“Sister-in-law, you go ahead with peace of mind, I’ll take care of both the store and the home.”
The elder Qin Family didn’t know the reason, but they were very happy to hear that Lin Chuxia was going to visit Qin Yang in the Northwest again.
They were now looking forward to their son’s good relationship with his daughter-in-law, given the couple lived apart. It was nice to see her travel back and forth like this.
Maybe while traveling back and forth, a grandson could suddenly arrive.
On the third day of the Lunar December, Lin Chuxia made proper arrangements for the shop and boarded the train to the Northwest.
The journey went smoothly until she reached the Northwest, which was quite different from her last visit.
Last time was at the end of fall; although it was windy and there was a lot of sand, it didn’t affect travel. This time, however, the Northwest had just experienced a heavy snowfall when Lin Chuxia arrived.
Stepping off the train, Lin Chuxia stayed at a guest house like last time, venturing to the bus station the next day, wading through the snow with varying depths.
Fortunately, despite the challenging roads, the buses were still running as usual; it was just freezing cold to ride the bus in such weather.
She was wearing a long cold-resistant coat, with cotton pants made by Mrs. Qin underneath, and cotton shoes made by Mrs. Qin on her feet.
But these cotton shoes were not suited for snow; by the time she walked from the guest house to the bus station and got on the bus, half of the snow on her shoes had melted and soaked into the cotton.
Now, her toes were feeling the damp and aching with cold.
What was normally less than an hour’s journey took over two hours this time, but luckily she safely reached Qin Yang’s workplace.
The moment Lin Chuxia got off the bus, it seemed the snow here was even deeper than before. The area around the unit was sparsely populated, with a thick layer of snow covering everything in a blanket of white.
She put on her coat’s hood and wrapped her scarf around her neck several times, leaving only her eyes uncovered, and picked up her suitcase, once again wading through the snow towards the unit.
The guard at the unit’s entrance recognized Lin Chuxia and was about to go inform Qin Yang of her arrival, but Lin Chuxia stopped him.
“Thank you, I can go see him myself,” she said. It was really too cold today and since she had to go in any case, there was no need to trouble someone else to go there.
“Is Qin Yang doing well?”
Hearing that Qin Yang was in the unit, Lin Chuxia’s heart settled down a lot.
On her way over, all sorts of wild thoughts had tortured her, fearing that upon reaching the unit, the gatekeeper would tell her that Qin Yang was not there but in the hospital or some other place.
The guard nodded, “He’s doing fine. If Mr. Qin knew sister-in-law was coming, he’d be really happy.”
Lin Chuxia thanked him again and headed straight to Qin Yang’s dormitory with her suitcase.
But once she arrived at the dormitory, she found the door locked.
Suddenly, all sorts of chaotic thoughts surged within her.
Could it be that the guard didn’t know about Qin Yang’s situation?
Indeed, Qin Yang was a technical staff member and rarely left the unit, how could the guard be fully aware of the movements of everyone in the unit?
That article had mentioned Bai Xiaoming but not Qin Yang, and Qin Yang was the leader of their team. Could it be hiding something intentionally?
For a moment, the various disturbances nearly caused Lin Chuxia to drop her suitcase; she trembled slightly, unsure whether it was from cold or something else, but her heart felt painfully wrenched.
She never knew she could worry about someone this much.
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind her, “Lin Chuxia?”
She turned abruptly to see Qin Yang not far off, staring incredulously as he held a food tray.
Then she noticed his right arm in a sling beneath his coat.
Qin Yang had never imagined he would see Lin Chuxia at his dormitory door, just by going to the canteen to grab a meal.
From a distance, the figure he saw made him think he was hallucinating, mistaking any woman for his daughter-in-law.
Even as he approached and confirmed it was her, his voice still carried disbelief.
The scarf she wrapped around herself was covered in a thick layer of frost, and the wisps of hair on her forehead were all frosty.
Qin Yang strode forward, wanting to grasp her hand, with a food container still in his own.
He hurriedly placed the container on the windowsill, taking out his keys to open the dormitory door.
“Why did you come? Get inside quickly.”
His fingers trembled, and accidentally, the key fell to the ground.
Qin Yang bent down to pick up the key and continued fumbling, only to hear a soft chuckle behind him.
He turned his head and softly called out, “Wife…”
Lin Chuxia didn’t respond to him, waiting for him to unlock the door, then stepped inside the dormitory with her suitcase ahead of him.
Qin Yang brought the food container in and followed her.
The dorm was cozy, with centralized heating. Upon entering the room, all the frost in her hair melted and clung damply to her forehead.
Qin Yang put the food container on the table, took off his coat haphazardly, and threw it over a nearby chair, his voice still quavering as he spoke.
“Why did you come? It’s so cold, you must be frozen.”
He tried to reach out to help her take off the scarf, suddenly realizing a grave issue—his right arm was in a sling across his chest, and, feeling guilty, he withdrew his hand.
Lin Chuxia had already reined in the smile on her face, calmly removing her scarf, “Don’t you know why I’m here? You didn’t reply to several letters I sent, how would I know if you can’t come back or just don’t want to?”
Her gaze fell upon Qin Yang’s sling, and he felt even guiltier.
“It’s just a minor injury; it’s almost healed. I planned to write back to you once I was better, I didn’t expect…”
He didn’t expect that just because he hadn’t replied, she would travel thousands of miles in the harsh cold to find him.
Qin Yang was indescribably moved; he thought Lin Chuxia wouldn’t care about this.
During the two times they spent together, Qin Yang felt that she was exceptionally mature and rational.
If he had known, he would have replied to her no matter what.
Seeing her drenched shoes, Qin Yang tugged her to sit on the bed, “Hurry and take off your shoes. It’s bad to wear wet cotton shoes, they could give you frostbite. Are your feet cold?”
Lin Chuxia felt suddenly aggrieved, “I’m frozen, almost didn’t know anything anymore.”
She wasn’t here to reproach him; she felt relieved seeing he was safe, even with one arm in a sling.
Qin Yang crouched down and helped her off with her cotton shoes; her socks were already wet. He pulled off the socks, revealing two little feet, red from the cold.
Lin Chuxia’s skin was naturally delicate and fair, leaving marks from a gentle pinch; now they were a bright red, and to the touch still chilly.
Especially the little toe, translucent red, looking almost frostbitten, Qin Yang’s eyes filled with distress, and his guilt intensified.
Without saying another word, he sat next to her, lifting his clothes to tuck her feet into his embrace.
“Hey… no, it’s too cold, it will freeze you.”
Lin Chuxia still cared about him, but it wasn’t so easy to retract her feet.
The man held them tightly, “It’s okay, there are layers in between, don’t move, it will be warm in a moment.”
Lin Chuxia saw the anxious and worried look in his eyes, gave up struggling, and her heart throbbed fiercely.
This man truly cared for her, and—he loved her.
The word ’love’ surfaced in her mind, and Lin Chuxia also paused.
In two lifetimes, she went through two marriages, yet she knew, she had never loved anyone.