Chapter 70.2

Xu Zhao glanced around. They were standing on the side of the road, hidden by trees. People passing by only looked curiously and didn’t approach to ask questions.

Seeing his hesitation, Jiang Suihan stamped her foot, “Hurry up, it’s so cold.”

She was ready to stand there and not move if Xu Zhao didn’t agree.

Now, that’s what she called a real threat.

Xu Zhao took a deep breath, reaching out to adjust her scarf so it covered half of her face, leaving only her clearly defined eyes visible. Then he bent down and picked her up in a carry.

As her view suddenly rose, Jiang Suihan let out a small, surprised sound. Naturally, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled brightly at him. “You’re so good.”

Xu Zhao’s lips curled into an unconscious smile. The phrase “taking advantage and acting cute” was meant for people like her.

When they encountered someone on the way, Xu Zhao, without a hint of embarrassment, lied seriously, “She accidentally twisted her ankle.”

The bystanders understood, as an injured ankle would indeed require someone to be carried home.

Jiang Suihan, not having Xu Zhao’s thick skin, buried her face in his chest and pretended to be asleep, hearing nothing.

Once they reached a place with no one around, Xu Zhao looked down and only saw the top of her head. He chuckled softly.

Jiang Suihan detected a hint of mockery in his laughter and turned her head to glance at him. “Is it that funny?”

Xu Zhao kept his gaze straight ahead, holding her securely. “Not funny.”

Jiang Suihan shot him a glance, wondering why he was laughing if it wasn’t funny.

Back home, Su Ying was already in the living room. She looked up and saw Jiang Suihan being carried by Xu Zhao, assuming she was injured, and asked anxiously, “What happened?”

Jiang Suihan felt embarrassed and didn’t want to admit she was just being lazy and didn’t want to walk, which was why she had Xu Zhao carry her.

Xu Zhao put her down. “It’s nothing. She’s just tired.”

Relieved to hear that there was no injury, Su Ying, realizing it was just a playful gesture between the couple, said, “It’s getting late. I’ve already prepared hot water. Go take a bath and get to bed early.”

Jiang Suihan covered her face, feeling embarrassed as she suspected her mother-in-law had figured things out.

Xu Zhao went upstairs to fetch her pajamas and then brought down half a bucket of hot water from the kitchen, mixing it with half a bucket of cold water.

“Don’t take too long in the bath. It’s cold, and you might catch a cold.”

Jiang Suihan nodded, taking the clothes and heading to the bathroom.

On the other side, Zhao Huan was being questioned by his good friends in the troupe: “Did you really go to find Jiang Suihan?”

Zhao Huan, sitting on a chair and munching on a biscuit, succinctly replied, “I did.”

Her friend looked at her in shock and admiration. “So, what did you say to her? Or did she say something to you?”

After finishing the last bite of her biscuit, Zhao Huan clapped her hands. “You’re making this sound complicated. I just told her my name and that I wanted to get to know her.”

Her friend eyed her skeptically. “That’s it?”

Zhao Huan looked at her friend with confusion. “Your expression says you think too much. I’m kind and innocent. How could I trouble someone? Besides, I think Jiang Suihan is quite nice, pretty, and not rigid. I’m actually planning to be friends with her.”

Her friend looked like she had been choked, her expression mixed, and after a while, she said, “You two are rivals. How can you be friends? Even if you want to, Jiang Suihan might not agree.”

She thought Zhao Huan was a bit reckless, always acting on impulse without considering the consequences. Sometimes she envied her because only someone pampered by their family could be so fearless, knowing that no matter what they did, their family would handle the aftermath.

Zhao Huan shook her head and said seriously, “I have a feeling we’re going to be friends.”

Her friend sighed after a pause and said, “Let’s hope so.”

Jiang Suihan sat on the bed, watching Xu Zhao squat on the floor packing his things. “How long will you be away on this mission?”

Xu Zhao turned to look at her. “No more than a month. I’ll be back soon.”

Jiang Suihan counted the days on her fingers. It was already January, and another month would bring the New Year.

Her mood dipped a bit. “This will be our first Spring Festival together. I want to spend it with you.”

Xu Zhao sat on the edge of the bed. “This mission is urgent but not difficult. I’ll come back as soon as possible.”

Jiang Suihan had no complaints about his job. The safety of the country and its people always needed someone to protect it. If sacrificing the interests of a few could bring greater benefits to the country and people, this choice would undoubtedly receive the support of most.

She rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. “Then it’s a promise. You’ll come back to celebrate the New Year with me.”

Xu Zhao rubbed her head. “Alright.”

The next morning, Xu Zhao had already left. Jiang Suihan sat on the bed, staring blankly for a while before slowly getting up. When she lifted the blanket, the cold air hit her.

She mumbled, “So cold.”

She quickly found some warm clothes, putting on two pairs of pants, four tops, and woolen socks, which were very warm.

Last time, Xu Zhao and her mother-in-law bought wool yarn. Jiang Suihan knitted herself a white wool sweater, which she was wearing now. She didn’t keep the red one but asked her mother-in-law for her opinion and knitted one for her brother too. There was still some yarn left, not enough to knit another sweater, so she decided to make a wool vest.

With the remaining white wool yarn, she made four pairs of woolen socks—one pair for each family member, not favoring any particular one.

