Dazzling lights illuminated the stage, and below it, a sea of glow sticks waved ceaselessly. The crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder as Gymnasium No. 1 hosted the New Year’s Gala.

The lively uproar washed away the winter chill. At the end of the semester, the students were lost in one last celebration.

The performances at this year’s New Year’s Gala were more creative than ever before.

Even Vice Principal Zhang took the stage to kick things off, belting out a song for everyone.

Other students performed magic tricks and comedy skits, while a dozen beautiful girls performed a classical-style dance. Of course, the anime and gaming crowd wasn’t about to be outdone.

Some performed anime-style dances, while others sang anime theme songs.

In fact, the senior Le Ziling had performed one of those anime dances earlier, singing while she danced, which left her completely exhausted.

The students in the audience loved it.

Some students from other schools skipped their own galas and made a special trip to Lanjing University. They were stunned by the high quality of the performances, and their friends from Lanjing proudly declared, “This is the Landa University standard.”

As the department’s most popular teacher, Jiangg Ning couldn’t get away with not performing. Her musical skills were average, nowhere near her sister’s level, so she opted to join the female students in their classical-style dance.

After all that exertion, she was covered in sweat.

Thankfully, the students were very supportive. When she appeared on stage, they excitedly chanted “Jiangg!”, which warmed her heart.

Chen Yuan was one of the hosts for the New Year’s Gala, and he was among the busiest people there, working nonstop from start to finish.

His pairing with the short-haired senior, Ran Hongli, was probably the most eye-catching feature of the entire event.

The senior was truly beautiful, with a graceful and poised demeanor.

Jiangg Ning finally got to see Chen Yuan in a suit, just as she’d hoped. She had picked it out for him.

She sat quietly in the audience, the brilliant lights reflected in her eyes.

And… Chen Yuan’s silhouette.

After the host auditions ended, time seemed to hit fast-forward.

In the blink of an eye, the end of the semester had arrived.

The New Year’s Gala went off as scheduled, exactly as Jiangg Ning had planned. In fact, the results were even better.

But for the past two weeks, she had felt completely numb, as if in a daze. ‘How is it already time for the holiday break?’

In the audience, Jiangg Ning clapped mechanically. Whenever Chen Yuan glanced her way from the stage, she would always look away. ‘My sister took a love away from me, and it seems she took my soul along with it.’

…

…

“Ningning, you seem to be in high spirits today!”

Eleven o’clock at night. Hu Xuan Restaurant on Jianglan Street in Lanjing City’s Xiazhou district.

The top floor.

Qin Ting took off her coat and draped it to the side, revealing a sheer, high-necked black blouse. She walked to her seat and sat down, her posture indescribably alluring.

Across from her sat Jiangg Ning, who was wearing a form-fitting white sweater and pearl drop earrings.

To her left was their mutual best friend, Cheng Ya.

The central air conditioner in the ceiling steadily pumped out warm air. The table was laden with delicious dishes. Jiangg Ning, sitting gracefully by the window, offered Qin Ting a small smile.

“Of course I am. The holiday break is about to start, and the New Year’s Gala was a huge success. A great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”

“You’ve worked so hard, running around to prepare everything. You even had to find a factory for the commemorative pins yourself. You totally could have delegated that to another teacher.”

“No, I couldn’t. It’s either do it right or don’t do it at all. If I gave it to other teachers, there’s no guarantee it would be done without mistakes. Besides, if they did a shoddy job, I’d be the one to get criticized,” Jiangg Ning said, waving her hand dismissively as she picked up a hair tie to put up her hair.

“You just became the secretary of the Youth League Committee. They wouldn’t blame you…” Cheng Ya mumbled from the side, her mouth full as she poked at the dessert on her plate with a fork.

“You never know. Our Vice Principal has a terrible temper…”

The three women, all at different stages of their lives but all mature and glamorous, continued to chat. A colored glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling cast a soft glow. The restaurant wasn’t on a particularly high floor, and looking down through the window, they could see pedestrians on the street below, hunched against the cold wind as they hurried along.

It was a testament to how cold it was outside.

“I hear it’s supposed to snow in a few days,” Qin Ting said. Just as she finished, a waiter approached from the hallway and knocked on their private room’s door. “Come in,” she called.

“Let it snow. It’ll just be a light dusting anyway, not even enough to build a snowman. I really want to visit the north!” Cheng Ya sighed, propping her chin in her hands.

“We’ll get the chance someday.” Jiangg Ning pushed her wine glass forward, her pale arm resting on the corner of the table. She wore an avocado-green, form-fitting dress with straps that crossed over her full chest and around her neck, leaving her collarbones exposed. The look was completed with a bright red lipstick.

Her long hair fell in large, soft waves.

