Morning Longing for Warmth – Chapter 74

by Little Panda

The End

The rest of my life with you, time remains unscathed.

Wei Hui opened her eyes and saw Shiyi. She was dazed for a few seconds, her typically meticulous mind momentarily blank, before coming to her senses and calling out: “Shiyi?”

Wearing sterile clothing, Shiyi stared at her without blinking. Upon hearing her soft voice, she let out a breath of relief and nodded, holding back tears: “It’s me, it’s me.”

Wei Hui had just awakened with breathing tubes still attached. Shiyi could only sit beside her, watching her conscious form without knowing what to do, desperately wanting to give her a hug but unable to. Shiyi’s eyes sparkled brilliantly as she asked earnestly: “You’re awake?”

“Mm.” Wei Hui’s voice was very low. Her gaze lingered on Shiyi’s face before finally saying: “You’ve lost weight.”

Shiyi lowered her gaze as tears came crashing down. She had lost weight?

She hadn’t lost nearly as much weight as Wei Hui. After the successful surgery, when her assistant arranged for her to come in, she finally learned what kind of torment Wei Hui had endured here. The illness had nearly taken half her life; she had barely made it to the operating table. Wei Hui wasn’t just thin – her entire spirit had dissipated. If it weren’t for that last breath keeping her going, she feared—

Feared she would never see her again.

Shiyi shook her head, refusing to think about such scenarios. Now Wei Hui was better, perfectly fine, right in front of her.

She choked out: “It doesn’t matter if I’ve lost weight, I can gain it back.”

Wei Hui reached out to wipe away her tears, but with tubes in the back of her hand, even lifting it was difficult. When her hand was halfway up, Shiyi caught it and slowly placed it against her own cheek, caressing it. Wei Hui gazed at this face – the face she had thought of countless times when she couldn’t go on, smiling, crying, pouting, timid – each expression like strength flowing into her body, allowing her to persevere.

How she wanted to live, how she wanted to embrace Shiyi with a healthy body, how she wanted to bring her happiness.

Now she had achieved it.

Tears burst from Wei Hui’s eyes, dampening the white pillow. The two lovers sat there in silence, wanting to say everything yet nothing at all. Their hearts were connected; many things didn’t need to be spoken aloud – they understood each other perfectly.

Su Ziyan, watching the two through the outside glass, couldn’t help but smile. His assistant stood beside him and whispered: “I think I understand a little bit now.”

Su Ziyan tilted his head: “Understand what?”

The assistant gazed enviously at the two inside, emotion affecting him as his eyes reddened: “Before the surgery, when the doctor asked President Wei if she wanted to call her girlfriend, she said no.”

Su Ziyan pondered these words for a few seconds before suddenly understanding – it wasn’t that she didn’t want to, she didn’t dare to. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so resolute in initially refusing the surgery.

Shiyi had unconsciously become the most important thing in her life. She who never believed in spirits or fate, for Shiyi’s sake, she would pray and believe.

The assistant continued: “I understand now.”

Love makes people both cowardly and fearless.

Su Ziyan turned to look at him, and they shared a knowing smile.

Wei Hui fell back into unconsciousness not long after waking. The first twenty-four hours post-surgery required monitoring, and since Shiyi wasn’t a medical professional, she was kept outside. The assistant wanted to speak up for her, to let her stay inside, but Doctor Bai was strict and wouldn’t allow any family members inside, regardless of circumstances. So Shiyi could only keep watch from outside.

The feeling wasn’t pleasant, but she had already endured the most difficult part – the surgery. Now she only had to wait outside, and she could see Wei Hui through the glass whenever she wanted, which was far better than before.

Wei Hui proved resilient – the twenty-four-hour observation period passed without issues, and her post-operative recovery went well. None of Shiyi’s worst fears came to pass. A month after surgery, she was transferred to another hospital for recuperation. Shiyi returned to the country twice during this time, and Pei Tian also came to visit once. Seeing Third Miss safe and sound, he cried for the first time, leading Su Ziyan to tease him about crying like a grown man, only to be reminded about who had cried more back then.

Shiyi shook her head at the two men’s bickering and returned to the hospital room.

By year’s end, Wei Hui underwent her third surgery, and after half a month, she was transferred back to the Jiangcheng Rehabilitation Center. What followed was a long recovery process. Around that time, something noteworthy happened in Jiangcheng – Luo Zhouping was sent to prison.

Before Shiyi could make her move, he was turned in by his own secretary. That secretary had previously tried to collaborate with Shiyi but was politely refused. He then sought other partners instead. Though Luo Zhouping’s influence in Jiangcheng wasn’t insignificant, ever since losing Wei Tian’s support, his company had been declining steadily. By the second half of the year, he couldn’t hold on anymore, and his secretary betrayed him, cooperating with others instead.

The Wei family wasn’t the only one who despised Luo Zhouping – he had made too many enemies. So before Shiyi could gather decisive evidence, someone else had already sent him to prison.

With this major concern resolved, Shiyi finally spent a peaceful New Year with Wei Hui.

After the New Year, Shiyi brought Wei Hui home. Aunt Lui prepared a table full of dishes. Though she didn’t know what Wei Hui had been through, seeing her safe and peaceful now made her happy too. Not long after Shiyi brought Wei Hui home, it began to snow. Standing in the snow, she smiled at Wei Hui, imitating what she’d seen on TV, and asked: “What do we look like?”

