The snowstorm came unexpectedly, with the weather in the northern winter being harsh and violent, and this year seemed particularly cold.
Shen Mo sprinted into the house as soon as he parked the car outside the courtyard. He ducked in, hunching his back, and in just a few steps, he was covered with snow, which he quickly shook off by jumping and shrugging his shoulders.
Taking a deep breath, he felt the warmth from the indoor heater envelop him, sending a shiver through his body, and only then did he begin to feel a bit warmer.
His ears were frozen red, and the sudden warmth made them itch faintly.
He harbored a surge of anger in his heart, wanting nothing more than to retreat to his room immediately, unwilling to deal with anyone.
Just as he turned around with a cold expression, a steaming cup of ginger tea was handed to him.
He smelled the brown sugar and ginger, and his heart inexplicably tightened.
This scent seemed familiar, yet it was definitely not a memory of recent years.
It was as if from a very distant past, he had also drunk such warm tea after venturing out in the cold weather. When was that? Was it when his mother was still around?
Somewhat bewildered, he took the ginger tea and subconsciously brought it to his lips, only then realizing that it was impossible for anyone in his home to make ginger tea to warm him up.
The maid came daily to clean and cook three meals; unless you specifically asked her to do something, she would not do it.
Her making ginger tea out of concern for him catching a cold? Completely out of the question.
His gaze shifted from the deep red tea to the person who had handed it to him.
The young girl had neat short hair that was slightly grown out, occasionally tucking strands behind her ear, which initially made him feel unfamiliar. However, seeing her almost every day, he gradually became accustomed and familiar with her.
Her lively cat-like eyes still held a smile, unlike other people’s features which seemed blurry to him. The contours of her eyes became clearer in his memory. When he looked into them, he knew he would not mistake them.
“It’s a big snow this year, so cold,” the girl said as she walked to the window to look outside. The visibility outside was almost reduced to zero, with the shadows of the trees in the courtyard all blurred, truly terrifying.
“Drink it quickly, or you’ll catch a cold,” she turned around and urged him with raised eyebrows.
“…” Shen Mo pursed his lips without speaking, holding the ginger tea in both hands to warm up before he tentatively tasted its temperature.
It was warm but not too hot, just right.
After staring at the liquid in the cup for a few seconds, he finally raised the cup and gulped it down in one go.
Hua Jie turned around and saw this, smiling, “That’s how you should drink it, all at once to feel warm. In a bit, you’ll feel your body heat up, and you might even start to sweat.”
“…It’s too sweet.” The ‘thank you’ that was on the tip of his tongue somehow changed, and he pursed his lips, feeling a bit awkward and a bit embarrassed.
Little did Hua Jie care; she took the empty cup from him, naturally walked to the kitchen, rinsed it thoroughly, and set it aside. Then, clapping her hands and taking the chance while no one was watching, she wiped the water from her hands onto the side of her trousers.
Shen Mo watched her silhouette, feeling a warm glow in his heart.
Perhaps it was the effect of the ginger tea, but he no longer shivered from the cold; instead, he felt warmth radiating from within.
At that moment, Zhao Xiaolei parked his car and entered, shaking off the snow and sneezing.
Hua Jie handed him the last cup of ginger tea left in the pot.
Like Shen Mo, the man gulped down the tea, then said:
“Everything on the way back, like KFC and other restaurants, was closed. With this weather, the cooking maid couldn’t have made it, right?”
“Yeah, she called earlier. Teacher told me to take the call. She said she can’t make it tonight,” Hua Jie answered, her voice lively.
“…” Shen Mo frowned.
“…” Shen Jiaru, just out from the studio, also frowned.
“…” Zhao Xiaolei looked at the nearly identical frowning father and son and couldn’t help but frown himself.
Are we all going to end up hungry tonight?
Or shall we just eat instant noodles?
“…” Hua Jie looked around, then at the weather outside, and suddenly turned back into the kitchen, opened the fridge to check, and saw that there was quite a lot of food.
