Zhang Yixing had never been so confused when it came to compose a song. People said he was a music prodigy, a genius in his generation, a proud for his generation. Since he started to write his own music at 5, he always confident with whatever he composed. Ballad, pop, jazz, Yixing nailed them all. He never ran out ideas, never failed stringing tunes into one beautiful song that made people awed and hooked to the song. Since he was a kid, so many music experts complimented him. A lot of famous musicians wanted to work with him, a lot of scholarships from prestigious music school around the world came to him. For his 23 years existence, music had been so easy, like a piece of cake, like a cup of tea.

But these days, Yixing couldn’t put himself together. He ran out of inspiration, he didn’t know what to write. He sat in front of his piano for hours yet he still not satisfied with his work. Crushed papers were lying unceremoniously on the floor. He felt like he was juggling for inspiration since forever but nothing good came, nothing fit his taste. There were always some flaws in every piece he worked today. He carelessly laid his head on the piano, causing it produced a weird, deep sound on his ears.

Ding Dong

Ding Dong

Yixing turned his head to his flat door lazily and walked to the door.. There was a girl with a long hair, and very pale complexion. “Are you perhaps Zhang Yixing?” Yixing nodded.

“Come in, it’s cold outside. You are very pale,” said Yixing to the girl. She was indeed very pale, the color of her skin was close with the snowflakes that stuck on her jet black hair. The girl hesitated but she entered his flat. “May I know who are you?”

“My dad, Alex Li sent me here. He said he couldn’t reach you and he is very busy now. He told me to get the demo CD from you.” Yixing’s lips set into a thin line. “My name is Li Xue Hua, by the way. And my dad said we are on same age so no need to talk with formalities. My dad said you like to talk formal,” the girl added. Yixing scratched his head and motioned her to follow him.

Yixing lived alone in a flat, not a big flat though but it was cozy and simple, just like Zhang Yixing. Although it was simple, at least it was a strategic one in Beijing. Xue Hua observed the living room. Everything was simple, nothing unnecessary caught her eyes. But what caught her attention the most is a black grand piano, and papers that scattered on the floor near it. The black piano stood in a middle of the room proudly, dominated the dull living room. But the piano had a headphone and some buttons below the keys.

“I’m sorry, my home is a bit mess.” Yixing said while watching her eyeing his piano.

“Is that a silent piano?” asked Xue Hua. Yixing smiled seeing her lit up eyes. “Wow, I always want one but that costs a fortune.” Xue Hua chuckled lightly and sat down on the couch.

“It indeed costs a fortune but it’s worth, my neighbors wouldn’t bang my door in the middle of the night.” Xue Hua chuckled and nodded her head.

“Fair point well made.” Yixing grabbed his laptop and turned it on, he had prepared the demo like Xue Hua’s dad –Alex Li- said. But the demo hadn’t completed yet, there was a song left, a song that he had been working for days but nothing good came. Yixing groaned silently, he never submitted his work late. Never once in his career. Yixing gazed at the girl in front of him, she was biting her lips, her face was pale. But she still gazing his silent piano.

“Are you sure you are not sick? You are very pale,” said Yixing. Xue Hua brought her attention back to Yixing and she smiled. A gentleman, just like what people said.

“No I’m not. I am this pale since I was born, it’s not a big problem.” Xue Hua smiled at Yixing that was chuckling awkwardly.

Actually Yixing was confused, he couldn’t send Xue Hua back without his demo CD. But the 5-songs-contained-demo-CD missed one of its tracks. Yixing couldn’t hand her the uncompleted CD, especially if it was for Alex Li, his most respected teacher. So, with a heavy heart, Yixing grabbed his phone and excused himself.

