Extra Story Two: When You’re Cold, I’ll Give You Warmth
Four years after welcoming a new life, they had long since returned to live in Zhangzhou.
That year, Lu Qiang had only managed to get a three-month family visit visa. He had a criminal record, and immigration was a troublesome matter.
Italy soon entered autumn. Influenced by the Mediterranean climate, the air was humid and the sunlight bright, while fallen leaves carpeted the ground and dressed the little town in golden hues.
Lu Qiang had nothing to do, so every day he drove Lu Yin to and from work. After coming out of the tailor shop, he would sit for a while by the square of the little church. Sometimes he fed the pigeons, sometimes he nestled close to her and chatted idly, and sometimes tourists with sunken eyes and high noses would hand him a camera, chatter away at him, and say a whole string of things. Lu Qiang could not understand them and did not ask. Expressionless, he took the camera, pointed it at them, and half-heartedly pressed the shutter a few times.
The days were leisurely and comfortable. More often than not, he spent his time at home with his little princess. Lu Qiang witnessed the whole process of her rolling over, crawling, and pulling herself up against the bed. The feeling was immensely joyful and wondrous. He held her carefully, as though she were a little sugar figurine that would melt if he did not cradle her in the palm of his hand. His gaze was soft, and there was honey at the corners of his mouth.
The little one also grew increasingly close to him. She would stare at him without blinking, reach out her little hands to touch his chin, pick at the corners of his mouth with her fingers, and giggle. The little princess liked to sleep sprawled across Lu Qiang’s belly. The big one and the little one would nestle together on the living-room sofa. When she woke up, the front of his clothes would be covered in her drool, but he felt that even this drool carried a sweet fragrance.
Eventually, she was only close to Lu Qiang. Father and daughter were stuck together all day, and whenever he was around, she absolutely would not look for Lu Yin or Qian Yuanqing. Lu Yin’s standing in the little one’s heart plummeted. She was both sweetly happy and painfully aggrieved. She had gone through ten months of pregnancy, suffering all that hardship, only to end up serving this man.
Qian Yuanqing said blandly, “Not feeling so good about it? Then have another one.”
Lu Yin pursed her lips. It was from that moment on that she made up her mind.
The pleasant days passed in the blink of an eye. Three months soon went by, the visa expired, and Lu Qiang had no choice but to secretly return to Zhangzhou. Yet he never expected Zhangzhou to have undergone such a drastic change.
After Lu Qiang was released from prison and safely sent abroad under police escort, Qiu Shizu became so furious and grief-stricken, compounded by his longing for his son, that his illness repeatedly worsened. He barely held on for two months before finally dying. He left this world desolately, with no son to see him off. The people around him schemed every which way to strip him of his wealth, and not one of them was sincere. Chao Hui and Zhentian fell into chaos. With no one in charge, business declined sharply, and the internal groups gradually fell apart along with it. The brothers scattered, each seeking their own way out.
It was not long before all kinds of loopholes in the organization’s back-end operations came to light. Chao Hui had been involved in all sorts of dealings that could not see the light of day. The higher-ups sent people to conduct a thorough investigation, and before many days had passed, they were ordered to cease operations.
Overnight, Chao Hui went bankrupt, and Qiu Shizu disappeared from Zhangzhou. The whole affair was left behind as nothing more than gossip for people to talk about over tea and meals.
His death was not revenge from an enemy, nor was it some spectacular gang shootout. He died because he became ill from longing for his son.
This was heaven’s will. Everything had its own arrangement by heaven.
Good deeds bring good consequences, evil deeds bring evil consequences. All good and evil will eventually receive their due within the cycle of cause and effect…
A snowflake landed on his forehead. Lu Qiang lifted his eyelids and glanced at the sky. It was dark and heavy.
He stood there lazily, then shifted his gaze back to the gravestone.
The New Year was approaching, and winter had come to Zhangzhou again. Dead branches and fallen leaves lay beside the gravestone, its surface covered in dust. The entire cemetery was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, desolate and coldly silent. Lu Qiang had brought neither flowers nor offerings of fruits, vegetables, or pastries. He crouched down, shoulders hunched, staring fixedly at the few words carved into the stone.
The Tomb of Beloved Father Deng Qiming
The name carved as the person who erected it was Deng Qiong. The arrangements for Old Deng’s affairs after his death had been personally handled by Liang Yarong and Professor Wu. After learning what had happened and the cause of Wu Qiong’s death, Professor Wu was overcome with grief. It was his own improper conduct that had left Wu Qiong with a vulnerability others could use to control him. Consumed by guilt, he had silently taken responsibility for the tragedy. He had insisted that the words “His child, Deng Qiong respectfully erects this” be carved into the stone.
