Chapter 159: Secretly Colluding

Seeing her mother flare up again, Dong Yanyan didn't get angry; instead, she chuckled. "Mom, don't you think there's a pattern here? Every Lunar New Year, if you don't find something to argue about on the first day of the year, we're bound to fight by the fifteenth. It's like you can dodge the first day, but you can't escape the fifteenth—I'm used to it by now. Besides, harmony brings wealth, while discord hurts fortune. Whether you believe it or not, I certainly do."

Upon hearing this, her mother's eyes turned red once more. "Fine! You've grown wings now, haven't you? I won't argue with you anymore. Who do you think I've been struggling and saving all these years for? Now you treat me like this..."

Seeing the two of them start to bicker, her father put on a stern face and said, "Yanyan, what are you even saying on New Year's day?"

Dong Yanyan smiled. "Dad, you're wrong. The New Year has already passed, and spring is coming. Look, the snow outside is melting." Her gaze pierced through the corridor toward the doorway. The snow on the eaves was sliding down in chunks under the sunlight, turning into water and dripping steadily onto the steps outside. The steps were left wet in patches, and patches of black, damp earth were beginning to show in the yard. Stepping out there would definitely result in a muddy mess.

"Mom, look, the snow in the yard is all melted. How are we going to set up the lanterns tonight?" she asked with a trace of distress.

Turning back, she saw her mother looking at her with a hint of bewilderment. She smiled, suddenly recalling the times when she herself had become a mother—wasn't she just as fickle? The pressure of life was too heavy, with no one to shoulder it for her. Her own fiery temper sometimes drove her to fly into a rage at that tiny little person when she was pushed to her limit. After hitting her and scolding her, she would feel regret and heartache, but the next time the child misbehaved, she still couldn't stop herself from scolding her to tears. Only she knew how much she loved her—loved her so much that she would worry the moment the child left her sight, wishing she could hold her in the palm of her hand, give her everything best in the world, and provide the best life no matter how bitter or tiring it was. That was her own flesh and blood, a connection that neither time nor space could ever sever.

Looking back now, there was only regret—regret that she hadn't had a little more patience to consider the child's feelings. That tiny little person could feel hurt and sad too.

After dinner, Dong Yanyan joined her mother in cutting red candles into small segments. They lit them and placed them in every corner of the house. Lanterns were also placed in the courtyard and around the house so that the coming year would be bright and prosperous. Firecrackers were set off in the corners of every room to drive away bad luck. Nannan held a newly bought small lantern and ran around the road with her father. In the night sky, fireworks bloomed once more as they celebrated the Lantern Festival. On the fifteenth day, people admired the lanterns, and every household set off all their remaining fireworks and firecrackers. Once the New Year was over, they would have to start applying for loans to buy seeds and fertilizer, and a year of busy labor was about to begin again.

*

A few mornings later, Ren Jiaxuan returned home with a group of friends. Downstairs, he opened the mailbox, casually took out the newspaper inside, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he spotted the letter resting quietly at the bottom.

"Another letter from Yanyan?" Li Zhe crowded over and asked with curiosity.

Ren Jiaxuan nodded triumphantly and smiled. "We average a letter every ten days. I had a hunch she'd write these past couple of days, and sure enough, here it is!"

"Who's Yanyan? Your girlfriend?" asked a heavily made-up girl nearby with a puzzled look.

"No kidding. Can't you tell he's so happy he's lost his mind?" He Jingxuan teased.

"You have a girlfriend and you're still coming out to hang out with us?! You're wasting our time and feelings!" several other girls chimed in noisily with laughter.

"Three women make a thousand ducks, stop squawking and let's go upstairs!" Li Zhe laughed.

The group bustlingly headed up to the fourth floor, and Ren Jiaxuan unlocked the door, ushering them into the living room.

"There's fruit on the coffee table and drinks in the fridge. Li Zhe, tell them not to be polite. My parents aren't home anyway, so just treat this place like your own home." With that, Ren Jiaxuan grabbed the letter and ran into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Li Zhe took a few cans of beverages from the fridge, and when he returned to the living room, the others had already slumped lazily across the sofa, dozing off. He placed the drinks on the coffee table and strode straight into Ren Jiaxuan's bedroom.

"You didn't knock again!" Ren Jiaxuan sat by the desk holding the letter, letting out a lazy yawn.

"What does Yanyan's letter say? Oh, look, there are photos too!" Li Zhe picked up the three photos on the desk. In the pictures, the girl was standing amidst a world of ice and snow, smiling brightly and radiantly. He stared at them for a long while and smiled, "She looks a bit fairer, a bit chubbier, and it seems she's grown a bit taller too."

"Go look for yourself." Ren Jiaxuan tossed the letter paper at him, slightly frowning as he fiddled with the three photographs.

"So generous?!" Li Zhe sat down beside him and picked up the letter, seeing it covered densely from top to bottom with flowing handwriting.

Jiaxuan, hello,

Seeing these words is like seeing you. The New Year has passed by so quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it's already the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It snowed all through the night last night, and even in the middle of the night, you could hear the sound of accumulated snow snapping tree branches. This morning, I couldn't wait to jump out of bed and take a look, and the outside world was once again draped in silver. This is the first snowfall of this winter, and it should also be the last one of this long winter. I deliberately took a few photos so that you too can see the distant mountains and great rivers here—a world of ice and glass crafted by the wondrous and masterful hands of nature, so vast and distant! Beneath this blue sky, white snow, and dazzling sunlight, when you look up, there is the endless blue sky; looking out, there are endless snow-capped mountains. Standing right in the midst of it all, you realize just how insignificant you truly are...

...

Remember to say hello to Doudou and the others for me, and I wish you all the best.

Yanyan

1998.2.11

"So literary. Is this how you guys usually communicate?" Li Zhe asked with a smile after finishing the letter.

Ren Jiaxuan proudly handed him the three photographs again and grinned, "Take another look at these!"

"Didn't I just look at them?" Li Zhe picked up the photos and noticed there was writing on the back of each one. One showed her standing in front of a snowman, her right hand spread out beside her face, twisting her waist to strike a pretty pose. The back read: *I built this snowman all by myself. Cute, right?!*

The second photo showed her standing in the middle of a frozen river, holding up two fingers in a victorious "V" sign against a backdrop of blue sky and white clouds. The back read: *In summer, this great river is our river; in winter, it is our road. Walking along this crystal-clear road that stretches for tens of kilometers is a luxury ordinary people can never experience.*

The background of the third photo was a distant expanse of snow-covered mountain ranges. She stood in front of the lens with her index finger gently pressed against her lips, looking extremely adorable. The back read: *Keep your voice down, don't wake the sleeping snow-capped mountains~~~*

Seeing that he had been staring for a long time without any intention of letting go, Ren Jiaxuan impatiently pointed at the first photo and asked, "Look at her fingers, what number is this?"

"Five!" Li Zhe laughed, then suddenly realization dawned on him. "The second one is two, and the third one is one. Put them together and it's 521—I love you!"