In December, with the heating on, the house was warm and cozy, a completely different world from outside. As soon as A-Heng entered, she felt a warmth surge through her hands and feet.

The Yan family’s decorative style was particularly evident in the photos on the walls, spreading like a painting scroll, clear and bright. But strangely, those people and objects arranged on the walls seemed to have been given new souls, continuously emanating warmth and… coldness.

“Yan Xi took these,” Si Wan smiled, seeing her staring intently, following her gaze to those works, his eyes bright. “A-Xi has great artistic talent. When he has free time, he often wanders around, sketching and taking photos—everything he does is presentable.”

“The one in the corner was taken last year when we went out together,” Si Wan pointed to the photo in the corner and asked her, “Can you guess where it was taken?”

A-Heng concentrated on the photo, growing more confused the longer she looked. Although there was misty water vapor, as if in the clouds, inexplicably several brown rocks appeared, strangely shaped, naturally formed.

She shook her head.

Yan Xi irritably swatted Si Wan, then headed toward the kitchen.

“Under hot spring water, he crouched there to take it,” Si Wan looked at the photo, smiling. “That guy always comes up with peculiar things.”

A-Heng smiled too. She gazed at the photo, unconsciously walking closer, reaching out to touch the misty clouds and brown rocks. Her peaceful gaze revealed a kind of longing and envy.

“Next time, take me along too, okay?” She looked at Si Wan, speaking softly.

Her father had taught her that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, and in youth, one should establish youthful ambitions. She yearned for warmth but yearned even more for wandering. This wandering was a bold notion, but not teenage rebellion.

Whether as Yu Heng or Wen Heng, she would always follow the rules. But freedom was youth’s nature, and she wanted to walk occasionally, to change the unchanging.

Of course, looking into Si Wan’s eyes, she knew her request had put him in a difficult position.

“Okay.” A muffled voice came from behind.

A-Heng turned around to see Yan Xi crouching nearby, obediently holding a white porcelain bowl, his mouth stuffed full of dumplings. His eyes were barely visible through his black bangs, but those lips were a tender, beautiful red.

“Thank you.” Her palms were sweaty with relief.

“Mm.” Yan Xi was too busy to pay attention to her, contentedly eyeing the plump white dumplings.

Si Wan was somewhat surprised but still smiled. Since Yan Xi had decided, he had no right to comment.

“Time for dumplings, children!” A short, chubby middle-aged man wearing an apron came out of the kitchen carrying dumplings, smiling at the young people before him.

“Little Xi, go eat in the dining room, what kind of posture is this!” The man scolded with a smile, kicking lightly at Yan Xi.

“Ah, Uncle Li, how can we let you carry them out? That won’t do.” Si Wan stepped forward politely to take the plate.

“This must be A-Heng?” The man examined A-Heng.

“A-Heng, this is Uncle Li, Grandfather Yan’s security officer,” Si Wan said softly to A-Heng.

“Uncle Li.” A-Heng bowed her head and spoke quietly.

“Good, good!” The man nodded, his face gratified, tears almost coming to his eyes. Then, he walked up to A-Heng, gently patted her hair, and spoke kindly: “Good child, it’s good you’re home, you’ve suffered.”

A-Heng was somewhat stunned, Si Wan was also dumbfounded, and only Yan Xi continued burying himself in his dumplings.

“Guard Li!” General Yan’s loud voice came from the dining room.

“Yes, sir!” Uncle Li gave a military salute, his voice resonant.

“Ah, you two, are you going to let me eat in peace or not!” Yan Xi was startled and began coughing heavily, choking on a dumpling until tears came to his eyes, his face as red as peach blossoms.

Guard Li stepped forward and vigorously patted Yan Xi’s back until he coughed up the dumpling stuck in his throat.

“A-Xi, you hear it eight times a day, how are you still not used to it?!” Si Wan offered water to him, speaking with a smile.

“Grandmother’s—!” Yan Xi sprayed a mouthful of water onto Si Wan’s face.

“A-Heng, eat more, it’s cold enough to freeze your ears,” Aunt Zhang looked at the girl beside her, chattering away. “Li Uncle and I made these together, they’re very fragrant!”

A-Heng nodded vigorously, taking small bites of the dumplings in the misty steam.

“Can everyone guess what the filling is?” Guard Li smiled at the young and old gathered around the dining table. He was always good at lightening the mood.

“Hmm, there’s shrimp, pork, sea cucumber.” Si Wan contemplated the texture of the meat filling on his tongue, his dimples intoxicating.

