The Man in the Black Sweater - 5.1: A Little Heartflutter

In the blink of an eye, Christmas was almost here. Aunt Chen knew Luo Xu had grown up in the U.S., and that this holiday probably meant more to her than most, so she’d started decorating the house two days early.
On Christmas Eve morning, Luo Xu pushed open her door and was instantly wrapped in festive cheer. The wreath and stockings hanging on the door, the decorated tree in the living room, and the little Santa figurines scattered everywhere—all of it declared, Christmas has arrived.
Luo Xu leaned on the railing of the second floor, overcome with mixed emotions.
Just then, a door beside her opened. Pei Yan stepped out, dressed in a coffee-colored sweater. With his tall frame and long limbs, no matter what he wore he looked like a walking clothes rack—handsome to the extreme. But with that perpetually cold expression, he seemed more like a god straight out of Greek mythology: noble, untouchable, someone mortals could only look up to.
Luo Xu hung her head, pretending to cosplay as Simba in The Lion King.
From behind her, Pei Yan’s voice came: “What are you rolling around here for?”
“I wasn’t rolling around.” Luo Xu lifted her head, her hair falling over her face so it looked like she was speaking with the back of her head.
“You’ve rubbed the paint right off the railing.”
“That’s just old paint peeling, don’t pin it on me.” Luo Xu straightened up defensively, stepping half a meter away from the railing.
“It’s Christmas. Aren’t you happy?” Pei Yan asked. He was observant. Normally she was like a wild madwoman, but today she was so quiet, clinging to the railing—it was obvious something was off.
Luo Xu shrugged. “It’s not that I’m unhappy. It’s just… I can’t remember anything worth celebrating on Christmas. So I don’t even know how to celebrate it.”
Pei Yan glanced at the decorations downstairs. “Then by that logic, Aunt Chen’s efforts were wasted.”
“Don’t you dare say that! I don’t want her to feel disappointed.” Luo Xu quickly added.
Pei Yan nodded and started heading downstairs.
Luo Xu followed behind him. “Do you have a date today?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“If you don’t, will you spend the day with me?” Luo Xu stopped where she was, not moving.
Pei Yan paused with his hand on the railing, turned back to look at her. “With you?”
“It’s like the saying goes—holidays make you miss your family even more. You get it, right?” Luo Xu smiled lightly, thinking she sounded very carefree.
But in Pei Yan’s eyes, she looked more like a little puppy wagging its tail, wet eyes fixed on him, terrified of being rejected.
He turned and continued downstairs. “I have an engagement. You can come along if you want.”
“Man or woman?” Luo Xu’s interest spiked, and she hurried after him.
“Both.”
“Oh… so it’s a party.” Luo Xu understood, then her eyes darted. “But then why didn’t you invite me earlier? Were you just planning to sneak off without me?”
Pei Yan crossed one leg over the other and set down his teacup. “If you don’t want to go, it’s not too late to back out now.”
“I want to go, I want to go!”
…..

At four in the afternoon, Pei Yan took Luo Xu out.
The Christmas atmosphere on the streets was even stronger, and Luo Xu pressed against the car window, feeling the full force of the Western holiday invasion.
The car stopped in front of a white house. Its exterior gave off a warm and cozy vibe, like a fenced-off little haven of comfort.
The male host came out to greet them, smiling as he patted Pei Yan on the shoulder. “I’ve invited you several times, and you never came. At last, you’ve honored me today.”
With her scarf wrapped around her face, only her eyes visible, Luo Xu looked back and forth between the man and Pei Yan. She tugged the scarf down to reveal the rest of her face and said, “You two look so alike.”
Pei Yan’s lips twitched. The man stepped in to explain: “You don’t know yet, do you? I’m Pei Heng, younger brother to this cold-faced guy here.”
“Cold-faced guy…” Luo Xu gave a little shiver. “Now I want cold noodles.”
Both Pei Yan and Pei Heng turned to look at her. Luo Xu laughed awkwardly. “Not funny? Okay, never mind then.”
Pei Yan walked straight inside, too lazy to bother with her.
Pei Heng said, “So you’re Tang Huang’s girlfriend? Doesn’t seem like that kid’s usual type.”
“Am I not pretty?” Luo Xu blinked.
“It’s not that. It’s just that Tang Huang’s ex-girlfriends were all in the Korean-Japanese style. You’re different.”
At that moment, a poised and elegant beauty walked out from inside. She smiled warmly at Luo Xu, and it was enough to make Luo Xu’s bones go weak.
“And this big sister is…?” Luo Xu’s eyes lit up. The woman looked a bit like a young Joey Wong.
“My name is Shen Yuqing. I’m his girlfriend.” She smiled gently, like a clear mountain spring—fresh, pure, serene.
Pei Heng held his girlfriend’s hand. “We’re going to prep the food. You two aren’t outsiders, make yourselves at home.”
Luo Xu nodded with a smile and watched the couple walk off to the kitchen, chatting and laughing together.
Pei Yan turned on the TV to watch a soccer match, clearly with no intention of making conversation. Luo Xu wandered around the living room, admiring the decor.
“Hey, what’s this?” Luo Xu came over with a cup engraved with lines of poetry.
Pei Yan glanced at it. “It’s someone else’s. Don’t just touch things at random.”
“But they told us to make ourselves at home.”
“That’s just politeness. You really take it like it’s an imperial decree?”
Luo Xu pouted and pushed the cup toward him. “I’ve already picked it up, so just take a look for me.”
Pei Yan gave her a look, then picked up the cup.
Engraved on it were the words of Xin Qiji’s poem:
“The east wind brings forth a thousand trees in bloom, and showers the stars down like rain. Fine horses and carved carriages fill the fragrant streets. The phoenix flute sounds, the jade-pots turn, a night of fish and dragon dances. Moth brows, snow willows, golden threads, fragrant laughter filling the air. A thousand times I searched for him in the crowd, suddenly turning my head—there he was, in the dim light.”
Kneeling on the floor, Luo Xu gazed at him expectantly. “Feels like poetry, right?”
“Mm.”
“What does it say? I don’t even recognize all these characters.” She leaned closer to peer at it.
Pei Yan shifted sideways. “It’s Xin Qiji’s Lantern Festival. He describes the bustling scene of the holiday.”
“Could you read it out loud for me?” Luo Xu dragged a cushion over and sat at his feet, staring at the cup without blinking.
It was halftime for the match, and with nothing else to do, Pei Yan recited the poem for her, word by word. Luo Xu focused intently, as though she were trying to feel the atmosphere painted by the verses.
“‘A thousand trees, stars like rain’… what a beautiful image.” She sighed, chin propped on her hand.
“…‘A thousand times I searched for him in the crowd, suddenly turning my head—there he was, in the dim light.’”
Pei Yan’s deep, elegant voice carried the lines. Luo Xu dared say, even if that Xin Qiji guy himself were alive, he couldn’t have recited it more captivatingly.
“What does that line mean?” She tilted her head up at him, eyes brimming with curiosity.
Pei Yan put down the cup and translated in the most straightforward way:
“I crossed mountains and rivers to find you, and by chance when I turned around, I discovered you were standing not far from me. Among thousands of lights, none could outshine the brilliance you hold in my heart.”
His tone was calm and even, yet from his lips came the most moving words of love in the world.
Luo Xu froze. She stared at Pei Yan’s lips opening and closing, those sentences slipping from her left ear to her right, like a cool breeze through an alleyway, like wild geese flying across the sky—leaving only fading traces behind.
Once he finished explaining, the game resumed, and Pei Yan turned his gaze back to the television.