ECG -Chapter 98 Winter Love

Lin Hao touched his own face when he heard that and asked doubtfully, “Am I really that old?”

Xia Yumeng burst out laughing. “Not your face, your brain!” After saying that, she even reached out and tapped her own head.

“Oh!” Lin Hao thought to himself. His mental age was already over forty; how could he possibly act like a child?

After the two of them finished eating rice noodles, they headed toward Lindu Cinema. Chunhe only had this one movie theater. It wasn’t located upstairs in a shopping mall, but instead was inside the Workers’ Cultural Palace.

It wasn’t far away, though. The two of them didn’t ride bicycles and simply strolled there, arriving in five or six minutes.

After entering the cinema, Lin Hao felt a little uneasy. Today, Wu Xiaozhou had gone to hang out with Bai Zhitao, and he didn’t know if the two of them would also come to watch a movie. If they ran into each other, it would be awkward—there was really no way to explain this.

The two of them stood together in line to buy tickets, looking up at the handwritten movie titles on the blackboard. Lin Hao asked, “One is a romance film, and the other is a martial arts movie. Which one should we watch?”

Xia Yumeng said, “I heard this movie Winter Love is really good. Let’s watch this one!”

Lin Hao nodded. If he were choosing, he would definitely pick the martial arts movie. But he couldn’t really make the decision this time. After all, he had invited a young girl to watch a movie with him, so he still needed to show some gentlemanly manners.

The cinema was packed with people. By the time the two of them entered carrying a large bucket of popcorn and two bottles of Jianlibao, it was already almost full.

Their seats were pretty good—toward the back, just slightly off to the side.

At that time, movies didn’t have any advertisements before they started. The two of them chatted casually, saying a few words here and there. Before long, the movie began.

The story was very simple. At the beginning, it portrayed university life, the tragic love between the male and female leads, the second female lead’s interference, and so on. Then, after they started working and got married, the female lead was diagnosed with a terminal illness not long afterward. She called the second female lead over and entrusted the male lead to her…

The plot was very cliché, but the director had a unique vision and made the film extremely beautiful. The cinematographer’s skills were also extraordinary. The old rattling bicycles, the weathered walls—every single scene, if you pressed pause, looked as beautiful as an oil painting.

Xia Yumeng’s tears never stopped falling. It was a day when snow covered the sky, and the female lead was about to pass away. She sobbed so hard that she eventually started crying out loud.

Lin Hao took out the only tissue he had left in his pocket and handed it to her.

In the darkness, their hands touched. Xia Yumeng’s hand trembled at first, but then she tightly held onto his hand.

Lin Hao felt the warmth spreading from her hand. His heart suddenly skipped a beat, and then he felt a sense of relief.

So be it. Since love had already arrived, why should he insist on rejecting it?

Hadn’t he always wanted to have a proper romance in college? Xia Yumeng was definitely the best candidate. She was also the girl who could move his heart the most. As for how far they could go, he truly couldn’t say.

Lin Hao had never been a playboy. Although in his previous life he had many women around him, that was related to the industry he worked in. But in every relationship, he had always invested his true feelings and had never been the type to date two people at once.

Love was a very mysterious thing. It was difficult for it to remain unchanged forever. As time passed, it might transform into family affection, or it might slowly fade until the two people felt like strangers. Or perhaps they would stay together only because of their children, simply making do with life…

He longed for a love that would never change through the ages, but unfortunately, he had never found it in his previous life. He didn’t know whether this life would be any different.

Just as he gently rubbed Xia Yumeng’s soft little hand, and just as both their hearts were pounding loudly, the phone in Lin Hao’s coat pocket suddenly rang.

At this point, the movie was already nearing its end. Amidst the gentle, emotional background music, the ringtone sounded extremely harsh. Several couples sitting in front turned around and gave Lin Hao looks of disdain.

Lin Hao quickly let go of her hand like a thief caught in the act and took out his phone.

It was Bai Zhitao.

……

Wu Xiaozhou and Bai Zhitao went to eat spicy hot pot at noon. The small restaurant wasn’t very big, but there were lots of people. The two of them ate until their faces were covered in sweat, and they sat there to cool down before daring to go outside.

