Chapter 24.1

Lu Yun and He Cheng’an took the bus.

As Lu Yun looked out the window, she noticed that the entire county was draped in white.

Fluffy snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and people hurried along the streets, some beginning to stomp their feet to stay warm.

Lu Yun had heard people mention that a long time ago, the snowfall had been heavy, but over the years, it had dwindled, with some winters hardly seeing any significant snow at all.

He Cheng’an continued to hold onto the thermos that Lu Yun had given him.

His fingers, which had felt slightly stiff, were starting to warm up.

When he glanced down at his hands, he noticed the rough calluses and instinctively moved his fingers, as if trying to hide them.

He then subconsciously looked at Lu Yun’s hands.

Her hands were delicate and fair, long and slender, with neatly trimmed, rounded nails that had a faint pink hue.

Lu Yun tilted her head to gaze outside. “He Cheng’an, it’s so beautiful.”

He Cheng’an followed her gaze and agreed, “Yeah, it’s really beautiful.”

When the bus came to a stop at the station where they needed to get off, there were a lot of people on board, all pushing to exit.

He Cheng’an kept an eye on Lu Yun to ensure she wouldn’t get jostled, and when it seemed she might be crowded, he reached out and held her hand in his.

He said softly, “There are a lot of people.”

Lu Yun nodded. “I think so too. It’s really crowded.”

After stepping off the bus, Lu Yun and He Cheng’an walked hand in hand through the swirling snowflakes of winter.

The snowfall gradually lightened as they walked slowly together. At first, He Cheng’an held Lu Yun’s hand, but then he guided both of their hands into his pocket for warmth.

Suddenly, Lu Yun wished that this moment could last a little longer, that they could keep walking like this, hand in hand, forever.

Unable to resist, Lu Yun thought back to when her parents used to take her to watch the snow fall outside their warm home in winter. She had felt so happy then.

They had playfully asked her whom she liked more, her dad or her mom, and she had replied that she liked her mom, which had made her dad a bit jealous.

Then one day, a woman with a child had knocked on their door. Her parents had divorced, but the snow that day had truly been beautiful.

Lu Yun said, “Next time it snows, let’s watch it together, and I’ll roast some oranges for you.”

He Cheng’an tightened his grip on her hand. “So, we have a deal?”

Lu Yun looked at him. “I never lie.”

He Cheng’an smiled. “Of course, you never lie.”

—o—o—o—

When Lu Yun arrived outside He Cheng’an’s yard, she felt a bit curious. The last time she came, she had only glanced inside and thought it looked clean.

This time, even though He Cheng’an had been away in the provincial city for a few days and the yard hadn’t been swept, it still looked tidy.

Although He Cheng’an often went to the provincial city, he had bought quite a bit of briquette coal.

Additionally, the winter vegetables had been purchased with Zhang Hao’s help, so he had everything needed for the winter.

After inviting Lu Yun inside, He Cheng’an went to start the stove.

Since Lu Yun was afraid of the cold, her family had always been among the first to light the stove in their courtyard during winter.

Usually, it was Lu Dong or Lu Xiangan who took care of this task. However, He Cheng’an’s way of working seemed different from theirs.

Even though he was doing a somewhat dirty job, he stood there in a way that was quite pleasing to the eye, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs.

Lu Yun sat there watching He Cheng’an, lost in her thoughts.

He Cheng’an said, “It’s a bit smoky; you should go wait inside.”

As he spoke, he opened the door to his room for Lu Yun. When they entered, he didn’t forget to wipe down the chairs and table for her to sit. He hadn’t been back in several days, so even if it had been clean, there was still some dust.

He Cheng’an’s room was quite simple—just a bed, a wardrobe, and a table. The quilt on the bed was neatly folded, unlike Lu Xiangan’s room, where the quilt was usually crumpled up and tossed on the bed, with books strewn casually across the table.

Before long, the room began to warm up.

He Cheng’an agreed to build a snowman for Lu Yun. Although the snow outside wasn’t particularly thick, they still went out.

Lu Yun stayed inside, watching him as He Cheng’an diligently crafted the snowman, occasionally glancing up to check on her before returning to his work.

