Xie Zhuo initially didn't want to pay attention to Liu Mancang's words, but after standing at the school gate until almost 11 o'clock and still not seeing anyone, he started to frown.

"Even if we were to crawl, we should have reached the top by now," Liu Mancang's voice trembled from the cold as he threw another piece of dry bark into the fire in front of him.

Xie Zhuo took out his watch from his inner pocket, glanced at it, and then put it back in his pocket.

"Let's go back."

Xu Yan stayed up all night, telling Da Bao and the others two stories. Only after they fell asleep did she return to her own room.

Although he was already a little sleepy, he felt uneasy because Xie Zhuo hadn't returned, so he simply sat down by the stove and started reading.

She only stood up and went out to greet them when the gate opened and she heard Xie Zhuo brushing snow off his clothes with a feather duster.

Xie Zhuo was still thinking about Lin Dong's family when the curtain was suddenly lifted from the inside, and a sliver of light shone out. A smile instantly appeared on his face.

"Still not asleep?" he asked.

"How can I sleep if you're not back?" Xu Yan replied as expected.

Xie Zhuo's smile deepened.

He took off his coat after entering the house, then rushed to take a hot shower before drying his hair and getting onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

Xu Yan had already warmed up the quilt on the kang (heated brick bed). When she crawled into the quilt, her skin was a little hot and uncomfortable when it suddenly came into contact with the kang. But after a few minutes, she felt that she should sleep on a warm kang on a snowy day.

Comfortable.

"Why has it taken so long? Do Lin Dong's family members know?" Xu Yan asked as Xie Zhuo reached out to hug her.

"I don't know," Xie Zhuo said, pulling the person into his arms.

"Mancang and I were standing at the school gate, almost frozen solid, and we didn't see a single person."

Xu Yan frowned.

“Judging from Lin Dong’s appearance,” Xie Zhuo thought for a moment and said, “he doesn’t seem like someone at home is taking care of him. Otherwise, his family would have been worried long ago if he was bullied like that at school.”

Xu Yan frowned even more deeply, and Xie Zhuo, seeing this, reached out and gently rubbed her brow.

“Before you came back, I inquired about Lin Dong’s family situation,” Xu Yan said. “His parents passed away a long time ago, and he was raised by his grandparents. Later, his grandparents also passed away, and now only his second uncle and his family are left.”

Xie Zhuo had already removed his hand from Xu Yan's forehead and remained silent.

At first glance, Lin Dong's background seems somewhat similar to that of Da Bao and Xiao Bao.

“Our two kids are so lucky,” Xu Yan said, as if guessing what Xie Zhu was thinking, and squeezed his hand. “They met such a wonderful third uncle like you, and also…”

Xu Yan paused for a moment.

"What?" Xie Zhuo asked.

“And I have such a good third aunt,” Xu Yan said.

Xie Zhuo was taken aback, then her words made her laugh.

"Isn't that right?" Xu Yan glared at him.

"No," Xie Zhuo shook his head with a smile, and said seriously, "The three of us are just too lucky to have met you."

Time flies. Lin Dong only stayed at Xie Zhuo's house for one night and never came back.

It snowed for two days straight. The school had no coal stoves, only a few fire pits for burning firewood. The teachers were freezing, so the winter vacation started early.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao kept saying they wanted to go to Lin Dong's house to see him, but they went twice and didn't see him either.

Lin Dong's second aunt was extremely domineering at home, but when she encountered outsiders, she would tuck her tail between her legs and hardly dare to raise her head, because of her former status as a landlady, she was afraid that the other party would hit or scold her.

“Lin Dong went to my parents’ home and won’t be back until next spring,” said Lin Dong’s second aunt.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao wanted to ask her where her parents' home was, but they were interrupted by her youngest son's crying and were then sent out of the house by her.

"You'll see them when school starts next year," Xie Zhuo comforted his two sons.

"Mmm," Da Bao and Xiao Bao nodded listlessly.

The two of them even prepared some delicious food for Lin Dong.

We can only wait until school starts.

But to everyone's surprise, two weeks into the new semester, there was still no sign of Lin Dong. Da Bao and Xiao Bao went to Lin Dong's house again, but this time his second aunt didn't open the door.

Xie Zhuo went to ask a few neighbors, but they only knew the general outline and were unclear about the specifics.

"He was sold by his heartless second uncle and aunt. I heard he sold him to an old widower. The widower's wife couldn't have a son, so he beat her to death. Oh, what a damned bastard..."

Whether the neighbor's words were true or false, Da Bao and Xiao Bao did not hear any more news about Lin Dong until spring was almost over and summer was just around the corner.

The school was very peaceful.

It was so calm that the absence of one person had absolutely no impact.

As usual, Ms. Feng taught first-grade arithmetic and then taught fourth-grade math. Finally, she taught Da Bao and Xiao Bao more advanced math separately.

Zhao Wenhu, as usual, led a group of henchmen to do bad things.

He would either skip school to wander around town or pull little girls' braids.

until……

A busy yet fulfilling semester has come to an end, and a new school year begins as the summer heat gradually fades.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao, carrying the pretty new schoolbags Xu Yan had made for them, stepped into the classroom and found that Lin Dong's desk had been taken by another new student.

On his first day, the new student scraped off the "Lin" mark that Lin Dong had carved with the tip of a nail on the desk and then carved his own name haphazardly on it.

Xiao Bao leaned over for a look but couldn't make out what words he had carved.

But Lin Dong's traces were completely erased.

After returning home, Xiao Bao told Xu Yan about it, and he was still a little down.

Da Bao was also a little sad, and squatted down at Xu Yan's feet, hugging Kai Xin.

Xu Yan patted his hair, "It's been so long, and you still think about him."

“Hmm,” Da Bao put Kaixin back on the ground, reached out and hugged Xu Yan’s leg, resting his head on her knee, “I had a dream one night.”

"What dream?" Xu Yan patted his head.

In just two years, Da Bao and Xiao Bao have grown a lot taller, and their hair is not as soft as before. They used to look alike, but now they look very different.

The only thing they have in common is that they are all obviously handsome.

Although they are still two little kids, they already have little girls sticking to their tails wanting to play with them.

I heard that a couple of days ago, while playing house, one little girl got into a fight with another girl because she wanted to be Da Bao's bride.

“I dreamt that,” Da Bao’s words pulled Xu Yan back to reality, “that Xiao Bao and I were also sold. I was sold to a family where they wouldn’t give me food or clothes. I was so hungry that I stole a bite of dried sweet potato and was almost beaten to death.”

Xu Yan was taken aback.