Bai Zhitao wanted to buy a pair of jeans, so the two of them started walking around the mall.

Chunhe was located in the northeast of Long Province. It was a cluster city centered around the main urban area and made up of nineteen satellite towns, so it was quite spread out. The population of the city itself was only 900,000, and the area wasn’t very large either.

The biggest commercial areas in the city were the pedestrian street and Chunhe Mall. Chunhe Mall had three floors, all selling clothing, while both sides of the pedestrian street had all kinds of shops.

At this time, there was still more than a month before the Spring Festival. Combined with the freezing weather, the pedestrian street was extremely quiet.

Wu Xiaozhou, wrapped in his newly bought down jacket, leaned against the west entrance of the mall smoking. Women were frighteningly energetic when shopping. In such a small mall, Bai Zhitao had already been browsing for more than an hour, trying on countless pairs of jeans. She had finally managed to wear him down enough that he had gone outside to smoke.

Bai Zhitao returned with a big haul, excitedly walking from the third floor toward the west entrance. She carried several paper bags in her hands. Inside were a pair of jeans, a cashmere sweater she had bought for herself, and another pair of jeans she had bought earlier for Wu Xiaozhou.

Wu Xiaozhou had just lit his second cigarette when he saw four people walking toward him. The man leading them wore a black mink coat and had a big, round face. He looked to be around forty years old.

Wu Xiaozhou recognized him. This was the famous underworld figure Cao Yitui of Chunhe, also known as Boss Cao—the man Erfei and the others followed.

However, Cao Yitui didn’t recognize Wu Xiaozhou. He didn’t even glance at him, simply leading three burly men into the mall.

Bai Zhitao came down the stairs and headed toward the west entrance. At a glance, she saw that big round face, and her heart jolted.

Wasn’t this the man she had encountered in the hot pot restaurant hallway that night?

She could still remember the smell now—the greasy mixture of cigarettes, liquor, hair gel, sweat, and all kinds of other odors that had surrounded her when he stood behind her.

Bai Zhitao hated these street thugs, so she quickly turned sideways, wanting to go around him.

Cao Yitui spotted her immediately.

He had sent Erfei and the others to search for this girl for many days, but they still hadn’t found her. Now that he had seen her again, he no longer wanted to maintain his “polite” image.

“Hey, don’t leave!” Cao Yitui hurriedly stepped in front of Bai Zhitao.

Bai Zhitao didn’t want to talk to him. She turned around and tried to leave in another direction, but Cao Yitui’s three underlings were quick to react and blocked her path first.

Bai Zhitao’s pretty face flushed red with anxiety as she snapped, “What are you doing?”

Cao Yitui stretched out both hands in a calming gesture. “Don’t get nervous. Your Brother Cao is a good person. I just want to get to know you. Let me treat you to a meal, and we can sit down and chat…”

“I don’t want to know you!” Bai Zhitao said, then tried to force her way through.

Cao Yitui reached out with both hands to grab her. Bai Zhitao swung the paper bags in her hands with all her strength.

“Smack! Smack! Smack!”

The bags hit Cao Yitui’s head several times, and the jeans and cashmere sweater inside scattered onto the ground.

Bai Zhitao looked up and saw two mall security guards not far away. She immediately shouted for help.

But the two security guards acted as if they hadn’t seen anything. When they heard Bai Zhitao yelling for help, they quickly lowered their heads and walked away.

Beside them was a lingerie counter. The owner was a middle-aged man, and upon seeing the situation, he actually ducked straight inside the counter.

Just then, Cao Yitui stretched out his arms and grabbed her tightly.

Bai Zhitao struggled desperately, but Cao Yitui raised his hand.

“Smack!”

He slapped her across the face.

“Bitch, stop struggling!” Cao Yitui revealed his vicious side, cursing as he dragged Bai Zhitao outside.

Although Bai Zhitao was usually quiet and gentle, deep down she had an extremely stubborn and fierce personality. After being slapped, she seemed to go crazy, punching and kicking Cao Yitui with all her strength.

Cao Yitui laughed.

“Brother Cao just likes little spicy peppers like you.”