Looking at the radiant smile on her face, Huo Yanzhou fell into a daze.
He had not experienced this feeling of carefully budgeting and managing a household in a long time.
Ever since something had happened to the Huo family, he, Lü Yuzhi, and Old Master Huo had been doing everything they could to find someone. Aside from work, searching for that person had consumed all their time and energy.
The Huo family home, once filled with laughter, had now turned into a cold, impersonal ice cellar. Apart from the guards who came to clean on schedule, no one cared about what was in the house anymore.
But Lin Xun was different. She had only moved into the family compound a few days ago, yet this small courtyard was already filled with everything she had carefully arranged.
The chives and scallions planted in the corners of the room, the chicken coop placed in the woodshed, the cellar stocked to the brim with supplies… everything carried the warmth of everyday life.
It was ordinary, yet warm. It made Huo Yanzhou feel as if a lifetime had passed.
A faint smile slowly crept into his deep eyes. For no particular reason, he suddenly wanted to keep this warmth for a little longer.
“Should we prepare some firewood as well?”
Lin Xun suddenly realized. “That’s right! How could I forget about firewood?”
“Then when you have time in the next couple of days, chop some more wood. I’ll go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative tomorrow to buy some coal.”
She remembered that Huo Yanzhou still had coal coupons from his allowance. Coal burned longer than firewood, so it was always good to prepare more.
Huo Yanzhou nodded, just about to say something when Xiao Wang’s voice came from outside. “Commander, someone’s here!”
The next second, Lin Xun saw Huo Yanzhou’s expression change abruptly. He hurried out the door, looking especially anxious.
In the courtyard, besides Xiao Wang, there was also a travel-worn middle-aged man. He was a local, speaking Mongolian that Lin Xun could not understand.
About three minutes later, Huo Yanzhou returned.
His brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes full of disappointment and exhaustion. Even his voice was hoarse when he spoke. “Lin Xun, I might need to withdraw some money from the passbook I gave you earlier.”
“No problem, I’ll get it for you.”
As soon as Lin Xun handed him the passbook, Huo Yanzhou left again with Xiao Wang and the middle-aged man. Half an hour passed and he still had not returned.
Lin Xun hung up the sliced mutton in a ventilated spot to air-dry so it would keep longer. By the time she finished, it was already past six o’clock. The entrance was still empty. Huo Yanzhou was nowhere to be seen.
She did not know what had happened, so she could only suppress her worry and start cooking. The villagers had given her quite a lot of chives earlier. She had planted most of them in wooden boxes and placed them in the corner of the room.
She wanted to see whether the indoor heating could keep chives and scallions alive. If it worked, she would find some vegetable seeds to plant. She truly could not stand going without fresh greens for long.
With the remaining chives, she decided to make chive pockets. She had bought plenty of flour, so she could make extra and skip the canteen for breakfast tomorrow.
As soon as the pancakes were done, she heard footsteps at the door. Lin Xun quickly called out, “Huo Yanzhou, is that you?”
“Yes!”
Huo Yanzhou walked in wrapped in a chill. Seeing the snowflakes on his shoulders, Lin Xun handed him a cup of hot tea. “You must be freezing. Have some tea to warm up.”
He wanted to say he was not cold. Back when he carried out missions, he had once lain in ambush in the snow all night and nearly frozen unconscious, yet he had not uttered a single word about the cold.
But when he met Lin Xun’s worried gaze, he swallowed his words and took a sip of hot water instead. “Aren’t you going to ask why I needed the money?”
Lin Xun waved her hand. “Whatever the reason, eat first. It’s already so late.”
The chive pockets were golden on the outside, crisp and fragrant. With one bite, her mouth filled with the fresh aroma of chives. When Lin Xun saw Huo Yanzhou eat six in one go, she knew he liked them too. If the chives in the room survived, she would make them more often.
After every meal, Huo Yanzhou would take the initiative to wash the dishes and pots. Lin Xun had planned to wash up first, but he stopped her.
“That man today was looking for Xiao Yan.”
Huo Yanxi, the child of Huo Yanzhou’s eldest brother who had been abducted by drug traffickers, was also his sister-in-law’s only bloodline.
At that moment, Lin Xun understood why Huo Yanzhou had been so dejected. “Has Xiao Yan been found?”
“No!”
After Lü Yuzhi came to the Military District and mentioned that Xiao Yan might be in the northwest, Huo Yanzhou had immediately arranged for people to search. But it had been nearly half a month, and there was still no news.
Finding someone was never easy. It required tremendous financial and material resources. The man who had come today was called Basong. The money Huo Yanzhou took was to ask Basong to hire more people. The more people searching, the greater the hope of finding her.
“I withdrew five hundred. Don’t worry. I’ll definitely earn it back,” Huo Yanzhou said quickly, afraid Lin Xun might be upset.
