CITM - 16

Ye Yun couldn’t express the true worries in her heart; these hidden concerns were too shameful to speak aloud.

She shook her head and took small sips of the alcohol. Although the drink tasted bitter, it had a numbing effect on her thoughts, allowing her a brief respite from those thorny problems.

A woman dressed in a turtleneck sweater and tight pants walked over. She pulled out the chair opposite Ye Yun and sat down on the other side of Bai Wenfu, smoothing her stylish curly hair and asked him, “I heard you were going to Guwei this afternoon. How come you came here instead?”

Then she glanced at Ye Yun, her red lips curling into a faint, ambiguous smile.

Her makeup was too dazzling. Ye Yun had seen Hong Kong stars on posters with such heavy makeup, but seeing it in real life—even for another woman—it still made her feel uneasy.

Bai Wenfu replied, “Just came to hang out.”

He then introduced her to Ye Yun: “This is Su Hong, the owner of Jinli Restaurant.”

Ye Yun nodded to her: “Hello, Boss Su.”

Su Hong curled the corners of her eyes and smiled charmingly: “Call me Sister Hong. What’s your name?”

“Ye Yun.”

“‘Yunyun Zhongshengxiang’—the myriad faces of the world, a mayfly in the dust. Is that what it means?”

Originally, it referred to the shortness and impermanence of life, but when used about a person—especially in a relationship—it implied that the connection was fleeting and insignificant.

Bai Wenfu’s expression darkened slightly. He lifted his gaze and shot Su Hong a cool look. Su Hong laughed exaggeratedly, stood up, walked around to Ye Yun, and grabbed her hand, whispering into her ear, “Don’t let him fixate on you. He’ll eat you up to the bone.”

After Su Hong left, Ye Yun looked at Bai Wenfu in puzzlement. Bai Wenfu’s face remained calm: “Don’t listen to her nonsense.”

“Are you very close to her?” Ye Yun hadn’t seen other women around Bai Wenfu before; Su Hong was the only other woman she had met, so it was natural for her to think about the owner of that dress.

Bai Wenfu stroked his wine glass, smirked, and fixed his gaze on her: “What do you want to ask?”

Ye Yun took a big gulp of wine, didn’t continue asking, and didn’t feel she had the right to pry.

Before Ye Yun got completely drunk, Bai Wenfu timely replaced her wine with tea. Ye Yun looked a little unhappy and asked him, “Why won’t you let me drink anymore?”

“Unless you really want me to carry you back.”

His words made her give in. Ye Yun gulped down the tea, trying to cover up the smell of alcohol on her breath; otherwise, she couldn’t explain to Tong Mingfang why she went drinking.

Coming out of the dance hall, her consciousness was still relatively clear. But as she neared home, her chest felt like it was stuffed with something, and she couldn’t breathe.

“Feeling unwell?” Bai Wenfu noticed her unsteady steps.

Ye Yun forced herself to say, “Not at all. I’m very clear-headed.”

At the intersection in front of the newsstand, this time before Ye Yun could speak, Bai Wenfu tacitly stopped walking and waited for her to go home first.

Climbing the stairs sped up her heartbeat. When she finally reached home, her vision was already blurry and shaking. She collapsed on the bed and lost consciousness.

Tong Mingfang came back but didn’t see Ye Yun, and asked where she was. Bai Wenfu casually replied, “She said she wasn’t feeling well and is lying down.”

Tong Mingfang didn’t insist.

Ye Yun’s head felt heavy and her body had a constant sensation of weightlessness, which was very uncomfortable. Several times she was in a half-dream, half-awake state but couldn’t open her eyes.

The moonlight silently climbed to mid-sky. Someone softly knocked on the door, but Ye Yun didn’t respond.

After a few hours without movement, Bai Wenfu pushed the door open to check on her.

Ye Yun’s lower body was curled inside the bed, upper body hanging off the edge in a twisted sleeping position. It was cold, yet she wasn’t covered by a blanket.

Bai Wenfu came to her side, grabbed her shoulder and adjusted her posture. Maybe sensing tightness in her chest, she loosened the buttons on her chest in a daze. Her smooth skin had a flush of burning heat, as if she had a fever, spreading from her cheeks to her chest.

