章節 33: Chapter 33 - Winter Warmth 2
One afternoon was long enough for Xia Liang to become good friends with Xiao Yi's two girls. Qi Ning and Qi Jing sat at each side of Xia Liang. They talked about interesting things that happened at school and asked some questions about college life.
"Shixiong...uh, didn't Albert tell you anything about our college?"
Both young girls shrugged.
Qi Jing twitched her mouth. "Albert seldom tells us things about his college. He doesn't talk much when he comes over."
Qi Ning held her chin in an attempt to be more mature. "Uhm, basically he treats everybody the same way. Albert has very low EQ."
Then both girls stared at her with big open eyes. "How could such low EQ Albert catch you?"
Xia Liang was startled, then blushed. She patted both children's heads. "We are just schoolmates. Don't think too much of it. How old are you."
"12!" Both girls answered in unison.
Xia Liang, "..."
Su Wei happened to walk out of kitchen with a helpless look. "Annie, Angie, don't bully Summer." She smiled and looked at Xia Liang. "We didn't eat much for lunch. We will eat lunner[1]. It will be ready in 10 minutes. Their dad is coming home soon. Xiao Xia you go up to get Ah Yan to come down to eat."
Naturally Xia Liang was very anxious to get away from the two little girls' attempts at digging gossip out of her. She went upstairs obediently.
"Go upstairs, turn left, then go straight to the room at the end."
"Okay."
Xia Liang went upstairs and breathed a sigh of relief.
Two little gossiping girls.
She lightly walked to the last room on the left side. The door was closed. It was quiet inside. Xia Liang knocked on the door twice.
There was light noise inside, like somebody was rolling inside a blanket.
"Come in please." Xia Liang turned the doorknob and walked in gingerly.
The room was dark since the drapery in the room was closed tightly. She surveyed the furnishing in the room. It was pretty simple; there was only one bed, one closet, one book shelf and a desk with a chair. There was a stack of books on the desk. The book shelf was also filled with books.
She looked at the bed. Song Qiyan was still lying on the bed.
She walked over. She felt a little bit uneasy for walking too close to him and stopped around one meter away. "Well, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes. Xiao Yi asked me to tell you."
Song Qiyan seemed to have just woken up and was not quite awake yet. He opened his deep dark eyes and stared at her with his slightly misty eyes. He spoke with a strong nasal sound after a while, "En."
The half awake Song Qiyan, was inexplicably...very cute.
Song Qiyan embraced the blanket and continued to lie there. He fixed his eyes at Xia Liang calmly.
It was quiet in the room. Even the noise from the two girls downstairs could be heard very clearly.
Xia Liang bit her lower lip. "Well, are you getting up?"
Song Qiyan continued to look at her quietly. He still had the strong nasal sound, "En."
His gaze made Xia Liang's ears grow hot.
She coughed dryly. "Then I'll go downstairs. You get up."
"Wait." Finally Song Qiyan got up. He opened the blanket and sat up.
Xia Liang turned her head. She saw his wrinkled white T shirt and unusually messy hair.
"What?"
Song Qiyan didn't seem to be fully awake yet. He waited for 2 or 3 seconds then took the cup from the bedside end table to drink some water. He cleared his throat and patted the bed signaling Xia Liang to sit down next to him.
Xia Liang looked at his hand and walked over slowly to sit down.
Song Qiyan was silent for a while. "Sorry, I did not tell you in advance that I was going back to China this time."
Xia Liang, "..." Why should he apologize for not telling her in advance that he was going back to China? She just waved her hands and smiled embarrassedly. "It doesn't matter."
Song Qiyan looked at her. He spoke slowly after her ears had grown red again from his gaze. "I was in a hurry to go back this time, because my grandma was critically ill." His hoarse voice began to recount his experiences in that one month in the dark and quiet room. "By the time I got back, the hospital already sent out the critical condition notice for grandma. She had been ill on and off for quite a long time. It was not surprising that she was in such a critical condition this time. She also knew that she was getting old. Though she said that I shouldn't miss my classes and go back to see her, in reality she was very happy to see me. Grandma's condition seemed to have improved about a week after I got back. She had more energy and we all thought that she had made through it again. But," He paused for a couple of seconds and drank some water. "That night, grandma suddenly passed away."
