Christmas (II)

Lu Mingfei used a little Spiritual Power to warm his hands, then held them out to Su Xiaoqiang.

"Here, you can warm your hands up on mine."

Su Xiaoqiang glanced at him. Seeing that he didn't seem uncomfortable, she reached out and took his hands.

Her hands warmed up at once. Compared to hers, Lu Mingfei's hands were much bigger, and holding them felt nice and warm.

Little Goddess's hands were so cold. No wonder she'd said she was chilly. Lu Mingfei, meanwhile, felt the faint chill coming from Su Xiaoqiang's hands.

After a long while, Lu Mingfei asked, "Are you still cold? If not, you can let go."

"Mm, I think I'm still pretty cold. This doesn't seem to be warming me up enough. Why don't you hold my hands instead?" Su Xiaoqiang said, shamelessly.

Lu Mingfei didn't reply. He simply turned his hands over and clasped her little hands tightly.

He had to admit, this was the first time he'd held a girl's hand like this. It was soft and completely different from his own. It felt almost addictive.

Su Xiaoqiang narrowed her eyes, savoring the moment.

The two of them held hands until class ended.

Only when the bell rang did Lu Mingfei come to his senses. He quickly let go of her hand. Good grief, class had ended before he'd even noticed.

Lu Mingfei, Lu Mingfei, she thinks of you as a friend, and all you can think about is holding a woman's hand. You're pathetic!

Lu Mingfei scolded himself inwardly.

Su Xiaoqiang lamented to herself that PE class was far too short.

When class started, the two of them returned to the classroom. Su Xiaoqiang nudged Lu Mingfei in the waist and whispered, "My hands are still so cold."

Lu Mingfei glanced at her. Seeing how pitiful she looked, he couldn't help gently taking her hand. The teacher lectured at the front while the two of them held hands beneath their desks.

After a while, Su Xiaoqiang saw Lu Mingfei listening to the lesson without looking away. She moved her right index finger slightly and scratched his palm.

Lu Mingfei turned to look at her. Su Xiaoqiang lowered her head and whispered, "I still feel like my hand's a little cold."

Lu Mingfei could feel the warm little hand in his own. He couldn't help wondering if it was really cold, though holding Little Goddess's hand did feel nice.

So Lu Mingfei whispered, "Then tell me, what would make you feel better?"

"Mm..." Little Goddess lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes. Stumbling over her words, she said, "We could interlace all five fingers."

Would Lu Mingfei hate her for pushing her luck like this?

Lu Mingfei hesitated. This didn't seem right. Was this how you were supposed to warm someone's hands?

When Lu Mingfei didn't respond, Su Xiaoqiang added, "My girlfriends and I do this all the time."

She didn't even believe what she was saying. Su Xiaoqiang, have you lost your mind? Little Goddess was torn up inside.

"If you don't want to, then actually..."

Before she could finish, Lu Mingfei had already interlaced his fingers with hers and clasped their hands tightly together.

Feeling warmth spread from her palm through all five fingers, Su Xiaoqiang froze for a moment, then raised her head to look at Lu Mingfei.

With an expression of sudden realization, Lu Mingfei said, "You should've said so earlier! So this is what girls do. As your good buddy, of course I have to help."

Besides, Little Goddess's hand felt so nice in his that he didn't really want to let go, either. Lu Mingfei kept that part to himself. He was afraid she'd hit him.

"By the way, there's something I need to tell you. Don't have Uncle Chen pick you up today. I'll take you home tonight."

"Oh!" Su Xiaoqiang nodded obediently.

The snow outside had stopped, and it was time to go home. The two of them packed up and left the school.

"Mingfei, this is my Christmas present for you!" Su Xiaoqiang took a square box out of her backpack.

"What is it?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Hehe."

Su Xiaoqiang opened the box. Inside was a white scarf.

"I knitted it at home recently. If you dare say you don't like it, you're dead!" Su Xiaoqiang threatened, clenching her fist.

Lu Mingfei took it with a smile and wrapped it around his neck. He nodded in approval. "It's really warm!"

Su Xiaoqiang smiled until her eyes narrowed. Seeing how much Lu Mingfei liked it made her feel wonderful.

"Mingfei, if you're not having Uncle Chen pick me up, where are we going?" Su Xiaoqiang asked curiously.

Lu Mingfei held out his hand, signaling for Su Xiaoqiang to give him her backpack so he could carry it too.

After Su Xiaoqiang handed it over, he said mysteriously, "I'm taking you to a secret base."

She wondered where this secret base of his was, and couldn't help feeling a little excited.

Su Xiaoqiang, who had been standing a shoulder's width away from Lu Mingfei, jumped right over to his side and held out her hand. "My hand's cold!"

Then she held out her left hand, stood still, and looked off to the side.

"Fine!"

Lu Mingfei sighed. He carried both backpacks in his left hand and took Su Xiaoqiang's little hand in his right.

"How about now?"

"I'm not cold anymore!"

The two of them arrived downstairs at Uncle and Auntie's apartment building.

"You're taking me to meet your parents?" Su Xiaoqiang stared at Lu Mingfei in disbelief.

Lu Mingfei was speechless. "What the heck? Stop saying things that sound so suggestive. Just come with me!"

Lu Mingfei led Su Xiaoqiang upstairs. They squeezed through the iron grille leading to the roof and stepped out onto it. Without any wind, the snow on the roof still swept away from where Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang stood, spreading in every direction.

A clear patch appeared on the ground. Lu Mingfei raised his right hand and slapped it against the roof. "Hadō #31: Shakkahō, budget version!"

Red light shone from Lu Mingfei's right hand, and soon the ground had dried.

"That works too?"

Su Xiaoqiang remembered him using this thing called Hadō before. It had always come with a full light show, but she hadn't realized it could be so practical.

Lu Mingfei sat beside the humming air conditioner and patted the spot next to him. "Come sit."

"Oh, okay." Su Xiaoqiang walked over and sat beside him.

The two of them gazed out over the city.

"When I was alone, I used to like sitting here after school and watching the city until the sun went down. I'd spend a lot of time daydreaming or just zoning out. Sometimes I imagined my parents were some kind of superhero couple, always busy saving the world. I haven't seen them in years, and I'm almost starting to forget what they look like."

Lu Mingfei reminisced, sharing these things with her.

Su Xiaoqiang listened quietly. She thought that if she could go back in time, she'd give that loser a big hug and tell him, "Big Sis has got your back!" Then she'd take him under her wing and spend every day eating, drinking, and having fun with him.

Too bad she couldn't go back.

"Of course, that's just how I felt back then. Now this is just my secret base. Hardly anyone comes up here, and it's pretty nice to hang out." As he spoke, Lu Mingfei stretched.

"Oh, right. This is for you." Lu Mingfei took a small box out of his backpack.

"What is it?" Su Xiaoqiang asked eagerly.