It was strange. They had the exact same face, yet her younger sister could never have pulled off this outfit with the same effect. That sort of aura was such an intangible thing.

The waiter poured the red wine into a decanter and said quietly, “Please enjoy, ladies.”

“Alright, thank you,” Qin Ting said with a wave of her hand.

“Honestly, it’s so much better when it’s just the three of us having a quiet meal together,” Qin Ting said. “It’s too noisy with the others. They’re throwing a New Year’s Eve party and invited us, but I just can’t handle that kind of scene.”

“I don’t like it either.” Jiangg Ning suddenly felt incredibly relaxed.

Her thoughts drifted to her past two-plus years in Lanjing and everything that had happened recently.

‘Time flies. It’s the end of another year already.’

It was cold enough that a car left outside for a few hours would have its windows covered in a layer of white frost. But right now, she didn’t have to worry about a thing.

‘My sister is celebrating New Year’s Eve with her fans on a livestream. Chen Yuan is probably having a happy dinner with his classmates right now, isn’t he? And I don’t even have to guess what Mom’s doing. She’s definitely out with her friends in Mingzhu City, making snide, cutting remarks about everyone they know.’

Jiangg Ning finally had a moment to reflect on her twenty-sixth year…

“Cheers!”

While she was lost in thought, Qin Ting and Cheng Ya had already raised their glasses. “You too,” they urged. “Lift your glass. It’s a special occasion.”

“Alright. Cheers. Happy New Year’s.”

“Happy New Year’s.”

The blood-red wine swirled in their glasses, reflecting the light of the chandelier.

Jiangg Ning pursed her lips and, in one gulp, drank down all the bitterness of the past several days.

…

「An hour and a half later.」

After many glasses of wine, both Jiangg Ning and Cheng Ya were swaying, their eyes glazed over with drunkenness. Only Qin Ting remained sober.

“You know you can’t hold your liquor, so why drink so fast!” Qin Ting pressed a hand to her forehead, looking helplessly at her two flush-faced best friends.

‘They were fine just a moment ago. Then they went to the restroom together, and came back like this.’

“Keep ’em coming! I’m happy today!” Jiangg Ning tilted her head back and giggled foolishly, her usual cool and aloof aura completely gone. She struggled just to keep her eyes open, and upon closer inspection, one could see that even her neck had turned a rosy pink.

“Of course, I’m still totally sober, just a little dizzy~ HIC!” Cheng Ya said, leaning toward Qin Ting and calling out in a syrupy voice, “Tingting~”

The reek of alcohol hit Qin Ting in the face, making her shut her eyes and recoil so sharply that her double chin made an appearance.

“‘Sober and a little dizzy?’ I think you’re well and truly drunk. You can’t even speak straight.”

“I am not! I’m just happy! Hehehe…”

Cheng Ya suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. She held up a shiny fork, and despite it being empty, she put it in her mouth and bit down on the tines with her pearly teeth.

Her laughter was incessant, and it seemed to be contagious.

A moment later, Jiangg Ning started laughing too, covering her cheeks. With a complete lack of her usual grace, she propped a leg up on the sofa. Her high heel had fallen off, revealing a bare foot with its big toe pointing straight up.

“You two are a pair of idiots.”

“You’re the idiot!”

“I… I’m not.”

The red wine went straight to their heads. In their blurry vision, Qin Ting was swaying and gradually splitting into two. They couldn’t focus their eyes.

“Alright, that’s enough. I can see you two are done for.” Qin Ting picked up her phone and started calling a designated driver service. She raised an eyebrow at Cheng Ya. “You’re staying at my place tonight, you hear? And you’d better behave.”

“Sleep with you! I love sleeping with Tingting…” Cheng Ya leaned back, her gaze so unfocused she could hardly see.

“What nonsense are you spouting…”

“What about you, Ningning?” Qin Ting asked. “Should I call your sister to come get you?”

She knew Jiangg Ning was a bit of a germaphobe and didn’t like staying over at other people’s houses unless it was absolutely unavoidable.

“N-no… don’t. I hate her. I don’t want to see her.”

Jiangg Ning must have been truly drunk to blurt that out.

Then she started mumbling to herself, biting her lip and furrowing her brow.

“Did you two fight again?” Qin Ting asked, propping her chin on her hand with a helpless expression.

“No. I just hate her. I don’t ever want her picking me up. She can’t pick me up anyway. I’m always the one taking care of her…”

With that, Jiangg Ning slumped forward onto the table, completely passed out.

“Forget it. I’ll just call your boyfriend to pick you up.” Qin Ting reached over and picked up Jiangg Ning’s phone from the table. She unlocked it with the passcode and found a contact saved under the nickname “Kiddo.”

…

“Hello?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep