Xue Xing looked at Si Wen with confusion as she suddenly burst into laughter. He didn’t understand what she was laughing about.
"Don’t look at like that, or I’ll really pounce on you and eat you up. Hahaha!" Si Wen laughed until her body shook.
It was the first ti Xue Xing had ever seen her laugh like that.
It’s beautiful. Sister Si Wen should laugh like this more often.
But then he rembered her words about pouncing on him. Could she know what I’m thinking? Heaven knows.
Xue Xing had practically written his thoughts all over his face. Even if Si Wen wanted to feign ignorance, it was impossible.
Si Mingli had just stepped out of the elevator when he heard his daughter’s hearty laugh. At first, he couldn’t believe it. It was only when he drew closer and saw the girl smiling radiantly that he had to accept it as true.
When was the last ti I saw Si Wen laugh this happily? When she was two? Or three? Back then, I only had to tease her a little and she would laugh just like this, her eyes squinting into crescent moons. So incredibly cute. When did she lose that smile?
Si Mingli couldn’t rember. Seeing her like this, he didn’t have the heart to disturb her.
Uncle Zhong stood by his side, understanding exactly what the chairman was feeling. He had also watched Miss Si Wen grow up, so he knew how precious her laughter was. Neither of them said a word.
After a while, Si Mingli decided to head back. He had heard this young man was from out of town and wouldn’t be here for long, so he decided to let them have their mont.
Not long after Si Mingli left, a nurse ca over. Si Wen’s laughter ca to an abrupt halt. She looked at the unfamiliar nurse with displeasure.
This nurse has no tact at all.
The nurse realized she had interrupted Miss Si Wen, but she had sothing important to discuss with Si Mingli. Bracing herself, she asked, "Miss Si Wen, Mr. Si was just here. Has he left?"
Upon hearing this, Si Wen lowered her gaze slightly. Dad was here? How did I not know? Why... why didn’t he co in?
She looked up and said dismissively, "He probably went back. Did you need him for sothing?"
"Oh... it’s nothing... Miss Si Wen, I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I’ll be leaving now." The nurse offered a strained smile and left.
Si Wen was no stranger to such things. With her good mood completely ruined, she leaned back against the bed and said to Xue Xing, "I’m thirsty."
"Oh, okay."
Xue Xing didn’t quite understand why she was suddenly unhappy again, but he quickly grabbed a cup and poured her so water.
"Sister Si Wen, here’s your water."
"It’s too hot," she said with a frown after barely touching the cup.
"Oh." Xue Xing took it back and blew on it carefully until he felt the temperature was just right. He handed it to her again.
"Now it’s cold."
"Oh."
"I want so fruit."
"It needs to be cut into chunks."
"And rinse it with hot water."
"..."
After the whole ordeal, the tip of Xue Xing’s handso nose was slightly red.
Si Wen’s spirits dwindled. She wasn’t deliberately tornting Xue Xing; she was just deeply upset and this was the only way she could think of to distract herself. Turning her head, she looked out the window.
Instantly, her vision filled with a delicate winter tableau. Outside, snowflakes drifted down like feathers, light yet determined. They wove a flawless white web that gently covered the entire city. The ground seed to have donned a magnificent silver-white robe. This pristine snow, like a garnt ticulously woven by a divine weaver, gave the city a serene and sacred beauty. It was so enchanting that, for a mont, Si Wen forgot all her troubles.
Xue Xing followed her gaze and was instantly captivated by the vast expanse of white outside. "This is the first ti in my life I’ve ever seen snow," he said, his voice filled with unmistakable excitent and wonder.
Hearing this, Si Wen asked softly with a hint of curiosity, "Does it really never snow where you’re from?"
Xue Xing nodded gently. "No, it doesn’t. The lowest temperature is about minus one degree. In the countryside, a thin layer of frost covers everything, which is quite beautiful."
"On so of the higher mountaintops, you get ri ice. It hangs from branches and grass tips like strings of crystal-clear necklaces, sparkling brilliantly. In the sunlight, they look like countless tiny, glittering crystals. However, such a sight is rare because the ri lts away as soon as the sun gets higher."
"It’s a sha I only got to see it once. I got sick after I ca back, and my mom never let go again."
As he said this, a faint look of disappointnt crossed his face.
Si Wen consoled him, "We have ri in the north, too. It’s quite common. Once you get into a university in Yancheng, I’ll take you to see it."
Stars seed to sparkle in Xue Xing’s eyes. "Really? Thank you! The north is so great."
Si Wen shrugged and laughed lightly. "What’s so great about it? It’s freezing."
"But it’s not cold inside," Xue Xing comnted, feeling the warmth from the hospital’s central heating. Although snow was swirling outside, the room was as warm as spring.
"You have no idea how miserable our winters are in the south. It’s just like it is now. At school, even with the doors and windows shut, the biting north wind still finds its way in."
"The students sitting by the doors and windows have it the worst."
"If soone’s constitution is weak, they’re basically guaranteed to catch a cold. The teacher has no choice but to have everyone rotate seats."
A hint of surprise flickered in Si Wen’s eyes. "It gets that cold in the winter, and you don’t have heating?"
Xue Xing shook his head, a trace of helplessness in his voice. "There’s no central heating in the south. You can use air conditioners, but schools usually don’t allow it. They just tell us to wear more layers."
Sympathy welled up in Si Wen’s heart. That sounds awful. She found it hard to imagine how they endured the entire winter in such conditions.
"But you said the coldest it gets is minus one degree," she said. "Here, it can get to minus ten or more, so it should be manageable, right?"
"You’re mistaken," Xue Xing replied. "In the north, when it’s minus ten, you have heating. We have nothing, so we just have to endure it. It’s completely different."
"Have you ever been indoors and felt colder than you would outside?"
"How could it possibly be colder inside than outside?" Si Wen was skeptical.
"That’s just how winter is in the south," Xue Xing insisted.
"And that’s not all. Outside, the difference between being in the shade and being in the sun is like two completely different worlds."
Listening to Xue Xing’s description, Si Wen found it a bit hard to imagine. It’s not as if I’ve never been to the south in winter—didn’t I go just last New Year’s? It didn’t seem as bad as he’s making it out to be.
"You were there for too short a ti, and the temperature was mild then. If you’d stayed a few more days, you’d have found it’s even more extre than I described."
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