Chapter 164 Playing in the Snow

"Um, hey, I want to eat candied haws," Luo Yixia tugged at Song Chengyi and said.

"Go buy them yourself."

"I didn't bring any money. Hurry up, hurry up." Luo Yixia hadn't even brought her phone when she went out; was it likely she would have money?

"Then endure it."

"Can I pay you back when we get back?"

She might not have cared if she hadn't seen them, but now that she had, those bright red hawthorns looked wonderfully appetizing, and their color was exceptionally alluring.

"Call me 'Hubby' first?" Song Chengyi looked at her with a smile.

Without a second thought, Luo Yixia opened her mouth and called out, "Hubby." Then, completely shamelessly, she repeated it a few times: "Hubby, I want to eat candied haws."

Her soft, sweet voice felt like it was gently scratching at Song Chengyi's heart.

Song Chengyi didn't say anything. He walked ahead, bought several sticks, and paid for them.

Luo Yixia took one stick in each hand, leaving the rest for Song Chengyi to hold.

She couldn't wait to take a bite. "So sweet! Sweet and sour, you have to try this."

She shoved it right in front of Song Chengyi, who obediently took a bite. The flavor was crisp and refreshing.

"Let's go, let's go check out what's further ahead." Luo Yixia grabbed Song Chengyi and pulled him along as she ran forward.

Everything here was fascinating to Luo Yixia. Right through the middle of the street wound a long, clear stream of water. Luo Yixia pulled Song Chengyi onto an arched stone bridge and leaned over the railing to look down.

Song Chengyi held her arm, slightly worried that she might fall into the river.

"Give me your phone so I can take a picture." Luo Yixia slipped her hand into his pocket to fish it out.

Song Chengyi didn't move, letting her get it herself.

Luo Yixia felt the phone, scanned it against his face, and with a soft click, the screen unlocked.

The first thing that caught her eye was the phone's wallpaper.

Song Chengyi saw it too and reached out to snatch it back.

Luo Yixia instantly whipped her hands behind her back.

"What is this?" Luo Yixia's eyes curved into crescent moons.

"Nothing. Give it back." Song Chengyi reached behind her, grabbing her arm.

"Didn't you say it was too ugly?" Luo Yixia clutched the phone tightly.

"Slip of the finger. Accidentally clicked it." Song Chengyi avoided looking at her.

"Tsk tsk, what a convenient slip of the finger."

Song Chengyi pressed his lips together and said nothing.

"Come on, just admit it. Am I super pretty?"

Only then did Song Chengyi leisurely look down at her, realizing she was pushing her luck again.

"Ugly. I was looking at myself." With a gentle tug, Song Chengyi pulled the phone free.

Luo Yixia immediately lunged forward with both hands to grab his phone-holding hand.

Their fingertips brushed, and their gazes met.

The phone screen lit up brightly, displaying that photo of them together beneath the falling leaves.

"Can't you even give me a single compliment?" Luo Yixia blinked, sounding slightly aggrieved.

Song Chengyi felt his heart being scratched at again. He sighed. "Looking at you. I was looking at you. You're pretty."

"Heehee, that's more like it." Luo Yixia was very satisfied.

She took the phone back from him and snapped several pictures of the surrounding scenery with rapid clicks.

Song Chengyi looked quite helpless as the young girl before him excitedly took pictures of everything, finding novelty in every corner.

"Chengyi, you're back?"

Hearing the voice, the two stopped playing around and turned their heads.

"Auntie," Song Chengyi greeted.

Luo Yixia stood up straight, watching as the woman before her cast a scrutinizing gaze in her direction, accompanied by a timid-looking young girl standing beside her.

"A-Yuan, why aren't you saying hello to your Big Brother Chengyi?" the woman said in a deep voice to her daughter.

The young girl, appearing to be around seventeen or eighteen, lifted her eyes to glance at Song Chengyi, muttered a soft "Hello, Brother," and lowered her head again, a hint of shyness flushing across her face.

Luo Yixia let out a mental "tsk" and glanced sideways at Song Chengyi. Quite the charmer, aren't we?

Song Chengyi gave a flat, indifferent "Yeah" in acknowledgment.

"Did Chengyi bring a friend to visit?" The woman smiled as she looked at Luo Yixia, her eyes practically trying to bore two holes through her.

"My girlfriend." Song Chengyi reached out, took her hand, and pulled Luo Yixia to his side.

The woman smiled awkwardly. "Got a girlfriend, do you? How old is the young lady? Where is she from?"

"Twenty, and I'm a local from City A," Luo Yixia replied neither servilely nor overbearingly.

Naturally, after seeing this kind of social scenario enough times, she knew how to handle it with ease.

"She looks underage," the woman remarked, her tone somewhat harsh.

"Is that so? Chengyi and I grew up together since we were kids; it's not like I could lie about my age," Luo Yixia said with a smile, leaving no room for anyone to pick faults.

"Oh, Auntie, we're neighbors. We've always lived right next door to each other," Song Chengyi added.

The woman didn't say anything more and pulled her daughter away, shooting Luo Yixia several sharp glares before leaving.

Luo Yixia pulled her hand out of his grip and crossed her arms. "You sure have quite the following of admirers."

"An auntie I've known since childhood. She lives not far away and often comes to my house to chat with my grandmother, though my grandmother isn't very welcoming." Song Chengyi didn't mind her little gestures and expressions at all.

"Grandma has good judgment," Luo Yixia nodded emphatically.

After wandering around for a while, the two headed back home.

The old lady once again had Luo Yixia sit right beside her to chat.

Song Chengyi was once again left out in the cold.

At night, the courtyard felt somewhat empty. A strong wind picked up, rattling the doors and windows with a clattering noise.

Song Chengyi and Song Shaohui went around checking every room.