Bai Wenfu averted his gaze, pulled the blanket over her, and sighed, “Shouldn’t have let you drink.”

After her body was straightened out, the sensation of falling and weightlessness disappeared, and she fell into a deeper sleep.

She was seriously drunk. In the middle of the night, Bai Wenfu gave her some water, propping her up against the headboard with blanket and all.

Ye Yun regained some awareness, half-opening her eyes. Bai Wenfu’s figure flickered in front of her. She weakly called, “Big brother.”

“Mm, open your mouth.”

He brought the spoon with water to her lips. She was like a person walking in a desert, dry and parched. After one spoonful, she still wanted more, and leaned toward him. Her ruby lips were wet with water droplets, alluring in color.

His eyes grew darker, a dangerous aura emanated from him. A faint, elusive dark shade flashed in his eyes. Ye Yun, impatient, frowned. He reined in his gaze and gave her a second spoonful.

Only after she stopped reaching for more water did he lay her back on the bed and softly say, “Sleep.”

Ye Yun turned over and murmured something. He bent down and asked, “What did you say?”

“I... want to go home...” Those four words slipped out from her throat, broken and unconscious.

Bai Wenfu stared at her, stood up, and closed the door behind him.

He went out to the corridor and lit a cigarette. The winter night wind carried coldness, chilling the warmth in his eyes bit by bit.

...

After the New Year, Wen Bin’s unit finally brought news: the ship had returned to port. Unfortunately, Wen Bin’s body was not recovered.

According to investigations, shortly after the ship set sail back, someone on board contracted a disease. At first, it was not taken seriously. After several others were infected, they realized it was an infectious disease.

The captain made emergency arrangements: the sick were isolated and treated while speeding up their journey to find help. Because of limited medical conditions on board, the medicine was ineffective against the disease. The illness progressed beyond everyone’s expectations. When they reached Jida Port, two crew members had died.

One was Peng Liang; the other was Wen Bin.

To protect the lives of the other crew members, after reporting, the captain left the two bodies there for handling.

This news extinguished Tong Mingfang’s hope of seeing her youngest son one last time. After crying hard, she slowly accepted reality and began packing away everything related to Wen Bin in the house, except the five-drawer chest in Ye Yun’s room.

That day, Ye Yun was hanging clothes in the corridor when she saw Li Yan wearing her brocade satin dress chatting with someone. The other person said, “You’re so generous. I’d rather spend more on good food.”

Li Yan crossed her arms, raised her chin arrogantly: “I’m not saying it’s expensive. My old Sun told me to make a new dress for the New Year.”

The other person smiled: “Alright, alright, I know your Sun Baoguo takes good care of you.”

Ye Yun peeked at the pattern on the dress. The yellow background with pink and purple flowers didn’t make Li Yan’s complexion look bad. But compared to the fabric Bai Wenfu picked, it was not as pretty.

When Li Yan turned around, she caught Ye Yun staring and pulled at the hem of her dress, giving her a disdainful look before turning back home.

The sky grew dimmer, as if brewing a heavy snowfall. The cold, bleak wind blew from far away, swirling Ye Yun’s thoughts into a black hole of confusion and helplessness.

No matter how good the fabric on Li Yan was, it was bought by her lover. The dress in Ye Yun’s hand would soon be finished and delivered to another woman.

Here, those usually arrogant, mean, or selfish people who were not well-liked still had someone caring for them.

But Ye Yun seemed like a special existence, with no one connected to her.

Sometimes she wondered what her life would be like if Wen Bin were still alive. But as traces of Wen Bin in the house were slowly erased, even that last connection disappeared, as if she never belonged here.

As the Spring Festival approached, the atmosphere in the communal building grew stronger, and Ye Yun grew homesick—missing her parents, siblings, and the scene of the whole family reunited.

She often took out that letter and read it over and over. No matter how many times she looked, she still couldn’t find new meaning in it.

Ye Yun always believed that something must have gone wrong. The letter writer? Didn’t clearly express her parents’ intentions, or maybe something was left out. These thoughts only deepened her longing to return home.

What finally broke the last line of defense in her heart was a few days before the New Year’s Eve. Tong Mingfang finally remembered the five-drawer chest. She went to Ye Yun’s room, threw the clothes Ye Yun had folded and placed on the chest onto the bed, and began sorting through Wen Bin’s belongings.

