Let's walk together for the rest of our lives. If the host says to leave, she will leave.

Jiang Mingcheng looked sleepy. There was no light in the room, only the small night light at the bedside was emitting soft light.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were asleep." Gu Ling apologized.

"It's okay. I'm not sleepy anyway."

I went to bed early even though I wasn’t sleepy. Am I sick?

Gu Ling asked: "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Jiang Mingcheng smiled, probably because he had just woken up, his voice was a little soft: "No, I was bored, so I went to sleep. Aren't you with uncle and aunt?"

"You don't have one either?"

Hearing this, Jiang Mingcheng pursed his lips slightly.

Gu Ling sighed in his heart. As expected, Jiang Mingcheng was the only one at home on New Year's Eve.

Jiang Mingcheng was leaning against the head of the bed, holding a doll in his arms, with half of his face deformed by the doll.

The dim night light was hazy, his face was half bright and half dark, and the shadow cast by the light on his face was like the embodiment of the loneliness in the boy's heart.

A group of children were setting off firecrackers downstairs of Gu Ling's house, and the cheers and noise were endless. The residential buildings were brightly lit, and the air was filled with the scent of life everywhere.

Gu Ling remained silent in the midst of such noise. She looked at the boy in the video and seemed to be able to see the cold and lonely villa where the boy lived through the screen of her mobile phone.

She glanced at the time. It was 10:51 pm.

boom!

For some reason, Gu Ling's heart skipped a beat.

"Ah Cheng, do you want a New Year's gift?"

Jiang Mingcheng's eyes fell on the clothes hanger next to him, on which was hanging a gray-blue scarf.

He smiled: "Do you want to give me a gift? I don't have any gift prepared for you this time."

"It doesn't matter. If you beg me, I'll give you a big gift. How about that?"

The light was on in Gu Ling's room, and her face appeared clearly on Jiang Mingcheng's phone. Her black eyes looked at him steadily, and the seriousness in them could not be ignored.

"Okay, okay, I beg you." Jiang Mingcheng spread out one hand, "Where's the gift?"

"Wait."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Ling hung up the video call. Jiang Mingcheng curled his lips, feeling that he had been fooled.

How long should we wait? It can't be until the start of school, right?

Jiang Mingcheng lay down again, his eyes once again falling on the scarf hanging on the clothes hanger not far away.

When I hung up the video call just now, the thing that flashed by seemed to be a scarf.

Jiang Mingcheng suddenly threw back the quilt, stepped barefoot on the floor, and hurried to the balcony.

There was a layer of snow on the balcony. As soon as he went out, the cold instantly enveloped Jiang Mingcheng. He did not hesitate for a moment and stepped on the loose snow. His toes curled up tightly, and the biting cold spread from the soles of his feet. He suddenly came to his senses.

Even if Gu Ling wanted to come find him, it was impossible for him to teleport to his house. He would definitely not see anyone if he came out now.

His senses returned, and he couldn't stand the cold outside, so he shrank his neck and returned to the warm room.

The room with floor heating was very warm, and the snow on the soles of my feet instantly melted into water.

After closing the balcony window, Jiang Mingcheng looked through the window towards the villa gate.

Will she come?

Gu Ling put on warm clothes and walked out of the room, meeting two pairs of bright eyes in the living room.

Gu Ling: "Uh...I have something to do."

Mother Gu smiled and said, "Do you need me to call you a taxi?"

Father Gu snorted coldly: "You're still taking a taxi. If you go out now, you'll probably have to spend the night outside. I don't know if I can see you tomorrow."

Mother Gu seemed a little embarrassed: "Xiao Jiang's parents should be at home, right? Lingling, isn't it a bad idea for you to go like this?"

Gu Ling blurted out: "His parents are on a business trip."

Gu Ling: ...Oh my god, I got tricked.

Gu's father and mother were stunned. Gu's father took out a red envelope and stuffed it into Gu Ling's pocket, pushing her out the door: "This is a red envelope for Xiao Jiang. Go give it to him quickly."

The door slammed shut, and Gu Ling faintly heard his mother shout, "You don't have to come back today!"

Gu Ling blushed slightly, but left quickly.

In the living room, Mother Gu stretched out a hand and placed it in front of Father Gu: "You lost, give me money."

The moment Gu Ling appeared, they knew that Gu Ling was going to look for someone. Gu's mother's words only confirmed that Gu Ling was indeed going to look for Jiang Mingcheng.

