Huizhou in mid-January was unreasonably cold.
It was a damp, biting cold that snaked its way into the room through the cracks around the door and windows.
Outside, the trees were nothing but bare branches, and the sky was perpetually overcast.
Final exams had officially ended yesterday afternoon.
Winter break had begun.
Dorm Room 215.
Wang Dayong was squatting on the floor, his face beet-red with exertion.
In front of him sat a massive red-and-white suitcase.
It was stuffed with his bedding, old clothes, and a few boxes of Huizhou specialties he’d bought at the supermarket by the campus gate. The suitcase was strained to the bursting point. The two sides of the zipper were miles apart and simply wouldn’t meet.
"Chen Zhuo, quick! Help me press this thing down!"
Dayong didn’t even look up. He gripped both ends of the zipper, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging.
Chen Zhuo, who had been organizing things at his desk, heard the shout. He put down the book in his hands and walked over.
Without a word, he knelt on the massive suitcase with one knee, putting his full weight onto it.
The air rushed out of the suitcase, and it finally compressed.
Dayong seized the chance and gave the zipper a powerful tug.
With a harsh, grating sound, the zipper was forced shut.
"Got it!"
Dayong plopped onto the floor, letting out a long sigh and wiping the sweat from his brow.
"This stupid suitcase. Packing it is like going to war every time. If my mom hadn’t insisted I bring this thick quilt back home, I wouldn’t have bothered with all this trouble."
Chen Zhuo stood up and brushed the dust off his pants.
"You’ll never find a place to put that thing on the train."
Chen Zhuo said, giving the behemoth a fair assessment.
"It’s fine. I bought a standing-room-only ticket."
Dayong waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Once I’m on the train, I’ll just toss it in the aisle and sit on it. Problem solved."
Just then, Chu Ge walked in from outside.
He was wearing a heavy black down jacket with the collar popped, clutching a green, hard-paper train ticket in his hand.
"I’m freezing my ass off."
Chu Ge grumbled, shutting the door behind him to block out the cold draft from the hallway.
"The ticket hall at the station was a total madhouse—so packed you couldn’t even find a place to stand. I waited in line for two hours just to snag a hard sleeper for the two o’clock train."
He walked over to Dayong’s bed and sat down, his eyes falling on the suitcase on the floor.
"Dayong, what’s with all this gear? You running from a famine?"
"What the hell do you know? This is called returning home in glory."
Dayong got to his feet and gave the suitcase a light kick.
"I’m the first person from my village to get into a university, and Keda’s program for the gifted, no less. I’ve got to bring back a ton of stuff to show everyone how well I’m doing, right?"
Chu Ge rolled his eyes, not bothering to engage. He turned to look at Chen Zhuo instead.
Chen Zhuo was already back at his desk.
His luggage was simple.
A single gray suitcase held a few changes of clothes. The rest of the space was dedicated to several thick academic tomes in Russian and English that he had on long-term loan from the library.
"Chen Zhuo, is your ticket for tomorrow?" Chu Ge asked.
"Today."
Chen Zhuo said as he gathered the odds and ends on his desk.
"Three o’clock train this afternoon. Two transfers to get back to Zeyang."
Two knocks sounded at the door.
Lu Jia pushed the door open and stepped inside.
He was dressed lightly for the weather, wearing only an old jacket. The tip of his nose was red from the cold.
He was holding a copy of *Partial Differential Equations* and clutching a few loose sheets of scratch paper. He didn’t look like he was dropping by for a chat; rather, he seemed to be on his way to the study hall.
"Dayong, can I borrow your stapler?" Lu Jia walked over to Wang Dayong’s desk. "My notes got all mixed up."
Wang Dayong rummaged through a drawer and handed him the stapler.
Lu Jia took it and, with two quick clicks, stapled his scratch paper together.
He glanced at Wang Dayong’s giant suitcase on the floor, then at the one standing by Chen Zhuo’s bed.
"You’re all leaving this afternoon?"
Lu Jia asked, looking at the luggage on the floor.
"Yeah. Exams are over. Why would we stay? To celebrate the New Year here?" Chu Ge said, looking at Lu Jia. "When’s your ticket for? The ones to Western Sichuan are a real pain to get."
"I’m not going back," Lu Jia said, his tone flat. "I’m staying at the university for winter break this year."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Dayong was stunned.
"You’re not going home for the New Year? It’s freezing, and once the break starts, this place will be completely empty. Not a soul in sight. How depressing would it be to spend New Year’s Eve all alone in the dorm, just listening to the firecrackers outside?"
Dayong didn’t understand.
"Isn’t your family pushing you to come home?"
At the mention of family, Lu Jia’s fingers subconsciously tightened.
He didn’t answer Dayong’s question, simply averting his gaze and looking down at the floor.
"I checked the notice from campus services."
Lu Jia’s voice was quiet, but it held an almost stubborn resolve.
"Some of the smaller undergraduate dining halls will be closed, but Keda Cafeteria Number One is staying open for the entire break. The dorm manager also said the university is hosting a New Year’s Eve dinner in the main cafeteria. They’ll be giving out free dumpling tickets and red papers for lucky money to students who are staying on campus."
"I don’t want to go back. It’s too much of a hassle."
Lu Jia lowered his eyes, staring at the floor.
"The first-floor reading room in the library stays open during the break. It’ll be nice and quiet. I’d rather stay here and get some reading done."
Chu Ge opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped when he saw Lu Jia clutching his book, head bowed, eyes fixed on the floor. He swallowed whatever he was about to say.
Chen Zhuo turned and glanced at Lu Jia.
He walked over to his bed and pulled out a cardboard box from underneath it. Inside was a stash of snacks he’d bought over the past few months: packs of crackers, instant noodles, and a few cans of luncheon meat.

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