She hesitated for a moment, then turned around and asked:
“Should I cook tonight?”
…
…
Despite being petite, Hua Jie seemed imposing when she wielded the pot and spatula around the stove.
Shen Jiaru, unusually out of his studio, and Zhao Xiaolei watched TV together in the living room while Shen Mo sat at the dining table playing Minesweeper on his thick laptop that looked almost like a small suitcase.
“Children from poor families grow up handling household affairs early,” Shen Jiaru glanced at Hua Jie’s silhouette. Her cooking movements were too practiced, heartbreakingly proficient for a girl of the only-child generation.
“Most kids her age are still pampered by their parents, unaware of the basics of daily life. Even the female teachers at our school don’t really know how to cook,” Zhao Xiaolei sighed as well.
“…” Shen Jiaru stared at the girl’s silhouette for a while longer before turning back to the television.
“Learning to cook, she must have helped around the house regularly.”
“She also attends classes and must have some time to play, but how did she manage to master such solid skills? Such skill isn’t developed in just a day or two,” Zhao Xiaolei clicked his tongue in wonder.
“You can’t deny it, some kids are just born prodigies,” Shen Jiaru patted Zhao Xiaolei on the shoulder.
“…” Teacher Zhao suddenly felt a bit sour.
He had neither been taken under Shen Jiaru’s wing nor could he cook…
Comparing oneself with others really does lead to disappointment. It’s true.
“…” Shen Mo listened to his father and Zhao Xiaolei chatting while he successfully cleared a game of Minesweeper on full screen.
He glanced at Hua Jie, closed his laptop, stood up, and strolled to the kitchen, leaning on the door frame to watch her bustling about like a spinning top.
The atmosphere at home was novel to him at the moment; his father sat on the sofa watching TV, he wandered about waiting for dinner, and Hua Jie was busy in the kitchen.
It suddenly didn’t seem like his home.
He had never watched the maid cook before; in his world, the kitchen seemed like a different realm.
But now, it had become familiar.
There was someone bustling about cooking for them, in their kitchen, occasionally turning around to ask him, “Do you like it spicier or not spicy?” “Do you prefer your meat dry and fragrant, or lighter and tender?”
She looked very professional and capable.
But paired with her youthful, naive face, it was somehow cute.
Leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, kicking his feet, he couldn’t help but start giving orders:
“I want it spicier.”
“I love it dry.”
“Garlic flavor is good.”
“Yeah, that works.”
It was as if he were the king of this world, noticed and cared for.
With the scent of cooking wafting to his nose, he had already forgotten the bad mood he had when he got home; he was completely relaxed and content, even feeling like humming a tune.
What 16-year-old Shen Mo didn’t realize was that his behavior wasn’t called being dominant, but rather ‘acting spoiled’.
He had simply never experienced it before.
…
…
Hua Jie’s feast successfully conquered the stomachs of the three men.
Like Shen Mo, Shen Jiaru ate the maid’s cooking every day, wasn’t picky, and just made do with what was served.
Zhao Xiaolei grew up in a modest household, where if he had enough to eat, his whole family would not go hungry. He wasn’t picky and would eat whatever was available without caring much about whether it was delicious or not.
Hua Jie, on the other hand, grew up eating meals prepared by her mother, who was an excellent cook, which made her quite fond of good food. After starting work and staying at home, she would cook something tasty whenever she had the time. Thus, although her culinary skills weren’t as refined as her mother’s, they were still quite impressive.
The table was filled with dishes, including meat and chicken, reds and greens, all steaming hot just out of the pot, and the meal was lively and joyous.
Shen Mo had already experienced Hua Jie’s cooking once, but perhaps because the crowd was larger this time, the competitive atmosphere made the food taste even better, and he felt her cooking skills had significantly improved from the day before.
After everyone had eaten their fill, Hua Jie alone began cleaning up the table, glancing back at the three men and couldn’t help but purse her lips.
They were all hands-off when it came to household chores.
