Winter cos, and dusk falls early; by seven o’clock, it’s pitch black outside. Shen Liguang leaves the fire station and heads to Ji Family Chestnut Shop to buy so sugar-roasted chestnuts. Recalling that the girl enjoyed them last ti, he decides to get two portions.
At that mont, Fu Ying is fiddling with her computer, which just suffered a spill as she accidentally knocked over her water glass, leading to a screen blackout.
Her thesis was on there.
She had painstakingly written over two thousand words, scratching her head and agonizing over every one. Now it all seed to be in vain, and Fu Ying suddenly felt utterly defeated.
"Fu Ying."
The door to the young girl’s room was left open. Fu Yan saw Fu Ying inside, looking worried and shaking her computer, seemingly deaf to him calling her, and rapped lightly on the door with his finger.
"Your guy is here."
Fu Ying was preoccupied with her computer and responded with a distressed face, "Brother, my computer screen is black."
"Get a new one if it’s broken, what’s the big deal?"
"My end-of-term thesis was in there, it wasn’t easy to write."
Fu Yan approached, "Let have a look. Brother Li Guang is looking for you; he seems anxious."
"Ah? He’s here?"
Fu Yan clicked his tongue, wondering if he was just talking to a ghost a mont ago, and shot her a glance without saying a word.
"Please help out, brother."
Fu Ying had no choice but to hand her computer over to Fu Yan and ran downstairs.
"Take it easy." Fu Yan’s voice leisurely followed from behind, but the young girl was already far away, like a swallow darting into the woods.
"Why did you rush out here wearing just a sweater?"
"Anxious to see you," Fu Ying confessed, then tucked her face into her high-necked sweater, "Why didn’t you co in? It’s cold outside."
"I don’t have ti to sit down, I ca to drop sothing off, I’ll leave after I see you."
"So soon?"
Fu Ying rembered that the last ti they t, Jiazhou City had just seen its first snowfall.
Now, half a month later, the second snow was here.
Snowflakes were fluttering down, landing thickly on the man’s hair and clothes.
The vicinity was silent, with only the sound of falling snow.
He was dressed in a black coat, standing in the snow with a bag of chestnuts in hand.
He nodded, "Yeah, I’ll go in a bit, but take this."
"What is it?" Fu Ying reached out to take the bag, and upon checking, discovered it was chestnuts.
They were still warm, the sugar aroma wafting upon opening the bag.
"Rember to brush your teeth after eating them tonight."
"Okay." Fu Ying lowered her head, sounding muffled, "So you’re leaving?"
The little girl looked pitifully endearing.
Shen Liguang couldn’t bear to see her like this, his heart lting completely.
"So what else do you want?"
His tone was playful, his gaze resting on her face.
Fu Ying’s cheeks suddenly flushed as she turned away to divert the conversation, "Is Auntie doing well? I visited her last week and want to go again, but I feel it’s not right to keep visiting your place like this."
"Why is that?"
"It’s not modest – I’m not even married yet."
Society had indoctrinated her, yet she strangely felt guilty.
Shen Liguang smiled a little too indulgently, "You’ve done everything that needs to be done, why bother being so modest?"
Fu Ying cast her gaze down, "It’s different."
"Then you should move into my household register, making everything official."
Fu Ying was a bit shy but still unreservedly nodded in agreent.
"There’s just on that registry page. Once you move in, we’ll expand the family." He continued more casually and playfully, "Then I’ll make an effort, you bear the brunt, and we’ll have a bunch of little ones."
Fu Ying furrowed her brows, both annoyed and amused, "I’m not a pig."
"I’ll raise them."
"Hmm?" Fu Ying looked at him.
"Raising a piglet?" Shen Liguang sized her up, feeling that she hadn’t grown taller these past few years, still small and short, and he began to worry, "Won’t it affect my genes? Having a bunch of little dwarfs."
Fu Ying hated it most when others ntioned her short stature.
Ignoring Shen Liguang, she turned around, ready to go back to her room.
The little girl actually flared up, looking like she was throwing a tantrum no matter how you saw it.
Shen Liguang couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to pull her back, "What’s wrong? Why are you acting like a spoiled brat with your brother again?"
"I’m angry."
"Then let coax you." Under the orange streetlights stood the two of them, with snowflakes dancing down upon them. The man pulled down her turtleneck sweater and kissed her lips, "Almost twenty years old now."
"Only turn twenty during the sumr break."
"I’ll wait."
Fu Ying pursed her lips but couldn’t help smiling.
Shen Liguang ruffled her hair, "Get inside, it’s cold out here."
Fu Ying nodded, turned around, and went back into the house, constantly looking back three tis with each step she took.
Shen Liguang laughed so hard he was unable.
Inside his heart, it was very sweet.
...
The cold wind blew across the street, sweeping over the crowd, not knowing where it would go.
Shen Liguang got out of the car, replying to the girl’s WeChat ssages while heading towards the building entrance.
Ever since Li Ruolan fell last ti and went to the hospital for a check-up, a series of health problems erged.
Her health has been intermittently problematic these past few months, always feeling uncomfortable, also due to old age.
Shen Liguang, who was working while taking care of Li Ruolan, wasn’t able to manage it all by himself, and it wasn’t appropriate to trouble relatives, so they hired a nanny.
The nanny was quite young, in her early thirties, and was previously a nurse, so she understood so dical care, which Shen Liguang found very suitable and decided to employ her.
She was very careful too; on the first day of work, she asked Li Ruolan if there was anything specific she couldn’t eat and kept in mind that she was sick and on dication, so she couldn’t eat anything too spicy or too fresh. She still managed to prepare als with both at and vegetables, taking good care of Li Ruolan.
Shen Liguang returned ho and saw Li Ruolan sitting on the sofa, head down, knitting little clothes while watching TV. He walked over.
"What are you making?"
"Knitting little clothes, for my future grandchildren."
Shen Liguang found it funny: "Making them now?"
"It’s not early, at my age, with all these health issues, who knows..."
Shen Liguang’s face turned cold, and he frowned, "Don’t talk nonsense."
"Ah..." Li Ruolan sighed deeply, "With old age, all sorts of problems co."
"Stop knitting." Shen Liguang reached out to take away her needle and thread, and Li Ruolan pushed his hand away.
Sitting idly at ho, I just want to find sothing to do." Li Ruolan smiled, having lost weight after being sick, her cheeks hollowed. She suddenly rembered Fu Ying, "When will Yingying co over?"
"Didn’t she just visit last week?"
"I’m doing this for you, the fire station is busy, and you stay at ho to take care of when you have ti off. It’s been a while since you’ve t, right?"
"Just t."
Li Ruolan was relieved, "Well, that’s good. I quite like that girl Yingying. The feeling she gives is indescribable; it’s as if I’ve known her for a long ti, almost like she was my daughter-in-law in a previous life."
"And the previous life too." Shen Liguang laughed, "Where was that?"
"I don’t care, just get along with Yingying well. Whatever she wants, you give it to her; listen to whatever she says, treat her nicely, give her so leeway; I’ve even given our family heirloom bracelet to Yingying, I’m set on this, better get married quickly."
"Like a bandit."
"Even if a bandit, I’ve accepted it, anyway, I like Yingying." Li Ruolan, "Do you understand to treat her well?"
Shen Liguang chuckled, "You don’t need to tell ."
Li Ruolan smiled and looked away, seriously making the little clothes.
Bought so chestnuts."
Li Ruolan, without raising her head, "We’ll eat it later."
Reviews
All reviews (0)