Talulah, I'm still a child.

"I hope Brother Meixue will be able to release the lanterns in time."

As Linglan spoke, she smoothed things over. Su Xue'er suppressed her aura very well, and apart from Amaya, the other three people just thought it was their imagination.

Meanwhile, in Shang Shu's teahouse, Mei Xue appeared out of thin air in a private room, closed her umbrella, and looked at the woman in the white coat sitting at the table, a feeling of familiarity welling up in her heart.

Anyone who meets her for the first time will surely be attracted by her gentle temperament, which is as kind and loving as a mother caring for her child, yet does not appear heavy or mature.

"Long time no see, Nine-Colored Deer."

"It hasn't been that long, has it?"

The Nine-Colored Deer smiled and poured Mei Xue a cup of tea. The fragrance of flowers mingled with the tea, filling the entire room. The little fox was not reserved. The Nine-Colored Deer often came when he was raising Nian and others. He had met Mei Xue once a few years ago. So even though his memories had not fully returned, their relationship could still be described as that of good friends.

"I thought you would come to see me in a few days."

"If I could, I would like to, but Qingqiu is yours after all. From the moment you appeared in Da Yan, it has stopped listening to me and has tried to forcibly drag you in several times."

Qingqiu is not an inanimate object, but it also does not have life in the true sense. It is just a beautiful and spiritual place. After spending so many years with Meixue, it has gained a spirit, and it is like a clingy cat.

Speaking of cats, Mandra had actually been inside Mei Xue's hood the whole time. The little fox's clothes were originally intended to have the hood removed, but it was kept for her, and even a plush cushion was added inside.

When the kitten heard the name, she couldn't help but curiously peek out from under the hood. According to the schedule, she should be in Victoria right now, trying to fool Raphsini, but tonight is a rare lantern festival, and Mei Xue is more important.

"Ah, you've got another cute little pet this time, hmm... interesting."

Unlike Mei Xue, who was used to seeing Mandra as a cat and never paid close attention to her abnormalities, Nine-Colored Deer could see the kitten's abnormality at a glance. She had known Mei Xue and Su Xue'er for a long time and knew that both of them had such abilities, but Mei Xue would not take the initiative to do such a thing.

By combining two unrelated destinies, Mandela is still Mandela, only everyone in the world sees her as a cat, and the laws of the world itself acknowledge this; therefore, she is a cat.

In fact, Mei Xue could have noticed this if she had just observed carefully, but the little fox has always been "free-spirited" in everything he does. He is the kind of person who would walk several kilometers "because he suddenly wants to eat some snacks".

"Then I'll go tomorrow. I still want to see the lantern festival later."

Mei Xue's intuition told her that if she went to Qingqiu now, it would take a lot of time, and she would miss the lantern festival tonight, which would spoil everyone's fun.

“I knew you’d say that. Actually, it’s not the right time yet… Go back there when you’re really ready.”

The Nine-Colored Deer was not surprised at all; on the contrary, it was relieved. If Mei Xue insisted on returning to Qingqiu, no one in the world could stop him. In fact, the moment that thought crossed its mind, Qingqiu would automatically take him back.

"Well, since you've come back and remembered so many things, it proves that the first box has been opened, and it should be returned to you."

She took out a metal box that Mei Xue had seen many times before from her sleeve, and placed the Nine-Colored Deer in front of her. This was the main reason she came to find Mei Xue this time: to restore her memories.

"This is... I've never really understood why I stored my memories separately, put them together, and entrusted them to someone for safekeeping. Wouldn't it have been better to just give them to me when they found me?"

This method is the simplest and most convenient, but Mei Xue doesn't understand why she chose to make it into a jigsaw puzzle in the past.

"Actually, I asked you this question before, and this is what you answered..."

Nine-Colored Deer gently twirled and played with the strands of snow-white hair as she recalled that day, also a snowy day like this—no, it was on the snowy plains to the north.

"But even if there are many boxes like this, they can't hold all the memories, so the purpose of searching for memories is not to restore them."

"Mei Xue, you must have noticed by now that if memories are divided into five parts, why did you only find a few decades or a hundred years in the box you opened?"

