Chapter 49

It might have been because they saw her having fun, but the others followed suit, building snowmen nearby. Only Lin Nanye was caught by his mother as soon as he squatted down, getting dragged back home by his ear.

Seeing this, the others couldn’t help but laugh.

Since there wasn’t enough snow in the yard, they went outside to shovel some in.

Lin Nanzhi even borrowed some makeup from Lin Nanxuan and found a few props in the house. Soon, a small snow bunny holding a carrot was finished.

The bunny was chubby, with rosy ears and cheeks. It held a big carrot in its little hands, its mouth curved upward as if it was delighted to have such a large carrot.

“Wow, it looks amazing! I want to make a bunny too!”

The three continued working. Lin Nanzhi, not caring at all, plucked a rose from the yard and placed it on the bunny’s ear, then wrapped a warm scarf around its neck. Satisfied, she took out her phone to snap pictures and even asked Lin Nanxuan to take a few for her, making the others envious. But looking at their own creations… well, they just had to keep trying.

Lin Nanzhi sent the pictures to Wen Jiunian, who responded with envy and jealousy, making her smile happily.

At noon, they had to eat vegetarian meals. The family specially bought peanuts, sesame, and a crispy filling, mixed glutinous rice flour themselves, stuffed the fillings inside, and made tangyuan and glutinous rice cakes. Once cooked, they could be eaten.

Lin Nanzhi didn’t like these, so she just reheated the leftover porridge from the morning and ate that, along with some fruit. Not just her—aside from a few adults, no one else particularly liked the dish, so they ate the same as she did.

—-

In the afternoon, they had originally planned to go out for fun, but with the freezing weather, Lin Nanzhi wasn’t too keen. However, she couldn’t refuse when her cousins insisted, so the two families drove slowly to the market.

Oddly enough, while the village was covered in snow, the roads only had patches of it, and the sky was clear. By the time they reached town, the sun was shining brightly.

It really proved the saying: “The weather changes every ten miles!”

The streets were bustling with people, mostly families out for fun, and the market stalls were endless—especially the ring toss games.

The ones with goldfish were particularly popular. Every stall had children gathered around. Naturally, Lin Nanxun and the others were drawn in, spending five yuan on three rings. The three of them pooled their money for nine rings—but didn’t win a single prize. Not giving up, Lin Nanxun and Lin Nanting spent another five yuan each, and this time, they managed to win one goldfish each.

The little goldfish were kept in disposable plastic cups, with the vendor throwing in a small packet of fish food. But the cups were flimsy—water sloshed out with every step they took, and by the time they got home, more than half of it was gone. Their parents scolded them, making the two kids walk extra carefully.

“Why not win a proper fish tank? It has several fish inside and is way better than this cup,” Lin Nanxuan scoffed, not understanding their obsession with tiny goldfish.

Besides, the plastic cups were so fragile. They might not break when empty, but if they fell while holding water, they’d shatter instantly—what a hassle.

So, the families stopped at another stall, spending fifteen yuan trying to win a big fish tank. But no one won anything. Lin Nanzhi, unable to resist, spent five yuan herself—only to lose as well. Finally, Lin Nanxun managed to win one.

Lin Nanting, unable to win anything, started crying when he saw Lin Nanxun with a fish tank. But with three rings costing five yuan, they couldn’t just keep spending. The vendor wouldn’t sell them one directly either.

Frustrated, Uncle Lin snapped, “Want, want, want! You always want something! Shut up!”

Lin Nanting, already upset, cried even louder. Everyone was helpless. Aunt Lin crouched down to comfort him, “It’s just a game. If you don’t win, you don’t win. There’s nothing to cry about.”

But Lin Nanting wouldn’t stop crying. Seeing this, Lin Nanxun hesitated, then finally pursed his lips and, with a resigned sigh, handed his fish tank over. Acting all grown-up, he patted Lin Nanting’s head and said, “Don’t cry anymore, you can have mine.”

Lin Nanting instantly stopped crying, happily hugging the fish tank. He immediately dumped his small cup of fish into it and proudly showed it off to his parents.

Everyone praised Lin Nanxun for being so mature, but Lin Nanye noticed the disappointment in his eyes.

“Boss, we’ll play another round,” Lin Nanye suddenly said.

The vendor grinned from ear to ear, quickly handing over more rings. Lin Nanye gave them all to Lin Nanxun, and although their parents glanced at him, they didn’t stop him.

Lin Nanxun brightened up and eagerly tossed the rings—but after spending thirty yuan, he still didn’t win another fish tank. He finally stopped, feeling it was too wasteful to keep going. Although he knew his family could afford it, he had grown up frugal. Spending thirty yuan with no results felt excessive, leaving him a little disappointed.

Lin Nanye was about to pay when Uncle Lin beat him to it. Saying nothing, Lin Nanye simply patted Lin Nanxun’s head in comfort.

Lin Nanzhi also noticed Lin Nanxun’s expression. He clearly still wanted the fish tank.

But it really was hard to win, so maybe it was best to just let it go.

“Let’s keep playing!”

Everyone had a great time, though Lin Nanxun remained a little gloomy over the goldfish. However, the next morning, when he woke up, he found a big fish tank placed in the living room—with several small goldfish swimming inside.

“Wow! A fish tank!”

“You like it? It’s yours now. But since you have it, take good care of the fish. Don’t let them die,” Lin Nanzhi reminded him.

“Don’t worry! I won’t!” Lin Nanxun thumped his chest confidently, and Lin Nanzhi just smiled.

Coming downstairs, Lin Nanye chuckled and said, “Next time, don’t be too much of a pushover. Some things aren’t meant to be given away—otherwise, you’ll always be the one sacrificing, and no one will care.”

Sacrificing himself to make others happy, only to receive a “you’re so mature” in return.

That kind of self-sacrifice didn’t truly move anyone.

Lin Nanxun lowered his head, pouting. “I understand.”

Lin Nanzhi knew Lin Nanye was right and didn’t interrupt, only adding, “Big Brother isn’t saying you were wrong to give your fish tank to your cousin. But the truth is, you didn’t really want to give it to him, did you?”

Lin Nanxun shook his head.

He liked it a lot—especially since he won it himself. Giving it away made him sad.

“If you really wanted the fish tank, you could have kept it. You could always win another one for him later. There’s no need to always put yourself last. You’re just a kid too—you deserve to be cared for just as much as he does, understand?”

“Mm.”

“You’re young, but you sure understand a lot,” Lin Nanye teased. Then he turned to Lin Nanzhi and smirked. “Aren’t you a kid too?”

“You don’t have to act all mature like Nanxuan and Nanxun.”

Lin Nanzhi just smiled and made an excuse to slip away.

Lin Nanye watched her leave, pressing his lips together thoughtfully.

This little sister of his had always been so sensible—too sensible. He had thought she didn’t understand these things, but in truth, she did. She just chose to act mature.

His heart ached for her even more.