Funeral

After Qin He dealt with those two people, they hardly appeared in front of the two again.
 
Perhaps it was because they were afraid that Qin He would tell Yu Cheng about what happened that day, but Qin He was not so idle. He didn’t want Yu Cheng to know just because of a bad mood.
 
Time flies, just like the youth that always slips away before one can react.
 
The autumn yellow on the ground was swept away by the cold winter wind and turned into a silver coat.
 
Qin He’s teaching results were good, and Yu Cheng’s grades remained stable within the top 600, which was already a significant improvement for him.
 
The winter wind is always chilly and bone-chilling, with a shivering coldness. However, Yu Cheng is not afraid of the cold. He always wears much thinner clothes than others but still sweats profusely.
 
He pulled his collar and knocked on Qin He’s desk with his hand, reminding him of something.
 
He was afraid that this person was pretending and wouldn’t talk to him anymore.
 
“Don’t pretend to be sick and ignore people. I have your contact information and know your address. You can’t hide, you know?”
 
However, Qin He just glanced at him and continued to pack his things.
 
As Qin He ignored him, and Yu Cheng started to provoke others.

“Tsk, your collar is tucked inside; let me pull it out for you.”
 
With a warm fingertip, it brushed over Qin He’s neck. Qin He was sensitive to the cold, perhaps because of malnutrition when he was young; he always turned red from being frozen.
 
Going outside for even a short while would make his hands cold, and it would take a while for him to write properly. He needed to hunch his neck to absorb a bit of warmth.
 
The sudden warmth caused Qin He to shudder.
 
Qin He waved his hand and furrowed his brow, saying, “Just pull the collar properly; don’t play tricks on me.”
 
As if anticipating his response, Yu Cheng casually took the scarf from the table.
 
“Fine, take this; it’s my apology gift to you; consider it compensation for my mistake.”

Yucheng is a really awkward person when it comes to giving gifts. He always has to provoke someone to get the chance to give something.
 
Maybe it’s because Qin He is one of the few friends that Yucheng has, and they always stick together.
 
So Qin He is treated with special care, which means that Yucheng follows him wherever he goes and shares everything with him. He is especially concerned about Qin He’s well-being.
 
But when intimacy between people crosses a certain boundary, who can really say what is mixed in between?
 
Yucheng seems to have thought of something and hurriedly approached Qin He.

“What’s your birthday? Has it passed already? If not, I can take care of everything for you and make sure it’s unforgettable.”
 
“That might be a disappointment for you. My birthday is on Chinese New Year’s Day,” replied Qin He, arching his eyebrows.
 
It’s a time when most people gather with their families, especially for someone like Yu Cheng, who comes from a busy household with lots of things going on.
 
Without surprise, Qin He saw Yu Cheng reach for his hair in frustration but miss, then go to pick at his nails, only to have Qin He slapped his hand down.
 
“What a bad habit. That’s fine, Young Master Yu. You don’t need to trouble yourself with this kind of thing.” 
 
“Then you don’t have to worry about it. This young master will definitely attend the birthday party.”
 
After some consideration, Yu Cheng gave a response, while Qin He packed his things, apparently not taking this matter to heart.
 
Snowflakes swirled in the sky, obscuring the path ahead, and the only thing that could be felt was the presence of those walking alongside.
 
Most of the people in the school had already left, and the snow covered the footprints of those who had gone before, leaving only the two of them.
 
Yu Cheng turned to look at Qin He, who was wearing the scarf he had just given him. It was snowing, but the two of them didn’t want to use an umbrella.
 
Qin He’s once jet-black, soft hair had been dyed a frosty white. He was usually straightforward with the young master, but for some reason, he thought of a line from a poetic verse. 
 
If he and I were to endure the snow together, we could count this life as having been spent with white hair. 
 
After the holiday, the two maintained their frequency of meeting three times a week. When they were not together, Yu Cheng would message Qin He to harass him. If Qin He responded slowly, Yu Cheng would call him.

