There was no sound outside the door, nor any movement.

Since arriving here, he had been busy during the day and often unable to sleep through the night. Even meditation was useless. His health had deteriorated somewhat, and in recent days he had begun coughing again, but his hearing remained as acute as ever.

Just now, as he turned to pour water, he had heard the creaking sound of someone stepping on the accumulated snow outside his door and window.

Although this sound was very soft and extremely brief, it came clearly to his ears.

Pei You’an couldn’t imagine who would come looking for him at this forage yard on this snowy deep night, in the wilderness of this frontier city, at the end of the year.

He recalled the small white wolf that had sneaked in to steal food some days ago and was caught in a trap set by Old Ding, injuring its foot. Later, he treated its injured foot, fed it, and then released it. But in such cold, with nowhere to find food, the little creature, regardless of life or death, might have returned.

Perhaps that sound of treading on snow had come from it.

Pei You’an coughed as he walked to the door and opened it. A gust of fierce wind carrying snowflakes rushed in to meet him.

He looked left and right.

A petite female figure appeared in his view. She was covered in ice and snow, standing by the window, motionless, like a delicately crafted snowman.

Snowflakes danced above her head, each one clinging to her hair. She gazed at him, tears silently rolling down her frozen, reddened cheeks.

Pei You’an’s gaze lingered on the woman’s face for a breath.

“Fuer!”

He exclaimed in shock.

Unmoved even if a mountain collapsed before him—in his more than twenty years, he had never been as shocked as at this moment, to the point of losing his composure. For an instant, he even thought he was in a dream, unable to believe what he was seeing. His figure froze.

“Big Cousin, I’ve come to find you.”

Jiafu choked, her voice trembling.

She could no longer hold back. For more than half a year, since the day he left Quanzhou, all the worry, longing, anticipation, grievance, and anger that had accumulated in her heart, at the moment of seeing him, all transformed into tears and this one call of “Big Cousin.” Then she began to sob, tears falling like pearls.

Pei You’an stepped before her, reached out his arms and embraced her, tightening his arms with such force it almost broke her slender body.

“Fuer! Fuer!”

He couldn’t say anything else, just held her tightly, repeating her name over and over.

A gust of strong wind blew, slamming the wooden door against the wall with a loud bang.

The body in his arms was ice-cold, shivering. Pei You’an touched her hand, startled, and his mind immediately cleared. He lifted her in his arms, carried her inside, and placed her on his bed. He took off her outer cloak and boots, which were half-soaked from the ice and snow, pulled over the quilt to wrap her body, and told her to lie down. Then he closed the door and first added charcoal to the stove.

As he busied himself, a pair of arms suddenly inserted themselves from behind around his waist, tightly embracing his abdomen.

Jiafu slid down from the bed and hugged him from behind, pressing her face against his back.

“Big Cousin…”

She called him softly, her voice still carrying a slightly sweet nasal tone from crying, filled with affection and satisfaction.

Pei You’an paused, turned around, embraced her again, and carried her back to the bed. This time, he also lay down with her.

That old wooden bed, almost falling apart, suddenly bearing the weight of two people, let out a slight creaking sound from its legs.

He used his palms to caress her ice-cold cheeks, still stained with tears, rubbed her cold hands warm, then touched her feet, using his body heat to warm them.

“Fuer, you silly girl, how did you suddenly come to such a place…”

His tone carried a hint of reproach as he looked at her. Seeing her gazing back at him with tear-misted eyes, he stopped. The two stared at each other, and for a long while, neither spoke again.

The room was extremely quiet. The dim light of the bean oil lamp flickered slightly. Only the howling of the northern wind sweeping across the wilderness could be heard. The fire in the stove grew stronger, slowly warming the room, just like her body temperature.

Pei You’an’s face gradually pressed down toward hers.

Jiafu’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly closed her eyes. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, he held back.

“Big Cousin, don’t you want to kiss Fuer?”

Jiafu opened her eyes and murmured, her slightly tearful gaze showing disappointment.

A faint blush spread across Pei You’an’s pale face. He shook his head and said softly: “I want to kiss you. But I’ve been coughing these past few days. Wait a little longer. In a couple of days when I’m better, I’ll kiss you…”

Jiafu wrapped one arm around his neck and pressed the other against his back.

Perhaps because he had been ill these days, he truly had no strength. With Jiafu pressing him down, he fell softly onto the bed, without any power to resist.

Jiafu pounced on him like a small beast, kneeling beside him, pressing on his face, kissing him, biting him. He winced in pain, trying to escape her sharp little teeth. Jiafu was laughing at first, with a hint of small triumph, but gradually stopped. She laid her face on his chest, where his collar had been pulled open, with the back of her head facing him, silently weeping to herself.

Pei You’an remained motionless, closing his eyes for a moment, then suddenly opened them. With a turn of his body, he pressed her beneath him, gazing at her without a word, then thrust into her.

Jiafu woke up the next day. The snow had stopped, and the sun had risen. Golden rays of light filtered through the cracks in the wooden door and windows. The room was so quiet it felt like falling into a dream.

Pei You’an had probably been truly exhausted last night, almost collapsing from weakness. Now, regardless of what time it was, he was still in deep sleep, not yet awake.

He faced her, eyes closed, one arm around her waist, his breath gently falling on her forehead.

Warm and reassuring.