The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

About ten minutes later, the two stopped laughing and sat on a bench, breathing warm air onto their hands, which were red from the cold.

Xu Xi curled herself up into a tiny ball, shivering from the cold.

While having a snowball fight, she felt so excited that she seemed to lose all sense of the cold.

Now that things have calmed down and the adrenaline has subsided, the body heat taken away by the cold snowflakes makes her shiver.

"Are you cold?"

Xu Nian held Xu Xi's hand, transferring her body heat to it.

His hands were very rough, like an old rag that had been used for many years, covered with calluses and scars.

Compared to Xu Xi's soft, fair little hands, they looked quite ugly.

However, it was precisely because of the protection of those calluses that his palms still retained a warm residual temperature.

Then, he unzipped his coat and placed Xu Xi's hand on his chest.

Xu Xi looked slightly stunned, her face turning red to the roots of her ears, whether from shyness or from the cold weather, it was hard to tell.

The boy's body temperature was transmitted to her palm, and through a thin layer of autumn clothing, she could clearly feel his regular heartbeat.

"Thump... thump..."

"Hey, hey, hey, Xiaoxi, what are you doing?"

Under Xu Nian's puzzled gaze, Xu Xi took off her cotton shoes and crawled into his coat.

"Ugh... It's so cold, brother, please zip up your fly."

Xu Nian smiled helplessly and zipped up her military overcoat.

At the same time, he pulled his arm out of his sleeve and hugged the little one hanging on his belly from behind to prevent her from slipping down.

"How is it? Is it warm now?"

"Mmm! It's not cold at all anymore~"

Xu Xi's happy voice came from inside the clothes, with a hint of coquettish reproach.

Despite the biting wind outside, wrapped in her brother's warm coat, she felt no cold at all.

Xu Xi closed her eyes, inhaling the scent of laundry detergent and the youthful aroma emanating from her brother.

"Okay, come out now, it's time to go home."

About ten minutes later, Xu Nian patted the kitten hanging in front of her.

The kitten let out a soft whimper.

"No~ No~ Little Stream doesn't want to come out, she wants her brother to carry her~"

Xu Nian shook her head helplessly.

He has virtually no resistance to his beloved younger sister's coquettish behavior.

"Then you'd better hurry."

Xu Nian loosened one hand, stretched out her sleeve, and lifted the pair of cotton shoes she had taken off.

As he slowly stood up, he felt the two hands that were hugging his waist tighten considerably.

At the entrance of the convenience store, Xu Nian encountered Wen Yao and Zhao Lin, who were building a snowman.

"Good afternoon, Brother Xu Nian."

Wen Yao raised her gloved right hand and waved to Xu Nian.

There was still a lot of fine snow on the gloves.

Zhao Lin also nodded slightly in greeting.

"They're building a snowman."

Xu Nian stepped forward and saw a large snowman that was almost finished in front of Wen Yao.

Its expression was silly, and it had brooms, which it probably took from the store, stuck into its body as its hands, making it look quite comical.

In front of Zhao Lin were three smaller snowmen.

The one on the left, with its upright posture, raises its right hand, which is made of a tree branch, to protect the other two snowmen behind it.

The one on the right has a meticulously sculpted face, with delicate features still faintly visible. Several strands of black ribbon hang behind its head, suggesting it has long hair.

In the middle, there was a small one, with its two arms draped over the legs of the other two snowmen, its face expressionless, still blank.

Zhao Lin's finger hovered in front of the snowman in the middle, remaining motionless for a long time, as if she was thinking about how to design it.

"Yes, it's been years since we've had this much snow. It would be a shame not to build a snowman."

Wen Yao picked up a tree branch and, while talking, embellished the details of her snowman.

"By the way, where's Xibao? I was just thinking of asking her to come and build a snowman, but it seems like no one's home."

Xu Nian rubbed her stomach.

"It's here."

Wen Yao was slightly stunned, then her pupils suddenly contracted, revealing an expression of disbelief.

"Huh??? You ate Xi Bao???"

Xu Nian was at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.

"How is that possible?"

As he spoke, he slowly unzipped his pants, revealing Xu Xi, who was already asleep and hanging in front of him.

Her rosy cheeks pressed against Xu Nian's chest, her eyelashes fluttering gently, and she curled up into a tiny ball.

Her back rose and fell rhythmically, and she would occasionally smack her lips, making one want to gently poke the dimples on either side of her cheeks.

Seemingly because she felt the cold wind blowing, Xu Xi subconsciously shrank her neck.

"Wow! How can there be such adorable creatures in the world!"

Wen Yao approached the sleeping Xu Xi, reached out her hand, and wanted to pinch her rosy little face.

However, seeing that there were still snowflakes left on her gloves from when she was building the snowman, she withdrew her hands.

"Xiaoxi got tired from the snowball fight earlier and fell asleep halfway through the walk."

Noticing that the little guy felt a bit cold, Xu Nian zipped the zipper up again.

Only a slit was left open, for ventilation inside the clothes.

"I'll take her home to sleep first, you guys play."

"Okay, sure."

After saying that, Wen Yao suddenly remembered something and called Xu Nian back.

"When Xibao wakes up later, let's ask her to check the messages."

She put her hand to her ear and made a phone call gesture.

"Okay, I understand."

Xu Nian nodded.

After that, he took the kitten on his chest home.

Just as he sat on the edge of the bed, preparing to put the little one on her bed, he found that he couldn't move him no matter what he did.

Her small hands gripped Xu Nian's clothes tightly, and even with great effort, she couldn't move an inch.

If I push any harder, I might wake her up.

Xu Nian sighed and sat down on Xu Xi's bed, leaning against the headboard, letting her use her belly as a mattress.

There's no other way but to spoil them.

He took out his phone and secretly snapped a picture of the little guy sleeping.

It was only then that he noticed there were many unread messages on his phone.

Qi Yu: Photo

Qi Yu: Photo

Qi Yu: Help, Brother Xu! We're overwhelmed with orders! Riding a bike is already slow because of the snow, and the number of orders is much higher than a few days ago.

Qi Yu: Hurry up, Brother Xu! Help me deliver a few meals to the restaurants in Shengjin Jiayuan.

Qi Yu: Waaaaah, I'm going to run out of time! Please help!

Qi Yu: (Cracks open)

Qi Yu: (Cracks open)

Qi Yu: Brother, don't rest. It's such a nice day, it would be a shame not to come out and make some money.

Xu Nian clicked on the picture and saw that the insulated box in the back of Qi Yu's car was full of takeout food waiting to be delivered.

He smiled, replied with a cheering emoji, and tossed his phone aside.

More than any of these things, he preferred to look at his younger sister's sweet, sleeping face.

Besides, it was his turn to rest today according to the schedule.

Xu Xi smacked her lips, seemingly murmuring something softly.

"What did you say?"

Xu Nian lowered her head, brought her mouth close, and listened attentively.

"Brother...brother...likes..."