Xia Liang sat next to him and didn't know what to say.
They were all students studying abroad. The first reaction from the people who didn't understand them would only say things like, "Their family is rich," "They burn money," or "They go abroad to get gilded.", etc. Very few people understood that they were studying very hard. They studied diligently for knowledge which would pave the path for their future. They had to work even harder than many students in China. In addition, they were far away from their homes and families. They had to start their independent life earlier and tackle homesickness by themselves. Most of the time, they felt regret and worried that if a family emergency happened, they couldn't even fly back to be with their families as easily as students in China, and vice versa.
The pressure and hardship they had endured was something college students in China could not understand.
Song Qiyan continued calmly. There was not a single trace of emotion in his voice, but it still made Xia Liang feel sorry for him. "Then we had to arrange my grandma's funeral ceremony and such. It took about one month to get everything settled. I came back after almost everything was done. That's why I spent such a long time back in China."
Xia Liang listened intently. She hesitated a bit, then stretched her hand out onto his shoulder after he had finished talking and fell into silence again. She tried to organize her words. "In recent years, most of the older generation in our families has reached the age when it's impossible to escape some illness. They would be satisfied seeing us the younger generation grow up happy and healthy. It's very different studying abroad, than back home. Most of the time, we can't stay at their sides. You... have done your responsibility seeing her off on her last journey. Besides, she must have been very happy to see her outstanding grandson."
Song Qiyan curled up the corners of his lips after he heard her soft smooth voice speak those comforting words. He looked down at her hand on his shoulder and saw that she had backed out slightly after she noticed his gaze. He smiled lightly and touched her hair. "Thank you, Xia Xia."
Xia Liang almost jumped up from his bed in shock.
Xia Xia?
Song Qiyan saw her face suddenly blush. He could not help from smiling.
But Xia Liang was in state of complete shock.
This man...his smile absolutely increased his charm. He usually lacked any sort of expression. Though he was not cold, he usually looked slightly distant, but now with a soft tender smile on his face, it was absolutely...
Xia Liang felt very embarrassed in her mind. Bei Yan Da Da, please control yourself a little bit. With a good voice, a pretty face, and so considerate, she almost could not control herself!
Song Qiyan noticed that she was looking at his face absentmindedly. He felt for the first time that his 'good looks' wasn't so useless after all. He patted her head lightly. "Xia Xia, I'm not that outstanding." Then he frowned suddenly, seemingly not feeling well.
Xia Liang swallowed what she was going to say in refutation. "Shixiong, what's wrong with you?" She stood up and walked to the door to turn the light on. Then she noticed that his face was abnormally red.
Xia Liang walked back to him quickly and bent down to touch his forehead with the back of her hand. She was frustrated and worried. "So hot, you have fever!"
Song Qiyan responded slowly probably because he had fever. He raised his finger to his lips to signal her to keep it a secret. "Don't tell Xiao Yi. It's Thanksgiving. Don't spoil the fun." Then he stood up to walk outside.
Xia Liang pulled his hand anxiously. "Then what are you going to do? Your temperature is pretty high."
Song Qiyan looked at their intertwined hands. He eased his eyebrows and pinched her hand. "Don't worry. We eat, then we leave early. I have medicine in my apartment." He looked at Xia Liang's worrying eyes. He laughed lightly. "Xia Xia, I am a medical doctor."
Xia Liang inflated her cheeks and muttered. "Doctors get sick too." She didn't even notice that she was blaming him in a childish tone.
Song Qiyan winked at her. "It's dinner time. I need to wash my face now."
Xia Liang was drawn in by his dark bright eyes, it took a while before she came to her senses. "Ah", she threw off his hand and fled with a bright red face.
Song Qiyan watched her hastily run downstairs with a smile in his eyes.
He walked into the bathroom and poured some cold water onto his face. He let drops of water flow down his face. He looked at himself in the mirror and poked his own face childishly. His forehead still had a slightly cool feeling from her hand.
It was great.
[1]: The original raws had "lunner" in English. So don't blame me if she's using it wrong. Personally speaking I'd use "linner."
