After the Sickly Child Differentiates into A - Chapter 68

The village at the foot of the mountain was quite far. They walked along a snow-covered path, circled around several ridges, passed through a bare grove of small trees, and ahead lay a bumpy stone-paved road.

Two meters wide, the road was flanked by rows of self-built houses.

But many of the houses had their doors and windows tightly shut, with thick snow piled up in front of the doors, under the eaves, and along the windowsills, untouched by anyone.

The road was sparsely populated. Lin Li, however, remembered the way, leading Wen Jingzhi steadily forward. A person wrapped in a thick military overcoat passed by, carrying a load of firewood. The two women, dressed exquisitely with delicate features, stood out from the villagers. The passerby glanced at them curiously, but noticing Wen Jingzhi’s cold expression and icy gaze, decided against greeting them and continued on his way without stopping.

The two arrived in front of a house where the red paint on the main door had peeled off. The snow at the entrance had been cleared and piled on either side, and a rusted golden bell hung from the eaves.

Lin Li’s eyes curved into a smile as she reached out and gently flicked the golden bell.

“Ding!” A crisp chime rang out.

“Who is it?” A robust woman’s voice called from inside the courtyard.

Soon, a middle-aged woman wrapped in a padded jacket emerged from the house. She glanced toward the gate at the two elegantly dressed women, paused for a moment, then crossed the courtyard and stood inside the doorway, asking curiously, “Who are you two?”

Lin Li squinted and smiled. “Auntie Lin, it’s me, Lin Li.”

“Lin Li!?” Auntie Lin exclaimed in surprise, studying her. She could see traces of the young girl in the woman’s fair face and burst into laughter. “It really is you! Oh my, you’ve grown up so beautifully!” She then turned to Wen Jingzhi. “And who is this?”

“Wen Jingzhi.” Wen Jingzhi handed the gift in her hand to Auntie Lin.

“Ah…” Perhaps a friend?

Auntie Lin smiled but didn’t take the gift box. “Why bring gifts? There’s no need, no need. Come in quickly, it’s cold outside.”

Lin Li pressed her lips together, refraining from saying, “She’s my sister,” and instead led Wen Jingzhi across the threshold.

Auntie Lin guided the two into the house. Warm air rushed over them, fogging up the lenses of their glasses. Wen Jingzhi set the gift box on the table, pulled Lin Li closer, reached up to remove her foggy glasses, and took a portable tissue from her coat pocket. She pulled out a sheet and began wiping the lenses.

Lin Li squinted, gazing at Wen Jingzhi, a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

Auntie Lin scratched her head, feeling there was something odd about the two. “Will you stay for dinner?”

“No, Auntie,” Lin Li replied, turning to her. Just then, her vision dimmed as Wen Jingzhi stepped in front of her, lowering her head to place the cleaned glasses back on her nose. Her fingertips brushed unintentionally against Lin Li’s ear, lightly grazing her earring.

Lin Li pressed her lips together and gently pushed her away, smiling at Auntie Lin. “I just came to see you, to thank you for helping me back then.”

“Oh, you child, you’re too polite!” Auntie Lin noticed the gift box on the table, picked it up, and tried to stuff it into Lin Li’s arms, but Lin Li dodged. Wen Jingzhi reached out to block her. Though her expression was cold, it wasn’t unfriendly. “Please keep it.”

Seeing she couldn’t refuse, Auntie Lin sighed helplessly. “You silly child.”

“Wait here for a moment then. I have some of your favorite pancakes steaming in the pot. I’ll pack a few for you.” Auntie Lin set the gift box aside and turned to head into the kitchen.

“Sit for a while,” Wen Jingzhi said, guiding Lin Li to a stool before stepping out of the room.

Lin Li watched her figure disappear through the doorway, tilting her head in puzzlement.

On the old-fashioned stove burning with wood sat a large iron wok, with golden-brown pancakes sizzling along its edges. Aunt Lin glanced at them they would be ready in a moment and fetched a clean cloth bag, standing by the stove to wait.

Suddenly, the wooden door was pushed open, and in walked a woman as beautiful as a celestial being. Aunt Lin glanced at the slightly grimy stove, let out an awkward chuckle, and opened her mouth, momentarily unable to recall the woman’s name.

