TRMLCM Chapter 71

Chapter 71: First Snow

The arrangements for Grandpa’s funeral were handled by Shen Chang’an.

This remote little mountain village still practiced the traditional custom of burial, and the surrounding neighbors helped spontaneously.

The coffin was placed at home for four days, and Grandma stayed in front of the mourning hall for four days without sleep. Occasionally, when drowsiness came, she would doze off for a while, but the tears in her eyes never stopped flowing. No one could persuade her otherwise.

In the first few days, apart from the mournful music played on the small loudspeaker and a few close neighbors, the mourning hall was very quiet and desolate, with only the sound of burning paper money and the crackling of melting candles.

But as the burial approached, many unfamiliar cars suddenly arrived in Li Family Village, expensive ones and cheap ones, all parked in a long line on the not-so-wide cement road.

Countless splendid wreaths piled up in the courtyard, fireworks and firecrackers kept going off, and the paper money in the brazier burned non-stop all night. Only in the latter half of the night did the number of people keeping vigil slowly decrease.

At six o’clock the next morning, the weather was gloomy. The funeral procession was very long. Paper money flew in the air. Several strong men helped carry the coffin, followed by Shen Chang’an, wearing mourning clothes, walking at the front of the procession, with Cheng Yi holding things and following behind him.

Both of them had dark circles under their eyes, and their expressions were very tired. The funeral had taken up too much of their energy, and their low mood affected their sleep quality.

A dozen minutes later, the group arrived at their destination, a gently sloping area on the mountain behind the village.

Backed by the mountain and facing the water, facing south, with a lush eucalyptus forest not far away.

This was the burial plot Grandpa had chosen for himself.

The villagers were experienced and taught Shen Chang’an what to do. However, Shen Chang’an really couldn’t bring himself to say some of the more direct words of hope. He knelt in front of the tombstone and kowtowed three times respectfully, then didn’t get up, his gaze quietly fixed on the words on the inscription.

Cheng Yi was beside Shen Chang’an, helping to burn paper money. Noticing his movement, his dark eyes followed his line of sight.

The right side of the inscription recorded Grandpa’s gender, age, and a short epitaph.

And in the lower left corner was a family tree.

Father: Li Mingde

Mother: Li Qin

Daughter: Li Muqing

Son-in-law: Shen Chengtao

Grandson: Shen Chang’an

A single line of descent, only five names in the quiet and desolate family.

Cheng Yi’s gaze fell on the names of the second generation, people he had never met or understood.

Li Muqing?

Cheng Yi turned his head to look at the single grave not far away. It was a very clean grave, with not a single Dead yellowbranch or weed around it. When he passed by just now, he seemed to have inadvertently seen that the name written on it was also this one.

When one side of the grave was filled with soil, the man in charge called for everyone to return.

Shen Chang’an withdrew his cold gaze, his eyes drooping dimly, and slowly stood up. But he had been kneeling for too long these past few days, and his knees were weak when he got up. He almost staggered.

“Careful.”

Cheng Yi promptly reached out and supported his body, his eyes full of worry.

Shen Chang’an paused, adjusted to his body, and slowly stood up straight. He raised his head slightly, his clear eyes a little dim, and the corners of his mouth weakly curved into a pale smile.

He said softly, “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Cheng Yi frowned tightly. How could he not worry?

Shen Chang’an hadn’t eaten much these past few days, and he had been handling most of the funeral arrangements. In these few days, he had lost even more weight. His face, which had been a little fleshy, now seemed to only have skin left.

Looking at his gaunt cheeks, Cheng Yi’s eyes were full of heartache, but he also knew that Shen Chang’an was currently trapped in the grief and sorrow of losing a loved one. He couldn’t say much to comfort him, so he could only take care of him carefully himself.

Cheng Yi took Shen Chang’an’s cold hand, transferred his own warm body temperature to him, and said in a low voice, “Let’s go, let’s go back and have breakfast. Grandma is waiting at home.”

Only the two of them were left. The other villagers and Grandpa’s friends and students had already left ahead of them. Now they could only see their relaxed backs.

It is said that the death of a loved one is a continuous drizzle, and the sadness in the heart will fade with time, but the dark, humid feeling will always surround the heart.

Now, this long-brewing drizzle had finally fallen.

The rain wet everything in sight.

The rain fell on that delicate and fair face, and the messy hair stuck to his forehead after getting wet, giving off an overwhelming sense of pure and fragile brokenness.

Cheng Yi stole a glance at the person beside him, walking slowly.

The next second, the knuckles of the fingers in his hand twisted, and then actively grasped him. A force came from his side and slowly swayed forward.

Shen Chang’an pulled Cheng Yi and ran wildly in the rain, leaving only the cold wind chasing behind them.

“It’s raining and you’re not running, are you stupid?”

The voice floating in the air seemed to come from afar, sounding a little broken, muffled and clear through the rain.

Cheng Yi looked at his figure in the messy wind, facing countless raindrops. He grinned, his eyebrows raised, not caring about the disdain in the other’s words, nor defending his actions just now.

