On the winter night, snow lay heaped in little hills on either side of the road, and a few streetlamps cast dim yellow halos along the street.
At this hour, the residential neighborhood far from the city center was almost deserted. Apart from the streetlamps, only a few small shops along the street still had their lights on.
The light stretched the three of their shadows long, long behind them. Having just watched the aurora, Wen Yanyu chattered happily all the way, his scarf hood having slipped down long ago as he moved.
Beneath his long white hair, two long, fluffy rabbit ears hung loosely around his neck, making him look like a fluffy rabbit.
Through a glass window by the street, the sight fell into a pair of curious, ink-black eyes.
"A rabbit." The boy stood up, unconsciously murmuring, "Mom, there's a rabbit in the street."
The woman arranging the bookshelves heard the boy talking to himself and replied with a smile, "Alexei, stop going on about it. When spring comes, I'll buy rabbits for you and your little sister to keep."
"Unless Father Frost is willing to come again, there's no way I can catch a rabbit for you and your sister in this weather."
The woman speaking wore a loose, dark gray wool dress, its hem falling to mid-calf, with a thick, fluffy coat over it.
Her long, light brown hair was loosely pinned up, a few stray strands falling on either side of her cheeks. Her foreign features had no aggressive edge to them; her face was delicate and gentle.
Her gray-blue eyes were like thick winter ice, but the affection flowing through them melted their innate chill.
As she finished speaking, the woman happened to finish arranging the shelves. She turned and rubbed the boy's