Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Xie Baochang wiped his mouth and casually made the arrangement:

"I'll stay at home tonight, Xiao Lin, you'll share a room with me, and we can chat some more."

Lin Chen didn't reply. He slowly took out two marriage certificates from Xie Xiaomei's bag, slammed them on the coffee table, and looked at Xie Baochang with a half-smile.

Xie Xiaomei blushed instantly and raised her hand to punch him:

What are you doing!

Su Guifen covered her mouth and laughed, then patted Xie Baochang on the shoulder.

"You old fool! The young couple has already registered their marriage, why would they need to live with you? Of course they'll live in Xiaomei's room! Don't meddle."

Xie Baochang was stunned. He stared at the bright red marriage certificate for a long time, feeling empty inside, as if something was missing. His daughter, whom he had raised for more than 20 years, had now completely become someone else's family. His little darling had been given away to someone else.

"Ah... alright, I'll stay in that room then."

After saying that, she slowly went back to her room with her hands behind her back, unwilling to talk to Lin Chen anymore. This kid is really annoying.

Xie Xiaomei's bedroom was spotless. Old posters were pasted on the walls, and a double bed with pink sheets was placed by the window. Her childhood photos were displayed on the bedside table. The style was very old, but it was clear that she had lived a comfortable life since childhood.

After washing up, the two lay in bed. Xie Xiaomei nestled in Lin Chen's arms and whispered:

"It still feels a little strange to hold you in my bed."

Lin Chen hugged her and lowered his head to kiss her forehead:

"It's alright, we'll come back to stay often in the future."

……

The snow started falling right after we finished eating, from 10 p.m. until late into the night. It was falling in large flakes, not the light, dry powder, but heavy snow that had absorbed a lot of moisture, like cotton balls soaked in water, pounding against the metal parking shed downstairs.

"Smack...smack..."

The sound was muffled and sticky. Unlike dry snow that bounces off a sheet of metal, this snow lay flat on the metal and slid down, accumulating to about half a hand's width in thickness. The snow at the edges began to slide down, not scattering, but flowing down in small streams.

Like thick porridge hanging from the edge of a spoon, leaving a long tail, it finally "plop" fell into the snowdrift in front of the building entrance, sinking into a deep pit. The surrounding snow was compacted so that not a single drop splashed up.

It was midnight. Xie Baochang and his wife sat on the bed, staring blankly at the snow scene outside, feeling extremely exhausted.

"How long has it been raining?"

"It's been an hour..."

"Don't go down there, will you even be able to walk tomorrow? The important thing is that we both have to go to work tomorrow."

Xie Baochang looked up at the sky:

"You think you can just decide not to release it? Is that any of your business?"

Su Guifen stood up. Since she couldn't sleep anyway, she just stared at the top of the opposite building entrance.

The icicles hanging from the eaves were covered with a film of water. The water droplets at the top didn't fall one by one, but instead stretched into a thin, shiny thread. The thread stretched longer and longer until it snapped with a click at its limit. The water seeped into the drain hole, soaking the snow on the hole wall into a semi-transparent color, like frozen white honey.

"Hey? Old Xie, look, the second floor across the street bought an air conditioner!"

"They're just well-off, don't worry about that."

"Come and take a look."

On the top of the air conditioner unit on the second floor, the snow piled up into a bulge, forming an ice shell. When fresh snow fell on the ice shell, it made a muffled "plop, plop" sound, like stepping into a mud pit. The snowflakes sank into the mixture of ice and water and disappeared without a trace, leaving only a dark water mark around the surface of the ice shell.

One o'clock in the morning—

"Crunch... crunch..."

Xie Baochang, scratching his head and smoking a cigarette, asked:

"What is that sound again?"

Su Guifen yawned, got out of bed, and looked out the window:

The old poplar trees in front of the building, their thick branches heavy with snow, made the branches creak slowly, not a crisp sign of an impending break, but rather a sign that their resilience was being stretched little by little.

Suddenly, a large clump of wet snow slid off from the corner of the tree branch, not scattering, but falling down in chunks!

"Clap clap clap clap!"

A series of snowflakes crashed onto the ground, instantly creating a large crater.

The room in Xie Xiaomei's house was very warm, and the two of them were snuggling together, being very affectionate, when suddenly they heard a crisp "crack" sound.

