqiu, so he reluctantly said, "Okay."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi wondered if he could get the two of them together to celebrate the New Year.

I quickly dismissed the idea; having these two together would only cause more trouble, and everyone would be in a bad mood.

Chen Shi spent a whole day figuring out how to handle this tricky New Year's Eve.

On the last day of 2012, Chen Shi first called Shen Xiaorong.

"Shen Xiaorong, it's New Year's Eve tonight. Come to my place at 10 PM, and I'll cook for you."

Shen Xiaorong chuckled: "Is the food you cooked even edible?"

"When we eat hot pot, everything is ready-made."

"Okay, with you by my side, it doesn't matter where we celebrate the New Year."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi called Jiang Yiqiu.

"Yi Qiu, let's celebrate New Year's Eve together at the hotel tonight, just the two of us."

"If you want to enjoy some alone time with your partner, you can just stay at home."

"I feel more at home when I'm in a different environment."

Jiang Yiqiu smiled and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."

Chen Shi asked Yang Bin to buy some vegetables and keep them at home so they could cook hot pot that evening.

After get off work, I went to No. 1 Middle School to pick up Jiang Yiqiu and we went out to eat.

The two arrived at the mall, which was bustling with New Year's Eve promotions. After browsing for a while, Chen Shi asked, "Let's go eat first. What would you like to eat?"

"It's so cold outside, let's have hot pot!"

Jiang Yiqiu pointed to Little Sheep Hot Pot: "Let's eat mutton hot pot."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "Okay."

This place has good lamb; I took Shen Xiaorong there last time.

Chen Shi ate heartily at the steaming hot pot, then checked the time: 8:30. He had arranged to meet Shen Xiaorong at 10:00, so he had an hour and a half to go.

Chen Shi called Yang Bin, who was supposed to pick him up at 9:50. He was to call him in advance and pretend to be Zhang Xiangdong.

Chen Shi ate until he was half full, saving room to eat more with Shen Xiaorong later.

Jiang Yiqiu looked at Chen Shi: "Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm full. I ate too much at lunch, and I'm still full."

"We've ordered so much mutton, it would be a waste not to eat it."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "It's okay to waste money occasionally."

Jiang Yiqiu smiled and said, "Let's go see a movie. Let's go now, and when we come out, we can ring in the New Year."

Chen Shi inwardly cried out in alarm and quickly said, "Who's going to the movies on New Year's Eve? Let's go shopping, then go back to the hotel and enjoy some time alone together."

"You've booked a hotel?"

"It's booked, it's inside the mall."

After finishing their meal, it was almost nine o'clock. Chen Shi accompanied Jiang Yiqiu for half an hour, and Jiang Yiqiu was still enjoying himself and showed no intention of returning to the hotel.

Chen Shi hugged Jiang Yiqiu tightly: "Yiqiu, let's go back to the hotel."

Jiang Yiqiu looked at Chen Shi: "What are you going to do?"

"I have a lot of temper, I need to cool it down."

Jiang Yiqiu's cheeks flushed red instantly, and he slapped Chen Shi: "You've got this on your mind all the time."

Chen Shi pulled Jiang Yiqiu away, saying, "If you want to shop, we can go out later."

Chen Shi checked the time; it was 9:40.

After checking in, I arrived at my room at 9:49.

Jiang Yiqiu threw herself into Chen Shi's arms and said sweetly, "You're always so impatient."

Chen Shi hugged Jiang Yiqiu and kissed him, wondering why the phone hadn't rung yet.