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At this moment, the night had already deepened.
The weather was pleasant, with a bright moon and scattered stars.
Su Niannian was being led by Gu Nan, slowly walking down the mountain.
In this moment, Su Niannian felt as if she were the happiest person in the world.
The cool, refreshing breeze blew, and her hand was enveloped by a large, warm one.
The touch of their fingertips was in sync with the beating of her heart.
She felt incredibly comfortable.
It wasn’t until Gu Nan called her name that she noticed the hint of hesitation on his face.
She thought to herself, This bastard… is he wavering again?
“I know what you’re thinking. I can cure Auntie’s illness.”
This wasn’t the first time Gu Nan had heard Su Niannian say this.
“The last time we went to the hospital in the city, they did an examination. They diagnosed it as lung cancer, mid-to-late stage.” Gu Nan wasn’t doubting Su Niannian; he just wanted to be honest about his mother’s condition.
“Traditional Huaguo medicine is vast and profound. Trust me, I’m confident.” Su Niannian spoke with a serious expression, patting Gu Nan’s shoulder.
She looked just like a little adult, which made her seem all the more adorable.
“Mm, I believe you.” Gu Nan trusted every word the girl before him said, deep in his heart.
To ease Gu Nan’s worries, Su Niannian took the initiative to share something about her own family.
“When I was six, my mother was over seven months pregnant. She went to the riverbank to do laundry with her big belly…”
At that time, it was already late autumn, and the river water was icy cold.
By evening, her mother still hadn’t returned. When her father came home from work and saw that she wasn’t there, he planned to leave Su Niannian at home while he went out to look for her.
But before he could step out the door, someone came running anxiously to their house.
When her father learned that her mother had fallen into the river and died, his entire body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Su Niannian remembered that at that moment, her father’s eyes were filled with tears. He looked completely broken—it wasn’t an act; his grief was real.
By the time Su Niannian and her father arrived at the riverbank, her mother’s body had already been retrieved from the water.
Her mother’s lips were pale, her entire body stiff and devoid of even the slightest warmth.
As Su Niannian spoke up to this point, her eyes turned red, and tears slowly fell.
Gu Nan reached out to wipe the tears from her face, then pulled her into his embrace. His hand gently stroked her back, offering her comfort.
“But I just can’t understand… If my father truly loved my mother, then why did he marry Tao Chunhua less than two months after she passed away?”
Su Niannian continued, her voice choked with emotion.
It turned out that after her stepmother entered the house, she put on the facade of a kind person in front of others, but behind closed doors, she would scold and beat the little girl at every turn.
Her father did nothing—he didn’t care about how she was living.
Later, her stepmother gave birth to two more children. This time, she was sent down to the countryside to take the place of the older brother who wasn’t even related to her by blood.
Gu Nan felt an overwhelming ache in his heart. His little girl—just how much hardship had she endured at home? How much suffering had she gone through?
No wonder she didn’t care about his family situation. No wonder when she heard him say he wanted to keep their relationship a secret for now, she had reacted with that expression.
He understood now—his little girl had never truly felt secure.
And yet, he had almost let his own worries about his family’s struggles make him hesitant about being with her.
“We won’t hide it anymore. If you want to tell others, you can do so anytime.”
Gu Nan tenderly ruffled Su Niannian’s hair, his heart aching. He truly wasn’t a good enough person for her.
She was such a wonderful girl, yet she had to endure so many difficult things.
From now on, whatever she wanted to do, he would support her.
He would work hard to become better, to be her strongest support.
With this thought in his mind, Gu Nan tightened his embrace around Su Niannian.
Su Niannian’s lips curled into a satisfied smile as she sank deeper into Gu Nan’s embrace.
Today’s conversation could be considered a confession of sorts, and now, the two of them, their hearts, had grown even closer.
After that, Gu Nan carefully shared his own situation with Su Niannian.
“So, Ningning has had poor health since she was young. This can actually be treated.”
“As for your eldest brother’s leg, it’s been injured for many years, and I need to check the situation before I can determine if it can be treated.”
“However, I hope that we can tell your eldest brother about this after your stepmother’s health is stable.”
“Your eldest brother’s situation right now has made him somewhat closed off. If he doesn’t see any hope, I’m afraid he won’t want to pull himself together,” Su Niannian carefully shared her thoughts with Gu Nan.
Gu Nan thought it made sense and nodded, “I’ll follow your lead.”
The two of them couldn’t continue lingering on the mountain, especially since the night had grown very deep.
If they kept dragging things out, Su Niannian would probably arrive back at the Educated Youth station by the time the sun came up.
Reluctantly, Gu Nan sent Su Niannian back to the station.
When they were close to the station, Su Niannian took a water bottle from her small cloth bag and handed it to Gu Nan.
“Drink some water and then go home and sleep,” she said.
Gu Nan almost felt like refusing, but when he saw the little girl in front of him, still smiling gently, he accepted the water and took a sip.
The sweet water slid down his throat, making him feel very comfortable.
Then, a wave of refreshment washed over him, as if he were filled with strength.
“This water is so sweet,” Gu Nan said, securing the cap on the bottle and handing it back to Su Niannian.
“Of course, I added sugar!” Su Niannian smiled, taking the water bottle from him. She waved at Gu Nan before heading into the courtyard of the commune.
When Su Niannian returned to her room and lay down on the kang, Huang Yingying suddenly opened her eyes.
She hadn’t known when Su Niannian had left the commune, but she was sure that at least three or four hours had passed since her departure.
During that time, Huang Yingying had not slept a wink.
“She really is a troublesome little tramp. But that’s fine. The more pathetic she is, the less she’ll ever win Gu Nan’s heart,” Huang Yingying thought to herself. With her back to Su Niannian, a sly smile curled at the corner of her lips.
Su Niannian lay back on the kang, hugging the blanket, her cheeks still flushed.
She gently ran her finger over her lips, where it seemed like there was still the lingering warmth from Gu Nan.
Thinking back to his intense embrace earlier and the rain of kisses that had fallen upon her, Su Niannian felt an overwhelming sense of happiness.
This was it. This was exactly what she had always wanted.
Before long, her breathing steadied, as the warmth of the moment filled her heart.
That night, although the sleep was short, Su Niannian felt like she had slept soundly and sweetly.
On the other side, Gu Nan felt similarly. Although he had only caught a rabbit that night, he had her— that exceptionally wonderful young woman.
“Damn it! I forgot to ask who the Song Zhaodi is,” Gu Nan suddenly remembered as he woke up.