After tidying up most things and putting Ye Yun’s clothes back, Tong Mingfang saw the letter tucked between the clothes.

Ye Yun came back from the laundry room; the door to her room was wide open. Tong Mingfang was sitting on her bed holding the letter, her eyes filled with resentment as they landed on Ye Yun, and she snapped sharply, “Did you contact the Old Bai family? Why are you so eager to send news about Wen Bin back there? Does the Bai family need you to eat or drink or what?”

Ye Yun’s body leaned against the door frame, her delicate brows lowered like a fragile willow swaying in the wind, gentle and soft as jade and flowers. At first sight, Tong Mingfang had admired her beauty. But now, seeing her, she was furious to the point of seeing red, feeling as if she were an eyesore.

Leaving the Bai family home, even if she didn’t marry into a good family, at least she wouldn’t worry about being unwanted by any man. But their Bai family emptied out everything for someone else to wear the wedding clothes—there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Angry, Tong Mingfang tore the letter apart. Ye Yun ran forward, begging her not to tear it. Tong Mingfang pushed her away irritably. Tripping over clothes on the floor, Ye Yun’s head suddenly hit the five-drawer chest with a dull “thud.” A sharp pain surged through her, and she hugged her head, trembling in pain.

Tong Mingfang was momentarily stunned and wanted to bend down to check on her, but Ye Yun suddenly raised her eyes—filled with hatred—and Tong Mingfang’s anger flared even higher.

She stood up and said domineeringly, “You want to run away? I’m telling you, no way. Just try it and see what kind of trouble you get into.”

The door slammed shut violently, and the whole room seemed to tremble. Ye Yun seemed to fall back into that bizarre black hole, at the end of which was a bottomless abyss.

She knelt on the floor, painstakingly piecing the torn letter back together, reconstructing the direction of home. Tears dropped onto it. She had never wanted to go home this badly before.

Outside the window, snow began to fall, silently covering the earth in white.

By evening, Ye Yun had cleaned up the messy room. The clothes on the floor were folded neatly and placed on the chest, the bed sheets smoothed flat, and her hair tied up again to cover the swollen bump.

She ate at the table as usual, finished the meal, cleaned up without complaint, and no longer argued with Tong Mingfang.

When Bai Wenfu returned, Ye Yun had already gone into her room. He didn’t see her and only asked a word. Tong Mingfang, feeling guilty, said, “Dinner was early tonight.”

Although Ye Yun went to bed early, she didn’t sleep all night. She worked on sewing a brocade cotton-padded jacket.

At dawn, she finished the last touches, folded the clothes neatly, and lay down to rest for a while.

At noon, Ye Yun opened her door, placed the finished cotton jacket on a stool in front of Bai Wenfu’s door, then went back to her room to grab a porcelain basin containing a few pieces of clothing.

When she went out, Tong Mingfang was chatting with the neighbor Chun Di in the corridor. Ye Yun lowered her head, carrying the basin toward the laundry room, pretending to go wash clothes.

Tong Mingfang glanced at her with a bad expression. Chun Di asked, “What’s wrong? Having trouble with your daughter-in-law?”

Tong Mingfang muttered, “Ungrateful thing.”

Ye Yun heard it, clenched her teeth, and quickened her steps. Nearing the stairs, she nervously gripped the basin. Just as she turned the corner, Feng Biao came face to face with her, stopped dead at the stair entrance when he caught sight of her slender figure carrying the basin and her fragrant scent. Feng Biao lost his wits.

Ye Yun tried to slip past him along the handrail. Feng Biao stepped closer, blocking her path. She glanced at him once. He wore a lecherous smile. Ye Yun turned her gaze away and tried to move right, but he also stepped right, blocking her.

With no choice, Ye Yun slipped into the laundry room, waited a while, and only left after Feng Biao had left.

She threw the basin into the laundry room and put the clothes into the cloth bag at the bottom of the basin. Her feet felt like they were on fire. From afar, she saw Li Yan and deliberately walked in the opposite direction, toward the back of the tenement building. Surrounded by acquaintances, to avoid being noticed by Tong Mingfang, she ran for over half an hour before finally losing the Erwei Alley behind her.