“Wait Yixing-“ Xue Hua smiled innocently awkward, and asked him if she could try his silent piano. And Yixing laughed, showing his deep dimple for the first time in a day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I actually finished one song but I can’t say I’m satisfied with this one,” said Yixing to Alex Li. They met up after Yixing said he would finish the last song a week from that day Xue Hua went to his flat. Yixing fished his ipod from his pocket and searched for a certain song, but Alex Li stopped him. I’m sorry sir.” Yixing bowed his head, he was very ashamed now. Ashamed by himself, ashamed by his career. Alex Li chuckled and told Yixing to face him.

“There’s a time when you face an obstacle, Yixing.” Yixing sighed heavily. “What do you want to tell in this song, exactly?”

“I want a music that warms up people’s heart in the winter. It’s about love that found in a cold winter.” Yixing said. He tap his finger on a table, humming some chord progressions. But he felt something was missing yet he didn’t know what that was.

“Have you fallen in love before?” asked Alex Li playfully. “Or do you have a girlfriend now?”

“No, I don’t have now. But I have fallen in love before when I was in high school.” Yixing scratched his neck awkwardly. It had been a long time, he forgot the feels already. Yixing was drifting with his mind until he realized that he was in a middle of a business talk with Alex Li. “I’m sorry sir.”

“It’s okay, Yixing.” Alex Li laughed seeing how unconfident Yixing now. He knew how Yixing felt, he had experienced it all. He was older than Yixing, after all. “You have to know the feel before you make a good music, Yixing. But I can’t wait for long. The due date is near.” Yixing nodded and sipped a cup of tea that was served by a café waiter not long ago.

“Hi dad! Hi Yixing, you are here.” Yixing startled and then he smiled at Xue Hua that came from behind him. He didn’t know she was coming, he didn’t hear a footstep and he didn’t know that Alex Li was waiting for her. “So, what’s so urgent that you want me here right away? I was in a meeting with a client.” Xue Hua said to her dad. Alex Li raised his brows and looked at his wristwatch.

“I wanted you to accompany me for a dinner tonight but my friend called me just now. Something’s up in my studio. What about you accompany Yixing here?” said Alex Li. Yixing almost choked on his tea and Xue Hua widened her eyes. “Alright then I’ll leave you two. Don’t be too long, Yixing. I’ll see you at home Xue Hua.” Alex Li patted their shoulder before left them two alone, and awkward.

“Unbelievable. Did his friend really call?” Xue Hua said with a stern, mocking tone and sat on Alex Li’s previous seat. Yixing shrugged and smiled awkwardly.

“You can go back to your meeting though.” Xue Hua shook her head and looked for menu. She felt hungry after walking in a winter.

“It’s okay, I’ll call them later.” Yixing noticed that there were snowflakes on Xue Hua's hair. His hand almost reached them but he held his hand instead. That would be rude, but his hand was itchy to removed the snowflakes.Yixing cleared his throat instead.

“What’s your job?” Yixing asked curiously. This Xue Hua looked professional, so different from the Xue Hua that drolling over his silent piano. Somehow... he missed the innocently awkward her.

"I work as an interent for event organizer," said Xue Hua with a big smile plastered on her face. Yixing knew that smile, he had seen himself smiling like that when people asked about his career. "But I also like to compose a song for my dad, it's not as good as yours though."

"There's no bad music, just unique and different. People has their taste."

"Ah you are right, Yixing." For a moment, they just exchanged a smile but it was not an awkward smile. They ended up spent more hours together, just sitting on that cafe and talked about random things. And Yixing found that Xue Hua again, the one who drolled over his silent piano.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yixing!!" Xue Hua waved her hands from a crossroad. She ran to Yixing that had waited for her in front of a restaurant. They got close since that night Xue Hua's dad left them two, plus it seemed like Alex Li always told Xue Hua to meet Yixing for him. She didn't mind, Yixing was a good friend to her. They were comfortable around each other like they had known each other for a long time. They met for almost everyday, either it was for a short walk, or a cup of coffee.

