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Chapter 43
The original travel plans were postponed.
They had spent half of the summer vacation at home, and with New Year’s Eve approaching, they had barely gone out except for a supermarket visit.
Spending every day with Fu Cheng was wonderful. They were almost always together, whether lounging on the sofa watching TV or studying in the study.
She had some minor bruises that came and went.
Fu Cheng had immense strength and often used it forcefully, pinching and holding her with a near suffocating grip.
However, Fu Cheng preferred kissing.
He loved holding her and kissing her. One hand would grip her chin while the other held her down, kissing her deeply and forcefully, making her breathless every time.
Even when he stopped, he wouldn’t let her go immediately, letting her catch her breath before starting again.
“Kiss me again.”
“Fu Cheng, do you have some special kink?”
“Is that so? I just want to be with you—”
Fu Cheng pressed his lips against her forehead again, kissing her as he spoke, “It’s best if you never leave.”
This started another round of endless kissing.
They had nearly explored every possibility.
Besides this, there was another thing: Youyi was working hard on her studies.
Before the school library closed, she borrowed as many books as she could, turning the study into her second base.
Her notes had become a thick volume.
On New Year’s Eve, she sent an email and then came out of the study to see Fu Cheng preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner.
They didn’t go back home, and Fu Cheng didn’t either. This year was their first New Year after getting married, and they spent it alone in their home.
A quiet New Year’s Eve was actually quite nice. Fu Cheng had asked her to list a menu in the morning, went out to buy groceries, and followed a video tutorial.
New Year’s Eve required both fish and meat—steamed fish and braised meat, along with nearly ten other dishes, more than enough for the two of them.
This was the most formal New Year’s Eve Fu Cheng had spent since retiring from the army.
In the past years, he had avoided going home on New Year’s Eve to avoid trouble with his father.
So what did he do alone?
There was nothing much to do. For Fu Cheng, many years of military life had not allowed him to develop other hobbies. In previous years, he would spend New Year’s Eve with his comrades.
Before eight in the evening, Fu Cheng had already prepared several dishes and kept them warm. Youyi, meanwhile, had bought couplets and was putting them up at the door. When she returned, she turned on the speaker in the living room and played a recording of firecrackers from her phone.
The sound of firecrackers was a quintessential part of New Year’s Eve memories: the firecrackers, the couplets, and the anticipation of red envelopes filled with New Year’s money.
This year, Youyi had prepared red envelopes as well.
She stuffed the red envelopes into Fu Cheng’s pocket.
Fu Cheng washed his hands and took them out to see a message written on the envelope.
— “To every storm we weathered together.”
“Happy New Year.”
Fu Cheng looked at her message a few times.
“How many times?” he asked.
“Did you count?”
It was something she couldn’t count clearly. Last time, it jumped from 118 to 1808. When her mind was unclear, she started babbling.
But Youyi still thought it was a very wonderful thing.
Every time, it was together.
That was the most beautiful.
The most marvelous.
Fu Cheng opened the envelope to find it wasn’t money.
In fact, it was just a thin sheet that he had to take out to see clearly.
He discovered it was a letter.
More precisely, it was an application.
Fu Cheng didn’t understand why she was giving him this.
He opened it and found it was her application to add a minor.
“I actually don’t like studying medicine. Back in high school, I thought a lot about what I wanted to do in the future, what path to take, but never thought about studying medicine.”
When Youyi was a child, she disliked the smell of disinfectant in hospitals, the long corridors, the various sick and weak people, and the ever-present antiseptic odor.
The glaring white lab coats naturally frightened children.
When her parents insisted she apply for medical school, Youyi had resisted, crying in her room for almost two days. But they remained adamant that she had to study medicine.
Becoming a doctor was not only prestigious, but also promised a good income and a long-lasting career.
Studying medicine was considered honorable.
That’s what her parents said.
But that wasn’t the true meaning of the profession.
At least now, Youyi felt it wasn’t.
“But now I’m so glad I chose this field.”
Youyi held his hand gently and looked up at Fu Cheng, saying, “I’m minoring in a specialized field.”
That’s why she had been frequenting the library and spending every day in the study room—to decide on a minor before the next semester starts.
When they start their internships in the hospital and rotate through different departments, they will have a chance to choose their specialization. Youyi now wants to study in this direction.
She wants to learn more and advance her knowledge to help him.