The old lady went to bed early and retired to her bedroom well before the others.

Luo Yixia went to check on her, but the old lady was as stubborn as ever and urged Zhou Yun and Luo Yixia to go back to their rooms.

Luo Yixia emerged from a shower, wrapped in warmth, and started binge-watching a show on her tablet.

The room's heater was cranked up high, so Luo Yixia was just wearing a single light top.

"It's going to rain tonight," Song Chengyi said, tousling his damp hair.

"Does it snow right after the rain?" Luo Yixia asked excitedly.

"I checked the weather forecast. It's going to rain for the next two days."

Luo Yixia deflated like a punctured ball. "I finally came all the way here, and I wanted you to take me out to places, but it has to rain."

"Nothing we can do about it." Song Chengyi ruffled her hair.

As they spoke, a crack of thunder echoed outside, making Luo Yixia jump slightly.

"Does it really thunder in the winter?" she asked, looking exceptionally small and innocent.

"What do you think?"

True to his words, night fell accompanied by rumbling thunder, and the rain began to pour down in sheets.

It made a pattering sound as it hit the ground.

With the lights out at night and the fierce wind sweeping through the trees outside, Luo Yixia was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of the rain.

She rolled over and burrowed into Song Chengyi's arms.

Song Chengyi opened his eyes in the dark and asked softly, "Scared?"

Luo Yixia buried her face against his chest and mumbled, "A little."

He tightened his arms around her, pulling her close. "Go to sleep."

"Mmm."

It rained continuously for two days, and Luo Yixia felt like she was starting to grow mold.

By the third day, the rain gradually turned into snowflakes.

At first, they fell like frozen sleet, but slowly the flakes grew larger, drifting down gracefully from the sky one by one.

"It's snowing!" A large stove had been set up inside the room, burning wood charcoal. Luo Yixia stood by the window.

"I haven't seen snow in years," Luo Yixia marveled, thoroughly fascinated.

"Doesn't it snow in your hometown?" the old lady asked, taking a sip of tea.

"City T doesn't get much snow. The last time I saw snow a few years ago was at school." Luo Yixia stared fixedly outside without blinking.

"If you come here every year from now on, you'll get to see snow every year," the old lady said with a smile.

"Yay, yes please!"

Early the next morning, a thick blanket of snow covered the ground outside.

The father and son duo were up early shoveling snow in the yard.

Luo Yixia joined in the fun, tagging along at their side.

"Xiaxia, do you want Chengyi to build you a snowman?" Song Shaohui called out to her.

"Yes!" Luo Yixia nodded eagerly.

Song Chengyi sculpted the body of the snowman, while Luo Yixia rolled a small sphere of snow for its head.

They busied themselves for a long time.

The snow was still falling, leaving a white powdery layer on Luo Yixia's shoulders.

Luo Yixia pulled the hood of her down jacket over her head, her hands covered in thick winter gloves.

After playing in the snow for so long, her gloves were soaked through.

Luo Yixia's little face was flushed red from the cold.

Once they finished shaping the snowman, the heavy snowfall drove them quickly back indoors.

Song Chengyi stood outside on the covered veranda, gently brushing the snow off Luo Yixia's clothes.

Luo Yixia took off her gloves, her hands instantly reacting to the realization that they were completely frozen stiff.

Watching Song Chengyi carefully brush the snow off her, Luo Yixia felt a mischievous urge. She slipped her cold little hand straight down into the collar of his shirt.

Song Chengyi shuddered and instantly dodged away.

"So warm. Let me warm my hands up." Luo Yixia laughed as she chased after him.

"Get inside by the fire." Song Chengyi didn't let her succeed, shepherding her into the room.

The two of them sat obediently by the hearth, warming themselves by the fire.

After a long while, their stiff limbs finally began to thaw.

"The more I look at Xiaxia these days, the more pleased I am," the old lady said, sitting nearby and watching her grandson and granddaughter-in-law chatting and laughing together.

"Xiaxia is someone I watched grow up. Ever since she was little, I've wished she were my own daughter," Zhou Yun said, equally 100 percent satisfied with Luo Yixia.

"When are you holding the wedding?" the old lady asked, bringing up the question everyone cared about most.

"Xiaxia is still young. Let's wait until she graduates," Zhou Yun sighed, though she wished they could hold the wedding tomorrow.

"I agree. You should keep their marriage registration a secret from outsiders for now. After all, they're both so young, and it'll be hard to explain if people ask why they registered so fast without a proper ceremony yet," the old lady said, looking at the two of them.

"That's what we and Xiaxia's parents thought, too."

"Tell me, will I be holding a great-grandchild soon?" the old couple asked, seeing how sweet the newlyweds were on each other.

"Chengyi said they aren't considering those things yet; they have to wait until Xiaxia graduates," Zhou Yun sighed again.

"Fine, the kids have their own minds. As parents, we shouldn't rush them. Let nature take its course."

It snowed steadily for an entire day and night.

Finally, by the afternoon of the second day, the snow stopped.

The snowman they had built earlier was now almost entirely buried under fresh snow, so the two of them went back outside to rebuild it.

Perhaps unable to resist teasing Song Chengyi when he looked so serious, Luo Yixia watched him meticulously fixing the snowman, yielded to temptation, packed a snowball, and "thwack!"—slapped it right against Song Chengyi's face.

Song Chengyi looked momentarily stunned, as if the hit had scrambled his brains.

He blankly raised his head and glared at her.

Luo Yixia giggled, quickly rolled another snowball, and hurled it right at his chest.

"Luo! Yi! Xia!!!" Song Chengyi gritted his teeth.

"Hahahaha, ahahaha!" Unable to hold back her laughter, Luo Yixia turned tail and ran.

Song Chengyi grabbed a snowball and chased after her into the snow.