Zhang Mo looks toward the source of the screams on the pirate ship and asks quietly, "Have you ever kissed any of your ex-girlfriends?"
Wang Zhi’s hand jerks, and the drink he just opened nearly spills. "What did you say?" His heart gives a tremor. "You know about the one from middle school. With the one from high school, we only hugged."
Zhang Mo is hard to read. It is impossible to tell whether she is satisfied with the answer or not. She only nods. "With the one from high school, did you really only hug?" she asks in a tone that sounds almost accusatory.
"Really. Why would I lie to you?" Wang Zhi’s voice is firm enough to sound like he is taking an oath to join the Party.
Zhang Mo mutters softly, "Then I’m not the one who got the short end of the stick."
Wang Zhi does not hear her clearly. "What?"
"Nothing." After a while, Zhang Mo says, "We said we’d hug, but we still haven’t."
They first met at the high school entrance exams that winter. From then on, every winter of their lives belonged to each other.
Theme: To the friends who turned my youth into an ensemble story. To the muse of this diary, thank you for leaving me with these memories, so that when I look back, I can fall in love with you all over again.
