Chapter 63: Secrets Beneath the Snow and Moonlight

The instant their fingertips touched, a searing warmth passed between them, as if a soft, pristine feather brushed gently across her heart, leaving it tingling. Everything was so unexpected.

Qiao Zhen’s breath caught slightly, her eyes sparkled as she fixed her gaze on the little snow rabbit cradled in her palm, and suddenly, her heart blossomed into a sea of wildflowers.

“Oh my goodness! It’s so adorable!”

She was utterly enchanted, utterly delighted.

Carefully, Qiao Zhen cupped the snow rabbit, lightly touching it with her fingers, her whole heart melting in the face of such cuteness.

Yet surprise flickered in her eyes.

The little snow rabbit was exquisitely crafted, its charm apparent at a glance, the attention to detail unmistakable. And yet, Qin Yichi wore a lazy, nonchalant air, as though he’d sculpted the rabbit casually, without a second thought.

Could it be…

Qiao Zhen’s heart skipped a beat, a sudden thought flashing through her mind.

Could he truly be a genius?

Perhaps it was the cold, but Qin Yichi’s ears bore a faint blush of pink.

Beside them, Jiang Hao, recovering from the heartbreak of his shattered turtle, secretly rolled several snowballs and, seizing a moment when Qin Yichi was unaware, launched a barrage at him, pelting him relentlessly.

One snowball landed with perfect aim right on Qiao Zhen’s forehead!

She hadn’t even reacted before her brow felt cold, and her thick, curled lashes were dusted with white snow.

Dazed by the hit, she rubbed her eyes and looked up, bewildered.

In response, Qin Yichi grabbed a handful of snow and hurled it straight at Jiang Hao’s face—quick, precise, and merciless.

In just a few moves, Jiang Hao was rendered powerless, unable to fight back.

After this effortless one-sided rout—

Jiang Hao was lifted clean off the ground, dangling like a little chick, his short legs flailing wildly in the air as he pleaded desperately,

“Brother Chi! Please, I was wrong, don’t hit me anymore!”

Qin Yichi laughed softly, knocking him on the forehead. “Oh? What did you do wrong?”

Jiang Hao quickly covered his forehead, looking aggrieved, his voice barely more than a whisper, “Big brother, I... I shouldn’t have ambushed you.”

Qin Yichi shot him a sideways glance, “You shouldn’t have hit your sister.”

Jiang Hao, close to tears, pondered for a moment, then furtively leaned toward Qin Yichi’s ear and whispered, “Oh, I shouldn’t bully your future wife, right?!”

Qin Yichi froze for a moment, his gaze deep and unwavering.

After a long pause, he set Jiang Hao back down from midair, ruffled his hair absentmindedly, and let out a soft chuckle.

He neither confirmed nor denied it.

The cold wind swept through, gently parting the clouds, revealing a silver moonbeam that fell upon the fluttering snow, tender and lingering.

Moonlight and snow intertwined, casting a misty glow over the whole world.

Later, Jiang Hao went with his parents to his grandparents’ house for New Year’s Eve, leaving only Qiao Zhen and Qin Yichi behind in the snowy field.

Qiao Zhen settled the little snow rabbit carefully, covering it with a few leaves, bidding it a reluctant farewell in her heart:

Little rabbit, I’ll remember you always…

The cold was biting, and Qiao Zhen’s nose was nearly frozen red.

She exhaled, feeling herself encased in icy crystals, shivering all over, and turned to ask,

“It’s so cold, shall we head back?”

Qin Yichi was crouching in the snow, doing something she couldn’t see, and only after a moment did he rise.

It seemed to Qiao Zhen that he’d written something in the snow with his index finger. She was about to approach for a closer look when his figure blocked her view completely.

A snowflake landed on Qin Yichi’s lashes. He looked up, gaze deep. “Mm, let’s go back.”

Qiao Zhen didn’t dwell on it, hurriedly wrapping her arms around herself as she walked home, nearly turned into a little snowman, yearning for a hot bath.

Qin Yichi followed her, hands in his pockets, eyes dark as ink, unable to resist glancing back at the patch of empty ground.

Beneath the gentle moonlight, amidst the romance of the first snow, he quietly hid a secret.

The line he wrote was—

[QYC ♡ QZ]