Perhaps because of that message before bed, Xu Yanxia dreamed of her long-lost father that night.
In the dream, her father was still young. He had made money driving big trucks and brought home new toys for her and her brother, and even hand-crafted a small wooden cradle for her.
It seemed to be summer in the dream. The bright sunlight was a bit dazzling, making people feel warm all over.
But Xu Yanxia was very happy. She lay in the small cradle, letting her father gently rock her as he softly called her "baby."
The little her giggled happily until she woke up from the dream.
"Baby,"
She opened her eyes and, in the dim light, saw her husband, Lu Jingming, smiling and calling her, "It's snowing!"
It's snowing?
Xu Yanxia was dazed for a few seconds before looking out the window. Sure enough, she could vaguely see a vast expanse of white outside, with snowflakes dancing in the air.
"What time is it?"
She asked lazily, wondering why it felt so early.
But Lu Jingming replied, "It's six o'clock, time to get up! Come on, let's go out and play in the snow, or it'll stop soon."
Six o'clock?
Xu Yanxia was a bit surprised and couldn't help but laugh. "Don't tell me you set an alarm to get up and watch the snow? It's so early!!!"
Lu Jingming nodded immediately. "Of course! I saw the weather forecast last night saying it would snow this morning, so I set an alarm. It's rare for us to come back, and even rarer to catch a snowfall. What a precious opportunity!"
He then added, "I'm going out to play first. Hurry up! The forecast says it'll stop in an hour!"
With that, he opened the door and walked out.
Xu Yanxia was speechless.
Well, he was indeed a poor guy from the subtropics who had rarely seen snow.
Although she was still a little sleepy, she didn't want to spoil his fun. She got out of bed, put on her clothes, and followed him to the yard.
True, it was quite rare to catch a snowfall on a rare trip back. However, the snow today wasn't heavy; it only covered the ground in a thin layer, not enough to build a snowman.
But this didn't affect Lu Jingming's mood at all. He carefully scooped up the snow from the ground and the windowsill, packing it into snowballs with his hands to make tiny snowmen.
After making a whole row of them, he asked Xu Yanxia to take several photos of him with the snowmen, smiling radiantly.
So much so that Big Orange and Little Tabby, two little kitty cats who had just finished playing outside and were heading back inside to warm up, meowed a few times as they passed him.
As if asking, "Human, why are you so silly?" "Don't you know to run inside when it snows?"
A while later, her grandparents called him from inside, "Come in for breakfast, Jingming. Be careful not to freeze and catch a cold."
He finally agreed and went back into the house.
Hometown is a place that makes people linger, but work was waiting for them in Rong City. Xu Yanxia and Lu Jingming couldn't stay long and had to rush back in the afternoon.
Before leaving, she specifically reminded her grandparents, "My brother and I have hired professional wedding planning companies. They will take care of booking the hotel, arranging the wedding cars, and preparing the ceremony. You two just need to notify our relatives and friends. Don't tire yourselves out during this time."
She also made sure to add, "We're going to open a Shandong cuisine restaurant in Jingbei after the New Year, and we'll be inviting Grandpa over to be a consultant."
"We know,"
The two elders said with a smile. "Health is the capital of the revolution. We will definitely take good care of our health, try not to cause you any trouble, and maybe even contribute a bit more!"
After settling her grandparents, Xu Yanxia took Lu Jingming to a special place before their departure: the Martyrs' Cemetery in the suburbs.
Because her father was posthumously recognized as a martyr back then, his grave was arranged here. When they were young, their aunt would bring her and her brother here; as they grew older, they started coming on their own every year.
Putting down the white chrysanthemums and pastries they brought, Xu Yanxia wiped her father's tombstone.
Lu Jingming looked at the photo on the tombstone. His young father-in-law was in military uniform, his eyes bright and piercing—clearly a man full of energy.
In terms of facial features, his wife took more after her father.
"Dad, I got married,"
Xu Yanxia said to the photo on the tombstone. "We didn't have time during the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I brought him to see you today."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Jingming quickly added, "Hello, Dad. I'm your son-in-law, Lu Jingming. If your spirit is watching over us, you can safely entrust Xia to me. I will definitely treat her well for the rest of my life."
After he spoke, Xu Yanxia looked at him and smiled, then turned back to the tombstone. "Dad, one more thing. We found Mom. She's doing quite well now, so you can rest easy."
"We are all doing great. If there's a good opportunity, go and experience life anew. This time, make sure to stay safe and fulfill all the regrets you couldn't complete in your past life."
"Alright, I've told you all the important things. Next time we visit will probably be around our wedding."
She smiled and pulled Lu Jingming up with her.
"Let's go,"
She held his hand. "Let's go home and eat dumplings."
After eating the customary departure dumplings, they would head back to Rong City to continue their hard work!
...
For the next month, Xu Yanxia was constantly busy.
First, she completed the equity transfer of the catering company and officially became the Executive Director and CEO of Lu's Catering.
Immediately after, she officially signed a contract with Meyer.
Moreover, Feng Yiheng personally came to Rong City to sign it with her, attracting a lot of media attention.
After the signing, during the reception that followed, Feng Yiheng found an opportunity to mention her biological mother's recent situation.
"After returning last time, Mommy told Konrad about you and Zhanpeng. Konrad wasn't angry; in fact, he really wants to meet you."
Xu Yanxia smiled politely and said, "That might have to wait for a chance. As you know, my brother and I are both holding our weddings before the New Year, so we're very busy."
"By the way,"
She added in passing, "We will also host a reception banquet for our wedding. At that time, Lu's Catering will send an invitation to your company. If you or any other guests can attend, please let me know so I can prepare."
Her implication was quite obvious, so Feng Yiheng nodded and said, "Okay. I'm really sorry about what happened last time. If Mommy wants to come this time, I will definitely discuss it with you in advance."
"That's good."
Xu Yanxia smiled politely again.
Right after, she saw her executive assistant, Ye Shu, come to her side and whisper something to her.
After listening, Xu Yanxia glanced at the phone screen Ye Shu handed her, and couldn't help but frown.
On the screen was a photo from the end of last month, showing her parents-in-law sitting in the audience during the finals of the "One City, One Flavor" competition she participated in up in Jingbei.
