Shen Yi smiled lazily. "I know, Mom. How have you gotten so naggy?"

Du Liya huffed. "That’s because I can’t stop worrying about you two!"

Mr. Du snorted. "Actually, it’s Xiao Yi and I who are always worried about you."

The three of them shared a warm, happy moment. Shen Yi looked up and happened to see Qin Jiao standing in the doorway.

Qin Jiao said in surprise, "Aunt Du, where are you going?"

"I’m going abroad to see my cousin. My passport was ready right after the divorce was finalized. I’m going to study fashion design. Xiao Jiao, when Aunt Du comes back, I’ll make clothes for you myself."

Seeing the radiant Du Liya, Qin Jiao could tell she was slowly emerging from the shadow of her divorce. She nodded emphatically and smiled. "Mhm, that would be great!"

"Then, Xiao Jiao, I won’t be back for at least half a year, probably around the time of your college entrance exams. In the meantime, will you look after these two for me, okay?"

Qin Jiao didn’t think much of it and nodded immediately. "Of course, no problem. Aunt Du, you have to take good care of yourself while you’re abroad, too."

Du Liya nodded and sighed wistfully. "Ah, daughters are just so much more thoughtful. I should have had a daughter."

Qin Jiao gave an awkward laugh. She didn’t quite know how to respond to that.

But Du Liya herself turned to her son and said, "Xiao Yi, when you find a girlfriend in the future, you have to find someone sweet, sensible, and caring, you hear?"

Shen Yi nodded with a smile.

Standing beside them, Qin Jiao couldn’t help but feel that the comment was a little strange. But before she could dwell on it, the sound of a car engine came from the main gate.

Zheng Duo had sent someone to pick Du Liya up, so they didn’t need to see her off. After Du Liya left, Shen Yi put on his down jacket, bundled up tightly with a scarf, hat, and gloves, and set off with Qin Jiao and the others.

The place they were going was near where they had caught fish before. The ice was frozen solid, and Sun Jianhua had already prepared a variety of ice sleds for the kids.

The ice sleds were simple contraptions made of wood and iron bars, built to hold one or two people. You used two iron poles with sharpened tips to propel yourself across the ice.

Although the temperature was still low, the sun was bright. After playing for a little while, the warm sunlight on their skin made their hearts feel just as warm inside.

Qin Jiao found it all quite novel. After all, it had been many years since she had done anything like this. Without her even realizing it, the unhappy memories from her past life seemed to be gradually fading away. ’Perhaps none of those things ever happened; perhaps it was all just one long dream.’

"Sis, you’re so slow!" Xiao Shi’s face was flushed from the fun. The little girl was getting bolder and bolder, even daring to tease her own sister now.

But even though Xiao Shi and Xiao Cheng were the youngest, they were the best at it. Qin Jiao looked over at her cousin, Xiao Lan, who rarely had the chance to go wild like this. Her aunt was very strict about her studies, so this was actually her first time on an ice sled. The young girl was sweating profusely but just couldn’t get the hang of it; her sled kept veering off course as she went.

As for Shen Yi... well, it was clear he had never done this before either.

But Shen Yi was already much better than Xiao Lan, the other beginner. He was naturally smart and a quick learner. Qin Jiao thought to herself, ’If I didn’t have this "space" of mine as a time-warping cheat, Shen Yi would probably even surpass me on exams.’

It was just that Shen Yi was so tall, with such long arms and legs, that he looked a bit cramped on the sled. After all, Sun Jianhua had made them for the kids.

Just as Qin Jiao was thinking this, Shen Yi glided right past her. Xiao Shi piped up from the side, "Shen Yi is faster than my sister!"

Qin Jiao: "..."