A fiery red maple leaf fell out of the envelope, with a blank page of stationery—only it was not perfectly smooth, but spotted here and there.
It looked like water stains, as if they were drops of tears.
An Hao was puzzled, holding the paper in a daze.
Zhang Yun noticed her trance and gently patted her, pointing at the maple leaf in her hand and asking, "Who sent this bookmark?"
In that era, it was common for people to use various types of leaves to make bookmarks.
There were no maple leaves in their region, so upon seeing one, Zhang Yun naturally thought of a bookmark.
"I don’t know," An Hao shook her head. The item was mailed to Qin Jian, and even he didn’t have a clue, let alone anyone else.
"If you don’t know, let it be. Quickly take a look at what Jianzi wrote to you," Zhang Yun said with a beaming smile, "Last time, he called and stressed repeatedly that I must bring the letter to you."
"He always makes such a mystery of it," An Hao smiled, opening the envelope, "Sending mails in two directions, to school and also to our home."
The stationery bore Qin Jian’s bold and forceful characters, exuding determination and resolution, yet reading the contents made An Hao’s face heat up and her heart race.
This man, surely... a perfectly good letter and he wrote it... so cheesy.
If it wasn’t for the matching handwriting, she would have thought it was written by two different people.
The one sent to school was about her studies and life, while the love letters sent home—that guy must have been worried someone would open his love letters, hence this method!
Zhang Yun saw her daughter-in-law’s flushed face and immediately understood that the letter must be a love letter from her son.
She went downstairs with a grin, carrying the soup bowl, leaving this sweet moment for An Hao to enjoy by herself.
An Hao held the letters and read on until her cheeks were covered in redness. Then, wiping her burning cheeks, she carefully stored the letters away in a notebook buried deep in the drawer.
Just as she finished, she heard Zhang Yun’s shout from downstairs, "An Hao, Jianzi is on the phone!"
An Hao was overjoyed, scrambling downstairs without properly putting on her shoes.
In the living room, Ning Yibin and Zhang Yun were both sitting on the couch reading books and newspapers.
An Hao walked over, picked up the phone, and said gently, "Hello...?"
Qin Jian’s deep and magnetic voice came from the other end, making An Hao’s heart feel like it was melting, "I’ve called home many times, and every time you weren’t there."
"I’ve been staying at school. My recent coursework has been quite busy, and I haven’t been able to find time to come home even on Saturdays and Sundays. How about you? Are you doing okay over there?" An Hao asked softly.
"Not good?" An Hao was surprised, "What happened? Are you not adjusting to the climate? Or did you get sick?"
Her question drew Ning Yibin’s and Zhang Yun’s attention, and they both looked up at An Hao.
Unexpectedly, Qin Jian replied on the phone, "A single day apart feels like an eternity, three days apart feels like nine autumns!"
An Hao’s lips curled up, revealing a smile, "Aren’t you being cheesy? Didn’t I also write to you?"
Qin Jian shook the envelope in his hand, his voice filled with laughter, "You did write. But more than a few thin pages of letters, I miss you. What about you? Do you ever lie awake at night missing me?"
An Hao looked up and sneakily glanced at her in-laws, lowering her voice to almost a whisper, "I miss you, too."
"Only three more months till summer break. Come over then, see the local customs and scenery of the Northwest, and experience a bit of the grandeur of the great Northwest."
"Okay," An Hao had already prepared for the trip during the holidays, "Make sure you treat me well when I get there!"
"Don’t worry," Qin Jian assured her with a laugh, then paused before adding, "I’ve saved up quite a lot of ’public grain’, and when the time comes, we’ll have to ’contribute the public grain’ properly!"