She rushed out of the villa alone. It was evening, and the cold wind was getting stronger. Lin Jinran first found a place to shelter from the wind, then sent messages to Xu Jiaxin and Shen Tingsi.
Lin Jinran: [Shall we go out and play?]
Xu Jiaxin: [What? You just got home. Why are you coming out again? Did something happen?]
Shen Tingsi: [Don't tell me you had another quarrel with your father?]
Lin Jinran: [Yes. I'm standing outside my home now. The wind is really strong, and it's so remote here that I can't get a taxi.]
Shen Tingsi: [Wait for us. Jiaxin and I will come to find you now.]
Xu Jiaxin: [Right. Go and shelter from the wind first. Don't catch a cold.]
Fortunately, she still had these two childhood friends who had always been by her side.
The coldness that had frozen Lin Jinran's heart thawed a little.
Su Qinian: [Have you arrived home? The weather forecast says it's going to snow in the imperial capital tonight. Be safe and don't go out.]
Lin Jinran lowered her head and forced a stiff smile. She was standing outside at this very moment.
Lin Jinran: [I just got home. I know. Don't worry.]
She didn't tell Su Qinian the truth.
He was far away in Wannan City and knew nothing about her situation. There was no need to make him worry.
Lin Jinran had been waiting outside the villa for almost fifteen minutes when a car with its low - beam lights on drove towards her.
Her phone vibrated. Shen Tingsi sent a message saying that he was almost there.
Lin Jinran walked out and stood on the road.
The car stopped steadily in front of her. The window rolled down, and Shen Tingsi, sitting in the passenger seat, poked his head out. Seeing Lin Jinran's pale face from the cold, he said anxiously, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get in."
"Oh, okay."
Lin Jinran opened the car door and got in. The warm air that rushed towards her made her feel a bit better.
"Uncle Zheng, please drive to Xu Jiaxin's house first to pick her up. Thank you."
Then Shen Tingsi turned to look at Lin Jinran and sighed softly, "Jinran, we'll pick up Jiaxin first, and then find a coffee shop to sit in."
It was Chinese New Year, but Lin Jinran still quarreled with her family.
She had just got home... Her step - mother was so heartless. In such cold weather, wasn't she afraid that something might happen to Lin Jinran outside alone?
Lin Jinran nodded and covered her face with both hands to absorb the warmth.
She was really almost frozen.
It was so cold, much colder than in the south.
Twenty minutes later, they picked up Xu Jiaxin.
As soon as Xu Jiaxin got in the car, she threw herself at Lin Jinran, hugged her neck, and cried, "Wuwu, Jinran, I miss you so much."
Lin Jinran smiled and whispered, "I miss you guys too."
"Jiaxin, watch out. Don't get your snot and tears all over Jinran." Shen Tingsi threw a pack of tissues over and said disgustedly.
"Humph, it's none of your business." Xu Jiaxin got up from Lin Jinran, took out a tissue to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, and glared at Shen Tingsi threateningly.
After tidying herself up, Xu Jiaxin angrily slapped the back of the passenger seat in front and gritted her teeth, "Your father is so excessive. You just came back, and he drove you out. He's so lawless."
"Is there any father who treats his own daughter like this? No! If I were a policeman, I'd arrest your father and throw him in jail first."
Lin Jinran couldn't help but laugh and cry. Was there such a chivalrous policeman? The police also had to follow procedures; they couldn't do whatever they wanted.
"Let's sit down somewhere and then have a good talk." Lin Jinran whispered.
Shen Tingsi reported a coffee shop's name, and Uncle Zheng drove the car towards the city center.
Twenty minutes later, the three of them sat down in a coffee shop.
Lin Jinran told them the whole story.
Shen Tingsi and Xu Jiaxin were so angry that they wished they could rush over right now and tear Lin Tingnian and Yang Jinzhi to pieces.
Angry as they were, the two childhood friends were more concerned about what Lin Jinran would do that night. Would she still go back home?
"Go back? Of course I will." Lin Jinran hooked her lips and smiled faintly. "Do you really want to let those two have their way? They wish I wasn't at home to get in their way. Just for this reason, I have to go back."
That made sense. Xu Jiaxin nodded and asked, "How is your mother in Wannan City now? We were in a hurry last time and didn't get to visit her."
"The doctor said there's a chance of her waking up, but it's not high." Lin Jinran pretended to be relaxed and smiled. "Don't worry. Having a chance is better than having none. And I believe my mother will wake up."
She won't leave me so easily. She definitely won't.
Lin Jinran murmured in her heart, as if this was a kind of faith that always supported her to move forward.
Outside the coffee shop, the wind and snow were getting heavier. The snowflakes were swirling down, looking extremely beautiful. In no time, the whole world was covered in white again, as if washing away all the filth.
Lin Jinran turned her head and took a few photos with her phone. She switched to her small account and posted a status.
"I hope that one day, the filth in the world will be washed away like this pure white snow."
The picture was of the heavy snow.
It was a somewhat childish post.
She pursed her lips and smiled. Her small account was always used to post such things.
She could post whatever she wanted, doing things as she pleased.
Anyway, there were no real - life friends on this account.
One after another, people liked her post. QQ popped up a message from Qi.
Qi: [Are you outside? It's snowing heavily.]
Wanshan Hongbian: [Yes. I just went out. It's snowing heavily now.]
Qi: [When will you go home? It's not safe when it's snowing heavily.]
Wanshan Hongbian: [I don't want to go home. I had a quarrel with my family. I'll go back later, when I'm in a better mood.]
Lin Jinran sent the messages absent - mindedly.
It was snowing heavily now, so it wasn't convenient to go back.
She quit QQ and opened WeChat. There was no new message.
There wasn't a single new message from Lin Cheng.
Yang Jinzhi even pretended to care and asked a few questions about where she was.
She ignored them and put her phone face - down on the table.
She chatted idly with her friends, sharing the interesting things that had happened to them in the past six months.
As the sky got darker, Xu Jiaxin and Shen Tingsi's parents urged them to go home.
Uncle Zheng was waiting for the three of them outside.
Shen Tingsi stood up. "Jinran, go back. It'll be very late if you don't go back soon."
Lin Jinran was silent for a while, then nodded and got in the car with them.
She opened the door and walked into the first - floor living room. It was pitch - black.
Lin Jinran took out her phone to shed a weak light and found her luggage to carry it upstairs.
The door of Lin Tingnian's room opened, and the warm - colored light poured out, like a pool of gold on the ground.
Leaning against the door, she looked down at Lin Jinran struggling to carry the suitcase and sneered, "Sister, I said I'd help you carry your luggage at that time, but you refused. It must have been really uncomfortable for you alone on this snowy night, right?"