Jinde stirred and hummed before finally opening his eyes. Staring at the wall opposite, he faintly raised his brows and turned to look over his shoulder. For once, his husband wasn’t lying next to him, holding him in his arms, but had instead sat up and was looking toward the courtyard. “What’s the matter, darling?”

Leng Jin Yu pulled out of his thoughts and leaned down, gathering Jinde into his arms and gently kissing him. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Mn.” Jinde reached up and wrapped his arms around Leng Jin Yu’s neck, his lips curving into a smile. “I did. Did you not? Why are you already up?”

“It’s snowing. It … made me think of the past.” After regaining his memories from his past life, it was sometimes odd to think back. Both lives were obviously linked and yet, they often felt completely separate because the memories of the first had been missing for the larger part of the second.

When he thought of snowy days in his current life, he would sometimes think back to his childhood when he had been wandering around. Those ten years he had often been on his own hadn’t been easy and compared to the occasional winter in the immortal realms, snowfall was a more regular matter in the mortal realm. At the very least, it had been in the part of the realm where he grew up.

Now, those harsh days of freezing temperatures that would chill him to the bone, the bitingly cold wind his robes couldn’t protect him against, and the constant worry about finding enough to eat to last those few months contended with the warm memories of his previous life. The body that would hardly feel the cold but could be wrapped in a warm robe and a cape with a fur collar anyway, the palace full of splendor where someone would make warm soup for them to warm up after an extended time outside in the cold … and the little junior martial brother who ran after him, not wanting to leave his side for even a moment.

The disparity was so large, it was sometimes difficult to believe that he had indeed experienced both. He didn’t think about it often but sometimes, those thoughts would surface. This was especially true since their child had been born.

Xiang Ling was still incredibly small. He couldn’t even walk yet. This meant that there were many experiences he made for the first time. Today’s snowfall was one of them and as a result, it reminded him of the past. His own first snow … he couldn’t remember it. He did have a vague recollection of the first snow Qiu Ling had seen back in his past life but … it was a fleeting impression. He definitely hadn’t paid as much attention as he should have. There were other memories related to the winter though.

Jinde watched his expression and finally cupped his cheek, caressing his skin with his thumb. “Looks like those memories are bad. Why not stop thinking about it? Instead, how about thinking of how to spend today? It’s the first snowfall Xiang Ling will get to see. Should we do something special?”

Leng Jin Yu couldn’t help but smile. He leaned closer until his forehead touched Jinde’s and hummed. “Every day is special as long as it is spent with you.”

Jinde laughed. “Oi! What’s with the sweet-talking today? Are you trying to make amends for something? You know you don’t have to.” He tilted his head and kissed him before curling up in his arms. “Anyway, let’s just go and take a walk. Xiang Ling is still so small, he likely won’t remember anyway so today is more about us than him.”

Leng Jin Yu gave a hum, his fingers brushing through Jinde’s hair. “Where do you want to go?” They were still living in the dragon king’s palace, right next to the one Qiu Ling and Jing He were occupying. Usually, they would invite the younger couple but … those two were currently out traveling as well and neither of them thought they should disturb the world of two people. The two of them had gone through enough and deserved some alone time. Going to visit them where they were currently staying didn’t seem like a good idea.

Jinde pondered for a while, grabbing a strand of Leng Jin Yu’s black hair and twirling it around his finger. “Let’s not go too far away. We don’t know whether Xiang Ling likes the weather yet. How about giving it a test in the courtyard first and then just making our way through the city?”

Leng Jin Yu nodded. “Why not? With the first snow of the year, it should be exciting.”

“Alright, let’s get up then.” Jinde patted his husband’s chest but still leaned in for another kiss before pushing him off.

Leng Jin Yu laughed, got out of bed, and pulled Jinde along. “Is this you being eager to go out or being reluctant?”

Jinde shook his head at him and went to look through the chest where he kept his robes. “Oh, I’m always eager to spend time with you, no matter the place. As for today …” He picked one of his purple robes and held it up, pursing his lips. “I suppose I’m more eager to go out than to stay in? It is special in a way, after all.” Not to mention that he could finally go out again. After all the time he had stayed hidden in the past, without seeing a single soul for years, he indeed longed to go outside more than he ever had.

Plus, since Qiu Ling was married to the love of his life now, they had no reason to hide his identity any longer. This meant that he could go out with his husband and their child in an above-board manner and didn’t have to lie about who he was any longer. How could he not want that?

Leng Jin Yu nodded and hugged him from behind. “That robe looks nice.”

Jinde hummed. “Then I suppose I should wear it. You choose something nice for Xiang Ling as well.”

Leng Jin Yu pecked his cheek before he let go and went to the room next to their bedroom that was designated for Xiang Ling, checking the drawer over there. If Jinde wore that purple robe … then he should probably choose something similar for their son.

