When Winter Falls in Love - Chapter 3

The originally quiet atmosphere took on an eerie quality. You could clearly sense everyone in the dormitory pricking up their ears, eavesdropping to see how this would unfold. Dong Yin was being far too bold, this direct approach was practically shooting for the stars.

A shared shower? Willing to learn anything Xie Mingjun liked? Just what exactly did she want to learn…

It was risqué yet strangely thrilling.

The roommates were utterly shocked, burning with curiosity about Xie Mingjun’s reaction. Unfortunately, Xie Mingjun didn’t push Dong Yin away, remaining seated calmly. With her back to the door and Dong Yin’s bed near the bathroom, no one could see Xie Mingjun’s expression only Dong Yin, who sat on her lap?

Xie Mingjun had been momentarily stunned, but that shock quickly flashed across her face before turning into amusement. Her gaze lingered on Dong Yin, scrutinizing her thoroughly. This time, Xie Mingjun didn’t ask whether it was real or fake, instead, she inquired curiously, “What exactly can you do?”

Dong Yin had spoken up purely on courage, but now shame crawled all over her body, raising goosebumps. She stole a glance around and locked eyes with two of her roommates.

Suppressing her embarrassment, Dong Yin leaned close to Xie Mingjun’s ear and whispered, “I can kiss.”

“Hmm?” Xie Mingjun didn’t catch it.

Dong Yin raised her voice slightly. “I’m really good at kissing.”

Xie Mingjun chuckled, looking at her, this time, genuinely mocking her.

“Since you’re being so sincere…” Xie Mingjun met Dong Yin’s gaze. Dong Yin immediately straightened up, anticipating her next move. Just like that day when Xie Mingjun had almost kissed her, she began examining Dong Yin carefully.

Dong Yin discreetly tucked her bangs behind her ear, revealing her entire face. She tilted her head slightly, pressing her lips closer to Xie Mingjun’s far bolder than the first time Xie Mingjun had scrutinized her.

She moistened her lips and added softly, “I’ve also been practicing yoga recently.”

Xie Mingjun scoffed. “What you’re doing can hardly be called yoga, more like flailing around…”

“Next time, I’ll show you, okay?” Dong Yin had spoken too eagerly, too desperate to impress, and hadn’t fully heard Xie Mingjun’s remark. “What did you just say?”

“I don’t repeat myself,” Xie Mingjun said.

Dong Yin sighed in disappointment but distinctly felt Xie Mingjun’s hand squeeze her waist, as if weighing whether it was truly slender. Dong Yin wondered: Was she just complimenting my waist?

Quietly, she murmured, “Right? I think it’s pretty slim too. I can do a lot of poses perfectly.”

Xie Mingjun stayed silent for a long moment before pinching Dong Yin’s chin. After half a minute, she asked, “So what else do you want to learn? What can you even learn?” Without waiting for an answer, she gripped Dong Yin’s waist, lifted her, and set her down on the floor. “Come with me,” she said.

Dong Yin stumbled back a step, barely keeping her balance.

Xie Mingjun stood, her chair scraping loudly.

Dong Yin was still in her pink tracksuit, going out like this would be humiliating. “Can you wait for me?” she asked.

Xie Mingjun didn’t respond. Dong Yin hurriedly opened her closet and pulled out a change of clothes. Her outfits were all similar, with nothing particularly stylish to choose from. She didn’t even need to pick.

Dong Yin carried her clothes to the bathroom and quickly changed into them, a plain black short-sleeved shirt paired with black leggings. When she stepped out, Xie Mingjun was nowhere to be seen.

Meng Mochou, munching on a slice of watermelon, chimed in, “Xie Mingjun left. She didn’t even wait for you.”

Dong Yin grew anxious. Without bothering to check Meng Mochou’s expression, she muttered a quick thanks, saved her thesis, grabbed her bag, and rushed out to find Xie Mingjun. Xie Mingjun walked fast, she never waited for anyone. Sometimes she didn’t even walk, opting to leave by car instead. Dong Yin was genuinely afraid she wouldn’t catch up.

Luckily, this time, Xie Mingjun hadn’t gone far. She had just entered the small grove beside the dormitory building. The midday sun was blinding, the ground scorching hot, but the dense foliage of the grove cast cool, dappled shadows beneath the lush green leaves.

