Chapter 078: Anomalous Time 44

Chapter 078: Anomalous Time 44

Growing up in the starlit city, an ordinary human who had never seen a heavy snowfall, Yubai could hardly contain his urge to frolic in the snow on this rare snowy day.

He wanted to leave deep and shallow footprints in the snow-covered roads, lie in the snow and gaze at the sky, build snowmen of various shapes with his frostbitten red hands, and have a snowball fight with his companions who had ventured into the snow with him...

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He couldn't even wait for the time it took to brush his teeth, wishing he could rush out into the snow right now and play to his heart's content.

Of course, he couldn't forget to invite Xie Wufang along.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, Yubai realized something and quickly added, "Building a snowman means, well, after the snow has fallen, collecting the accumulated snow on the ground and piling it into all sorts of shapes..."

This was theoretically a winter entertainment activity unique to humans, one that Xie Wufang should not have heard of. After all, in the previous reality, it was early summer, and there was no snow, so he had little chance to learn about this knowledge.

Yet before the muffled voice, still coated in white toothpaste foam, had fully subsided, the man in the living room calmly replied, "Okay."

"I know what building a snowman is," he said.

"Eh?" Yubai was suddenly very surprised, blurting out, "Do you also build snowmen where you come from?"

Do gods like playing in the snow too?!

It was hard to imagine the scene.

Before he could indulge in strange fantasies, Xie Wufang said, "No."

"You mentioned building a snowman last night."

...So it was him who taught him.

The brown head that had peeked out from the bathroom door nodded in sudden realization, then hurriedly retreated, clearly speeding up its movements.

At the same time, he eagerly said, "Wait for me to wash up and change clothes, I'll be quick!"

It seemed that last night, he had fallen asleep after the snow started falling, just like when he was awake, mentioning building a snowman to the person beside him.

So, it was really just normal conversation, wasn't it?

Good.

In the future, he wouldn't have to worry about what might happen if he got drunk.

Yubai still didn't particularly enjoy drinking, but life was vast and unpredictable, and there might inevitably be times in the future when he would want to soak himself in alcohol.

Sometimes out of joy, sometimes out of sorrow.

Besides, after waking up today, apart from the headache that was gradually fading away, there was a mysterious, indescribable feeling of happiness flowing through his body.

A light, long-lost happiness, like snowflakes.

Therefore, the person brushing his teeth and washing his face in front of the clean mirror was in an exceptionally bright mood.

The god waiting in the living room asked softly, "What kind of snowman do you want to build?"

Amidst the sound of gushing water, Yubai answered with a smile, "I don't know yet - I'll only know once I touch the snow myself."

A moment later, his pale, warm palm truly touched the snow.

The snowflakes that were drifting down from the sky landed in his palm, stirring a splendid ripple in his faint eyes.

The two walked side by side into the beautiful, tranquil courtyard, the sable fur on their coats fluttering gently in the wind. Yubai finally touched the snow that had been falling all night.

The pure white snowflakes also quietly landed in the deep black hair of the person beside him.

And then melted silently.

In the close proximity where they could hear each other's breathing, the gray-blue eyes like lake water gazed quietly at the person full of surprise, engraving an especially vivid and unforgettable impression on this dreamlike snowy winter day.

Yubai was lost in thought for a moment, and after a while, he suddenly said, "I've decided what kind of snowman I want to build."

Xie Wufang asked, "What is it?"

"I won't tell you," he whispered. "I don't know if I can succeed yet."

He wanted to build a snowman of Xie Wufang.

Because in that dazed moment just now, Yubai suddenly felt that he might really be a bit of a lookist.

...Who wouldn't like beautiful things?

Being a hand fetishist or a lookist was a very common preference among humans.

It was just that he had never cared about his own interests before, so he hadn't noticed.

Thinking this, Yubai couldn't help but laugh, completely forgetting about his hunger.

He took a few sips of the ice-cold chocolate that had been refrigerated overnight, then casually placed the cup on the rustic veranda sheltered by an eave, and began building the snowman in earnest.

The young man in the white coat scooped up thick layers of snow from the steps, accompanied by the man beside him who helped him collect the snow. Occasionally, faint sounds of conversation drifted through the air.

