Strongest Counterattack

At four o’clock in the morning, the weather changed. With the wind howling, the ground was soon covered with heavy snow. It was the first snow in Beijing this year, earlier and heavier than in previous years.

When Qin Ran woke up, it was already a world of white outside. But it was still warm inside due to the central heating. The glass of the windows was covered with vapor, like a veil half-concealing the outside scenery.

Qin Ran was drowned in her memory. She seemed to go back to her childhood when she was living with her mother, brother, and sister. On such a winter morning, her mom would knock on her door to get the children to have breakfast.

Qin Ran put on her clothes and opened the window. Her eyes became red the moment the freezing air poured in, but she was amazed by the snowy scenery, saying excitedly, “Snow!”

In those days, children were most exhilarated for the snow. They would gather in the yard to play together in the snow. The whole yard would be filled with their laughter and shouts. She and her younger brother were two of those kids who would play wildly on a snowy day. They would make snowmen and have a snowball fight. Their father would scold them for being naughty, but their mother would laugh and say that it was all right.

The elderly in heavy clothes would stand at some surrounding place, holding warm teacups and staring at the kids with smiles. Sometimes, they would be scared and cry out, “Careful! Be Careful!”

Qin Ran thought about her childhood and dreamed to go back to those happy days. But the skyscrapers in the distance reminded her of the reality.

She came back from her memory and thought about what had happened last night, which made her laugh joyfully and filled her eyes with a warm feeling. She closed the window and stepped into the sitting room from the bedroom. Qin Sheng was sleeping soundly on the sofa there, but in a strange posture with his quilt on the floor.

Qin Ran smiled at this scene. Qin Sheng was very much like the young child he used to be when he was asleep. Qin Ran walked toward the sofa and didn’t intend to wake up Qin Sheng. She took the quilt on the floor and covered it on Qin Sheng. She was going to go out to buy something to eat for breakfast and wake him up when she got back so that Qin Sheng could sleep longer.

But he was always vigilant due to his dangerous situation. So when she walked past Qin Sheng, he felt it and woke up suddenly, standing up to confront Qin Ran with aggressive eyes.

Qin Ran was scared by him and almost fell down to the floor. Qin Sheng then realized what happened and held Qin Ran’s arms. He said with sorrow, “Sorry, sister. You must be scared.”

Qin Ran was still fearful and asked, “What’s wrong with you? You looked horrid just now.”

Qin Sheng didn’t know how he could explain it. He hesitated to think and then said, “Habit... maybe. I never totally fall asleep.”

Qin Ran understood Qin Sheng at once after hearing this. He had been leading a life of sharp vigilance. It would be dangerous to fall asleep deeply since his enemies might hide somewhere nearby, waiting for a chance to kill him.

Qin Ran was worried about Qin Sheng. She hugged him and said, “Those things will never happen again. I’ll protect you. Nobody can do anything to you from now on.”

Qin Sheng was moved. This was kinship. This was blood ties. Though his sister had been separated from him for a long time, Qin Sheng could still feel the love between them. This love was selfless and unconditional. Nothing could compare with the love of kinship, especially the love of parents.

“Sister, I’m hungry.” Qin Sheng was not used to Qin Ran’s over caring. What happened last night stirred up his memory and triggered his emotions too much. He felt kind of embarrassed now about what he said and did when he was calm, so he tried to change their focus.

Now that they had come back to Beijing, Qin Ran was eager to meet all of Qin Sheng’s needs. Since Qin Sheng said that he was hungry, Qin Ran put down her arms embracing Qin Sheng and said, “Go wash your face. I’m taking you to eat out for breakfast. There is a nice restaurant with dozens of years’ history. We often had breakfast there when we were young. It’s still open now.”

Qin Sheng nodded with a smile and went to the bathroom. Qin Ran said to Qin Sheng, “By the way, it snowed last night. Open the window and take a look. This is the first snow of the year in Beijing. I haven’t seen such heavy snow in Beijing in the previous years. Once you came back, it came as well. Beijing is welcoming you home with its great snow.”

He turned back and ran to the balcony. Qin Sheng fancied snow and hated rain. When he was in Xi’an, he used to love the snowy Zhongnan Mountains, as beautiful as a masterpiece of art. So did Qin Ran. Their blood ties made them share a lot of their likes and dislikes. It happened a lot between family members.

When he opened the window, the world of silver and white made Qin Sheng excited. The cold wind was sweeping the snow into the air, making the view hazy. He couldn’t help taking a deep breath and almost choked because of the freezing air. But he was as happy, like a young child.

But before he fully enjoyed this beauty of snow, Qin Ran stopped him by pulling his arm and saying, “That’s enough. Go to the bathroom now. We’re going out and you can see more then.”

Qin Sheng was reluctant to close the window and then went to the bathroom. Gongsun had sent him all the daily necessary yesterday.

After that, they changed their clothes and couldn’t wait to go out. The freezing wind welcomed them the moment then went downstairs. The wind and snow were like daggers gashing their faces. It was quite weird that those kids who were playing together didn’t feel cold at all. Maybe it was because they had just come out of their warm room and hadn’t gotten used to the temperature yet.

Qin Ran held Qin Sheng’s arm, showing him around the yard. She hoped that the environment around would stimulate Qin Sheng’s memory of childhood.

