Dandan and Dongdong on New Year's Eve

Watching Zhou Shuling head upstairs with a cheerful sway in her hips, Liu Chang'an smiled as well. The homely, good-wife quality about this traditional little woman was especially endearing. In a sense, it also reflected an inner firmness and strength. No matter what other women in this world pursued or liked, no matter how much their spiritual worlds had improved or how much their sense of independence had awakened, Zhou Shuling remained utterly unaffected.

Liu Chang'an looked at the paper-cut window decorations Zhou Shuling had left behind and smiled. He cut a few himself before going back to sleep.

Liu Chang'an woke in the morning because someone was moving his head around. The only one who seemed likely to do that was Zhou Dongdong, so he did not open his eyes. He only felt Zhou Dongdong cradling his head with one arm and leaning against him. Something in her hand made slurping sounds, then she shoved a straw into Liu Chang'an's mouth and squeezed it. A stream of milk shot into his mouth, and Liu Chang'an hurriedly sat up. Pretending to sleep in front of Zhou Dongdong was truly not a wise move.

Whenever Zhou Dongdong was not sitting properly at the dining table or on a little stool to eat, she would often take a bite herself and then feed a bite to companions such as Lu Si'en or Liu Chang'an.

"Brother Chang'an, you woke up all by yourself?" Zhou Dongdong asked happily. This morning, when she woke up trapped beneath the blankets and unable to move anything but her eyes, her mother told her that Brother Chang'an had returned. Zhou Dongdong immediately grabbed some milk and came downstairs to see Brother Chang'an, whom she had not seen in so long.

"Did I wake up by myself?" Liu Chang'an