Cheng Ying only clung tightly to Chi Wu when he finally let go of the reins, letting Er Ya run forward with their two formidable sons.

Cheng Ming, trailing behind, held Chi Wu’s character in utter disdain. Don’t think I don’t know you’re finding new ways to take advantage. Humph.

However, Cheng Ming stared with wide eyes, taking meticulous mental notes; this was experience being gathered for his own future relationships—at least a successful case study from a B-University student.

When Er Ya started running, Chi Wu naturally pulled his wife into an embrace, circling her; what if she genuinely fell off?

The speed of the snow sledge was truly fast, and as Er Ya and the others darted ahead, the snowflakes they kicked up dusted Cheng Ying’s face—that sensation was indescribably exhilarating.

It was like the perfectly timed background music in a dramatic television scene; it was always just right.

The village children saw this spectacle and chased after them; there was nothing else to do on a snowy day. Aside from eating, it was playing. Anyone who had a snow sledge brought it out, and suddenly, the atmosphere was lively.

When Cheng Ying looked back, good heavens—there were sledges pulled by mules, sledges pulled by dogs, and even sledges pulled by sheep. This was a recipe for madness.

The adults in this village certainly knew how to spoil their children. They were far better at playing than she was.

Once they reached the ice, they could form an entire sledge squadron.

Cheng Ying looked at the children, all around Cheng Ming’s age; this wasn't children playing—this was a massive gathering of reckless youths neglecting their proper duties.

A cluster of tiny kids followed behind, eager to join the fun.

Cheng Ming, bringing up the rear, was completely invigorated. “Oh, it hasn’t been this lively in years! We have to enjoy ourselves thoroughly!”

Cheng Ying and Chi Wu circled the ice once, feeling much more spirited; perhaps movement made them more energetic.

Chi Wu took off his glove and rubbed Cheng Ying’s face. “Why is it so cold?”

Cheng Ying was too excited to even notice Chi Wu. “Nonsense. Let me have a run, you stand aside.”

Chi Wu countered, “How can that be? It’s too dangerous; this requires real skill.”

Cheng Ying glanced at Cheng Ming, driving the donkey-pulled sledge in the distance. “Am I worse than him?”

Chi Wu fell silent. Cheng Ying pressed on, “Besides, Er Ya is here too. If you don’t trust me, you should at least trust Er Ya, right?”

Chi Wu couldn't argue with his wife; she was challenging a dog for comparison. Did people really talk like that? “Sit in my lap. If neither you nor Er Ya are trustworthy, I’m still here.”

Cheng Ying wasn't one to refuse; bundled in thick padded clothing, forget sitting in his lap, she wouldn’t gain anything even if she sat anywhere else. “Hurry up!”

Chi Wu shifted backward, encircling his wife in his arms; his mood was indescribably good.

When the sledge took off, Chi Wu felt that even the Emperor’s state carriage couldn't compare to this; for a moment, he felt like he was ruling the country.

It was rare for Cheng Ying, at her age, to show such unrestrained joy; she was genuinely feeling wonderful.

The feeling of pursuing speed across the ice—even though there was a thick layer of snow beneath them—felt fantastic. Seeing Cheng Ming, she even managed to cheekily taunt him. “How about that? Is your donkey useless? This thing still needs Er Ya to pull it.”

The two were officially challenging each other. With the vast ice surface becoming their arena, it wasn't just one or two people competing; it was livelier than a sports meet, and all spontaneous.

Cheng Ying’s face flushed with excited shouts. Seeing a sledge about to overtake them, Chi Wu said, “If you can’t, I’ll do it. Watch me!”

The two were lost in their fun. By the time Cheng Ying and Chi Wu stopped, they had reached the ice surface near Xiahe Village.

Cheng Ying’s voice was hoarse from shouting.

The large group began heading back, though this time, they walked more slowly.

Cheng Ying exclaimed, “Oh, the deepest memory I have of this place is falling into the river—it nearly killed me! I never imagined I could have this much fun here.”

Cheng Ming called out from afar, “You little girl, you just don’t understand the dashing spirit of us men. Today, you benefited from your man’s prestige!”

If Cheng Ying had a piece of watermelon rind in her hand, she would have flung it at him.

Cheng Ming continued, “Speaking of which, the fish we ate during New Year’s in our village used to be the most delicious. Those fish back then were huge!”

Those nearby began drooling. Exactly, exactly. We haven't broken the ice in years.

Cheng Ying agreed, “Tell me about it. After the contract responsibility system, nobody organized things in the village. Getting fish became just small skirmishes; we never caught as much as we did back then. Just looking at it makes me crave it.”

Chi Wu glanced at Cheng Ying but said nothing; it was fine as long as his wife was happy. When his wife was happy, she didn’t object to being held by him.

Chi Wu wondered if perhaps he should change the way he pursued his wife.

When they got home that evening, the stove had gone out; they had been so engrossed in playing that they forgot everything else.

Chi Wu lit the stove to cook, but not before preparing a large basin of water infused with honeysuckle for Cheng Ying to soak her feet; snow sledging easily froze one’s feet badly.

Cheng Ying specifically prepared a large bone broth and a massive pile of bones for Er Ya and the others; this was enough to leave Cheng Ming’s team far behind—Er Ya was a true hero.

After eating, both were so tired they collapsed onto the heated brick bed and fell asleep. Cheng Ying suddenly remembered that the purpose of bringing out the snow sledge was to visit relatives; they had gotten caught up in the playing. How old am I, to get so carried away?

Thinking about the day on the ice, Cheng Ying pictured Chi Wu wearing his leather coat, a plaid scarf wrapped around his neck, looking utterly radiant. Cheng Ying had never seen anyone on the ice more brilliant than Chi Wu.

