This article, after a long and drawn-out process, has finally come to a close.
Bonus chapters will be released irregularly, so please feel free to add them as you like.
A small bow. (From a certain place, December 12th)
[Bonus Chapter 1] On the question of who he resembles
Countless days of mundane daily life, filled with the mundane details of cooking, cleaning, and daily life, rolled by in a blur.
One day, a boy named Xiao Huan was feeling down. The reason for his downfall was quite simple: his mother had asked him to take a gift to visit Doctor Li, who lived nearby, for the New Year.
Actually, it's such a simple thing, and of course he, a grown man, can do it very well, even if he's only a six-year-old boy.
But why did Yan Xiaoci, this clumsy little sister, insist on going out with him? Yan Xiaohuan tucked the collar of Yan Xiaoci's little cotton-padded jacket around her neck as she was engrossed in eating her sesame seed cake, and said in a serious tone, "Follow your brother, don't get lost." Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaoci lifted her little head from the scrambled pieces of her sesame seed cake, blinked, and opened her mouth slightly.
Yan Xiaohuan sighed, took her hand with one hand and carried the gift with the other, and slowly walked forward.
They were born of the same mother, so why was his younger sister so stupid? He pondered this with deep conviction.
From childhood, everyone in the neighborhood praised him for being clever and quick-witted. But when it came to Yan Xiaoci, the praise shifted to quiet and obedient. Quiet, yes, but obedient… Yan Xiaohuan looked at Yan Xiaoci, completely absorbed in her food, and thought she was clearly just slow-witted. His mother said they came into this world on the same day, but he had already learned to call her "father" and "mother" before he was even a year old. Yan Xiaoci, on the other hand, waited two years before she could speak fluently, going from babbling to being able to talk properly. And it wasn't "father" or "mother," it was "meat"! Yan Xiaohuan grew increasingly worried. What if his sister grew up to be even more stupid, and people started bullying her?
As Yan Xiaohuan pulled, she suddenly couldn't pull anymore. She turned around and saw her younger sister slowly wiping her mouth with a small handkerchief. After she finished wiping, Yan Xiaohuan was about to take another step when Yan Xiaoci turned into the alley on the right.
Yan Xiaohuan gritted his teeth and chased after him: "Xiaoci, Doctor Li's house is on the left." Yan Xiaoci paused, glanced at him with her dark eyes, and continued walking. After walking a few steps, Yan Xiaohuan saw Doctor Li slowly strolling out of the alley with a large medicine box slung over his shoulder.
"Dr. Li!" Yan Xiaohuan called out from afar, her voice cheerful and enthusiastic: "Happy New Year! This is what my mother asked me to bring you."
Dr. Li smiled so hard his eyes narrowed into slits as he took the exquisite gift box from his hand. Then he pulled out two heavy red paper packets from his sleeve, one for him and one for Xiao Ci.
"Thank you, Dr. Li!" Yan Xiaohuan grinned, revealing her white teeth, and nudged her sister with her elbow. "Say thank you to the doctor when you wish him a Happy New Year."
Yan Xiaoci looked at the red paper packet in her hand, then at Doctor Li who was smiling kindly, and after a long while, she slowly and crisply uttered the words, "Thank you... thank you."
Yan Xiaohuan was exasperated. He chatted with Doctor Li for a while longer before pulling his dim-witted sister home. On the way, they heard an aunt shouting, "Thief!" The two children stopped and saw a figure running fast towards them, followed by the aunt whose purse had been stolen.
Yan Xiaohuan felt that as a real man, he should do his part to help others, but he was also worried that Yan Xiaoci, who was outside, might be bumped into by a thief rushing in. He tightened his grip on Yan Xiaoci's hand, trying to pull her closer, but Yan Xiaoci clumsily let go and started groping around on her cotton-padded jacket.
By the time he ran closer to pull her away, Yan Xiaoci had already been knocked off her feet by the fleeing thief. Having lost her balance, her small hands were frantically tugging at the thief's clothes.
