As Gu Chengze and Lin Xuanyu sat stewing in their anger and a sense of wrongness, the mood around them continued its bright, carefree flow, oblivious to the dark undercurrents.

Su Wanyan stood there, trying her best to muster a serious face as she looked intently at Shen Guoxing. Her expression was carefully neutral and determined, but the slight upward curve at the corners of her mouth and the warm flush spreading across her cheeks betrayed just how shy she truly felt. The gentle light caught on her skin, highlighting the soft pink tint that refused to fade.

Shen Guoxing smiled playfully up at her Aunt Wanyan, clearly not taking the attempted sternness seriously at all. After all, she had seen that exact look on Su Wanyan’s face many times before, and every single one of those moments had ended with her aunt conceding.

With a mischievous little smirk, Shen Guoxing mustered up the most tearful, thoughtful expression she could manage—eyes wide and glistening, lips pushed out in a perfect pout as she batted her lashes innocently. "Aunt, didn’t you say that big girls can also do that?" she asked, her voice sweet and coaxing.

Su Wanyan blushed harder, her expression contorting with shy embarrassment as the color deepened across her face and neck. The guests cheered loudly for Shen Guoxing, teasing their two fellow guests with playful shouts and whistles. Even the staff joined in, their voices light and amused as they egged the moment on.

Su Wanyan turned to them and tried to adopt a "fierce" expression, narrowing her eyes and puffing her cheeks slightly. But instead of looking intimidating, she only came across as incredibly cute and endearing. Cute~ many of the guests and staff thought inwardly, their smiles widening.

Su Wanyan looked back at Shen Guoxing and huffed softly, but the child still wore that innocent, harmless expression, completely unbothered. "Urk...!" Su Wanyan let out, hanging her head and closing her eyes for a moment. Is there no way out of this? she thought, feeling that strange, ticklish flutter bloom again in her heart and stomach—warm and antsy all at once.

Su Wanyan sighed, straightening her posture with a quiet resolve. She gently placed Shen Guoxing down and turned her gaze to Mo Xingxue, who was already looking back at her with soft, expectant eyes.

Su Wanyan cleared her throat. "Xue.... Xuexue," she said, stuttering as she looked anywhere but directly into Mo Xingxue’s eyes. Mo Xingxue, seeing her like this, felt her own flustered heart calm. In its place, a mischievous spark grew stronger.

Mo Xingxue blinked innocently and reached out, gently pulling on Su Wanyan’s sleeve. Meanwhile, Su Wanyan was lost in her thoughts, her whole body feeling jittery. Was that.. excitement? The idea flashed through her mind, but she immediately dismissed it.

No! It’s embarrassment. Yeah, just embarrassment, she told herself firmly, trying to steady her racing heart. Whatever the feeling was, it left her strangely weak in the knees.

Su Wanyan was still trying to regain control of her body when the tug on her sleeve came again. Disoriented, she fell easily forward. She ended up kneeling on the floor, a faint sense of déjà vu washing over her, but she quickly shook it off. She looked up at Mo Xingxue in puzzlement. In response, Mo Xingxue simply smiled—soft, warm, and full of quiet mischief—and leaned in closer.

Su Wanyan’s eyes widened. She instinctively wanted to pull back, but she felt a pair of soft, small hands press against her shoulders, gently but firmly holding her in place. Shen Guoxing! Su Wanyan screamed inwardly, a wave of shame and embarrassment flooding through her.

Still, Mo Xingxue’s momentum didn’t stop. Her face drew nearer and nearer, the world narrowing down to the elegant curve of her lashes and the faint, elegant scent of snow lotus that always clung to her.

Su Wanyan darted her eyes around the room in a panic, then squeezed them shut. With her vision gone, her other senses sharpened. She heard Qin Yuran’s suppressed, excited squeals, followed by the sound of something being lightly hit. Not long after, Zhao Yichen whispered a quiet "Ouch," and Qin Yuran muttered a soft "Sorry."

Then came someone’s suppressed laughter—no doubt Han Jiho’s low, amused chuckle. She also caught Song Meiyu chanting quietly under her breath, "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss," as if possessed by the moment. Though Song Meiyu kept her voice soft, intending it for no one’s ears, one of the very subjects of her chant heard it clearly.

Although speechless at Song Meiyu’s behavior, Su Wanyan was distracted when she heard a low, distant growl from somewhere in the room. Before she could wonder who it was, Mo Xingxue’s familiar, comforting scent enveloped her completely. Su Wanyan’s breath hitched. Then, gently and deliberately, Mo Xingxue rubbed the tip of her nose against Su Wanyan’s in a tender Eskimo kiss.

Su Wanyan’s mind went blissfully blank, though she remained acutely aware of the soft, warm rubbing motion. She didn’t know how long it lasted—to her, it felt as fleeting as a gentle breeze passing by on a quiet day. Mo Xingxue slowly pulled back, chuckling softly as Su Wanyan’s eyes quivered open.

