Snow came again early in the morning.
This time, the snow was heavy, with snowflakes dancing in the air. From a distance, everything was shrouded in bleak whiteness.
The dormitory stove had gone out by midnight, and Anning was awoken by the cold.
After waking up, she wanted to wash her face and pulled out the basin from under the bed, only to find that the water inside had turned into ice.
She put on her coat to get some firewood and relit the stove; she then heated up a kettle of water for washing her face. After checking her watch and seeing it was just past five o'clock and unable to fall back asleep, Anning decided not to try and instead sat by the stove reading with a flashlight.
Perhaps her fire-making had been a bit loud, as it woke two of her classmates.
A girl named Bai Jing got out of bed in her cotton-padded clothes: "Why are you up so early?"
Anning smiled: "The fire went out, so I just lit it."
Bai Jing approached the vigorously burning fire in the stove to warm her hands: "I was wondering why it was so cold last night, turns out the stove had gone out."
Due to the cold weather, coupled with the fact that no household had heating at this time and there was still so much work to be done, most people ended up with frostbitten hands and feet in winter, and some even frostbitten faces.
Bai Jing was one of them.
Her extended hands were swollen like steamed buns, red as carrots, with cracks here and there, which looked quite painful to behold.
"I've boiled some hot water; you can soak your hands later."
Anning glanced at Bai Jing's hands: "I think you should wear gloves when you go out in the future."
Bai Jing thanked her with a smile and also started reading a book.
By dawn, a thick layer of snow had covered the yard, leaving deep footprints when one walked.
Anning frowned, clearly worried.
It was Saturday, and she needed to return home in the afternoon, but with the snow so heavy, the road was difficult to travel. How could she make it home?
If she didn't go back, she wouldn't have enough food for the next week, and she didn't have any money on her either.
Not just Anning, all the girls in the dormitory were a little concerned.
But concern as they might, they still had to attend classes when it was time.
Anning was particularly serious throughout the day's classes.
She listened attentively, took careful notes, and patiently explained things to classmates who came to her with questions.
When today's classes ended and the teachers assigned homework and dismissed the students, nobody was in the mood for joy.
The weather was just too bad today. Although the snow had stopped, it hadn't been long, and the roads were covered in thick, white snow. Trying to get home would be nearly impossible.
Even the students living in the town were frowning; walking home through the snow would surely result in wet shoes and painfully cold feet.
Anning, holding her books, stepped out of the classroom and headed back to the dormitory through the thick snow.
She had two pairs of cotton shoes, and after the pair she wore got wet in the snow, Anning changed into the other pair.
She took out her bag, packed her clothes and homework, and seeing that the weather outside was still not great, she gritted her teeth, changed back into the wet shoes, and headed outside with her backpack.
Just as Anning left the dormitory, she heard Lin Aiguo's voice: "Anning, Anning, over here."
Following the voice, she saw Lin Aiguo dressed in a military coat, with rubber boots on his feet, standing in the courtyard.
"Dad."
She walked towards him with a smile, carrying her bag: "Why have you come?"
Lin Aiguo's face showed a simple, honest smile: "With such heavy snow, your mother was worried about you and asked me to come pick you up."
While talking, Lin Aiguo took her bag: "Let's hurry, the car is waiting outside."
Anning followed Lin Aiguo outside: "Dad, it's so slippery on the road, how could you dare to ride a bicycle here? What would we do if you fell?"
Lin Aiguo laughed: "What bicycle? I borrowed our village's horse-drawn cart to come here."
As they exited the school gate, Anning saw a horse-drawn cart parked outside, with Lin Anping sitting on it, engrossed in something.
Perhaps worried that Anning might get cold, the cart was lined with cushions and had a quilt on it. Lin Aiguo placed his bag on the cart and urged Anning to quickly get on.
Anning carefully climbed onto the cart and took off her shoes to put her feet under the quilt.
As soon as she placed her feet under the quilt, she felt a wave of warmth.
Lin Anping wore a very smug smile: "How's that? Warm, isn't it?"
Anning nodded.
Lin Anping was even more pleased: "That was my idea. I filled several IV bottles with hot water and placed them under the quilt to make it nice and warm."
"Then I really have to thank you."
Anning smiled and ruffled Lin Anping's hair, and Lin Anping instantly bristled: "What are you doing? Don't touch my head."
Anning ruffled his hair again, almost making Lin Anping jump.
Lin Aiguo, while driving the cart, scolded Lin Anping: "Behave yourself, acting so much like a monkey at your age."
Lin Anping was feeling rather wronged, but he was always quite scared of Lin Aiguo, and so he dared not move.
Sitting on the cart was rather boring, so Lin Anping started telling Anning some news from home.
"Sister, did you know? The three Su brothers are going to get married together."
Anning was quite surprised to hear this: "How can they get married at the same time?"
Lin Anping curled his lip: "Isn't it because they're stingy? The three Su brothers, if they did it one by one, they'd have to host three separate wedding banquets. That'd be too wasteful and not cost-effective. Aunt Liu thought that since they all have found their partners, they might as well get married all at once to save both trouble and expense."
Anning's mouth twitched at the news.
The Su family really knew how to plan things.
Lin Anping leaned in and whispered: "Let me tell you, the Su family has spent all their savings on this wedding and has even gotten into quite a bit of debt. Their family is now so poor that you can hear it clink, and who knows how they will get by in the future. An Jie is definitely going to suffer marrying into their family."
Lin Anping and Lin Anjie have never got along well; behind closed doors, he never called her 'Sister An Jie,' always addressing her directly by name.
"Life is what people make of it. Maybe Su Zhiqiang and his brothers will be capable and manage to live well in the future."
Anning smiled and didn't want to continue this topic.
Lin Anping, however, said: "No matter how impressive Su Zhiqiang is, he can't change the fact that An Jie is really not that great."
He scratched his head: "Sister, isn't it strange? Initially, An Jie was always reluctant to marry Su Zhiqiang. She argued with our parents many times over it. But recently, she seems to have become a different person. Whenever Su Zhiqiang is mentioned, her face breaks into a smile, and these days, she is even pestering Su Zhiqiang all the time. Despite the freezing weather, she's not afraid of the cold and just drags him out for walks."
Anning smiled lightly and looked down: "Why do you care about her?"
But in her heart, she thought that Lin Anjie really wasn't very clever. Even Lin Anping, who was still so young, had noticed her abnormal behavior. Probably others had also long since sensed something off about her.
She wondered if Su Zhiqiang had any suspicion.
If Su Zhiqiang started harboring any doubts about Lin Anjie, her life in the future would probably not be easy.
However, these were not Anning's concerns, and she did not dwell on them too much.
After all, since Anning had taken over the original body, whether in her personal conduct or handling matters, she acted in accordance with the original host's personality. Her acting was astonishingly good, so immersed in her role that even Wang Cuihua, her mother, hadn't realized a replacement had taken place, let alone others.
Anning's heart was at ease, and she was well aware that before being admitted to a university, she must not do anything out of the ordinary and absolutely could not give anything away.
Even if she were to undergo changes, these would have to wait until after she started college.
By then, the original owner's family would surely think that having attended college and seen more of the big city, it was only natural for her to change a bit in character.