48. Let’s Go on a Date

The snow grew heavier during the night. By morning, the community grounds and rooftops were a blanket of white. A branch of an old sycamore tree had even snapped under the weight.

Li Qing woke up early to tidy the house inside and out. Lin Xudong was at the door pasting spring couplets when his phone vibrated. It was an unsaved number. Since many people called him, Li Qing usually didn’t touch his phone.

“Old Lin, your phone. Go answer it in the room. Let those two sleep a bit longer, don’t wake them up.”

Lin Xudong wiped his hands, took the phone, and a hint of sharp annoyance flashed in his eyes. He turned his back and hung up.

Li Qing glanced at him. “Why didn’t you answer?”

“Harassment call. You go cook.”

Five minutes later, the phone rang again. Lin Xudong’s jaw tightened, squeezing the phone slightly out of shape, his finger joints faintly cracking.

Li Qing went to the kitchen to boil water. Lin Xudong closed the room door, walked to the balcony outside the bedroom, and answered the call.

“Director Lin, Happy New Year.”

“What do you want to do now!”

“Director Lin, don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean anything else. I just want to thank Director Lin. Zhan Yan got some good tea from his friend out of town. When Director Lin is free, he’ll bring it for you to taste.”

“No need. This is the last time. Don’t contact me again!”

“Director Lin, what are you saying? Emotions won’t fade if we keep in touch,” the person on the other end of the line chuckled meaningfully. “Is your esteemed wife’s health still good?”

Lin Xudong’s face darkened. He lowered his voice and roared, “Zhan Tianxiong, I’m warning you, don’t ever threaten my family again! If you push me too hard, no one will look good!”

He cut the call, panting heavily as he punched the wall.

________________________________________

It was a rare chance to cast aside work and all the other messy things. Lin Xingzi herself stubbornly stayed in bed, not letting Jiang Yan get up either. She felt warm next to him and didn’t want to move.

Jiang Yan hadn’t shaved for two days, and a short stubble appeared on his jaw. Lin Xingzi, well-rested, became restless, rubbing against him one moment, touching him the next.

Outside the window, snowflakes drifted with the wind. Inside, it was warm and quiet. Neither of them spoke, only the soft sound of each other’s breathing.

Li Qing didn’t disturb them. Lin Xingzi only realized Lin Xudong had an asthma attack that morning and was resting after taking medicine when she went to the kitchen for water. Jiang Yan couldn’t go home to celebrate the New Year with his mother, so he made a phone call. His mother told him to take care of himself and casually mentioned that Ji Qiuchi’s father had come knocking again yesterday, asking for Ji Qiuchi’s whereabouts, saying she hadn’t sent money home this month. Jiang Yan told his mother to try and avoid him, as that person was completely unreasonable and only cared about money.

Lin Xingzi gently closed the door as she came out of the master bedroom, leaning against Jiang Yan, her voice muffled, “Dad has aged so quickly these past two years. He has more white hair.”

Lin Xudong was also over fifty years old.

He didn’t have a strong background and had worked his way up step by step to reach his current position, known in the bureau for his integrity.

Jiang Yan was more willing to believe that he always stood on the side of justice.

“The bureau has quite a few major cases suppressed. Dad is under a lot of pressure. I just contacted Dr. Qin; I’ll go to the hospital to get medicine later.”

“I’ll go with you,” Lin Xingzi thought for a moment. Her father’s illness stirred her long-dormant compassion. “And we can stop by your unit too. Mom made dumplings; bring some to them... It’s New Year’s today.”

Ji Qiuchi was still detained at the police station.

Zhan Tianxiong would definitely bail her out; it was only a matter of time.

Lin Xingzi felt a little uncomfortable after saying this. She was the one who initially told Jiang Yan to either divorce or keep his distance from Ji Qiuchi, and now she was the one showing great compassion and bringing warmth to Ji Qiuchi. All this within half a year.

His hand held hers, and she couldn’t break free. When she looked up, she fell into the smile in his eyes.

She had forgotten what she said when she was drunk that time. Even if there were scattered fragments in her mind, she naturally pretended they hadn’t happened. Admitting to being jealous and being jealous of the wrong person to his face was something only a drunk person would do.

Jiang Yan only smiled without speaking, yet he seemed to have said everything. Lin Xingzi, red-faced with embarrassment, jumped up and covered his eyes. Li Qing happened to see, thinking she was plotting against Jiang Yan so early in the morning again, so she shook her head and added an extra nourishing soup to the New Year’s Eve dinner menu.

After breakfast, Jiang Yan cooked some dumplings. He first went to the hospital to get medicine. Lin Xingzi asked the driver to send the medicine back home, and she went with Jiang Yan to the police station. The cars on the road were fewer than usual.

Lin Xingzi had taken cold medicine last night and then sweated profusely from all the ‘this and that,’ so her complexion was better and her head no longer ached. “Does your brother look like you?”

Jiang Yan turned the steering wheel. “He looks more like my dad. I inherited from my mom.”

Lin Xingzi had seen photos of Jiang’s father. In the pictures, he was young and handsome, with proper features. He hadn’t touched drugs back then. Even the poor resolution of that era couldn’t hide his good looks.

There was a small stall selling roasted chestnuts by the roadside. Jiang Yan asked her, “Do you want to eat some?”

Lin Xingzi: ???

“Isn’t your WeChat profile picture roasted chestnuts?”

“...”

He knew it was her secondary account all along!!!

Lin Xingzi’s face alternated between red and white, a thousand thoughts racing through her mind, yet she couldn’t utter a single word. Jiang Yan had already gotten out of the car, jogged over to buy a bag, and even peeled one hot chestnut to feed her.

All the way to the police station, Lin Xingzi ignored him. To mask her embarrassment, she buried herself in eating chestnuts. She herself couldn’t remember what kind of messages she had sent him; most of them were sent when she was drunk, fueled by alcohol, and all during the period when they were in different cities. She had barely touched that WeChat account since he returned half a year ago.

The police station had duty officers. In the snow, only a few clear sets of footprints were visible. Lin Xingzi didn’t go inside, sitting in the passenger seat, bored. She saw a friend mention that a new movie released early this morning was good. The company had new actors participating, and although their screen time wasn’t much, they still made an appearance.

She was too lazy to pretend anymore; it had already been exposed anyway. So she used the secondary account, which only had him as a friend, to message him, asking if he was done. Jiang Yan replied with an emoji, WeChat’s built-in ‘OK’ hand gesture, a bit old-fashioned but somehow cute.

His Moments only had one post, a photo of a sunset, seemingly taken at a basketball court, with no text. The timestamp was six years ago, which would have been his sophomore year of university.

Jiang Yan didn’t stay long at the police station. After asking a duty colleague to take the dumplings to Ji Qiuchi, he came out.

Lin Xingzi checked the time. New Year’s Eve dinner was set for 7 PM, and Lin Sang, Lin Ke, and their family would also arrive in the afternoon.

“Jiang Yan, let’s go on a date.”