Early the next morning, Dai Chukong brought a thick down jacket to the hospital.
When she arrived, Qi Bufan had already changed his clothes. He had taken off his hospital gown and was wearing his own clothes. He was standing by the sink by the window and washing his hands.
The man bent down slightly, his side facing the door. As soon as Dai Chukong entered, she took in the man’s profile. Qi Bufan was wearing a black round-collared sweater with a white shirt inside. His coat and pants were black, tough training clothes.
Qi Bufan looked especially handsome and mighty in his military uniform.
Dai Chukong was stunned for a moment.
When Qi Bufan heard the commotion, he turned his head and met Dai Chukong’s gaze. He smiled at her and said, “You’re here?”
Dai Chukong came back to her senses and pointed at the down jacket in Qi Bufan’s hand. She asked, “It’s cold over there. I brought a down jacket to keep warm.”
“Okay.”
The duo did not bring much luggage to Shen City.
Dai Chukong only carried a small suitcase that contained their down jacket, underwear, and her laptop. They took a plane from Binjiang Airport to Shen Chen.
When they reached Shen Cheng, the overwhelming cold enveloped the duo, making them shiver.
Qi Bufan was a little better. When he was in the army, he had been to places that were colder than Shen Cheng. However, Dai Chukong was different. Although she had been born in Shen Cheng since she was young, she had left for too many years and was used to the winter in the south. When she suddenly came to Shen Cheng, she actually felt strange and cold.
“Where did you book the hotel?” Qi Bufan asked Dai Chukong.
Dai Chukong told him the name of the hotel.
The duo found a taxi and reported the name of the hotel. Then, they turned to look out of the window and admired the winter scenery of Shen City. Winter in Shen City was always covered in snow. Ice sculptures of various shapes and sizes could be seen everywhere on the street.
There was an ice sculpture of a fairy descending to the mortal world at the entrance of the hotel they were staying in. Qi Bufan stood at the entrance of the hotel and stared at the ice sculpture for a long time. Dai Chukong also looked at the ice sculpture and asked Qi Bufan, “Isn’t she beautiful?”
Qi Bufan said, “I haven’t seen an ice sculpture in many years. I just miss it a little.”
He had only been here twice. The first time was to pick Dai Chukong up, and the second time was to send her to his side. Qi Bufan turned to look at the girl beside him, his heart full of grief.
If she knew why he had brought her to Shen City, would she still be smiling so innocently and wantonly?
Qi Bufan did not dare to think too deeply.
When he entered the hotel lobby to register, Qi Bufan realized that Dai Chukong had only booked one room. It was a standard double room. There was one room, and two beds.
When he heard this news, Qi Bufan was a little stunned.
Dai Chukong stole a look at Qi Bufan. Her expression was very awkward, like a child who had done something wrong. However, even though she knew that this was wrong, she still did not hesitate.
When he met Dai Chukong’s timid and stubborn eyes, Qi Bufan felt a little helpless.
What was the point?
“The room is quite expensive. I thought it would be more cost-effective to stay in a double room,” Dai Chukong explained.
This explanation was really forceful.
Before Qi Bufan could react, Dai Chukong spoke first. “If you mind, we can add another room.”
“Forget it.” Qi Bufan actually agreed.
Dai Chukong thought she had heard wrongly. Suspicious, she asked again, “Are you sure?”
“It’s all booked. There’s no need to add more.”
“Okay!”
When the two of them took the elevator upstairs, they did not speak. Dai Chukong was a little nervous. She did not know what Qi Bufan’s tacit consent meant, but it was enough to make her imagination run wild.
The room was very big. There were two 1.2-meter-long beds, white bedsheets, and a thick beige carpet. There was a landline on the left bedside table, a leather letter book on the middle bedside table, and rows of sex toys on the right bedside table.
While Qi Bufan was in the washroom, Dai Chukong quickly put away all the sex toys on the cabinet and threw them into the drawer.
After Qi Bufan came out, he took off his training coat and put on a down jacket. He said to Dai Chukong, “Let’s go and eat first. You can accompany me to that place tomorrow.”
When they arrived at the hotel, it was already two o’clock. There was no longer any lunch in the hotel. They left the hotel and turned left. After walking for more than 200 meters, they found a restaurant with special northeastern dishes and had a good meal.
Qi Bufan’s body had not recovered, so he ate light vegetarian food. Dai Chukong ate two bowls of rice.
When he returned to his room, Qi Bufan was a little tired and slept for a while.
Dai Chukong was writing on the sofa with her laptop. Qi Bufan fell asleep with the sound of her typing.
When he woke up, it was almost dark.
Qi Bufan led Dai Chukong to dinner again. After dinner, Qi Bufan ignored Dai Chukong’s objections and did not return to his room to rest. Instead, he brought Dai Chukong to stroll around Shen Cheng.
At night, Shen Cheng was even more beautiful and dreamy.
Every ice sculpture emitted a different color of light. It was like a happy dream. Qi Bufan stood in front of the ice sculpture exhibition and said to Dai Chukong, “This is a very interesting city.”
Dai Chukong nodded in agreement.
“Have you thought about this city all these years?”
Dai Chukong thought for a while before saying, “When I first went south, I did think about it, especially in winter. Later, I stopped thinking about it.” The city she thought about the most was Binjiang City, and the person she missed the most was Qi Bufan.
The Shen Cheng who had once haunted her dreams was almost forgotten by her.
“It’s been hard on you,” Qi Bufan said.
Dai Chukong shook her head and said, “No.”
It was past 9:30pm when the duo returned to the hotel. Qi Bufan took a shower and avoided his wound. He changed into a shirt and lay on the bed to play with his phone. The room with the heater on was not cold.
Dai Chukong took a shower and came out wearing a set of long-sleeved pajamas.
Dai Chukong got on her bed. She faced Qi Bufan’s bed, but Qi Bufan was lying flat on his back, facing the ceiling. From Dai Chukong’s position, she could see Qi Bufan’s side profile.
She had always known that Qi Bufan was very good-looking and would never get tired of looking at him.
Qi Bufan put down his phone and closed his eyes. Dai Chukong thought that Qi Bufan was going to sleep, but she heard him say, “How many years have we lived together?”
Dai Chukong was stunned. “You’re not asleep?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“Me too.”
Dai Chukong did not think about it and said, “12 or 13 years.”
“Quite a long time.”
“Yes.”
Dai Chukong said, “I’m very lucky to have met you.”
The corners of Qi Bufan’s lips curled up slightly as he said, “Me too.” Meeting you is probably the biggest blessing in my life. He slowly turned around and faced Dai Chukong.
