Jinde stood under the eaves of the curved roof, looking up at the sky and the fluffy white snowflakes that quietly tumbled toward the ground. The breeze picked them up and pulled them higher again when they were halfway down, sometimes making them land on the roof of the small gazebo or on one of the plants he had grown in the garden.

As a snowflake, you really couldn’t be sure you’d reach your destination. But then, even as a dragon, the goal you set for yourself might be impossible to achieve. Wasn’t life just like that?

Before he could follow that thought any further, a small figure rushed toward him from behind, running into his leg at full speed, and hurriedly hugging him. “Dad!”

Jinde lowered his gaze and raised his golden brows. “What’s the matter, little angel?” He reached down, his fingers brushing through Jin Ling’s copper-colored hair. The child looked especially excited today, his eyes glimmering with joy or maybe expectation.

“It’s snowing!” Jin Ling pointed outside as if to make sure that his father didn’t mistakenly believe that this miraculous event might be happening inside.

Jinde laughed and stooped down, picking the little dumpling up and holding him in his arms. “Mn, it does!” Come to think of it, it hadn’t snowed the last few years so this was the first time after a long absence that Jin Ling got to witness this. No wonder he was excited. “You like it?”

Jin Ling nodded and happily hugged Jinde’s neck. He wasn’t very old, barely fifty years which was nothing for any of the immortal races. Still, he had seen snow fall several times throughout his life and he very vividly remembered every one of them. Why was that? Of course, it was because Jinde would always take a few days off from the tiresome work of being king and play with him when the first snow fell. During those days, he had his father all to himself. How could he not be excited to finally see snow again?

Jinde looked at the snow-covered courtyard and his lips finally curved up. The low mood from before was swept away after seeing his little dumpling and he instead thought of the happier times of his life. Winter, that was definitely a time that was very exciting for young dragons. He had been that way and Qiu Ling had been the same. Now, Jin Ling showed exactly the same excitement. How could he not fulfill his son’s wishes?

“Well … since there is snow, what do you want to do first? Build a little snow dragon? Or maybe a snow palace? We could also go sledding.” Honestly, there were a lot of things to do after the first snow fell. It had even snowed a lot today, so they had even more options.

Jin Ling had no idea what he wanted to do. Or maybe it was better to say that he didn’t care. It was alright as long as they spent time together. The more time was spent, the better! In that case … “Can we build a snow palace with a snow dragon? Or … or maybe two snow dragons?”

Jinde raised his brows again. “Two of them? Well, that would be for the best. One snow dragon would be sad if he had to be alone, wouldn’t he?”

Jin Ling nodded. He would definitely be sad if he couldn’t spend time with his father so the same had to be true for snow dragons.

Jinde laughed and carried the little one into the courtyard. “Let’s build them here? That way, you can see them every day as soon as you wake up.”

Jin Ling happily nodded again. This meant that if it snowed more, the two of them could add more dragons and palaces if they wanted!

Jinde had no idea that his son was already planning future adventures and carefully put him down on the ground. “Alright, where exactly do you want to build them?” He didn’t want to decide everything for Jin Ling. It was much more meaningful to let the child choose for himself.

Jin Ling looked around and then motioned to the right side of the courtyard.

“There?”

“Mn! Then you can see them if you open the window.” Jin Ling excitedly grabbed Jinde’s hand and tugged to pull him over.

Jinde followed with a smile on his lips. The child was still small so he naturally lived in the same suite of rooms as him. He was big enough to sleep on his own though so Jin Ling already had his own room dedicated to him. Of course, this child was so clingy that he seldom went there and would usually come running while holding a blanket every evening, squeezing into his bed instead. It seemed like this was once again his intention this time.

Well, if the child wanted to, then let him. He had gone through a lot to have this child. If Jin Ling could cling to him a little longer, he’d only be happy and never feel annoyed. Soon enough, this son of his would grow up and might not want to spend as much time together. Then, wouldn’t he regret it if he hadn’t made use of the time he was given while he was still young? Yes, these moments were all precious and he cherished every single one of them. If there could be more, he’d happily take all of them.

