The hustle and bustle of New Year's Eve seems to still echo in my ears, and the gorgeous fireworks seem to still leave lingering afterimages on the sky, but the early morning of the first day of the New Year has quietly arrived.
Thick, fluffy new snow covered every carefully crafted landscape in the Ye family manor, dyeing the world a pure and flawless silver-white.
On the top floor of the main house, in the study room with the best view, outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows is a quiet world covered in snow.
Ye Qingliu sat in a large armchair with a thick original book spread out on his knees. His slender fingers occasionally turned a page, making an extremely slight rustling sound.
"Bang--!"
An extremely discordant and even violent noise suddenly tore through the silence!
The heavy solid wooden door of the Ye family manor, which was carved with intricate patterns, was kicked open rudely from the outside. The force was so great that the door panel hit the wall with a dull sound, and even a few strands of snow on the door frame fell down.
A figure wrapped like a red cotton ball, carrying the cold air from outside, rushed in hurriedly. Before the person arrived, the voice came first, so crisp and loud that it could shake the dust off the beams:
"Sons! Daughters! The sun is shining on your butts! Come out and have a snowball fight--!!!"
Ning Xiwan arrived. She was wearing an exaggeratedly fluffy, bright red long down jacket, with a thick white faux fur collar on her hood. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were startlingly bright, like two black grapes dipped in snowy water.
As she yelled, she stomped the snow on her feet, and her red snow boots left a few quickly melting wet marks on the mirror-like dark marble floor, destroying the originally spotless sense of order.
The huge commotion instantly shattered the tranquility of the entire mansion. In the study, Ye Qingliu's movements as he flipped through a book paused almost imperceptibly, his brows furrowed slightly. The slight displeasure of being disturbed was like a stone dropped into an icy lake, quickly returning to calm.
Without raising his head, his gaze still fixed on the densely packed German text on the pages, he uttered two words softly. His voice was not loud, but it clearly passed through the open study door and fell into the ears of the red "noise source" downstairs:
"childish."
Ning Xiwan, who was downstairs, had obviously heard it. She put her hands on her hips, tilted her head back, and faced the stairs, her voice rising even higher: "Ye Qingliu! Why are you pretending to be so profound on New Year's Day! Come down here! Stretch your muscles, okay? Be careful of osteoporosis at such a young age!"
Before she finished her words, a burst of hurried and cheerful footsteps could be heard on the spiral staircase on the second floor, accompanied by a clear and pleasant shout: "Sister Wanwan! Jinyue is here——!"
Hua Jinyue was like a pink skylark, "flying" down the stairs lightly.
She didn't wear a complicated Lolita outfit today. Instead, she changed into a fluffy and warm pink and white short down jacket, pink fleece-lined sweatpants, and furry snow boots. Her pink ponytails drew lively arcs in the air as she jumped.
She rushed to Ning Xiwan, her big eyes full of excitement: "Snowball fight! Jinyue loves snowball fights the most! Where's brother? Where's brother Duan?"
Ning Xiwan smiled and rubbed Hua Jinyue's fluffy hair, but her eyes passed her and accurately cast at the edge of the huge lawn covered with thick snow outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
Near the garden wall, a figure in a long off-white down jacket crouched quietly in the snow, its back to the main house. Her waist-length black hair flowed softly behind her, shimmering like satin against the snow.
She was lowering her head, and with her hands wearing thick woolen gloves, she was carefully and attentively building a small snowman prototype. Her movements were delicate and gentle, as if she was performing a sacred work of art.
Not far from her, Ye Qingliu had put down his book and also come outside. He casually wore a dark cashmere coat, unbuttoned, revealing the high-necked cashmere sweater underneath. He was tall and thin.
He did not participate in making the snowman, but just stood quietly by, his eyelashes slightly drooping, looking at the focused profile of the girl with long black hair.
In the crisp morning sunlight, the gray-blue eyes seemed less distant and cold than usual, and had a touch of imperceptible softness.
The sunlight fell on his well-defined profile, giving him a light golden halo.
"Hey!" Ning Xiwan's eyes lit up. She pulled Hua Jinyue and pushed open the large glass door leading to the courtyard. A gust of cold and refreshing air hit them. "Naizi is here too? It's perfect for us to be together! It's more lively when there are more people!"
Hearing Ning Xiwan's voice, the black-haired girl squatting on the ground, Bai Zhiye, stopped what she was doing. She slowly raised her head and turned around.
When she saw Ning Xiwan and Hua Jinyue, a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face, with the corners of her mouth curved to the perfect angle, and her voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of the sweetness of the Jiangnan water village:
"Sister Ning, Jinyue, Happy New Year." She stood up and patted the snow particles on her gloves in a gentle manner.
"Happy New Year, Sister Naizi!" Hua Jinyue ran over happily and held Bai Zhiye's arm affectionately.
"The snowman you made is so cute!" Hua Jinyue was obviously very familiar with Bai Zhiye.
Bai Zhiye lowered her head slightly and smiled a little sheepishly. Her cheeks were naturally flushed from the cold and the hard work, adding a touch of gentleness to her face. "Just doing it casually."
Ning Xiwan looked at the couple in front of her, one was a cool and elegant lady, the other was a quiet and gentle little white flower. Tsk, they were quite pleasing to the eyes.
She was just about to tease Ye Qingliu again, but out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of another figure quietly approaching from the side corridor.
It was Duan Shuce. He was wearing a short, pure black down jacket, zipped up to his chin, which accentuated his already stern jawline.
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