First Snow

The steam in the private room kept rising. Shen Xinde had eaten his fill and was leaning back in his chair, sipping lemon water.

"It's snowing." Gu Zhuoling turned to look out the window, noticed something unusual, and murmured softly.

Shen Xinde heard him and quickly turned around.

It was indeed snowing outside. The sky had already darkened, and snowflakes drifted down here and there. It wasn't falling heavily yet, but it was beautiful.

"Dolly! It's snowing!" Shen Xinde climbed down from his stool and ran to the window to watch the wispy white snow.

Gu Zhuoling said nothing. He stood beside Shen Xinde, quietly watching the snow fall harder and harder.

He had lain by a window watching the snow before, but back then, he had been alone in his room.

Now there was someone beside him, and someone behind him too.

They finished their steaming hot pot together, then admired the first snowfall together.

Shen Xinde was no longer content to watch the snow from inside the room. He patted Gu Zhuoling and said, his face full of excitement, "Dolly! Downstairs! Let's go downstairs!"

"Okay, okay! Put on your scarf!" Xia Wanqing called after him, but there was no calling the excited Shen Xinde back.

Gu Zhuoling was a little excited too. Seeing that Shen Xinde had already run out, he took the scarf from Xia Wanqing and ran downstairs after him.

By the time Gu Zhuoling got downstairs, Shen Xinde was already at the entrance. Gu Zhuoling quickly ran over and wrapped the scarf around him. "Don't catch cold."

Shen Xinde pulled Gu Zhuoling along and raced out of the hot pot restaurant. Snowflakes drifted down slowly, some landing on Shen Xinde's head and others falling into his palm, where they slowly melted.

"So pretty!" Shen Xinde exclaimed softly, then felt the tiny snowflake slowly turn into a puddle of water.

Gu Zhuoling watched the snowflake melt with Shen Xinde, then looked up and picked a little snowflake off Shen Xinde's hair. "Are you cold, Haohao?"

"No, not cold at all." Shen Xinde's nose was actually a little red from the cold, but his mood was especially bright, and his eyes sparkled. "Dolly, are the snowflakes pretty?"

Gu Zhuoling looked up at the tiny snowflakes in the air, then lowered his head to meet Shen Xinde's eyes. He cupped Shen Xinde's face in his hands and smiled. "Very pretty."

The timing was just right. The lights on the Christmas tree behind the two children came on, their warm yellow glow lighting up a patch of the dark night.

"Wow!" Shen Xinde exclaimed.

"Wow what? Does Haohao like it?" Shen Qiming and the others had followed them downstairs. Seeing Shen Xinde looking like he'd never seen anything like it, he couldn't help laughing.

"Haohao likes it." Shen Xinde stood where he was, staring at it without blinking, the light from the Christmas tree making his eyes shine.

Gu Ruize watched him and patted his head. "If Haohao likes it, Uncle will buy you one. You can see it as soon as you wake up tomorrow morning."

"Really? Thank you, Uncle Gu!" Shen Xinde looked up and gave Gu Ruize a well-behaved smile, then turned and made faces at Gu Zhuoling.

We can have our own Christmas tree tomorrow.

Shen Qiming had just been about to say that Dad would buy him one, but Gu Ruize had beaten him to it. Feeling he couldn't lose, he said, "Then Dad will buy you two little presents tomorrow to hang on the tree."

"Thank you, Uncle Shen." Gu Zhuoling tugged at Shen Xinde and thanked him too.

The snow fell harder and harder, and a thin layer had already covered the ground.

The two little ones stood in the snow catching snowflakes for a while before their parents hauled them home to keep them from getting sick.

In the car, snowflakes fell on the windows, melting into water or sticking to the glass. Shen Xinde was a little sleepy and leaned against Gu Zhuoling's little shoulder.

Gu Zhuoling held Shen Xinde's little hand, which had been patting his palm over and over, and heard him ask softly, "Dolly, do you like snow?"

Gu Zhuoling turned to watch the snow falling outside the window. After a pause, he lowered his head and replied, "I do."

"But before, I always stayed home and watched it."

Hearing that, Shen Xinde lifted his head, then pulled his hand out of Gu Zhuoling's and held out his pinky.

"Then from now on, Haohao will watch the snow with you." Shen Xinde held his pinky closer to Gu Zhuoling. "Pinky promise!"

Gu Zhuoling laughed and hooked his pinky around Shen Xinde's. "Okay, pinky promise."

Christmas Day fell on a weekend, so Shen Xinde finally didn't have to get up early.

But Shen Xinde had been thinking about how he could play in the snow if enough fell, so as soon as he'd had enough sleep, he climbed right out of bed.

He had just finished washing up when he opened the door and saw Gu Zhuoling knock and come in.

"Dolly! Good morning!" Shen Xinde greeted him.

"Come downstairs for breakfast," Gu Zhuoling replied. He found a little jacket and put it on Shen Xinde. "The snow outside is a little deep now. Mom said we can go out and build a snowman a little later."

"Great!" Shen Xinde immediately grew excited and clapped his hands.

"Let's go downstairs. My dad and Uncle Shen have a surprise for us." Gu Zhuoling reached out and felt Shen Xinde's hands, checking whether he had been good and washed his face with warm water today.

They were warm, so Gu Zhuoling took his hand, reassured.

"Is it a Christmas tree?"

Shen Xinde obediently followed Gu Zhuoling downstairs. As they passed the living room, he saw an artificial Christmas tree standing in the corner.

"Wow! It really is a Christmas tree!" Shen Xinde pulled Gu Zhuoling into the living room. A pure white blanket lay beneath the tree, with all kinds of decorations and gift boxes arranged on it.

"Dolly! Dolly! Look!" Shen Xinde loved it and kept calling out as he tugged on Gu Zhuoling.

When Gu Zhuoling didn't bring Shen Xinde to the dining room after a long while, Xia Wanqing came out to look for them. She spotted Shen Xinde at once and shook her head helplessly as she walked over. "Haohao, come eat first. You can decorate the Christmas tree with A-Ling after you're done."

Shen Xinde touched the sparkling decorations again, then followed Gu Zhuoling out to eat.

Shen Qiming had prepared little presents for both children: a picture book for Shen Xinde and a puzzle for Gu Zhuoling.

Among the gifts decorating the Christmas tree were also snacks and little toys prepared by the two mothers.

After eating, Shen Xinde and Gu Zhuoling sat down under the Christmas tree and began opening presents and decorating it.

Shen Xinde couldn't reach the high places, so Gu Zhuoling found a little stool and held him steady as he climbed up.

"Where should I put it, Dolly?" Shen Xinde asked, turning his head with his chubby hand raised.

"Anywhere. It's up to Haohao." Gu Zhuoling was more concerned about whether Shen Xinde was standing steadily.

Shen Xinde hung the item up, then worked with Gu Zhuoling to arrange the decorations and hang the display lights. Finally, they cleaned up the trash together.

"Your face is covered in glitter." Only after everything was put away did Gu Zhuoling notice that glitter from the decorations had stuck to Shen Xinde's face.

"Where?" Shen Xinde asked, a little bewildered, as he rubbed his face at random.

Amused by Shen Xinde's antics, Gu Zhuoling reached out to stop his hand from making more of a mess, then picked the glitter off his face. "On your little nose."

"Hehe!" Shen Xinde laughed foolishly.

"The snow's stopped outside. You can put on your coats and gloves and come out to play in it for a while!"