"Hey there." Yixing smiled to her, showing that adorable dimple that Xue Hua wanted to poke. But she didn't because hey, that's rude. "Why am i always seeing you with snowflakes on your hair? Your pale face didn't make it any better." Yixing stepped closer to her and easily cleaned the snowflakes that crush on her hair. He wasn't that tall but her height just about his neck, she even wore wedges. Yixing thought that was cute.

"Snowflake is my friend, I'm a winter child. My name is Xue Hua right?" Xue Hua grinned and went to the restaurant first, leaving Yixing chuckled. Right, Xue Hua was a winter child. Even her skin was pale like a pile of snow. Yixing followed her to the restaurant and made himself comfortable.

It was a Chinese restaurant that his Korean friend owned. He liked to eat here sometimes because some of the dishes reminded him about his family in Changsa. He went to this restaurant when he missed home, and his friend would make him a few dishes that his mom always cooked for him when he was kid. The food tasted good although it was not same with his mom's. But the owner wasn't in the restaurant now and Yixing didn't go there to reminince his childhood.

"I don't know that you have such a big appetite. Do you really eat this much?" asked Yixing. His eyes widened after seeing how much food Xue Hua ordered. Such a big appetite for a petite girl like her. Xue Hua shrugged nonchalantly and looked around the restaurant.

"I can't resist a good food. And winter makes me hungry. Are you not hungry? It's very cold outside."

"But it's good to see you eat more, because I feel so guilty for taking you out to dinner in this weather." Yixing silently clapped for himself, since when he asked a girl out for dinner when it was -3°C in Beijing? Moreover, the girl was his most respected teacher's daughter. Was he out of his mind? The Yixing he knew would prefer staying at home and composing music with a cup of warm tea.

"How's the last song? Can i hear it? I bet this one would be the title track from the album!" Xue Hua beamed happily, she really wanted to hear the song, her dad said it would sould like a warm winter. Yixing sighed, the song left untouched at his flat. He figured that he should do some observation for the song. It made him so frustrated. Yixing smiled appologetically.

"The song hasn't finished yet." Xue Hua nodded, understand with the situation. The music prodigy was having internal fight with himself. Sometimes people should be confused first before finding the right path, right? That added a little ornament to his dull life.

"I listened to all of your songs. They are amazing, the feels laid in the right place. How could you manage to do them but stuck with this one?" Yixing bit his chopsticks for a moment.

"I don't know, honestly i never really experienced them. They just sounded right. I mostly guessed the feel for a song since I was a little, then thought about the chord progression. But this time.... I don't know."

"Maybe this time you should really know what kind of feel that you want? What do you want to listen for this winter?"

"I don't make music for myself, I compose a song that people wants to hear." Yixing kept eating but Xue Hua seemed forgot her food. She thought about what Yixing said and flicked her finger.

"Bingo. Maybe this time, you have to compose a song that you want to hear." Xue Hua smiled brightly. Yixing sighed and placed a dish to her bowl.

"That's not that easy like flicking your finger. Now, eat." Yixing didn't feel like listening to other people, the thought about him failing this one song was depressing enough. He didn't even make a title for the song. And Xue Hua's excited voice didn't make his feeling any better. Suddenly Yixing felt bad. He should know that Xue Hua would ask about this one.

In the other hand, Xue Hua didn't happy either. Seeing Yixing in such gloomy mood annoyed her. It seemed Yixing didn't have any motivation to continue his work. And she knew what his dad capable of if Yixing didn't finish the song. Alex Li was a strict person.

"What's with that tone?? I'm helping you!" Xue Hua unconsciously yelled at Yixing.