It was a very beautiful scene.

So much so that the people not far away hesitated, not daring to disturb them.

Behind the snow-covered bushes, the muscular man who had already been playing in the snow for half the morning peered out, sniffing from the cold air, struggling with indecision.

"I really want to have a snowball fight with Xiaobai..." Yan Jing held his phone, unwilling to accept it. "He clearly replied to my messages earlier, saying he'd come later."

Beside him, the little boy with swollen, goldfish-like red eyes looked speechless and said irritably, "Then go over and call him, what are you hiding here for!"

Yan Jing glanced at the person beside Yu Bai, his gaze shrinking and his tone sorrowful. "… I don’t dare."

He dared to launch a surprise attack with a snowball when Xiao Bai was off guard.

But for some inexplicable reason, he didn’t dare to do so in front of Xie Wufang.

A mysterious fear that originated from his soul was subtly spreading in his heart.

"It’s just a snowball fight. Could it be that Teacher Xiao Xie will eat you?" Yuan Yuhang immediately said with disdain, "What a coward!"

Yan Jing responded with an "oh," also showing contempt. "Didn’t you have something to ask Xiao Bai? Why are you hiding here with me?"

"…" Yuan Yuhang coughed lightly and said with a stern face, "Mind your own business!"

If he rashly intruded on the beautiful and tranquil world of two people ahead, he felt that it would make that unfathomable young man very unhappy.

… That was his nominal father!

Being afraid of one’s father was only natural.

"I, I’m waiting for the right moment."

Hearing this, the little girl standing between the two of them burst out laughing.

He Xi wasn’t as afraid of the divine elder brother as the two adults were, so she thought about it and volunteered. "Do you want me to call Brother Xiao Bai?"

"No, no, no!"

Yuan Yuhang and Yan Jing shook their heads in unison, holding the child’s hand and protecting her behind them. "Don’t go, don’t go. Wait until they finish building the snowman!"

The suddenly protected He Xi was first taken aback.

Then, her innocent smile brightened even more, and her small hands tightly held onto the adults’ hands beside her, happily responding, "Okay."

The little girl poked her head out from behind the adults and curiously watched the scenery not far away.

She asked, "What is Brother Xiao Bai drinking? It looks delicious."

Taking advantage of his height and field of vision, Yan Jing carefully looked around and told her, "It should be chocolate, the same kind you drank during dinner yesterday."

"But Xiao Bai has only been awake for a short while. I didn’t see him in the dining room earlier." Yan Jing was a little puzzled. "Where did he get the chocolate to drink? Did he order takeout?"

The boy who habitually woke up early shook his head and casually said, "I didn’t see any takeout come by."

"Then did Xiao Bai make it himself? Impossible. He doesn’t know how to do these things." Yan Jing suddenly exclaimed, "… Could it be that the Xie guy made it for him!"

"Ah?" Yuan Yuhang, who was distractedly thinking about other matters, was surprised. "What did you say?"

"I said Brother Xie!"

"No, hey, I wasn’t asking about that." As Yuan Yuhang spoke, he was amused by him, smiling helplessly. "Hey, you’re really something!"

Yan Jing reacted for a moment and also laughed, scratching his head a bit embarrassedly. "You too."

Snowflakes gently landed on people’s shoulders, and laughter drifted through the bushes.

It also passed over the little boy’s very noticeable pair of swollen eyes.

After Yan Jing finished laughing, he asked him, "Uncle Yuan, did you secretly cry again last night?"

"… What do you mean by secretly crying." Yuan Yuhang immediately refuted, "I cried in front of He Xi!"

Upon hearing this, the little girl beside him nodded in agreement.

Last night, sitting outside the chess room amidst the heavy snowfall, the old man couldn’t hold back his tears. In front of a genuine child, he cried his heart out.

The taller sister, after a brief moment of confusion, quickly ran to fetch tissues. Then, imitating the adults, she gently patted the little boy’s back to comfort him.

It wasn’t the first time she had seen Grandpa Yuan cry.

The last time, he had even crawled under the dining table!

Yuan Yuhang’s refutation was overly righteous and arrogant, causing the usually absent-minded Yan Jing to fall silent for a few seconds.