“Friend, don’t you have anything to do?”
 
This was the third time Qin He had received a call from Yu Cheng. He thought he could have some peace and quiet after leaving school.

Unexpectedly, Yu Cheng became even more ubiquitous. When Qin He didn’t reply to his message while chopping vegetables, he called him.

Qin He wiped his hand on his apron and leaned against the counter.
 
“Qin He! Do you think I’m annoying you? I’m just trying to maintain our valuable friendship! It seems that I don’t have to maintain it anymore; it’s already in jeopardy!!! It’s hopeless!!!”
 
“But don’t you think this level of contact is a bit too much? Too much of a good thing is bad, you know?” Qin He rubbed his ear and started talking when he heard no sound on the other end.
 
“Forget it. You think I’m annoying you. I won’t contact you again.”

With a snap, Yu Cheng hung up the phone and threw his phone on the bed.
 
After a while, he sneaked a look to see if there were any messages. They both stood their ground for twenty minutes, and then the phone rang.
 
“Hello sir, do you want to buy a house? The location is excellent, with good security…”
 
“I know I was wrong…”
 
The two were silent for a moment. Yu Cheng hung up the phone instantly. This time, he was really angry.
 
Until the Chinese New Year, the two of them did not contact each other. At first, Yu Cheng was angry and didn’t want to initiate contact.
 
Later, they were both really busy. Yu Cheng wanted to prepare a birthday gift for Qin He and thought about going to choose it himself. But after a long time of searching, he couldn’t find anything satisfactory.
 
Anything too delicate or too small didn’t work, and anything too common wasn’t good enough in Yu Cheng’s eyes. He felt that Qin He deserved only the best.
 
Yu Cheng went to many stores and even asked his brother for advice. In the end, his brother only gave him one sentence: “It’s a difficult situation.”
 
For the first time, the young master of the Yu family realised that he didn’t have anything impressive to give as a gift.
 
In addition, he had to attend various banquets of all sizes, was busy dealing with all kinds of relatives, and suddenly felt physically and mentally exhausted.
 
In the social circle, various people called and messaged him, causing Yu Cheng not to want to touch his phone for a long time. Although he didn’t want to deal with it, he still had to do what he needed to do.
 
During the first two days, Qin He felt that the world had finally become quiet. But later on, he would always hold his phone and stare at it absentmindedly, and was even teased by Qin Wanqing if he had found a girlfriend.
 
“Xiao He, is there anything you want for your birthday this year?”
 
Qin Wanqing felt a bit guilty about her son.
 
She always felt that she didn’t do well enough and made Qin He worry about this and that. The little child was like an adult who went to share her worries. She rarely saw Qin He smile and always wanted to do her best to compensate.
 
“Just having a meal together is enough; there’s nothing I want.”
 
Qin He never demanded anything from anyone. If someone gave him something, he would take it if he could bear it; if someone didn’t give him anything, he would just let it go.
 
Until now, he would try to work hard on his own, but he would not ask anyone for anything, and he could not learn to rely on others…
 
It was the same for Yu Cheng. So when Yu Cheng didn’t contact him, he would hope but not take the initiative.
 
Perhaps it’s because he never got what he asked for when he was a child…
 
“Ran from next door is back; if you’re bored at home, you can go play with her; you two are the same age and have more to talk about.”
 
Qin Wanqing advised Qin He to go out and have some fun.
 
“I know. You don’t have to worry about me so much.” Qin He pushed Qin Wanqing towards the living room.
 
“You are always so troublesome.” Qin Wanqing scolded Qin He.
 
Before Qin He could go look for Lu Ran, Lu Ran had already come over to find him.
 
The two of them were in the same elementary and junior high school, but later on, Lu Ran went to a different school, and they were separated, although they could be considered childhood sweethearts.
 
Their families were neighbours all year round, and they occasionally met during holidays.
 
When Qin He transferred to Yao’an City, the first person he met was Lu Ran.
 
