The server brought the food up, and only then did the two of them get out of bed. Jin Zhao found her phone in the living room.

From last night to today, many messages had come in wishing her a Happy New Year—students, close colleagues, several peers in the field, as well as Si Tian and Luo Heng.

Although it was a bit late, Jin Zhao still replied to each one carefully. She scrolled the messages, replying from the very bottom all the way back up to the top.

Meng Yanxi’s gaze swept over, amused by what she was doing. “You’re pretty fair.”

He tilted his head to look at her, not without a hint of grievance. “No wonder you’re always so slow replying to me, turns out I’m standing in line.”

Jin Zhao: “……”

She really didn’t know how President Meng, so satisfied with life, could always manage to pick out so many things to be unhappy about where she was concerned.

After carefully replying to the messages from Jin Wenyi’s family, she looked up and met her boyfriend’s gaze.

When her boyfriend acted coquettish, he was like a milk puppy; when he acted aloof, he was like a wolfdog. At this moment, he seemed to fall somewhere between coquettish and aloof.

Jin Zhao explained, “I’m only slow to reply when I’m teaching. I can’t look at my phone in class. Usually I reply very quickly.”

Someone deliberately exploited a loophole and shot back, “Then what are you doing right now?”

Jin Zhao: “……”

So which bastard was it, exactly, who caused her to reply so late?

When the phone rang last night, he was so fired up that he went to kick the phone away, yet still refused to let go of her—holding her tightly, connected to her, carrying her as he walked over, that whole stretch making her scream until her voice broke. The arms that had been hooked around his neck had no strength left, going limp and sliding down, her body nearly sliding down with them, only to be pressed by him against the wall again……

For someone experiencing it for the first time, that kind of experience was far too intense.

Just thinking about it was intense.

She didn’t want to pay him any attention anymore. Lowering her head, she continued replying to messages. After finishing one, she still softened, scrolling the contact list upward and showing him the very top.

Meng Yanxi was pinned right at the top.

Jin Zhao always had exceptional patience with this boyfriend of hers, explaining softly, “I always reply to you first.”

Her boyfriend was finally satisfied, the corners of his lips curving into a smile.

Si Tian had sent the most messages—wishing her a Happy New Year, and asking whether she wanted to go out together on New Year’s Day.

She must have had a rare three-day holiday, frantically forwarding her vlogs of horseback riding, skiing, and racing—wanting to do everything, asking Jin Zhao which one she liked.

Just after midnight, Jin Zhao had been in the depths of fire and water, losing herself again and again; naturally, she had no way to reply.

In the bedroom, the spring night burned hot; the phone lay cold on the living room floor, ringing again and again.

Si Tian asked in lonely confusion: 【Zhao Zhao, are you asleep?】

Si Tian: 【Why did you go to bed so early?】

Si Tian: 【I thought being run ragged at the hospital already made me exhausted—how are you even more tired than me?】

Si Tian: 【That can’t be right. I feel like your job is pretty okay, at least lighter than mine. I’m still full of energy here. What did you do to be this tired?】

Si Tian: 【Is it because you’re a newcomer, and your leader is deliberately ringing the changes to torment you?】

Jin Zhao: “……”

She didn’t know why, but at this moment she suddenly couldn’t bear to look straight at Si Tian’s message.

She forcibly plucked Meng Yanxi out of her mind and replied to Si Tian in a proper, serious manner: 【Sorry, I was too tired last night and slept until now. Do you still want to go out? I’m fine with anything.】

After the message was sent, no new bubble popped up on the screen for a moment. Jin Zhao quickly replied to the other messages instead.

By the time she finished, Si Tian’s call happened to come through.

It sounded lively on her end; in the background, there was even a familiar voice.

“Kuku, who are you on the phone with?”

Just from that form of address, it was obvious it was Luo Heng.

Si Tian ignored him. Once the call connected, she shouted excitedly, “Zhao Zhao, you finally replied to me! What did you do last night? How did you end up sleeping the whole day, this exhausted?”

The speaker had no intention, but the listener did—especially when the man beside her cast his gaze over at the same time, settling on her with deep meaning.

