Chi Zhan had already picked out four pendants, but then he hesitated—should he get one for Qi Song too? After all, he’d bought so many already, and Qi Song had gifted him that amazing keyboard. It was only right to return the favor.
Remembering the news about Qi Song’s quiet retirement from the spotlight, Chi Zhan chose a fortune charm—a symbol of change and new beginnings.
With five jade pendants selected in one go, Chi Zhan felt like a total Sea King.
Qi Song was still discussing something with the shopkeeper. He had only chosen one piece, but when he saw Chi Zhan’s haul, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Looks like you’ve got quite a few people to give gifts to,” Qi Song remarked.
Chi Zhan smiled.
“They’ve all helped me at one point or another. It’s a good chance to repay them.”
“Alrighty, give me a sec,” the shopkeeper said cheerfully as he pulled out a calculator and began furiously tapping away. Finally, he quoted Chi Zhan a number.
It was a number Chi Zhan hadn’t even remotely expected.
He fought the urge to say, “Are you robbing me?” and instead asked politely, “Seriously?”
“Of course!” the shopkeeper beamed. “All our jade is the real deal—no tricks! This young man here knows his stuff. You can ask him—my prices are totally fair.”
Qi Song added, “Mm. That’s a very reasonable price.”
For Chi Zhan, the cost wasn’t cheap, but still within manageable range. Relationships cost money, after all—and if you could settle them with gifts, they weren’t the difficult kind. So in the end, he bought all five pieces.
Then, the shopkeeper turned to Qi Song, glanced at Chi Zhan, and said, “Let’s settle yours separately.”
“…?”
Qi Song followed the shopkeeper into a back room, leaving Chi Zhan puzzled.
Why did it need to be separate? Was there something they couldn’t say in front of him?
Inside, the shopkeeper quoted Qi Song a price—higher than what Chi Zhan had paid for all five pendants combined.
Qi Song didn’t hesitate. He paid immediately.
“You’ve got a sharp eye, young man,” the shopkeeper said. “That’s the finest piece in the whole store.”
“He deserves the best.”
Each pendant was carefully packed in an elegant gift box, along with official certification documents. Before today, Chi Zhan had never imagined such a small, unassuming shop could have hidden gems like this.
Nor did he expect Qi Song to know so much about jade.
Seeing the surprise in Chi Zhan’s eyes, Qi Song explained, “My mother was a gem appraiser. I picked up a few things growing up.”
“I see… And your mother—?”
“She passed away. When I was in high school.”
Chi Zhan hadn’t expected that. He caught a flicker of indescribable sorrow in Qi Song’s eyes.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Qi Song shook his head.
“It was a long time ago. Let me guess—which one’s for me?”
Chi Zhan raised a brow.
“What makes you think I got you one?”
“Just a hunch,” Qi Song said with a smile. “My hunches are usually spot on.”
Chi Zhan was curious to see if he could really guess right, so he said nothing and waited.
Qi Song’s gaze swept over the five gift boxes. Each had a small label describing the pendant inside. He examined them one by one—then suddenly, for some reason, smiled again.
“This one,” he said, tapping the fortune charm. “You’ve got good taste.”
“It really was that one,” Chi Zhan said, genuinely surprised. “Don’t tell me you can read minds?”
“No. It’s just… I used to have terrible luck. But things are finally turning around. From now on… everything’s going to get better. Thank you. I really like it.”
“I’m glad,” Chi Zhan said with a sigh of relief.
Giving gifts was always tricky—you never knew if someone just said they liked it out of politeness. But with Qi Song, he could tell—it was genuine.
“Can you put it on me? That way I can share some of the good luck with you.”
“Sure.” Chi Zhan agreed happily. He opened the box on the spot, while the shopkeeper returned to watching his drama, sneaking glances at the pair out of the corner of his eye and sighing to himself—
How could a couple be this sweet?
Chi Zhan took out the pendant, adjusted the red string, and gestured for Qi Song to lower his head.
Qi Song pulled his collar aside and leaned forward. Chi Zhan’s fingers brushed lightly against his neck as he fastened the cord.
“Wow, it fits perfectly.”
“Mm.” Qi Song straightened up. “Let’s go.”
As they stepped out, Chi Zhan noticed Qi Song slipping another box into his pocket. He figured—if that one wasn’t for a family member, then it had to be for his “boyfriend,” right?
Being someone Qi Song liked… was already a pretty lucky thing in itself.
Just as they stepped outside, snow began to fall again. But snow never felt as cold when you were in good company. The two of them strolled along slowly, until they reached an open space where everyone else had gathered to play.
“Secretary Chi! Captain Qi! Get over here—the snow’s super thick!” Chen Che called out, practically vibrating with excitement. He’d never seen snow like this before! You could practically swim in it!
People were throwing snowballs and building snowmen everywhere. Chi Zhan suddenly remembered the photo Qi Song had sent him once. The thought struck him, and he knelt down to gather a clump of snow, carefully molding it into a ball.
Qi Song wasn’t sure what he was doing at first—until Chi Zhan finished shaping a crooked little snowman and looked up, delighted.
“Look! What do you think?”
Qi Song studied the expressionless lump.
“Adorable.”
Chen Che wandered over, took one look.
“Secretary Chi, what is that? It’s kinda creepy.”
“……”
The truth always hurts the most.
He turned to look at Qi Song, who crouched down beside him, mimicking his movements as he awkwardly tried to form a snowball of his own.
Even someone who hated the cold this much had forgotten about it—for the sake of building a silly little snowman.
***
Qi Song’s snowman didn’t escape Chen Che’s ruthless critique either.
“Captain Qi, your snowman and Secretary Chi’s… they’re obviously related.” Chen Che scrutinized the pair, and in the end, could only arrive at one conclusion—