Qin He attended the nearby elementary school, and it took a lot of effort from Qin Wanqing to get him admitted.
 
At that time, Qin He felt that the world was very small, so small that it was only this small piece of land.
 
All the classmates lived together, and something happened in this alley. It spread like wildfire the next day and became the talk of people’s conversations after meals.
 
This small place had a natural sense of exclusivity, and Qin He was very weak due to malnutrition when he was a child.
 
When he first arrived, the scars on his body hadn’t healed yet, and since they only saw Qin Wanqing from his family, his classmates assumed he was an easy target.
 
In school, he would be caught and bullied, which is how he met Luo Ran at that time.
 
As a child, Lu Ran had short hair and wore shorts. She looked like a tomboy, and if it weren’t for her soft voice, people would have mistaken her for a boy.
 
Lu Ran couldn’t stand their ways of being hypocritical, bullying the weak, and isolating people. She often hung out with Qin He and would frequently protect him.
 
That’s how their relationship was established.
 
Lu Ran helped Qin He adapted to the environment, and they lived nearby. Qin He treated her like a half-sister and would help her with her studies and cover up her mistakes.
 
Nowadays, Lu Ran has grown up to be a graceful beauty, but that’s only when she’s not speaking or moving.
 
“Xiao He, I miss you so much. The courses in high school are really difficult, and there are a lot of them. It was still okay in the first year, but in the second year, I cut off contact with my teacher directly.”
 
Upon seeing Qin He, Lu Ran immediately poured out her grievances.
 
“I can’t live without you. You have to help me this winter break. My grades are already terrible. If this continues, I’m afraid my mom will beat me with a broom.”
 
Lu Ran clung to Qin He’s clothes and acted pitifully, hoping to evoke his kindness.
 
“Okay, after you finish visiting your relatives, come find me. That’s fine,” Qin He rescued his clothes from her grip. “You wrinkled them all.” 
 
“Hey, who is following who here? Don’t you like photography?”
 
Lu Ran waved the ticket in her hand, looking for compliments from Qin He.
 
“I got a ticket to the photography exhibition. It’s a tough one to get, but I got it for your birthday present. Aren’t I thoughtful?”
 
“Great, you’re amazing. That’s settled then,” Qin He said.
 
“Well, can I make a small request? It’s not too much, is it?” Lu Ran started to climb up the ladder.
 
“I just… um… bought a new pair of skates, but I’m afraid of falling.”
 
As long as the request is within his acceptable range, Qin He generally doesn’t refuse Lu Ran’s requests.
 
“Okay, let’s go.”
 
“I know there’s ice over there.” Lu Ran smiled and pulled him along, afraid he might change his mind.
 
On the other side, Yu Cheng finally finished everything and entrusted his brother to take care of things before coming to celebrate Qin He’s birthday.
 
And then he saw Qin He holding the girl’s hand, carefully protecting her like some precious porcelain.
 
On the other hand, the girl seemed to trust Qin He very much, walking boldly and laughing happily.
 
A few days ago, the snow melted and accumulated a lot of water, which froze over and became a makeshift ice rink for Lu Ran.
 
“Xiao He Ge, look, I can walk!” Lu Ran opened her mouth slightly and let out a slight scream. “Quick, look!”
 
“I see, I see.” 

Qin He curled his mouth and responded to the person. However, his hand still didn’t dare let go, afraid that the person would fall later.
 
Sure enough, as expected, Lu Ran slipped and was about to fall but was caught by Qin He.
 
Before the person could stand firmly, Qin He was pulled away by a huge force. Lu Ran fell to the ground as expected, grimacing in pain.
 
Qin He didn’t have time to see who it was, and just wanted to quickly help Lu Ran up.
 
Just as Qin He walked forward two steps before being pulled back by Yu Cheng. Qin He turned his head and saw that Yu Cheng was somewhat angry. “What are you doing?”
 
“What are you doing again? I said you find my phone calls annoying, but it turns out you were too busy with the little girl. You haven’t been in touch with me because of her, right? Did I disturb your peace after I messaged you, and now you’re too happy to think of anything else?”
 
