Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 17

Snowball Fight

The previously unscented quilt was now infused with a faint, subtle fragrance—it was Yan Qi’s scent. Anzhi’s little feet wiggled. The person sleeping next to her was much taller, leaving a wide, open space just for her.

Comfortable, safe, and it smelled so good.

It wasn’t something she got to experience often.

Anzhi couldn’t even bear to fall asleep. Though she was getting drowsy, she kept chipping away without giving up,¹ asking question after question.

“So… is it fun to step on the snow?”

Yan Qi watched her fight to keep her heavy eyelids open, her soft lashes putting up a stubborn resistance. “It’s fun. Now hurry up and sleep,” Yan Qi said, patting her. “I’ve heard that kids who don’t sleep on time won’t grow tall…”

“Wuwu, I don’t want to not grow tall…”

Yan Qi smiled to herself and stroked the girl’s fine, soft hair. Anzhi, half-asleep, nuzzled against her palm.

“Pat my head…” she murmured in a soft, sticky voice.²

The light in Yan Qi’s eyes rippled like water,³ soft and gentle as she slowly ruffled the girl’s hair. Anzhi’s little nose twitched. With her full cheeks pressed against the pillow, she finally fell asleep.

Yan Qi propped her chin on her hand and watched her, giving her cheek a gentle poke. She has gotten a little chubbier, and a little taller, too.

The twins, however, were much bigger than her. They’d been getting along with her well recently, always trying to pull her along to play. Anzhi would just puff out her apple face,⁴ her expression seeming to say, “Why are they so childish yet taller than me? Do I have to play with them just because they’re taller?”

Pfft. Yan Qi’s eyes curved into crescents. It was amazing how much she could brain supplement⁵ from that one look on Anzhi’s face.

Anzhi had been a little happier lately. She would occasionally voice her own thoughts and even act a little spoiled with her.

Yan Qi sighed softly, gazing at the girl’s sleeping face.

Just grow up by my side like this, Taotao. Don’t remember any of the unhappy things.

Winter mornings were cold, so everyone decided to laze in bed⁶ for a while. After brushing her teeth with warm water, Anzhi took the warm, damp towel Yan Qi handed her and wiped her face. The moist steam felt wonderful against her skin.

Once she was done, Anzhi trotted to the door to wait for Yan Qi. The snow had indeed stopped, just as she’d hoped. They had to get downstairs quickly. As soon as breakfast was over, they could go play.

“Wait, come here. You need to put on some lotion.”

Yan Qi dabbed two dots of cream on Anzhi’s cheeks, and Anzhi used her little hands to rub it in.

Yan Qi then squeezed out some hand cream and rubbed it on the girl’s hands.

Auntie Xin had reminded her that Anzhi wasn’t used to such cold weather and was worried she might get chilblains.⁷

So Yan Qi had bought a set of children’s face cream and hand cream. She had Anzhi put it on every morning and night. It even had a milky scent, which Anzhi loved.

After she finished, she didn’t forget to remind Yan Qi, “What about you?”

Yan Qi smiled. “Okay, I’ll put some on, too.”

After breakfast, the children were bundled up thickly, wearing hats and gloves, their faces barely suppressing expressions that were eager to give it a try.

Finally, one of the adults gave the word: “You can go play outside for half an hour.”

The moment the door opened, the twins cheered and ran out.

Unlike the twins’ boisterous excitement, Anzhi walked into the courtyard with a sense of wonder and curiosity. The moment she left the warmth of the house, she was met with a blast of air so cold it was biting.

A world of silver-white stretched out before her.

Anzhi’s face felt a little stiff. She looked down, wiggled her little boots, and took a step.

That white stuff… it’s a bit like salt. Lots and lots of salt… or maybe white cotton candy?

Anzhi tried her best to think of how to describe it.

She stomped down hard, and it made a crunch, crunch sound. It was so much fun! She laughed and turned to look for Yan Qi.

Yan Qi had appeared behind her at some point. She didn’t seem to feel the cold at all, dressed only in a thick, black turtleneck sweater, long pants, and boots. Her hair was down, and her lacquer-black eyes held a rippling smile as she watched her.

The dark clouds on the horizon had parted, and a sliver of sunlight crept out, just bright enough to be dazzling.

“Little Aunt,⁸ Little Aunt… take this!” Yan Da Pang packed a snowball and hurled it at Yan Qi.

Yan Qi didn’t even blink. She took one long stride to the side and dodged it easily.

“Ah! Again! Little brother! You too!” Yan Da Pang called to Yan Xiao Pang, and they both started throwing small snowballs at her.

Anzhi watched, stunned. Yan Qi just laughed. “Alright, you’re bold, aren’t you? How dare you attack your aunt?!”

With her long legs and tall frame, she dodged left and right. Not a single snowball hit her, and soon the twins were panting from exhaustion.

Anzhi was so busy watching that she didn’t see a snowball flying her way. It hit her square on, and she lost her balance, falling onto the snow with a plop.