Wei Hui, wearing a red down jacket, her elegant hair now past her shoulders and tucked behind her ears, her features softened and appearing more graceful, smiled and shook her head: “What do we look like?”

“Like we’ve grown old together,” Shiyi winked at her. “Don’t you think so?”

Wei Hui laughed at her playfulness: “Yes, we do.”

Shiyi walked arm in arm with her, continuing forward. The courtyard was covered in snow, leaving rows of footprints as they walked. Since returning home, Wei Hui had increased her exercise, jogging for long periods each day. Sometimes when work at the company was light, Shiyi would leave early to accompany her. Once when Wei Hui went to pick her up from work, the secretary was startled – the formerly stern and fierce President Wei had become so gentle, while the once quiet Shiyi had grown increasingly strict.

The two had seemingly switched personalities.

Thinking of this, Wei Hui smiled, and Shiyi turned to ask: “What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing,” Wei Hui replied. “Is the board pressuring you again?”

She had rested for so long that the board was getting anxious, wanting her to return to work. Shiyi furrowed her delicate brows at this thought: “They have me there, so you focus on recovery. I’ve asked Doctor Bai – you need at least another six months of rest. During these six months, you’re not allowed to handle company matters, not allowed to ask Pei Tian about projects, not allowed to…”

Wei Hui poked Shiyi’s nose tip: “This isn’t allowed, that isn’t allowed – what am I allowed to do?”

Shiyi stood with her in the snow, thought for a moment, and smiled: “You’re allowed to miss me.”

Wei Hui shook her head with an amused smile: “You little flirt.”

They walked toward the backyard as the snow fell more heavily. Before reaching the backyard, they heard a dog barking. Wei Hui looked over – before the New Year, Du Yueming had sent them a dog as a wedding gift. Shiyi wasn’t sure whether to accept it, but Wei Hui knew she loved it, so she agreed. They kept it in the backyard. The two walked over to the brown long-haired dog, and Shiyi bent down to change its food and water, then adjusted its kennel. Wei Hui stood a few steps away watching her, her eyes filled with happiness.

“There,” Shiyi stood up, smiling at Wei Hui. “Now it won’t be cold.”

Seeing Shiyi’s nose tip reddened from the cold, Wei Hui took off her own hat and placed it on Shiyi’s head. Shiyi looked up, meeting Wei Hui’s clear eyes, and heard her say: “Now you won’t be cold either.”

Shiyi fell into her embrace, listening to her heartbeat, and whispered: “I’m still afraid.”

After returning to the country, Shiyi suffered severe psychological aftereffects. Every night, she needed to hold Wei Hui and listen to her heartbeat for a long time. No amount of consolation from the doctors or Wei Hui helped – she could only fall asleep after hearing that steady heartbeat. During Wei Hui’s stays at the rehabilitation center, Shiyi would go to work with dark circles under her eyes. The entire Wei Tian staff didn’t dare make a sound. Only Pei Tian, knowing the situation, advised her helplessly that when Third Miss went to the rehabilitation center, she should just accompany her instead of suffering like this. These words seemed to enlighten Shiyi, and from then on, the two were inseparable except during work hours.

Hearing this, Wei Hui patted her back, saying tenderly: “Don’t be afraid, I’m fine now.”

Shiyi shook her head in Wei Hui’s embrace, refusing to listen to any consolation, just holding tightly to her waist. Wei Hui noticed her trembling body, looked down at Shiyi’s snow-flecked eyelashes, long and thick, the sparkling eyes beneath them, her elegant nose, and pink lips. She touched those lips with her fingers, bent down to kiss them, and softly comforted: “I’m fine, don’t be afraid.”

Shiyi took control, using Wei Hui’s close position to kiss her deeply, drawing in all the sweetness from her mouth and all the air from her lungs until Wei Hui was slightly breathless and stepped back. Shiyi said: “Let’s go home.”

Wei Hui knew what she was thinking, and with their noses touching, slowly asked: “Now?”

Shiyi nodded: “Now.”

Seeing Shiyi so serious, joy rose in Wei Hui’s heart. She suddenly remembered when she was first brought back to Jiangcheng, still in the rehabilitation center. Shiyi would make time to visit her. One day, Shiyi came with dark circles under her eyes, looking like she hadn’t slept for days. When Wei Hui asked what Shiyi thought about during her sleepless nights, she had gritted her teeth and said she thought about making Wei Hui cry, wanted to make her cry hard.

Now she had achieved that.

Wei Hui really did cry every night now.

Wei Hui shook her head: “I don’t want to go home right now.”

The rare show of willfulness resulted in Shiyi holding her in the snow and kissing her thoroughly. The brown long-haired dog lay in its kennel nearby, raising its head to watch the two curiously. Wei Hui’s ears reddened: “Let’s go, we’ll head back after one more round.”

Shiyi walked arm in arm with her as they continued forward. There was a row of small trees slightly taller than a person. In winter, without tender shoots, there were only bare branches wrapped with circles of coarse cloth. These trees were planted by Shiyi the year Wei Hui had her surgery, and the cloth was wrapped by Wei Hui’s own hands. As they passed by the trees, the trunks swayed in the wind but remained standing firm and tall. What Shiyi didn’t know was that under each tree was an empty bottle, and in each bottle was a note with a single character. When connected, they read:

The rest of my life with you, time remains unscathed.

This was Wei Hui’s only birthday wish for the second half of her life.

LP: This is the final chapter of this novel! Thank you all for reading and the support!

I rate this novel: 3/5

It’s sweet, straightforward, but lacks a bit more flavor.