He had been holding back, but this question ignited his anger. He gritted his teeth and let out a cold sneer.
 
“Well, I was the one who begged you to be friends in the first place. What kind of thing am I?”
 
He kicked the nearby tree, causing the branches to sway and the snow to fall in scattered pieces.
 
The snow melted silently on the ground, and only the trembling tree displayed the anger of Yu Cheng.
 
If Qin He looked closely at this time and might have noticed a hint of red in Yu Cheng’s eyes, which seemed a bit aggrieved.
 
“What’s wrong with you? How have I offended you? It’s because you didn’t message me first. Didn’t I tell you before that I didn’t mind? Can’t you understand human language?”
 
Yu Cheng had never gotten angry at him before, and Qin He was puzzled and angered by this sudden outburst.
 
On the other side, Lu Ran had already gotten up from the ground and, seeing the two arguing, didn’t want to get involved. Instead, she ran to the other side to watch the show.
 
Lu Ran was a broad-minded person. When she heard that there was a story involved, she didn’t care about the pain and went to the side to watch the show.
 
“I didn’t message you, so you didn’t know how to find me. Then how did you know how to find her?”
 
Even though he was still annoyed, Yu Cheng held onto the gift he had brought for Qin He and didn’t throw it on the ground.
 
Qin He was rendered speechless by this question.
 
“This young man, it was me who found Qin He, not the other way around.”
 
Luo Ran explained with a raised hand, but was given a glare by Yu Cheng because of that statement. 
 
She continued, “We don’t have an improper relationship. He’s like a half-brother to me.”
 
Upon hearing this, Lu Ran knew that Yu Cheng had misunderstood and was very upset, showing a suspicious attitude.
 
In fact, it was Yu Cheng’s possessiveness that was causing trouble. He couldn’t stand the thought of Qin He caring about someone other than him, and he couldn’t tolerate anyone other than him touching Qin He. He didn’t understand why he had these thoughts, but he didn’t allow them.
 
As a result, his emotions were particularly intense, and he even erupted without asking questions or paying attention to anything else in recent days.
 
After explaining, although still with a sour face, Yu Cheng toned down a bit.
 
He awkwardly apologised but intentionally tried to keep Lu Ran and Qin He apart. So he ended up running around trying to keep the two of them separated.
 
After dinner at Qin’s house, he took Qin He aside sneakily.
 
“Your birthday gift.”
 
He stuffed the gift into Qin He’s hands and then stood there with his hands behind his back, looking at everything but Qin He.
 
“This is too expensive; I don’t want it,” Qin He said after seeing that it was a new camera and immediately closed the box.
 
“Her gift is acceptable to me, but not yours!” Seeing that Yu Cheng was about to explode, Qin He rubbed his head and coaxed him like a child. “It’s too expensive.”
 
This person is like a landmine, exploding with every sentence.
 
“I don’t care; you have to accept it. It’s normal for friends to give gifts. You haven’t contacted me for so many days; it’s not over yet.” Yu Cheng threatened with the second half of the sentence.
 
“Okay, okay, when is your birthday?” Qin He was really afraid of this person.
 
“July 13th.” Yu Cheng was quite happy that Qin He could care about his birthday. He was happy to see someone making an effort for him. “Don’t give me something too expensive; I don’t need that stuff. You have to put your heart into it, got it?”
 
Qin He smiled as if he remembered something. “This is what you meant by unforgettable; it was quite unforgettable.”
 
Yu Cheng scratched his head. He had something else in mind, he had learned a magic trick and wanted to show it to Qin He. But they had both forgotten about it during their argument, and now he felt a little awkward bringing it up.
 
The air was silent, and it seemed like there were only the two of them left in the world. But because of this small matter, they were at odds with each other… 
 
Xian Nan Zhi
 
“If we can experience snow together in the morning, we can consider ourselves old together in this life.” quote