Morning Longing for Warmth – Chapter 44
by Little PandaGreed
I am too greedy.
On New Year’s Eve, Wei Hui rarely went out, taking Shiyi for a walk around the neighborhood. The streets were crowded, and the two wandered aimlessly, taking one step and stopping for two. Finally, Shiyi took the initiative to visit the abandoned building. She wanted to see how the amusement park Wei Hui mentioned was coming along. Wei Hui smiled at her and asked Pei Tian to drive them there.
During the New Year period, all workers were on holiday, with only a security guard on duty. Upon seeing Wei Hui, he immediately stood straight and respectfully called out, “President Wei.”
Wei Hui nodded slightly, holding Shiyi’s hand as they walked in. The guard behind them broke into a cold sweat, thinking something was wrong. Before Pei Tian entered, he asked, “Assistant Pei, did something happen? Should I call the person in charge to come over?”
Pei Tian waved his hand: “No need, President Wei is just here to look around.”
The guard sighed in relief and remarked with some emotion: “President Wei is so dedicated to work.”
Pei Tian choked on the wind, coughed twice, and his handsome face showed a rare unnatural expression.
Dedicated?
Would a dedicated person bring someone who knows nothing about construction to a work site? Just to look around?
No, he noticed that since Third Miss met Shiyi, she had become less and less dedicated to work.
He didn’t know when their relationship had made such a leap forward. By the time he came to his senses, these two were already walking out hand in hand, not hiding anything – they had completely fallen [in love].
He never thought Third Miss would actually fall in love.
Simply unbelievable.
Pei Tian shook his head as he walked in, deliberately keeping his distance from the two ahead. Wei Hui didn’t say much, but Shiyi was chirping away like a little sparrow [xiao maque ๅฐ้บป้ – metaphor for someone who talks a lot]. Pei Tian knew Wei Hui hated noise the most, but when he looked up, he saw an indulgent smile on Wei Hui’s face. She would occasionally nod and give soft responses, showing no impatience at all, instead displaying unprecedented gentleness.
So people in love are all the same.
Pei Tian asked the security guard to take him elsewhere, not wanting to disturb Wei Hui and Shiyi’s private world.
It was Shiyi’s first time at a construction site, and although there wasn’t much danger, Wei Hui still put a safety helmet on her, fastening it carefully with a serious expression. Shiyi stared at her solemn features, unable to suppress the smile at the corners of her lips, her amusement obvious.
Wei Hui frowned: “What are you smiling at?”
Shiyi helped Wei Hui put on her safety helmet too, and said seriously: “I don’t know.”
“I just want to smile whenever I see you.”
She really was becoming less and less afraid of her.
Wei Hui gave her an exasperated glare, took her hand, and led her inside. She explained many layout-related issues, though Shiyi was still in a fog [yun li wu li ้ฒ่ฃ้ง่ฃ – idiom meaning confused or bewildered], but that didn’t prevent her from understanding – it just took some time. After explaining each area, Wei Hui would lower her head and ask: “Did you understand?”
Shiyi would think for a moment before responding: “I understood.”
After saying this, she pouted. They were supposed to just come and look around, but why did it feel like she came here to study? Seeing her troubled expression, Wei Hui shook her head with a smile, knowing she shouldn’t rush things. For lunch, she took Shiyi to her preferred hotel, where the lobby manager personally attended to them with meticulous service. Wei Hui, worried that having others around might make Shiyi uncomfortable, dismissed the other staff.
Just as Shiyi sat down, her phone buzzed. She glanced at it – it was a message from Du Yueming.
“Gone on a date?”
Shiyi blushed: ใNo.ใ
Du Yueming replied bluntly: ใWhat’s with the denial? I’ve seen the photos.ใ
Shiyi then discovered photos of her and Wei Hui holding hands entering the hotel in their WeChat group. The chat continued.
โโ Look who I spotted!
โโ It’s just Huihui, don’t get so excited, she already has a girlfriend, stop coveting her.
โโ What, I can’t even think about it?
โโ Think my ass, she’s not yours.
โโOh, so she’s yours then? You’re being so damn controlling!
Shiyi had a headache watching the group argue over just one photo. After looking for a few seconds, she turned off her phone. Wei Hui poured her some water: “What are you looking at?”
Shiyi lifted her phone with a smile: “Messages from Yueming.”
Wei Hui’s expression changed slightly at the mention of Du Yueming’s name, and she nodded: “Let’s eat, all the dishes are here.”
Shiyi nodded.
After lunch, Shiyi wanted to return home, worried about Wei Hui’s health, but Wei Hui said there was no rush. She took her for a tour of the company, explaining each department. They didn’t return until after four in the afternoon. After a busy day, Shiyi prepared dinner early, and they went to rest together after eating.
Wei Hui was sensitive to cold. After learning this, Shiyi refused to leave at night, insisting on warming her hands and feet. Wei Hui couldn’t refuse her and simply let her take off her shoes and get into bed. At night, after Wei Hui had fallen asleep, Shiyi still tossed and turned several times, each time feeling Wei Hui’s hands and feet, only embracing her to sleep after ensuring they were warm.
On the first day of the New Year, neither went out. They watched movies in the screening room all day, not even coming out for lunch. When Wei Hui tried to move, Shiyi ‘ordered’ her to sit down, taking care of everything herself – serving tea, cutting fruit, making lunch. Wei Hui was pampered attentively. Watching Shiyi’s thin figure bustling about, her heart gradually filled with warmth, dispelling the winter chill.
