December 31, Saturday.
Morning light was stingier than usual. The gray-white sky filtered through the curtains, announcing the last day of the year.
He picked up his phone and dialed the familiar number.
"Hello?" Shen Zhiyi's voice was soft and muffled with sleep, like petals damp with morning dew.
"Are you free today?" Zhao Chen leaned against the headboard, his voice gentler than even he realized.
"Want to have lunch and watch a movie together? Just the two of us."
There was a moment of silence on the other end before her tiny, amused breath came through:
"Sure! What time? Where should we meet?"
"Eleven. At that Private Kitchen Restaurant we always go to."
Zhao Chen paused, then couldn't resist adding, "Don't bring any 'family members.'"
Shen Zhiyi giggled on the other end. "Got it, Chairman Zhao."
After hanging up, Zhao Chen washed up and changed clothes, inexplicably lighthearted.
At ten fifty, Zhao Chen parked in front of the restaurant and spotted Shen Zhiyi standing there from a distance.
She wore an ivory down jacket and a light-gray cashmere scarf. Her little face was faintly reddened by the cold wind as she looked down at her phone.
Zhao Chen walked over quickly. The moment she looked up, he naturally took her slightly cool hand and tucked it into the warm pocket of his coat.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"No, I just got here." Shen Zhiyi tipped her face up to look at him, her eyes curving into crescents.
"You look... a little different today."
"How am I different?"
"You seem... a little more relaxed." she said softly.
Zhao Chen smiled without denying it, only tightening his grip on her hand inside the pocket.
The two of them entered the restaurant and had just sat down in their reserved window-side