Zhuang Zhou and Nan Gong, who had been waiting for them in the car, thought that Qin Sheng and Qin Ran were going to the siheyuan and got out to meet them.

Qin Ran was surprised and said, “Have you stayed in the car the whole night?”

Nan Gong looked pale. She nodded, feeling bad. It was really uncomfortable to stay in the car for the whole night. But Zhuang Zhou felt nothing. He just smiled and looked at them.

Qin Ran said worriedly, “You should have gone back to take a rest. If we go to siheyuan, we will call you first. It’s my fault. I should have said something to you.”

“Sister, are we going to the siheyuan now?” Nan Gong asked in a soft voice.

Qin Ran was embarrassed to refuse and said, “Wait a while. I’m showing Qin Sheng around and having breakfast. We’ll go after that. By the way, what do you want to eat? We can buy some and get takeaway for you.”

Nan Gong was eager to find a bed and fall asleep. She felt awkward when she heard that they had to wait for another while. But she had no choice and said, “Anything is OK.”

Qin Ran said to Zhuang Zhou, “What about you?”

“Same,” Zhuang Zhou said with a smile.

Qin Sheng stared at Nan Gong. Any man would feel worried when they saw such a beautiful lady suffer from the freezing weather. But Qin Sheng was staring more due to his curiosity of this lady. Since she had been following Zhuang Zhou, he wondered about the relation between this lady and the Qin Family. Qin Sheng could understand that Zhuang Zhou was capable enough to do some specific things, for he was definitely not a common person. But as for Nan Gong, a beautiful but common woman, it was incredible.

Nan Gong and Zhuang Zhou wanted to follow them, but Qin Ran refused, for she believed it was safe around here. However, Zhuang Zhou insisted on following behind them at a distance in case of any accidents.

The Big Yard of Planning Committee was quite large, containing a variety of yards. Qin Ran showed Qin Sheng around those yards. She sometimes gossiped about some things about their neighbors and sometimes mentioned stories of their childhood. When they came across the elderly neighbors, Qin Ran would greet them politely. The elderly were quite familiar with Qin Ran, who often came back, and the old story of the Qin Family. But they knew little about the current situation of the family.

Some of them even stared at Qin Sheng and asked curiously, “Ran Ran, is this your boyfriend?”

And Qin Ran would smile and shake her head. “No, this is my younger brother.”

Then the elderly would not ask anymore. They just praised Qin Sheng with a few words out of politeness and left.

The restaurant they were going to was located at the end of the street. When Qin Ran led Qin Sheng in, the restaurant owner recognized her at once and said, “Hi, Ran Ran. I haven’t seen you in a long time. Why are you here today?”

Maybe it was because of the heavy snow, but people would rather stay at home so there were few customers in the restaurant. Only two tables were occupied and the restaurant owner and his wife were quite happy to welcome them.

Qin Ran smiled and explained, “Uncle Wang, I’ve been very busy recently until today.”

The restaurant owner and his wife talked a bit with Qin Ran and then paid attention to Qin Sheng. They also asked, “Is this your boyfriend? He’s so handsome.”

Qin Ran couldn’t help but explain again, “Uncle Wang, Auntie Song, you met him many years ago. This is my younger brother. Do you remember that there used to be a little boy who often came to buy the soybean drink?”

“Your younger brother?” The restaurant owner and his wife were surprised. They stared at Qin Sheng for a minute and seemed to observe his every detail.

After a while, they said, “Aw, I remember. I felt that he was familiar. It has been quite a lot of years. The little boy has become a man now. That was why we didn’t recognize him.”

Qin Sheng didn’t expect that they could recognize him; or maybe they didn’t, but they said so out of politeness. Qin Sheng smiled and said, “Hello, Uncle Wang, Auntie Song.”

The couple held Qin Sheng’s hands and talked a lot with him like they were good friends. Qin Sheng felt a little bit awkward.

They chatted for a while before Qin Sheng and Qin Ran found a table and took their seats. Qin Ran smiled and said to Qin Sheng, “I ordered soybean drinks, fried dough sticks, and boiled tea eggs. These were your favorites when we were kids.”

Though Qin Sheng’s eating habits had changed a lot, he was willing to eat these to try and recall his childhood memory.

It didn’t take long before the food was served. Qin Ran smiled and said, “You must be hungry. Just help yourself.”

Qin Sheng was really hungry. He ate some fried dough sticks and drank the soybean drink. It tasted really good. Then they just focused on the food and said nothing.

Qin Ran was not hungry. She just ate a little and looked at Qin Sheng, who was pigging out. When Qin Sheng finished, she gave him a napkin.

“Do you like it all?” Qin Ran asked with a smile.

Qin Sheng nodded. “Yummy.”

“Then we’ll just go home now. We can have breakfast here again someday,” Qin Ran said in a soft voice.

Qin Ran went to pay the bill and grabbed her takeaway for Zhuang Zhou and Nan Gong. They chatted a little with the restaurant owner and his wife before they left.

When they got back to the apartment, Qin Ran gave the food to the two and then said to Qin Sheng, “It’s time for us to go home and meet our dad.”

Qin Sheng squinted and became drowned in thoughts. He felt that the man in the photo looked familiar, who should be his father, but he was not sure about that.