After four days of kindergarten, winter break arrived as scheduled. On Monday, thick snow accumulated outside the window. In the children’s room on the second floor of the Shen house, the little one on the bed turned over, his bottom up, his little face pressed on the pillow, two little hands placed vertically at his sides. The room temperature was comfortable. The little guy slept with a flushed face.
The pine tree outside the window was piled with layers of snow. The straight trunk was bent, the thick branches overwhelmed, making a low creaking sound. The sound of snow falling woke the little one in the room. The sleepy little one slowly opened his eyes, smacked his lips twice, and rolled to the side. Yesterday his big brother had slept with him. The little guy grabbed his big brother’s clothes, climbed onto his big brother, and tried to nudge him awake with his head.
“Big Brother, wake up.”
Shen Yan didn’t even open his eyes. He hugged the little guy to his chest and turned over.
“Youyou, be good. We’re on winter break now. No need to get up so early.”
The little guy then remembered he was on vacation. Teacher Apple had given him a little red flower and a certificate and told him to see her in spring.
The little guy, who couldn’t go to kindergarten, pouted and looked up. “Big Brother, school.”
Shen Yan laughed with his eyes closed. “You want to go to school even on vacation. How did the Shen family get such a studious baby?”
Home was nice, but the little guy preferred being at school with teachers and classmates, singing and dancing, playing games with the other kids.
Shen Yan was amused. He opened half an eye. “Winter is for sleeping in, you know?” He glanced at the children’s alarm clock on the wall. Heavens, it was only seven.
Shen Yan held the little guy in his arms, trying to coax him back to sleep. The little guy didn’t fall asleep, but Shen Yan closed his eyes and couldn’t open them again. Before falling asleep, he heard a milky sigh. Su Youli stared blankly for a while, perked up his ears to listen to the creaking of the pine tree bent by snow outside, rubbed his eyes, and got up.
Winter clothes were hard to put on. The little guy dragged his thick coat and toddled off to find his dad. Shen Minyan was already up, eating breakfast in the study. He had just taken a sip of coffee when he heard a milky “Dad” from the crack of the door. Shen Minyan put down his sandwich, pushed the coffee cup forward, answered, and went to the door to pick up his son.
Sitting on his dad’s lap, being dressed, the little guy turned back and asked his dad: “Dad, Youyou is on vacation. No kindergarten?”
Shen Minyan nodded. “Yes.”
The little guy sighed in disappointment, then turned his attention to the coffee cup on the table.
“Dad.” The little guy pointed at the cup.
Shen Minyan pushed the coffee further away. “You can’t drink this. It’s coffee. Very bitter.”
The little guy was fed a bit of sandwich by his dad. His own breakfast was soon brought up. The first day of winter break wasn’t as boring as the little guy imagined. After cartoons in the morning, he played with Yuanzi in the playroom, listened to a storybook, and it was time for a nap.
After the nap, Brother Xiao Tang would do crafts with him and introduce him to new plants. Tang Dou noticed the little guy wasn’t himself today. Although Youyou was young, his concentration was good. Normally, a fifteen-minute lesson was absolutely doable. But today, the little guy had been distracted three times, frequently looking toward the gate.
Tang Dou put down the book and touched his little head. “Who is Youyou waiting for?”
The little guy glanced at the gate and said, “Mom.”
Mom hadn’t come back to sleep last night. Where did Mom go? Tang Dou remembered that Chu Ying should have gone back to the Chu family. The little guy nodded upon getting the answer, hoping Mom would come back for dinner tonight. Before dinner, Chu Ying called the little guy.
“Youyou, the snow is heavy. Mom can’t come back for now. Tonight, let Dad sleep with you, okay?”
Hearing that Mom was trapped by the heavy snow, the little guy sensibly said, “Okay, Youyou will sleep with Dad.”
After a period of kindergarten, the little guy had a deeper understanding of family members. The little guy, used to being with family every day, couldn’t fall asleep beside his dad. He was thinking of Mom. Shen Minyan told him three stories. The little guy was still energetic, squirming in bed. Shen Minyan sat up, took the plush blanket from the bedside, wrapped the little guy in it, and carried him to the living room to wait for Mom.
Su Yuanzi wagged his tail, lying on the carpet. Seeing his little master carried down, he jumped up and ran over. The TV played cartoons. The dog at his feet panted. The little guy in his dad’s arms obediently waited for Mom to return. Shen Minyan saw the little guy rub his eyes and yawn a few times, and said he’d carry him back to the room to sleep.
The little guy pouted and shook his head. “Wait for Mom.”
At twelve, Chu Ying finally returned. The living room light was soft. She took off her cold coat, removed her scarf, and walked in. The little guy lying in his dad’s arms, in pajamas, wrapped in a fluffy blanket by his dad, was fighting heavy sleepiness, eyes opening and closing. The man holding the little guy gently poked his soft cheek. Hearing the sound, the little guy immediately woke up and craned his neck toward the door. This time he wasn’t disappointed. His mom was back.
“Mom!”
“Good baby, why are you still waiting for Mom? You must be exhausted.” Chu Ying’s heart ached.
Chu Ying walked over quickly, rubbing her hands warm as she walked. The little guy felt like he hadn’t seen Mom in a long time. He reached out for Mom to hold him. Chu Ying said softly, “Mom is cold. I’ll hold you in a bit.”
Shen Minyan put the little guy on the sofa and got up to pour Chu Ying a glass of hot water. The little guy had already crawled out of the blanket, climbed to Mom, and reached out to hold Mom’s finger.
“Mom, I missed you so much.”
Chu Ying drank the hot water, the cold dispelled, her heart warm. “Mom missed you too. Let’s go back to the room and sleep, okay?”
Shen Minyan held the little guy. He had just said a few words to Chu Ying when he saw her put a finger to her lips. “Shh.”
Looking down, the little guy had fallen asleep. The two smiled at each other and carried the little guy back to the room to sleep. The next day, the family member who went out and didn’t come home was Shen Lin. Shen Lin had been tortured by studies for a semester. Finally, on winter break, he was good at home for two days before being invited out by classmates to karaoke.
Teenagers playing couldn’t get enough. It was twelve, and he still hadn’t returned. Su Youli was a bit unhappy. Sitting on the bed, rubbing his sleepy eyes, he swiped a few times on the phone watch with his little hand and dialed his second brother’s number.
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