Lin Xun rolled her eyes at him. “What do you take me for? Do you think I’d begrudge this little bit of money?”
“Besides, I’m earning a salary now too. Maybe one day I’ll make more than you. When that happens, I’ll cover the expenses for finding Xiao Yan.”
Seeing her open and unguarded expression, Huo Yanzhou felt an inexplicable loosening in his chest. The negative emotions that had been wildly growing inside him suddenly dissipated.
He smiled. “All right.”
While washing up, Lin Xun kept thinking about Xiao Yan. Lü Yuzhi had told her that Xiao Yan had just turned five when she was abducted. She was eight now. If she had not been taken, she should have…
At that moment, the small figure Lin Xun had seen in the pastoral area suddenly flashed through her mind.
No, what was she thinking? That child had a family. Besides, the pastoral area was so close to the Military District. If it were really Xiao Yan, the people Huo Yanzhou had sent would have found her long ago.
When Lin Xun finished washing up and came out, she saw Huo Yanzhou writing a letter. It was addressed to the capital.
Ever since he realized that someone might be keeping an eye on the Huo family, anything related to finding Xiao Yan could not be discussed over the phone, as it could easily be monitored. Writing letters alone was not entirely safe either.
But every three days, the Northwest farm would transport supplies to the capital. The driver was an old acquaintance of Huo Yanzhou’s. Huo Yanzhou had once saved his life, so he could be trusted. The letters were sent with him each time, and Lü Yuzhi would pick them up at the station.
Lin Xun walked over and saw a large package by the kang. “What’s this?”
“Something Mom sent. I picked it up from the guard post.”
After Lü Yuzhi had finally returned to the capital a few days ago, she immediately called. On the phone, she thanked Lin Xun over and over again, only to be stopped by Lin Xun’s words: “Mom, if you keep saying that, you’re treating me like an outsider.”
The next day, she had asked someone to find several veterinary books at a university and sent them by express mail.
When Lin Xun opened the package, she found not only the books but also pastries from Daoxiangcun, two wool coats, and… sanitary pads?
Lin Xun was truly surprised. In this era, having one’s period was extremely inconvenient. She was not used to menstrual belts and always felt they might leak, but sanitary pads were too scarce. Even the city’s department store did not have them, according to He Yuerong.
They were probably only available at the Friendship Store in the capital.
Lü Yuzhi had not only bought several packs for her but had even thoughtfully included instructions on how to use them.
Looking at these items, Lin Xun pressed her lips together and made a decision.
An hour later, the candle went out. The surroundings were pitch black, so dark she could not see her hand in front of her face.
“Huo Yanzhou, are you asleep?” she called tentatively.
He did not respond. Only his steady breathing could be heard.
She called out two more times, still with no response. Only then did Lin Xun finally relax and quietly climb down from the kang.
Ever since Lü Yuzhi left, Huo Yanzhou had moved a single bed from logistics and placed it on the other side of the room.
He had taken the initiative to move out, which made Lin Xun much more at ease. After all, what had happened when she and Xu Zhicheng slept together after their marriage had left a significant shadow in her heart. She had thought something had happened between them, but in truth nothing had, because that scumbag was incapable.
Before today, Lin Xun would never have believed that there would come a day when she would take the initiative to share a bed with a man.
But she had no choice. If she wanted to help find clues about Xiao Yan, she could only rely on dreams. Yet she had never seen Xiao Yan, let alone been close to her. If she wanted to dream about her, she would have to use the same method as before—sleep beside Huo Yanzhou.
They had agreed to simply live together as partners. And yet, how long had it been? She was already taking the initiative. If Huo Yanzhou found out, she would probably die of embarrassment.
So she could only grit her teeth and wait until he fell asleep before acting.
The weather was bad tonight. There was not even any moonlight. The room was completely dark. Lin Xun could only grope her way onto the bed. Perhaps her luck was bad. With one touch, she felt a firm, solid muscle, the contours clear. At least six-pack abs.
Wow, Huo Yanzhou was in great shape.
No wonder he was built like an ox. In such cold weather, he was not even covering himself with the quilt.
Lin Xun sighed in admiration and quickly withdrew her hand, completely unaware of how hard the man on the bed was restraining himself.
Finally, she found an empty spot. Lin Xun quickly took off her shoes and lay down carefully. Afraid that being too far away would prevent her from dreaming, she edged closer, then closer still, until she could feel the warmth radiating from Huo Yanzhou’s body. Only then did she stop.
Before falling asleep, she reminded herself that she must wake up before Huo Yanzhou the next morning. Otherwise, if he discovered her, she would be mortified beyond measure.
With that thought, Lin Xun soon drifted off to sleep.
Only then did Huo Yanzhou, who had long since awakened, slowly open his eyes.