Everyone's been reborn, so who would bother finding a wife on their own?

Chapter 214 New Year's Money

Xiao Yunqing skipped and hopped ahead, like a rabbit wearing a tiger-head hat.

The ears on the tiger-head hat bounced with her, and the two round woolen eyes blinked under the streetlights.

Passing by a stall selling bowl-shaped rice cakes, she stopped, pointed to the transparent cakes filled with red and green beans in the steamer, and called out, "Boss, give me a skewer."

The owner had just taken the bowl-shaped rice cakes out of the steamer, skewered them with bamboo sticks, and handed them to her.

She took it, turned around, and called out to the people behind her.

"He'll pay!"

Then he ran off with a grin.

Song Huan strolled up slowly, smiled at the boss, took out some change from her pocket, and handed it over.

The shopkeeper glanced at him twice while giving him change.

"Your girlfriend?"

Song Huan took the change.

"My sister."

The boss smiled but didn't say anything.

After only a short while, Xiao Yunqing had so many things in her hands that she couldn't carry them all.

He held a bag of roasted chestnuts in his left hand, a string of candied hawthorns in his right, a bag of popcorn under his arm, and a bag of sugar paintings hanging from his fingers.

She stopped, turned around, and handed the bag of sugar paintings to Song Huan.

"what?"

"I can't eat anymore, you eat."

Song Huan looked at the bag of sugar paintings; they were butterfly-shaped, with a corner of their wings missing, as if they had been bitten.

He looked down at his hand; there was a cup of honey grapefruit tea, which she had just bought. He had drunk half of it, and there was a faint tooth mark on the straw.

He took the sugar painting and sighed.

"Why did you buy so much if you can't finish it?"

Xiao Yunqing took a bite of a candied hawthorn, her cheeks puffed out, and mumbled something.

"I want to try a bite of each one. Besides, aren't you here?"

She smiled and took the cup of honey grapefruit tea from Song Huan's hand, held it with both hands, took another sip, and squinted her eyes.

"Let's go, there seems to be some fun stuff ahead."

Song Huan shook her head, stuffed the sugar painting into her mouth, and found it sweet and cloying.

I took another roasted chestnut, peeled it, and popped it into my mouth. It was powdery.

He felt that if he kept shopping, he would really get as fat as a pig.

Xiao Yunqing finally stopped.

Song Huan had just finished eating everything she bought and was feeling a bit full, so she was rubbing her stomach.

I found her standing in front of a makeshift shed, looking up at the sign on it.

"A world of ice and snow".

The shed was inflatable, white, and round, like a big steamed bun.

A thick cotton curtain hung at the door, and white steam rose from the gaps in the curtain.

"Song Huan, let's go in and take a look!" Xiao Yunqing turned around excitedly, her eyes shining.

Song Huan glanced at the shed, then at the signboard.

"What's so interesting about this? It's not like it's really snowing."

"But I've never seen snow before." Xiao Yunqing leaned closer, grabbed Song Huan's sleeves with both hands, and shook them.

"I heard it's icy cold and sounds really interesting, why don't you come in with me?"

Song Huan glanced at the ticket price: ten yuan per ticket.

It's not expensive.

"Alright."

He nodded, walked to the ticket window, and bought two tickets.

Xiao Yunqing immediately grabbed his hand excitedly, lifted the cotton curtain, and went inside.

As you step through that door, a blast of cold air hits you.

It wasn't the dry cold of winter, but a damp cold, a chilly cold that crept into my collar.

There was a large machine overhead, making a loud rumbling noise, spewing out fine white particles that fell down in a flurry.

"Wow, is this snow?" Xiao Yunqing's eyes widened. She let go of Song Huan's hand and ran inside.

She stood in the middle of the artificial snowflakes, tilting her head back, stretching out her hand, palm facing up.

A white particle landed in her palm, cool to the touch, and melted into a drop of water.

She took another one, and it melted too.

She was overjoyed, her ponytail swaying behind her, the ears on her tiger-head hat bobbing along with it. "Huanhuan, come here quickly! This is snow!"

Song Huan walked over, stood next to her, and also reached out her hand to take a piece.

A snowflake landed on my fingertip, cooled slightly, and turned into a drop of water.

He looked up at the rumbling machine, then at the thin layer of white particles beneath his feet.

It makes a rustling sound when you step on it, like stepping on crushed ice.

"So beautiful." Xiao Yunqing held the snowflake in her hand, watching it melt at her fingertips. "It's a pity they're all fake."

She looked up at the machine, her expression a little regretful.

Song Huan smiled and reached out to help her brush off the white particles from her hat and shoulders.

The ears of the tiger-head hat were covered with a layer of fluffy fur, like frost on a real tiger's ears.