Su Ying brought out a steaming bowl of noodles and placed it on the table. “Eat while it’s hot.”

Jiang Suihan sat down, rubbed her hands, and picked up her chopsticks to start eating. The noodles were neither too hard nor too soft, made from hand-cut dough, with some dried shrimp, bacon, and a fried egg, topped with green onions. It was delicious.

Seeing that Jiang Suihan enjoyed it, Su Ying smiled. “If it’s tasty, eat more. Xu Zhao had two bowls this morning.”

Jiang Suihan sincerely said, “Thank you, Mom.”

It was so cold, and Su Ying got up early to make breakfast. If it were her, she might not have been able to get up.

During these two months of living with her mother-in-law, though there were generational gaps and occasional disagreements, her mother-in-law was quite understanding. When she explained things seriously, Jiang Suihan could understand and she didn’t insist on having everything her way.

Jiang Suihan felt that having her mother-in-law around made things much easier. Every day, someone cooked meals and sometimes even helped with the laundry. There were no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts in her case.

When the daughter-in-law spoke so formally, Su Ying felt a bit embarrassed and smiled to cover it up. “Hurry up and eat, or the noodles will get cold.”

After breakfast, Jiang Suihan put on a scarf and knitted hat, and changed into cotton shoes. Today was the final exam, and all the teachers had to supervise the exams.

Wearing so many layers made her feel clumsy and unsteady. She decided not to ride her bike to school but to walk instead, which would take about half an hour.

“Jiang Leyun, are you ready yet?”

As the weather grew colder, Jiang Leyun had a hard time getting up in the mornings, making it seem like he was being dragged out of bed. Despite Jiang Suihan’s repeated calls, he refused to get up.

Jiang Leyun came out, his neck scrunched up against the cold wind, shivering as he said, “I’m freezing.”

Jiang Suihan urged him, “Hurry up, or we’ll be late.”

Su Ying hurried out of the house and handed Jiang Suihan a pair of blue knitted gloves. “Almost forgot these.”

Jiang Suihan tapped her head. “How forgetful of me, thank you, Mom.”

Su Ying said, “Go on, be careful on the way. I’ll make mushroom chicken stew for you when you get back.”

Jiang Leyun’s eyes lit up at the mention of food.

In the afternoon, when Jiang Suihan saw Zhao Huan at home, she was a bit surprised. “Do you need something?”

Zhao Huan complained, “Why do you always ask that? Can’t I just come and see you without a reason?”

Jiang Suihan replied, “We’re not that familiar. Are you here just to chat?”

Zhao Huan pursed her lips. “You’re very straightforward. I came to tell you that I’m leaving soon. I’ll write you letters, and you should reply.”

Jiang Suihan asked sincerely, “Why write me letters?”

Zhao Huan said matter-of-factly, “Isn’t it normal for friends to write letters to each other?”

Jiang Suihan was taken aback and found it a bit amusing. They had only met once and exchanged a few words, and Zhao Huan was already considering her a friend?

“Your speed in making friends is quite fast.”

“I have a good eye for people. I think you’re nice, so why not be friends?” Zhao Huan handed over a gift. “Here you go.”

Jiang Suihan looked closely at the packaging, which was printed in English and was from a well-known international brand. Their cream was very good.

“This is too expensive. I can’t accept it.”

Zhao Huan said with a stern face, “It’s yours now. I can buy more if needed. Don’t you want to be friends with me?”

Although she spoke casually, Zhao Huan felt heartbroken inside. She had saved up for three months to buy this from an overseas store last week, spending most of her salary. It had been painful for her.

Jiang Suihan was speechless. This was her first experience of being forced into friendship.

“Just wait a moment.”

Jiang Suihan went back inside and, after a while, came out with a bag. “These are some snacks my mother-in-law made. I think they taste good. You can have them on the way.”

Zhao Huan’s eyes brightened. She quickly took the bag, opened it to find pork jerky, small fried dough twists, and candied hawthorn. She hugged the bag tightly. “These are all my favorites. Please thank your mother-in-law for me.”

Before leaving, Zhao Huan emphasized again, “Make sure to reply to my letters.”

Jiang Suihan nodded helplessly. “I will remember.”

With only five days until the New Year and Xu Zhao still not back, Jiang Suihan was worried but tried not to show it at home.

After lunch, she read for a while and was about to take a nap when she suddenly heard urgent knocking on the door.

With her mother-in-law and the other women in the family gone to the county to buy New Year’s supplies, and Jiang Leyun off playing with Zhao Xiaojun, Jiang Suihan was home alone. She quickly got dressed and went downstairs.

Dai Jia, who was there, looked anxious and grabbed Jiang Suihan’s wrist. “Come quickly. Xu Zhao is injured and now in the hospital.”

Jiang Suihan’s mind went blank for a moment, and she stood there in shock. Dai Jia called her several times before she snapped back to reality and anxiously grabbed Dai Jia’s hand. “Is the injury serious? Is he still conscious?”

Dai Jia tried to reassure her, “He’s still awake, but I’m not sure of the details. I came to inform you as soon as I got the news. Arrange things at home and bring some clothes for Xu Zhao.”

Jiang Suihan forced herself to stay calm, quickly wrote a note and placed it on the living room table, then went upstairs to get a set of clothes Xu Zhao often wore. Concerned he might be hungry, she also packed some cookies, milk, and a cup.