Chapter 116 Taking it a step further, a warm, large hand silently reached out...

Zhu Liushuang didn't know when He Ming arrived, nor how long he had been standing by the roadside.

The moment she heard him call her name, she instinctively turned around.

In the dim light, a tall, slender man arrived, laden with snow and wind.

Her body reacted before her brain, and she eagerly ran towards He Ming. Only when she reached the man did she abruptly stop, her eyes lowered with a mixture of nervousness and trepidation, as if she were returning home with a sense of unease.

"Is it fun when it snows?" the man asked abruptly.

A deep, serious voice hovered overhead.

Is he angry?

Zhu Liu's eyelashes fluttered, and she stammered in defense of herself, "I was originally waiting for you inside the mall... but I haven't seen snow in a long time... so I came out to take a look. Just... just for a little while... really!" She mixed truth and lies, making her sound inexplicably aggrieved.

As soon as he finished speaking, all he could hear was the whistling wind, but there was no more male voice overhead.

His tone was so cold just now, could it be... he's still angry? Zhu Liushuang thought to herself.

After waiting for a long time without a response, she couldn't help but raise her eyes and secretly glance at He Ming's expression.

He was immediately stunned.

There wasn't a trace of anger on the man's fair and handsome face. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and his usually calm eyes held a faint smile.

So... he was actually just bluffing her, wasn't he?

Zhu Liushuang's face flushed red instantly, and she glared awkwardly at He Ming: "Senior! You're making fun of me..."

As she spoke, her eyes blinked like a startled fawn.

Little did she know that this girlish demeanor, when seen by the man, only aroused his protective instincts.

He Ming suppressed a laugh and said, "No."

But Zhu Liushuang clearly saw the smile in his eyes deepen, and even his Adam's apple was trembling slightly. She became annoyed and said, "Ugh...don't laugh! If you laugh again, I'll..."

"So what?" He Ming asked as he reached out and casually placed his hand on her shoulder, brushing away the unmelted snow.

What is it?

Zhu Liushuang's mind went blank for a moment, unable to come up with any harsh words.

"Are you cold?" The man withdrew his hand, his eyes falling on her ears, which were red from the cold.

“Cold—” Zhu Liushuang nodded sheepishly, “I wasn’t cold when I was playing in the snow, but now that I’m just standing here, I feel cold.”

"Let's go, park the car across the street."

Upon hearing this, she sniffed, and a bold idea suddenly popped into her head.

"Senior, my hands are so cold! Can I borrow your coat?" she said as she walked, her eyes darting around. Before the person next to her could answer, she calmly stuffed her right hand into He Ming's coat pocket.

The cashmere coat felt soft and rubbed against the back of her hand. Zhu Liushuang nervously curled her fingers, slowly clenching them into a fist, trying her best to appear nonchalant.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, carried by the wind to their feet.

Two footprints were left close together on the deserted road.

Zhu Liushuang couldn't help but think: How wonderful it would be if this road had no end!

Just then, a warm, large hand silently reached into her coat pocket and gently enveloped her.

The heat wasn't scalding, yet it easily ignited a flame in her heart.

Not many days had passed since he last held her hand.

The situation was actually a little different. Last time, when they were affected by the aftershocks, they were both in a state of extreme panic, and his reaction to her various transgressions was more out of a protective instinct.

This time, he not only acquiesced to her willfulness, but also actively added fuel to the fire.

That's great, everything is going in the direction she dreamed of.

Feeling the warmth from the man's palm, Zhu Liushuang was secretly delighted.

She was like a rabbit peeking out from the snow, stealing glances at He Ming every now and then. But at the slightest disturbance, she would quickly retreat as if nothing had happened.

If you're not paying attention while walking, you're bound to fall, especially on a snowy day when the roads are slippery.

Zhu Liushuang was not spared. She stumbled and almost fell flat on her face in such a romantic moment.

Fortunately, someone reacted quickly and grabbed her tightly.

But as a result, the two hands hidden in the pockets of the clothes changed their positions again.

From being held in his hand to being held firmly by his hand, it was an even more ambiguous experience.

Under the streetlights, Zhu Liushuang's eyes sparkled.

Perhaps because he had been holding it for a while, a thin layer of sweat appeared on He Ming's palms, which seeped into her heart with each step, making her heart feel damp.

"Liu Shuang, do you remember one winter when Gucheng had an even heavier snowfall?" As they were about to reach the end of the road, the man, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly asked her.

"Huh? Which year?" Zhu Liushuang asked without thinking.

He Ming didn't respond, but simply smiled and reminded her, "Get in the car first."

The black umbrella tilted over her head, and the man gentlemanly opened the door for her, then closed it for her after she was seated.

As soon as Zhu Liushuang boarded the train, she was captivated by the fragrance of winter plum blossoms that filled the carriage.

At first, she thought He Ming had put some winter plum scented perfume in the car. She scanned the front of the car but couldn't find it, then looked towards the back seat.

What I could see was a bunch of freshly cut winter plum blossoms.

With its strong branches and full blooms, it lies quietly on the leather seat, waiting to be discovered.

She gasped in surprise, then quickly covered her mouth, afraid of overreacting.

The left door opened wide, and the man folded his umbrella, bent down, and calmly fastened his seatbelt.

Zhu Liushuang stared at his profile with emotion, and asked softly, "When did you buy the winter plum blossoms, senior?"

The man seemed to have anticipated her question.

He glanced casually at the rearview mirror and said, "I was coming back from Yunhe this afternoon and happened to pass by the old house. I saw that the flowers were in full bloom, so I just picked a few branches to bring back."