“Aunt Lin,” Wen Jingzhi approached naturally, steadying a nearby pile of precariously stacked firewood as she did so. She nodded politely and spoke softly, “I apologize for the intrusion.”

“I wanted to ask you about the help you gave Lin Li. What exactly happened?”

Aunt Lin was taken aback, not so much by the intrusion but by the fact that this ethereal woman, who seemed like a goddess, was humbling herself before an uneducated rural woman like her.

It was surprising.

It seemed this “celestial being” cared deeply about that child, Lin Li.

“It wasn’t anything major,” Aunt Lin said, wiping her oily hands with a nearby cloth, still feeling a bit flustered. “Back when Lin Li’s grandmother passed away, the child had no money, so I helped handle the funeral arrangements.”

Recalling those days, Aunt Lin sighed with emotion. “It was so cold back then. Before her grandmother passed, she’d left instructions on how to handle the funeral, but how old was Lin Li then? Five or six?”

“Our village was poor, and the child’s diet was meager. She was as thin as a twig, with no strength to help an adult change into burial clothes, let alone handle funeral matters.”

“She couldn’t even lift the body of the deceased.”

Aunt Lin sighed again. “She had no choice but to come to me.”

“People in the village tend to be wary of outsiders. I figured she and her grandmother were alone, so I’d help when I could. The child was sensible, she didn’t ask anyone else, just me.”

She glanced at the pancakes in the wok and thought for a moment. “It was a winter night, very late. I don’t remember the exact time, but I remember it was snowing heavily, and I was already asleep.”

“Then I heard banging on the door and the jingling of a bell. I woke up and opened the door.” Aunt Lin recalled the scene and let out a long sigh. “I saw that skinny little child, holding a wooden box, covered in a layer of snow, kneeling straight and rigid in front of my door.”

“In the box were some wooden toys and an old watch.”

“She had no money, so she offered these as payment, begging me to help her.”

Thud! A split log rolled down from the top of the pile and fell to the ground.

Aunt Lin looked at the woman steadying the woodpile and froze.

Wen Jingzhi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry,” she said, bending down to pick up the log and placing it back on the pile. Straightening up, she said, “Please continue.”

Aunt Lin hesitated, studying her for a moment before continuing. “How could I take her things? I told her to keep them and followed her home to help change her grandmother into burial clothes.”

“There was no funeral. I just helped contact the town crematorium, accompanied her through the procedures, and went with her to collect her grandmother’s ashes.”

“One day, when I opened my door, I saw that box of things placed in front of my house, but she was nowhere to be seen. After that, I never saw her again.”

Aunt Lin smiled. “Now that I see she’s grown up healthy and strong, she must have found a good family. I’m happy for her.”

Healthy and strong?

Wen Jingzhi gave a faint, pained smile, her heart aching. “Thank you.”

“Hey, anyone would lend a hand in this situation,” Aunt Lin waved dismissively. “Even if you weren’t on good terms, how could anyone be heartless enough to ignore such a young child kneeling at your door?”

“Oh, right!” Aunt Lin suddenly hurried out. “Wait a moment!”

Soon, she returned carrying a small wooden box and handed it to Wen Jingzhi. “I’ve kept this all these years, thinking if the child ever came back, I’d return it to her.”

“I noticed there are things inside that Grandma Lin made herself such skilled craftsmanship. It’s a keepsake, isn’t it? It’s no use sitting with me.”

Wen Jingzhi didn’t hesitate. She took the box, but when she tried to speak, her throat felt tight and sore, as if something were stuck. She took a breath, suppressing the ache. “Thank you.”

Aunt Lin waved her off and moved to the stove. “Hey, they’re ready!”

She deftly picked up four pancakes, placed them in a bag, and handed it to Wen Jingzhi, who accepted it with another word of thanks. Aunt Lin chuckled. “When I first saw you, I was a bit intimidated. City folks really have that refined air about them.”

“But now, you remind me a lot of that child, Lin Li.”

“Why so polite? They’re just a few pancakes nothing valuable.”

Wen Jingzhi was slightly taken aback but smiled faintly.

Like her?

No, she wasn’t that good.