In Old Deng’s entire life, only at this moment could everything finally be made complete. Upon that small square of stone, he and his daughter had been reunited, no longer separated by a distance too far to reach.
Lu Qiang’s gaze shifted. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit one, and stood it in front of the gravestone. He then wrapped his hand around it and lit another. Lowering his eyes to the glow of the flame, cigarette between his teeth, he asked indistinctly, “Old Deng, you don’t want to see me, do you?”
In the shivering cold wind, no one could answer him. Dead branches scraped against the gravestone, while dust gathered into piles in the corners.
The cigarette burning in front of the stone fell over. Lu Qiang reached out and stood it back up, but later the wind knocked it down again, and he did not bother to right it. The entire cemetery was vast and eerie. Cold wind circled overhead, letting out an almost distorted howl. Lu Qiang’s eyes stung. He rubbed them twice with the knuckle of the thumb that held his cigarette, and his eyes were bloodshot.
He remained silent, then stood up. Only after finishing the cigarette did he say, “I won’t come see you anymore. There’s no point. Whatever grudges or debts we have, we’ll talk about them after I die.”
He brushed the dust from his clothes and turned to leave.
Because he had met Lu Yin, every decision he made now came with something to consider. He was not afraid of being hated by others. He was only afraid of making her sad and seeing her cry. He was selfish, but that did not make him unforgivably evil. Perhaps Old Deng would not forgive him, but Lu Qiang thought that he would surely understand.
... ...
That New Year’s Eve, Lu Qiang flew to Italy again and spent a reunion New Year with them. After the first month of the lunar year, he hurried back to Zhangzhou. With Da Long making the introductions, he acquired three medium-sized freight trucks and registered a small company to take on logistics work along the coastal route.
Only Da Long had done this kind of work before, and even he was only half-competent, knowing the industry’s rules and procedures only vaguely. Getting the operation running in the early stages was extremely difficult, and they stumbled along, every step particularly arduous. They only put one truck into operation at first. Da Long and Kun Dong ran the routes to test the waters, while he and Genzi helped load and unload the goods.
By the middle of the year, Lu Qiang finally got his driver’s license again, while Genzi upgraded to a Class B license. Once they had gotten a feel for the market, all three trucks finally began operating in rotation. By the end of the year, the medium-sized trucks had been replaced with large ones, and they acquired several more. They rented an office in a nearby factory building and hired a group of people. Only then did Lu Qiang finally breathe a sigh of relief.
For these several years, he had constantly been running back and forth between the two places. Sometimes he would fly over just to see them once before hurriedly rushing back. Once everything here had been properly arranged, Lu Yin and Qian Yuanqing finally brought the little princess back to Zhangzhou. By then, the little princess was three years old. She wore a soft pink bow on her head and a puffy dress, with short arms and short legs, and could wrap herself around his thigh and sweetly call him “Daddy.”
They moved into the high-rise apartment they had bought before leaving. It had three bedrooms and one living room, a spacious living room, and a balcony outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. The view was broad, looking directly toward the artificial lake in Nanshan Park.
After weathering so many twists and turns, life finally returned to peace. After going all the way around in a circle, they had finally returned to where they began.
Once they had more time together, whenever they closed the bedroom door, there was only one thing left to do. Lu Yin was not physically inclined to conceive easily, and no matter how much they tried, there was still no sign of anything happening.
Then, the following winter, on Lu Yin’s birthday, Lu Qiang left the child with Qian Yuanqing and took her out to have a carefree time. At a newly built resort hotel outside Zhangzhou, surrounded by mountains, water, and woods, the private hot spring steamed gently, flowers were paired with champagne, and when their passion ran high, they indulged themselves without restraint. Ever since that time, Lu Yin’s period had not come. She occasionally experienced loss of appetite and nausea. After going to the hospital for an examination, they learned that good news was on the way.
This time was different. Lu Yin had already been through it once, and with Lu Qiang by her side, she got through the early-pregnancy symptoms fairly quickly. By the fifth or sixth month, her belly was already showing, and with it came a temper that had become irritable and easily angered. Seeing Lu Qiang annoyed her, and she disliked his touch even more. At night, she always liked to turn her back toward him.
That day, after seeing the little princess, Lu Qiang came in softly and quietly. “Asleep?”