They barely went out the following days because it was snowing. Jiangcheng rarely saw such heavy snow, which started falling generously on the second morning of the New Year and continued until the evening of the fourth. They stayed home, with Wei Hui reviewing work reports while Shiyi studied diligently, completing Yuan Shu’s [Teacher Yuan] assigned homework twice. Finally, she found two books and stayed in Wei Hui’s study, keeping her company.
This was Wei Hui’s first time in love, and she didn’t understand many things, somewhat letting Shiyi take the lead. Shiyi played clever, taking advantage of the fact that it was both their first time with no dating experience. She clung to Wei Hui daily, either kissing or hugging her, claiming this was how dating should be – she’d seen it on TV. Wei Hui saw through her little scheme but didn’t expose it, instead playing along, until Shiyi kissed her passionately and her hands unconsciously slipped into Wei Hui’s nightwear, nearly triggering an attack before she frantically pulled back.
Wei Hui simply took her medicine and smiled gently at her guilty expression, saying softly: “It’s okay.”
It’s okay – she was long used to having attacks and irregular heartbeats; they were just more frequent now.
Shiyi still hadn’t shaken off her guilt, keeping her head down with reddened eyes. She bit her lip and said: “I’ll step out for a moment.”
After saying this, she quickly walked out of the room, closed the door, and leaned against it. Wei Hui’s outstretched hand froze in mid-air before slowly dropping. She had imagined such scenes before and thought she was prepared, but she didn’t expect it would still hurt so much.
Wei Hui covered her chest and coughed twice, her nightwear slightly disheveled. She tidied her clothes, tucked her hair behind her ears, and just as she was getting up, her phone rang. It was Su Ziyan calling.
Su Ziyan hadn’t visited this year but had sent two messages – one wishing her a happy new year, and another asking about her health. When Wei Hui answered, the wind was howling on the other end, making Su Ziyan’s voice unclear. She frowned: “What?”
Su Ziyan looked around and found a spot sheltered from the wind, and soon the wind noise lessened considerably.
“Dr. Bai wants to know if you’ve made your decision.”
Wei Hui remained silent for a moment after hearing this question: “Can we wait a bit longer?”
Su Ziyan sighed: “Huihui, I can wait, but Dr. Bai can’t. He has a research project abroad waiting for him to return. You know Dr. Bai initially refused to take the case. I pestered him for three years before he agreed to even look at you.”
Wei Hui naturally knew all this. Three years ago, when Su Ziyan contacted Dr. Bai, he told her there might be a chance – words she had heard countless times until she became numb to them. Later, Su Ziyan flew abroad several times just to meet Dr. Bai. Finally this year, Dr. Bai made time to see him and scheduled an examination for her. During their last meeting, he said he’d never seen someone so persistent, and perhaps moved by this persistence, Dr. Bai took on her case, risking what could become a black mark on his career.
Now, he was waiting for her decision.
Wei Hui gripped her phone, her fingertips aching. Hearing the silence on the other end, Su Ziyan sighed and said: “How about this – I’ll ask him to give you two more days to think about it. You… think it through carefully.”
The howling wind returned, and Wei Hui’s lips twitched slightly: “Okay.”
After hanging up, Wei Hui got up and left the room. The lights were on downstairs. She went down and heard movement from the kitchen, where Shiyi’s thin figure was busy. Wei Hui walked over and saw she had made two cups of milk. The aroma filled the dining room, with white steam rising in tendrils. Shiyi kept her head down, lost in thought.
She walked over and called out: “Shiyi.”
Shiyi’s body froze for a few seconds, and she quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes before turning around: “Why did you come down?”
Wei Hui saw her slightly reddened eyes and said softly: “Just checking what you’re doing.”
Shiyi looked at the cups in front of her: “Making milk. You should go back upstairs first, I’ll be up shortly.”
Wei Hui stared at her steadily and nodded: “Okay.”
Within seconds of entering the room, Shiyi came up with the milk. They acted as if nothing had happened earlier, chatting normally. Shiyi placed the milk on Wei Hui’s bedside table, opened the curtains, and turned to say: “It’s snowing heavily, should we cancel tomorrow’s plans?”
Wei Hui stood behind her, watching the wildly falling snow for a few seconds before saying: “It’s fine, it might stop by tomorrow.”
Shiyi nodded silently at these words, her gaze still fixed on the window. After a long while, she bit her lip and said with difficulty: “Just now, I’m, I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay.” Wei Hui softly interrupted her, turning her body around. Seeing crystal tears still hanging at the corners of her eyes, Wei Hui wiped them away with her fingertips and said slowly: “I don’t blame you.”
She met Shiyi’s tear-filled eyes: “It’s my problem.”
“No.” Shiyi objected: “It’s not your problem, it’s my fault, it’s mine.”
Seeing her urgent tone, Wei Hui was instead amused, shaking her head: “What did you do wrong?”
Shiyi took a deep breath, blinked, and the tears in her eyes dispersed, leaving her gaze exceptionally clear. Her voice was hoarse and very low: “My mistake is being too greedy.”
Wanting to embrace all of her.
Wei Hui’s smile faded at her words. After a long pause, she held Shiyi in her arms, her face against Shiyi’s hair, whispering near her ear: “Shiyi, you can be even greedier.”
Shiyi hugged her back, looking up from her embrace: “Can I really?”
Wei Hui nodded in permission, her voice soft: “Yes.”
Outside the window, the heavy snow suddenly stopped, transforming into threads of rain [xi xi li li ๆท ๆท ็็ – sound of gentle, continuous rain], falling endlessly.
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