The snow didn’t reach above her pants. The road was slippery and difficult. Ye Yun ran too fast, slipped, fell, but gritted her teeth and got up to keep running.

Only when she was surrounded by unfamiliar streets and faces did she stop to catch her breath. Then she had to find the bus station. But since she came to the city at night, with poor lighting and exhaustion, following Wen Bin and Tong Mingfang in a daze back home, it was almost impossible to find the bus station again after nearly a year.

The snow on the ground showed no sign of melting. The snowflakes still fell from the sky. She was thinly dressed, teeth chattering, clutching the cloth bag close to her chest. Her only belief was to go home.

She had to go home. She firmly believed that if she could get home, her family wouldn’t abandon her.

No matter what, she had to leave here.

...

Ye Yun took the basin to the laundry room and didn’t return for two hours. When Tong Mingfang sensed something was wrong and went to check, she saw the basin in the corner. She had a bad feeling. At that time, she still thought the snowy weather made the road difficult, and Ye Yun had little money and couldn’t go far, so she would come back soon enough.

As the sky darkened, Ye Yun still hadn’t returned. Tong Mingfang realized something was terribly wrong and hurried downstairs to send a message for Bai Wenfu to come home quickly.

In the heavy snow, the vehicle couldn’t run. Bai Wenfu rushed home on foot. It was already nighttime when he arrived.

The front door was open, the lights were on, and Tong Mingfang paced anxiously. Seeing Bai Wenfu, she hurried to him, “It’s bad. Ye Yun is missing.”

Bai Wenfu furrowed his brows sharply. “How could a perfectly fine person disappear?”

Tong Mingfang babbled, “I saw her carrying a basin to wash clothes at noon when I stood at the door with Chun Di. She washed for a long time but didn’t come back. When I went to look, her basin was left in the laundry room, and both she and her clothes were gone. Then I thought...”

“What did you do to her?” Bai Wenfu cut her off harshly.

Tong Mingfang was stunned by his cold expression and stammered, “Nothing, really nothing. We just had a small quarrel yesterday. I accidentally pushed her, not on purpose.”

Bai Wenfu lowered his head, veins bulging on his forehead. His eyes caught the clothes placed on the stool.

He grabbed the coat tightly and said through gritted teeth, “Do you know how cold it is outside today?”

Tong Mingfang was frightened by his chilling gaze. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, she panicked and asked, “What should we do? Could something have happened to her?”

Bai Wenfu turned and left with the clothes in hand.

...

Ye Yun asked people along the way and finally reached the bus station. It was completely dark.

She learned that the bus to Fengshui in the afternoon had stopped running due to the weather. Whether it would resume tomorrow depended on the weather conditions.

After such a long journey, hearing this news, all her strength drained instantly. Her legs were numb from the cold; her shoes were soaked through.

She looked around in confusion, nowhere to go. One thing was certain: since she had come out, she did not want to go back. Besides Tong Mingfang’s attitude, when her older brother married, she would eventually have to leave anyway.

Having made up her mind, she decided to wait here until tomorrow to see if the buses would start running again.

The snow still hadn’t stopped. Ye Yun dragged her heavy steps to a newsstand near the station, laid the cloth bag on the snow, and curled up under the shelter.

Few people walked the streets at night. The footprints left were quickly covered by the falling snow. She was hungry and sleepy, burying her head between her knees but dared not really fall asleep. There was a crazy man in the village who once slept in the snow and was gone the next day. She tried to stay awake, pinching her calves when she almost couldn’t hold on, then her arms when her limbs went numb.

She only had enough money for one bus ticket home. To avoid being noticed, she deliberately chose the back side of the newsstand, so passersby wouldn’t see her.

Still, whenever footsteps approached, she was on edge.

Fortunately, the bad weather kept most people indoors.

She sat for a long time, thinking no one would come out at night, when suddenly she heard footsteps crunching in the snow approaching her.

Ye Yun raised her head cautiously. A towering figure appeared beside her. Then a padded coat was placed on her shoulders.

Bai Wenfu sat beside her on the snow, bending his left leg and stretching his right leg straight, sinking it into the snow.

Ye Yun stared at him in shock. He didn’t blame her for running away, nor complain that she had made it easier for him to find her. Instead, he turned his head and smiled faintly at her, “If I were you, I’d at least pick a better day. Make everyone else miserable, but don’t make yourself miserable too.”