The bed legs suddenly sank, and the two of them slid backward. The bed legs broke, and the bed... collapsed.

"oops!"

Xie Xiaomei exclaimed in surprise and quickly grabbed Lin Chen's arm tightly, feeling both flustered and ashamed.

Lin Chen was also stunned. The two looked at each other and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The noise was quite loud, and the elderly couple next door could hear it clearly.

Su Guifen quickly seized the opportunity to knock on the door, suppressing a laugh as she asked:

"What happened? Did you drop something?"

Xie Xiaomei's face was burning hot, and she buried herself in Lin Chen's arms, not daring to show her face.

Lin Chen cleared his throat and replied, forcing a smile:

"It's alright, it's alright! The bed leg broke! I'll buy you a sturdier one tomorrow!"

There was a two-second silence outside the door, followed by Su Guifen's barely suppressed laughter and Xie Baochang's helpless sigh.

In the darkness, Xie Xiaomei pinched Lin Chen, feeling both angry and ashamed:

"It's all your fault! Now my parents know, it's so embarrassing!"

Lin Chen held her and laughed nonstop, his tone full of affection:

"This isn't my fault. Who knew your bed was so flimsy? It's okay, I'll get you a new one tomorrow. It'll be fine no matter what you do with it."

……

The next morning at seven o'clock, the heating pipes in Xie Xiaomei's house were so hot they were almost burning to the touch.

Breakfast was already laid out on the table: a pot of millet porridge bubbling away, tea eggs and pickled vegetables on the side, and freshly bought pork and cabbage buns, plump and steaming hot, their aroma filling the air.

Lin Chen came out of the bedroom, full of energy and looking radiant, with a smile on his face, showing no signs of fatigue.

He pulled up a chair, sat down, picked up a steamed bun, and started taking big bites, eating with great relish. He couldn't help it; he had expended too much energy. On the other hand, Xie Xiaomei's parents looked terrible; they clearly hadn't slept well all night, or rather, they hadn't slept much at all.

Xie Baochang held a newspaper in his hand, pretending to read it, but his eyes were unfocused, his eyelids kept drooping, and his head kept drooping. He didn't read a single word.

He had dark circles under his eyes and looked listless, as if he had been working very hard.

Su Guifen's condition was even more pronounced. Her hands were trembling as she ladled porridge, and she almost spilled it all over the table. She yawned repeatedly, tears welled up in her eyes, and her face was etched with exhaustion.

The noise last night was too loud, and the elderly couple couldn't sleep, tossing and turning until almost dawn before finally getting a short nap. They didn't get a good night's sleep at all.

When Xie Xiaomei came out of the bathroom, Su Guifen forced herself to speak, her tone somewhat unnatural:

"Kobayashi, how did you sleep last night?"

Lin Chen chewed on a steamed bun, eating with relish, showing no embarrassment whatsoever, and said frankly:

"I slept so well! The bed was a little inadequate, but it didn't affect my sleep at all. It's okay, I'll go to the furniture store later to pick out a new one, a thicker and stronger one. After that, we'll stay with you for a few more days, to stay longer. You know what, it's strange, I felt so comfortable here!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xie Baochang and Su Guifen spoke in unison, saying:

"No!"

After shouting, the two looked at each other and felt a little embarrassed. They quickly picked up their bowls of porridge and took a sip to hide their awkwardness.

Lin Chen and Xie Xiaomei exchanged a glance, both stunned, not expecting the two to react so strongly.

Su Guifen, quick-witted, immediately smiled and smoothed things over:

"Well, it's not that we don't want you to stay, but you two are already married. What's the point of staying at your parents' house all the time? Besides, there's a lot going on in Ivory Mountain, and the resort is under construction. You should go back as soon as possible today."

"When you have free time, just come back and visit us often. Go back and live a good life. Don't bicker or argue. But judging from your relationship, I doubt you'll actually start arguing."

Xie Xiaomei knew her parents perfectly well.

It wasn't that they disliked them staying there; it was simply that the commotion last night was too loud, making the elderly couple feel awkward and uncomfortable at home. They wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible.

She secretly pinched Lin Chen's thigh under the table, quite hard.

Lin Chen winced in pain, gasped, and immediately put on a guilty expression, saying sincerely:

"That won't do. We can't come back often, and we don't spend enough time with you. I feel guilty! We must stay a couple more days to take good care of you."