"Can you please shut up?!" Yixing yelled back. His heart was pounding. Both of them realized about what happened but they were too stubborn to admit that they were wrong. They just stayed silent and giving each other silent treatment for the rest of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yixing and Xue Hua hadn't met since that night. They felt bad about each other but their pride won over them. Yixing had been practicing for a winter concert, and Xue Hua had been busy with her internship, preparing for her upcoming event. Actually they were preparing for the same event, and both of them realized that. But when they walked and passed each other in the venue, they would pretend that they didn't know each other. It was okay for them, at least at first. But in the end of the day they would silently miss each other's presence. Yixing missed her warm personality most. He would silently watch her from afar when she was busy, how hardworking she was when it came to work, how her tired and stressed face, it all plastered on Yixing's mind. And vice versa. Xue Hua missed Yixing's stupid dimple the most. Watching him played piano from afar as her colleages went crazy after him. And as stupid as it sounded, Xue Hua missed the moment when Yixing removed snowflakes from her hair. This week was so hard since they had been in a same place all the time but ignoring each other. That hurt feeling on their system couldn't be healed just like that.

That night, Yixing sit in front of his piano and took a deep breath. He thought about Xue Hua's words, that he should compose something that he wanted to hear. His goal this time was a music that could make people warm in the winter. He thought about Xue Hua again, Xue Hua meant snowflake, a snowflake that had a very pale color but strangely could warm up his heart like a warm sun.

Yixing began to play his piano, this time he knew what he wanted to make, what he wanted to hear. Yixing smiled to himself, he had to experience it first before he knew what he wanted. He could complete the song without felt something was missing. And now, from this song, he wanted to tell Xue Hua that she made his cold and dull winter turned warm. Yixing smiled to himself, he began to know what to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright concert will start 30 minutes from now, i'll check on the performers first before i check on the stage." Xue Hua talked to her colleages through a walkie-talkie. Xue Hua was tired, she was sleepless, but she had to be professional for this job. Xue Hua clutched a piles of paper on her chest and ran to the place that the performers gather. She had to make sure all the important performers were there. She checked on them one by one, and the last was Zhang Yixing. She held her breath and let her work mode stepped in to greet Yixing.

"Zhang Yixing." Xue Hua greeted him. Yixing only nodded, acknowledging her presence. He was busy fixing his collar in front of a mirror. "You will be the last performer after Zhang Mei Li, it will be around 8. Is there anything you want to ask?" Yixing shook his head. "Alright thank you." And Xue Hua dissapeared, busying herself with another task. Yixing couldn't wait until his turn. He finally found his confidence again. The music prodigy was back.

Finally the last performance... Xue Hua looked into her paper and she pressed her lips into a thin line. The last performer was Zhang Yixing. Xue Hua called him, accompany him behind the stage and gave him a cue when he could went to the stage. Xue Hua was busy with her walkie-talkie all the time, made Yixing slightly frowned. She was restless.

"You can go to the stage." Xue Hua held the curtain for Yixing. They looked at each other for a moment before Yixing flashed her his smile. Xue Hua silently cursed Yixing for showing his damn dimple. "Alright go, time is not slowing down." Xue Hua took a deep breath and finally said, "Good Luck." She closed the curtain abruptly and ran, her pale cheeks were red. She stopped and fanned herself. Her heart was racing so fast, not sure if it was from the running or the scene before that. She was catching her breath until one of her colleage told her to go to a certain spot near the stage. She took a deep breath and went to that place.

Xue Hua could see Yixing from the place she was standing. Yixing still adjusting himself there, and his eyes landed on her. He flashed a smile to her before he tore his gaze and began to greet the audience.

"Good night ladies and gentlemen. My name is Zhang Yixing. Tonight, I will present you my new song, Miracles in December. This song is for the one who warms up y winter. I hope this song can warm up your winter too."

Slowly, a very warm hearted opening played by his agile fingers, followed by strings. The melody flowed smoothly from his fingers, it liked his fingers were dancing on a white-black stage. The song was warm, slowly brought up the emotion from warm feeling that you like until it reached some depressed stage and he dropped the emotion again with heart-wrenching part as the . And to make his performance more emotional, the stage was snowing. It was not the real snow, but it looked like one. Xue Hua's tears unconsciously dropped one by one, and her sleepless body didn't make anything better. It made her more emotional. She cried harder than she should be, some of the audiences were crying too. Slowly, he brought the warm feeling back with a soft melody and a very warm ending. He received a very load applause from the audienc, some of them were standing and crying. But his eyes only focused on a certain person that was crying hard. This song was different from that one he played during rehearshals. Yixing bowed to the audience and slowly walked down from stage. Every steps brought him closer to that person, Li Xue Hua. Xue Hua realized something, she was working now and this was not a drama. She wiped her tears and walked away from that place to backstage.