Was this because he could be so reckless and unruly due to turning into a child?

But he unusually didn’t say anything, unlike his usual bickering with the old man.

The little boy’s expression and words were so relaxed, except for those eyes that should have been clear and innocent. Unlike ordinary children, they weren’t filled with childishness but rather a dense melancholy that couldn’t be dispelled.

It reminded Yan Jing of another little boy from long ago.

He secretly grieved in his heart for a moment.

Then, the muscle-bound man who often seemed not too smart took a deep breath. Grabbing a handful of snow from the bushes with each hand, he swiftly sprinkled it on the heads of the two children.

"You didn’t expect that!" After launching his attack, Yan Jing took off running. "Let’s have a snowball fight!"

"…"

The two children, caught off guard, instinctively jumped in fright. They looked at each other in the falling snowflakes, and their eyes instantly ignited with fierce determination.

He Xi bent down to scoop up snow from the ground, her face full of excitement. "Coming!"

Yuan Yuhang also temporarily forgot his worries, angrily squatting down to knead a snowball. "You’re dead, big dummy!!"

The enthusiastic laughter and noise swept over the snowflakes.

Yu Bai looked back. Through the trees and corridors, he vaguely saw the figures of one adult and two children sprinkling snow at each other and chasing each other, occasionally letting out exclamations.

Amidst the snowball fight.

He would join in later.

With this thought, he hastened his movements.

His palms, reddened and stiff from the snow, pressed the soft snow firmly, gradually increasing the size of the snowball before him.

Yes, a round, plump snowball.

...Not the snowman version of Xie Wufang that he had initially envisioned.

Yubai, who had never seriously played with snow, had underestimated the difficulty of building a snowman.

The image in his mind was beautiful, but his hands were truly frozen and clumsy.

He clearly lacked any sculpting talent; forget about creating a lifelike Xie Wufang, even attempting a simplified snowman with some semblance of shape was arduous.

After repeated failures, the human struggling with his awkward fingers angrily abandoned his original plan, instead gathering all the collected snow together to focus on forming a simple, large sphere.

Actually, making a snowball perfectly round was quite challenging, as the snow became hard and unyielding once compacted, making it difficult to shape.

Fortunately, it was finally almost done. Yubai found a crooked, dried branch on the ground and carefully inserted it at the top of the snowball, completing his task.

He called out to the man beside him, "I'm finished!"

Xie Wufang, who had been moved aside after helping collect the snow, looked over at the sound.

On the ground lay a round, plump snowball, with a bent branch protruding from its peak.

That was all there was, nothing else.

"...What is this?" he asked after a moment's thought, still uncertain of Yubai's artistic intent.

Yubai raised an eyebrow in mock surprise. "Can't you tell something so obvious?"

Xie Wufang shook his head. "Sorry."

"It's a watermelon!" he revealed the answer, "A very, very big watermelon."

A watermelon the size of a yoga ball.

It had a round body and a vine at the top, so it was an evident, indisputable giant watermelon.

...Just without the patterns on the rind.

After all, there weren't enough twisted dried branches to stick on as decorations.

After saying this, Yubai hastily added, "Don't laugh at me!"

He forbade Xie Wufang from laughing, yet he started laughing first, his eyes sparkling like stars.

Seeing this, the man who had been confused earlier now had a faint smile in his gray-blue eyes.

"Alright," said Xie Wufang, "So it's a watermelon."

...What alright?

He was already laughing!

But Yubai didn't argue further, his dazzling smile spreading across the vast expanse of snow, turning to ask, "Did you build a snowman just now?"

Xie Wufang replied, "I tried to make one."

Yubai immediately looked around. "What did you make? Let me see."

Most of the surrounding snow had already been used by him, and there seemed to be no traces of other snowmen within sight.

Where had Xie Wufang built his snowman?

When Yubai retracted his curious gaze, he suddenly saw the answer in the palm of the man's hand that was extended towards him.

In those hands that he found attractive, rested a sharp, adorable white five-pointed star, nestled in the long, strong fingers, quietly presented before him.

The man looking down at him softly said, "It's a star."

A snow-made star.