Collapse? No, this is just everyday life.

Tsk, every time I see this, I still find it outrageous. Is this the power of a nun?

"Phew~ Now that you're awake, I should go check on the children."

Aponia yawned slightly, sat down on the edge of the bed, slowly slipped her white feet, clad in black stockings, into her shoes, then stood up, quickly straightened her clothes, put on her coat, and left the room.

Watching her departing figure, Nangong Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

He slowly shook his head and began to change his clothes and get up.

Stepping outside, the cold air immediately invigorated him. Hearing the children doing their morning exercises in the yard, he ran over and joined in.

Bronya and Seele chatted with Cocolia until who knows how late last night, and they still haven't gotten up yet.

After breakfast, with nothing to do, he naturally felt a bit bored.

Arriving at the spot where the recliner was yesterday, after shooing the cat, Paddy, off the chair, he once again comfortably lay down on the now-warmed chair.

The cat had no choice but to move over another chair and warm up again.

Speaking of which, what did everyone do during the New Year?

Nangong Yu opened the chat group "We Are a Loving Family" and opened the input box.

Sexy handsome men are available for online chat. Type "1" if interested.

Ellie: '11111111111'

Sirin: "What nonsense are you spouting now?"

Kiana: '111, are there any pretty girls? I don't want to see any guys.'

Greta: '1'

rain:'? '

Seeing that everyone had come forward, Nangong Yu simply initiated a video call.

Soon, his phone screen split into two sections, and familiar faces appeared on the screen.

"Oh dear, you've only been gone two days and you're already missing me? Great, come and be cute with your sister Alicia~"

Ellie made a hugging gesture towards the screen, her smile as bright as a flower.

For a moment, Nangong Yu felt a surge of excitement, then quickly coughed twice and said, "I was just a little bored at home, so I wanted to see what everyone was doing."

"No need to hide it, I'll let you be all cute and affectionate when we get back~"

As soon as she finished speaking, Ellie changed the subject: "Wow, Gretchen, you look so cute today~"

On the screen, Greta was wearing a sky-blue cotton coat, a scarf around her neck, and a cute triangular hat on her head, revealing only her bright eyes. Suddenly, she looked like a little bucket, which was quite adorable.

"Yes, Alicia looks beautiful today too."

"Me! Me! Gretchen, look at my new clothes!"

In Sirin's camera feed, Kiana suddenly pushed Sirin aside before she could even speak, and happily spun around a few times in front of the camera.

She wore a fitted crimson cheongsam with gold embellishments, and her hair was styled in two cute buns. The close-fitting fabric perfectly outlined her increasingly alluring figure. As she swayed, the slit in the skirt danced, revealing a pair of long, slender legs encased in white stockings.

"Hey, don't suddenly push me."

Squeezed aside, an angry Xilin immediately pushed back. At this moment, Nangong Yu also noticed Xilin's outfit.

It was a dress with a Chinese style, featuring a black and white color scheme with birds soaring among auspicious clouds. As they frolicked, the shimmering gold tassels and jade pendants on her back were revealed, contrasting beautifully against her delicate skin, making her look elegant and glamorous.

On her head, two auspicious cloud-shaped hair ribbons were styled into long purple pigtails, and two simple hibiscus hair clips were pinned to her bangs. Combined with her outfit, she had a rather classical beauty.

After a bit of playful bickering, the two temporarily reconciled and squeezed into the screen, each occupying half of it.

One wore a bun hairstyle and a cheongsam, while the other wore a classic long dress; together, they were a feast for the eyes of Nangong Yu.

"Um, how's this outfit of mine?"

Xilin didn't name names, but everyone present knew who she was asking, so naturally no one was tactless enough to interrupt.

"Very good, quite good. This classical beauty really suits you."

"Yes, really? Hehe..."

She smiled sheepishly, then became a little awkward.

Seeing this, Kiana immediately pointed to herself and asked, "What about me, Yu? How do I look in this outfit?"

"Not bad, the cheongsam is quite colorful."

"?"

Kiana was momentarily speechless, and after a long pause, she said with dissatisfaction, "Hey, is that how you praise someone?!"

"What do you know? This is the highest level of praise among boys."

"Ah? Really?"

Kiana tilted her head in confusion, feeling like something was still off.