Ye Yun’s nose prickled, and her frozen heartbeat slowly melted in the warmth of the smile on his brow. Moist eyelashes blurred her vision.

Bai Wenfu just sat quietly by her side, his elbow resting on his knee, palm outstretched to catch the drifting snowflakes. He asked her softly, “Have you thought about how you’ll live when you go back?”

Ye Yun’s lashes trembled. She had been thinking only about going home, as if only returning home could restore her past life. But she had forgotten that she had stayed in the city for a year. Whether or not she and Wen Bin had officially registered their marriage, having held a wedding banquet at the old family’s house, in the eyes of others she was considered married to Wen Bin.

If she returned, no respectable family would want her. In the village, widows like her mostly remarried men much older than themselves, sometimes even the village elders.

Ye Yun’s lips trembled uncontrollably. She had never thought about these things, never considered all she would face upon returning. Bai Wenfu’s words pierced her heart like a knife, the pain spreading through her whole body. She sobbed quietly, her eyes flickering with a fragile brokenness that seemed ready to melt away with the falling snow.

Bai Wenfu clenched his palm tightly, feeling sympathy. Wen Bin’s death was not her fault, but the hardship it brought had fallen upon her. She was still so young, having never seen the world’s splendor, but having tasted its suffering.

Originally, he hadn’t brought her home to suffer.

Bai Wenfu wiped the snow off his pants, stood up, and said to her, “Let’s go, find somewhere else to stay.”

Ye Yun remained unmoved. Bai Wenfu bent down, his tone gentle: “If you stay like this, I’ll end up needing a wheelchair.”

Only then did Ye Yun react. She glanced at his right leg, wiped away her tears, and stood up. Bai Wenfu took her cloth bag and led her toward a nearby alley.

At the alley entrance was a small inn with a lit signboard. Bai Wenfu stepped up the stairs, but Ye Yun looked up hesitantly at the sign, asking, “We’re... coming here?”

“What else? You’re freezing like this, do you have the strength to walk all the way home? Or do you want us to freeze on the streets together?”

Anxiety flickered in Ye Yun’s eyes, “But...”

Bai Wenfu chuckled, “But what? It’s freezing enough to kill someone out here. What’s more important, your life or your reputation? Besides, no one here knows you.”

Then he raised an eyebrow, “Worried about me?”

“It’s not that.” Ye Yun quickly stepped up the stairs, her heart pounding wildly.

There were only a few inns near the station. Due to the bad weather, many travelers were stuck, and the rooms were all booked. Bai Wenfu bargained with the innkeeper for a long time, finally securing a room for them at double the price.

The room was small, just a single bed and a worn-out chair. But no matter what, it was warmer than outside in the freezing cold.

Ye Yun followed Bai Wenfu inside. He was tall, and standing in the cramped room his masculine presence made the space feel even smaller. Ye Yun blushed, her face as red as a ripe hawthorn.

Bai Wenfu noticed her discomfort and said, “You can... take off your wet clothes and get under the blanket. I’ll go out for a smoke.”

After he left, Ye Yun took off her outer coat—it was the brocade quilted jacket she had sewn herself. She hurriedly wiped off the snow and carefully folded the jacket aside.

Her tights were soaked through. Even after removing her shoes, her feet were purple and numb, unbearably cold.

After a while, Bai Wenfu knocked twice and asked, “Ready yet?”

Ye Yun responded, and he came in carrying two warm steamed buns, handing one to her. “Make do with this; you won’t find much else at this hour.” Then he went out again.

No shops would be open at this time, so Ye Yun guessed the buns were probably from the innkeeper’s family, though she wondered how Bai Wenfu got them.

He came back carrying a wooden basin steaming with hot water.

Bai Wenfu handed her a warm cloth to wipe her face, then placed the basin at her feet, saying, “Soak your feet a while, it’ll warm you up.”

Ye Yun stuffed a bun into her mouth, chewing quickly, her cheeks puffed out, looking adorably silly.

Bai Wenfu laughed, “That good?”

Ye Yun nodded vigorously.

“Really easy to feed,” he said as he sat down on the chair.

Ye Yun took off her wet outerwear, wearing only thin clothes underneath. She wrapped herself in the blanket and dipped her feet in the basin.

