A Brief Warmth

Over the past few days, as the wind and snow grew increasingly fierce, Chen Xu could sense Luo Xiyun becoming more and more restless and anxious. Every night, she woke from nightmares.

He had never seen her so vulnerable and helpless. At times like this, there was nothing he could do except offer her more comfort, body and soul.

He took her hand, looked into her eyes, and said, "No matter what happens, I'll always stay by your side."

Luo Xiyun pressed his hand to her face, feeling the coolness of his palm and its slightly rough texture. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and the worry between her brows gradually eased.

Chen Xu looked at her peaceful, serene face, and something deep within him was stirred.

These past few days, a thought had lingered stubbornly in his mind. When this dream ended and he woke up, what would happen to this dream world? What would happen to Luo Xiyun, who lived within it?

He desperately wanted to ask the Virtual Dream Device that had sent him into this dream world, but no matter how he called out to it, there was no response at all.

To him, there were things about this dream world that felt unreal. Accepting that was not difficult.

But Luo Xiyun felt like a living, breathing person. Her warmth, her scent, her murmurs, her screams, her tears, her trembling, her spasms... all of it was so real.

When the dream ended, would she disappear with it? But even if this dream world could remain, after he left, she would be the only one left in the entire world. For her, perhaps that would be even more terrifying than death.

He felt lost.

"If one day I died, and you were the only one left..."

"I would live well." Luo Xiyun did not open her eyes as she spoke in a very soft voice.

"That hurts. I thought you'd die for love with me."

"Don't flatter yourself. I wouldn't live for anyone."

After Luo Xiyun said that, she waited for quite a while. When she heard no response from him, she opened her eyes and saw him staring at the fire. Softly, she asked, "What? Did I hurt your pride?"

"Yeah. Badly."

Chen Xu smiled and said, "All right, go to sleep first. We still have work tomorrow."

Early the next morning, the two of them got up and went to work. They spent the entire morning filling every empty bucket they had brought. It was exhausting physical labor, and by the end, both of them were nearly collapsing.

So they rested there for another night to recover their strength. Only on the morning of the third day did they leave and set out for home.

They returned the way they had come. The path they had cleared on the way over was still there, making the journey much easier. It took them only five hours to return to the villa.

Chen Xu let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, nothing unexpected had happened along the way. If they conserved the gasoline they had brought back this time, it would last for two months without a problem.

To celebrate the successful completion of their mission, they took out their remaining tomatoes and stir-fried them.

The torrential rain had come too suddenly. When they moved, they had brought very few fresh vegetables, and to preserve them, they could only freeze them. These tomatoes were their last remaining stock.

Outside, wind and snow filled the sky.

Inside, it was warm as spring. The two sat at the dining table, eating steaming-hot food. At least in this tiny world, this happiness belonged to the two of them.

But Chen Xu knew that once the dream entered its final countdown, such happiness would not last much longer.

On the fifteenth day before the countdown ended, while they were asleep, the room's glass window suddenly exploded with a bang. A biting wind laden with snow grains rushed in, and the room temperature, which had been over ten degrees, instantly plunged to dozens of degrees below zero.

Startled awake, the two of them wrapped themselves in blankets and hurriedly fled the room.

Once outside, they discovered that every glass window in the villa had shattered. Not a single one had survived. Their once-warm little world could no longer withstand the assault of the bitter cold.

In the end, they could only hide in the walk-in closet beside the master bedroom. Wrapped together in one blanket, they listened to the howling wind outside and held each other for warmth.

Chen Xu had already expected this day to come, so he was not shaken by it. He was only worried about Luo Xiyun.

To his surprise, Luo Xiyun in his arms seemed very calm. She was not panicked at all and did not say a word.

Slowly, he closed his eyes. He stopped thinking about the dream and stopped thinking about the frigid cold beyond the door.

A down comforter cut them off from the outside world, forming a tiny world of its own.

In the pitch-black darkness, they listened to each other's heartbeats, felt each other's breaths, and drew warmth from each other.

They savored this fleeting warmth and tranquility.

After dawn, Chen Xu and Luo Xiyun put on thick Cold-Weather Clothing and sealed every window with whole wooden boards. The only exception was the floor-to-ceiling window on the Living Room balcony, because they could not find a board large enough.

Fortunately, there were no windows in the basement, so it escaped disaster. The generator stored there was unaffected.

As long as the generator still worked, things were not too bad. At the very least, they would not have to worry about freezing to death.

They spent two days tidying everything up. Still, their lives were greatly affected. At the very least, every time they went out into the Living Room, they had to put on thick clothes.

Moreover, Chen Xu could clearly feel the weather getting colder by the day. The heating was becoming less and less effective.

This was the south, after all. Winter temperatures rarely dropped below zero. Although the villa had used some insulating materials, it had never been built with weather dozens of degrees below zero in mind.

Luo Xiyun also became increasingly silent.

When the countdown entered its tenth day, Chen Xu finally let go. He stopped thinking about anything and only wanted to enjoy every moment with her to the fullest.

Five days remained.

That morning, Luo Xiyun woke in Chen Xu's arms as usual. She carefully got up and tucked the blanket around him. After washing up, she put on her thick protective clothing as usual and pulled the door open a crack.

She immediately noticed something was wrong. The door opened easily, and the freezing wind she had expected to pour through the gap did not come.

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. She pulled the door open wider and finally confirmed something.

The wind had stopped.

She rushed outside and stood before the balcony, covering her mouth as tears burst from her eyes.

Beyond the balcony was still a world blanketed in silver, but the snow that had continued for more than half a month had stopped. At the edge of heaven and earth, a golden sun was spreading its light and warmth.