“Fu Cheng, don’t worry. I can also treat you in the future.”
She kissed his chin.
Just like that doctor said, if this is an incurable, protracted battle, she chose to be a defensive soldier in this battle. No matter what happens in the future, she will be the first to protect him.
She will continue to research and delve deeper until she becomes someone slightly more capable in this field.
“So you’ve been busy with this these days?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know already?”
“Mm, the day Grandpa came, I ran into your friend downstairs.”
After learning that, she couldn’t really grasp his current situation. Later, she kept thinking about it. She is also studying medicine and has been working hard over the years. She wondered what it was all for.
“So now I have a goal,” Youyi said firmly.
Fu Cheng held her hand in return.
His heart was completely captured by her, held in a tender, devoted way. It was his weakness, and also his sweet surrender.
For him, it had always been certain.
In the early days of their acquaintance, their relationship was weak and they were merely tied together by a marriage certificate.
She was so small, her shoulders delicate. She wouldn’t dare look up at him but would steal curious glances. All her curious looks were noticed by Fu Cheng.
She didn’t remember him much, but even so, Fu Cheng didn’t remind her often.
He would only look up at her after she had stolen a glance at him.
She was so fair, almost reflecting light in the sun. When moving things, she lacked strength and her back would sweat. She wanted to call for his help but didn’t dare, so she could only silently grit her teeth.
Fu Cheng watched her from behind as she moved things, thinking that her slender ankles under her long skirt would surely turn red if pinched.
It was a red hue emerging from her snowy whiteness, not easily dissipated.
It was exactly the way he liked it.
There was no reason for it, just her natural attraction to him.
So, did he feel the same way about her?
Fu Cheng spent the whole night testing this, and then he thought his guess was correct.
He couldn’t describe the feeling.
It was like being on the edge of an icy mountain range, at the summit of Kunlun, surrounded by cold and wild places, where he wanted to see a touch of gentle sunlight.
Others called it “sunlight on the golden mountain.”
Then he met Ding Youyi.
For him, she was that destined light.
The light finally willingly shone on him.
That night, just before midnight, Youyi pulled him downstairs to watch the heavy snow falling under the streetlights. She took out her phone to take pictures, setting it up on the railing and switching to camera mode.
She was bundled up in layers, even wearing two pairs of socks.
Fu Cheng stood by the overpass, reaching out for her.
“Youyou, come here quickly.”
In such cold weather, she insisted on coming down.
There was almost no one in the neighborhood at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and the children who had set off fireworks had gone home long ago. At this time, the buildings were ablaze with lights, and families were gathered together to stay up late, eat New Year’s Eve dinner, or watch the Spring Festival Gala.
Looking up, they could also see their own home.
Their home was one of those countless lights, quietly glowing among the others, as warm and dazzling as they were.
Youyi rushed into Fu Cheng’s arms.
Her cheek pressed against his chest, and although it hurt, she was smiling. Her laughter spilled from her throat, and then she looked up at him, completely enveloped in his coat. She tried to hold him even closer, pressing herself against his warm body, wanting to be as close as possible.
“I remember when I was a child, New Year’s was the happiest time. I used to love setting off fireworks and would always count down the time, eagerly awaiting the evening.”
“The waiting always seemed long, but the joyful moments were so short. But do you know? Even though they were short, they are the most memorable.”
“But do you know what I’m hoping for now?”
“I’m hoping for every New Year’s with you at home. When I want to escape from a place, a new place will embrace me.”
It was such a fortunate thing, so rare, yet she had encountered it.
She wanted to hold him tightly, so Fu Cheng wrapped his arms around her. Even though the embrace was almost suffocating, it steadied her heart. She loved being held by him so much that it didn’t matter if she actually felt suffocated.
“Yes, we can stay together every year.”
Fu Cheng lowered his head to kiss her. Snowflakes gently fell from above. He shielded her from all the snow, and in the midst of the snowy night, under the streetlights, they kissed passionately.
Her wedding ring on her hand sparkled with a beautiful silver light, the diamond in the snow adding to its brilliance. He held her hand, and his hand also glowed with a circle of silver light.
Youyi also wanted to hold his hand with all her strength to show him just how much she loved him.
At the moment the clock struck midnight, fireworks erupted at the other end of the city, and the surroundings became lively again. Fu Cheng released her and whispered in her ear, “Youyou, Happy New Year.”
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Ayalee[Translator]
**•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚***•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