TL rant: Now I'm going to argue why "linner" is correct compared to "lunner." See brunch uses the first consonants of "breakfast" in place of the first consonant of "lunch" right? Thus by this convention, you have to use "l" from lunch and "inner" from dinner to get "linner."
章節 34: Chapter 34 - Winter Warmth 3.1
The Thanksgiving dinner was a real feast.
As tradition dictate, there was a turkey. Instead of the usual American style roast turkey, however, Su Wei managed to cook the turkey with the same delicious taste as the famed Chinese Beggar's Chicken. In addition to that, there was a table full of Chinese dishes. Xia Liang almost swallowed her tongue.
Su Wei stroked her hair sympathetically. "Aiyah, eat slowly. I'm sure you haven't had anything good to eat over here? Come to Xia Yi's home whenever you want to eat good food from now on. You can even come by yourself. Xiao Yi will definitely cook delicious dishes for you."
Xia Liang was so touched that her eyes turned misty.
Though she buried her head into the food, Xia Liang didn't forget to occasionally check on Song Qiyan who sat to her left. He behaved normally even with his fever. He chatted with Su Wei's family occasionally. He was not talkative but he kept his manners.
After dinner, they continued to chat with Su Wei's family for another half hour. Finally under Xia Liang's worried glances, Song Qiyan pulled Xia Liang to stand up. "Xia Xia lives off campus. It's not safe to go home too late. I'll take her home."
After they walked out of the house, Xia Liang could not help herself from pulling the hem of his shirt, "Shixiong, how do you feel?"
Song Qiyan smiled lightly. "I'm fine. Let me take you home."
Xia Liang immediately refused, "It's not necessary. Shixiong, you go home first and take some medicine. How could I let you take me home when you have a fever?"
Song Qiyan frowned slightly. She was so distant.
He insisted. "I'll take you home."
"...Really it's fine!"
"A girl is not safe by herself at night. Listen to me."
Xia Liang discovered that Song Qiyan was quite stubborn once he decided to do something. She was frustrated and changed to a softer tone. "But you have a fever."
They had already gotten into the car as they spoke. Song Qiyan repeated, "Xia Xia, I am a doctor."
Xia Liang puffed up her cheeks and looked at him in dissatisfaction. "A doctor should take good care of himself."
Song Qiyan looked at her. His dark eyes looked even deeper in the dark evening, then a gentle smile began to show on his face.
Xia Liang's ears felt like they were on fire. She looked away unnaturally. "Why haven't you started the car?"
Song Qiyan pulled back his eyes. He started the car, yet his lips were still slightly curled upwards. The exhaustion and sadness from the past month seemed to have been entirely wiped away.
章節 35: Chapter 35 - Winter Warmth 3.2
"Aren't you coming in?" Song Qiyan asked with uncertainty after he had already changed into his slippers as Xia Liang stood at the door dumbfounded.
Xia Liang felt like she had just woken from a dream. She walked in and shut the door.
On the way here, they had continued to argue, but finally settled on going to Song Qiyan's apartment together first to let him take his medicine. After he rested, then they would discuss whether he should take her home or not.
After she took off her boots, Song Qiyan already placed a pair of cotton slippers in front of her. "I wear them in winter. You can wear them for now. I'll buy a new pair in your size next time."
"Uhm, it's ok." Xia Liang put on the slippers without thinking too much of it. Oh, so big...Her feet could swim inside them. ==
She followed Song Qiyan to the living room. Then she pondered. Ah, it seemed that there was something not quite right with their conversation just now...
She looked around this small apartment she was visiting the first time. It was not a large apartment, just about several hundred square feet. But there was a kitchen, dining table, small living room, bathroom and a bedroom. The apartment was very clean. It was quite plain. There was not even a TV in the living room, only a couple of magazines on the coffee table. The only thing which could be counted as decor was probably the green plants on the small balcony.
"Shixiong, do you live by yourself?"
Song Qiyan poured two cups of water for him and Xia Liang. "En." He drank water to soothe his throat. "I like it quite." Then he plugged in the power cord of an electric kettle to boil water.
Xia Liang smiled and said light-heartedly, "I can tell."
He looked like he was the quiet type of man who didn't like noise.
"Uh?"
"Nothing." Xia Liang waved her hands. "Right, you go check your temperature right now." She pushed Song Qiyan. He obediently followed her onto the couch. "Where is the medicine box? I will get it for you."
