The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Happy times are always short-lived. For working people, this holiday is like watching a cartoon on the children's channel when they were young. Just when they are engrossed in watching it, they are told to see each other again at the same time tomorrow.

So who says teenagers don't know the taste of sorrow? This lingering, yet unavoidable, melancholy, especially since he has to do his homework after watching it, isn't that exactly the sorrow of youth?

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, in the early morning, the sky outside the window was gray and overcast; it was a cloudy day.

The first cold wave after the New Year had not yet dissipated, and looking out the window, the whole city was filled with the kind of lifelessness that only comes with weekdays.

"Ye Shu, get up and cook! Ye Shu, get up and cook! Ye Shu..."

On her phone, Xia Qing's loving alarm clock went off right on time.

Ye Shu closed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed like a vise, reached out and turned off her phone alarm, then buried her face in the pillow and let out a painful sigh.

He had actually been awake for a while. Ye Shu knew that he seemed to have some kind of special ability. If he had to get up early the next day, he would close his eyes and silently repeat "I will get up at this time tomorrow" a few times before going to bed the night before. He would then wake up on his own almost the same time the next day.

Ye Shu calls this special ability "a natural physique of a cow or horse," meaning he's destined to be a laborer.

Humans are such contradictory and sentimental creatures.

When I'm on vacation, I feel bored, and I think about how busy I am at work every day, which seems quite fulfilling. But when it's time to go back to work, all I want to do is smash my phone and lie in bed, hoping to stay in bed as long as possible.

After struggling in bed for another five minutes, Ye Shu finally crawled into the bathroom like a zombie with a mess of hair on her head to start washing up.

He looked at his own reflection in the mirror—a blank stare and a face full of reluctance—and sighed.

After washing up, I yawned and strolled to the kitchen.

Yesterday was the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. It was only right and proper for the two of them to go and spend the day with An Jianxing and Shen Jingwan. And Uncle An and Aunt Shen did indeed call them and invite them to go.

As a result, the couple suddenly had something urgent to do and had to go out that evening. They seemed to be in a hurry, so Ye Shu and his wife went back to Yunduan Garden, cooked two bags of frozen glutinous rice balls, watched the gala for a while, and spent the holiday in a very ordinary way.

The two of them didn't think much of it. After all, things are different now than in the past. Now they have no worries about food and clothing and can eat whatever they want whenever they want, so they are not so picky about the meal during the holidays.

Now, looking at the gleaming stove, Ye Shu had no desire to even light a fire and cook some noodles.

Forget it, I don't want to move. If I do, I'll feel like my vacation is completely over.

He changed his clothes, grabbed his phone, and decided to go out to find something to eat.

Stepping out of the residential area, a gust of cold wind made me feel much more awake.

I went to my usual breakfast shop, bought a few steamed buns and fried dough sticks, and two cups of soy milk, and carried them back home.

Work has resumed and there are more people on the streets, but the atmosphere hasn't become more lively because of the increased number of people.

Most passersby walked quite quickly, expressionless, their faces beaming with happiness.

Looking at them, Ye Shu felt that compared to them, she was still lucky, at least she went to Sister Chen Xing's shop.

If you asked him to work like a beast of burden in an office building right now, he'd probably want to die.

As Ye Shu walked back, lost in thought, he took out his phone and opened his chat history with Sister Chen Xing from the previous night.

"Xiao Ye, come to work tomorrow, the 16th, let's have a great opening!"

Ye Shu was not giving up and looked at the calendar again.

Well, it's the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. There's no mention of "it's better to procrastinate and avoid going to work" yet.

"well……"

Ye Shu's last glimmer of hope—"What if I remembered it wrong, and Sister Chen Xing actually said seventeen, not sixteen?"—was completely shattered.

When I got home and opened the door, the house was still quiet.

Ye Shu placed breakfast on the dining table and was about to wash her hands when she turned around and found the bedroom door open.

Xiaoxue, wearing her bunny pajamas and holding Xiaoxiaosu in her arms, drifted towards the living room with her eyes half-closed and half-asleep.

"You're awake? Perfect timing! Come and have breakfast, it's still warm from the food I just bought."

Xiaoxue didn't answer. She just hugged the pillow and walked this way as if sleepwalking.

Ye Shu found it a bit amusing; her dazed look was indeed adorable. Just as he was about to say something more, Xiao Xue had already walked up to him.

Then, Xiaoxue loosened her grip, and Xiaoxiaosu fell to the ground. Immediately afterward, she fell forward, her forehead directly hitting Ye Shu's chest, her face pressed against his, and her arms wrapped around Ye Shu's waist.

Then she stayed in that position, motionless, with her eyes closed, as if she had fallen asleep standing up.

Afraid she would fall, Ye Shu reached out and hugged her, then lowered his head and whispered:

"Xiaoxue? Are you awake or not?"

"Um……"

The person in his arms hummed softly, whether in response to his question or to tell him to shut up because he was disturbing his peaceful sleep, it was hard to tell.

Seeing her like this, Ye Shu tried to move, wanting to remove her from his body:

"I just came back from outside and I'm cold. Keep me close to you so I don't get cold."

But to his surprise, as soon as he used a little force, the arms around his waist tightened around him.

Instead of letting go, Xiaoxue rubbed her face against Ye Shu's chest and then let out a soft "Mmm..." before hugging him even tighter.

Ye Shu was completely frozen in place. What was this? Sleepwalking? Was this Xiaoxue?

He looked at the person in his arms, whose little face was hidden in the hood of her pajamas, rosy and seemingly asleep.

How can someone fall asleep standing up?

The spot on my chest where his face was pressed against mine felt warm from his breath.

"Minor Snow?"

There was no response; it seems she was truly asleep, or rather, her body was awake, but her mind was still asleep.

Ye Shu was helpless. She couldn't just stand there like a human cardboard cutout, could she? Although she was unwilling, she still had to go to work.

Ye Shu took a deep breath, focused her energy, and tentatively moved towards the dining table, carrying Xiao Xue in her arms.

He didn't know if the person in his arms was really asleep or pretending, but she cooperated very well and rubbed against him little by little.

It also has automatic follow?

After finally managing to move to the dining table, Ye Shu pulled out a chair and slowly sat down.

The person in his arms readily loosened their grip on his waist, instead wrapping their arms around his neck, and then sat sideways on his lap. They rested their chin on Ye Shu's shoulder, rubbed their face against Ye Shu's ear, then tilted their head and fell asleep again.

This pose...

Ye Shu maintained the position of holding the child, holding her with one hand to prevent her from falling, and picked up a steamed bun with the other hand and started eating it.

The steamed buns tasted good, but Ye Shu found it hard to concentrate on them right now.

My legs felt a little heavy, my ears felt a little hot, but my whole body felt warm.

……

When Xiaoxue woke up, she found herself lying on the sofa in the living room, covered with her own blanket, holding Xiaoxiaosu in her arms.

She blinked, groggily sat up, and reached out to pull the hair that had gotten into her mouth out.

Strange... She remembered waking up once in the morning, I think she was going to the bathroom, so how did she end up sleeping on the sofa?

She looked out the window at the somewhat gray sky, then turned around and lay back down on Xiaoxiaosu, as if she had remembered something.

She seemed to have a very vivid dream. She dreamt of Ye Shu, and Ye Shu had a very pleasant scent, like... steamed buns? And then she was sitting there holding Ye Shu...

But then she thought about it again, and Xiaoxue's face turned a little red. What was all this about? How could Ye Shu possibly be a steamed bun?

Was it a dream?

It must be a dream!