The two people bet on when Gu Ling would go to find Jiang Mingcheng. Mom bet on today, and Dad bet on tomorrow.

Father Gu looked depressed: "What a useless little bastard, he's still out so late."

Mother Gu was smiling as she took the money, but she rolled her eyes when she heard this: "Xiao Jiang's parents are not doing anything, and he is so pitiful all alone. If I were alone at home on New Year's Eve, would you come to see me?"

Mother Gu looked dangerously: "Or do you want to wait until tomorrow to come see me?"

Father Gu looked down at his phone and said, "Oh my, does Lingling have enough money for a taxi? I'll transfer some money to her."

……

It was difficult to get a taxi on New Year's Eve. Gu Ling waited for a long time and paid a lot of money on the taxi APP before he got a private car.

The private car stopped outside the villa area. Jiang Mingcheng had greeted the security guard before, so Gu Ling could go in directly when he came.

Gu Ling glanced at the time, wrapped his scarf around himself, and started running quickly.

The temperature was lowest late at night and light snow began to fall from the sky.

The girl ran on the deserted road, her rapid breathing was particularly clear in the night.

Hurry up, hurry up.

Faster.

Jiang Mingcheng in the room stood by the balcony, looking into the distance through the glass.

Gu Ling's house is about 40 minutes' drive from Jiang's house, and a long time has passed by now.

So, he probably won’t come, right?

Just when Jiang Mingcheng was about to give up, he saw a figure moving outside the villa from afar, and finally stopped in front of the gate.

At the same time, the cell phone suddenly rang.

Gu Ling on the other end of the phone panted heavily: "Huh - open the door."

Jiang Mingcheng tightly grasped the phone and was about to run out, but when he reached the door, he turned back, hurriedly put on his slippers, and stumbled towards the door.

He ran through the long corridor, the European-style spiral staircase, the empty living room, and then through the garden covered with a light layer of snow, heading towards the door.

The two people listened to each other's rapid breathing through the phone, and then -

The door opened and they saw themselves in each other's eyes.

Both of their chests were rising and falling, and their hearts were beating heavily. It was unclear whether it was because of the extreme speed of running or because of some hidden emotions.

Gu Ling's baby face broke into a smile, and his cold black eyes were now filled with a soft smile: "The New Year's gift has been delivered."

It is now exactly midnight.

boom--

The sky was full of fireworks, and the white mist from her exhaled air spread in the air, blurring Gu Ling's face, but her voice was so clear in Jiang Mingcheng's ears:

"Jiang Mingcheng, Happy New Year."

Jiang Mingcheng suddenly rushed forward and hugged Gu Ling. Gu Ling took two steps back and hugged him firmly, tightly, without letting go.

Jiang Mingcheng's eyes were filled with tears, and silent tears slid down her cheeks and fell silently on Gu Ling's scarf.

His voice was gentle: "Happy New Year, Gu Ling."

Jiang Mingcheng thought that for decades to come, he would never forget it.

On New Year's Eve when he was seventeen, a man braved the cold wind and frost, covered in ice and snow, to hug him, just to say to him: Happy New Year.

Are you excited?

Jiang Mingcheng, are you moved?

Yes, he could definitely answer that.

It's impossible not to be moved by such a person.

……

Gu Ling patted Jiang Mingcheng on the back, and the two ended the hug. She frowned and said, "Why did you come down here dressed like this?"

Gu Ling took off his scarf and put it on Jiang Mingcheng, then led him into the house.

The warm scarf still carried the temperature of Gu Ling's body. It was very cold outside, but Jiang Mingcheng felt that his face was about to burn.

The lower half of his face was covered by a scarf: "I'm anxious."

After entering the house, Gu Ling said while changing his shoes: "I can't run."

"I don't want you to wait too long." Jiang Mingcheng looked at her seriously, "You won't run, but I see you are going to run."

This New Year gift is so precious that Gu Ling ran to see him, so he should also run to see Gu Ling.

Moreover, he was eager to see Gu Ling as soon as possible and didn't want to waste even a minute.

Gu Ling ruffled his hair and smiled faintly: "Since you are so well behaved, do you want to tell me your New Year's wish? Maybe I can help you realize it."

Jiang Mingcheng's eyes sparkled: "Is it okay?"

"Ah."

"I hope……"