She had no one she liked, and she had long seen through the essence of marriage.
Holding no illusions about love or marriage, this outcome was actually quite good for her.
Yet, she couldn't help but feel displeased.
Scrolling aimlessly through her phone, she had over 400 WeChat contacts.
It seemed she had many friends, but in the end, she couldn't find anyone suitable to talk to.
It wasn't until New Year's Eve that A Zhong sent her a WeChat message, and Zhou Jinbei finally understood what was bothering her.
Midnight on New Year's Eve.
Zhou Jinbei leaned against her pillow alone, watching the giant projector on the wall with little interest.
Her phone suddenly rang.
She picked it up and saw it was a message from A Zhong.
Although it was far simpler than what others might say, containing only four words, "Happy New Year," her heart instantly leaped with joy.
She should reply with "Happy New Year" to him.
But after thinking it over, she felt it was too simple and might kill the conversation.
A Zhong had such low emotional intelligence; if the conversation died, the rare opportunity to talk to him would be gone, which would be a shame.
So, after much deliberation, she typed a sentence and sent it.
"Are you staying up for the New Year?"
A Zhong quickly replied.
"Sort of. Are you too?"
"I am, sort of. Are you celebrating at home or with your second brother?"
"I'm back in my hometown. Weren't you out having fun tonight?"
"Having fun with what? Am I the kind of person who enjoys that?"
Zhou Jinbei rolled her eyes at him, then sent a photo.
"I'm watching a movie alone at home."
A Zhong smiled, "Oh, Life is Beautiful. You're quite the cinephile on New Year's Eve."
Zhou Jinbei's lips curved into a smile involuntarily.
"Don't look down on me; I've always been very cultured, haven't I?"
"Didn't you say your dad raises cows and sheep at home? Can you show me?"
A Zhong said, "Sure. It's just a bit far. I'll go out and take some pictures, wait a moment."
"Okay."
A Zhong returned late at night to find his father waiting with a table full of New Year's Eve dinner.
The father and son ate and drank, and then tidied up the house.
After watching the Spring Festival Gala, his father went to bed.
A Zhong also planned to sleep, but before doing so, he felt he should greet Zhou Jinbei.
Hence the conversation above.
Turning on the lights in the yard, he walked towards the sheep pen with a flashlight.
He took two photos in the not-so-good light and sent them to her.
"The light isn't great at night, and it's a bit messy. Just make do with these."
"They're not as cute as the cows and sheep in cartoons, anyway."
Did Zhou Jinbei really want to see cows and sheep?
She just wanted an excuse to talk to him more.
"Your photography skills are really not that good. It must have been tough for you to go out in the dark to take ghost images for me."
A Zhong sent her a laughing-crying emoji.
Zhou Jinbei then asked, "How many cows and sheep do you raise at home?"
"About thirty cows and over fifty sheep."
"Wow, a wealthy family."
"It's alright. If I sold them all, I could buy one of your toilets."
"Then I'll trade you one of my toilets for them?"
"I'm afraid not. They're not mine to sell; I don't have the authority."
They both laughed.
Zhou Jinbei had no sleepiness and didn't want to sleep.
"Do you think it will snow this winter?"
A Zhong said, "I checked the forecast during dinner; there's none in the next week."
"That's so boring."
"You want to see snow?"
"What? Can you take me to see it?"
A Zhong said, "It's not impossible. I don't have many relatives to visit anyway. I'll be free at home for the next few days, so I have time to go to the Northeast."
Zhou Jinbei suddenly became very happy, "Then shall we go to Harbin together?"
"Uh... don't you have to visit relatives for the New Year?"
"I don't care if they need me to or not. I don't have to."
A Zhong smiled again, "If you really want to go, I'll look up flights now."
She suddenly turned sentimental, "Your dad only has you as a son. After finally getting you back, will he be sad if I snatch you away?"
"That's simple. My dad has never been to Harbin. We can take him along... you don't mind an extra person, do you?"
Being able to go with the person she liked and his family, Zhou Jinbei was too happy to mind.
"I don't mind. Send me your location, and I'll drive to your place now. We'll set off together tomorrow!"
"...It's New Year's Day today. Will your mom and dad be angry if you leave home so late at night?"
Zhou Jinbei was willful, "Just tell them, whether you send it or not! If you don't want me to come, just say it directly!"
A Zhong could only say, "If you really want to come, I'll come pick you up. I'm worried it's not safe for you to drive alone."
Wow, he was coming to pick her up?
She could see him soon?
Zhou Jinbei was thrilled, "How many hours will it take for you to get here?"
"Three hours at most. Can you wait?"
"Of course! You drive here, and I'll drive back!"
And so, they happily made their decision.
Putting down her phone, Zhou Jinbei immediately jumped out of bed and started changing and putting on makeup.
When A Zhong arrived, she picked up a small suitcase and went out.
Getting into the car and looking at each other, they both felt a bit shy, like teenagers in their first romance.
After a couple of awkward seconds of smiling at each other, A Zhong spoke first.
"Did you tell your family? Do they agree you can go out?"
"They agree." Zhou Jinbei lied. "You get down, let me drive."
"No need. I'm not sleepy." A Zhong was more spirited than ever. "Then buckle up, we're leaving."
With mellow music playing in the car, the warm air blowing, and the person she liked sitting beside her.
The car sped along the bright, wide road, and her heart suddenly filled with contentment.
When they arrived home more than two hours later, Zhou Jinbei had fallen asleep.
He looked at her in the warm yellow light of the car; her little face was flushed, her lips were plump, and her dark hair fell across half her face. She was incredibly cute.
A Zhong really couldn't bear to wake her up.
He kept the car running and watched her sleep inside until it was almost dawn. The car ran out of gas, and Zhou Jinbei finally woke up.
Looking around, she saw they were still in the car, with A Zhong sitting beside her with his eyes open. The smart girl immediately understood what was going on.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"You were sleeping so soundly, I couldn't bring myself to."
"..."
A Zhong laughed, "Just kidding. Actually, there wasn't an extra room prepared at home. If you had gotten down, we would have had to share a bed yesterday."
Zhou Jinbei didn't speak. She turned her head to look out the window, stretched her arms and legs, and suddenly her eyes lit up.
"We don't need to go to Harbin anymore."
"Hm?"
"Look, it's snowing outside."
A Zhong had been so focused on looking at her that he had overlooked the outside.
At this moment, he looked around and indeed, the tops of the cow and sheep pens in the distant yard were covered in white.
"Heaven is trying to save me money in creative ways."
Zhou Jinbei reached out to hit him, "Look at you, so cheap."
A Zhong instinctively grabbed her hand, "So, are we still going to Harbin or not?"
A current of electricity surged through Zhou Jinbei's body, and her voice became soft and sweet.
"We're not."
"I'm still sleepy. Come on, let's go get some more sleep. When we wake up, it will be snowing harder, and you'll play snowballs with me."