The icy snow pellets outside had turned into large, goose-feather-like flakes, falling profusely and wrapping the entire world in a vast whiteness.
It was almost the fifth watch of the night, and Zhou Zhijun still hadn't left, so I urged him to go.
"Hurry and leave, while it's still snowing..."
"Tao, I don't want to leave you for even a moment, what should I do?" He hugged her tightly through the quilt, his lips resting against her forehead.
"If only time could stop, I'd hold you forever!"
"Stop talking, just go!" Chuntao pushed him hard with her hands, a hint of anger on her face.
"Alright! I'm going!" He stuffed the uneaten pack of chocolate under the bedding beneath her pillow.
"Remember to eat it!"
"We hardly slept all night, so get some rest. It's snowing anyway, there's no work to do, so it's fine to get up late!" With that, he turned and left.
Chuntao lay in bed. The quilt was too thin, and the cotton wadding was hard and uncomfortable.
Chuntao couldn't help but shiver, wrapping the quilt around herself a little tighter.
Suddenly, Chuntao felt very afraid.
If anything happened on her end, Liu Cuilan would definitely go to Lijia Village to make a huge scene and drag Wang Lanhua back.
Her brother would lose his wife and have to raise his little niece all by himself. Having such a shameless sister would make it impossible for him to hold his head high in front of others.
The more Chuntao thought about it, the more terrified she became. Although she felt exhausted and sleepy, her mind was in such turmoil that she couldn't fall asleep...
"You shameless slut..." Liu Cuilan suddenly pushed the door open and barged in.
Chuntao curled up on the bed, pulling hard at the quilt to cover herself, but she couldn't budge it at all.
Zhou Zhaodi's dark, chubby face also leaned in. "Shameless..."
Liu Cuilan's stick was already swinging down, striking Chuntao viciously.
Grievance, helplessness, and a piercing pain tightly entangled her. She felt like she was going to die right then and there. Her cries grew weaker, but the stick in Liu Cuilan's hands did not stop.
"I'm going to beat you to death today, you shameless...
And I'm going to call my Lanhua back, let your brother live by himself!"
The villagers all came to watch the spectacle, but not a single person stepped forward to pull Liu Cuilan away. Instead, they added fuel to the fire, shouting, "Good beating! A shameless woman like her deserves a severe beating! Beat her until she changes her ways!"
Wang Xiaohong, who had always protected her, actually came up and grabbed her by the hair. "Shameless! I treated you so well, and you actually did such a shameless thing..."
"Ah, no..." she cried out loudly.
"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, what's wrong!"
Suddenly, Wang Xiaohong's anxious and worried voice reached her ears.
Chuntao snapped her eyes open and saw Wang Xiaohong standing right beside her, her small face flushed red from the cold.
"Sister-in-law, did you have a nightmare?"
As she spoke, she pulled a small handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the tears from the corners of Chuntao's eyes.
Chuntao was terrified by the scenes in her dream and was still reeling from the lingering fear.
Chuntao was still in shock, but thankfully it hadn't been real; it was just a nightmare.
"Yeah!" Even though it was a dream, her heart was filled with fear and confusion.
If things continued this way, her fate would be even worse than in her dream, so miserable that she dared not think any further.
Chuntao's thoughts returned from the nightmare. With Wang Xiaohong standing in front of the bed, she didn't dare lift the quilt to get dressed.
Seeing her listless state, Xiaohong said, "Sister-in-law, I went to the neighboring village to watch TV last night, and it started snowing heavily on my way back! It's still snowing right now!
It's so cold, and there's no work to do anyway, so just sleep a bit longer. I'll go sweep the snow in the yard!"
Looking at her small face with its undried tear stains, she continued, "I'll cook after I finish sweeping the snow, don't you worry about it!"
She didn't go back to sleep. Instead, taking advantage of Wang Xiaohong going out to sweep the snow, she hurriedly put on her clothes.
As she got out of bed, her legs gave way, and she almost fell to her knees.
Wang Xiaohong took a shovel to push the snow in the yard to the side, and then used a broom to sweep.
Zhou Zhijun in the neighboring yard had also gotten up. He wielded his shovel, and in no time at all, he had swept his yard completely clean of snow.
He caught a glimpse of Wang Xiaohong from the corner of his eye but didn't say anything. His mind was entirely filled with Chuntao's pitiful, endearing little appearance.
His heart suddenly sank. They had hardly rested all night, and Chuntao's small frame definitely couldn't handle it. Was she unable to get out of bed?
Her little body was just too weak! He needed to get her some good nourishment.
He figured he would go to the market street later to buy her some nutritional supplements, and while there, drop by the health clinic to ask if they had anything for contraception.
It had been several times now; if she really got pregnant, it would be troublesome.
Liu Cuilan definitely wouldn't let it go easily, and with the village gossip, she simply wouldn't be able to bear it.
But on second thought, it would be better if she were pregnant. Then she would have no choice but to leave Wangjia Village with him, tying her to his side for the rest of his life.
To get those items from the clinic, you needed a marriage certificate. As a bachelor, he probably wouldn't be able to get them anyway, so he might as well not even try his luck.
Thinking this way, Zhou Zhijun's heart warmed up. The more he thought about it, the more he hoped Chuntao would get pregnant! That way, he could take her far away.
Inside the house, Chuntao had just steadied herself against the edge of the kang bed, her fingertips subconsciously touching her lower abdomen.
If she really was pregnant with Zhou Zhijun's child, it would drag down her grandmother and her brother, leaving them no peace.
The snowflakes rustled against the window lattice. Zhou Zhijun's anticipation and the despair at the bottom of her heart collided head-on in the vast, white snowy day.
