Worried that Lin Yan would discover that her son was eyeing her, Wang Yueshan quietly nudged the arm of the person next to her.

Xie Rui then seemed to wake up from a dream, withdrawing his sharp gaze. Coming to his senses, he wore a hint of annoyance on his face.

How could he be so disrespectful to his own brother...

Seeing that Xie Rui was no longer confronting him, Xie Muqing's face returned to normal, and he gently embraced Lin Yan and walked towards the dining room.

Although his face remained calm.

But inside, I was already on the verge of going crazy with jealousy!

The woman in his arms was so outstanding that more and more eyes lingered on her, and he even had an impulse to lock her up.

That way, no man will be able to covet her anymore!

Of course, this idea only flashed through Xie Muqing's mind for a moment.

After all, he knew that Lin Yan was no ordinary woman; she had her own ideals and disdained the small world of the inner quarters.

Besides, even if he really had that idea, he didn't have the ability to trap her...

Lin Yan was unaware of his thoughts.

She had just gotten up from the kang (heated brick bed) and was indeed a little cold, so Xie Muqing held her and followed him to the dining room.

The dumplings and glutinous rice balls were made yesterday afternoon. As soon as the firecrackers were set off, Lin Zhenghong went to the kitchen to boil water and cook the dumplings.

So when they entered the dining room, all the dumplings and glutinous rice balls were already cooked and served.

Because the firecrackers had been so loud, Lin Yan was still quite energetic after breakfast and didn't show any signs of fatigue.

Seeing her rosy complexion, Xie Muqing felt a little relieved.

Now, Lin Yan felt full of energy again.

It seems she's just being paranoid.

It's probably because she was exhausted from traveling back and forth a few days ago that she was able to make up for all the sleep she had missed.

After all, she had been checking her pulse every day for the past few days and hadn't found anything unusual about her body.

After regaining her senses, Lin Yan also noticed something was wrong.

Madam Xie's gaze seemed to linger on her from time to time, whether it was during the meal or while they were playing...

And for some reason...

That gaze made her inexplicably uncomfortable, and whenever she looked back, Madam Xie would quickly look away.

This unusual behavior intensified Lin Yan's sense of unease!

Noticing her suspicious gaze, Madam Xie's eyes sharpened, a hint of panic flashed across her face, and she quickly avoided her gaze.

At this moment, the heavy snowflakes falling from the sky gradually subsided.

Led by Lin Muyan, the leader of the children, all the children followed him and started building a snowman in the yard.

Lin Yan, itching to join in, also got involved. With her help, the snowman turned out to be a complete disaster...

Looking at the ugly and fat snowman in front of him, Lin Muyan's expression was indescribable.

He really wanted to cry...

He had just confidently told Xiaosheng that he would build her a super beautiful snowman.

Seeing his deeply shocked expression, Lin Yan awkwardly touched her nose, feeling rather embarrassed to apologize:

"Um, Xiaoyan, I'm sorry... I'll make you an even prettier one!"

Children from poor families learn to be independent early.

Although Lin Muyan was only ten years old, he knew how to save face for his older sister in front of his friends.

I still went against my conscience and praised him:

"The snowman that my older sister built is so beautiful!"

Looking at the "ugly monster" in front of her, Xie Sheng's small face showed a hint of confusion.

She didn't understand why Lin Muyan said the snowman was beautiful when it was clearly ugly.

Is it that the Northwest has a different aesthetic appreciation for snowmen than the capital?

Upon realizing this possibility, Xie Sheng suddenly understood and joined Lin Muyan in praising Lin Yan.

"Yes! The snowman my sister made is very beautiful!"

Aside from the two of them, the other children in the yard were all six or seven years old and didn't yet have the proper aesthetic sense.

Seeing that they both said the snowman was beautiful, they all shouted loudly:

"nice!"

Under the eaves, many people were gathered around the stove, enjoying the snow scene, drinking tea, and eating.

Upon seeing this, they all widened their eyes, and almost spat out what was in their mouths.

At that moment, Lin Yan wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

That's so embarrassing...

Seeing her embarrassed expression, Xie Muqing felt a tenderness deep inside.

He strode over to Lin Yan, chuckled at her helpless expression, and said with a soft laugh:

“My wife, let me build it. I’ve made ice sculptures with a sword before, so this snowman should be pretty much the same.”

Hearing that he could ice sculpt, Lin Yan was very surprised and tilted her head back, looking at him with wide, bright eyes.

Wow! You can ice sculpt?!

Meeting her envious gaze, Xie Muqing curled one corner of her lips and said with a pleased expression:

"Hmm, but the carving isn't very good. I'll carve one for my wife to see another day."

"Uh-huh!"

What Xie Muqing said is true.

The snowman he built was indeed very lifelike, both beautiful and cute, and it immediately captured the hearts of the children present.

For a long time, the children's joyful and excited voices echoed in the yard.

Winter days are short.

After the family finished dinner, night began to slowly fall.

Ye Lan was packing gifts to take back to her parents' home tomorrow, while Lin Zhenghong and Yang Jiayi fed the livestock one by one.

Lin Yan didn't feel tired at all throughout the day and was full of energy. It wasn't until she washed up and lay in bed that she started to feel sleepy.

Slowly, she closed her eyes.

After she fell asleep, Xie Muqing also came out of the bathroom.

He didn't lift his own blankets, but instead slipped into Lin Yan's bed, a relieved smile on his lips, and held her as they slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning.

Ye Lan then woke up the two children and dressed them in new clothes and shoes.

A few days ago, Ye Jun took his family back to their old house in the village from the town to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Therefore, Lin Zhenghong and his wife did not need to brave the snow and drive their horse-drawn carriage to town; they could simply walk back to Lin's parents' home.

It's past mid-morning.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Xie Muqing returned to the main room, intending to wake Lin Yan, who was still fast asleep on the kang (a heated brick bed).

He called out several times but couldn't wake the person. Even when he raised his voice, the person on the bed showed no sign of waking up.

At first, Xie Muqing didn't take it seriously.

I thought it was because she had played all day yesterday.

His expression changed drastically when he pressed several acupoints on Lin Yan's body and she still didn't react.

Xie Muqing desperately suppressed the fear in his heart and carefully placed his index finger on Lin Yan's nostril.

The warm breath coming from his fingertips finally calmed his anxious heart a little.

Thinking about Lin Yan's changes over the past few days, Xie Muqing still felt lingering fear and shouted towards the door:

"Yang Chia-yi!"

Soon, Yang Jiayi appeared in the main room, respectfully clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"Young master, your subordinate is here."