Because he had trained with Su Lang, Su Jue's posture when holding his daughter was very standard.
After just a few words of coaxing, Su Yao had already fallen asleep leaning on her father's shoulder.
Her little hand was still tugging at his button, refusing to let go.
They first sent the two elders to their rooms.
Then, the two families returned to their respective rooms.
After Su Lang settled his daughter and returned from the small room, Lin Zhilan was sitting at the dressing table brushing her hair.
She had changed into a casual cotton nightgown, the collar slightly open, revealing a small section of her fair, smooth neck.
Her long black hair cascaded down, the ends slightly curled, resting on her collarbone and swaying gently with the motion of her brushing.
Su Lang thoroughly enjoyed the sight before him.
The warm yellow light enveloped his wife, softly outlining the profile of her face.
When she raised her hand, her sleeve slipped down a bit, revealing a wrist as white as snow.
Lin Zhilan glanced at him through the mirror and put down the comb.
"Come help me brush my hair."
Su Lang's gaze lingered for a moment on her slightly open collar before moving away.
His wife's invitation was, in his eyes, undoubtedly a seduction.
Su Lang walked up behind his wife, gathering her hair with one hand and holding the comb with the other, brushing down from the crown of her head.
Lin Zhilan rummaged through the drawer for red envelopes and money, preparing the red envelopes for the children for tomorrow.
"The red envelopes Mom gave us seem too big, and we didn't prepare anything for them," Lin Zhilan said while stuffing the red envelopes.
For a family of four, each person's red envelope contained five ten-yuan bills.
That added up to two hundred yuan.
Presumably, it was the same for second brother and sister-in-law's family.
Coming back for the New Year, Mom and Dad's little treasury must have shrunk.
"Mom and Dad have money," Su Lang said absentmindedly.
He swept his wife's smoothed hair to one side, exposing the exceedingly white skin of the back of her neck.
A few stray strands of hair clung to it, fine and soft.
His fingers casually brushed past, sweeping those stray strands aside, his fingertips grazing the skin of her nape, carrying the slight roughness of thin calluses.
Lin Zhilan shrank back a little.
"It tickles, be careful."
Su Lang's mind was no longer on the conversation.
His hand stopped there, his thumb pressing gently on the hollow of her nape, and then he pressed his palm flat against it.
Lin Zhilan looked at him through the mirror.
Su Lang's eyelashes were very long. The light struck from the side, sharply outlining the bridge of his nose, and the contours of his jawline were clearly defined.
Handsome.
But...
Lin Zhilan said, "Commander Su, are you blinded by lust again?"
"Yes."
Su Lang bent down, his lips close to her ear. "Who told you to seduce me?"
Lin Zhilan wanted to retort and reached out to push him.
But he grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest.
Through his sweater, her palm felt his solid chest; his heartbeat thumped steadily, making her heart flutter.
"This time last year..."
Maintaining this position, Su Lang wrapped both arms around her from behind, pressing her slightly against the dressing table.
He wove his fingers into her hair, slowly running them back from the top of her head.
His fingertips brushed against her scalp, sending a tingling sensation through her.
Su Lang lowered his head and pressed his lips against her.
"Su Lang..."
Lin Zhilan's voice trembled. "Tomorrow is the first day of the New Year..."
Su Lang murmured an "Mm," but his lips didn't leave.
Instead, they slowly trailed up the side of her neck.
As he passed the particularly sensitive patch of skin behind her ear, he clearly felt his wife's breathing hitch for a moment.
Su Lang paused and gently nipped at that patch of skin.
Lin Zhilan's hand suddenly tightened around his wrist.
Su Lang's arm around her waist tightened, while his other hand cupped her chin, tilting it up slightly.
The halo of the room's light flickered over them, and their shadows cast on the wall merged into one.
...
The first day of the Lunar New Year.
Before the sky was fully bright, the sound of firecrackers outside had already started.
Su Lang covered his wife's ears and kissed her forehead. "Happy New Year. Sleep a little longer. I'll call you when I've made breakfast."
Hearing this, Lin Zhilan shrank back into the covers.
Being able to sleep in during the freezing winter was simply a blessing.
When she woke up again, she was roused by her daughter.
The little girl, wearing her pajamas, lay on her pillow and poked her cheek with a small hand. "Mommy, wake up."
Lin Zhilan scooped her daughter into the covers. "Five more minutes."
"One, two, three, four, five. Five minutes are up!"
Linlin wriggled around in the blankets like a little loach.
Lin Zhilan was thoroughly awakened by her fussing. She opened her eyes, looked at her daughter's bright eyes, and couldn't help but laugh. "Little rascal, you just won't let mommy sleep, will you?"
"Mommy, I'm hungry."
Lin Zhilan shook her head helplessly and sat up to dress her daughter.
The new clothes prepared last night were placed by the bed.
Inside was a red turtleneck sweater, and outside was a sapphire blue corduroy padded jacket, with a circle of snow-white lamb's wool lining the collar and cuffs.
Linlin liked it very much and couldn't help rubbing her face against it.
Her skin was naturally fair, and contrasted with the red sweater and sapphire blue jacket, her cheeks looked rosy. With her big, bright eyes, standing there, she looked just like a little lucky doll straight out of a New Year's painting.
Lin Zhilan was charmed by her daughter's cuteness and couldn't resist kissing her cheeks twice. "Go on, go downstairs and wish Grandpa, Grandma, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt a Happy New Year. Do you know how to give New Year greetings?"
"I know, I know," Linlin cupped her hands together. "Happy New Year, wishing you prosperity!"
"That's right!" Lin Zhilan smiled and clapped. "Go on, be careful going down the stairs."
"Okay!"
As soon as the little girl went out, she bumped into Jiang Chengzhou, who had just come out.
The young boy was also wearing a dark red sweater today.
Originally, Lin Zhilan had planned for him and his sister to use the same color of yarn, but he thought his sister's red was too bright and specifically chose this darker shade.
By a happy coincidence, he looked unexpectedly handsome in this color.
His face, which had tanned over the summer, had finally paled after being bundled up all winter.
Paired with the dark red sweater, he already had the air of a dashing young man.
"Brother!"
Linlin ran over. Jiang Chengzhou was about to catch her, but saw that the little girl had already stopped.
"Happy New Year, wishing you prosperity!" The little girl cupped her hands, giving her New Year greetings with beaming joy.
Jiang Chengzhou ruffled a few stubborn strands of hair sticking up on her head. "Happy New Year!"
As soon as the siblings met, they started chatting right at the door.
Of course, it was mostly Linlin chattering away endlessly.
Jiang Chengzhou listened patiently.
Finally, when Lin Zhilan came out dressed, the little girl's mouth stopped.
"Auntie, Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year to you too, Chengzhou."
On the first day of the New Year, seeing her two precious darlings put Lin Zhilan in a very cheerful mood.
"Let's go downstairs to give our New Year greetings."
Downstairs was already bustling with activity.
Xu Yueyun and Su Bingcheng were sitting on the sofa, with a fruit platter and various candies, peanuts, and melon seeds laid out on the coffee table in front of them.
Deng Jing had arrived earlier with Su Pei and Su Yao.
The two little girls were also wearing new clothes and had matching pigtails.
Su Jue and Su Lang were busy in the kitchen, so their figures were temporarily out of sight.