Song Qiyan gently looked at her. "It's in the drawer below the TV stand."
Xia Liang followed his direction and walked over. She squatted in front of the stand and muttered lightly. "A TV stand without a TV..."
Song Qiyan happened to hear it. He gave an earnest reply. "The TV was not included when I rented the apartment. I don't watch TV much, so I didn't buy one."
Xia Liang took out the medicine box. She walked over and put it on the coffee table. She looked at inside and picked up the thermometer. Then she picked up the alcohol swab and rubbed the thermometer carefully.
"Uhm, I don't watch TV much either...Especially after I got my own laptop. It's much more convenient to use a computer." Xia Liang gave the cleaned thermometer to Song Qiyan. "But occasionally I go to the movie with friends. I find the large screen to be a more immersive experience."
Song Qiyan already put the thermometer into his mouth. His deep, black crystal like, almond eyes attentively watched the girl before him, who was busy tidying up his medicine box. There was a subconscious want to indulge her even more, something even he didn't realize.
Because it was an electronic thermometer, a "Di" sounded after about 10 seconds when it was done.
Song Qiyan took out the thermometer and looked at it without much expression.
"How high is it?" Xia Liang looked at him with concern.
Song Qiyan said lightly, "It's ok."
Xia Liang looked at him in confusion. Then she simply stretched out her hand to grab it.
Probably because he was indeed sick plus his exhaustion, Song Qiyan was exceptionally obedient. But he also became somewhat childish, he struggled a little bit before he put the thermometer into Xia Liang's hand.
Xia Liang looked at the display, 102 degrees. She panicked a bit before realizing that it was in Fahrenheit
Not right...
She had heard that anything over 100 Fahrenheit was treated as fever.
She took out her phone and opened a unit converter app. She typed in 102. Then she almost jumped up after she saw the converted number. She stared at Song Qiyan mercilessly and said angrily, "It's almost 39 Celsius degrees! How can it be ok!"
Song Qiyan looked at her with his beautiful eyes. He blinked his eyes innocently.
Xia Liang was frustrated. She puffed up her cheeks unhappily. "Shixiong, you really don't take care of your own body!"
At that moment, the sound of water boiling came from kitchen. Xia Liang stared at him again and then walked with her slippers to the kitchen to pour the water. Not too long later, she came out holding a cup of hot water. She put it on the coffee table in front of him. She commanded, "Drink it up."
Song Qiyan winked his beautiful almond eyes again. Then he obediently held up the cup and blew off the steam.
Xia Liang squatted again. She looked around inside the medicine box. Then she held one bottle of medicine in each hand. Both bottles were labelled "fever reducer". She lifted both hands looking at Song Qiyan. She asked with a hash tone, "Which one?"
Song Qiyan pointed to the left bottle.
Xia Liang put down the bottle in her left hand on the coffee table and the other bottle back to the medicine box. She picked up the bottle on the table and looked at the instructions. She passed it to Song Qiyan. "Two pills." She saw that the cup of hot water in Song Qiyan's hand was still full, she couldn't help raising her eyebrows again. "Why haven't you finished it yet?"
Song Qiyan coughed lightly. "Uhm, hot..."
Xia Liang, "..." After hearing the word "Hot" in such a pathetic tone , Xia Liang deflated like a popped balloon, losing all her steam.
She coughed dryly unnaturally. She turned her head and reached out with her hand towards Song Qiyan. "Then, I will pour some cold water in for you."
Song Qiyan held the cup and moved back a little bit. His right hand pushed her left hand back to her side. "It's ok. The temperature is just right now."
She watched Song Qiyan take the fever reducing medicine and breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't help using the back of her hand to feel the temperature on his forehead. Her cold little hand touched his forehead. It still seemed to be burning hot.
Song Qiyan had a helpless expression. "Xia Xia, the medicine won't work that fast."
Xia Liang retracted her hand embarrassed. She murmured in low voice, "Oh..."
Song Qiyan raised the corner of his lips. He used the back of his left hand to touch the back of the girl's hand. "Your hand is too cold."
