Creeak—

The old wooden door made a harsh grating sound as it opened. Yu Zhen's heart leaped into his throat. He reached into his pocket and tightened his grip on the already cracked Peace Bead.

A cold wind blew in through the half-open door, right into his face.

Yu Zhen's brain, which had become slightly more active due to the aroma of the Peach Blossom Congee, froze once again. The chill returned with unprecedented ferocity. He shivered uncontrollably, his vision suddenly went black, and before he could even get a clear look at the person behind the door, his body fell uncontrollably toward the ground.

Bang!

The sound of the wooden door slamming against the wall was heard. After two hurried footsteps, his waist was suddenly grasped tightly. His falling body was steadied, and an overwhelming warmth enveloped him.

In the chaos, the Peace Bead was pulled from his pocket and fell to the ground. The originally hard bead suddenly became incredibly fragile, shattering the moment it hit the floor, turning into several ordinary, small, brown, granular stones.

So warm.

As his vision gradually returned to normal, Yu Zhen had no time to worry about the treasured ancestral bead. He instinctively reached out and hugged the source of warmth in front of him, pressing his entire body against it. He greedily breathed in the other person's scent, which smelled cool but felt incredibly warm, as desperately as a drug addict in the throes of withdrawal.

“Sorry, I'm late.”

Yin Yan let him hug him, his eyes lowered to look at his haggard face. A ripple appeared in his consistently indifferent eyes. He wrapped his arms back around, firmly holding the person still trying to press closer in his embrace. His hair moved without any wind, as if a strange energy was swirling around him.

Creeak— Clatter, bang.

The Taoist Temple's wooden door, which had endured decades of wind and rain, couldn't withstand the visitor's recent brutal "shove." The moment the two embraced, it tilted and collapsed, falling to the ground with the fingerprints Yin Yan had left in his haste and its own rotten cracks, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Oh my god...”

Yin Le, who had arrived a step later, stood behind Weng Xiping who was blocking the doorway. Looking at the two "deeply embracing" people in the courtyard, he reached out and tugged on Weng Xiping's clothes.

“Uncle Weng, pinch me. I-I think I'm dreaming.”

Weng Xiping was pulled back to his senses by the tug. He glanced at the door panel on the ground, and because he was so shocked, a bizarre question that was completely irrelevant at the moment popped into his head.

“Young Master, the Eldest Young Master tore down half of their main gate on his first visit. When we get back, how should I report this to the madam?”

Hearing this, Yin Le looked down at the door panel, foolishly followed his train of thought for a moment, and then abruptly realized this wasn't the time to worry about that. He tugged his sleeve forcefully, gossiping in an urgent, hushed voice, “That's not the point! Look at my brother, he-he's hugging a man!”

“Didn't the Eldest Young Master want to marry him? A hug is very normal.” Weng Xiping had been so shocked that he'd completely lost his ability to think normally.

Yin Le was on the verge of a breakdown. He continued, “But they've only met once before! Once! And now on their second meeting, they're already hugging!”

And they were hugging as if they'd been in love for a long time!

Although my big brother said he'd taken a fancy to this young lifesaver as a marriage partner, shouldn't the normal procedure be to get to know each other first, and then slowly get acquainted? How did it get to hugging directly when it came to my big brother?

He doesn't understand this development!

“The young madam didn't resist, did he? More hugging is good, it helps develop their feelings.”

Weng Xiping continued to speak complete nonsense with a steady and mature face, and had even automatically changed Yu Zhen's title.

...

Yin Le finally knew what a useless teammate looked like. He angrily let go of his sleeve, pushed him aside, and took a step forward, intending to subtly remind the two oblivious people inside. However, he was unprepared for the high threshold of the old building. He didn't lift his leg high enough, and his toe kicked the edge of the threshold. His body tilted, and in a panic, he flailed his hands and grabbed the only remaining half of the door.

Creeak— Thud!

Smack!

“Ah!”

“Young Master, be careful!”

The Taoist Temple's wooden door was really too old. After Yin Yan had accidentally dismantled the right half, Yin Le, living up to expectations, dismantled the remaining left half.

Yu Zhen, whose body was gradually warming up, was startled back to his senses by the sound of the door panel hitting the ground. He froze for a moment before realizing he was hugging someone. Startled, he quickly pushed the person away. His gaze instinctively bypassed the human-shaped hand warmer he had just "taken liberties with" and moved toward the doorway.

Whoosh, the north wind blew in through the empty door frame, completely clearing his mind, which had been muddled by the warmth.

Yin Le sat on the dilapidated door panel, his down jacket covered in dust. When he saw Yu Zhen looking over, his face, overflowing with embarrassment, instead became calm and numb. He foolishly raised his hand and waved, giving a dry laugh and a greeting: “Nice to meet you for the first time... uh, hello, sister-in-law.”

Yu Zhen: “???”

Did he just hear some outrageous term?

But that wasn't the point right now.

He quickly walked two steps to the doorway, stared at the wooden door on the ground which was basically a complete write-off, and stood stunned for a few seconds. Then, he suddenly turned and strode into the temple.

“Uh...”

His greeting unanswered, Yin Le's raised hand fell. He lightly scratched his hair. Seeing his big brother turn to look at him after Yu Zhen ran off, he suddenly felt a little guilty. He explained as he climbed up, “I-I was just careless...”

Yin Yan ignored his explanation. He reached up, undid the buttons on his overcoat, and took it off. Then he threw the coat into his arms, gestured to the corner by the door, and said, “Stand over there.”

