And I will stay by your side for as long as I live.

The first snowfall of this winter came a little late.

Before the end of the semester, the rest of the high school course of study into the end, followed by the general review stage, the entire sophomore atmosphere is particularly tense, especially after learning that the scope of the final exam in accordance with the standards of the bottom of the examination, the class suddenly a woeful.

"This is what a terrible frequency of exams, so do not need to stay until the college entrance exam, my mind first collapse." Qin Le held up the test papers and ranking list issued by the monthly examination, simply heartbreaking.

"Steady on brother, think of the good in everything." Gao Chongfan consoled, "At least we're not like other schools where you have to take the report card back for parents to sign, for this inexplicable trust the school has in me, I must RESPECT!"

Zhou Yan regretfully picked up, "Hey ...... that's true, but my age ranking in the middle and lower reaches of the city ranking almost beaten to death on the beach report card, take it back can only be exchanged for a meal of love and education, but like our God Lin this kind of list slaughtering player, not to show a wave would be a pity! But it would be a pity if a list-slaying player like God Lin doesn't show off, right God Lin?"

The box at the bottom of the bookshelf filled with all the signed report cards from elementary and middle school flickered in memory, and Lin Jian's hand paused as he brushed through the questions, then gave a soft "hmmm".

It's a shame that it's so hard to trace the past.

Evening study will soon begin, at this time, fruit into the classroom, originally the small sound of conversation came to an abrupt end, fruit looked around the week, walked to Lin Jian desk, Lin Jian looked up, and heard her say: "the teacher of the Office of Teaching and Learning called you to go to the office, go."

Lin Jian followed her gaze to the door, where a deputy director of the Education Department was standing, and waved to Lin Jian as he looked over.

Lin Jian frowned slightly, but still went out of the classroom with good intentions.

"This teacher is this national Olympic mathematics training team is responsible for the coordination and guidance, this year from abroad specially recruited back to the country, heard about your performance in this year's winter camp, specially come to see you, just got off the plane directly to the school, the provincial Department of Education and the municipal education bureau of the leadership are accompanied by the same over, the time is more urgent, it is not good to let people wait for a long time, so... ..."

"Teacher." Lin Jian stopped in his tracks and interrupted him calmly, "I didn't participate in this year's national team training, and the application has already been approved."

"Hey I know." The deputy director's words still stored a trace of hope, "But the teacher of the national team specially came to find you to talk about it, and said that you have to meet with them, right? Moreover, this decision of yours is also a bit arbitrary ...... Why, people have arrived, meet them first!"

Lin Jian suppressed the impatience between his eyebrows and nodded his head after a few seconds.

The campus of No. 1 Middle School is particularly quiet in the evening self-study, and the meeting place was arranged in the first meeting room of the administrative building. Lin Jian followed the deputy director to enter the door, and saw that five or six people were already sitting in the room, and the vice principal of No. 1 Middle School in charge of competition and several teachers were accompanying them.

See Lin Jian into the door, the vice principal smilingly for their own students to do the introduction, this is the provincial department of so and so, this is the city bureau of who who who, introduced to the end, is a woman who looks much younger than her actual age, slender figure, wearing a very competent short hair, looks ...... through a very contradictory, harsh beautiful! This is the one who is specially hired by the current national training team to be in charge of the coordination.

Lin Jian's line of sight arrived at her face, and his eyes shifted slightly.

The vice-principal said, "This is Mr. Wen, I heard that your performance in this winter camp was very bright, so I specially flew over to meet with you and have a good chat about the planning afterward, you-"

Wen Ning smiled very calmly, "Colonel Li, let me talk to this student alone?"

The vice-principal's chatter stuck for a moment, then smiled, "Of course, have a seat, you guys talk!"

As the crowd filed out, the noisy parlor quieted down, and Lin Jian sat on a single sofa, separated from Wen Ning by a small square coffee table.

Unexpectedly but not surprisingly, Wen Ning poured a cup of warm water and put it in Lin Jian's hand as an opening remark, "It's cold outside, have a sip of warm water first."

Lin Jian picked up the cup with the tip of his bent finger, feeling the slight heat through the disposable paper cup, he said, "Thank you."

And then there was a long period of silence between the two rooms.

Wen Ning's gaze always fell on the boy in front of him, quiet with scrutiny.

