The little boy sheepishly scratched the back of his head, a hint of shyness on his face, clearly because Yuan Chengmo had guessed correctly.
Yuan Chengmo handed the fireworks that Qin Muni had just given him to the little boy, "Be careful when playing with fireworks."
The little boy extended his small hand to take the fireworks and nodded: "Okay. Thank you, brother. I wish you and the beautiful sister happiness and a wonderful union."
With that, he took the fireworks and ran to join his friends.
Yuan Chengmo and Qin Muni exchanged a mixed expression of laughter and tears as they watched the boy run off.
After setting off fireworks with the kids outside, the two sat on the steps at the temple’s entrance, chatting leisurely with the children.
Most of these children were left-behind children, with parents working far away and being raised by their grandparents.
They said they loved New Year the most because only during the New Year would their moms and dads come home to eat with them, chat with them, buy New Year goods with them, and buy them new clothes.
Yuan Chengmo and Qin Muni listened with heavy hearts, yet the smiles on the children’s faces were extremely bright and innocent, as if being reunited with their parents only once a year was something they had grown accustomed to.
It seems that these parents are also reluctant to leave their children, but sometimes, real life can be too cruel, and no matter how stubbornly strong you are, ultimately, you cannot escape bowing and surrendering to life.
Around eight o’clock, the children went home one by one. After a simple dinner at a small restaurant, Qin Muni and Yuan Chengmo took a tricycle back to the hotel.
Thanks to the continuous heating, the room’s temperature finally rose significantly.
Having spent nearly the entire day outside, Qin Muni and Yuan Chengmo endured a lot of cold wind. Once home, they sat side by side in front of the heater, warming their cold hands.
"Thank you for what?"
Qin Muni turned her head to look at Yuan Chengmo, her nose was red from the cold, and her snow-white skin glowed gently under the soft light.
She slowly gave Yuan Chengmo a gentle smile, with a satisfied joy spreading like faint starlight in the night on her cheeks—invitingly beautiful.
"Thank you for coming with me on this spontaneous trip."
Although the living conditions weren’t great, she was genuinely happy.
Yuan Chengmo returned her smile warmly, "Silly girl. Go take a bath, and then go to sleep. Let’s get up early tomorrow and visit the village committee."
"I’m heading back to my room."
"Okay, goodnight, Senior."
There was only one bathroom on the second floor, and both Qin Muni and Yuan Chengmo were somewhat germophobic, hence she spent considerable time cleaning the bathroom before using it.
The water heater in the bathroom was very unstable, with hot water being available intermittently, leaving Qin Muni a bit helpless.
She ended up washing her face and bathing entirely with cold water. After finishing, she quickly changed into her clothes and rushed back to her room, wrapping herself tightly in a quilt and sitting by the heater to warm up.
Yuan Chengmo was luckier than Qin Muni; there was hot water when he took his shower. After showering and leaving the bathroom, as he passed by Qin Muni’s room, the lights were already off there.
He returned to his room, nestled in bed, and looked down at the phone on the nightstand.
His and Qin Muni’s phones had been off all day.
After hesitating for a moment, he still didn’t turn on the phone, instead reaching out to turn off the room lights, staring at the ceiling absentmindedly.
Moments later, the sound of something dropping on the floor reached his ears.