Xia Liang didn't quite care. "Oh, I'm a little anemic. My hands and feet are cold usually. I'm used to it. Ah, what are you doing?" She looked at Song Qiyan who was getting up.
Song Qiyan held his own cup in one hand, the other hand held the wrist of Xia Liang's right hand. He led her into the kitchen.
He released Xia Liang's wrist to take out a glass from the cupboard. He washed it with the cold water first, then poured the hot water from the kettle to rinse the glass. Finally he filled it up with hot water and handed it to Xia Liang.
The glass was already warm when Xia Liang got it. The warmth passed from her palm to her body. It felt warm.
Song Qiyan leaned on the kitchen counter and gently looking at her. He stared right into her eyes. "Drink more hot water and hot milk. A girl needs to know how to take care of herself."
Xia Liang stuck out her tongue embarrassedly. "Hot water is alright. Hot milk...I don't like it. I only drink cold milk." She always felt that hot milk had a strong smell. It was difficult to swallow it.
Song Qiyan's disagreement showed through his frowning eyebrows. "Don't drink cold milk in the winter. It's not good for the stomach."
If these words were from her parents, she definitely would make some fun of it or argue back occasionally. But it was from Song Qiyan who took everything seriously, she was unable to refuse him. She could only nod obediently. "Ok."
Song Qiyan by then released his frowning eyebrows and drank some hot water.
Xia Liang blew on the hot water and took a sip. It was obviously just ordinary hot water, but somehow it tasted better than usual.
The small apartment was quiet for the time being. Only the quiet sound of of two people sipping water could be heard.
Xia Liang was distracted by her thoughts. Song Qiyan must have had a very close relationship with his grandmother. Therefore his grandmother's passing obviously saddened him. Even his physical body was affected.
Xia Liang drank the water, put down the cup, then took another sip again, and put down the cup again. She glanced at Song Qiyan, then subconsciously lifted the cup and drank again.
"What's wrong?" Song Qiyan asked.
Xia Liang accidentally choked and began to cough incessantly.
Song Qiyan hurriedly put down his own cup on the counter and patted her back lightly to help her breathe better. He said softly. "Be careful."
Xia Liang calmed down after a long period of time. She realized that she had been making quite a fool of herself today and could not stop herself from blushing.
Fortunately Song Qiyan was merely watching her eyes earnestly with concern. There wasn't an ounce of derision on his face. That made her relax somewhat.
"What were you thinking about just now?" Song Qiyan resumed the subject of their conversation before. "You were in a daze."
Xia Liang honestly answered, "I was thinking just now, that you must have a very close relationship with your grandmother." After she said it, she felt very stupid. It might make him feel sad again to bring up this topic.
Song Qiyan's seemed to look into the distance after hearing her. He seemed to be pulling up more memories. "Uhm, grandma really liked me. I have another cousin. He is the son of my eldest uncle. But grandma always favored me, the youngest grandson. My father is a doctor. My mother is a lawyer. They're both very busy. So basically I was brought up by grandma. Grandma was an English teacher before. She taught me English when I started to learn...Though I have grown up in recent years, before I came abroad, she was still lecturing me before I departed like lecturing a child. Telling me to take good care of myself."
Song Qiyan had drunk more than half of the cup, so he turned around to fill up some more hot water. His face was hidden behind the rising hot steam. Xia Liang could not see his face clearly and his expression. She just saw some poorly concealed yearning and sadness from this tall and silent man. And...some fragileness.
She put down her cup and turned to face him. She patted his arm. "Shixiong, you will get better. Everybody has many important people in their lifetime. They will all eventually become a passersby in our life. What we need to do is to move forward bravely. Be worthy of their expectations."
Song Qiyan's face was still hidden among the rising mist. After a while, the perturbed Xia Liang heard him laugh lightly.
Song Qiyan also put down his cup. His clear and handsome face was in front of Xia Liang's eyes again. He tenderly looked at Xia Liang. Then he held her in his arms. His left face touched her hair. His voice was warm. "Thank you. Xia Xia."
Xia Liang was frozen in shock for a while after Song Qiyan embraced her into his wide and warm arms. She was hot from her ears to her face. She finally recovered after his voice sounded beside her ears. She lifted her hands slowly and tried to put them on his back. She patted him slightly and hugged him back. "En."
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