His fingertips moved, interlocking fingers.

One warm and one cool, complementing each other.

His dark eyes were filled with gentle light. He no longer needed to be pulled and quickly stepped up to follow, walking alongside Shen Chang’an.

Cheng Yi reached out with his other hand and caught some white fluff. “An’an, it seems to be snowing.”

In the cold winter, snowflakes fell piece by piece from the sky. When they fell in mid-air, they melted into water droplets due to the temperature and fell to the ground.

But still, a snowflake or two luckily fell, landing on their hair, and slowly melting.

The figures who had walked far away appeared in their sight. The two running people slowly slowed down.

The rain disappeared, the temperature dropped sharply, and a large amount of snow slowly and silently fell from the sky.

The ground was gradually eroded and piled up with snowflakes, and the dirt was gradually covered up, making the world pure white.

Shen Chang’an calmly looked ahead and nodded. “It’s the first snow.”

“I heard that if you make a wish when you see the first snow, your wish will come true.”

A low and mature voice, but the words were very innocent.

Listening to these childish words, Shen Chang’an couldn’t help but turn his head to look at the other person, a trace of curiosity flashed in his plain eyes. He looked at Cheng Yi inquisitively.

Cheng Yi looked serious. “Really, my friend said that making a wish with the first snow is very effective.”

Lin Zhihao always liked to say these nonsense things when he coaxed those little girls on weekdays. See, he even taught me badly.

Cheng Yi curled his lips slightly and secretly complained in his heart. He raised his eyes to meet Shen Chang’an’s gaze, thinking in his heart, what if this method doesn’t work…

…Should I make a wish?

His long eyelashes fluttered, and Shen Chang’an lowered his eyes slightly, thinking for a moment in his mind, but still chose to follow his heart.

He hesitated and asked, “How do you make a wish?”

“Uh…”

What did Lin Zhihao say?

Cheng Yi looked very calm, his mind spinning rapidly as he recalled carefully.

“Close your eyes.”

Shen Chang’an closed his eyes.

“…Put your hands together.”

The slender fingers in Cheng Yi’s palm were withdrawn.

“Ahem, now loudly say all your wishes.”

He increased his volume to cover up the trace of lack of confidence under his steady voice.

Shen Chang’an was silent. He opened his clear eyes and looked at Cheng Yi silently.

Cheng Yi blinked, pretending not to understand the other person’s meaning, and changed the subject. “An’an, don’t be surprised. The more wishes we say, the better. Don’t ask for quality, just quantity.”

“As long as there are many, we are not afraid that they won’t come true.”

What kind of nonsense is this…

A trace of helplessness flashed in Shen Chang’an’s eyes. He had actually believed Cheng Yi’s words to make him happy.

He pretended to be puzzled.

“Didn’t you say that wishes won’t come true if you say them out loud?”

“How could that be? Wishes really can’t come true if you don’t say them.”

Shen Chang’an’s eyes moved, and he spoke without thinking.

“I hope Grandpa…”

Bro, let’s be realistic.

As soon as the key word came out, Cheng Yi’s eyelids twitched, and his heart suddenly became nervous.

“I hope Grandpa’s peace is not disturbed by the world.”

In the past two days, people came and went for fame and profit. How many people were truly sad because they respected their elders?

Cheng Yi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This could be done.

“I hope Grandma can…live according to her own heart.”

He hesitated for a moment, then said so.

Now, Grandma was the only relative he recognized in this world. He didn’t want Grandma to leave him, but…he also knew that he couldn’t keep her.

Cheng Yi: (Thinking)

This…doesn’t seem to require him to do anything, right?

“I hope…”

Shen Chang’an raised his eyes, his black pupils quietly looking at the person in front of him. His red lips parted, and the words he wanted to say were silent between his teeth.

Noticing his gaze, Cheng Yi’s heart jumped, and he took over the conversation. “What do you hope for?”

His voice was very steady, as if he was really curious about what would come next, but he took over too quickly, revealing a trace of hasty small thoughts.

Shen Chang’an curled his lips, and a bright smile appeared on his pale face. At that moment, the sun was shining brightly, and the ice and snow melted, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He chuckled softly. “I hope that when the first snow falls next year, you will still be by my side.”

Never mind, so be it if it’s cheesy.

Shen Chang’an’s ears were red and hot as he thought this.

Cheng Yi’s eyes lit up. Hearing these ambiguous words between lovers, joy welled up in his heart, and his eyebrows lifted slightly. He said decisively:

“We’ll be here for more than just next year.”

“I’ll watch the first snow with you every year from now on.”

The first snow silently witnessed them making a promise to spend the rest of their lives together.

This was a promise from the first snow.

Every year from now on, they would have a date to rush to see the first snow.

The snow was gradually staining the world. It was getting late.

The two walked back slowly, hand in hand, pulling and being affectionate.

“Why are your hands still so cold?”

“You’ll get used to it. It’s always like this.”

“That’s not good. Let me rub them for you.”

“…Okay.”

…

In the quiet and cold world, the warmth in his hand had become the only campfire that could warm him.