Erect and straight, very tall, very white skin, just too thin, when he raised his eyes, his eyes were cold and fixed.

After a long time, Wen Ning sighed silently, replaced his smile again, and asked, "I've seen your previous competition results, the first and second attempts of the Provincial League, including your performance in the winter camp, all of them were very eye-catching, why did you suddenly give up?"

Lin Jian put down the paper cup and answered calmly in the dense water vapor, "Because I think the normal college entrance examination is more suitable for me."

"How can that be?" Wen Ning said, "It's no exaggeration to say that you're the most talented student I've ever seen, and you'll surely be great in your professional field in the future; the path of competition channel is indeed not easy to take, but you've already come this far, and it's too bad to give up now."

"Is that so?" Lin Jian was still ancient, "I don't think so."

Wen Ning 登时噎一下，她端起水杯遮掩面容上刹过的不自然，而后犹豫几秒，轻声开口问道："Is it ...... some difficulties or ...... resistance on the family side? "

Lin Jian narrowed his eyes slightly and didn't answer right away, for a few seconds, he insighted the other party's apprehension and the corner of his mouth curved up into a not-so-obvious arc: "No, I'm cozy and harmonious in terms of my family and don't have any problems."

Wen Ning raised his head in fear, and the eyes that looked at him were abruptly filled with astonishment.

Lin Jian meets her in the bright incandescent shadows, his gaze unavoidable, open and straight.

After a long time, Wen Ning disappointedly returned to his senses and asked very softly, "Do you really not want to think about it anymore? You future ...... from a professional point of view, I, I appreciate your potential, if--"

"No need." Lin Jian put down the disposable paper cup, his tone was bland, "Thank you for making this trip, it's a long journey, but I'm afraid I've disappointed you."

Wen Ning seems to be this "you" a tie ears, eyes suddenly sad sheep down, after a long time, she consciously out of shape, adjusted the look posture, and became that refined and sharp teacher Wen, she took out her cell phone, maintaining a natural tone of voice, to Lin Jian said: "Since the In this way, I'm not good to force, convenient to leave a contact information, if you change your mind ...... even if you always insist that there is no relationship, I ...... I've been abroad for so many years, has been doing the work of the Olympiad competition, and many famous schools in the country contact is also very close. , I think if you later life ...... I mean academically, there is any confusion, I am very willing to provide help."

Lin Jian looked at her well-maintained hands holding the cell phone, his gaze slightly sunken, after a few seconds, suddenly "Oh?" He suddenly gave a "Oh?

"You're too kind, there shouldn't be anything I can trouble you with, contact information is not necessary."

When he finished, he nodded slightly and got up to head for the door of the parlor.

The man behind him rose abruptly, "Lin Jian!"

Lin Jian stopped walking and inclined his head to look over.

Panic also only springs up in a flash, Wen Ning somewhat helplessly shook his cell phone at him, his smile forced, "You are called ...... Lin Jian, right? Better leave me a phone number, it is not in vain I ran this trip."

Wen Ning tried her best to maintain Zhou Zheng's dignified demeanor, but Lin Jian, looking at her slightly shaking hands as she held up her cell phone, suddenly felt a little pity for her at this moment.

After a long period of silence, Lin Jian lowered his eyes and finally said "yes".

*

The snow still hadn't stopped by the time the evening study hall was dismissed.

Lin Jian took the last bus home, leaned against the window and looked at the text message he had just received on his cell phone through the streetlight outside the window.

[This is Wen Ning, this is my number, feel free to contact me for anything you need, in life or in any way].

[By the way, do you have a target in mind, which university do you want to go to, and are you considering foreign countries?]

The phone number was given to Wen Ning two hours ago, and the text message was sent just now, timed to coincide with the end of his last study session.

Lin Jian indifferently withdrew his eyes and put his cell phone back into his pocket without replying.

The winter winds were hard, so Lin Jian got out of the car and walked a short distance down a quiet paved road and into the yard through the drifting snow.

Standing in the courtyard, you can see the main light on the first floor, floor-to-ceiling windows only pulled the curtains, orange and yellow cozy light and shadow through the window, and the flying snow haunting entanglement, a small part of the world under the shadow of the lights, but suddenly let a person's heart at ease.

This place is a homecoming, a warm room.

