Volume 11: The Lingering Warmth of Melting Snow
Chapter 24: After the Snowstorm
An Baili and Chen Jianing surrounded him, unwilling to leave. Baili tearfully recounted her emotional journey, and Lu Li continuously coaxed her. In the end, it was Wen Hupo who couldn’t stand it anymore. “Let the Outstanding Representative get some rest. Baili, whatever you have to say, wait until we get back.” An Baili actually let out a sound of agreement, reluctantly kissed Lu Li’s cheek, thought for a moment, and then kissed the other side. “Then I’ll come see you again later.” Chen Jianing also mustered her courage and lightly pecked his cheek.
Lu Li felt a sweetness in his heart. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ve rested enough. I don’t need to rest…” But then he saw Wen Hupo’s gaze and immediately became obedient. “Er, alright then. We’ll meet again later.”
After sending Baili and the Little Tiger away, Wen Hupo didn’t leave right away. She studied Lu Li, seeming to be carefully choosing her words.
“Hupo, what’s wrong?” Lu Li asked with confusion. Wen Hupo’s hair color was a little darker than before, and her fair skin shone under the lights. “Outstanding Representative, you and Zhu Xi…” Lu Li’s heart skipped a beat. Right, he and Zhu Xi had turned things upside down in the wooden cabin, and when they were lying in the wild, Zhu Xi was still kissing him. How could Hupo not realize what had happened between them?
“I’m not blaming you for anything. If there ever comes a day when the Outstanding Representative doesn’t have a woman by his side, I’d find it strange,” Wen Hupo said softly. “It’s just that, aren’t we and Zhu Xi enemies? Didn’t she want to kill you? I’m afraid that one day in the future, you will be caught in a dilemma because of this.”
I don’t need to wait for the future, it’s already tangled enough now. Lu Li wasn’t clear what kind of relationship he and Zhu Xi had now. Had it reverted to the previous frenemy relationship, or were they just simple friends with benefits, or… the third possibility was the most troublesome.
“Thank you for the reminder. I will consider it carefully.”
“Mm, I trust you.”
After Hupo also left the hospital room, the fatigue in his body could no longer be suppressed. He lay back on the bed, looking at the ceiling, and saw a greenish-gray stain on it, shaped like a woman pouring wine.
What on earth was Zhu Xi thinking? The thoughts of an ordinary girl were already hard enough to guess, let alone Zhu Xi’s. Why did she still kiss him in the end, knowing she was on the verge of death? Kissing actually has different meanings. Lu Li had heard that many women in the service industry would generally not agree to kiss. Perhaps a kiss inherently carried a sacred meaning?
Lu Li planned to go see Zhu Xi again after he was able to walk. Unfortunately, this idea ultimately did not come to fruition.
…
For the next few days, Lu Li recuperated in the hospital in Beijiang, and the girls took turns taking care of him. Chen Jianing would sometimes take advantage of her petite figure to sneak past the nurse’s rounds at night and curl up in Lu Li’s blanket. When Lu Li’s hands roamed all over her, she would only blush and tacitly consent, though occasionally her nature would flare up, and she would chase after Lu Li’s wandering hands and bite them. Lu Li felt that the Little Tiger could definitely score a hundred points as a human body pillow. She was light, her delicate body was warm, and she could be easily held in his arms. This was perhaps her advantage.
Sometimes, in a daze in the morning, Lu Li could feel the Little Tiger timidly poking little Lu Li through his pants with her finger. When he opened his eyes, the Little Tiger would pretend to still be asleep. Lu Li suspected that this Annoying Ghost didn’t actually know what a morning wood was.
The doctor said there was nothing seriously wrong with Lu Li and had marveled several times at the astonishing speed of his recovery, attributing it to the vigorous energy of youth. Lu Li, however, knew that his body in his past life had not been so robust.
After Lu Li could move freely, he wanted to go to the fourth floor to see Zhu Xi, but he learned that the Fourteenth Princess had already been transferred to a higher-level hospital. He felt a little disappointed in his heart, not knowing if that leg of Zhu Xi’s could be healed. He didn’t want to see the long-legged Zhu Xi become a cripple. Moreover, Zhu Xi hadn’t sent anyone to give him a message before she left. Perhaps the third possibility Lu Li had envisioned hadn’t happened.
During his recuperation in the hospital, Fu Li also came to visit Lu Li. This time, her attitude was exceptionally friendly. Lu Li had also come to terms with it. Fu Li hadn’t done anything wrong; she had her own attitude toward life and values. It was he, Lu Li, who had been arrogant and prejudiced with his preconceived notions, so his attitude was also quite cordial. After a conversation, Lu Li discovered that she wasn’t as superficial as he had imagined. Fu Li genuinely loved the sport of skiing. She hoped to use her influence to attract more new blood to the ski club, and was sometimes a bit too eager for quick success. For this, she even sincerely apologized to Lu Li.
In addition, there were some other anecdotes that couldn’t be told to outsiders, such as Baili sometimes using the pretext of taking him to the bathroom to fool around in the private bathroom. Sometimes at night, she would even put on a nurse’s uniform from who knows where and come to give Lu Li a “check-up.” Yesterday, when An Baili came for a night raid, she was even discovered by Chen Jianing, who was huddled in the blanket, and in the end, it became more and more absurd… Of course, these were all trivial matters not worth mentioning.
…
In mid-November, Lu Li took the girls on a plane back to Mulan. After lying back on his own soft, large bed, Lu Li immediately sent a secret signal to Chu Jingyi. Sure enough, not long after, the Silly Goose called back. “Hello…” Her voice was as gentle and soft as ever, just a bit more rushed than usual.
“Hello, it’s me, Lu Li.”
“…I thought… I thought…” The Silly Goose’s voice was a little aggrieved. Lu Li hadn’t contacted her for so long. Chu Jingyi had thought Lu Li had already adapted to his new life and had perhaps forgotten about her. She felt a little sad. Although she and Lu Li had officially “broken up,” how could a young girl’s feelings be severed by a single sentence, especially when it was a forced breakup?
“It’s just that my phone broke recently. It’s not easy to retrieve my contacts on a new phone,” Lu Li didn’t lie. This phone of his was indeed newly bought.
“I don’t blame you…” Chu Jingyi said softly. The girl’s watery words made Lu Li’s heart melt. He just felt this girl was such a little sweetheart.
“Recently… have you been well?” Chu Jingyi asked.
Lu Li’s mind flashed back to the recent scene of the raging blizzard and the desperate struggle for survival. He smiled slightly. “I’ve been well. What about you?”
“So-so. Dad is getting busier and busier, and now even his calls are less frequent. Mom’s family seems to have had some changes too, and there have been no calls recently…” No wonder this girl sounded so aggrieved as soon as she opened her mouth. She must have been extremely lonely. “I really miss the old days, especially… the days in high school… That time was so happy.”
“…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have talked about such unhappy things.” The Silly Goose’s voice grew smaller and smaller. “By the way, the big event recently is the princess’s husband selection. It seems they’re choosing an imperial son-in-law for the Fourteenth Princess. I went to see Zhu Xi last time. It looked like she had a cast on her leg. I hope she recovers soon.”
Lu Li was stunned. Zhu Xi was looking for a husband? This seemed to be much earlier than the original timeline. Was it another butterfly effect? No, rather than a butterfly effect, it was more like a storm effect.
Chu Jingyi had laid a lot of groundwork and finally asked pitifully, “Lu Li, what about you? Have you met any new girls?”