The two of them stopped on the right-hand side of the courtyard and Jin Ling ran this way and that way for a bit until he felt that he had found the perfect spot. He excitedly jumped a few times, motioning at the place where he stood. “This is where the palace should be!”

Jinde nodded, grabbed a handful of snow, and formed it into a ball, putting it down right in front of where Jin Ling stood. “Then this is the first brick used to build it. Now, what should your palace look like?” He crouched down in front of him, patiently waiting for Jin Ling to make up his mind. Anyway, this snow palace with its two snow dragons didn’t have to be finished today. They could build a part today and then another part tomorrow. From the looks of it, the snow would keep for a few weeks.

Jin Ling thought for a bit and then began forming a few snowballs as well, putting them a little further away from the first one Jinde had put down. “Well, it should be this big!”

Jinde nodded. “Alright, then that’s how big it’ll be. Do we just fill in the rest of the floor between them now?”

Jin Ling thought for a while and finally nodded. That sounded like a good idea. “Let’s do that!” Then, he started running around, gathering snow again.

Jinde smiled and waved his hand, causing a breeze to blow and transport some of the snow from the other side of the courtyard over to them. That way, the little one wouldn’t have to run as far. Having done that, he just started forming more snowballs, putting them at the side.

Even though this was called building a snow palace together, the child would make the decisions and he would just be a helper. So, doing some preparatory tasks was just right. For example, creating the building blocks for his child to get creative.

Ah, it sure was nice not having to think for a while and just being able to do something with his hands. If possible, he would have loved to do this more often. In fact, maybe by the time Jin Ling grew up, he should start looking for a successor and stop this business of being king.

To be honest, it would have been even better if he didn’t have to continue taking care of government affairs right now but … actually finding a suitable successor would be hard enough. Looking for one on top of his regular responsibilities was just asking to tire himself out and he’d rather keep that extra energy for Jin Ling. So, even though he genuinely had no desire to be king any longer, his actual retirement would have to wait until his son had grown up at least a little.

Jinde looked at the child who was excitedly running from side to side, picking up patches of snow everywhere and forming them into snowballs that he would then carry over to their provisional markings of the palace’s shape. Jin Ling was the person he got up for every morning, the reason he still went on even though he had been disappointed by life over and over again. He honestly wasn’t sure where he would currently be if he hadn’t had this child.

Most likely, he would have given up his position as king. Then, he would have left the capital city which reminded him of so many good but even more so of the many bad times he had experienced here. As for where he would go … he couldn’t tell. Maybe he would have settled down somewhere in the mortal realm where nobody knew him. Or maybe he would have traveled incessantly, never staying in one place for long and never getting attached to others again.

Now, it was much better. He had a home and a family. Even though both had turned out very different from how he had once imagined them, he was happy.

Jinde reached out and rubbed Jin Ling’s head.

The small child looked up in confusion but then, his eyes lit up and he threw himself into Jinde’s arms. “Dad!”

Jinde gave a hum and lowered his head, kissing the soft hair. “Are you having fun?”

“Mn!”

“Well, me too. Let’s make it a big palace. As big as we can!”

Jin Ling nodded fervently and let go, putting the four corner snowballs further away from the one in the middle.

Jinde watched quietly, his lips curving even further. That was probably as big as the child thought the snow palace could be. Well, this way, it would be big enough for him to lie down inside so … he was likely right. In fact, maybe he should help him make it a bit sturdier so he could indeed sit in there. Most likely, it would be fun for the child.

Having made up his mind, Jinde motioned at the snowballs he had prepared. “I’ve made quite a few. Do you want to start laying the foundation?”

Jin Ling nodded again and seriously picked up the snowball lying on top of the small pyramid. He seriously looked around and then waddled over to the center stone, carefully putting the new one down next to it.

Jinde made a show of clapping his hands, his eyes curving into crescents. “Great! I can see that our snow palace is coming together beautifully. Don’t give up now, little angel!”

Jin Ling beamed and ran back, giving him a hug before picking up the next snowball. After putting it down, the sequence of actions was repeated without the slightest deviation.

