The day before the anniversary of Lu Wancheng’s death, the first snow of the winter fell upon the city. Snowflakes came down fast, sweeping across the land with the wind. Not even half a day later, the snow already covered the courtyard.
When Gu Fuzhou returned from court, he didn’t even change out of his official clothes before seeking out Lin Qingyu in the study. “Qingyu, the snow outside is so thick. Let’s go build a snowman!”
Lin Qingyu wasn’t interested. “It’s not the first time it’s snowed. Why do you want to build a snowman?”
“It rarely snows in my hometown. I think that you’re basically wasting your life if you don’t build a snowman while there’s snow.” Gu Fuzhou stuck his hand in front of Lin Qingyu’s eyes, preventing him from reading. “Come on, Qingyu. Just have a good time with your husband for one day, okay?”
“Huantong can have a good time with you.”
Although Lin Qingyu ignored him, Gu Fuzhou didn’t leave. “You’re being so cold to me, Physician Lin. Did something happen?”
Lin Qingyu hesitated. “No.”
“Did I annoy you?” Gu Fuzhou asked worriedly. “I can leave.”
Lin Qingyu, taken aback, forced a smile. “How would you have annoyed me? I just…don’t like snow.”
Gu Fuzhou looked thoughtful. “Is it because I…”
“When it snows, the herbs I put out to dry aren’t ready until much later,” Lin Qingyu interrupted. “For a physician, sunny days are vastly preferable to rainy or snowy ones.”
Gu Fuzhou didn’t press him, but he also didn’t go build a snowman with Huantong. He picked up a book from the shelf and read quietly in the same room as Lin Qingyu.
The snow fell from day until night; even the inside of their blankets seemed to frost over. Perhaps because he was too cold, it took Lin Qingyu a long time to fall asleep. And once he did drift off, he jerked awake in the middle of the night from a dream.
There was no light in the room; he could just barely see the silhouettes of the furniture by the moonlight reflecting off the snow. Lin Qingyu’s heart pounded in his chest as he got out of bed, barefoot, looking toward the top bunk.
No one was there.
Lin Qingyu’s limbs chilled as dream and reality merged together. He stood in front of the bunk bed, forcing himself to remain calm, telling himself over and over that this was just a dream. His body was still frozen in place, unable to move. It felt as if he couldn’t control his limbs.
Behind him, a door creaked. Lin Qingyu spun to see a man’s tall figure.
“Qingyu?” Gu Fuzhou said in surprise. “How come you’re awake too?”
Lin Qingyu opened his mouth. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t make a single sound.
Gu Fuzhou lit a lamp. When he met Lin Qingyu’s gaze, he seemed shocked and quickly walked over. “What happened?”
“Where did you go?” Lin Qingyu forced himself to speak and was shocked by how low and hoarse his voice sounded.
“I woke up in the middle of the night because I was hungry, so I went to ask Hualu to make some noodles.” Gu Fuzhou cupped Lin Qingyu’s face in his hands. “Why are your eyes red? Are you so mad that I went to eat alone that you cried?”
Gu Fuzhou’s palms were warm, so warm that Lin Qingyu’s eyes filled with tears again. He lowered his gaze and shook his head.
“I…I wanted to see whether you were still here,” he said softly.
Gu Fuzhou stopped moving. Then, suddenly, he picked Lin Qingyu up, walked toward the bed, and laid him on top of it.
Lin Qingyu felt dazed; this scene seemed familiar to him. He suddenly felt like he was dreaming.
Gu Fuzhou kneeled in front of the bed, looking up at him. “It was snowing the day I died too, right?”
“Didn’t you see it?”
Gu Fuzhou smiled. “Yeah, I saw it.”
Lin Qingyu’s breath caught. “Liar…” he choked out.
Gu Fuzhou pulled back from the topic. “Don’t think about the past anymore,” he urged. “I’m fine now, aren’t I?”
“I don’t think of it often.” Lin Qingyu hesitated but still said what was on his mind. “I…I’m a bit afraid.”