The moment Dong Yin stepped in, the cicadas’ shrill cries assaulted her ears, as relentless as ever.

As she walked, she pondered seriously, should she tell Xie Mingjun what she planned to study? Should she volunteer herself? She wasn’t entirely sure yet, but she believed she could learn anything with enough effort. Panting slightly, she spotted the figure ahead and called out with a smile, “Xie Mingjun!”

Xie Mingjun stopped and turned to look at her.

“What happened in the dorm was just a little punishment.”

Xie Mingjun spoke bluntly, without exaggeration. She didn’t seem to be joking, her tone icy. “I called you here to spare you some dignity. Stop chasing after me from now on.”

Dong Yin let out a quiet, dejected “Oh.”

Xie Mingjun wasn’t the same as she had been in the dorm. She’d been fine earlier, what had changed after stepping outside? What kind of mental journey had she gone through?

“Feel humiliated?” Xie Mingjun asked.

Truthfully, it was humiliating. Dong Yin had confessed so earnestly, her heart pounding with emotion, yet Xie Mingjun had rejected her without a second thought, as if it meant nothing. It had bruised Dong Yin’s pride a little.

Xie Mingjun lowered her voice. “If you keep bothering me, I’ll make it even worse for you. Understand?”

“I understand.”

Dong Yin blinked. Her eyes were bright, glistening with moisture, so vivid that one might feel tempted to reach out and pinch them.

Earlier in the dorm, Xie Mingjun had only taken out a lighter. This time, she produced a cigarette slender, elegantly crafted. The way she held it was undeniably sexy.

Dong Yin gazed at her and said, “Xie Mingjun, don’t smoke.”

Xie Mingjun paused mid-motion with the lighter. “You’re quite the busybody, aren’t you? First this, then that. Weren’t you just saying you’d listen to me?”

Dong Yin replied, “But… you told me not to bother you, so what you said earlier doesn’t count anymore.” Sensing Xie Mingjun’s displeasure, she quickly added, “Smoking is bad for your health. You really shouldn’t.”

Xie Mingjun deliberately shoved the lighter into Dong Yin’s hand and brought the cigarette to her lips. “Light it for me.”

Her lips were beautifully shaped, painted a bewitching red, the inside a deeper shade. She pursed them slightly, dampening the cigarette’s filter before biting down and leaning toward Dong Yin.

Dong Yin clutched the lighter, ready to comply.

She looked so wicked, who wouldn’t adore her?

Her fingers fumbled with the lighter’s cap, flicking it open before snapping it shut with a click. Rising onto her tiptoes, Dong Yin whispered into Xie Mingjun’s ear, “Xie Mingjun, smoking really isn’t healthy. How about… we kiss instead? That’s much healthier.”

Xie Mingjun’s teasing gaze turned to puzzlement in an instant, then she burst into laughter. She took the cigarette from her lips and held it between her fingers.

Time passed unnoticed, Xie Mingjun’s cigarette was gone, and they had walked so far that they arrived at a restaurant entrance. Dong Yin had twisted and turned through so many alleys that she was completely disoriented, having no idea which part of town this restaurant was in.

Upon entering, Dong Yin checked her phone and realized they’d unknowingly left campus grounds without her noticing.

Xie Mingjun sat down and made just one remark,that she wasn’t accustomed to being treated, before proceeding to order all the dishes herself. Dong Yin had no idea about the prices and didn’t dare ask, knowing she couldn’t afford anything too expensive.

The nearly empty restaurant served their food quickly. The exquisitely arranged plates held meager portions, which Dong Yin ate slowly with her chopsticks.

Xie Mingjun only had a dessert while scrolling through her phone. Midway, she answered a call from Zou Yuxi, whose gentle voice asked if she’d eaten and whether she wanted to grab food together.

Dong Yin watched intently as Xie Mingjun glanced back at her and replied, “I’m eating right now. with your little follower.”

“You’re having dinner with Dong Yin? Why? Which restaurant?” Zou Yuxi’s tone carried not nervousness but resignation. “Dong Yin barely has any money, why would you eat with her?”

