The little fox cub immediately rolled his eyes. At exactly the same moment, Rong Ye rolled his eyes too. The movements were perfectly synchronized.

Su Qinglan stared for a second before bursting into laughter. It was unbelievable. The little fox cub was practically a miniature Rong Ye.

The same expression, the same attitude. Even the same eye roll. The resemblance was almost frightening.

Meanwhile, the little fox cub continued staring longingly at the roasted lamb leg.

Rong Ye noticed immediately. A mischievous smile spread across his face. He picked up a piece of roasted lamb and carefully blew on it.

The little fox cub’s eyes lit up. Finally, his father had regained some common sense. He immediately opened his mouth and waited expectantly.

However, Rong Ye completely ignored him. Instead, he turned around and fed the meat directly to Su Qinglan.

"Lanlan, eat."

The little fox cub froze. His entire body froze. It felt as though his tiny heart had shattered into countless pieces.

He knew it. His father was unreliable. The little fox cub looked as though he was about to cry. The adults instantly burst into laughter. Even the older brothers struggled to contain themselves.

Finally, the pitiful little fellow tugged on Su Qinglan’s sleeve.

Only then did her heart soften. Smiling helplessly, she fed him a piece of roasted lamb. The little fox cub immediately forgot all of his grievances. His tail nearly wagged with happiness.

As far as he was concerned, food solved everything.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yi, Xiao Er, and Xiao San had already started eating on their own. They happily devoured their meals without causing any trouble.

Not long afterward, Little Stove ran in from the courtyard. Soon after, Little Hua came hopping inside as well. The tiny flower spirit looked particularly energetic today.

Ever since receiving her name, she had become noticeably happier. Little Hua, it was a simple name. Yet one she treasured dearly.

Before long, everyone had gathered around the table.

The warm stone house was filled with laughter, chatter, and the comforting sounds of family.

Outside, the cold wind continued to blow.

Inside, warmth and happiness remained. After dinner, the cubs gradually became sleepy. One by one, little yawns appeared around the table until their eyelids could no longer stay open.

Eventually, everyone returned to their rooms.

The lights were extinguished. The house slowly fell silent.

Outside, the first snowflake finally drifted down from the sky.

Then another.

And another.

Countless white flakes descended from the heavens, slowly and silently covering the world beneath a blanket of white.

Winter had officially arrived.

Far away from Dragon Beast City, hidden beneath the falling snow, several tiny figures quietly moved forward.

Small dragging marks stretched across the snow-covered ground, accompanied by a trail of tiny footprints.

One small voice whispered nervously, "Do you think she is really here? We didn’t come to the wrong place, right?"

The group came to a stop. Another tiny figure lifted its head and gazed toward the distant city shining beneath the snowfall.

After a moment, it nodded firmly.

"Yes. She must be here."

Snow continued falling from the sky, quietly concealing their tracks as the mysterious visitors moved closer and closer to Dragon Beast City.

***

The first one to wake up that morning was not Hu Yan. It was Xiao Yi...or more accurately, it was Xiao Yi’s tail.

The little tiger cub was still sleeping soundly, but his tail had somehow slipped out from beneath the blanket and landed directly against the cold stone wall.

The moment it touched the freezing surface, the little tiger cub jumped awake with a loud roar that instantly startled everyone in the room.

Xiao Er rolled off the bed; Xiao San sat upright like a startled rabbit; the lion cub accidentally headbutted the fox cub, and the fox cub screamed while the lion cub screamed even louder.

"Awooo."

"Awooo."

The wolf twins began howling because everyone else was making noise, and within seconds the children’s room had descended into complete chaos.

Meanwhile, in the next room, Hu Yan slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, listening to the sounds coming from the cubs’ room.

Something crashed, something else fell, a cub howled dramatically, and another cub shouted that someone had stepped on his tail.

Hu Yan closed his eyes again, hoping that if he ignored them long enough, they would solve their own problems, but that was wishful thinking.

A moment later the door burst open and Xiao Yi rushed inside, his face full of excitement, his hair looking like a bird’s nest.

"Father! Father!" he cried.

"What?" Hu Yan asked.

"Look outside!"

Hu Yan frowned, wondering what could be so special about outside, but the next moment all the cubs squeezed through the doorway behind Xiao Yi, even the incubator somehow appearing as nobody knew who had dragged it there.

Xiao San proudly stood beside it and declared, "My little sister also wants to look." Hu Yan pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking that of course she did...naturally, and at this point nothing surprised him anymore.

Hu Yan’s gaze fell on the sleeping Su Qinglan, who was still snuggled inside the layers of hides to keep herself warm, and then looking at the cubs, he immediately urged them to go outside so they wouldn’t disturb their mother’s sleep.

Han Jue had already gotten up and walked toward the window. The moment he looked outside, even he paused slightly.

The entire world had turned white with snow everywhere. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The courtyard was buried beneath thick snow, the rooftops were covered, the fences had disappeared, and the trees looked like giant white mushrooms as snowflakes continued drifting down from the sky.

The snow outside was deeper than Xiao Yi himself. The cubs immediately rushed toward the window, and then all of them froze, their mouths slowly opening in a synchronized "Wooooow" that echoed through the room.

For several seconds nobody moved, not even the fox cub, who looked shocked after all since this was his first time seeing snow too.

The little lion cub pressed his face against the window, the wolf twins’ tails wagged so hard their entire bodies shook, and Xiao San looked like he had discovered treasure.