"Li Xue Hua!" Yixing called her. Xue Hua stopped and turned her head to face him.

"May I help... you?" Seeing Yixing that close to her, only few steps away, she began to cry again. Yixing smiled and wrapped his arms around her. Xue Hua cried harder and hugged Yixing back. She missed him so much, he missed her so uch. They just missed each other badly, and they both aware of that without being told. The previous song said everything already.

"Don't cry, finally i finished the song." Yixing said as he her jet black hair. "Why did you walk away?" Xue Hua tore herself from his embrance and wiped her tears.

"Gosh Yixing, I'm working here and my dad was there and everyone was practically there. What did you think? I'd give them the show?"  Both of them chuckled. Yixing had prepared everything though, they wouldn't get trouble. He asked permission from everyone. He even asked her dad already.

"I'm sorry." They said in unison, and both of them laughed again.

"So, miracles in December. And snow, really? Finally your brain woke up from hibernation." Xue Hua laughed and slowly removed the feathers from his hair. Yixing looked at her face, finally his yearning heart had been cured.

"You inspired them all. The song, the snow. You are that snowflake that have warmed up my cold and dull life. Only God knows I miss you so much." Yixing cupped her face and her cheek, feeling the warmth that radiated from her face.

"I... miss you too." Xue Hua shyly admitted it, her cheeks reddened. Yixing chuckled, she was cute when she shy. "Yixing, can you smile? I always want to try something...." Yixing rised his brows and began to smile. Suddenly he felt a finger poked his cheek.

"So, you wanted to poke my cheek?"

"I want to poke your dimple." Xue Hua poked it again, and again. She would never bored. Yixing smiled cheekily and leaned to whisper something on her ear.

"I also want to try something."

"What-" Yixing landed his lips on her and began to kiss her slowly, softly. Xue Hua's eyes slowly fluttered and she kissed him back. That night, they shared their first, warm kiss behind a curtain, in the middle of winter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I want to hear your songs," Yixing suddenly broke the silent on his flat. Xue Hua was busy with her report, and she thought Yixing was composing another song.

"I told you before, they are not that good as yours." Yixing pouted. Once Xue Hua said no, that meant no.

"But-"

"No buts, Yixing." Yixing sighed and and took a seat beside her. He wrapped himself around her and placed his chin on her shoulder. "Yixing, stop distracting me."

"You keep ignoring my request. There's no good music or bad music. Please..."

"No." Yixing sighed. He tore himself from Xue Hua and made her turned to face him.

"Listen, Xiao Xue. Snowflakes may look same but if you look closer, they are different on their own way. Get it?" Yixing poked her nose softly and flashed her his dimple.

"God, Yixing. You melt the snow...."

Yixing leaned closer and whisper, "Am I that hot?" And Xue Hua laughed hard. Yixing was so cheesy, but she liked it anyway. "I love you so much," said Yixing with a big smile plastered on his face. Xue Hua returned his smile.

"I love you too." Yixing her cheek and leaned closer. Slowly, they shared another warm kiss on the last day of the year. Everything was indeed miracles in December.

-THE END-

Xue Hua (雪花) = snowflakes

Xiao Xue (小雪) = little snow

I can't stop listening to Miracles in December and I can't resist Zhang Yixing on piano <3

I personally think the instrument of Miracles in December is somewhat warm, despite the sad lyric.

I feel the story is a bit rushed but I did my best u,u

Thank you for reading, enjor your winter~ (for the one who experiences it, since I live in a tropical country)