Yin Le reflexively stepped over, only then realizing that Yin Yan had actually taken off his coat. He was now standing in the doorway in just a shirt and a sweater against the cold wind. He immediately became anxious, quickly shook out the coat, and took a step forward, saying, “Big brother, you haven't fully recovered yet, you can't get cold.”

Yin Yan gently blocked his hand and shook his head. He squatted down and propped up one of the door panels from the ground. Then he walked to the door frame, examined the rotted and broken wooden wedge on it, and held out his hand to Yu Zhen, who had run out from inside the temple holding a toolbox.

“Hammer.”

Yu Zhen stopped and looked up, finally getting a clear look at his appearance.

Pale, but handsome. When he turned his head to look over, the light slanted across him, giving the illusion that he was bestowing a glance from high up in the clouds.

Not a ghost. A ghost couldn't possibly look like this.

“We need to remove the old wooden wedge first. Hammer.”

Yin Yan extended his hand further. His eyes, meeting Yu Zhen's, didn't waver. It was clearly a very normal and calm gaze, but as he kept looking, it suddenly took on a gentle and affectionate air.

Weng Xiping's gaze shifted back and forth between the two who were looking at each other. He reached out and held back Yin Le, who wanted to step forward again to drape the coat over Yin Yan, pulling him to a corner. Then he secretly took out his phone, opened WeChat, found a number, and made a video call.

“Still cold?”

Still getting no response, Yin Yan's outstretched hand turned over and rose, reaching out to touch Yu Zhen's face in a very natural manner.

Yu Zhen finally came back to his senses. He quickly tilted his head to avoid his hand, suddenly feeling inexplicably embarrassed. To cover it up, he squatted down and placed the toolbox on the ground. After opening it, he rummaged around with a clatter and found a claw hammer, which he handed over.

“Here.”

He spoke, his voice much lower than he expected, almost just a whisper of air.

Realizing this, he grew even more embarrassed. The hand holding the hammer retreated slightly, and he hesitated whether to look up and say it again. But suddenly, the weight in his hand lightened. Then, the shadow looming in front of him moved away. Yin Yan leaned the door panel to one side, squatted down, and started prying at the broken wooden wedge at the bottom of the door frame.

“My name is Yin Yan. Your name?”

“Huh?”

“Your name.”

They were clearly the hands of someone well-pampered, yet they were deft and skilled at woodwork. The movements of his long fingers had a relaxed and easy grace, making it impossible not to stare.

Yu Zhen felt as if his mind was muddled by something again. His thinking was sluggish. His eyes were fixed on his hands as he obediently replied, “Yu-Yu Zhen. My name is Yu Zhen.”

“Mm.”

Yin Yan gave a low response, removed the pried-up wooden wedge, and once again extended his hand in front of him.

“Wh-what?”

Yu Zhen felt his reaction was extremely embarrassing, but he couldn't control it.

His thoughts were dull and completely disobedient.

“Nails.”

“Ah... oh oh, nails, nails.”

Yu Zhen lowered his head and rummaged around again. He found two long, sharp nails and held them in his hand. After carefully adjusting their angle, he gently placed them into the beautiful, open palm in front of him.

In a certain hotel in the provincial capital, Chou Feiqian and Yin Hexiang sat with their heads together, looking down at a phone screen. Their gazes first paused on their eldest son's thin clothes, then immediately shifted to Yu Zhen, who was facing sideways to the camera.

He was dressed simply, his skin was very fair, and he was probably a bit shorter than their own son. His hair was a little messy, but he's a boy, so it's understandable if he doesn't pay much attention to his appearance.

Chou Feiqian reached out and muted the phone's microphone, giving a serious evaluation: “I can only see his side profile, but visually, he looks good. Although his clothes are simple, they're very clean, and he's also careful about staying warm. Not like that Han Ya, wandering around in the middle of winter with her bare legs out, isn't she afraid of leg pains when she gets old!”

Her upbringing prevented her from saying anything harsher, but her disdain and disgust were completely unconcealed.

Yin Hexiang pretended not to hear his wife's slightly curse-like last sentence. He looked at the two people on the screen squatting together with the toolbox between them and said with relief, “Xiao Yan seems to really like this child. He's talking a lot more.”

“It's good that he's willing to talk.” Hearing this, Chou Feiqian looked back at the phone screen. Her gaze fell on Yin Yan, whose back was to the camera. She reached out to touch his much thinner back, then suddenly ended the video call.

Yin Hexiang couldn't stop her in time and asked, “Why did you hang up?”

“The young couple is developing their relationship, is it proper for you, the father, to be peeping! Go, get my bag. Xiao Yan has lost a lot of weight, his old clothes don't fit anymore. We need to replace them all, let's go to the mall!”

“Replace them all?” Yin Hexiang had some trouble keeping up with his wife's pace.

“Yes, all of them!” Chou Feiqian stood up. Something must have occurred to her, as a twisted, cold light suddenly appeared in her eyes. She sneered and said, “Xiao Yan just crawled out of a stinking mud pit. His old clothes are all stained with the pit's stench, it's nauseating. It's the perfect time to replace them all. From now on, he'll live in a flower field!”

...

Yin Hexiang opened his mouth. Seeing his wife's triumphant expression, as if their son had already escaped the old pit and welcomed a new life, he couldn't bring himself to pour cold water on her enthusiasm.

It was true that he was out of the mud pit now, but whether that flower field could be moved into their home, well, that was still up in the air.