Footsteps

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Returning to home, the two went back to their own rooms after passing the medicine they bought to Wang Ma.

Yang Chen went back to his bedroom and suddenly noticed that outside the giant floor-to-ceiling window, snowflakes fell like the feathers of a swan.

Although snowfalls weren’t often seen in the major city Zhonghai, it wasn’t very rare either. Since it was close to the ocean, the sudden drop in temperature made the water vapor condense very quickly.

“It’s almost negative seven to eight degrees already,” Yang Chen murmured. As it was midnight, the temperature indeed got really low.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Yang Chen took his phone out and noticed it was a call from Mo Qianni.

This woman had always been really independent. She wouldn’t call him just to flirt, something definitely happened.

“Dear, have you seen it yet?”

“What?”

“The snow.”

“Are you excited?”

“No, I just feel lost,” Mo Qianni replied.

“Why?” Yang Chen asked smilingly.

Mo Qianni stayed quiet for a while. “Because it started snowing, meaning it really got very cold.”

Her words brought dense loneliness, making Yang Chen feel rather desolate.

“I’ll come over now to keep you company,” Yang Chen said.

Since Mo Qianni lived in a small apartment alone, she’d definitely feel empty and lonely, especially at times like this, a night where snow fell in the woods.

“Don’t come over, I want to sleep already. I’m not a little girl anymore, I’m not that immature and fragile,” Mo Qianni said with a smile.

“Ah… what should I do then? My Little Qianqian always wields the attitude of a strong woman towards me. When do I have to wait until the day where I can finally hug you to sleep?” Yang Chen asked jokingly.

“Humph.” Mo Qianni said, “That must be your main goal to come here.”

“Hehe…” Yang Chen chuckled and remained silent.

After a while, Mo Qianni asked, “Yang Chen, are you free on Friday after work?”

“Why?”

“I want you to attend an event with me,” Mo Qianni said.

Yang Chen smiled bitterly and said, “It’s the banquet by Liu family.”

“How do you know that?” Mo Qianni asked in surprise.

“Because Ruoxi said she wanted to bring me there,” Yang Chen replied.

Mo Qianni sighed over the phone. “Ruoxi would never attend events like this in the past. Apparently, she’s doing it for you.”

“Yeah, she would do stuff like this occasionally. I can’t help but to feel she’s contradictory,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

“Knowing that her husband is cheating, she still managed to do something at this level. Do you think it’s something an ordinary girl can pull off?” Mo Qianni asked.

“That’s why I said she’s contradictory.”

Softly, Mo Qianni said, “Then I guess I won’t go. It’d be awkward having no one with me.”

Listening to how depressing Mo Qianni talked, Yang Chen felt a heartache. Staring at the sky as dark as ink and the silver-white snow, he said, “Dear, the city will be covered in snow tomorrow.”

“Mmh… What is it?”

“Although I can’t go with you on Friday, let’s go on a date tomorrow. Treat it as a gift to make up for my fault, by mistreating you,” Yang Chen said.

Mo Qianni laughed. She asked, “Do you really think you’re an emperor or a casanova?”

“Go with me, I beg you,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

“Erm… alright. The magnificent me will barely accept your request then, but I’ll decide on the location,” Mo Qianni replied.

Thinking of the strange places he had visited with Mo Qianni, Yang Chen got nervous but still agreed to her. “We’ll have lunch together tomorrow and depart right after, regardless of where we’re going.”

The next morning, the entire Zhonghai was indeed covered in snow. Upon stepping out of the house, the blowing cold wind made Yang Chen feel that winter truly came.

Yang Chen wore a blue turtleneck sweater and a black overcoat, with a knitted scarf wrapped around his neck. Although he didn’t feel cold at all, he had to appear ordinary when he went out.

After buying breakfast from the morning market and visiting the public relations department in the company, Yang Chen noticed that a number of employees were late to work. Evidently, the heavy snowfall brought inconvenience to transportation.

Coming out of the public relations department, Yang Chen went directly to the opposite building, Yu Lei Entertainment.

Although he didn’t have to do any meaningful work, he still needed to pay attention to what had been happening to the operations of the company, so that he wouldn’t disappoint Zhao Teng and Wang Jie too much.

Upon entering Wang Jie’s office, Yang Chen saw her happily ending a phone call. Seeing that Yang Chen came in, Wang Jie immediately stood up. Enthusiastically, she said, “Director, the company that you mentioned would invest in us has confirmed that they’re discussing the partnership in details with us tomorrow. It is expected that they fork out more than a hundred million of funding. I really didn’t expect such an unknown company that has this impressive financial capability to exist in Zhonghai.”

Yang Chen smiled. It was definitely a company newly acquired by Rose. Her effectiveness was a bit too high.

“Since the road has been paved, I won’t involve myself in the journey already,” Yang Chen said with a smile.

“This is a very respectable result already. Since our company is newly set up, we won’t be able to borrow a hundred million from the bank,” Wang Jie said excitedly.

After talking to Wang Jie regarding the future partnership plans of the company, Yang Chen left the company during lunchtime.