Kiana usually stopped thinking about things she couldn't figure out. She pulled over the still somewhat shy Sirin and chuckled as she sold her out: "Sirin, let me tell you, Sirin specially chose this dress because she heard you're from the East. How about that? Aren't you touched?"

"Hey, what are you talking about? I didn't prepare this especially for him!!"

Xilin was immediately stunned, her face flushed as she glared at her and angrily tried to explain herself.

'Oh, so it was specially prepared for the rain.'

This thought crossed the minds of everyone present.

"Ha~"

Ignoring Sirin's rebuttal, Kiana crossed her arms and sneered, "Then say it to the screen, that this outfit wasn't prepared for Ayu and has nothing to do with him. What, you're afraid to say it?"

"..."

Sirin quickly blushed and could no longer resist having an intimate sisterly wrestling match with Kiana, and the screen went dark at the opportune moment.

"These two are still as rowdy as ever."

The sound that came from beside him startled Nangong Yu. He turned his head and immediately saw Bronya standing behind him.

She was wearing a white, fitted, thick winter coat with light blue stripes, her long curly hair simply tied back and put in her pockets, looking every bit the chic urban woman.

"Are you up?"

"Mmm." Bronya nodded, leaned down, and brought her head close to the rain, smiling as she greeted the people on the screen: "Happy New Year, everyone~"

Happy New Year, Bronya!

Happy New Year, Bronya!

Happy New Year, Duck Duck!

"Where's Xi'er?"

"He went for a stroll near the entrance."

"Row."

Nangong Yu handed the phone to Bronya so they could chat, then stood up, dusted himself off, and walked out the door.

The orphanage was built in a desolate area where there were virtually no other buildings nearby.

As he stepped outside, he soon saw Seele standing on a small platform not far away, gazing into the distance, seemingly lost in thought.

I wanted to walk over quietly, but the sound of my shoes on the snow was still too obvious.

When Seele turned around and saw that it was her brother coming over, a happy smile immediately appeared on her face.

Once discovered, there was no need to be careful anymore. He strode over to Seele's side and put his arm around her shoulder.

"What are you doing standing here so early in the morning? Aren't you cold outside?"

"not cold."

She waved her thick sleeves and responded with a smile.

Then, dressed in a similar small bucket outfit to Gretchen, she leaned against her brother and, as if recalling something, asked, "Brother, do you remember this place?"

Pointing to her feet, Seele asked.

Before Yu could speak, Seele continued, "Yesterday, when I was chatting with Cocolia's mother, we talked about things from when we were little. It was winter then, and my brother took Seele here in the middle of the night. We wrapped ourselves in a blanket and looked at the stars."

Is there such a thing?

After hearing what Xier said, vague memories immediately surfaced in his mind.

"Then my brother got a fever the next day and was beaten up by Cocolia's mother, who happened to come back."

Nangong Yu, who was still pondering, suddenly darkened upon hearing this. He angrily pinched Xi'er's smiling face, but the rest of her body was too thick to reach.

The memories that were somewhat vague at first gradually became clearer at this moment.

"Okay, I remember now. It was you, Seele, who told me you wanted to see the stars that I went there, but I was the one who got a fever and the one who got beaten up. Does that make sense?"

"Isn't it normal for an older brother to protect his younger sister? Does he really want Seele to come out and look at the stars alone on such a cold night?"

Blinking her big eyes, Seele put on a weak and pitiful look.

Okay, okay, so you're even trying to emotionally blackmail him now, huh?

A cold smile appeared on Nangong Yu's lips. He rolled up his sleeves and walked menacingly toward Xier, who was beginning to retreat.

"Looks like it's time to beat you up for my younger self."

"Slightly~"

With a playful laugh and sticking out her tongue, Seele retreated step by step in sync with her brother's rhythm.

Suddenly, her heel struck a protruding rock, and Xi'er's smile instantly turned into panic. Nangong Yu was also startled and rushed over.

However, he didn't notice that the corners of Xi'er's mouth were subtly curled up. She stopped leaning back with a slight turn, and naturally placed her outstretched hand on her brother who was rushing towards her, easily using the momentum of his running to press him down into the snow.

Then, with a small step, she sat directly on her brother's lap, pressing down on his vital joints with both hands, rendering Nangong Yu unable to get up again.

"Hehe~ It's Seele's victory~"

"..."

Nangong Yu fell silent.

Where did his well-behaved little sister go? How come she's starting to play tricks on him now?!