Hearing that light, melodic chuckle, Su Wanyan opened her eyes fully and immediately felt a fresh rush of shame at the proud, teasing smirk on Mo Xingxue’s face. I’ll let you pay a hundredfold for that, Su Wanyan vowed silently, hiding her burning face against Mo Xingxue’s thighs in defeat.

Mo Xingxue laughed warmly and ruffled Su Wanyan’s hair with affectionate fingers. Then she looked down at Shen Guoxing. "See? Even big girls do it," Mo Xingxue said, clearly satisfied with her bold action. Shen Guoxing squealed with delight and nodded vigorously. "Un! Un!" she repeated, nodding as fast as a hungry little chick. Mo Xingxue’s heart softened further.

She removed her hand from Su Wanyan’s hair and gently ruffled Shen Guoxing’s instead. The child accepted it happily, even snuggling closer into the touch. Mo Xingxue chuckled, and little Mo Yan, held securely in her left arm, let out happy babbles while gazing at her jiejie with wide, curious eyes.

"Looks like your meimei wanted to ruffle your hair too," Mo Xingxue said fondly. Shen Guoxing laughed brightly and stepped closer to Mo Yan. She offered her head willingly, and the baby reached out with glee, patting—or rather, enthusiastically tapping—her jiejie’s hair.

It wasn’t a gentle pat so much as a series of excited little hits, but it still brought pure joy and warmth to Shen Guoxing’s heart, even if it stung just a tiny bit.

With the four of them wrapped in such happiness—Su Wanyan still resting her face against Mo Xingxue’s thigh, unmoving as if she had simply expired from embarrassment—the guests and staff felt their own hearts warm in response. The room seemed even brighter, filled with shared affection and quiet delight.

Han Jiho, seated nearby, smoothly retrieved his phone from his pocket. He opened the camera app and began snapping pictures of the little family, carefully adjusting angles to capture as many good shots as possible. Mo Xingxue noticed his movements and shot him a questioning look.

Instead of looking embarrassed at being caught, Han Jiho calmly gestured for her to smile. Mo Xingxue was momentarily speechless, but she chuckled and obliged, tilting her head slightly. Han Jiho nodded in satisfaction and continued taking more photos of his friends, the soft clicks blending into the cheerful atmosphere.

"Beautiful," Zhao Yichen said, sitting up and admiring the picturesque scene with genuine warmth. Qin Yuran, beside him, nodded while wiping a little tear from the corner of her eye. "Beautiful, indeed," she affirmed, her voice nasally with emotion.

Zhao Yichen turned to her with a weird look. "Why are you crying?" he asked, disbelief dripping from his tone. In response, Qin Yuran simply pushed him aside, and he fell with a surprised "Ack!"

Zhao Yichen stared up at the ceiling and didn’t even bother getting up again. What’s the point? Zhao Yichen thought. I’ll just get pushed down again. He decided it was better to embrace his fate and lie there on the floor, fully committing to his inner floor. Qin Yuran didn’t even glance at him or offer an apology. Her gaze remained fixed on Su Wanyan, Mo Xingxue, and their two little ones.

She looked over at Song Meiyu, who was standing near the happy group, and couldn’t help but wonder if she and Song Meiyu would develop along a similar route. The thought filled Qin Yuran with a flutter of excitement and nervousness.

Meanwhile, Song Meiyu—disappointed that the two hadn’t gone for a full kiss—gathered her composure again. "At least we got fluff," she muttered softly to herself, cheering up. Then she felt a burning gaze on her and instinctively turned to Qin Yuran. And she was right.

She met Qin Yuran’s shy, thoughtful expression and smiled warmly. This naive alpha of mine, Song Meiyu thought fondly. She shook her head lightly and stood up. Walking over, she sat beside Qin Yuran and rested her head gently on the other woman’s shoulder.

Feeling the sudden, pleasant weight, Qin Yuran tensed at first, but she quickly relaxed her shoulder and adjusted her posture to make Song Meiyu more comfortable.

Song Meiyu chuckled softly at the considerate movement and looked toward the two lovebirds and their children. The room was bathed in a silent but deeply comfortable mood. Then, Qin Yuran heard Song Meiyu murmur something under her breath.

"What did you say? I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear it well," Qin Yuran said apologetically.

Song Meiyu chuckled and looked up at her, eyes sparkling with teasing affection. "I said," she started playfully, "I want twenty children, so you have to work hard." She chuckled again at Qin Yuran’s stunned reaction.

"Tw-twenty?" Qin Yuran asked, blinking rapidly at the absurd number.

Song Meiyu nodded. "Yeah, twenty," she affirmed, then shook her head with a mischievous grin. "Actually, that’s the minimum," she added.

The words hit Qin Yuran like a wave. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot. Song Meiyu was taken aback and failed to catch her in time.

Fortunately, Zhao Yichen—who had been embracing his inner floor and crawling along the ground—had positioned himself perfectly behind Qin Yuran. As he was deep in his dramatic floor-channeling, he was suddenly snapped out of it when Qin Yuran’s weight fell onto his back.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

ACKKK!! I’M BACK, BABY! I CAN FINALLY COMMENT AGAIN!

Also, I intentionally ended it there :P. HEHEHEHEHEHEHE I’M BACK!