When Xu Yan's gaze turned to Lin Dong again, Lin Dong pursed his lips and subconsciously moved away from Da Bao.

"Of course," Xu Yan replied to Da Bao without much concern, then looked at Lin Dong with a gentle smile, "Welcome, Lin Dong."

Lin Dong wanted to dodge, but when he saw Xu Yan's smiling face, he froze for a moment, and then slowly smiled back, obediently saying, "Hello, Third Aunt."

His grandparents taught him from a young age to be polite to others. Now that this incredibly beautiful auntie is smiling at him, he can't keep a long face.

"Hello to you too," Xu Yan said with a smile, and then, as the wind blew snowflakes in again, she called the three children inside.

As soon as Da Bao and Xiao Bao entered the house, Kaixin rushed out of the house. Xie Zhuo had just finished wiping its paws carefully when he returned. Seeing that it was plunging back into the snow without looking back, he quickly chased after it to stop it.

But they couldn't stop it.

The little furball wasn't very big, but it was fast. It darted over in a flash and pounced at Xiaobao's feet.

"Happy!" Xiao Bao picked up the puppy and happily showed it to Da Bao and Lin Dong beside him.

Da Bao also exclaimed happily and gently patted its head.

In contrast, Lin Dong was not so relaxed; in fact, he seemed quite tense.

He kept his teeth tightly clenched around his lower lip.

Her dark eyes first swept over Xie Zhuo, then looked away shyly. But probably thinking of what her grandparents had said, and since she was already standing in their yard, she paused and forced a smile.

He greeted Xie Zhuo, "Hello, Third Uncle."

To be honest, Xie Zhuo was a little surprised when he saw Lin Dong. It had snowed all day and it got dark earlier than usual. Was Lin Dong coming to his house now because he wasn't planning to go home tonight?

He was puzzled, but didn't ask. When he heard Lin Dong greet him, he smiled and said, "Hello, come in quickly, you must be freezing from the journey."

"No," Lin Dong said, relieved to see the smile on Xie Zhuo's face, and quickly shook his head.

"It's so cold, so cold," Da Bao didn't answer like Lin Dong. While muttering about the cold, he threw himself at Xie Zhuo, "Third Uncle, hug me."

Xie Zhuo chuckled when she saw him acting coquettishly, "I won't hug you, just rub the snow off you on me."

That's what he said, but when Da Bao was almost at his legs, Xie Zhuo suddenly bent down, picked Da Bao up, and carried him on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's eat! Today we'll devour this chubby little piglet!"

Da Bao wasn't scared at all, lying on Xie Zhuo's shoulder and just kept giggling.

"Third Uncle is the little piglet!"

Lin Dong had never seen anyone play like this at home before, and he was worried that Da Bao would fall, and he was also afraid that Xie Zhuo would get angry if he heard what Da Bao said.

But no.

After entering the house, Xie Zhuo put Da Bao down and kissed him on the cheek.

Xie Zhuo prepared a lavish meal today, mainly because it was snowing and there wasn't much else to do, so he put some effort into preparing dinner.

He only served four bowls of rice. Because Lin Dong was an extra person, he washed his hands and served Lin Dong a bowl as well.

While the three children went to Da Bao and Xiao Bao's room to wash their hands, he asked Xu Yan about Lin Dong's situation.

“Da Bao and Xiao Bao said that Lin Dong should stay at home for one night,” Xu Yan said, taking another enamel mug and filling it halfway with jujube tea. “They were afraid I wouldn’t agree, so they said a lot of nice things to me.”

Xie Zhuo nodded.

“After we finish eating, why don’t you go to the school again?” Xu Yan thought for a moment and said, “Judging from the way the three of them are acting, it must have been a last-minute decision. What if the parents can’t wait for their children to come home and end up going to the school to look for them?”

"Mm," Xie Zhuo responded.

During meals, Da Bao and Xiao Bao would occasionally talk about what happened at school, and then Xu Yan and Xie Zhuo would smile and ask questions.

Today, the table is filled with voices urging Lin Dong to eat.

"Lin Dong, this braised pork is delicious, you want some braised pork!"

"My third uncle's scrambled eggs are also delicious, you should try some."

"Come on, Lin Dong, eat some vegetables, don't just eat rice."

"Lin Dong, have some jujube tea that my third aunt specially brewed. It has sugar in it, and it tastes especially good!"

"..."

After finishing his meal, Lin Dong stared at his round belly, completely bewildered for a long time.

This was the first time in his life he had eaten such a delicious meal, and the first time he had ever eaten until he was stuffed.

Everything before my eyes felt like a dream.

A beautiful dream.

It was already dark when Xie Zhu left for school. Xu Yan was a little worried about letting him go alone and wanted to go with him.

"It's too cold," Xie Zhuo said, raising his hand to touch Xu Yan's face. "If I blow your little face red again, I'll be heartbroken."

Xu Yan slapped his hand, "Can't you be serious for once?"

Xie Zhuo grabbed her hand and kissed it. "It'll only take me ten or twenty minutes to get there. If all goes well, I'll be back in an hour at most. Don't worry."

Xu Yan was worried.

But she still had three children at home, and she couldn't just leave them there and go out with Xie Zhuo.

Da Bao, Xiao Bao, and Lin Dong were taken to take a bath before Xie Zhuo left, and now they are lying side by side in bed playing with a little duck toy.

After being cleaned up, Lin Dong looked much better. His slightly long hair fell over his eyes, and he had big eyes and a high nose. Although he was young, it was clear at a glance that he would definitely be a handsome man when he grew up.

Xu Yan stood by the door and looked at the three kids for a long time. In the end, she concluded that the two kids in the family were indeed naturally compatible with her and were both attracted to good looks.

I only choose friends who are good-looking.

On the other side, as Xie Zhuo walked towards the town with a flashlight, he ran into Liu Mancang, who had just returned from Zhao Jisheng's house.

Upon hearing that he was going to town, Liu Mancang immediately said he wanted to go with him.

Xie Zhuo glanced at his face, which was red from the cold, and frowned. "Why do you want to go everywhere?"

Liu Mancang chuckled, then said seriously, "I don't want to go everywhere, I just want to follow you."

Xie Zhuo was speechless for a long time after hearing his words. Finally, she took off the scarf around her neck and threw it in his face, saying, "Wrap your ears up so they don't freeze off and say they froze off because you were with me."

Although the two grown men walked quickly, it took them fifteen minutes to get to school because of the snow on the road.

Standing at the school gate, Liu Mancang listened to Xie Zhuo recount Lin Dong's story. He opened his mouth and said, "Third Brother, you two are really something. Bringing dogs home is one thing, but now you're starting to bring people home too?"