Lin Jian lowered his gaze and exhaled the boiling, burning air that had been clogging up his chest all night, and when he raised his eyes again, his gaze was light and loose.

Fingerprint unlocked into the house, Shen Ke happened to be wearing a housecoat down from the second floor, the end of his hair is still stained with a trace of moisture, looks like it is also just back from the shower, see Lin Jian into the door, can not help but ask: "Why did not you take an umbrella?"

Lin Jian changed his shoes and walked over, hung up his jacket and said, "I lent it to my classmate, anyway, it's only a few steps after getting off the bus, it's okay."

Shen Ke didn't comment, pondering for a moment, but said, "It's been snowy lately, so it's better to have a driver pick up and drop off."

"What's so pretentious about it?" Lin Jian washed his hands from the first floor bathroom and came out, "And in this kind of weather, buses are safer than private cars, right?"

Shen Ke raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Is it because you're afraid you won't be safe?"

Lin Jian was stunned for a moment and realized.

-It's because I'm afraid you'll get wet again.

Lin Jian silently breathed a sigh of relief, all those jumbled emotions suppressed in his heart were suddenly emptied, he hooked the corner of his lips and jokingly said, "What then, I'll ask for the umbrella back tomorrow?"

Shen Ke prided himself on not having to think hard for half a second and sighed, "Forget it, let's just buy another one, our family isn't that far behind."

Lin Jian looked at him, and after a few seconds of not being able to hold back, he inclined his head and laughed out loud.

The angle was such that Shen Ke could see the purple bruise on his lower jaw near the base of his ear, which had not yet completely disappeared.

"How did you do it?" Shen Ke walked over, slightly bent over with his eyes downcast, his fingertips hovering millimeters from the side of Lin Jian's face, pointing in the air, "Here."

The last time I met He Zhou, I was hit, and it was long enough, but Lin Jian's skin was too white, so even if there were only very light bruises, they were still very visible.

Lin Jian collected his smile and moved his lips, but did not answer.

In all these years, he'd never lied to Shen Ke on faith, not before because he knew he couldn't fool him, and now he wouldn't.

Not even one word, against his will, false, he didn't want to say to him.

The only thing that was left was a sudden silence.

Shen Ke's gaze on the side of Lin Jian's face was like substance, after a moment, when Lin Jian felt that the small piece of skin he was staring at was about to burn, Shen Ke finally mercifully looked away, but the next moment, Lin Jian's heart was suddenly bumped---

Shen Ke's slightly cool fingertips can be from the smear of green marks on the point, the force is not heavy, but whacked the teenager's heart jumped.

"Forget it if you don't say it - the SECRET that adolescents can't say, right?" Shen Ke naturally withdrew his hand, with a little sporadic yet helpless smile under his eyes, "After all, you have your own measure, and I don't have to get to the bottom of it to cause offense."

After Shen Ke said that, he turned to the direction of the water fountain and poured a glass of lukewarm water, and when his lips touched the rim of the glass, Lin Jian suddenly said, "No."

"Hmm?" Shen Ke's hand on his cup paused for a moment and turned his head to ask, "Nothing?"

Lin Jian pursed her lips, paused for two seconds, and replied, "I don't resent you for being annoying or asking too many questions."

"Oh..." Shen Ke was first a little surprised, not thinking that he would purposely explain this sentence, and then the smile under his eyes steeply deepened, "Then thank you."

"......" Lin Jian glanced at him and whispered, "I'm going to take a shower and go to bed."

"Have the driver drop it off tomorrow?"

"...... really don't have to."

"Fine." Shen Ke looked at the teenager's knuckle-dragging back and lost his smile, "Suit yourself."

The bedroom door closed, Lin Jian pressed his back against the door panel and heard Shen Ke's footsteps fade into the second floor before letting out a soft breath.

That's it. That's good.

Lin Jian felt as if he had found a way to get along with Shen Ke with his deeply hidden thoughts.

As long as he doesn't talk about it, doesn't get caught out in the details, Shen Ke will never know.

He no longer fought with himself, no longer resisted his unspeakable greed and infatuation; all he had to do was to hide a little deeper, a little deeper, and then stay by his side as naturally as he did, and it was good enough, it was enough.