This thought passed through her mind, but then she became silent again. Teacher Shen was a widower, Shen Mo had grown up without a mother, and Zhao Xiaolei was a lazy bachelor…
She sighed in resignation and decided not to hold it against them.
Due to the heavy snowfall, it was impossible for her to ride her bike home, and driving was also quite dangerous, especially since the route to her house involved going up a steep hill.
In the end, Shen Jiaru decided to let Hua Jie and Zhao Xiaolei stay the night, as his house had three guest rooms available, allowing them to pick whichever they wanted and still leave one empty.
Hua Jie then called her mother to explain that she had started apprenticing that day and heavily praised Shen Jiaru.
The more her mother listened, the more anxious she became, insisting on calling her father to come pick her up on his motorcycle.
It wasn’t until Hua Jie mentioned that Teacher Shen was Shen Mo’s father that her mother calmed down.
“Ah, Shen Mo’s father, huh.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“He seems like a good kid, smart and sincere, and his father is an artist. Alright, make sure you behave yourself at Shen Mo’s house, help out with their chores, and go to bed early.” Her mother was almost instantly reassured.
To her, all those titles of Shen Jiaru sounded like a big bad wolf trying to lure a little lamb with fabrications; she didn’t really think he was someone formidable.
Instead, the ‘father of Shen Mo’ identity seemed more reliable.
“Okay, Mom.” Hua Jie broke into a cold sweat; her mother viewed wealth and power as trivial and only trusted her daughter’s academically inclined classmate. That was really great.
Hua Jie reassured her mother for a long time. It was the year 2000, and they had not yet experienced the internet era filled with horrific news of crimes, so people were more innocent. Given that her parents were usually very laid-back about raising her, knowing she was staying at the home of a trustworthy classmate, they just reminded her not to cause any trouble and agreed.
Hua Jie asked her mother to bring her backpack when she went to work in the morning so she could pick it up on her way to school, and then they said goodnight and hung up the phone.
…
After hanging up, Hua’s mother turned to her father and mentioned:
“The snow is too heavy, and our daughter is staying the night at Shen Mo’s house. It seems his father teaches painting, and she’s decided on her own to quit the youth center class to study painting there instead.”
Regarding those titles about Shen Mo’s father being a ‘super great artist’ and ‘his paintings sell for a lot of money,’ they didn’t stick in her memory at all.
She took her daughter’s words as being too flighty and unrealistic.
“Oh, she’s quite grown up now, careless and thoughtless, staying at a male classmate’s house, it’s not proper,” Hua’s father grumbled, yet deep down he was very confident in his daughter. Having been honest and smart since childhood, he was sure she wouldn’t lie.
His fingers flew over the remote control until he found the channel he wanted to watch, immediately clicking his tongue to shift his attention:
“Ah, ‘The Blue Temptress’.”
Finding his favorite TV series, he promptly pushed his daughter’s affairs to the side.
“Why not watch ‘Mother-in-law, Daughter-in-law, and Sister-in-law’?” Hua’s mother leaned in, with her own preferences.
“You’ve already watched that one. Come watch this one; it’s really good. Yu Rongguang~ turn off the lights, it’s wasting electricity.” Hua’s father stuffed the remote control under himself, his eyes glued to the TV, arguing for what he wanted to watch.
Outside the window, the wind and snow raged, while inside it was warm and cozy.
…
Staring at the phone, Hua Jie didn’t move for a long time.
Outside, the snow whirled, and suddenly the villa seemed like a lodge in a blizzard.
The past version of herself could never have imagined that one day she would be staying at Shen Mo’s house.
That most enviable and prominent figure at school, that beautiful boy whom she had once feared to look at too much in case he noticed.
Even more incredible was that Shen Mo’s father turned out to be a super great artist, and after all these events, she suddenly became his student.
Everything seemed logical, yet to her past self, it was utterly out of reach.
Her heart pounded erratically, swirling with many emotions, and there was also a fear that all of this might just be a dream.
People are strange; when they can’t have something, they struggle in pain wanting it.
The translated book of VOL 1 & 2 is now available in my Kofi