A Hug
Huh?
Since when did Lin Chuan become the one offering to walk her back? Clearly, it was Qin Yue Yue who said the commune was having a meeting, and she needed to leave urgently. Was this girl really lying with her eyes wide open, and so confidently at that?
Lin Chuan didn’t bother to explain, just stood there with a straight posture, looking like he was seeing a guest off.
However, Mother Lin didn’t know this and glared at Lin Chuan before saying, “Alright then, you should head back. If anything comes up, just tell Chuanzi.”
And so, Lin Chuan escorted the female lead halfway back and then returned to the courtyard, only to be met with Mother Lin scolding him furiously.
“Just look at you! We finally got Yue Yue to come and check if anything needed fixing, and you send her away as soon as she arrives. What if she finds something inconvenient later on when she’s living here? What were you thinking? You’re never home all year, and your wife will be here alone—do you think it’s easy for her? You don’t even consider her needs, you heartless boy.”
“Auntie, Auntie, it’s not Brother Chuan’s fault. Qin Yue Yue said she had to get back to the commune for a meeting, which is why he walked her back,” Su Su quickly interjected, trying to save Lin Chuan from being scolded too harshly, especially since he hadn’t offered a single explanation.
“Is that so? Well, then let’s leave it at that. We’ll just call her back tomorrow.”
Mother Lin shot one more glare at her son and said, “Why are you standing there like a pillar? Get a broom and sweep the courtyard!”
Lin Chuan turned and started sweeping the courtyard without any resistance.
Su Su had never seen such a stubborn man. How could he just stand there and take the scolding without saying a word? It even made Mother Lin angrier. As she continued cleaning the house, she muttered, “He’s just like his father, a stubborn mule who doesn’t speak.”
Su Su chuckled, washing a rag for Mother Lin as she said, “Auntie, I think Comrade Qin may have misunderstood something.”
“What misunderstanding?”
“Just now, Comrade Qin told me she doesn’t know how to do much work and didn’t know what to do when she came over. I think she misunderstood, thinking that you wanted her to help with the chores rather than come to see if there were any adjustments she wanted to make to her new home,” Su Su explained, hopefully this will lead to delaying the marriage until later, when the female lead goes to university and falls for Lin Donghe. They could always find another girl to marry.
“What does she mean, can’t do chores? If she can’t handle this bit of work, what can she do? Even if she grew up in the city, she’s always been able to handle things since she had two younger brothers to take care of. I think she just doesn’t want to get married,” Mother Lin was no fool; she was fully aware of what was going on.
“If she doesn’t want to get married, what happens if they’re forced together and end up unhappy?”
“You young girls don’t understand. Once a man and a woman live together, they won’t part for life,” Mother Lin replied with a smile, though she didn’t know that the female lead wouldn’t even let the male lead touch her.
Su Su couldn’t exactly argue with that, so she just helped finish cleaning up and then went back to the Lin household for dinner.
After dinner, Mother Lin asked Lin Chuan to go to town to buy some things, mainly bedding materials. Su Su was curious about what the supply and marketing cooperative was like, so she joined Lin Chuan and Mother Lin on the donkey cart to town.
However, the journey was freezing, and Su Su’s legs went numb. How could it be so cold in the mountains?
She rubbed her legs to warm them up, and suddenly Lin Chuan jumped off the cart. He took off his military coat and draped it over Mother Lin and Su Su’s legs before running alongside the cart.
“Are you crazy? Get back on the cart,” Mother Lin called out.
“It’s too slow; I’ll run,” Lin Chuan replied before sprinting ahead of the donkey cart, disappearing from sight.
Su Su touched the still-warm military coat and felt a surge of warmth in her heart. This man was truly adorable, caring for others without saying a word, but his actions were so heart-warming.
If she really couldn’t return home, marrying a considerate man like him wouldn’t be so bad.
Bah! Why was she thinking so much? She hadn’t even settled her own situation yet, and besides, the male lead and female lead’s drama wasn’t over.
Lost in thought, they finally arrived at the town. Mother Lin took the cloth and cotton tickets to line up for purchases. Yes, you had to queue for everything now, and there was no guarantee you’d even get what you wanted.
Lin Chuan went off to help unload goods from the team’s donkey cart, and Su Su, feeling bored, decided to take a stroll around the town.
The town was called a commune, but it wasn’t much different from a large village. Besides the supply and marketing cooperative, there was a blacksmith’s shop, but it didn’t seem to have much business.
The commune was built at the foot of a mountain, and the snow-covered peaks looked like a white, picturesque painting. If only she had her phone, she would have taken a photo.
As she was admiring the view, she suddenly heard someone behind her say, “Watch out!” She turned to see who it was, but before she could react, she found herself pinned against a wall. She was pressed against a warm, solid chest, feeling the man’s body heat and the strong, rapid heartbeat beneath it.
She didn’t need to look up to know who it was, but she still raised her head for a glance.
The other person was also looking at her, and their eyes met.
She was pinned against the wall by a tall man, her hands raised in a surrendering gesture, looking like an innocent, clueless kitten. She even lightly pawed at the air, asking in confusion, “What’s going on?”
The man’s heartbeat became erratic. He quickly straightened up and said, “Icicles.”
Once released, Su Su noticed that a row of icicles had fallen from where she’d been standing moments ago. If one of those had hit her head, it would’ve definitely drawn blood.
As she thought this, she noticed something red trickling down the side of the man’s face.
Su Su felt her mind go blank, and she cried out in alarm, “Blood! You’re bleeding!”
But the man seemed unconcerned, wiping it away and saying, “It’s nothing, just a scratch on my neck.” He casually wiped his neck again and then brushed his hand against the snow, as if that was enough to deal with it.
Su Su wasn’t having it. “This won’t do! What if it gets infected? Let me see how deep the cut is.”
“No need.”
“Just squat down, will you? How am I supposed to see anything with you standing so tall?”
“No…” He began to protest, but she was already reaching up on tiptoe, almost touching his neck.
With no other choice, Lin Chuan crouched down and lowered his head, feeling her soft, delicate hands moving around his neck.
His breathing grew heavier, and he had the urge to flee, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“This cut is pretty deep. Is there a clinic around here? Let me take you to get it checked out.” It was a long gash, and it was still bleeding.
“There isn’t one. Stand up, I’m fine.”
“No way, you need to see a doctor.”
Su Su pressed down on his shoulders to stop him from getting up and started looking around for any signs of a clinic. But could she, with her small frame, actually hold him down? As soon as Lin Chuan stood up, she was pulled along with him and nearly fell.
Lin Chuan instantly regretted it and hurriedly reached out to catch her. His hand ended up around her waist, and surprisingly, his arm encircled her completely. She was so slender, like holding onto his own leg. And she smelled so nice, with a light, pleasant fragrance—what was happening to him? Su Su was equally stunned. It was her first time being held by a man in such a dip-like manner, but why was the embrace lasting so long?
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