Late at night, the desolate street.
In such cold weather, Tang Jing, the only daughter living in the urban area, would usually be lounging in her heated bedroom, leisurely holding her iPad to binge-watch dramas, enjoy delicious food, and gossip with her friend ng Zi Yun.
But not like now, strolling the streets with the rustic Huang Yuzhu.
Tang Jing tightened her scarf; it was a bright red scarf, specially knitted for her by Huang Yuzhu’s mother to express her gratitude.
A while back, on Huang Yuzhu’s mother’s birthday, she bought a set of costics for Huang Yuzhu to give to her.
The design of the scarf was very plain, which Tang Jing initially looked down upon, but after wearing it for a few days, she got used to it and even found it quite pleasing, much like how she now viewed Huang Yuzhu.
Huang Yuzhu wore a thick cotton jacket, forming a stark contrast to Tang Jing’s white down jacket.
The white down jacket gets dirty easily, but Tang Jing’s family has a Siens dryer worth over ten thousand yuan, so she needn’t worry about cleaning issues.
Tang Jing tightened her scarf, her tone considering: "Hey, Huang Yuzhu, do you still rember where you parked your junk car?"
Huang Yuzhu grinned confidently: "Don’t worry, it won’t get lost."
Tang Jing waved her hand dismissively, her words disdainful: "Forget it, I still don’t want to take your junk car, anyway, it’s not far, let’s just consider it as exercise!"
Huang Yuzhu simply grinned, knowing that Tang Jing had a good heart, even if her words were sharp.
The two strolled under the streetlights, a layer of warm, faint orange-yellow light enveloping them, diluting the chill of the cold wind.
Huang Yuzhu said: "The weather forecast says there’ll be snow tonight."
Tang Jing didn’t pay attention, gazing ahead at the streetlight, she suddenly said: "The light here is pretty good, take a picture of , it’ll have a great atmosphere!"
She stood under the streetlight, and Huang Yuzhu pulled out his old shabby phone.
Tang Jing frowned and handed over her iPhone 5S: "Use mine; the night shots on it totally beat your crappy phone!"
Huang Yuzhu didn’t mind his phone being insulted, for having any phone at all made him content.
Huang Yuzhu’s photography skills were evidently not up to par and earned another round of disdain from Tang Jing. Tang Jing took the initiative to demonstrate, taking a photo of him that turned out rather handso.
Tang Jing admired the photo, stating: "A man’s handsoness is a kind of feeling."
As they chatted onwards, a dirty little stray dog squatted next to a trash can, looking holess.
The stray dog, upon seeing the two, whimpered.
Huang Yuzhu stared for a while, then fished out one yuan from his pocket. After a mont of hesitation, he headed towards a small supermarket still open further away and bought a hot sausage.
Huang Yuzhu, holding the steaming hot sausage, squatted down and offered it to the stray dog. The dog imdiately opened its mouth to devour it, clearly starving.
Tang Jing was utterly amazed: "You actually splurged to buy food for a dog?"
In her mind, Huang Yuzhu was incomprehensibly stingy, never taking a taxi.
There was a hint of reminiscence in Huang Yuzhu’s honest face: "My family used to have a dog like that, about the sa age as , but it got lost a few years ago."
Huang Yuzhu had never seen that dog again, but in his mind, he hoped that the lost dog wouldn’t have to endure hunger on cold nights.
Tang Jing instinctively wanted to say that since it had been lost for several years, it was probably dead, or stolen, or hit by a car, or...
However, seeing Huang Yuzhu’s sincere expression, she couldn’t bring herself to dampen the mood.
Perhaps there are so people in the world who can purify your darkness.
She teased: "One sausage isn’t enough, co on!"
Tang Jing went into the store and bought five sausages at once, treating the stray dog to a al.
The stray dog whimpered more joyfully while eating.
At this mont, from around the corner ca an old man pushing a stove cart, wearing a military green warm coat.
The little dog eating the sausage on the ground suddenly barked, having found its owner.
Hearing the bark, the old man shouted: "Da Fu, Da Fu!"
He hurried over and saw the two young people feeding sausages to the dog.
The old man quickly thanked them: "Young folks, thank you, thank you so much!"
"If it weren’t for you, my Da Fu, who knows... sigh!"
"Thank you, thank you!"
The stray dog nad Da Fu wagged its tail, circling around the three of them.
Huang Yuzhu was a bit embarrassed by the praise, and he deflected: "It’s nothing, it’s nothing!"
On the other hand, Tang Jing was straightforward: "Old man, you better watch over your dog, otherwise, in this cold weather, it might get sick!"
The old man rubbed his hands, his face full of sincerity: "I got carried away with saying thank you, let treat you to so roasted sweet potatoes. I baked them myself, they’re all honey sweet potatoes!"
The old man pushed the stove cart over, revealing a sign for roasted sweet potatoes beside it, and after a busy mont, handed over two roasted sweet potatoes.
Tang Jing held the steaming hot roasted sweet potato, peeling it open, as wisps of hot steam rose into the air. Under the streetlight’s glow, the golden yellow sweet potato flesh could be seen.
She tasted it, finding it soft, fragrant, and sweet, with a delicate texture that seed to drive away the cold.
Tang Jing gave a thumbs up, praising: "Old man, your skill is great!"
The old man smiled as well: "Thank you so much!"
The old man and the dog nad Da Fu left, their silhouettes gradually fading into the night.
Tang Jing, still eating the roasted sweet potato, looked at the one in Huang Yuzhu’s hand, thinking of what had just happened, she suddenly laughed. It wasn’t her usual indifferent fake smile, but a joy arising from her heart.
She had a premonition that she might never forget this night.
Huang Yuzhu still had his honest face.
Tang Jing looked puzzled at the securely wrapped roasted sweet potato in his hand: "Why aren’t you eating it? It’s quite sweet, isn’t it?"
A gentle warmth appeared on Huang Yuzhu’s face: "I’m taking it ho for my younger siblings."
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