*

Since giving Wen Ning his contact information, text messages from the other party have always appeared in Lin Jian's cell phone inbox every now and then, not overly familiar with the content and style, but always giving greetings from the perspective of an appreciative teacher or an elder, occasionally expressing gentle concern.

Lin Jian seldom replies, and will only reply with a simple "thank you" if the frequency of "greetings" over a period of time is a bit high.

The final exams of this semester ended at the end of January, but because the school had arrangements for making up classes, the vacation was cut short, and the winter vacation only started on the 25th of the lunar month, while the first five days of the first month of the lunar calendar were immediately followed by the return to school.

So odds are that time at the old mansion will be compressed for a few days this New Year's Eve.

Shen Ke became busier and busier towards the end of the year, and Lin Jian had only a few chances to see him during his vacation days at home. Only on the second day of his vacation did Shen Ke spare a day to take him back to pay homage to Lin Jianghe according to the usual practice.

On the way back, Shen Ke asked him if he wanted to move Lin Jianghe's grave over, and implicitly mentioned that a cemetery on the outskirts of the city offering private graves would be a good option.

However, Lin Jian thought about it and said, "Let's wait a little longer." Of course, he understood Shen Ke's good intentions, but as a son of a man, he did not want to rely on the favor of others when it came to moving monuments and graves.

Wait a few more years, when he himself is capable enough, and then come to take Lin Jianghe to his side himself.

After returning from his hometown, Shen Ke was more involved in the company's year-end closing matters, and every time it was late at night, and if it was a little later, he simply made do with the rest room in the company's office. After all, Lin Jian has been a light sleeper since he was a child, and he was afraid of disturbing his rare vacation time to catch up on sleep.

On New Year's Day, Lin Jian was woken up early in the morning by the sound of firecrackers, and touched his cell phone to take a look at the time, but it was only a little more than five o'clock.

In the mid-winter in the north, the sky outside the window was still gray and cloudy, no different from the long night, but Lin Jian woke up with no sleep.

He woke up, went to the bathroom and cleaned himself up, but it was only half past five. The sound of firecrackers in the distance was still rising and falling. Lin Jian thought it was noisy, so he wanted to go to the study to write a couple of calligraphy to calm his mind.

And he had just pulled the bedroom door open and stepped outside when he saw the lights coming on in the first floor center hall.

The door on the first floor was half open, Shen Ke was standing at the entrance, his coat resting on his elbow, when he heard the sound, he couldn't help but turn around. His body was still wrapped in the cold and wet temperature, and there was obvious fatigue between his eyebrows, his whole person was handsome and downtrodden.

Lin Jian froze and subconsciously opened his mouth, not realizing that Shen Ke also spoke out at the same time.

"Just got back?"

"Wake you up?"

The two voices overlapped and closed at the same time, and after a very brief silence, Lin Jian shook his head and said, "No, just got up."

"Why don't you sleep a little more on New Year's Day? Why are you getting up so early?" Song Zhi was supposed to be on a special trip to send Shen Ke back, and when he saw Lin Jian, he couldn't help but make fun of him.

Lin Jian didn't reply to his words, but just stood up slightly straighter, smiled, and said, "Uncle Song, good New Year."

"......" Song Zhi just can't listen to the word "uncle", waved his hand, busy skipped.

Shen Ke changed his shoes and entered the room, asking with a smile, "Why are you always bullying my assistant?"

"This is not bullying." Lin Jian said, "In terms of eucalyptus age, I'm too young to be called uncle."

Shen Ke lost his smile and went straight to the restroom to wash his hands, Lin Jian hesitated for a moment, but still followed, standing at the door of the restroom, frowning, "How much longer are you going to be busy like this?"

"It should be better during the New Year's days." Shen Ke stretched out a paper towel to dry his hands and said, "The company is on New Year's vacation, the staff is off, and I can't keep myself busy with anything fancy."

Lin Jian gave a "hmm" and asked, "Will you go back to the old house for dinner tonight?"

"Go on." Shen Ke walked out from the restroom and stood in front of Lin Jian, slightly lowering her gaze, "But aren't you going back to school after the first five days? Winter vacation is too short, so you don't have to stay over there for a few days, just go whenever you want."

Lin Jian pursed his lips and said nothing.

After all, there was nothing he wanted to go to or do in particular, and in his rare free time, he just wanted to spend it like he did when he was a child, nestled in his study with Shen Ke, whittling away the time bit by bit.