The room was fairly bright. Bai Wenfu looked at the water and asked, “Is it too hot? I can add some cold water if you want.”

Ye Yun’s calves and toes peeked out from under the blanket, and being looked at like this made her ears blush under her hair.

She slowly lifted her toes, adjusting to the temperature. Her delicate ankles glowed with the faint warmth rising from the water; her small feet were like they could fit in the palm of a hand.

Bai Wenfu chuckled softly. Ye Yun glanced at him shyly, “What are you laughing at?”

“What size shoe do you wear?”

“Size 35.” As soon as she said it, she turned her head away to avoid his gaze.

The room was quiet, so quiet that their breathing seemed to echo between them.

Outside she had been numb from the cold, but now soaking in warmth, her skin color returned to normal. The bruises on her calves and feet, a mixture of green and purple, became visible.

Bai Wenfu’s calm eyes rippled with emotion; his breath grew heavier.

After a long moment, his voice, thick with strength, fell on Ye Yun’s heart: “Come back with me. I won’t let Mom treat you badly anymore.”

Ye Yun lowered her head; the rising steam clouded her eyes and made them moist.

After soaking her feet, she crawled into bed. Bai Wenfu took away the basin, telling her to sleep first and that he would be out for a while.

After walking in the freezing snow for so long, the warmth under the blanket soothed Ye Yun’s wavering heart.

Bai Wenfu returned much later. Ye Yun hadn’t fallen asleep; her eyelids twitched as she watched his every move in the dark.

He went to the head of the bed and sat on the chair, tapping his right leg on the bed’s footboard with his eyes closed. His leg seemed uncomfortable—she noticed he had kept it stretched out and had difficulty bending it.

She deliberately turned over and threw half the blanket on him. Bai Wenfu slowly opened his eyes and glanced at her back. Only when her breathing became steady did he gently brush aside her hair and see the swollen bruise there.

...

Perhaps because she was tired, or because she had been so cold, Ye Yun slept soundly that night—no dreams, no waking. She slept until dawn.

A washbasin and hot water bottle sat by the bedside, but Bai Wenfu was not in the room. Slowly regaining consciousness, Ye Yun got up and tidied herself. She looked out the window toward the street below.

The door was pushed open; she didn’t notice, half her body leaning out the window.

Bai Wenfu’s voice came from behind, “Looking for me?”

Ye Yun turned abruptly and almost bumped into the window frame.

“Careful!” His face tightened. “Is your head still hurting?”

Ye Yun came back to the bed, seeming much better, and asked, “You found out?”

Bai Wenfu put the things he was carrying down by the bed. “Yeah, here’s some compensation for you. If it’s not enough, you can take it out on me.”

Ye Yun looked down and saw a pair of short boots lined with fleece under the bed. She’d never worn shoes so fashionable before. Her eyes lit up and she asked uncertainly, “For me?”

“Who else? Who else would wear such small shoes? Try them on.”

Ye Yun slipped her feet into the boots. Her feet felt wrapped in cotton, soft and comfortable, all the way to her ankles.

Bai Wenfu picked up her cloth bag, and Ye Yun turned to give him the quilted jacket. “Why did you bring this jacket out? What if it got dirty, then how would you give it to someone?”

Bai Wenfu smiled faintly without reason, placed the cloth bag on the chair, took the neatly folded coat, shook it open, walked around behind Ye Yun, and draped the coat back over her shoulders. Then he said to her, "Stretch out your hand."

Ye Yun raised her eyes and plunged into the whirlpool of his gaze, trying to discern something. She stiffened and didn’t move.

Bai Wenfu pressed his lips together helplessly, lowered his gaze, and stared at her: "There’s no other woman, I just said that casually. If I don’t find you something to do to pass the time, you’ll get sick from holding it all in. Now, can you stretch out your hand?"

Ye Yun’s eyes flickered continuously, her heartbeat echoed in her ears.

"So this coat..."

"Of course, it’s for you to keep and wear. What, do you want me to wear it instead?"

Ye Yun hesitated for a moment, lowered her eyelids, and slid her hand into the sleeve. A lovely blush colored her cheeks. She still couldn’t believe the coat, painstakingly sewn stitch by stitch, was actually on her body.

