Nan Xiao recounted everything that had happened.
"Chao Chao doesn't dislike her, it's just that during the days they were observing mourning for the old lady, Qiu Shuying was too concerned about the two of them, which made them a little uncomfortable."
Lan Yuxi casually pinned up her hair. "After the person returns, have Huo Ding examine her first. If it's not serious, I'll go. My brother and the others are coming over to celebrate the New Year with us today, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go out."
"Mm, let Huo Ding handle it. You don't need to go. When Brother and the others come, will Aunt Ling be coming back too?"
"She's coming back."
"When you have time, tactfully ask her about her and Dad's situation. Dad hasn't gone back since he returned. Have they broken up?"
"No, they're fine. It was Grandma who didn't let Dad go back. She was considering your feelings."
Nan Xiao's eyes dimmed. "I'm not that fragile. If they have no objections, let them be together sooner. They're not young anymore, so every day together counts."
Lan Yuxi smiled. "You're quite open-minded. I'll tell my grandmother, but if they live together, they'll likely be living in Norcas for a while. After all, the old lady hasn't been gone for long. If Dad and my grandmother get together so quickly, some people will gossip behind your back."
"Let them say whatever they want, I'm not afraid of that. As long as Dad and Aunt Ling can have a happy old age, that's all that matters."
Lan Yuxi smiled. "Alright, when my grandmother arrives, I'll talk to her."
Nan Xiao gently patted her shoulder. "Good, then I'll go and tell Dad while I still have time."
"Mm, go ahead."
After he left, Lan Yuxi changed into a padded jacket and hurried downstairs.
In the villa's courtyard, servants and bodyguards were shoveling snow. Lan Yuxi watched for a while as a group of children were having a snowball fight, then said to the housekeeper, "Leave all the snow. I want to build snowmen."
"Yes, Miss. Where do you plan to place the snowmen?"
Lan Yuxi tapped her chin and looked around. "Along both sides of the road. Four here, two big ones and two small ones. Let's build a few over there too, for symmetry."
The housekeeper smiled and nodded. "Alright, this snow will likely continue until noon. I'll have them build a few more."
"For the four here, just have them make the basic shape. The rest, I'll do with Chao Chao, Mu Mu, and Nan Xiao."
"Alright." The housekeeper smiled and bowed.
After instructing the housekeeper, Lan Yuxi bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, rolled it into a ball, and aimed it at Lan Xiaoqi, who had just come out.
Lan Xiaoqi nimbly dodged to the side, then grabbed a handful of snow, squeezed it a couple of times, and quickly retaliated.
Lan Yuxi dodged with a smile. "Good reflexes. I thought you'd have forgotten your skills from staying in the hospital all the time."
"The men of our Lan family crawled out of piles of dead bodies. Our skills are etched into our bones, how could we possibly forget!"
Lan Yuxi pouted. "The way you say that sounds eerie."
"What I say is the truth, there's nothing eerie about it." Lan Xiaoqi looked at the children playing together and smiled. "No wonder Sixth Brother doesn't like going back. Your place has a strong sense of family. It's hard not to be happy living here."
Lan Yuxi smiled and glanced at him. "Can you be happy without Nai Nai?"
Lan Xiaoqi glared at her. "I think you're just asking for trouble!"
Lan Xiaoqi moved extremely quickly, grabbing two handfuls of snow and flinging them at Lan Yuxi.
Lan Yuxi narrowly dodged his attack. Before she could retaliate, Chao Chao rushed over with his sister and a few friends.
"Launch!"
At Chao Chao's command, over twenty snowballs were fired simultaneously. Even with his excellent skills, Lan Xiaoqi couldn't escape being hit.
"Hahaha..." Lan Yuxi, protected by the children, laughed heartily.
Nan Xiao, standing on the balcony, couldn't help but curve his lips upward as he watched the scene.
Nan Zhenting sat in his rocking chair and smiled with satisfaction. "The life you have now is something I long for but cannot have. Although you've been through a lot of hardships, it was worth it. After all, it's a lifetime of happiness."
Nan Xiao smiled. "Marry Aunt Ling back soon, and your later years will also be very happy."
"Let's wait a little longer. Many people think I'm heartless, saying that An Lanshu couldn't warm me up even after decades. If I get together with your Aunt Ling so quickly, they'll embellish it even more. I don't care about my reputation, but I can't let you be pointed at and gossiped about with me."
"If I were afraid of those rumors, I wouldn't have said these things to you. Aunt Ling is coming today, isn't she? Xi Bao will tell her, and then you can set a date. If Aunt Ling isn't used to living here, you can live in Norcas. We'll visit you whenever we have time."
"We'll talk about it later. I heard you've started acquiring An's assets?"
"Yes, I've handed this matter over to Xiang Nan."
"He's a household servant of the An family. It will be difficult for him to do this."
"I consulted him, and he agreed before I let him do it."
"Are you trying to kill two birds with one stone?"
"Something like that. I have to investigate the four of them one by one until I find that person."
Nan Zhenting was silent for a moment. "I don't object to you doing this, but remember, don't hurt anyone else's feelings. After all, they are your left and right hands, and they will follow you for life."
"I'll be careful. This time, I've given them different tasks of equal difficulty, with no targeting of any one person." Nan Xiao saw that the bodyguards had already rolled several large snowballs and smiled. "I'm going to build snowmen. Think carefully about what I said, lest Xi Bao convinces Aunt Ling, and you get stuck again."
Nan Zhenting looked out the window and waved him off. "Go ahead, look how tired the two of them are."
Nan Xiao smiled and walked out quickly.
Nan Zhenting watched until all four snowmen were shaped before he smiled and took out his phone to make a call.
"Senior Brother, Little Ling is almost here. When will you arrive?"
"We've already set off. The roads are a bit rough, so we'll be a little late."
"No rush, safety first."
"Alright... You're that happy that Little Ling is back?"
"Of course, I'm happy! After fifty years, the three of us can finally celebrate the Spring Festival together again."
"Yes, so many years have passed in a blink of an eye... Do you still remember the jar of Nu Er Hong buried in Little Ling's courtyard?"
Nan Zhenting chuckled when he heard this. "You didn't dig up that jar of wine, did you?"
Old Hong smiled. "Didn't we agree before? When Little Ling got married, we'd dig up that jar of wine. Little Ling is finally married, so we'll drink it this year."
Nan Zhenting's lips twitched. "Married? When did she get married? How come I didn't know."