Shen Ke was supposed to work all night last night, and the morning was spent dealing with some important odds and ends until the afternoon, when he scribbled away for more than three hours of sleep before taking Lin Jian back to the old mansion with him for the New Year.

On the thirtieth day of the Lunar New Year, the last day of the old calendar year, the Shen family mansion was as crowded and lively as in previous years.

The New Year's Eve dinner is held in the largest Chinese restaurant, during which Shen Zhangqian gives out red envelopes to the younger generation, Lin Jian always gets the thickest one, Ai Jia laughingly comes over and jokes that she wants to exchange herself for him, Lin Jian laughs and says yes, but the red envelopes are intercepted just as they are being handed out.

Shen Ke, holding the thick, hot gold red envelope between his fingers, gently tapped Ai Jia's head and said in a somewhat diffident tone, "Out of the blue, is this how you treat your little aunt?"

"No, no, no!" Ai Jia prided herself on not wanting to be alarmed, "God Lin's little aunt in the First Form is that good, isn't she? I wouldn't dare make a move, and we've already agreed that we're each on our own level of seniority, haven't we Lin?"

Lin Jian lowered her eyes to hide a bit of her smile and echoed her words, "Well, Ai Jia-san has a point."

Just finished, there was one more thing in his arms-- Shen Ke straightly threw the red packet into his hand and laughed: "That's all the more reason not to change with her, how old is the girl still robbing her brother's red packet to save up for her own dowry?"

"Auntie, auntie, do you care!" Ai Jia first froze, then her cheeks quickly colored red, "Cousin bullies!"

Shen Zhangqian smilingly watched the younger generation fooling around, Cong Wan sideways patted Shen Ke's shoulder, scolded: "After today will be a year older, why is still so not a proper form."

Shen Ke, however, smiled and accepted the order.

Lin Jian The listener's heart suddenly moved.

Shen family does not have the habit of New Year's Eve, after all, Shen Zhangqian's physical condition does not allow to stay up all night, after eating the New Year's Eve dinner, all the people accompanied by Shen Zhangqian chatting to consume, and then a little later, stayed in the Shen mansion on their own to go back to their rooms to rest or to continue the other entertainment programs.

Shen Zhangqian saw the fatigue in Shen Ke's face and wanted to keep them at the mansion for a night, but Shen Ke thought about it and took Lin Jian back home.

On the way back, Lin Jian leaned against the car window and watched the colorful reds passing by his eyes, recalling Shen Ke's reason for rejecting Shen Zhangqian, and felt an unspeakable sourness in his heart.

Shen Ke said, "No, I'd better go back to my place, I've recently added a new problem, I'm afraid I can't sleep in a new bed."

But that was the home Shen Ke had lived in for nearly twenty years, and now his original bedroom on the third floor of the main building was still intact, with servants coming upstairs regularly to clean it, so how could he not get used to living there.

He's just afraid Lin Jian won't get used to it.

The car drove straight into the garage in the courtyard, and the two of them entered the house with a chilly air, and it was not yet ten o'clock.

Lin Jian went back to his room to wash up and take a shower, and when he came out of the bedroom, he saw Shen Ke already sitting down on the sofa, with a cup of hot milk and a glass of lukewarm water in his hand, and there was no overhead light on in the center hall, but only a wall lamp, and the warm yellow light softened the contour of the side of Shen Ke's face, giving people an illusion of near gentleness.

Lin Jian's eyelids danced as she walked over to him and sat down, taking a sip from the glass of milk.

Shen Ke put down the projection screen, glanced at Lin Jian from the rest of the room, smiled very softly, and said, "Well, quite self-conscious."

All the TV stations at this time of the year broadcast the Spring Festival Gala in unison, and the two men, each with his own cup, tuned in with the whole country to rejoice and be happy together.

After watching about two or three shows, the two couldn't help but begin to question their own laughs and aesthetics in silent unison.

Shen Ke frowned, coughed lightly, gestured with his chin to the skit being played, and asked, "Is ...... funny?"

"......" Lin Jian sighed rather breathlessly and replied in a rippling voice, "I find it rather amusing that you would ask such a question."

Shen Ke raised an eyebrow very lightly and said contentedly, "That'll do, it doesn't look like I'm alone in this."

