The Nightmare and the First Snow

Jiang Nian walked to the door, and Lu Yu's voice had stopped. She pushed the door open and saw Lu Yu sitting on the bed, pressing his temples with his thumb and middle finger, his brow furrowed, radiating an indescribable pressure.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Nian approached, reaching out to touch his forehead. To her surprise, the moment her hand extended, Lu Yu grabbed it firmly. He turned his head to look at her, his dark eyes deep as abysses, harboring unreadable emotions behind a thick fog.

After a moment, Lu Yu said softly, "I'm fine."

He stood up and went into the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face to sober up. Thinking back to the dream just now, his breath was still rapid. In the past three years, this was the first time he had dreamed of his own death. The realistic pain and the helplessness of a bullet piercing his heart made it difficult to distinguish reality from the dreamscape. In that split second, what flashed before his eyes was not his resistance against the book's plot, but the image of Jiang Nian back in their hometown throwing herself against a wall to commit suicide.

Hearing footsteps outside, Lu Yu wiped his face and turned back to look at Jiang Nian. She wasn't wearing the patched, pitch-black short coat from his dream; her fair face wasn't haggard, and her eyes were filled with worry rather than weak despondency. Lu Yu stepped forward, pulling Jiang Nian tightly into his embrace, forcing her to look up at him. Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment before wrapping her arms around him, asking gently, "What on earth happened to you?"

Lu Yu remained silent, closing his eyes as he breathed in her scent. What he feared most was that the Jiang Nian before him would vanish, fearing that his death would repeat itself.

"Just a bad dream." Lu Yu kissed her hair lightly and asked, "Are you making minced pork noodles?"

Jiang Nian smiled. "How did you know?"

"I smelled it." Lu Yu chuckled.

Jiang Nian didn't ask further about the dream. During dinner, she noticed the bloodshot veins in his eyes had receded. She wanted to tell him to sleep more, but Lu Yu said he was fully recovered and had to report to the regiment in the afternoon, promising to return in the evening to cook dinner with her.

In the afternoon, Guan Lu and Yue Qiao dropped by. Guan Lu looked a round thinner, while Yue Qiao was noticeably plumper. Seeing Jiang Nian looking at her, Yue Qiao feigned annoyance, "The fat didn't go anywhere else, it all went to my face. Old Lei even teased me last night, saying when other people get pregnant, their bellies grow, but my face grows instead." The three burst into laughter.

They chatted about Jiang Nian's recent trip and Guan Lu's health. As dusk fell, the two took their leave. Lu Yu returned just in time, carrying a bag of washed grapes. Jiang Nian sat by the bed eating grapes, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled and asked, "Where did you pick these?"

"In the village," Lu Yu replied.

Bữa tối có thêm Gu Shizhou and Chen Yao joined them for dinner, bringing plenty of gifts. At the table, Chen Yao praised Jiang Nian's cooking with every bite. The three men drank some wine, and Lu Yu spoke about Professor Ling's situation. Gu Shizhou raised his glass to thank Jiang Nian for taking care of the professor for so long.

Chen Yao brought up his upcoming marriage to Shu Xue, planned for this year. He shared his family background—his parents had passed away early, leaving only an aunt. He worried Shu Xue's well-off family would look down on an orphan like him. Jiang Nian comforted him, "What matters is Shu Xue. As long as she truly wants to spend her life with you, nothing else is an issue." Hearing this, Chen Yao felt relieved, as Shu Xue had also told him she didn't mind.

Chen Yao got dead drunk and was carried back by Gu Shizhou. The next morning, Jiang Nian visited Regiment Commander Xia's house, bringing some local specialties from her hometown. Lan Hui was now literate, and their family life was very happy. In the following days, Jiang Nian focused on her embroidery to make up for the time she was away.

One day, she heard a commotion from the house opposite. It was the family of Battalion Commander Ren's second uncle visiting from the countryside, looking very destitute and rather unfriendly. Yueyue showed clear impatience at having to host these relatives. Sure enough, in the days that followed, the second uncle's family freeloaded and demanded money for medical treatment, throwing Battalion Commander Ren's household into chaos. Yueyue had to take her child to Jiang Nian's house to seek refuge. Finally, because Battalion Commander Ren adamantly refused to secure housing for them, the family reluctantly left.

Time flew by, and winter was fast approaching. Chen Yao and Shu Xue's wedding was set for the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Jiang Nian occasionally still dreamed of the room in the new century, but it was always locked tight; she could only stand outside listening to her family members chatting.

Early this morning, Fang Guo's cheers rang out: "It's snowing! It's snowing!" The first snow of the season had arrived. Jiang Nian was about to get up to watch the snow when Lu Yu pressed her back onto the bed, giving her a passionate kiss. He brought her a sweater and smiled, saying, "Go out after you eat."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. A guard reported, "Regiment Commander Lu, there is a middle-aged man outside who wishes to see you." Jiang Nian was curious, wondering who would look for Lu Yu at this hour.