The one in her heart was not a heroic figure of legend. He didn't make a grand entrance in a moment that caught everyone's eye, nor did he come to marry her. It was just an ordinary morning during the Chinese New Year.
The world was a vast expanse of white as far as the eye could see. Her beloved emerged from the morning mist, shining like a brilliant light right in front of her.
"Lin Jinran, I'm here." The boy curved his eyes that sparkled like stars and walked up to her, slightly lowering his head to greet her.
Lin Jinran couldn't help but burst into laughter. She reached out and tugged at the corner of the boy's clothes. "Come and sit down quickly. Let's have breakfast together."
Su Qinian obediently sat down.
Just then, the shop - owner came over with two bowls of noodles. He gave Su Qinian a surprised look and sighed, "It's been a long time since you brought a new friend here."
"Seems so." Lin Jinran gave a faint smile and didn't offer much explanation.
Previously, she basically came here with Xu Jiaxin and Shen Tingsi, so the shop - owner recognized them.
Su Qinian took out two pairs of chopsticks and handed one pair to Lin Jinran. "I rarely come to the imperial capital. Since I'm here today, you have to accompany me well."
"Of course. By the way, why did you suddenly come to the imperial capital?" Lin Jinran remembered this important matter and asked suspiciously.
"Because you said the snow in the imperial capital was beautiful. It snowed heavily again last night. I was curious, so I came to take a look. What, aren't you welcome me?"
Su Qinian blinked his eyes innocently.
"Welcome. How could I not welcome you? After we finish eating, I'll take you around properly." Lin Jinran's doubts were dispelled. "When are you leaving then?"
There was an inevitable tinge of disappointment in her words.
She was truly overjoyed at Su Qinian's unexpected visit.
Those gloomy and dim days seemed to have vanished forever, and her world was filled with light once again.
"Tonight." He said softly. "I'll go straight back to Wannan City then."
The original plan was to return to Wannan City from Yun City on the fifth day of the lunar new year, but since he came to the imperial capital early this morning, he didn't need to go back to Yun City and could go directly to Wannan City.
Seeing the girl's dejected expression, Su Qinian comforted her. "We'll see each other again on the seventh night, right? It'll be soon. Just the night after tomorrow."
"You're right." Lin Jinran cheered up again. Anyway, they would meet again the day after tomorrow. "I've lived here for more than ten years. I'll take you to have a great time."
A separation of one or two days was no big deal.
The two of them ate breakfast slowly. Lin Jinran first took Su Qinian for a stroll around the neighborhood and then took him to the famous scenic spots in the imperial capital.
The first stop was the Forbidden City.
Taking advantage of the small number of people in the early morning, the two quickly bought tickets and entered.
The snow in the Forbidden City was like a fine concealer, gently covering all the past disputes.
Against the backdrop of the red walls, white snow, and glazed tiles, the two of them were like a brush dipped in ink, leaving their marks on this beautiful painting.
"Normally, for tourists from other places, the Forbidden City is their first stop. When I had friends from other places come to the imperial capital to play, they specifically asked me to accompany them to the Forbidden City. But this was actually not too bad."
"There's also a mountain in the imperial capital. The temple on the mountain is very famous. They even wanted me to climb the mountain with them to pay respects. It takes at least three hours to climb up. It was really killing me."
Lin Jinran cleared her throat. Her bright eyes sparkled with an unknown light. She bent down slightly, pretending to hold a walking stick, and gasped for breath.
"Oh no, no. I, I'm about to die of exhaustion. Can we take a car up instead?"
Su Qinian couldn't help but laugh and flicked her forehead.
"So, you're not allowed to ask me to climb the mountain with you. I'll reluctantly agree to taking a car up. If you just want to go to a temple, there's one next to the Forbidden City. It's said to be very spiritual. We can go and pay respects there."
Lin Jinran immediately stood up straight, hands on her hips, looking like an uncompromising tour guide.
She walked proudly with Su Qinian around the Forbidden City.
After visiting the Forbidden City, at Su Qinian's suggestion, they went to a nearby temple.
It was almost noon, and it was still the Chinese New Year. The temple was filled with tourists, and they had to queue up to enter.
Lin Jinran and Su Qinian bought tickets and patiently stood in the queue.
At the side door of the temple, Lin Tingnian pulled her mother out and yawned sleepily. "Mom, I can't take it anymore. I want to go back to sleep quickly. Coming here so early in the morning to pay respects is just too much for me."
"The more sincere you are, the more effective it will be. Only when there are few people in the early morning can the Buddhas see our wishes and bless us." Yang Jinzhi scolded her daughter in disappointment.
Lin Tingnian didn't care. "According to you, do the Buddhas have to clock in for work like us? That would be too hard for them, wouldn't it?"
Yang Jinzhi: "..."
She glared at her daughter. Just as she was about to scold her for speaking without thinking, she heard her daughter's exclamation. "Mom, look quickly. Isn't that Lin Jinran?"
Yang Jinzhi looked in the direction her daughter was pointing, her eyes full of shock.
It was indeed Lin Jinran, but there was also a boy beside her?
"Who's the boy beside her? He looks quite good from the back..." Lin Tingnian's voice trailed off. The boy in her sight turned sideways, showing his whole face.
She was mesmerized and let out a lovesick sigh. "That guy is so handsome."
"No wonder I couldn't wake Lin Jinran up when I knocked on her door early this morning. It turns out she went out to meet a wild man."
Lin Tingnian gritted her teeth and spat at Lin Jinran with disgust.
She immediately took out her phone and took a photo of that scene. Envious and jealous, she said, "Good for her. Did she go on a date last night too? I'll tell Dad."
Why should Lin Jinran have such a good - looking boy by her side?
Moreover, judging from their actions, they were very intimate.
A glint of excitement flashed in Yang Jinzhi's eyes. She pulled Lin Tingnian and whispered, "Since we've met them, how can we not go and have a little chat?"
"Yeah. Since we've run into sister here, how can we not go and say hello properly?" Lin Tingnian rubbed her hands and walked over excitedly.
"Sister, what a coincidence. You've been here so early in the morning. No wonder I knocked on your door and wanted to ask you to go to the temple with us, but you didn't answer."
Lin Tingnian smiled sweetly. She casually tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear and walked over gracefully.
Yang Jinzhi smiled. "Yes. We haven't seen you. Why didn't you tell us when you came here?"
An alarm bell rang in Lin Jinran's mind. She stopped Su Qinian, who wanted to explain for her. "I left so early that I didn't want to wake you up."
She never expected that with so many people and such a big imperial capital, she would run into Yang Jinzhi and Lin Tingnian here. It was a miscalculation.
"Is the person beside you your friend? Why don't you introduce him?"
Lin Tingnian's eyes were firmly fixed on Su Qinian as she spoke softly.