The sound of the front door opening echoed through the house.
Li Qingxue pushed open the sunroom door and stood outside.
Feeling the cold rain and snowflakes land on her skin, she smiled at Long Aotian. "Long Aotian, it's snowing!"
"It's sleet," he corrected.
"But it's still snow," she insisted, her excitement clearly visible on her face.
"You're way too excited about this," Long Aotian said, gently pinching her cheek.
"Stop pinching me! You're making my face chubby."
"Wow, you’re really pushing it now. You’re the one who can’t control your eating, and now you’re blaming me for making you chubby?"
Life was just too hard sometimes.
Seeing Long Aotian’s dejected expression, Li Qingxue leaped onto his back. "I don’t care, it’s still your fault!"Smack!
Li Qingxue yelped in surprise, turning to see Lin Wanning, who had somehow returned unnoticed, grinning after swatting her butt.
"Wanning!" Li Qingxue protested, sliding off Long Aotian’s back to chase after her.
Lin Wanning giggled, tapping Li Qingxue lightly on the forehead before dodging away. "Silly Qingxue can’t catch me, can’t catch me!"
Watching the two playfully tussle in the sleet, Long Aotian shook his head. "You’re both going to get soaked. Come inside and warm up."
In the sunroom, the pumpkin millet porridge Li Qingxue had been cooking still simmered on the stove.
Long Aotian lifted the lid and peeked inside. "Oh? Pumpkin millet porridge? Not bad, Li Qingxue."
Li Qingxue lifted her chin proudly. "Of course! Don’t think I’m completely useless."
"Ugh, don’t praise her too much. Look at her—her nose is practically touching the sky," Lin Wanning teased before asking, "When is Yuying-jie coming back?"
Long Aotian checked his phone but saw no message from Hu Yuying. "Probably a little longer."
"Then how about this: Qingxue and I will go pick up some groceries, and you go get Yuying-jie. Let’s have a small celebration tonight—wishing us all success in tomorrow’s performances!"
Li Qingxue nodded eagerly. "Yuying’s last performance is tomorrow morning, and in the afternoon, we can go to the music academy to watch Wanning’s show."
"You two better cheer extra hard for me then!" Lin Wanning said.
"Of course we will!"
Long Aotian went to his room and dug out the raincoat that had come with his electric scooter—unused until now.
"I’ll probably be out late tomorrow celebrating with my roommates," he mentioned.
"Perfect! That means the three of us can sleep together again," Li Qingxue said.
Long Aotian shot her a look. "Aren’t you worried about me coming home late? What if I run into trouble?"
Lin Wanning laughed. "Trouble wouldn’t bother with someone like you, gege. Bad guys go after weak girls. If anything, you should worry about us!"
Long Aotian sighed. Two against one—no winning this argument. If only Yuying were here; at least she’d take his side.
"I’ll buy you two an umbrella. Don’t catch a cold, especially you, Lin Wanning. Your performance is tomorrow—you can’t afford to get sick."
"I know, I know, I’ll be careful," Lin Wanning said, nudging him. Normally, she didn’t mind his nagging, but today it felt excessive. "Just hurry and bring Yuying-jie back so we can all eat together."
"Wanning, you’ve changed. Before you got me, you were all sweet, calling me ‘gege’ this and ‘gege’ that. Now that you have me, you’re tired of my nagging?"
Seeing Long Aotian’s exaggerated pout, Lin Wanning rolled her eyes but leaned in to peck his cheek. "I’m not tired of you, gege. It’s just… today’s atmosphere is perfect for all of us to eat together at home."
She had mentioned many times how much she loved rainy and snowy days. The sleet outside had her practically buzzing with excitement.
She imagined the four of them sitting in the sunroom, eating while listening to the rain, watching it fall through the tempered glass—soothing and peaceful.
"So, gege, please hurry back."
With Lin Wanning’s plea lingering in his ears, Long Aotian pulled on the raincoat, hopped onto his scooter, and set off.
Under the streetlights, he watched as the snowflakes grew from tiny specks to full, fluffy flakes drifting down from the sky.
Arriving at University A’s gate, he stood under the bus shelter and texted Hu Yuying.
She replied quickly with a photo—she was already near the campus entrance.
Seeing this, Long Aotian tossed the raincoat aside, shrugged off his fleece-lined leather jacket, and shivered.
"Brr… it’s freezing!"
Rubbing his nose, he jogged into the campus.
In the distance, he spotted Hu Yuying hurrying toward him.
Under the glow of the streetlights, snowflakes swirling around her, the petite girl clutched her coat tightly, her lips curled into a smile. Her crescent-moon eyes sparkled with pure joy at the sight of him.
She dashed forward and threw herself into his arms.
He spun her around once before draping his jacket over her shoulders.
Hu Yuying unbuttoned her coat and pulled Long Aotian’s chilled hands against her waist, wrapping the fabric tightly around them.
They both laughed at their synchronized movements.
She reached up to tie back her wind-tousled hair.
In that moment, bathed in the streetlight’s glow, Long Aotian felt like he was holding the entire world.
"Long-ge, you should wear this. I’m not that cold."
Long Aotian pulled his hands from the warmth of her waist and gently pressed her shoulders. "I run hot. I don’t feel the cold at all."
Hu Yuying smirked, rising onto her toes to study his face. "Really?"
Her hands cupped his ears—icy to the touch.
He tapped her nose. "When have I ever lied to you?"
"You’ve lied plenty! Woof woof?"
Caught red-handed, Long Aotian coughed awkwardly. "Let’s go home. Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning prepared a feast for us."
"Mm!"
As Hu Yuying turned, Long Aotian shivered. Damn, it’s cold today.
"Long-ge?"
Hearing her call, he instantly straightened, feigning nonchalance. "Coming!"
He caught up to her in a few strides.
"Your hair’s all wet." Hu Yuying stood on tiptoe, brushing the sleet from his bangs.
"Do I look cool?"
She giggled behind her hand. "So cool. Long-ge is the coolest."
On the ride home, Hu Yuying clung tightly to his back. "This year’s first snow… it’s so beautiful..."
(Note: The last line about browser cookies appears to be an unrelated technical note and has been omitted from the translation.)