The Little Deaf Man Decided to be Spoiled

25

When getting his license, Gu Xiuyi had taken him to buy a white shirt. He had chosen one with ink bamboo embroidery on the cuffs. At the time, he had marveled at the masterful craftsmanship. The manager had mentioned it being part of a cultural heritage collaboration, and it seemed the master's name mentioned was the same.
An involuntary jolt of realization hit Ji Ruan. His fate with embroidery seemed so intertwined it felt like it spanned lifetimes.
Cheng Zizhang took a sip of his coffee, "Ah Qing and the master are working on a winter scene embroidery. It will be displayed during the school anniversary as part of a cultural exchange."
Lin Qing added, "Teacher Cheng is exceptional. In terms of Han embroidery culture, she's currently the most renowned inheritor. I went through a lot to become her disciple... Oh, but my senior is the teacher's biological daughter."
Ji Ruan raised an eyebrow. He felt there was always a subtle undertone to Lin Qing's words.
"What are you implying?" Cheng Zizhang feigned indignance with an exaggerated expression, "Even if she's my birth mother, I had to undergo many assessments before the official discipleship ceremony!"
Lin Qing giggled behind her hand, "I'm just teasing... I should go now. There's a lot to do with my master."
Cheng Zizhang waved her off, "Off you go then."
Ji Ruan's lips curled into a gentle smile, "Goodbye."
Lin Qing gave a slight nod, her gaze lingering on the blank canvas for a moment longer before she turned and left.
·
Autumn in the capital city was always fleeting. Just a couple more showers, and the chill would settle in. By November, Ji Ruan had already donned his thick down jacket, wrapping himself snugly in a scarf whenever he stepped out.
He deeply dreaded catching a cold. The mere thought of that piercing earache, spreading to the cerebral cortex, made Ji Ruan's spine tingle. He wished he could carry cold medicine with him at all times.
With the school anniversary drawing near, time felt particularly pressing. Aside from attending classes, Ji Ruan practically lived in the art studio, working alongside Cheng Zizhang and others, almost emerging as a wild man of the studio.
In the evenings, when he would line up in the cafeteria for some late-night snacks after wrapping up his work, his mind would occasionally drift off.
Ji Ruan found it fascinating that, even though this task was an unexpected burden he hadn't sought out, he didn't find it tiresome or tedious. At times, it even reminded him of his childhood, sitting beside his mother under the lamp, learning embroidery stitch by stitch.
Back then, he never found spending an entire day in a small room, dedicated to just one task, to be particularly taxing. Instead, he took delight in it.
Now, everything felt great, except for the occasional backache from standing for too long.
"Young man, your dumplings are packed and ready!" The cafeteria lady's call snapped Ji Ruan back from his distant thoughts.
"Thank you."
Ji Ruan took the scarf tighter around his neck as he moved from the window towards the dormitory. The wind that blew in when he left the cafeteria brushed against his face, leaving a chilling sensation. He raised his hand and felt a damp spot on his cheek.
"Has it started to rain?"
Ji Ruan tilted his head upward. There were quite a few pedestrians around. The sounds of basketball players chasing on the nearby court echoed intermittently, but the dim streetlight revealed floating white crystals in the air - sparse and gently drifting.
"It seems like the first snowfall!"
Ji Ruan attempted to catch them, but the delicate white crystals melted instantly upon touching his skin.
"It really is the first snow!"
Excited, Ji Ruan took a photo and sent it to his dorm group chat. After some thought, he also forwarded it to Gu Xiuyi.
The dorm room was empty when he entered, dim and silent. Han Xiaolin was probably still practicing on the sports field, and the other two had evening classes.
Ji Ruan switched on the light, placed his dumplings on the table, and after washing his hands, received a message from Gu Xiuyi.
[？]
A frown formed between Ji Ruan's eyebrows: "...?"
"Why just a question mark? Don't you find the first snow romantic?"
He opened the photo to appreciate it once more, only to realize that perhaps... the picture wasn't taken very well.
Affected by the lighting and pixel resolution, his phone wasn't capable of capturing the snowflakes. The subtle touch of the first snow seemed to vanish, lost amidst the digital noise.
What Gu Xiuyi saw, instead of a romantic snowfall, was a scene from the basketball court - shirtless, athletic boys, glistening with sweat as they played.
Ji Ruan: "..."
"！"
"Damn!"
His phone began to vibrate wildly as dozens of messages poured into the dorm group chat.
[Han DaXian: ?]