Under the cool moonlight and the faint firelight, Li Ling and another person stood on opposite sides, each holding a shovel, scooping up portions of snow from the thick layer to begin building their own snowmen. This amusing suggestion came from Liu Ruoling, who secretly wanted to compete and see who could create the best and fastest snowman.
Despite the abundant snow, the two women weren't making a snowman very quickly. This wasn't due to a lack of skill or creativity, but rather because they both wanted to while away the time with this activity. As if on cue, they decided to make the snowman as exquisite and perfect as possible.
Li Ling focused intently on sculpting the snowman's face, pouring her heart and soul into every detail. The eyebrows, eyes, nose… every element revealed her painstaking effort. Her delicate brushstrokes seemed to imbue the snowman with lifelike expressions, leaving viewers in awe.
In fact, upon closer inspection, one could discern a subtle tenderness in Wang Lun's gaze. His eyes always seemed to hold a deep, gentle affection. Undoubtedly, only Li Ling could perceive this tenderness; after all, only when Wang Lun gazed at her and spoke of her would his eyes reveal such profound affection. It was truly beyond his control! Wang Lun had bestowed upon Li Ling all his joy and tenderness without reservation.
Despite Wang Lun's boundless love and tenderness for Li Ling, she seemed to harbor other thoughts. It wasn't until they arrived on this desolate island and endured months of trials that Li Ling gradually began to change. However, to date, neither of them has clearly expressed their true feelings for each other. No one knows how long they will have to wait before they can truly be together and embark on their future journey hand in hand.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Ling and Liu Ruoling finally completed the main body of the snowman. Now, only minor adjustments were needed to finish it. They then focused intently on refining the details.
Each time they went into the house to add firewood to the hearth, the two were in a hurry and didn't notice anything unusual about Wang Lun's sleeping place. However, at that moment, Wang Lun, still half asleep, suddenly felt a warm current and a soft sensation in his hand. He subconsciously kneaded it a few times, instantly realizing that something was wrong: the surrounding environment was clearly different, and the feeling in his hand was extremely strange. But despite this, he didn't stop kneading; instead, he kneaded it a couple more times.
Wang Lun slowly opened his eyes, still half-asleep. The unfamiliar scene before him instantly jolted him awake—this wasn't the ceiling he was familiar with! He looked around, surprised to find himself in a completely different place. At the same time, a strange feeling welled up inside him: he seemed to be lying in someone else's bed!
"Liu Ruoxi? Bed?" These words flashed through Wang Lun's mind, and a sense of doubt and unease welled up in his heart. Suddenly, he recalled the indescribable soft touch from just now, and his hand unconsciously reached out to sniff it gently. Sure enough, he smelled a unique scent.
However, the current situation didn't allow Wang Lun much time to ponder what that smell meant. After all, he had a pretty good idea of what he had just been holding. So, Wang Lun began to move cautiously. He gently lifted a corner of the blanket, trying not to make a sound, while slowly moving his body, afraid of waking Liu Ruoxi, who was fast asleep beside him.
Every subtle movement was terrifying. Wang Lun was completely focused on not waking Liu Ruoxi, while also remaining vigilant about the half-open door. After a difficult struggle, he finally managed to break free from Liu Ruoxi's warm bed.
Wang Lun tiptoed out of bed, afraid of making the slightest sound. He carefully put the quilt back in its place, then meticulously straightened the corners, as if trying to erase all traces of what had just happened. After doing this, like a startled hare, he quickly rolled up his quilt and retreated to his original spot at the end of the kang (heated brick bed) with lightning speed. At that moment, his heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of his chest, and it took him a long time to calm down.
However, Wang Lun didn't notice that as he withdrew, Liu Ruoxi's face instantly flushed crimson, like a ripe apple. Even her eyelids trembled slightly. Unfortunately, no one witnessed this scene, not even Wang Lun himself.
Wang Lun returned to the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), covered his head with the quilt, and tried to continue sleeping. However, he couldn't fall asleep at all. As soon as he closed his eyes, the soft touch he had just felt would involuntarily resurface in his mind. He tried to control his wild thoughts and attempted to fall asleep by counting sheep, but to no avail. The more he tried to stop himself from thinking about it, the stronger the thoughts became.
Wang Lun lay on his side, his eyes fixed silently on the earthen wall beside him, as if trying to see through it. Unfortunately, this was merely a futile and unrealistic hope.
Thus, Wang Lun was caught in a long period of inner turmoil, unable to fall asleep. Finally, he decided not to force himself any longer and sat up. As he got up, he noticed that the door was still ajar, so he tiptoed over to the bed where Liu Ruoxi was sleeping.
Gazing at the sleeping Liu Ruoxi, her serene face like a beautiful painting, a wicked thought stirred within Wang Lun—he wanted to touch the face of this sleeping beauty. Just as Wang Lun slowly extended his finger, Li Ling's voice suddenly called from outside the door: "Ruoling, come with me to the bathroom, okay?" Liu Ruoling agreed without hesitation.
Yet, this simple sentence struck Wang Lun like a thunderbolt. He snapped back to reality, suddenly realizing how despicable his actions had been, even morally reprehensible. He slapped himself hard across the face, then silently walked to the fire pit and sat down. He gazed at the roaring campfire, his thoughts churning like a surging tide, trying to recall why he had committed such a vile act, and when such an evil thought had even arisen.
Time ticked by, and finally, under the bright moonlight, Li Ling and Liu Ruoling gently pushed open the door. The moment they opened it, they saw Wang Lun sitting alone by the fire pit. Although Li Ling and Liu Ruoling knew someone was fast asleep inside, and had deliberately slowed their movements to avoid making a sound, the slight opening of the door was still exceptionally clear and jarring in the still of the night. However, the sound did not awaken Wang Lun, who remained motionless, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.
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