Stepping out of the inn, the snow had stopped outside, but the thick snow on the ground remained. Ye Yun wore new boots with thick soles; stepping on the snow, she felt no cold at all, but instead left distinct footprints. The sound of her shoe soles sinking into the snow was solid and spirited.

The orchid pattern on the plain base made her features look like a painting, especially walking on the snow, her pure and ethereal bearing was stunningly beautiful.

Last night she had cried as if the sky was falling, but today, dressed in new shoes and clothes, a joyful expression showed on her face. She walked ahead, stepping on the clean snow, while Bai Wenfu followed at a leisurely pace beside and behind her.

Ye Yun kept deliberately turning her body from time to time to steal glances at him. Seeing his gaze on her, she would blush and quickly turn her head away.

After stealing many glances at him, Bai Wenfu finally curved his lips and asked, "Is there a road on my face? If you really want to look, just walk beside me and look openly."

Ye Yun withdrew her gaze and said, "I’m not looking at you," then walked even faster.

She still couldn’t quite believe this brocade satin coat was meant for her. The woman she had dreamed of becoming for two months had suddenly become herself — this feeling was both surprising and shy.

The surprise was that she truly liked this coat. Since she got the fabric, she had imagined having one just like it. She had poured almost all her passion into making it. In a way, this coat accompanied her through her low points and became the driving force in her life during that period.

The shyness came from Bai Wenfu’s words to Tong Mingfang, when he said, “If you don’t give it to someone, how can you be close to me?” Although Ye Yun now guessed that sentence was just to dismiss Tong Mingfang, just thinking about it still made her feel embarrassed.

...

As soon as the door opened at home, Tong Mingfang ran out. Seeing Ye Yun safe and brought back relieved her. Then she glanced doubtfully at the coat Ye Yun was wearing and cast a suspicious look at Bai Wenfu.

Bai Wenfu said to Ye Yun, “Go back to your room and wait a while.”

After Ye Yun went into her room, Bai Wenfu nodded and gestured for Tong Mingfang to come into the room for a talk. Bai Wenfu brought a chair into Tong Mingfang’s room and sat down. Tong Mingfang followed in and closed the door.

She sat by the bedside, waiting for her eldest son to speak. Bai Wenfu just looked at her coolly, which made Tong Mingfang uneasy. She asked, “What do you want to say? Say it!”

Bai Wenfu suddenly blurted, “The suffering you endured before — do you want Ye Yun to suffer it all over again?”

These words made Tong Mingfang’s expression change drastically. Those unbearable memories instantly surged in her mind.

Only Bai Wenfu knew about these things at home. When Wen Bin was still young and didn’t remember, Bai Wenfu was already able to “run errands.” After Tong Mingfang married in, she was often bullied by her in-laws. Whenever she talked back a little, the old madam would beat her until she was bruised and bleeding. Her husband sided with the old madam, not her.

All these things were witnessed by young Bai Wenfu. Yet he had never mentioned a word over all these years, but now suddenly brought it up, stirring the unhealed pain in Tong Mingfang’s heart.

She considered herself not a bad mother-in-law, at least compared to the suffering she endured when young, she never truly made Ye Yun suffer. She only admitted she was in the wrong for letting Ye Yun bump her head by accident.

Bai Wenfu leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and said earnestly, “Think about it — when Wen Bin was home, he cared about her. If he knew after he left, you vented all your anger on her, how could Wen Bin rest in peace?”

These words fell on Tong Mingfang’s chest like a heavy stone. Thinking of Wen Bin, her eyes reddened, and she lowered her head to wipe her tears.

Bai Wenfu rubbed her shoulder to comfort her. After a while, Tong Mingfang wiped her eyes and said, “Mom understands.”

From that day on, Tong Mingfang’s attitude toward Ye Yun changed slightly. It wasn’t exactly better, but at least she didn’t nag or say harsh words at her anymore.

Bai Wenfu’s outright denial of the existence of that “other woman” also meant he wouldn’t be getting married for now, so Ye Yun no longer had to worry about those embarrassing concerns. Her mood suddenly brightened, and the urgent desire to go home was put aside with the arrival of the New Year.

On New Year's Eve, Ye Yun wore her new clothes and made dumplings with Tong Mingfang.

