Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Hearing the sound of hurried footsteps behind him, his eyes lit up and he turned back in surprise.

Sure enough, he saw Yan Xue approaching, her face wreathed in smiles. Bai Kongshu’s heart swelled with joy; despite his lingering anger, he kept a smile on his face.

He knew Yan Xue liked him best when he acted refined.

But before he could even properly smile, a sharp “Ah!” escaped him as he tumbled to the ground.

One punch wasn’t enough for Yan Xue. Seeing the man still rolling in agony in the snow, she went over and added two more kicks.

Bai Kongshu wailed in agony, his hands frantically moving between his face and stomach, unable to cover both at once.

By the time he regained a bit more clarity, Yan Xue was already rummaging through his pockets.

Yan Xue’s gaze was clear and focused. After pulling some money from Bai Kongshu’s pockets, her hand moved to his neck.

To her surprise, Bai Kongshu didn’t give in, struggling and clutching his scarf.

“Hand it over!” she snapped, delivering another kick in her urgency before yanking the scarf free. She then brushed the snow from her clothes and stood.

Yan Xue was naturally a girl of abnormal strength, having also trained in Taekwondo for years.

She could easily take on ten “frail scholars” like Bai Kongshu.

In the swirling snow, only Bai Kongshu remained, grimacing and gritting his teeth, muttering incoherent threats about killing Yan Xue.

Meanwhile, Yan Xue, now some distance away with the money and scarf, counted her haul while eyeing the scarf Bai Kongshu had worn with disdain.

If the scarf weren’t such good quality, she wouldn’t dream of keeping something that man had worn, even if it could be washed and given to the two little ones.

And the money—since Original Yan Xue had given it, that meant it was Wei Heng’s money. Of course, she had to get Wei Heng’s money back!

While it was only about three hundred yuan, she’d take what she could get. At least now she could buy some good food for the two little ones soon.

It was a good thing Little Xiang had told her about this just now, otherwise she would’ve been completely ripped off.

Wait…

Yan Xue’s delicate brows furrowed, and her steps abruptly slowed. The voice that had just prompted her wasn’t Little Xiang’s!

Little Xiang’s voice always had a hint of a spoiled, nasal whine, but the one just now, though childish, carried a touch of calm.

Snow clung to Yan Xue’s long, slender eyelashes. Her eyes, moist with emotion and surprise, sparkled as she found herself crying and laughing at once.

She was certain it had been Wei Siao who had called her “Mom” and given her the heads-up.

She quickly ran back to the two children. Sixiang was drawing in the snow with a stick, while Siao waited quietly beside him.

Seeing her return, both children were overjoyed, bouncing about in the snowy landscape.

“Mom—”

This time, both children had called out, and she’d heard them!

“Alright! Mom will play snowball fight with you!”

The one adult and two children chased each other, a bundle of happy frolic in the snow, like three distinct colors leaping across the white expanse.

Each jump left a fresh divot in the snow, and etched countless impressions, deep and shallow, into their hearts.

Suddenly, Yan Xue was hit by a snowball. She widened her eyes and spun around.

“You two little rascals, ganging up on your mom like that! Just watch, I’m going to make a huge snowball and get you back!”

Though Yan Xue said this, she only loosely scooped up a handful of snow, then pretended to clumsily toss it casually at the two children.

The two children giggled, laughing so hard they could barely run.

Melting snow brought an extra chill to the air.

For the past two days, Yan Xue had kept the children bundled up and indoors, spending her time cooking and telling them stories.

They listened with rapt attention to the stories she read from her phone.

They pestered Yan Xue to tell them stories all day, and even at bedtime, they didn’t want to sleep.

“Quickly, close your eyes. No peeking! If you don’t listen, you’re not being good, remember?”

Just now, the two children had been secretly peeking at Yan Xue’s phone. Caught in the act, they shyly covered their eyes with the blanket.

Wei Sixiang kept his eyes covered for a moment, then, finding it hard to breathe, burrowed out from under the blanket and blinked his bright, intelligent eyes.

“Mom, do you know what day tomorrow is?”

A trace of hope lingered in his heart, wishing his mom would know.

But even if she didn’t know, it was okay; their mom was already so good to them.

Hearing this, Yan Xue closed the job recruitment website on her phone and pondered.

She truly couldn’t recall what day tomorrow was; the novel didn’t typically mention specific dates.

But seeing Little Xiang’s expectant eyes, a hint of worry crossed her face.

Wei Siao lay quietly behind his brother. Seeing that his mom couldn’t remember, he opened his mouth wide and mouthed the words, syllable by syllable, to prompt her.

“It’s—Little—Xiang’s—birth—day.”

Yan Xue understood the mouthing instantly, and her eyes curved into crescents as she repeated, “It’s your birthday, Little Xiang~”

Wei Sixiang’s eyes lit up. He wiggled and grinned happily in the covers, then after a moment, he pounced into Yan Xue’s arms and gave her a kiss.

Yan Xue hugged him, a cheerful smile on her face, but inside, she wasn’t nearly as happy.

Instead, her face stiffened, and a chill ran down her spine.

In the book, Er Bao Little Xiang’s birthday was the very day he developed the chronic dizziness and tinnitus…

In the original novel, this illness not only plagued Wei Sixiang for life, but also inflicted indelible harm upon him on multiple occasions later on.

The illness even led to Wei Sixiang being kidnapped by his enemies twice.

So whenever the illness flared up, Wei Sixiang would always smile nonchalantly and retreat from everyone to rest. In truth, he would secretly seethe, wishing he could dig up Original Yan Xue’s wicked stepmother’s grave three feet deep.

And the adult Wei Sixiang had indeed done just that.

Thinking of Original Yan Xue’s ultimate fate—her bones disturbed even in death—Yan Xue silently pulled the blanket tighter.

The original novel’s description of the scene tomorrow was very chaotic.

She only remembered that the incident took place at the neighbor Auntie’s house, with many people present, and the catalyst was a minor disagreement.

The only thing Yan Xue firmly believed now was that she would not go to the neighbor auntie’s house tomorrow, and she certainly wouldn’t stand by and watch someone hit Little Xiang on the head with a stool in front of a crowd.

The night passed in unease.

In her dream, Yan Xue saw Little Xiang lying on the ground, his head covered in blood, and she watched impassively, smiling as if enjoying a show.

Amidst the chaotic crowd, the male lead, Wei Heng, suddenly appeared.

The next shot showed her lying on the ground, covered in blood and unconscious. She looked dead.

This realization terrified Yan Xue, leaving her drenched in cold sweat as she violently struggled out of the dream.

Gazing at the two sleeping children before her, she repeatedly checked their breathing before finally allowing herself to relax.

After that, she simply stared into the dark room, unable to pinpoint any crucial details or solutions.

She didn’t know what time it was when the sky began to faintly lighten, but only then did Yan Xue lose consciousness once more and drift into a heavy sleep.

The next day, from the moment she woke up.

Every minute, Yan Xue was on edge, walking on thin ice, wishing the three of them could just stay indoors.

While cooking, she sternly told the children not to go outside, and after washing the vegetables, she went to check on them in their room. In the end, after all the back-and-forth, she was still too worried, so she had both children wait in the kitchen with her.

Finally, the meal was ready.

As the three of them were carrying the dishes into the house, a knock sounded at the main gate in the courtyard.

Yan Xue’s heart sank. She went to the door alone, her hand reaching for the doorknob, only to withdraw it.

Nervously, she pressed her ear to the crack and asked, “Who is it?”

“Sister Xue, it’s me, Xiao Cui.”