This is unreasonable and should not be the case. Several decades or a hundred years may indeed be a long time for others, or even a lifetime, but for Mei Xue, it is too short to be counted. He had always thought that more of his memories were placed in other boxes, but now it seems that this is not the case.

"How many boxes did you get?"

"This is the third one, but I've only opened one before."

"Yes, that's right. If you're too eager to recover your memories, your past memories will conflict with your present ones. You've probably felt that to some extent, right? Sometimes you unconsciously look at things from the perspective of the past, and your personality will change a bit."

This is why Mei Xue didn't open the second box. He needed time to get used to those memories, even if it was just a little bit. After all, compared to his more mature and less easily fooled self, the older sisters seemed to prefer the little fox who didn't think much and let them kiss, hug, and lift him up high.

"But, um, she's so cute, but she's gotten even shorter... Okay, okay, I won't say anything more about this."

Seeing Mei Xue puff out her cheeks and look unhappy, Nine-Colored Deer covered her mouth and chuckled. Sure enough, teasing Mei Xue like this was the most fun compared to being serious.

"It's definitely best this way. There's no need to put pressure on yourself. Be simple, be innocent, and have the best expectations for everything. What's wrong with being a child?"

The nine-colored deer gently stroked Mei Xue's head, and the familiar touch made her squint her eyes.

"Does one have to be an adult, scheming and calculating everything? Isn't that exhausting?"

Recalling what she had seen and heard over the years, the Nine-Colored Deer couldn't help but sigh.

"After all, you're only a month old."

"Then I really am just a child."

Mei Xue twitched her fox ears and flicked her tail gently. Then she stood up, picked up the kitten from the table, and put it back into her hood.

"Want to go see the lantern festival together?"

“I’m afraid your sister and your ex-wife will give me a hard time. How about we just make do here for a bit? I can guarantee no one will bother us.”

A captivating charm flashed in the Nine-Colored Deer's eyes, and her temperament changed from gentle and kind to a pure yet alluring little devil. Mei Xue had known for a long time that she had this lively side, but she rarely showed it.

"Oh, let's leave that kind of thing for later. Besides, didn't you just say I'm only a month old? According to my race, I'm still a minor."

"What's there to be afraid of? That's what makes it exciting!"

The two laughed at each other, not taking the joke to heart; the little fox simply wagged its tail.

"Let's go, Sister Nine-Colored Deer, don't keep everyone waiting."

At the other end of the Qingyue Terrace, everyone had already folded lanterns and looked at the bright lights of the city on the opposite bank, which gave them a unique feeling.

A gentle breeze blew across the river as talented men and beautiful women sat at the bow of their boats, composing and exchanging poems. Ling was quite pleased to listen, and in a moment of inspiration, he spontaneously composed a poem titled "Spring Snow," nearly winning first place for the evening.

"Ah, there's another unfamiliar older sister next to my brother!"

Perhaps it was a telepathic connection, but this time it was Cecilia who noticed Mei Xue first, but her words really left everyone speechless.

Looking at the nine-colored deer beside Mei Xue, although she didn't recognize it, she didn't find it strange, after all, it was Mei Xue.

Bonus Chapter: Happy Birthday to Myself (Fourfold Version)!

"Sometimes this kind of environment is pretty good, ah, it's great, so could you two please stop pulling my hair!"

Shaking his head helplessly, feeling the slight pain from his hair being pulled, Si Chong angrily reached out and grabbed Ansel and Mei Xue's faces, pulling them wildly.

"Can't you two even consider that I'll have to wear women's clothing if I don't finish paying off the bounty!"

He let go of her hand, turned around, and continued typing away on the keyboard, ignoring the two guys behind him chattering away.

"It's not like we've never worn them before, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't be afraid, Si Chong, let's pay off our debts by dressing as women!"

"You two get out of here! Believe me or not, I won't be serving you dinner tonight!"

Si Chong glared at the two of them with annoyance, then continued to ponder how to change the plot. As an author who only knew the plot a few hours earlier than his readers, it was truly a painful experience.

"Don't I cook all the meals at home?"

