Chapter 75: A Snowy Night’s Embrace

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: A Snowy Night’s Embrace

Lin Zhengran answered his mom’s call. Han Wenwen saw who was calling, too.

Lin Zhengran: "Hey, Mom? What’s wrong?"

Lin Xiaoli’s voice was frantic, and he could hear her sobbing. "Ranran, can you come to the hospital? Something happened to your father. I’ll send you the address."

"What?" Lin Zhengran shot to his feet in surprise. "The hospital? Is it serious?!"

Han Wenwen stopped folding the dumplings.

Lin Xiaoli said through her sobs, "Don’t worry, don’t worry. I heard the doctor say it’s probably not too serious. I think he just fell and hurt his leg."

"Then why are you crying so hard?"

"I was just so scared! The moment I heard the hospital call, I couldn’t stop crying."

Lin Zhengran let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, I’m on my way."

Because of the urgency in his voice, Han Wenwen hadn’t heard the whole conversation, only that something seemed to have happened to his father.

Her heart skipped a beat. "What’s wrong, Zhengran?"

Lin Zhengran went to the bathroom to wash his hands and grab his jacket. "Wenwen, I have to go to the hospital. I think my dad’s hurt. You can keep working on the dumplings and the other food."

"Your dad’s hurt?" Han Wenwen started for the bathroom to wash her hands and get her coat. "Let me go with you. I want to see how he’s doing."

Lin Zhengran stopped her. "You don’t have to. Just wait here. If it’s nothing serious, I’ll be back."

Seeing that he didn’t want her to come, the perceptive Little Fox knew not to press the issue, or she’d just annoy him. She stood at the door. "Then be careful on your way."

"Okay, I’m off."

Han Wenwen watched Lin Zhengran’s retreating figure. For a fleeting moment, she was reminded of the day her mother left when she was a child.

Her mother had also taken a call, left in a hurry, and never came back.

The overlapping memories made her subconsciously reach out and call, "Zhengran..."

Hearing her voice, Lin Zhengran turned to look back at her. Their eyes met. Seeing her hand hovering in the air, he smiled. "It’s okay. I’ll be back soon." With that, he headed downstairs.

Han Wenwen’s foxy eyes trembled slightly as she slowly lowered her hand.

After heading downstairs, Lin Zhengran hailed a taxi and went straight to the hospital address his mother, Lin Xiaoli, had sent him.

He felt calm enough in the taxi, but when he rushed into the hospital and heard his mother’s cries from the doorway, a sudden panic seized him.

But then he saw his dad, lying on the hospital bed and CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCHING on an apple.

Lin Zhengran froze, staring at them speechlessly.

In the hospital room, Lin Yingjun had one foot wrapped in a bandage, but otherwise seemed perfectly fine. His mother, however, was a wreck, sobbing in her husband’s arms.

"You scared me to death! I thought I’d never see you again."

Lin Yingjun, chewing on his apple, was clearly used to his timid wife. He let out a hearty laugh, as if to comfort both her and his newly arrived son.

"It’s fine, what’s all the crying about? The roads are slippery in the winter, and someone T-boned my car. It’s just a small leg injury. Nothing to be afraid of."

Listening to his father’s booming laughter and his mother’s loud wails, Lin Zhengran finally relaxed completely.

Lin Zhengran asked, "Dad, are the test results back yet?"

Lin Yingjun answered, "Should be soon. I’m done with all of them, anyway."

Just then, a nurse walked in, and Lin Zhengran hurried to ask her if everything was okay.

The nurse said, "You’re the family for bed three, correct? The patient’s test results just came in. He has a fractured right pinky toe, but everything else is fine. He’s very healthy."

The nurse looked at the three of them.

"Of course, I’d recommend you wait until this afternoon to be discharged. If he’s still feeling fine by then, you can complete the discharge paperwork. He’ll need to rest the fracture at home and come in for regular check-ups, but it should heal quickly. By the way... why is this lady crying so much?"

Lin Xiaoli wiped her tears, her face tear-streaked. "I was just worried."

The nurse chuckled. "There’s no need to worry. We did a very thorough examination; there are no internal injuries. Would you like to see the report?"

Lin Zhengran nodded. The nurse handed him the chart, and a quick glance confirmed that it was nothing serious.

He’d gotten lucky.

Lin Zhengran walked to the bedside. "As long as you’re okay."

His dad, still hugging his mom, even took another bite of his apple. "There, there, it’s fine, it’s fine. Crying this hard is a bit much, don’t you think?"

A message popped up on his phone from Han Wenwen. "How is your dad?"

He saw it and replied, "He’s fine. Don’t worry."

Because of his dad’s injury, Lin Zhengran stayed with him until the afternoon, when the doctor confirmed he could be discharged. Only then did he head home.

He helped his mom get the New Year’s Eve dinner ready.

By the time his mom was cooking at home, her mood had improved considerably. His dad came hopping into the kitchen on one foot. "Need any help?"

It gave Lin Xiaoli a fright. "Go sit down! Go on, sit down and rest! You’ll give me a heart attack!"

His dad laughed again. But with Lin Zhengran there to help, Lin Yingjun went to the sofa to watch TV, helping out by prepping some vegetables at most.

Lin Xiaoli asked, "Oh, by the way, Ranran, are you still going out tonight after dinner?"

Lin Zhengran was helping his mom with the soup. "Yeah, I made plans with a classmate." As he spoke, he glanced out the window in surprise. "Oh, it’s snowing. And it’s coming down pretty hard."

「Meanwhile, that afternoon」

Snow was falling heavily outside the window. Han Wenwen, alone in the apartment, had long since finished making the dumplings. The chicken soup was BUBBLING on the stove.

But the chicken, which would normally make her mouth water, held no appeal for her right now.

She kept glancing out the window.

She stared at the message Lin Zhengran had sent her at noon. Anyone else would have been reassured by it.

But Han Wenwen couldn’t help but connect it to her childhood.

It had been a winter just like this one. A young Han Wenwen had sat at home, a table full of food before her, quietly waiting for her mother, who had left after a phone call, to return. But she waited until nightfall, and then until the next morning, and her mother never came back.

Now, in her apartment, the chicken soup was done, the other dishes were ready, and the dumplings were just waiting to be boiled. It was already four or five o’clock, and the winter sky was growing dark.

Clutching her phone, Han Wenwen went to the window to look outside for what felt like the hundredth time.

Finally, feeling the view from the window was too limited, she put on her overcoat, wrapped a scarf around her neck, and went downstairs.

She stepped onto the thin layer of snow covering the ground and gazed at the nearly deserted intersection.

In the houses all around, families were already gathered together.

The scene wasn’t so different from the one a decade ago. Han Wenwen’s anxious heart followed her gaze as she stared into the distance, toward the dark, faraway intersection.

As a child, she had waited until the next day, but nothing had come of it. But now... at the far end of the intersection...

Lin Zhengran’s figure slowly came into view, and Han Wenwen’s eyes lit up.

Lin Zhengran, hurrying from his parents’ house, naturally saw her from a distance as well. He watched her walk slowly toward him and asked, curious, "Han Wenwen? What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

The Little Fox quickened her pace, taking two steps for every one, until she was running, and then she threw herself into Lin Zhengran’s arms.

She held him tightly.