Back in the living room, Lin Li stood up immediately when she saw them enter. Spotting the box in Wen Jingzhi’s arms, she froze.

Noticing her gaze, Aunt Lin smiled. “You’re such a stubborn child. I told you I didn’t want it, but you still brought it over before you left.”

“I’ve kept it safe for you not a single thing missing. Take it back, wash it, and it’ll be as good as new.”

Lin Li’s eyes reddened. “Thank you, Auntie.”

Aunt Lin waved her hand. “I packed two pancakes for each of you. It’s not good to eat too many of these. Come back anytime you want more.”

“Okay.” Lin Li walked over and stood beside Wen Jingzhi. After thanking Aunt Lin once more earnestly, she followed her sister out.

They walked in silence, leaving the village and stepping onto the narrow path. Suddenly, Lin Li stopped. Wen Jingzhi took two more steps before realizing something was wrong and paused, about to turn around when a soft warmth pressed against her back.

She froze, lowering her gaze in silence.

Lin Li clung to her back, arms wrapped tightly around her waist, burying her face in Wen Jingzhi’s shoulder as she fought back tears.

She missed, missed, missed her grandmother so much.

Wen Jingzhi closed her eyes, raising her free left hand to cover the hands clasped around her waist, holding them tightly.

In her right hand, she carried the wooden box, a bag of steaming pancakes dangling from her fingers. The cold wind quickly stole their warmth.

After a long moment, Wen Jingzhi spoke softly, “Let’s go home first.”

“Mm.” Lin Li held back her tears, though her eyelashes were damp. She released her hold and stepped to Wen Jingzhi’s side. Wen Jingzhi switched the items to her other hand and took Lin Li’s hand with her right.

They walked slowly toward the small cabin on the snow-covered mountain.

Down below, at the village entrance.

A motorhome was parked on the main road. The bodyguard Wen Jingzhi had brought stepped out, pulled on a down jacket, and waited at the crossroads. Soon, an SUV pulled up and parked behind.

The door opened, and Wen Xihe, clad in thick mountaineering gear, jumped out without a moment’s delay. “Lead the way.”

The bodyguard immediately guided Wen Xihe up the mountain.

After navigating the winding paths, when only a straight stretch remained, Wen Xihe thought of Lin Li’s situation and waved the bodyguard off. “You can go back and wait.”

The bodyguard acknowledged and turned to leave.

Wen Xihe gazed at the thick blanket of snow on the mountain, let out a sigh, and began to trudge forward.

After nearly half an hour of climbing, she finally reached the front of the cabin.

The security door, starkly out of place with the rest of the exterior, was tightly shut. She stepped up and knocked, but there was no response.

Had they gone out?

Wen Xihe gritted her teeth, pulled out her phone, and called Wen Jingzhi. Still, no one answered, and no ringtone could be heard from inside the house.

Were they really out?

Standing in the snow, Wen Xihe felt a moment of confusion. Suddenly, from just beyond the wall, strange sounds emerged from inside the house like soft, wet smacking noises, or a woman’s muffled, throaty moans.

Frowning, she glanced around and spotted a wooden-framed glass window about two meters to her left. She trudged through the snow toward it.

The interior was warm. On the cabinet in the entryway sat a wooden box, next to a pancake that had long gone cold. Not far away, on a cotton sofa by the window, lay a girl with slightly disheveled hair. Her head was tilted back against the sofa, her face upturned as she received the woman’s fierce, wave-like kisses above her.

Wen Jingzhi knelt on the sofa with one knee, her right hand braced against the backrest, her left hand hooked around Lin Li’s waist, pressing her down into the cushions as she kissed her with a frantic, almost savage intensity.

It was as if she were venting the dull, throbbing ache in her heart or as if the pain had become unbearable, driving her to desperately “devour” the only antidote.

Her tongue swept forcefully across the roof of Lin Li’s mouth, lingering at the seam of her lips. Suppressing her ragged breaths, she withdrew her hand, her thumb pressing against the damp corner of Lin Li’s eye, her gaze profound and intense.

Suddenly, sensing something, she lifted her eyelids.

Her cold eyes, hazy with desire, met through the glass with a pair of trembling, startled peach-blossom eyes outside the window.

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