"Hehe~ Anyway, I'm a vegetarian, so I'm not afraid of this."

(Damn, I'm so angry!)

His anger grew stronger, and Si Chong's typing speed increased. He typed furiously on the keyboard. Today was supposed to be his birthday, but instead he had to work so hard here. He was so tired.

Especially those two guys in the back, they don't have to go to work, go to school, or write, so they won't starve. I'm so envious! The key is that they especially like to bully me. This is unreasonable. My Ansel and Mei Xue should be gentle, considerate, and understanding. Why have they all switched to little devil mode?

"And to be honest, why is your image of her like this? Hmm... she looks even more like a loli than Mei Xue."

"I'm a man! I'm a man!"

Si Chong is very concerned about his gender, extremely concerned. Even though he has been called "wife" and "wife" by his group members for eight years, he still wants to solemnly declare his gender. He is not even white-haired.

"Ultimately, although this is my cognitive space, my image largely depends on other people's perceptions. These guys... I always thought what they said about my loli wife was fake, but I never expected them to imagine me to be so short, even shorter than Mei Xue!"

Men don't easily shed tears, but this Fourth Heaven... is genderless. Who the hell knew that I would end up in this place in my dreams! And be turned into this!

"Don't be angry. Being cute isn't a bad thing, is it?"

Ansel gently patted Si Chong's head. Of course, he wouldn't tell Si Chong that he was the one who did it. After all, he could do whatever he wanted in his dream, and setting up some characters was no problem for him.

But his keen intuition made his scalp tingle, and without saying a word, he dodged Ansel's hand, looking at the two of them with some doubt.

"You guys...you're not trying to screw me over, are you?"

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely awkward. Mei Xue was so surprised that she forgot to eat her apple. The little fox and Ansel looked at each other and realized... this seemed like a pretty good idea?

Putting everything else aside, in the current Dream's cognitive space, Si Chong is exactly the image of his wife in the hearts of the group members. To put it simply, he is undeniably cute. Who knows how the group members see him all day long?

"Cough cough, don't even think about it. We're not single, we wouldn't go so far as to make a move on you."

"...You might as well not explain at all."

Mentioning being single is like another arrow to Si Chong's heart. He doesn't want to be single if he could, but he's a homebody, and seeing so many marriage stories online these days has given him a phobia of marriage.

Just imagine, who would like someone like him?

"Hey, Si Chong, don't be too disappointed. You're actually a great person, and you'll definitely find a good partner!"

"is it?"

"Of course, after all, you have quite a few strengths."

Mei Xue's tail wagged happily behind her. The little fox has always been quite lively, whether it was the innocent one or the mischievous one she is now.

"Not to mention that he can do housework and cook, he can build Gundam, loves watching anime and tokusatsu, and is also a card player."

Mei Xue counted on her fingers, then looked at Si Chong's current appearance in the dream, and, recalling his past reputation, added another point.

"She's thrifty and good at managing the household, and doesn't spend money extravagantly. Hmm, she'll definitely be a good wife, and many men will like her."

"You stupid fox! You really dare to say that!"

Si Chongqi stopped typing and pounced on Mei Xue, pinning him to the sofa and pinching and rubbing his face. Damn it, this body is just a puppet anyway, so he's not afraid of being pricked!

"Waaaaah~ I'm not a stupid nurse... Guh! Don't scratch me!"

When Mei Xue felt Si Chong's hand touch her waist, she suddenly felt weak, followed by an unimaginable itch. Ansel just watched without offering any help or stopping her. As the protagonist of Si Chong's first and second books, he was Mei Xue's older brother, although the two brothers might have some rebellious thoughts towards Si Chong.

When the cricket scratched Mei Xue's tail until it was too weak to even wag, Si Chong finally stopped, then gave a disdainful snort. How could a silly fox like the cricket possibly be a match for him?

"Gulp... I... I have no strength left."

Seeing that Mei Xue looked like she had been through a lot, Ansel couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. After all, they were both set up with four layers, so the other party knew where all their weaknesses were. The waist area was extremely sensitive for both Mei Xue and Ansel.