Two seconds after he finished speaking, he heard Lin Jian's not-so-subtle laughter next to him.

The cold wind outside the house is about to send a new year, the two of them are like tired birds returning to their nests, and enjoy this quiet time alone.

Turning to the next song and dance program, Lin Jian suddenly thought of something and straightened up to look at Shen Ke.

Noticing his gaze, Shen Ke turned his head and asked, "What?"

Lin Jian frowned and suddenly asked, "When is your ...... birthday?"

Sure enough, Shen Ke froze in surprise for a few seconds before saying, "Why did you suddenly remember to ask that?"

Lin Jian doesn't answer, but looks at him with a look that says, "I can't believe you've kept this from me for so long," and "I've got it all figured out now.

The young man s eyes were too straight and pure, Shen Ke carried for two seconds ...... and after realizing that he really could not carry, he only had to compromise, shook his head with a smile, and said, "Well, it was found out, indeed, today."

He was born at the coldest and latest point in the year, the last day of the old calendar year, which is followed by a year of new sunrise.

Lin Jian took a deep breath and asked, "All these years and you didn't mention it once?"

Shen Ke lost his smile, originally wanted to raise his hand to rub the top of his hair, but suddenly thought that the teenager in front of him was no longer the quiet little milk ball many years ago, and I'm afraid that such a move would cause the self-esteem of the teenager's revulsion, so sighed, and silently retracted his hand again, and just said, "What do you think, why the Shen family has the from the 30th of the New Year all the way up to the fifth day of the New Year to gather together in the mansion's custom?"

Lin Jian pondered the deeper meaning of his words, and his eyes widened slightly as he reacted.

No wonder, he used to think that Shen Zhangqian and his wife loved to have a lively reunion, so it was customary for the Shen clan to have this gathering every year, but now he realized that this was not the case - it was only because Shen Ke did not like to celebrate birthdays since he was a child, and he did not like others to make too big a fuss under the pretext of celebrating his birthday, so Shen Zhangqian and his wife came up with such a way to take advantage of the new year's reunion to celebrate Jia Rui's first year, which was actually just a celebration for his only son. That's why Mr. and Mrs. Shen Zhangqian came up with the idea of a New Year's reunion to celebrate their only son's birthday, which is actually just a celebration of his birthday.

The shock in Lin Jian's eyes doesn't go away--

This is a person who doesn't like trouble and doesn't like birthdays, but he has never missed a single one of Lin Jian's birthdays.

"You ......" Lin Jian took a deep breath, suddenly got up, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Wait for me."

He sprinted back to his room, opened the bottom drawer of the bookshelf, and took out the brown file box containing all the report cards Shen Ke had signed over the years, and in the innermost compartment was the five-colored horse peace blessing he had prepared a year ago but hadn't had the time, or the courage, to give away again.

The five-colored horse was well kept and collected, and the braided colorful rope hadn't faded or worn at all. Lin Jian thought about it, but finally held it in her palm and ran back to the living room.

Shen Ke saw him go and return, holding something tightly in his hand, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and snicker, "What, to give me a birthday present?"

He was just making a casual remark, but to his surprise, Lin Jian's eyes were fixed on him and he nodded slowly and steadily.

The expression on the young man's face was so serious that Shen Ke couldn't help but sit up straight and try, "...... What is it?"

Long, lean fingers spread out, and Shen Ke looked down, his eyes flickering.

"This is ......"

"Five-color horse, keep peace." Lin Jian said, "It's not yet past twelve o'clock, so it's not too late - don't break the thread, don't move the cut, in this life, I don't want you to have everything go your way, but I do want you to be safe and smooth."

The young man's heart is like a diamond in the water, pure and transparent, and like a green screen, heavy as a thousand pounds.

"Thank you, I remember." After a long time, Shen Ke took the peace talisman from his palm, didn't ask Lin Jian when he had prepared it, or why he hadn't given it to him before, but only whispered--

"This is the best gift and blessing I have ever received."

The teenager's heart pounded like a drum, a slight tide seething in his palm where Shen Ke's fingertips had traced it the previous second, and he dropped his arm, tightening his fingers and clenching his palm into a fist.

Leave a word unfinished, and say it to him in your heart-

And I will stay by your side for as long as I live.