"What's this?"

Song Huan said, pulling her hand away from her hat, "After graduation, we'll apply to schools a bit further north, then we'll be able to see real snow."

Xiao Yunqing's eyes lit up. "Great! Where shall we go?"

Song Huan stood amidst the artificial snowflakes, the machines overhead still roaring, white particles falling in a flurry.

After thinking for a while, he finally revealed the place that had been intertwined with him for half his life.

"Nanjiang, the ancient capital of six dynasties, where you can even see snow, you'll definitely like it."

He turned around and looked at her.

Snowflakes landed on her hat, shoulders, and eyelashes.

"Jiming Temple, Xuanwu Lake, Qixia Mountain, Wutong Avenue, each one is beautiful... there's bound to be one you'll like."

Xiao Yunqing was also looking at him.

The snow fell between the two people, fine and scattered, like torn pieces of white paper.

She smiled at him, her dimples shallow, "Alright then, Dad originally wanted me to study at Yenching University."

She paused for a moment, then said, "But since you've invited me so sincerely, I'll go to Nanjiang with you."

Song Huan was taken aback for a moment. "Uh, did I invite you?"

He touched his nose.

Xiao Yunqing tilted her head, causing the ears on her tiger-head hat to tilt as well.

"No? But you just mentioned Jiming Temple, Xuanwu Lake, Qixia Mountain, and Wutong Avenue."

"That's a tourist attraction."

Song Huan said.

Xiao Yunqing looked into his eyes, "But is it really possible to travel alone?"

Song Huan was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not telling you, you're so stupid."

Xiao Yunqing glared at him, then turned and left.

Her ponytail swung, bobbing back and forth in the snow.

My heartfelt words drifted over from the front, softly, like a snowflake falling into water.

[I want to go see it with you, you idiot.]

Song Huan stood there, watching her walk away.

Snowflakes fell on his shoulders and the back of his hands, feeling cool.

He smiled and followed.

The two of them strolled around until dark.

One by one, the streetlights came on, first the street lamps, their dim yellow light spreading across the road.

Then there are the shop signs, red, green, and blue, flashing.

Then there were the windows of other people's houses, each pane letting out a warm yellow light.

With lights shining in every home, the New Year is drawing ever closer.

Xiao Yunqing suddenly stopped and turned around.

The two ears on the tiger-head hat swayed under the streetlights.

She clenched her fists and held them up in front of Song Huan.

"Here, you choose one."

Song Huan looked at the two little fists. "What do you choose?"

"It's just a matter of choosing between the left and right hands. I have a little gift for you."

"Wow, I even got a gift." Song Huan laughed.

"Hey, are you going to choose or not!" Xiao Yunqing glared at him fiercely, but the corners of her mouth were turned up.

Song Huan quickly raised her hands in surrender, "Choose, choose, choose, I'll choose the right side."

Xiao Yunqing smiled and opened her right hand.

empty.

Song Huan made the wrong choice.

"Then I'll give you one more chance."

Xiao Yunqing put her hands behind her back, turned around, and then brought them back together, making fists with both hands and raising them in front of him.

"Left or right?"

"On the right," Song Huan said with a smile.

Xiao Yunqing wrinkled her nose, opened her right hand, but it was still empty.

She waved her hand in front of him, then withdrew it.

"Then I'll give you one more chance!"

She turned around, her back to him, waited two seconds, and then turned back.

This time she wasn't smiling; she was huffing and pouting.

"If you don't choose the left side, you're dead!"

Song Huan was both amused and exasperated. "Then I'll choose the left side."

Xiao Yunqing opened her left hand.

Inside lay a brand new red bill, folded twice.

She held the bill by the corner, raising it in front of him like a precious treasure.

"Ta-da! Here's your New Year's money!"

Song Huan took it and looked down at it.

One hundred yuan, the creases are pressed very flat, and the edges are neat and tidy.

He looked up at Xiao Yunqing and said seriously, "Did you steal my money?"

Xiao Yunqing's face turned from white to red. She raised her hand and slapped Song Huan's arm once, twice, three times.

"You're the one who stole money! Your whole family steals money!"

Song Huan laughed and dodged, taking two steps back.

"That's my allowance, the money I saved up!"

"Okay, okay, I was wrong."

Song Huan folded the hundred-yuan bill, stuffed it into her pocket, and patted it.

"Thank you."

Xiao Yunqing snorted, turned around, and her ponytail flicked across his face.

Song Huan wiped her face and followed.

The two walked side by side, their tiger-head hats swaying under the streetlights.

The lanterns on the street were lit, their red glow casting shadows on the two people, their shadows trailing on the ground as they leaned against each other.

Another firecracker went off in the distance, crackling and popping several times in the night sky.