Jinde watched the child play, his eyes sparkling with amusement. Hopefully, Jin Ling wouldn’t get dizzy if he ran around like this. But then, they could probably just take a break if he did. Silently shaking his head, he turned to the side and continued forming snowballs. When the snow around him had been used up, he waved his hand again, blowing over the layer that had once again settled on the other side of the courtyard before continuing.

With Jinde’s prep work, Jin Ling didn’t even have to run around to make snowballs himself and only ran the short distance between the snowball pyramid and the snow palace, slowly filling up the shape he had laid out. Soon, the foundation of the snow palace had been finished and the parent and child continued working upward.

“Oh, don’t forget to put a door and windows into your palace, little angel.” Jinde gently brushed through Jin Ling’s copper-colored hair, motioning to where the third side of the palace had just received the last snowball on the first line with no gap. If Jin Ling really forgot, then this would only be fun to look at but couldn’t actually be entered.

Jin Ling moved his head to rub against Jinde’s hand and then looked at the start of their snow building in contemplation. Finally, he moved two snowballs to the final side, putting them down a hand or two apart. “Then this could be the door?”

Jinde smiled. “Well, do you want to be able to go inside or just look at it?” He personally had no stake in this at his height but Jin Ling might prefer the latter.

Jin Ling pondered for a moment and then looked up at Jinde, silently judging the difference in height. It seemed like … even if he made it big enough to get inside, it would have to be very big for both of them to fit in there. “I don’t think there is enough snow for that.”

Jinde raised his brows. “No? But there is going to be more falling soon.”

“Enough for a whole palace?” Jin Ling doubted it a bit. They had managed to create the first layer alright but he didn’t think that there was that much snow. But then … maybe they could get more snow from outside? After all, there wasn’t just this courtyard. If they got more snow from other courtyards, it might indeed be enough. It was just … “Do you think others would let us borrow their snow? Even if the palace will only be for us?”

Jinde looked at his child oddly, not sure which part to react to first. “Well … I’m sure not everyone needs the snow in their courtyard so sure, some of them should. But does the palace need to be that big? I’d be happy even if only you fit inside.”

Jin Ling immediately shook his head though. “That’s no fun!” What did he need a palace for if his dad didn’t fit inside?

Jinde laughed and hugged the child. “You know, I could always stay right outside while you stay inside. As long as there is a window, does it matter?”

Jin Ling suddenly wasn’t sure anymore what was the right or wrong way to go about this. It seemed like they indeed didn’t need to both stay in the palace to spend time together …

Jinde watched him struggle and chuckled to himself. This child of his was so cute! “Well, you don’t have to decide immediately. Anyway, building something takes a lot of time but we’ve already finished the foundation of your palace. That’s pretty good. It means we can take our time to think the next steps through. So … how about having a break in the meantime?”

“A break?” Jin Ling wasn’t sure if that sounded nice. Did a break still mean spending time together?

Jinde nodded. “Mn. We can go inside and sit down for a while and maybe eat something to warm up. You know, your dad learned a great recipe for soup from his Master’s wife. That’ll warm you up in no time!”

Jin Ling didn’t really care about the temperature either way but still nodded. As long as they were both together, that was enough. He extended his short arms, quietly asking to be carried inside.

Jinde laughed and picked him up, getting to his feet. “Well, let’s go then! You’ll see that I’m not promising too much. It’s tasty. Your dad’s skills in the kitchen aren’t bad, are they?”

Jin Ling shook his head. “They’re great!” He had sometimes eaten the things his father made, although there often wasn’t time for that. This moment needed to be cherished!

Jinde laughed again. “Well, my little angel always knows how to speak nicely. Then dad will put in extra effort just for you!” He stepped back into the suite of rooms and put the little dumpling on a chair while he checked whether he had all the ingredients he needed, then he started to prepare while Jin Ling watched.

Maybe there weren’t many positive memories left for him in this place but the ones he had needed to be shared with Jin Ling for sure. Doing so meant making new ones that could be counted among the best he had and the child would also have something good to look back on when he one day reached an age when not everything would be playing and taking breaks anymore. At that time, he wanted him to think back on all the good things they had shared so he would know that he always had a place to come back to, no matter what else happened in the future.