While everyone knew Dong Yin was poor, hearing it stated so bluntly made her lose her appetite, the food turning tasteless in her mouth.

Xie Mingjun retorted, “Worried she can’t pay? She seems perfectly happy eating, doesn’t seem to think she’s poor. Why bother?”

Zou Yuxi laughed awkwardly. “Just saying. Send me your location I’ll come pay.”

Dong Yin observed Xie Mingjun’s three-minute phone conversation. Hanging up, Xie Mingjun asked, “Full yet?”

“Almost… just a bit more.”

The dishes looked prohibitively expensive. Dong Yin felt that regardless of who paid, she should finish everything to avoid waste, so she kept eating steadily.

Xie Mingjun occasionally glanced at Dong Yin, who always ate slowly, savoring each bite as if trying to extract every penny’s worth. But the moment Dong Yin noticed Xie Mingjun watching, she’d accelerate her chewing, cheeks puffing out.

Once, Xie Mingjun’s fingers twitched toward her chopsticks unconsciously.

When Dong Yin finally set down her utensils and prepared to pay, Xie Mingjun had already walked out. The waiter informed Dong Yin that the bill had been settled online.

Exiting the restaurant, the afternoon heat had intensified. The absence of cicadas in the roadside trees left the surroundings unusually quiet.

Dong Yin quickened her pace to walk beside Xie Mingjun, then after a few seconds, moved in front while walking backward her habitual series of little antics making Xie Mingjun stop to see what she’d do next.

Carefully offering her phone, Dong Yin asked, “Xie Mingjun, can I add your WeChat?”

Xie Mingjun frowned.

Undeterred, Dong Yin kept her phone raised, tapping nervously at the screen as she murmured, “Today’s meal… seems really expensive. I don’t have cash—could we exchange contacts? I’ll pay you back gradually through WeChat transfers…”

Xie Mingjun looked at Dong Yin with utmost seriousness. Dong Yin wasn’t short either, so Xie Mingjun didn’t need to lower her head, merely leaning slightly forward with her arms crossed. The midday heat rose in waves, flushing Dong Yin’s face crimson.

She watched as Xie Mingjun’s lips parted slightly, teeth biting the tip of her tongue, as if she was fuming. After holding it in for a moment, Xie Mingjun finally said, “Dong Yin, you’re really something.”

Half an hour later.

Dong Yin dawdled her way back to the dorm. The campus was so large that the buses never seemed to come on time, forcing her to quicken her pace and walk back.

By the time she arrived, she was drenched in sweat again. Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door, she overheard the conversation inside.

Meng Mochou’s shrill voice rang out, “Did I hear that right? Dong Yin confessed to Xie Mingjun? She wants to pursue Xie Mingjun? Is she for real?”

“I remember she used to hang around with Zou Yuxi all the time,” chimed in Ying Qiongxue, who slept on the bunk opposite Dong Yin. Ying Qiongxue had attended the same high school as Dong Yin, but since Dong Yin studied science while she studied humanities, they hadn’t interacted much back then.

Their dormitory building housed six-person rooms uniformly. Except for Dong Yin, who was the only one from her class, the other five roommates were all from the same class.

The housing situation was rather complicated. Dong Yin majored in Japanese, and her class had 13 female students, meaning one had to be assigned to live with students from other majors. Dong Yin was the one who ended up living separately. During their freshman year, everyone was still getting to know each other, and with adulthood making their temperaments more mellow, they all got along harmoniously.

Later, some roommates felt their majors weren’t suitable and applied to switch, moving to dormitories arranged by their new departments. Ying Qiongxue, who had transferred in, attended the same high school as Dong Yin. She took an instant dislike to Dong Yin, and before long, Dong Yin’s high school rumors spread throughout the dorm.

Dong Yin tightened her grip on her backpack straps. Just as she raised her hand to knock again, she heard someone inside say, “Dong Yin’s full of surprises. I thought she wanted to be a homewrecker, but turns out she’s after Xie Mingjun.”

“Xie Mingjun’s attitude was kind of weird too.”

After a few seconds of silence, Ying Qiongxue suddenly said, “…Yeah, Dong Yin’s really something.”

Dong Yin thought she was really something too.

Suppressing a smile, she didn’t bother knocking anymore and pushed the door open to walk in.