In the afternoon, Tong Mingfang couldn’t hold back and called Bai Wenfu into the room, asking, “I’ve been wanting to ask you these past few days — why did the clothes you gave away end up on Ye Yun?”

Bai Wenfu calmly replied, “They were meant for her.”

Tong Mingfang’s sharp eyes fixed on her eldest son tightly: “Then what nonsense did you tell me last time?”

Bai Wenfu smiled, “I was just saying, did you really believe it?”

Tong Mingfang looked serious: “I really did believe it. Be honest with me — why did you give her the clothes?”

“Why else? She’s been at our home for almost a year, doing everything diligently and without complaint. You might have felt unhappy at the time and cursed her a few times, but when did you ever see her talk back to you? When Wen Bin was around, you at least put on a show. After Wen Bin left, she didn’t even have a single piece of winter clothing at home during the cold winter. If you ask me, the compensation from Wen Bin’s unit’s condolence money — even if you don’t give all of it — at least some of it should have gone to her.”

Tong Mingfang blew her nose and frowned, “What compensation? There are rules — they have to be legally married spouses to get that condolence money.”

Bai Wenfu sneered, “If you refuse to give it, then I’ll buy her some things. What’s the problem?”

Tong Mingfang, fearing Bai Wenfu would continue to argue with her about the condolence money, hurriedly pushed him out and muttered, “Do whatever you want.”

...

Tong Mingfang’s mother was still alive. By tradition, she would return to her hometown every year on the second day of the Lunar New Year and stay a few days. Bai Wenfu never went with her. When Tong Mingfang was mistreated and beaten almost to death at the Bai family, a young Bai Wenfu ran to his maternal uncle’s house, only to be driven out. Since then, he had held a grudge against his maternal uncle’s family.

After Tong Mingfang’s life in the city improved somewhat, her maternal uncle’s family came to visit. Bai Wenfu always scoffed at them, so Tong Mingfang usually brought Wen Bin home.

This year Wen Bin was gone, and Tong Mingfang had considered bringing Ye Yun back with her, but after thinking about it, she gave up. One reason was that her relationship with Ye Yun was strained lately, so they hardly spoke at home. Another was that after Wen Bin’s passing, if she took Ye Yun home, there would surely be gossip.

Early on the second day of the New Year, Bai Wenfu planned to visit an old leader in the city who once helped him and offer New Year greetings. Tong Mingfang asked him to take her to the station on the way.

She carried large bags full of stuff, looking like she wanted to empty the house and move it all back. Bai Wenfu’s lips curled into a cold smile. Though he disliked it, he didn’t say anything.

Just as they were about to leave, Tong Mingfang suddenly remembered something and asked Bai Wenfu to wait. She ran back into the room.

Ye Yun leaned out and asked Bai Wenfu, “When will you be back?”

Perhaps because of the New Year, Bai Wenfu’s usually stern expression softened with a rare gentle smile: “Might be late. Usually I stay there to play cards for a while.”

“Will you come back for dinner?”

Bai Wenfu paused, “Why?”

After all, it was still the New Year. Having Ye Yun eat alone at home was somewhat lonely, but she didn’t say it outright, only smiled: “I was thinking maybe I should cook for you.”

“Hm... The old leader usually keeps us for drinks at night.”

Tong Mingfang hurriedly came out of the room. Ye Yun went back to the table. Bai Wenfu glanced at her, picked up his things, and went downstairs.

Ye Yun was alone at home with nothing to do. She wanted to visit Lü Ping, but found Lü Ping had also gone visiting relatives. She did all the chores she could around the house and, bored, could only weave knots with some leftover threads.

The sun gradually set, and the light in the room dimmed. Ye Yun’s eyes felt strained. She stretched and wanted to get something quick to eat.

Just as she stood up, she heard the front door open. She ran out of her room, surprised: “You’re back?”

Bai Wenfu leaned lazily against the doorframe, his eyes flushed with the sunset’s glow and slightly intoxicated: “I drank the night’s wine early, but my stomach’s still empty. What are you planning to cook?”

A smile appeared in Ye Yun’s eyes: “I’ll go check.”

She was about to head to the stove when Bai Wenfu grabbed her slender arm, pulling her back in front of him. His drowsy eyes locked onto hers: “Don’t cook. Come with me.”