"Oh—" Zhu Liu was speechless.

"I'm sorry, the office is very busy this year, and I probably won't have much time to take you back until the end of the year," He Ming said sincerely as he started the car.

In fact, she understood the meaning behind the bunch of winter plum blossoms without him having to explain.

However, hearing him admit it himself seemed different from her own assumptions.

Zhu Liushuang regained her voice and said, "Yes, thank you, senior."

It is already extremely rare that he can keep in mind everything he said to her.

The car glided into the boundless night, and as it entered the bustling city center, the number of cars on the road gradually increased.

The songs playing on the car radio were very appropriate for the occasion.

Snowflakes, one by one, piece together our destiny. My love was born because of you, and your hand touches my heart with tenderness...

Listening to the female singer's moving performance, Zhu Liushuang's thoughts gradually drifted away with the snow falling outside the window.

Before getting on the bus, He Ming asked her if she remembered that one winter, Gucheng had experienced even heavier snowfall.

At the time, she was so focused on him that she didn't really think back, but now she remembers it vividly.

There was a year when Gucheng experienced a rare blizzard.

Public transportation was suspended, schools were closed, and the entire city was plunged into chaos.

That year, she was a freshman in high school, and her relationship with Tian Xingyu wasn't good enough for them to share a bed.

She vaguely remembered the first day of the sudden snowfall, when the air was so cold you could breathe out icy shards. She had a chilblain on her little finger, and the warmth of the classroom's air conditioner made it incredibly itchy, causing her to frequently lose focus during class.

During the second self-study period in the afternoon, the homeroom teacher rushed in carrying a thick stack of practice papers and loudly announced the news of "classes suspended for two days." Then she assigned homework and reminded students to contact their parents to pick them up as soon as possible.

At that moment, she was scratching her red, swollen, and itchy little finger, and if she wasn't careful with the pressure, the skin broke.

The classroom was buzzing with chatter, the noise even louder than the heavy snow falling outside. But all this noise was irrelevant to her; Zhu Liushuang knew she wouldn't be able to go home.

My mother has found a new job as a nanny, taking care of a child at someone's home in the same neighborhood. She usually eats and lives away from home, only returning on weekends when her mother comes home.

With such heavy snow, the entire public transportation system was almost paralyzed. Calling home seemed pointless, only adding to her mother's burden.

After weighing the pros and cons, she rationally chose to stay at the school.

The homeroom teacher was a young mother who had just returned from maternity leave, a time when maternal love was overflowing. She also had a general understanding of Zhu Liushuang's family situation. Therefore, when she heard that Zhu Liushuang wanted to stay at school, her eyes couldn't help but show pity.

Zhu Liushuang felt a pang in her sensitive heart, but she selectively ignored it and listened to the teacher's admonition with her head down.

later……

Later, she obediently stayed in the dormitory for two days and three nights, and did not step out of the dormitory except to eat.

As the song ended, Zhu Liushuang's thoughts were pulled back by the host's voice.

She looked straight ahead and calmly said, "Senior, I remember now. When I was in my first year of high school, there was indeed a blizzard in Gucheng, and all the schools were closed."

"Um."

"Looking back now, I feel a little pathetic," Zhu Liushuang continued. "Everyone went home, and I was the only one left at school. I was sitting in the classroom watching my classmates, who were also boarding students, being picked up by their parents one by one. I felt terrible and almost burst into tears in front of my homeroom teacher."

He Ming frowned and slowed down the car.

The girl who sang so vividly in his memory, walking alone in the snow, was in such a state of mind at that time.

"Fear?"

Zhu Liushuang braced herself on her knees and said softly, "I'm scared! In our entire first year of high school, only three girls stay at school, and they're not even on the same floor. If it weren't for the many lights on in the senior dorm across the street..."

She was halfway through her sentence when her thoughts suddenly drifted elsewhere: "By the way, did you stay on campus back then, senior?"

"I kept it."

"So... out of those dozens of lights we see from our dorm balcony, one of them belongs to the upperclassman's dorm! How amazing..." Her eyes shone with disbelief, but the next second she suddenly felt regret, "What a pity, I stayed on campus for two days and didn't even get to see you in the cafeteria..."

“It’s no pity,” the man replied.

"Huh?" Zhu Liushuang turned her head and looked at him, puzzled.

The man's lips curved almost imperceptibly, but he smiled without saying a word.

Fog rose from the glass window, blocking out the white snow. His profile, reflected in the blurred windowpane, looked exceptionally gentle.

Zhu Liushuang felt an itch in her heart, as if tickled by a feather, and she desperately wanted to figure out what he meant by "it's not a pity." But no matter how she tried to get the answer, he avoided the question.

Finally, she sat up straight, disheartened, and pretended to ignore him.

Unfortunately, her act only lasted for two minutes before it crumbled.

As the car entered Chunhuali, He Ming did not turn left into the underground parking garage, but instead parked the car on a grassy area not far from the gate of the community.

Zhu Liushuang was puzzled and asked him what he wanted to do.

The man being questioned rubbed his chin and pulled a pair of dark blue woolen gloves from a storage box.

The gloves were large and thick, clearly hand-knitted. Zhu Liushuang couldn't guess his thoughts, so she could only sit and wait for his next move.

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The author says: "Snowflakes, one by one, piece together our destiny. My love was born because of you, your hand touches my heart..." —Song "Snowman"

As expected, they were written by the same person. Officer Cheng gave Teacher Yu flowers, specifically white magnolias he had personally cut. Senior He gave Shuangshuang flowers, specifically winter plum blossoms he had personally cut [droopy-eared rabbit head].