"Get out of the way!" The thief waved his hand, and Yan Xiaoci sat down on the ground in a daze.
Catching the thief is less important than catching his silly little sister. Yan Xiaohuan ran over, pulled her up, and examined her closely. Thankfully, she hadn't hurt herself. Yan Xiaoci didn't cry either. She dusted herself off and innocently looked at the thief's retreating figure.
Exhausted from being chased by the woman who had her purse stolen, the woman sat on the ground, looking utterly miserable. The streets weren't crowded during the Lunar New Year, and the thief, quick as a flash, disappeared in a few moments. Suddenly, a little girl in a floral-patterned jacket walked up to her, her bright black eyes gazing at her quietly. Her chubby little hands held a red paper packet, which she handed to her: "Here, don't be sad."
The woman opened it, puzzled, and found a few copper coins and a small silver ingot neatly wrapped inside. When she looked up again, the little girl and another doll had already toddled into the small courtyard with gourds hanging on the street corner.
One hour later.
Nie Qingyue had just finished eating and was clearing away the dishes when an older woman walked in.
"But for a medical consultation?" she asked, putting down her chopsticks.
"No, no." The aunt waved her hand, looked around the dining table, and saw that only Yan Shu was sitting at the table. "I'm looking for the baby wearing the little jacket."
Those two little ones seemed to be wearing padded jackets when they went out this morning. Nie Qingyue thought that her Xiao Huan had always been very active since she was little. Could it be that she went out and caused trouble on the street an hour ago? So she quickly called Yan Xiao Huan back, who had slipped out to play in the yard after finishing her meal.
Yan Xiaohuan ran in with a small bamboo sword. The auntie took one look and said, "No, no, it's a little girl."
Nie Qingyue was surprised: "Xiao Ci seems to have gone to her room to sleep." Xiao Ci has always been quiet. Although she is a little slow to learn to speak and a little confused, she is definitely the best-behaved child.
When Yan Shu brought Xiao Ci out, Xiao Ci was already sleeping soundly with her face slightly flushed. She was wrapped around Yan Shu's neck and looking at the people in the hall with sleepy eyes.
The auntie, seeing that she had found the right person, smiled happily and took out a red paper packet from her bosom, stuffing it back into Xiao Ci's hand. "Little one, the thief was caught by the police not long after. Thank you for your kindness. Here, consider this your New Year's money from your auntie." After saying that, she took out a red knot woven with red thread, adorned with a small piece of jade and a copper coin.
Nie Qingyue, holding Yan Xiaohuan, sat at the table, listening in a daze. He rubbed Xiaohuan's head and asked, "Kid, where did you guys go?" Yan Xiaohuan replied with an "Eh" but didn't say anything.
Xiao Ci, clutching the red envelope and the wedding knot, glanced at Nie Qingyue, who simply smiled and gestured for her to handle it herself. Xiao Ci fell silent again, and after a long pause, finally uttered a crisp, slow, "Thank you."
A peaceful and joyful day slipped away amidst a few minor surprises and unexpected events.
The two little ones finally fell asleep late at night.
Nie Qingyue looked at the sleeping little one's delicate and lively features, and began to ponder for the umpteenth time the question every mother would have: Who does she look like? Hmm, her eyes are like hers, and her nose and lips are like Yan Shu's. But their active and absent-minded personalities... it seems like neither of them is quite the same.
Doctor Yan pulled his wife, who was lost in thought, back into his arms, and suddenly understood the meaning behind Shu Song's joke, "You can't have children too early." He lifted her onto his lap, loosened her hair, took off her shoes, and then put her back on the bed and covered her with a blanket, his movements practiced and natural as if he had done it a thousand times.
"Why did that thief get itchy all over and get caught by the police?" Enjoying the excellent service with peace of mind, Nie Qingyue hugged the quilt and suddenly remembered the aunt's description this morning, which seemed a bit strange.
