Song Li'an appeared a bit shy. He was too young to conceal his emotions, simply tugging at the bedsheet in his hands, silently blushing at the tips of his ears.
...
The yard covered in snow had been diligently swept clean. However, some remnants of pristine snow still lingered in the corners.
The children loved drawing on the snow. Jiang Yan tried her best to lure over the cat that Grandma raised, hoping to imprint its tiny rose paw prints.
Meanwhile, Song Li'an squatted nearby, huffing and puffing as he imprinted his handprints on the snow.
The cat was rather uncooperative, never stepping onto the snow. Suddenly, Jiang Yan had an idea and ran to Grandma for an unfinished fish snack.
Worried that she might get bitten, Grandma threaded a string through the fish snack for Jiang Yan to hold onto and drag it around.
As expected, the cat was enticed and chased after the fish snack, pouncing back and forth.
A makeshift shed nearby had a solar-powered light installed, absorbing energy during the day and reliably illuminating the area at night. At that moment, the light shone brightly, casting the shadows of Jiang Yan and Song Li'an on the wall.
Song Li'an, somewhat afraid of small animals, took a step back, his plump, fair face and round eyes fixed on Jiang Yan with concern that she might get bitten.
But that didn't happen, because the little cat was too clever.
Jiang Yan held the fish snack, attempting to lure the cat onto the snow, but the cat couldn't reach it. Suddenly, the cat noticed the shadow on the wall.
The shadow's height was low, so the clever cat decisively abandoned the unreachable fish snack and pounced onto the shadow instead.
There's no difficult task in the world, as long as one is willing to let go. Not getting what one wants isn't due to lack of effort but because the goal was set too high.
...The cat kept scratching at the shadow on the wall, unable to catch the fish no matter what.
It was the first time Jiang Yan had seen such a "clever" cat, and she watched in amazement at the cat's antics.
Song Li'an walked over, amusement swirling in his clear eyes, and softly mocked the cat in her ear, "It's so silly."
Jiang Yan felt like laughing, and her raised hand grew a little tired, causing her to unconsciously lower it.
In that very moment, the cat suddenly turned its head, lunged forward, and bit onto the fish snack. It arrogantly swished its tail at the two dumbfounded children before taking the snack and string away.
Jiang Yan and Song Li'an stared at each other in bewilderment.
...
The children played carefree, but the adults were already considering more serious matters. Their vacation was about to end, and they had to return to the city for work.
Although Lu Yuliang and Zhou Sisi had grown up as neighbors since childhood, due to their contrasting personalities, they had never become close friends nor kept in touch much. This time, it was their children who broke through their initial stiff impressions of each other, and their relationship progressed further.
As the vacation neared its end, Zhou Sisi grew concerned about their impending separation. After inquiring about Lu Yuliang's city address, her worries deepened, realizing how far apart their homes in the city were.
"It'll be so difficult for these two kids to meet up in the future!" Zhou Sisi lamented.
Lu Yuliang pondered for a moment and said, "During my days off, I can take her out to find Li'an to play, but normally, the kids will be in kindergarten, so they'll probably have to video call."
Zhou Sisi contemplated for a while, then suddenly suggested, "Are there any available units in your residential area? Why don't we buy one there? We've been thinking about buying a new place anyway. When we bought this one, we didn't have enough money, so it's too small!"
Lu Yuliang was genuinely surprised that things had escalated to this point. She clapped her hands dramatically and exclaimed, "Look at the rich person here!"
And so, their plan was tentatively set.
However, Zhou Sisi didn't immediately inform her son. She wanted to gauge Song Li'an's reaction first.
On the day of their departure, the fair and handsome yet quiet little boy turned into a crying mess.
Jiang Yan had already boarded her family's car, but Song Li'an stood outside, his tiny hands curled up from the cold, tearfully gazing at her with longing.
Everyone tried to reason with him, telling the little boy that there would be opportunities for them to meet again. In the eyes of adults, separation was a commonplace occurrence, with dispersal more frequent than gatherings.
But the child didn't understand. A child would be heartbroken over this moment of separation.