Alright, he got smug again.

Jin Zhao didn’t look at him and said stiffly, “Just… rang in the New Year.”

The man who had rung in the New Year with her last night let out an extremely soft laugh.

Jin Zhao didn’t know what she was feeling guilty about. She hurriedly stood up with her phone and walked away, putting as much distance between them as possible.

Fortunately, it was noisy on Si Tian’s end. She didn’t hear it, nor did she dwell on the matter of Jin Zhao sleeping all day. She quickly got back to the point and said, “Did you watch the vlogs I sent you? Horseback riding, skiing, racing—what do you want to play? I have a three-day New Year’s holiday, and there are still two days left!”

Jin Zhao was used to accommodating others. She smiled instinctively and said, “You choose. I’m fine with anything.”

As soon as she said it, she felt a bit of regret.

Although the discomfort between her legs had eased, going horseback riding immediately afterward would probably still be a bit uncomfortable.

At the same time, she also noticed the deeply meaningful look cast over by the culprit, and her face grew even hotter.

Just then, Luo Heng cut in, shouting from the side, “Where are you guys going? I’m coming too! Lu Jingyue hasn’t been talking to anyone these past two days, and that dog Meng Yanxi came back to the country and still won’t reply to my messages. I’m pretty bored on my own.”

Si Tian turned her head and said with a smile, “Sure. If you’re coming, then you’re responsible for driving—and for paying!”

Lawyer Luo was generous and said briskly, “Driving and paying are fine, but I get to choose where we go.”

Si Tian turned to ask Jin Zhao, “Zhao Zhao, did you hear that? Do you want to bring this sucker along?”

Luo Heng protested unhappily, “What sucker? How can you talk like that? Having a friend like me who works tirelessly for you—you should be secretly thrilled!”

He leaned toward the phone’s microphone again and asked cheerfully, “So? Little sister Jin Zhao, bring me along, yeah? I’ll even bring you a surprise!”

Luo Heng’s surprises were something Jin Zhao politely declined. She smiled and said, “No need for the surprise. Lawyer Luo, you’d better just come yourself.”

Luo Heng: “No, no, no—the surprise has to come!”

Si Tian: “Stop talking nonsense. Just say where we’re going.”

Luo Heng played coy. “Then I’ll have to choose carefully. I’ll say it later.”

Si Tian took the phone.

She was also eating dinner at the moment, together with Luo Heng and a few other friends. The environment was a bit noisy. Laughing, she said, “Alright then, let’s talk on WeChat later.”

After hanging up, Jin Zhao returned to the dining table and continued eating.

Meng Yanxi’s phone chimed once. He lowered his head to take a look, then suddenly asked Jin Zhao, “Do you want to go horseback riding?”

Jin Zhao: “……”

He did it on purpose, didn’t he!

Jin Zhao glared at him angrily.

Meng Yanxi smiled innocently and showed her his phone. “Luo Heng is asking.”

Jin Zhao glanced over. Luo Heng had sent a voice message. Meng Yanxi had switched it to text earlier, but now his long finger tapped the voice message, and Luo Heng’s hearty, slightly obnoxious voice blared out.

“Brother Yan, where are you? Si Tian asked Jin Zhao’s little sister out to play, I’m going too. The three of us are going horseback riding tomorrow—do you want to come along?”

Jin Zhao: “……”

Alright, now she finally knew what surprise Luo Heng had meant.

She glanced at someone’s lips, which were curved high up.

So smug—he might as well change his name to Meng Smug.

Meng Yanxi smiled at her, his long finger pressing down on the voice button, enunciating clearly, “Sure.”

The moment it was sent, Luo Heng’s voice message came in right away.

“Holy shit! Meng Yanxi, you’re really valuing women over brothers, huh! I’ve been calling you and sending you messages since last night, and you didn’t bother replying. The moment you hear Jin Zhao’s little sister’s name, you come running to reply! You’re really something, brother—”

Before Luo Heng’s accusation could finish, Meng Yanxi mercilessly cut off the voice message.