The divine physician Yan paused, his hand, which was wrapped around her waist and was about to do something naughty, and raised an eyebrow: "Feeling itchy all over?"
Nie Qingyue nodded: "That's what the aunt said when I saw her off."
He hummed thoughtfully and continued to deftly unbutton his wife's clothes.
Nie Qingyue recalled how Yan Shu had been kissing her at the table after breakfast that morning, almost being seen by Xiao Ci who was passing by. She felt it was necessary to discuss with her husband the issue of building a healthy family environment.
Before she could speak, Yan Shu's lips landed on her cheek, kissing her affectionately, making her heart flutter. "This morning..." she murmured, her breath unsteady, her voice growing softer and softer.
Yan Shu's warm hand brushed across her slender waist and slowly moved upwards, interrupting her rambling: "Xiao Ci saw it."
"……Um?"
“I saw her deliberately following Xiao Huan out,” he said, looking at her wide, watery eyes in surprise, and then chuckled as he kissed her. “The medicine was also for Xiao Ci’s self-defense.”
Medicine? The phrase "itching all over" suddenly flashed into her mind. Yan Shu's hot breath was close to her nose, his burning lips pressed against hers, and his hands, which had been teasing her, were now restlessly probing deeper.
His lowered voice was incredibly sexy: "Xiao Ci is so sensible, how can Madam let her down, hmm?"
Before Nie Qingyue was completely defeated, she vaguely realized that she finally knew who Xiao Ci's personality resembled.
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[About Liu Ruoyun - those who are not interested can skip this]
The slightly ajar door was pushed open.
A thin, scholarly-looking man rushed in, holding an umbrella in one hand and something tightly clutched to his chest in the other. A damp mist mingled with the fine rain as he turned and hurriedly closed the door, his clothes still stained with dark water.
"The shop at the end of the street is closed, so I bought it in the east of the city. It's still warm." Chen Tao turned around and handed her the warm oil paper package he was holding, grinning slightly as he wiped his face, which was either rain or sweat.
She just stared at him quietly, looking disheveled, and after a long while, she finally shook her head gently: "I don't want to eat anymore."
Chen Tao was stunned for a moment, and the air instantly fell silent and stagnant.
“Just leave it here. You can ask the kitchen to heat it up whenever you want to eat it. If you really don’t want to…” He turned his face to look at the rain outside the window: “Just throw it away.”
She couldn't see Chen Tao's expression clearly, and just as she was about to examine it closely, he turned around with his usual doting and tolerant smile: "I still have some trivial matters to attend to in court. I'll come find you when I'm done." With that, he immediately turned and left.
She must have been heartbroken, she sighed, gazing at the lonely oil paper package on the table. Quietly unwrapping it, the steam and aroma of the glutinous rice balls wafted out. It was just a casual remark that she wanted to eat glutinous rice balls from the end of the street, and he actually braved the heavy rain to run and buy them during her lunch break, not caring about getting all disheveled.
The girls in the brothel all said that relationships in such places are usually shallow, but Chen Tao couldn't get over her after that one meeting. He ignored his promising future at the Hanlin Academy and followed her around every day as if he were under a spell.
She rubbed her temples, and the half-closed door opened again. This time, a disheveled man in a blue robe entered, his eyebrows and eyes as dark as ink.
"Yun'er".
"Don't you guys even know you should knock before entering someone's room?" she said helplessly, but her eyes were full of laughter.
"Is my sister considered someone else?" The person sat down and looked at the glutinous rice balls spread out on the table. Then he laughed and said, "I ran into Chen Tao when I came here. He looked completely lost."
She felt a little embarrassed, and her eyes dimmed.
"Aren't you going back this year either?" he asked.
She looked up and asked, "Do you want me to reply?"
The man just shook his head and smiled bitterly, as if sighing, "Yun'er, now that you've grown up, you won't call me brother anymore."
She remained silent, picked up a pair of wooden chopsticks, scooped up a bit of the glutinous rice, and put it in her mouth. It was soft and sweet, but when it went down her throat, it tasted slightly bitter.