Yan Xiao Pang burst out laughing. Seeing that he’d finally hit a target, Yan Da Pang threw another one at her.

Before Anzhi could react, it hit her little face. “Wuwu,” she cried, covering her face as bits of snow trickled down her neck.

Yan Da Pang was laughing triumphantly when a snowball smacked him right in the face. He yelped, and a moment later, Yan Xiao Pang yelped as he got hit, too.

Yan Qi was suddenly in front of Anzhi, brushing the snow off her and pulling her to her feet. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You hit them back.”

The twins weren’t upset about being hit. They just laughed. “Come on, come on! We’re not afraid of you!”

Anzhi angrily grabbed a handful of snow, copied them by packing it into a ball, and threw it. But she had no strength; the snowball barely arced through the air before it fell pathetically at her feet, lacking follow-through.⁹

…Hahahahaha…

The twins clutched their stomachs, roaring with laughter.

Even Yan Qi couldn’t help but want to laugh.

Anzhi’s little face was already flushed red from the cold, but now it turned an even deeper shade of red from the sheer jiong (囧).¹⁰ Yan Qi laughed and created a diversion, throwing a handful of snow at the boys. The twins started shouting and screaming as they dodged.

The three of them played together, with Yan Qi shielding Anzhi behind her. A smile finally appeared on Anzhi’s face as she clutched the hem of Yan Qi’s clothes, hiding from the twins’ sneak attacks.

Laughter and shouts filled the air.

Suddenly, Yan Qi cried out, “Aiya!” A snowball hit her, and she fell backward into the snow.

The twins froze, thinking they’d actually hurt her.

Terrified, Anzhi whimpered and crawled over, reaching out to touch Yan Qi’s face.

She saw Yan Qi’s long eyelashes resting against her cheeks, her face dotted with delicate snowflakes. Just as Anzhi’s lower lip began to tremble, Yan Qi opened her eyes and gave her a quick wink. Anzhi’s round eyes darted back and forth. She swallowed her sob, grabbed a handful of snow, and lay down beside her.

The twins waited a moment, but when Yan Qi didn’t get up, they ran over anxiously.

“Aunt! Aunt!” The two little meatballs¹¹ waddled over. The second they got close, Anzhi and Yan Qi jumped up in unison and threw huge handfuls of snow, each one hitting a twin with perfect coordination.

“Haha!” Anzhi finally laughed.

The twins threw themselves at Yan Qi, whining playfully. She wrapped one arm around both of them and used her other to pull Anzhi close.

Anzhi buried her face in Yan Qi’s embrace.

She had left half of an embrace¹² just for her.

Next, they built a snowman together. Anzhi had never built one before and couldn’t help at all. She just watched as the aunt and her two nephews bustled about, and before long, a snowman stood before them.

Stones for eyes, a red carrot for a nose, and twigs for arms and a little mouth.

Yan Da Pang even took off his own scarf to wrap around the snowman, and Yan Xiao Pang found his hat to put on it.

Yan Qi had the three children stand around the snowman and took a few pictures. Their little faces were all red from the cold as they grinned for her camera, showing all their teeth.

After taking a few shots, she let them go play again. Yan Da Pang and Yan Xiao Pang happily started rolling around and wrestling in the snow.

She kept the camera, aiming it at Anzhi. The girl was dressed in a padded jacket and little boots, with a big yarn pom-pom on top of her hat. Her face was tiny, with two pink circles blushed onto her cheeks by the cold.

She stood next to the snowman, looking up at it for a moment before crouching down to pat some more snow onto its body.

Then she took off one glove and tentatively touched the snow with her bare hand. It seemed to sting with cold, and she pulled back, but her curiosity won. She took off both gloves and scooped up a small handful.

Yan Qi smiled from behind the lens, snapping several pictures. Then she called out, “Taotao.”

Hearing her name, Anzhi looked over.

Yan Qi quickly captured the shot. Then she beckoned her over and made her put her gloves back on.

“You can’t do that, you’ll catch a cold.” And you might get chilblains.

She packed a small ball of snow, found two leaves, and stuck them on either side. It looked just like a snow rabbit.

“Here, this is for you.”

“Wow…” Anzhi’s eyes went wide.

“Alright, it’s too cold. Let’s go inside. They’ll need to shovel the snow soon.” Yan Qi called Yan Da Pang and Yan Xiao Pang over and told them to go in.

“But… she’ll melt,” Anzhi said, holding the “little snow rabbit” Yan Qi had made for her, unable to part with it.

Ah. Yan Qi hadn’t thought of that.

“Then let’s leave her outside, okay?”

Anzhi stroked it and nodded reluctantly. She placed it next to the snowman, looking back with every step she took.

Yan Qi took her hand. Seeing the girl’s expression made her own heart melt. She crouched down and said, “There will be more in the future. We can play whenever it snows, okay?”

Anzhi had just given her a sweet smile when her nose started to tickle, and she let out a huge sneeze.

Without a second thought, Yan Qi scooped her up. “Inside, now. Don’t catch a cold.”

---

---