At some point, Lu Yun opened the window to get a better look at him.

She wanted to go outside, but the cold made her reluctant to move, especially after just returning indoors, feeling a bit achy in her legs. In the past, she could easily handle playing in the snow, but now she felt too delicate.

Because of this, she felt even more resentment toward Chen Zhiqiang’s family. It wasn’t her fault for being sensitive; after all, why should she be expected to take on all the household responsibilities just because she was a woman, and if she didn’t do it well, why should that be her fault?

Lu Yun asked, “Have you ever built a snowman before?”

He Cheng’an replied, “I have, when I was a child.”

He stepped forward and placed the snowman beside the window so that Lu Yun could see it better.

Lu Yun took off her scarf and called out to him, “He Cheng’an, come here.”

He Cheng’an set down what he was holding and walked over. Seeing the red scarf he had brought for her, he assumed she wanted to put it on the snowman.

He had seen others do that before, using carrots and scarves to decorate their creations. He reached out to take it, but then he heard Lu Yun ask him to come a bit closer.

He Cheng’an moved closer, and Lu Yun stood on her tiptoes to tie the scarf around his neck.

It wasn’t for the snowman; it was for him.

He Cheng’an bent down slightly, feeling a warmth in his heart that left him at a loss for words.

He simply watched as Lu Yun secured the scarf around him before encouraging him to continue building the snowman.

He Cheng’an made a large snowman, but it turned out a bit lopsided.

After Lu Yun rested indoors, it was soon time for He Cheng’an to head back to the provincial city.

When Lu Yun stepped outside, she touched the snowman that He Cheng’an had built.

He Cheng’an stood in front of her, and looked at the two; but no matter how he looked at it, he thought the snowman appeared rather ugly next to Lu Yun.

He Cheng’an said, “Next time, I’ll build you a nicer one.”

—o—o—o—

He Cheng’an took Lu Yun back home before heading to the bus station. When Lu Yun arrived at the courtyard, she noticed some children were building a snowman.

She glanced at their work and thought it looked nowhere near as good as the one He Cheng’an had made.

A young child asked Lu Yun, “Is my snowman pretty?”

He looked quite proud of his creation.

Lu Yun replied, “It’s pretty, but I just saw an even better snowman.”

—o—o—o—

That evening, when Zhang Meili returned home, she brought back a lot of oranges. In winter, the available fruits were mostly apples, oranges, and bananas. She came in with Lu Dong following behind, carrying more fruit.

Zhang Meili brushed the snow off her clothes. “I didn’t intend to buy so many, but these oranges are both sweet and cheap. If it hadn’t started snowing, the vendor wouldn’t have sold them at this price; he wanted to get home early. Come on out and try them; they’re delicious!”

Lu Yun took an orange, and when she bit into it, she found it was indeed sweet. She ate two in a row, and as she thought of something, she smiled. On her way back inside, she grabbed another orange.

Zhang Meili said, “See, I told you they’d love them! They usually don’t like oranges, but it’s not that they dislike oranges; it’s just that they don’t like sour ones. I should have bought even more!”

When Zhang Meili took a few more oranges to Lu Yun’s room, she found Lu Yun sitting at the table, holding an orange and inspecting it. She walked over, placed the oranges on the table, and asked, “What’s so special about that orange? Is it prettier than the others?”

Lu Yun laughed. “I just remembered something.”

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed as a snowball hit Lu Yun’s window, startling her and almost making her drop the orange.

She quickly pulled back the curtain, and as she opened the window, she saw the children from the courtyard engaged in a snowball fight.

Among them was a child who had just been pushed forward by one of his friends, and Lu Yun recognized him as the grandson of Aunt Li.

The child said, “He did it on purpose! He said you’re worthless, that even if a snowball hits your window, you can’t outrun him. He said no one will want you, and even if someone does, you’re ugly and useless.”

Zhang Meili murmured, “When the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam is also bent. A good child has been ruined by Aunt Li’s teachings.”

Lu Yun felt her face flush with anger.

Wasn’t that basically them cursing her relationship with He Cheng’an?