More messages followed immediately. Meng Yanxi didn’t open them, finding them noisy, and casually put him on Do Not Disturb.

Jin Zhao was stunned by this smooth, flowing sequence of actions and couldn’t help accusing him on Luo Heng’s behalf. “Meng Yanxi, you’re really impatient.”

Meng Yanxi tossed his phone aside and asked with an amused smile, “If I have no patience with others, who do you think I’ve used all my patience on?”

Jin Zhao had nothing to say.

Meng Yanxi picked up his chopsticks and served her food. “Eat quickly, the dishes are getting cold.”

Jin Zhao obediently lowered her head and ate. After a while, she said softly, “You eat too.”

When she had been replying to messages and taking calls just now, Meng Yanxi had been waiting for her the whole time.

So she really had no grounds to accuse him of lacking patience.

After they finished eating, the server quickly came to clear the table. Meng Yanxi finally showed mercy and replied to Luo Heng.

Soon after, Jin Zhao also received a message from Si Tian.

Si Tian said on WeChat that Meng Yanxi was coming too. He wanted to go skiing and asked whether skiing would be okay with her.

Not having to go horseback riding, Jin Zhao quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

She glanced at the man standing by the floor-to-ceiling window with his back to her, talking on the phone, a sweetness she couldn’t let anyone know blooming in her heart.

Jin Zhao replied that it was fine.

Si Tian then asked her about the time.

After Jin Zhao finished replying on her end, Meng Yanxi was still on the phone. At first, she thought it was Luo Heng, but later she realized he was coaxing Meng Shixu.

“Dad, how old am I already? Why are you still managing who I go out to play with like when I was a kid?”

“Yes, yes, standing you up was my fault, but think about it—haven’t you stood me up plenty of times too? Let’s call it even, alright?”

“Don’t get mad out of embarrassment. I’ll come home to see you in a few days.”

Only then did Jin Zhao learn that Meng Yanxi had originally planned to go home tomorrow.

After Meng Yanxi hung up, she discussed it with him. “How about we don’t go tomorrow?”

Meng Yanxi wrapped an arm around her waist. At first, he lowered his gaze to look at her, quite gentle, but within two seconds his mouth turned bad again. “If we’re not going skiing, then how about riding at home?”

Jin Zhao didn’t react at first, still thinking—how do you ride at home? Ride where?

Once she understood, she was so annoyed she started hitting him.

“Meng Yanxi!”

Meng Yanxi had brought it on himself and obediently took the beating.

Meng Yanxi skied often and had a full set of professional ski equipment. Jin Zhao wasn’t as rich or as free as he was; she had only briefly tried it back in university with classmates at an artificial ski resort.

Meng Yanxi made a call to have a complete set of women’s ski equipment prepared and sent directly to the hotel below the ski resort.

That night, although someone was suffering from having tasted marrow and wanting more, he still behaved himself and didn’t touch her. The two of them slept purely, holding each other.

Early the next morning, they met up with Si Tian and Luo Heng.

From Suiyi heading west, about four to five hundred kilometers away, there was a mountain over two thousand meters above sea level, with a natural ski resort on it.

With the round trip, plus snowfall and slippery roads, just the drive alone took eight or nine hours. The plan for this trip was two days and one night. Once they arrived, the group first checked into a hotel at the foot of the mountain.

When it came to room assignments, Si Tian naturally arranged for the girls to share one room and the guys another.

Luo Heng nodded, no objections. Jin Zhao also nodded along.

Meng Yanxi glanced at her. Seeing that she didn’t say anything, he didn’t say anything either, and turned to ask for four rooms.

One person per room.

Big capitalists really were generous. Luo Heng laughed and teased, “President Meng, my respects!”

Si Tian’s focus was forever on mocking Luo Heng. “Hahaha, is it possible you’re the one being disliked?”

Then she turned to Meng Yanxi and said, “Zhao Zhao and I can share a room.”

Meng Yanxi didn’t make a sound. Jin Zhao met his gaze.

Peach-blossom eyes, pitch-dark—four words written plainly in them: That’s not allowed.