If she had a choice, she would have preferred to live on the streets back then, so that she could have a completely different identity to get closer to them. However, fate is sometimes ridiculously unexpected. She was still grateful to the Yan couple for taking her in, but she never expected that the kindness they had accumulated would become a shackle that bound her.
She didn't believe the man before her was unaware of her feelings. He would treat her well, care for her, and offer her silent protection when she deliberately entered a brothel to investigate her origins, not caring about gaining a reputation for being a womanizer, yet treating her with the utmost respect as a brother and sister, never crossing that line. This was his most considerate rejection, and she wasn't unaware of it.
Human emotions are such a strange thing; falling in love often happens in an instant, but forgetting them can take decades.
She also had her pride, and after several unsuccessful attempts to hint at her feelings, she gave up. But although that thought was gone, the lingering emotions in her heart took root, and the more she tried to forget them, the more she couldn't let go.
Until he disguised himself and moved in to protect Nie Qingyue, until he would inadvertently mention Nie Qingyue whenever he visited her, until the night of the Autumn Festival when he whispered intimately with Nie Qingyue in front of the restaurant—was it all an act to reject her? She told herself this from the shadows, but the joyful and carefree smile in his eyes was an ease and ease that even he himself didn't realize.
In the end, it seemed she was about to lose even her last chance. That night, she wandered aimlessly through the streets, almost falling as she was jostled by the crowd, when she met Chen Tao, who kindly helped her up.
Whether it's fate or misfortune, you can't tell until the very last moment.
"I'll go back to visit them after the New Year." Putting down her chopsticks, she composed herself and smiled again.
The man got the answer he wanted, nodded, and stood up.
Seeing the one you love should bring joy, but she seemed increasingly unable to discern whether she liked Yan Shu as a person, or whether this unrequited love was trapping her. Would laying everything bare in the sunlight, hearing his straightforward rejection without any buffer, bring her some relief?
"Wait a minute," she suddenly called out to the man.
The man had already reached the carved wooden railing when he stopped and turned his head to look at the long street drenched in torrential rain.
She mustered her courage and walked over, only to find that his gaze remained fixed on the eaves of the building on the street corner.
Raindrops trickled down from the eaves like broken beads. The woman in the blue dress with dark hair, sheltering from the rain, stood quietly behind the curtain of rain, holding a plain oil-paper umbrella. As if sensing their gaze, she suddenly raised her eyes and looked in their direction.
She couldn't quite make out the emotions in the woman's eyes through the hazy rain, but the woman slowly tilted her head and raised her free hand, waving lightly at them. She couldn't see it clearly, but she clearly felt that the woman was smiling, calmly and happily.
"Is there anything else?" he asked softly, drawing her back to her senses. His eyes unconsciously drifted back in the direction they had just come from, his gaze filled with a tender smile.
For a moment she seemed to understand something, then suddenly felt a little tired, waved her hand and said, "It's nothing."
He nodded, still considerate: "Then get some rest."
His steps downstairs were as steady as ever, but it wasn't long before she could see him running through the rain from the shop to the eaves of the building across the street. The rain lashed at him, and he only slightly raised one sleeve to cover himself, not with his usual composure, but with a hint of haste, dishevelment, and even a touch of joy.
Behind the curtain of raindrops, the woman tiptoed to brush the raindrops from his hair.
He slowly opened the oil-paper umbrella, and the two figures walked away together in the rain and mist.
She didn't know how long she had stood there until someone draped a warm robe over her shoulders, at which point the rain gradually subsided and stopped, and sunlight peeked through the clouds. The man from the Hanlin Academy, who had returned, stood beside her, smiling slightly. He still carried the oil paper bag containing food in his arms, and his face was still wet with sweat and rain. "I saw that the shop at the end of the street was open, so I brought it over for you."
She sighed softly, but he stuffed the oil paper bag into her hand.