The beloved but ungrateful girl is reborn: This time she has truly changed.

Qi Weiwei's eyelashes were covered in frost, and her vision blurred as soon as she blinked.

As we approached the outskirts of Beijing, two flickering lights appeared in the darkness ahead.

It was the light of a flashlight, dim and weak, swaying in the wind and snow.

Qi Weiwei immediately became alert, gripped the handlebars tightly, and slowed down.

In the dead of night, in the middle of nowhere, two people were carrying flashlights... She felt a tightness in her chest.

She rode her bike to the other side of the road, trying to stay as far away from the two people as possible.

The wheels rolled over the dry grass by the roadside, making a "crunching" sound.

The distance gradually closed.

The flashlight beam swayed, illuminating two hunched figures.

I can see clearly now, it's a man and a woman, both wearing bulky cotton-padded coats and thick scarves.

The two walked quickly, their footsteps making a "splat" sound as they stepped on the muddy road.

The man was carrying a bundle in his hand, and the woman was carrying one on her shoulder.

Qi Weiwei's heart started beating even faster.

She held her breath, her eyes fixed on the two people.

Just as she was about to speed up and rush over, the woman suddenly looked up, and the flashlight beam swept across her face.

"Vivi?!"

A trembling, incredulous shout pierced through the wind and snow, striking Qi Weiwei's ears directly.

She slammed on the brakes.

The wheels slipped on the wet road, almost causing her to fall off.

She braced herself on one foot, steadyed herself, and stared wide-eyed at the two people.

The flashlight beam shone through, illuminating the woman's face—gray hair, a wrinkled face, and anxious eyes.

It's Mom!

The man next to him also looked up, took off his scarf, and revealed his face, blackened by coal smoke.

It's Dad!

Qi Weiwei's tears welled up instantly, scalding hot, like a flood bursting its banks.

She opened her mouth, wanting to shout, but her throat felt blocked, and she couldn't make a sound.

After a long while, she finally managed to call out hoarsely, "Dad! Mom!"

The sound carried far in the empty night, tinged with sobs.

Chen Hongxia had already rushed over, not even bothering to pick up the flashlight that had fallen to the ground.

She grabbed her daughter's hand—those hands were frozen and trembling.

"My dear Weiwei..." Chen Hongxia's voice trembled, "How did she get so cold?!"

She hurriedly took the bundle off her shoulder, untied it, and took out a large, thick cotton-padded coat.

It's dark blue, with thick cotton filling; it looks brand new.

"Put it on quickly! Quickly!" She pulled the cotton-padded coat onto Qi Weiwei's body without saying a word.

Qi Weiwei was still stunned, letting her mother do as she pleased.

The cotton-padded jacket still carried the warmth of her mother's body.

Qi Chou also came over. He took out a pair of thick cotton gloves from the bundle behind him. They were woolen and lined with fleece.

"Hand, hand."

He grabbed his daughter's hand; her hands were red from the cold, and her knuckles were stiff.

He clumsily put the gloves on her, his movements careful, as if he were handling some fragile treasure.

The gloves were warm, with thick cotton padding that wrapped around my cold fingers, and the warmth seeped in little by little.

Qi Weiwei looked at her parents.

Their cotton-padded coats were covered with a thin layer of snow, and their scarves were also covered with snowflakes.

My father's temples were completely white, which was particularly striking in the snowy night.

Mom's scarf had come loose, revealing her ears, which were purple from the cold.

It would take at least three hours to walk here from the railway staff quarters.

They walked for three hours through the snow to pick her up!

"Thank goodness I didn't miss it! I caught it! Thank goodness!"

As Chen Hongxia buttoned up her daughter's cotton-padded coat, she kept muttering to herself, her voice filled with lingering fear.

"Weiwei, are you chilled to the bone? Go home and soak your feet! Mom boiled two big kettles of water! They're keeping them warm on the stove!"

Qi Chou had already taken the bicycle from him, patting the snow off the seat: "Come on! Dad will ride! Weiwei, you sit on the crossbar, and let your mom sit in the back!"

"Dad, I..."

"Stop talking nonsense and get up here!" Qi Chou's tone left no room for refusal.

Qi Weiwei no longer declined.

She awkwardly turned sideways and sat on the crossbeam—the crossbeam was very thin and uncomfortable, but she sat very steadily.

Chen Hongxia sat in the back seat, her arms tightly wrapped around her daughter's waist.

Qi Chou straddled the seat, took a deep breath, and started pedaling.

The car swayed slightly, then stabilized.

He rode slowly and steadily, but his breathing was heavy, and his exhaled white breath scattered in clumps in the wind and snow.

"Huff... huff..."

Like a bellows.

Qi Weiwei sat on the crossbeam, her back against her father's chest, and could clearly feel the vibration of his heartbeat and his heavy breathing.

With each inhale, the chest heaves violently; with each exhale, a tremor runs through the air.

Dad is getting old.

This man, who drove trains for thirty years and could endure any hardship, has grown old.

Her tears welled up again, but she desperately held them back, refusing to let them fall.

She couldn't cry; she couldn't let her parents worry even more.

Along the way, she asked several times to get off and ride by herself, or to let her father rest.

But Qi Chou always shook his head: "No need, Dad's not tired. We'll be there soon... soon."

But he was breathing more and more heavily.

Finally, after riding for about twenty minutes, Qi Weiwei insisted on stopping.

"Dad, take a break." She jumped off the bike, grabbed the handlebars, and said, "My legs are numb, I need to get off and stretch them."

Qi Chou then stopped, bracing himself on one foot and leaning over the handlebars, panting heavily.

Sweat streamed down his forehead, glistening in the dim light of the streetlamp.

Chen Hongxia also got out of the car and took out a military water bottle from her bag: "Old man, have a drink of water."

Qi Chou took the kettle, tilted his head back and drank a few mouthfuls before his breathing gradually calmed down.

And so, with breaks and walks, what should have been a 40-minute bike ride took more than an hour.

It was past 1 a.m. when I got back to the railway staff quarters.

The hallway was pitch black, with only a small patch of light shining from a flashlight.

Chen Hongxia fumbled to unlock the door, pushed it open, and a warm feeling wafted into the room.

The lights were off inside; only the glow of the fireplace cast warm shadows on the walls.

As soon as Qi Chou entered the room, he collapsed into a chair, panting so hard he couldn't speak.

His face turned bright red, and his lips were somewhat purple.

"Dad..." Qi Weiwei panicked.

"It's nothing...it's nothing..." Qi Chou waved his hand, his voice broken, "It's an old problem...I'll be fine after a while..."

Chen Hongxia had already brought over a basin of hot water and placed it beside Qi Weiwei's feet: "Quickly, soak your feet."

The water temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold.

Qi Weiwei took off her soaked socks and shoes and put her numb feet into the water.

The warm water enveloping my cold feet felt like countless tiny needles pricking me, both numb and painful.

But she gritted her teeth and didn't pull her foot out.

Gradually, warmth spread from the soles of my feet, and my frozen blood began to flow again.

Chen Hongxia brought over another bowl of brown sugar millet porridge. The golden millet porridge was filled with red dates and topped with a layer of brown sugar, and it was steaming hot!