The first snow of the year fell in a flurry.
Feng Mingshu jumped off the bus and rushed back to his small villa without looking back.
"Miss, you're back."
Wang Ma waited anxiously at the courtyard gate. When she saw Feng Mingshu running towards her through the snow, she quickly opened her umbrella and went to greet her, asking repeatedly, "Miss, are you cold? Miss, are you hungry? What would you like to eat, Miss?... Oh, Miss, there's a man in military uniform across the street who seems to be looking this way. Is he the officer you met at the ball?"
Hearing Wang Ma's surprised exclamation, Feng Mingshu was startled and immediately turned his head to look across the street. He only saw a blurry figure in the wind and snow, which disappeared into the alley in the blink of an eye.
“I don’t know him; he must have just been passing by,” Feng Mingshu replied, secretly relieved.
Wang Ma sighed with some regret, looking at her as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. Feng Mingshu quickened her pace: "Wang Ma, I'm really a little hungry. Is there anything to eat at home?"
Wang Ma's attention was immediately diverted: "Miss, there are some snacks and fruits at home, but it's almost time to eat. You can have just a little bit to tide you over, but too much won't be good..."
Wang Ma kept rambling on, but Feng Mingshu didn't really listen. She was still in a daze, wondering what kind of man she had met.
He was not afraid of her capitalist background, yet he acted forcefully. When she questioned why he was so persistent after their first meeting, suggesting he was just a shallow person who judged by appearances, he told her that it wasn't their first meeting.
The first time was in the hospital, in a noisy corridor. He was seriously injured and unconscious. When he woke up, the first thing he saw was her.
If this man is going to drag someone down with him and protect her for the next ten years, then he's like a pie falling from the sky—delicious, but it will hurt her conscience.
She fled so quickly because she didn't want to hesitate; after all, she had a conscience, though not much.
"Zhuzhu is back? Have you met someone you like, or someone who likes you?"
As soon as she entered the house, her mother called out to her, bringing her back to her senses.
Her mother's gentle gaze seemed to see right through her heart, making Feng Mingshu feel guilty, but she firmly denied it: "Mom, nothing like that."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Mingxue, standing at the top of the stairs on the second floor, excitedly called out to her, "Sister, come quick! There's a really tall person standing in front of our gate, wearing a military uniform. Is he my brother-in-law?"
Having just lied and been exposed, Feng Mingshu's face flushed. She didn't dare look into her mother's eyes, and was afraid that Zhou Jinshan was really waiting outside. In her nervousness, she forgot to correct her sister's words, and quickly went up to the second floor to look out the glass window.
Heavy snow fell, blanketing the world in white.
Before that cold, austere black iron gate stood a tall and upright figure. Snowflakes fell softly on his military cap and shoulders, quickly covering him with a layer. He remained motionless, his entire being almost one with the heavens and earth.
But the moment Feng Mingshu looked at him, the man suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on him.
Almost instinctively, Feng Mingshu looked away and stepped back, but accidentally bumped into someone. Turning around and seeing it was her mother, she couldn't help but panic: "Mom, it's not him, I didn't..."
Yu Jingqiu's eyes lit up with understanding, and a smile appeared on her face. She patted her daughter's hand reassuringly, "Zhuzhu, don't worry, it's okay. Mom won't object to whatever you decide. However, the guest is already outside, and it's snowing outside. Shall we invite him in for a cup of hot tea?"
"Mom, no need..."
Meeting her mother's disapproving gaze, Feng Mingshu bit her lip and revealed a little of her thoughts, "Mom, I haven't decided yet. It's not appropriate to invite him in as a guest. I'll go out and bring him an umbrella so he can leave."
After she finished speaking, she ran downstairs, took a large black umbrella from Wang Ma, and as she was about to leave, the image of the man's snow on his shoulder, the wound on his forehead, and the bloodstains all over his body when she saw him at the hospital last week flashed through her mind.
She stopped in her tracks, turned around and ran into the kitchen, rummaged through the cupboard and pulled out a military water bottle, then quickly turned on the tap to wash it.
Wang Ma followed her in: "What does Miss need? Let me do it."
"No need, Aunt Wang, just bring me the brown sugar."
The military water bottle was almost full when Wang Ma handed over some brown sugar, and Feng Mingshu immediately scooped a spoonful and poured it into the water bottle.
Then he felt it wasn't enough, so he added a spoonful, then another, and wanted to add more, but Wang Ma stopped him.
"Miss, this is enough. Any more and it will be too sweet." Wang Ma said with a smile, her eyes teasing.
Feng Mingshu: "..."
Feng Mingshu didn't explain. She screwed the lid on the kettle, took the umbrella, went out of the building, quickly walked to the courtyard gate, took a deep breath, and opened the gate.
But to her surprise, there was no one outside the door.
A sense of relief followed. She thought, "It's good that she's gone. I can give my mother an explanation now."
"Comrade Feng."
A man's voice came from the side, sounding somewhat ethereal and unreal as the wind and snow blew around it.
Feng Mingshu paused for a moment, then turned her head and saw Zhou Jinshan emerge from the left alleyway and walk towards her. The snow beneath his feet crunched softly, as if each step was treading on her heart.
"You, didn't you leave?" Feng Mingshu's voice stammered, probably from the cold night.
“I didn’t leave,” Zhou Jinshan stopped in front of her. “I promised you I wouldn’t appear in front of your family for the time being. I was worried it was your family coming out just now, so I avoided them.”
But her family saw it all!
Feng Mingshu was furious. She had clearly let him go, but this man kept hanging around in front of her: "I never agreed to anything, yet you came and stood in front of my house. Don't you have any sense of propriety?"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
