As autumn arrived, the fruit trees were laden with large, luscious fruits, making one’s mouth water just by looking at them.
Lan Yan looked up, swallowing hard. Her arms were too short to reach the larger fruits on the upper branches. Rolling up her sleeves, she muttered, “I refuse to believe I can’t pick any of you today.”
She stood beneath a tree, hugging the trunk with both hands, and began to climb.
Lu Qi, arriving on the scene, saw Lan Yan’s state and was surprised. “Lan Yan, what are you doing?”
“Lu Qi, you’re here at the perfect time. Catch the fruits from below.” Lan Yan paused, smiled at Lu Qi, and continued to climb.
Lu Qi immediately understood, finding Lan Yan’s personality utterly beyond words. She had no choice but to fetch a basket and stand beneath the tree, positioning herself where Lan Yan was about to drop the fruits.
Lan Yan climbed onto a branch, selecting two or three of the largest fruits. She looked down at Lu Qi and called out, “Lu Qi, catch!”
Lu Qi nodded, moving frantically back and forth. Seeing the fruits in the basket, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Lan Yan, isn’t this enough?”
“No, there are four of us, and this is far from enough.” Lan Yan continued to climb higher, reaching for the fruits in the upper reaches.
Lu Qi watched from below, a cold sweat breaking out. If the City Lord saw this, she would be in serious trouble.
As she was thinking this, Jun Yelan approached, followed by Yan’er. He saw Lan Yan nearly at the top of the tree, and knowing she couldn’t use Qinggong, realized it was too dangerous.
His face filled with worry, a trace of anger in his eyes, he called out, “Yan’er, come down.”
Lan Yan, startled by Jun Yelan’s voice, almost lost her grip but managed to hold onto the trunk just in time. As she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard Jun Yelan’s anxious call again and saw him flying up towards her.
Jun Yelan looked at Lan Yan helplessly and pulled her down from the tree. He placed the person in his arms steadily on the ground. Unable to bring himself to scold her, he simply emphasized his words.
“Yan’er, don’t do anything so dangerous again. If you fell, you would be bedridden for a long time, and with your temperament, you definitely wouldn’t be able to stand it.”
He tapped Lan Yan’s forehead, his words full of concern.
Lan Yan mumbled, “But I haven’t finished picking my fruits yet.”
Hearing that Lan Yan was still concerned about the fruits, Jun Yelan found himself at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He said indulgently, “I’ll pick them.” With that, he used his Qinggong to pick the fruits, placing them in his embrace before dropping them into the basket.
In a short while, the basket was nearly full.
Jun Yelan brought down the last handful of fruits and looked at Lan Yan. “Is this enough?”
Lan Yan nodded with a smile, “Absolutely. Yelan, I’ll go wash the fruits.” She happily picked out a few of the largest ones and ran to a nearby water pool to clean them.
Seeing that Lan Yan hadn’t brought a plate, Jun Yelan smiled and went over with a plate and a towel.
When Lan Yan finished washing, he took charge of arranging them on the plate and wiped her fingers clean with the towel.
Lan Yan smiled, and the two of them carried a plate of fruits over.
Lu Qi took a fruit and took a bite. “Lan Yan, the fruits you grew are truly delicious. Sweet and refreshing.”
Yan’er nodded beside her, “Shiniang, I like them very much.” He had just seen his Shifu use his supreme martial arts to pick the fruits, a clear sign of his deep affection for Shiniang.
Lan Yan ate one too and smiled, “Very good. I’ll plant them like this again next year.” She then turned to see Jun Yelan still looking unhappy about the earlier incident and placed a large fruit by his mouth.
“Next year, I’ll plant them, and you can pick them. How about that?”
Jun Yelan grasped Lan Yan’s wrist and bit into the fruit in her hand. He swallowed and said, “Alright, I’ll help you plant them too.” He had taught Yan’er everything he needed to, and from now on, he would focus on accompanying Lan Yan.
“Okay.” Lan Yan curled her lips and began to eat happily with the other three.
There were too many fruits to eat all at once, so they made fruit wine. When winter came, warming a cup of the wine would make one feel warm all over.
Lan Yan and Lu Qi were processing the fruits, while Jun Yelan’s voice, teaching Yan’er martial arts, could be heard nearby.
Days passed uneventfully, and the weather grew increasingly cold.
One morning, Lan Yan hid under the covers, too lazy to get up.
Jun Yelan smiled helplessly and looked out the window. Snowflakes were falling, blanketing the entire land in white. He gently shook the Lan Yan in his arms and said, “Yan’er, the snow you wanted to see the most has arrived.”
Lan Yan, still groggy, opened her eyes sharply upon hearing Jun Yelan’s words. She saw the vast expanse of snow, and without even putting on her shoes, she leaped out of bed, opened the window, and exclaimed, “How beautiful!”
Jun Yelan, holding Lan Yan’s shoes in one hand and holding her in the other, brought her to a chair by the window. He placed her feet into the shoes and cautioned, “You must wear warm clothes before going out to play in the snow. Don’t catch a chill.”
Lan Yan lowered her head, looked into Jun Yelan’s eyes, and smiled, “I know.” She leaned in and lightly kissed his cheek before running towards the door.
Jun Yelan paused, then grabbed Lan Yan’s wrist and pulled her into his embrace. He gently cupped her chin and kissed her. Seeing Lan Yan’s flushed face, he released her with satisfaction.
He leaned close to Lan Yan’s ear and whispered in a deep voice, “Aren’t you going yet? Do you want to continue?”
Lan Yan’s ears instantly turned red. She pushed away Jun Yelan’s chest and ran out the door.
Jun Yelan curled his lips and followed her.
Looking at the snow-covered ground, Lan Yan ran back and forth, leaving a trail of footprints. She rolled a small snowball and, seeing the white tiger still sleeping on the corridor, threw it at it.
The snowball landed on the white tiger’s belly and broke. The white tiger opened its eyes, shook itself, and lay back down to continue sleeping.
Lan Yan couldn’t help but exclaim, “Little white tiger, you’re too lazy!” She rolled her eyes and threw a snowball at Jun Yelan.
Jun Yelan didn’t dodge, and the snow fell from his collar. He smiled, squatted down, picked up a small snowball, and threw it at Lan Yan.
Lan Yan dodged it and retaliated with a larger snowball, running around the courtyard.
Her laughter filled the entire courtyard.
Most of Jun Yelan’s snowballs were dodged by Lan Yan, with only a few hitting the front of her shoes. He saw that her shoes weren’t wet and was relieved.
Taking advantage of the gap, Lan Yan threw a snowball that hit Jun Yelan’s sleeve perfectly. “I win.”
Jun Yelan brushed off his sleeve, looking at the mark on it, a slight curve of a smile on his lips. He walked over, looked at Lan Yan’s reddened little hands, and placed them on his chest to warm them.
“It’s already this cold. We’ll stop for today. It’s going to snow for a few more days, so you can play to your heart’s content.”
Lan Yan’s hands gradually warmed up, and with Jun Yelan staring at her so intently, she instinctively nodded, “Okay, then I’ll go inside after I build the snowman.” She looked at Jun Yelan coquettishly, making it impossible for him to refuse.
Jun Yelan put gloves on Lan Yan. “Let’s build it together, it will be faster.”
“Okay.” Lan Yan grinned, took Jun Yelan’s hand, and went to the large tree nearby to build a snowman.