With her back to him, Lu Yin gave a lazy hum.
Only one dim lamp was lit at the bedside. Her long hair lay peacefully spread across the pillow, forming a soft, undulating wave. Lu Qiang bent down and breathed in the scent of her hair, then worked his way up and kissed her temple.
Annoyed, Lu Yin reached back and pushed his head away. “Stay away from me.”
There was silence behind her for several seconds. A large hand covered the side of her waist, giving it a squeeze before slipping beneath the hem of her clothes and coming to rest on her breast. He had not originally intended to do anything. Ever since she had become pregnant, they had not been intimate. His improper thoughts had been suppressed deep inside until he had gradually grown accustomed to it. But the softness in his palm finally awakened certain instincts.
Lu Qiang’s chest pressed against her back. His movements were no longer entirely innocent, and his fingers skillfully toyed with her a few times. “The doctor said doing it from the side won’t affect the baby.”
Lu Yin was both tickled and annoyed by him. She grabbed his fingers and forcefully bent them backward. “Are you annoying or what?”
Lu Qiang hissed, then gently pushed her shoulder. “Are you out of your mind? Did you have to bend them that hard?”
Lu Yin did not turn her head. “Who told you to keep your hands all over me?”
“Not even a little touching?”
“You annoy me.”
Lu Qiang gritted his teeth and pinched her hard, retorting, “Even being annoyed by me is legal.”
The pinch hurt her. A surge of anger seemed to come from nowhere, and Lu Yin suddenly sat upright, smacking him in the face with the soft pillow. “Lu Qiang, you’re really annoying.” She hit and pinched him, her emotions running high, until several tears actually squeezed from her eyes.
Lu Qiang froze for a moment, slow to react. He leaned over to hug her, only to take several solid blows to the cheek.
He pressed his tongue against the flesh of his lips and turned his head away. “I’m wrong, I’m wrong. Don’t move around.”
Lu Yin twisted the flesh on his chest. “Get down.”
“Where am I supposed to go?”
“Don’t stay on the bed.”
Lu Qiang’s butt was only perched on the edge of the bed, and he had not been sitting steadily to begin with. Lu Yin kicked him, and as he slid down, he caught himself with one arm against the floor and nimbly sprang back up. His clothes had been grabbed into a mess, riding up to expose his belly, one pant leg rolled halfway up, his feet bare. His appearance was both comical and disheveled.
Lu Yin looked at him, wiped her face, and unexpectedly began to snicker.
Lu Qiang’s expression darkened. “Lu Yin, know when to stop.”
She was not afraid of him at all now. She pointed toward the door. “Go sleep in the living room.”
He tossed the pillow aside. “The living room is cold. I’m not going.” He tried to force his way back onto the bed.
Lu Yin pushed him and became aggrieved again. “Are you deliberately trying to make me angry? I’m pregnant!”
Lu Qiang propped one hand against his hip and rubbed the back of his head a couple of times. Lu Yin was still glaring at him angrily. She was sitting sideways, one palm bracing against the mattress, her belly like a pot lid fastened over her, the weight of it heavy and burdensome.
Lu Qiang’s heart softened. He wanted to hug her but did not dare. He could not afford to provoke her. He secretly drew a breath, bent down, picked up the bedding, and carried it outside.
Lu Yin said, “Close the door properly.”
He turned back and pointed a finger at her. “Go ahead and keep acting spoiled. Just keep building up your debt. I’ll collect it after you give birth.” Lu Qiang gave a faint smile, then went back and forcibly kissed her forehead before grinding his teeth and saying, “You’ve got plenty coming to you. Little darling.”
His mouth was full of threats, but he could not really take her temper seriously. He heated a glass of milk and did not leave until he had watched her drink it all.
Lu Qiang secretly slipped into the little princess’s room and squeezed in with her for a month. This ended up making the little girl extremely happy. Normally, she was not allowed to sleep with them, but now she clung to Lu Qiang every day and asked him to tell her stories. In her babyish voice, she always wanted him to spend a few minutes babbling nonsense with her before bed. Qian Yuanqing knew about it and pretended not to know, focusing wholeheartedly on making nourishing soups for Lu Yin. He had no standing in the household, and after swallowing his grievances, he finally managed to endure it until her due date was almost upon them.
At this prenatal checkup, the doctor said that excessive nutrition had caused the fetus to become too large, and recommended a light diet and more activity and walks over the next few days.