Having made a phone call to Mo Qianni, Yang Chen drove to the roadside of Yu Lei International, ready to pick her up.

Mo Qianni’s hair wasn’t tied, but was neatly combed to one side. Wearing a brown windbreaker with an orange-red, low-collared sweater within, her alluring body still looked extremely attractive despite her winter clothing.

It was Yang Chen’s first time seeing Mo Qianni dressed in winter clothing. He couldn’t help but to look a bit longer.

Mo Qianni got rather pleased. “Is my clothing beautiful?”

“No, it isn’t. Your person is,” Yang Chen answered.

Mo Qianni covered her mouth as she smiled. “How sweet, I’ll give you a reward.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she leaned forward and gave Yang Chen on his face.

Yang Chen seized the opportunity to counter-kiss once, making her pout in dissatisfaction. “Where should we eat?” he asked.

“I’ll lead, just drive.” Mo Qianni didn’t reveal the location.

Yang Chen pouted as he thought, It must be a weird place again.

Under Mo Qianni’s command, Yang Chen drove for over half an hour. Driving out of Zhonghai’s city area, he continued for another forty minutes. After passing a very long highway, they arrived at a coastal, mountainous area in the north of Zhonghai.

Astonished, Yang Chen saw endless agricultural lands on both sides of the highway. At this moment, they were covered in snow, making them look extraordinarily reflective under the shine of the sun.

Under Mo Qianni’s guidance, Yang Chen drove to a small farm stay.

It was a specialty restaurant founded by a local farmer. Bored citizens in the city would come and dine at a place like this at the countryside. Not only was the environment quiet, the food often tasted more pure and original.

Looking at the rows of houses built using bamboo, the place had a featured hotel in addition to the restaurant. The parking area was rather sparse. Since it was a working day, there weren’t many people there.

Curious, Yang Chen asked Mo Qianni, “How do you know this place?”

“When I was bored alone, I would drive around without destination to help my loneliness. So I discovered this place,” Mo Qianni replied with a smile.

Looking at Mo Qianni who looked like a flower when she smiled, Yang Chen thought, She should be really happy, now that she didn’t come here alone today.

The dishes from the restaurant weren’t particularly fancy, but were all satisfying. Yang Chen and Mo Qianni didn’t consume any alcohol. Ordering four dishes and a soup, they sat in a small and warm private room as they ate the freshly cooked, hot lunch.

After they finished eating, Yang Chen asked, “Where do we go in the afternoon?”

Mo Qianni pointed at the hills outside the window. Through the white fog, the blocks of hills yielded a strong ambience of nature.

“Are we going for hiking?”

Mo Qianni nodded. “Yeah, back then when I came here, the farmers said that you could see the ocean from the hills. However, I’d always been afraid being alone, so I thought of coming here today.”

Yang Chen smiled. “Is there something that even you’re afraid of?”

“Do you have a problem with that?” Mo Qianni rolled her eyes. “Or do you hope that I’m not afraid of even heaven and hell, being a feminist?”

“Erm… My dear Little Qianqian, let’s go hiking,” Yang Chen said as he stood up immediately.

Since it was only a hilly land and not a true mountain, the path towards the peak wasn’t very steep. Although there wasn’t a properly built walkway, a small, meandering route was created as a result of frequent visits by the locals.

As a result of dying leaves, the lush trees made the forest look rather empty. However, the pine trees which looked green on all four seasons still displayed vitality.

Walking on the stumbling road, the friction between the shoes and the ground produced clacking sounds due to the accumulated snow.

Yang Chen walked in front. He would look back occasionally. Mo Qianni followed him tightly. Her walking speed wasn’t slow at all.

Mo Qianni pushed her messy hair to the side. Exhaling white fog, she said, “Yang Chen, I like this sound a lot.”

“What sound?” Yang Chen asked.

“Your footsteps and my footsteps, the sound they produced every time they rub the snowy ground,” Mo Qianni replied.

Yang Chen smiled. He said, “What’s so special about it?”

“In such a cold weather, at such a quiet hill, this place feels isolated from the world. Except the sound of my footsteps, there’s one created by another person. I can listen to that person’s footsteps while I follow behind, with my head lowered,” Mo Qianni said as she smiled faintly.

Yang Chen stopped walking. Turning around, he gazed at the lady who bloomed like a flower, who stood on the ground covered by snow.

“You went to my hometown before. There are hilly roads everywhere in Kunshan Village. When I walked on the snowy paths back then, I could only hear my footsteps resounding beside my ears. I was really afraid at that moment. No matter how I tried to breathe using my little mouth, I could only hear my own breaths, even the sound of my heartbeats… I felt like I was the only one left in the entire world,” Mo Qianni said before smiling, “It’s all good now. I can finally hear someone else’s footsteps.”

“Stupid.” Yang Chen looked at her as he felt empathetic. “Let’s keep moving before the sky gets dark. Thinking about it all day doesn’t help.”

Mo Qianni wrinkled her precious nose before quickly keeping up with Yang Chen.

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