“Winter melon, bamboo shoots.” Old Wen spoke.

“Ginger powder, chopped green onions, cooking wine, chicken essence, stock.” Mother Wen tasted the soup and said.

“Not quite right.” Guard Li smiled.

Everyone tasted carefully again, and exchanged glances, all quite puzzled. What else could there be? Those sitting at the table were all picky eaters, for one person not to guess was fine, but to stump the whole table—Guard Li had quite the skill.

“Li Mom, you’re too crafty, who could guess something so tricky?” Yan Xi let out a satisfied burp and wiped his mouth with a napkin, his beautiful big eyes curving, shimmering. He had sneaked into the kitchen earlier and knew what else was in the filling.

“How is it tricky? It’s something everyone sees often.” Guard Li wasn’t annoyed by the youth’s form of address, already used to his own child’s sharp tongue.

The child he had raised—how could he not know what he was like?

“Little girl, you tell us.” General Yan had been watching A-Heng for a while, seeing her staying quiet, wanting to coax her to speak.

A-Heng lifted her head, her voice small, soft in tone: “Orange peel.” Then, she tucked her head back into the misty steam, taking small bites of her dumpling.

Everyone was stunned, turning to look at Guard Li in unison.

Guard Li smiled even more kindly, the wrinkles at his eyes bunching together: “A-Heng got it right. The pork we bought today was a bit too fatty, not the ideal lean-to-fat ratio. I was worried Little Xi would be picky, so I chopped some orange peel into it—it cuts both the greasiness and the gamey taste, just right.”

“Ah! Li Mom, you knew I don’t eat fatty meat, yet you still tormented me! Young Master will dock your pay! Right now! Immediately! No appeals!” Yan Xi pouted, his slender beautiful hands constantly playing with the TV remote.

“Oh, don’t trouble yourself, Young Master Yan, my salary isn’t under your management.” Guard Li was amused.

He received a State Council allowance for his first-class merit in wartime; working as Yan Xi’s nanny at the Yan household was purely voluntary labor out of respect for his old superior.

Others served countless people, he served just one. This one, as luck would have it, was a brat with one foot in the mental hospital and one foot on Mars!

Yan Xi felt that being filial to his old nanny was a traditional Chinese virtue, so he closed his mouth and lazily buried his head on the sofa.

A-Heng was very full, but Grandfather Yan kept urging her to eat more, so she could only follow Si Wan’s example, taking small sips of dumpling soup, and being polite while stalling for time.

Occasionally through the mist, hazily, she would see that youth lounging on the sofa watching TV, black hair covering his forehead, soft red clothing, incredibly beautiful.

During her visit to the Yan family, A-Heng never saw Yan Xi’s parents. At first, she thought they were busy with work, but later, hearing fragments of conversation between grandfather and mother, she gradually understood.

It turned out Yan Xi’s parents were diplomatic officers stationed in America and had gone abroad when he wasn’t even a year old.

Grandfather’s exact words to mother were: “Little Xi is wild, yes, but with his parents not around, and General Yan not being one who knows how to raise children, it’s lucky enough that he grew up at all. It’s fine for our Si Wan to play with him, good even, but Yan Xi’s temperament certainly shouldn’t be learned.”

A-Heng felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing this but didn’t know why she felt uncomfortable. She quietly went upstairs and worked on English exercises without pause.

Funny enough, while A-Heng had no talent for Mandarin, she spoke English fluently. According to Si Wan, she had quite the potential for being a traitor to the country.

Si Wan had a childhood friend surnamed Lu who was studying in Vienna, and when they talked on the phone, they often chatted in English to practice their spoken language.

Once when the phone rang, Si Wan happened to be busy with something else and couldn’t answer, so he asked A-Heng to take it. A-Heng struggled with Mandarin for a long time, and couldn’t get out a “hello,” but then the other person said: “Hi, Siwan?”

“No, Siwan has something at hand, this is his sister, please wait a minute.”

A-Heng was somewhat excited, thinking to herself that this was the first time she had spoken so smoothly since coming to B City.

Si Wan’s hands were busy but his eyes were free, and catching A-Heng’s expression, he laughed until his stomach cramped.

“Er Er?” From the other end of the phone came a clear, magnetic standard Mandarin.

A-Heng fell silent, then after a while, very seriously told the other person: “Another, another…”

Si Wan heard this and was stunned.

A moment later, he smiled, looking at A-Heng, smiling very genuinely and beautifully.

Hmm, another one?

It seemed… maybe it wasn’t completely unacceptable after all.