When they came out of the examination room, they ran into a woman head-on. Despite being heavily pregnant, she was still wearing high heels, with glamorous makeup and her hair tied into a high ponytail. Lu Yin could not help looking at her a few times. She seemed strangely familiar. Suddenly, she remembered someone. Many years had passed, but seeing someone in that kind of setting always left an especially lasting impression. Yet when she thought about it again, something seemed wrong. The man beside her had thick lips and large ears, a big protruding belly, and was covered from head to toe in luxury-brand clothing and accessories, but he was already middle-aged and balding. He was nothing like the refined-looking man from back then.
Lu Qiang wrapped an arm around her waist. “What did the doctor say?”
She came back to herself. “They told me to take more walks.”
“What were you looking at?” He glanced behind them.
Lu Yin finally withdrew her gaze. Leaning against his chest, a sudden swell of happiness rose within her. She smiled. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
When they came out of the hospital, a fine drizzle had begun to fall outside. Lu Qiang looked up at the sky, in an excellent mood.
The two looked at each other.
“Go take a walk over there?”
“Okay.”
Lu Qiang retrieved an umbrella from the car and supported her as they walked along the street. The fine threads of rain pattered against the umbrella, and for a while, the only thing left in their ears was the rhythmic sound of falling rain.
Lu Yin asked, “Do you like rainy weather?”
“It’s all right.”
“Why?”
Lu Qiang said, “It rained the day I got out of prison.”
Lu Yin thought for a moment, then smiled. “Being given a new life really is something worth being happy about.”
Lu Qiang did not explain. He merely tilted the corners of his lips upward as well.
After passing several intersections, the rain gradually grew heavier. They took shelter from the rain beneath the mall’s covered arcade.
The rainwater streamed down from the eaves in columns, dividing the bustling street into two separate worlds, pattering against the pavement and rippling into blossoms of water.
A couple ran past them with their clothes held over their heads, arms around each other, their laughter light and carefree.
Lu Yin watched them run off and asked jokingly, “Why did you like me back then?”
Lu Qiang said, “You had a good figure.”
She punched him. “Can’t you ever be serious?”
“You’re serious.” Lu Qiang looked at her. “Then tell me, when did you start liking me?”
Lu Yin said nothing.
“When we went bungee jumping?”
Lu Yin glared at him. “It wasn’t that early.”
“You already agreed to let me kiss you, and you still say you didn’t like me?”
A flush spread across her face. She said coyly, “You kept pestering me.” She pressed her lips together. “At the time, I just thought I had a tiny bit of a soft spot for you.”
Lu Qiang smiled, then suddenly leaned close to her ear. “You look pretty conservative on the outside, but you’re actually very open-minded inside. You wanted to seek out some excitement, but you were too timid. And then you happened to run into me, Lu Qiang.” He blew a breath against her ear and continued, “You happened to run into a guy who’s solidly built and good in bed, so you were just waiting around, hoping I’d take good care of you, weren’t you?”
Lu Yin reacted as though he had stepped on her tail. She let out a small cry and reached over to twist his waist.
Lu Qiang nimbly dodged away, keeping some distance between them.
Lu Qiang asked, “So when was it?”
She turned her head away and ignored him.
He said, “I’m not joking.”
After holding out for a while, Lu Yin finally answered, “Maybe the day I had the fever. Or maybe a little later.”
When it comes to two people, how could there ever be so many reasons and so much rationality, let alone any clear measure of how quickly or slowly they accept one another? When feelings were at their most vulnerable, the other person “took advantage of the opening,” giving the warmth and protection that was most needed. It was the kind of thing where affection naturally grew over time. Slowly, habit became love.
“How much later?” Lu Qiang flicked her forehead with a crooked finger and said indignantly, “Before that, you kept treating me like a gigolo.”
Lu Yin laughed.
“Were you satisfied with the service?”
Rarely shameless, she blinked. “I’ll give you a good review.”
He gave a snort, looking outside and then at her. “Cold?”
Lu Yin said, “A little.”
“Come here.”
Lu Qiang wrapped his arm tightly around her, rubbing her exposed skin for warmth. Finally, he rested his large palm protectively over her swollen belly.
Through the curtain of rain, they looked toward the bustling street. Beneath the arcade, only the two of them remained, leaning against each other.
The weather was turning cold, but in his arms was a warm city, sheltering her from the wind and rain, keeping her from the cold.
Perhaps this was all that cherishing someone meant.
It was simply this:
When you are cold, it just so happens that I can give you warmth.
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