The young women coming from the riverbank to call their brothers home for dinner—their eyes were all fixed on Chi Wu.

He looked so youthful, so energetic, and smiled so brightly.

Perhaps she had been infected by that energy. Otherwise, Cheng Ying couldn't believe that such a jovial, laughing person was herself.

Chi Wu asked, “Why aren’t you asleep yet? It seems you didn’t play wholeheartedly enough; aren’t you tired?”

Cheng Ying replied, “Mm, going to sleep now.” Sharing a room with a man in his early twenties, Cheng Ying certainly wasn’t going to admit she had insomnia—that would be inviting trouble.

Chi Wu’s voice sounded a bit clearer. “Are you thinking about eating fish?”

Cheng Ying said, “Go to sleep.”

Chi Wu murmured low by her ear, “I knew you craved fish. You must be thinking about it. You scared me so badly back then; I just clung to you, vowing not to let go. If I had let you fall into the river, Grandma would have surely spanked me when we got home. Back then, I was just afraid Grandma would hit me hard.”

Cheng Ying felt utterly depressed listening to this. Here was a life-saving act, and this young man was worried about being beaten? Was there anything like this? “You were only holding on because you were afraid of getting hit?”

Chi Wu confirmed, “Exactly! You were scared back then, and my legs were weak with fright. If I had known that person was my wife, I would have pulled you up with just one arm.”

Cheng Ying felt a surge of anger. She treated Chi Wu as her savior, and even though she usually ordered him around a bit, she treated him better than herself. How could this unlucky boy have such wicked thoughts? “I’ll show you being afraid of getting hit!”

As she spoke, Cheng Ying’s hand crossed the line, reaching over to Chi Wu’s arm, pinching him through his thermal underwear. “You wicked boy, what kind of awful thoughts did you have?”

Chi Wu cried out, “Ouch, ouch, take it easy, take it easy! We weren't that close back then!”

They struggled a bit fiercely, and unknowingly, the quilt between them was kicked aside.

Chi Wu’s eyes shone. Without a word, feigning fear of tickling, he firmly pinned both of his wife’s arms and pulled her into his embrace. “Sleep now! Don't hit me anymore! No matter what the reason was, I’m still your savior, after all. You don't know, after that, I became a bit hesitant to go fishing.”

Cheng Ying felt that competing in strength against a man was exposing her weakness. Look at her now, pinned like a mummy, completely unable to move.

Chi Wu tried to keep his movements natural as he held his wife close, reaching out with one hand to pull the quilt over both of them. He said casually, “Sleep.”

Inside, however, his heart hammered wildly. To pull his wife under the covers while she was awake—how difficult that had been! Even doing nothing made Chi Wu feel physically and mentally thrilled.

Cheng Ying was genuinely exhausted. She wasn't a pretentious person. She truly didn't feel there was much difference between being held while covered by the quilt and not being covered—wasn't that just deceiving herself?

Furthermore, Cheng Ying hadn't noticed any difference in their current situation compared to before.

Sleep is sleep. She just needed to remember to visit Aunt Lao the next day; she couldn’t afford to forget again by playing too much.

The next morning, Cheng Ying didn't even get a chance to remember Aunt Lao. Cheng Ming, that unlucky fellow, was outside calling people as soon as dawn broke. There were six or seven sledges pulled by dogs outside—they were here to issue a challenge.

Cheng Ying dressed warmly. Chi Wu didn’t care if it looked shabby; he found the fur vest his grandmother used to wear in her day and helped Cheng Ying put it on over her outer layers.

For a young woman, this attire was quite unsophisticated, but Chi Wu adored it.

Cheng Ying cared even less about what she wore; bundled up like a bear, no one could even see her flushed cheeks. “Oh my, did you gather all the dogs in the village? How much do you want to play?”

Cheng Ming boasted, “I gathered dogs from two villages. We culled them too heavily a few years ago, so our village doesn’t have many left. It wasn't easy to gather this many dogs!”

Cheng Ying’s mouth dropped open, speechless. “Did you even sleep last night? Were you preparing this since midnight?”

Cheng Ming declared, “Of course! Even if I didn’t sleep tonight, I have to beat you two, or I, as the older brother, will lose all face.”

Chi Wu whispered and laughed to Cheng Ying, “It’s quite a feat to keep this many dogs pulling a sledge together without them fighting.”

Cheng Ying was laughing so hard her back ached. How can that unlucky boy have such sharp words?

Chi Wu put a warm water bag into Cheng Ying’s hands before taking the reins and heading out with the crowd.

Today, Cheng Ying was mostly a spectator, sitting on the sledge, watching Chi Wu compete. She had never felt so relaxed.

Chi Wu had played like this before, but back then, Cheng Ying was worried about not having enough to eat and hadn't felt this sense of enjoyment.

Only now could she slightly enter the spirit of the game.

Occasionally, when the sledge sped up too much, Chi Wu would call out to Cheng Ying, “Hold tight!”

Cheng Ying gripped Chi Wu’s waist from behind, or sometimes his neck, and managed to overtake Cheng Ming on the side.

No matter how she looked at it, Chi Wu was the most dazzling person on the field, and she shared in that glory.

After all, they were riding on the same sledge.

Cheng Ming shouted, “This is unfair! Are your dogs descendants of Erlang Shen’s Howling Celestial Dog?”

They had even hitched the dogs from two sledges together to pull one, yet Chi Wu still managed to pull ahead—it was simply too much.

Chi Wu stood proudly on the stopped sledge. “Is that all you’ve got? If you want to play, let’s play big. What is this?”

Cheng Ming retorted, “Don’t get cocky. Lay down the rules!”