Even if the child didn’t understand, he shouldn’t speak like that, especially not at this age—they were in elementary school already!

When Lu Yun stepped outside, the children scattered in fright, some of them screaming, which attracted the attention of several people in the courtyard, including Aunt Li.

The kids were in their prime running stage, and Lu Yun knew she couldn’t catch them, so she stayed quiet and crouched down in the courtyard, forming a snowball in her hands.

She wasn’t very strong, but she took a few steps forward and threw the snowball directly at the window of Aunt Li’s house.

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know.”

“It seems like Aunt Li’s kid threw a snowball at Lu Yun’s window.”

Aunt Li exclaimed, “What are you doing?”

Lu Yun stood there, her voice gentle yet powerful. “Tell your grandson that if there’s a next time, I’ll have my brother meet him once and give him a beating. If he keeps causing trouble, he might as well drop out of elementary school. I’ll go find his teacher to see which parent would want their child to play with him if he’s leading other kids astray.”

Aunt Li retorted, “He’s just starting elementary school! Why are you being so vicious?”

Lu Yun replied, “If you can’t teach him properly, why expect me to be lenient? On what grounds?”

She stepped up to Aunt Li, adding, “Also, I have a boyfriend who lives nearby in the alley. His name is He Cheng’an.”

As Lu Yun walked back, her heart raced, and her cheeks were flushed from the cold. She spotted Lu Xiang’an and Lu Dong, who had come out due to the commotion, and nodded at them, saying, “Yeah, I’m dating someone now.”

Lu Yun hadn’t expected to have to tell her family about her relationship like this.

However, she felt at ease inside because the Lu family had long known; it was just that Lu Yun hadn’t mentioned it, and they hadn’t asked. They understood that Lu Yun had her own ideas.

Lu Dong took a while before saying, “When you have time, bring him home for us to meet. No rush; it’s up to you.”

Lu Yun replied, “I understand.”

When she returned to the house, the courtyard was still noisy.

Some were watching the commotion, while others were trying to mediate.

Many parents had already taken their children home—not allowing them to play with Aunt Li’s grandson anymore.

Lu Yun’s words had frightened those parents—they worried that if their well-raised children were led astray by Aunt Li’s grandson, how would they be able to correct their behavior later?

—o—o—o—

That night, as Lu Dong lay in bed, he felt a bit melancholy. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy for my sister’s family to marry off their daughter. I heard that when Li Ling just got married, my sister missed her daughter so much that she couldn’t eat for days. But I didn’t think… I mean, I just said to let Lu Yun bring her boyfriend home for us to see. Now, I can’t sleep! After bringing him home, won’t that lead to discussions about marriage? Is she going to get married soon?”

Zhang Meili gave him a nudge. “Alright, sleep now. What’s so hard about marrying off a daughter? She has to start a family eventually. Her outburst today was for her boyfriend; Aunt Li’s grandson insulted both her and He Cheng’an. If not, she wouldn’t have gone out to throw snowballs at Aunt Li’s house. She clearly cares about He Cheng’an. Just sleep.”

Lu Dong wondered what kind of person He Cheng’an was and what his family background was like.

“Maybe we should ask Xiang’an to find out more? Since there wasn’t any intention of bringing him home before, but now things are different,” Lu Dong suggested.

Zhang Meili agreed, “Sure, let Xiang’an inquire a bit. Didn’t you say he lives nearby in the alley, named He Cheng’an? I think he’s better than Chen Zhiqiang, at least.”

Though others believed that if Lu Yun could marry Chen Zhiqiang, her life would surely be better, Zhang Meili didn’t see it that way.

Chen Zhiqiang didn’t like Lu Yun, and his family didn’t like her either. Did that mean she would have to endure their disdain just to please them?

Mentioning Chen Zhiqiang reminded Lu Dong of something. “I ran into Chen Zhiqiang a few days ago. He greeted me politely and was very courteous. I meant to tell you when I got home, but then I forgot about it after we went together to buy sweet potatoes.”

Zhang Meili replied, “What kind of politeness can he offer? At most, it’s just superficial politeness; he can’t really be friendly with you, can he?”

—o—o—o—