Even if his husband didn’t say anything, he knew how much he loved finally having the family he always wished for. He definitely loved playing it up a little. Wearing a cute family outfit was something he longed to do but he usually held back so as to not overwhelm him and later on Xiang Ling. To be honest, Leng Jin Yu didn’t mind. If it made Jinde happy, he’d wear whatever his husband chose. Not to mention that today was a special day so why wouldn’t they celebrate that a little? After all, even though it might be a small milestone, it was still one they had only managed to reach after so much trouble. They ought to do a little something for that.

He searched through the chest for a while and finally found a purple robe that had a bird embroidered on it. It was likely supposed to be a crane but it had turned out especially plump and fluffy, looking a lot more like a weirdly-legged goose. Leng Jin Yu looked at it for a while, his lips twitching. His husband certainly had an interesting sense of taste when it came to their child. Although he understood where that came from. It was a bit cute.

He shook his head and then went to take a look at Xiang Ling. The child was still young. With a half-blood, it was always difficult to judge what a certain age meant but from the looks of it, Xiang Ling took more after Jinde’s side of the family.

Well, maybe the fact that he himself had been a dragon in his past life and had merged part of his dragon soul with his human soul had influenced this a little as well. Such cases were rare enough that neither he nor Jinde had any idea if it had changed anything. They would never find out either but he was alright with that. As long as they kept a close eye on Xiang Ling and monitored how the child grew, this shouldn’t cause any issues, after all.

Right now, Xiang Ling was still sleeping soundly, not even having noticed that someone had come in. Looking at his peaceful sleeping face, Leng Jin Yu couldn’t quite bring himself to wake his son up. To be honest, they were extremely lucky with Xiang Ling. This child hadn’t made any trouble and learned to sleep through the night early on. Compared to the ruckus Qiu Ling had sometimes caused when he was a newborn, he was so silent that Leng Jin Yu sometimes even woke up at night and had to check on Xiang Ling because he was afraid something bad had happened.

When Leng Jin Yu didn’t come back after a few minutes, Jinde raised his brows and walked over, poking his head into the room. Seeing his husband kneeling on the ground, just looking at their child with a smile, he couldn’t help but walk over and lean down, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “That engrossed in the little one?”

Leng Jin Yu raised his head and smiled before motioning down. “Can you blame me? Just look at him. He’s beautiful.”

“Well … his father is the greatest beauty of the dragon race.”

Leng Jin Yu chuckled faintly, grabbed Jinde’s hand, and raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss on top. “He sure is.”

They both fell silent afterward, just looking at the child.

Jinde continued to hold onto Leng Jin Yu, entwining his fingers at the front and leaning down until his chin rested on his husband’s shoulder. To be honest, as interesting as going out and joining in the excitement of the first snowfall of the year was, sharing this kind of quiet moment with each other was also a special kind of happiness. He kind of … didn’t want to disturb it.

He kept quiet for a while longer and then tilted his head until his lips almost touched Leng Jin Yu’s earlobe. “Actually, right now, I am a little reluctant to go out after all.”

“I know.” He honestly felt the same. “Then … how about just staying in until he wakes up? I mean, it’s not going to be too late if it’s in an hour or two. His first snowfall is going to be whenever we go out with him, right?”

“Mn.” Jinde leaned forward and rubbed his face against Leng Jin Yu’s. “Do you want to change clothes first or just wait here?”

Leng Jin Yu reached up and covered his husband’s hands which were still folded in front of his chest. “Do you want me to leave?” Jinde had already changed while he went to get something for Xiang Ling to wear. Meanwhile, he who had been up first among the three of them was still in his inner robe. When he woke up, he just hadn’t wanted to move out of bed.

Being able to wake up to Jinde’s face hadn’t gotten boring even after so much time together. On the contrary, every day he opened his eyes, he would just gaze at him for a while, feeling a sense of contentment and … gratitude well up inside of him. He knew that this wasn’t just because he was in love with him but that this was in part due to him dying once and finding the one he loved again. Even if he hadn’t been able to remember at first, those memories were contained in his soul and the feeling wouldn’t just vanish.

He had gotten close to losing him forever, to missing out on all those hopes and dreams. Being able to wake up again, to open his eyes and see that sleeping face in front of him, to hold the one he loved in his arms and know that he was not just alive but well … it was a reminder that things had been turned around against all odds.

Apart from that, there was also the fact that Jinde’s expression while asleep was relaxed. It hadn’t always been. There had been times after their reunion when he was stressed and worried and his brows would scrunch up even while he dreamed. But now, things were looking up. The pain of the past would never be completely forgotten as they had lost too much for that but it was indeed in the past. Even subconsciously, they both felt that.

Jinde chuckled and kissed his cheek but still let go of him. “Come back soon. I’ll wait here.”

Leng Jin Yu gave a hum, turned around, and pulled Jinde into his arms. He just wanted to hold him for a moment. It might seem ridiculous since they were almost always together but … he indeed couldn’t help but reach out to him and touch him whenever there was a chance.

Jinde laughed and patted his chest. “Alright, you hurry up. It’s not like I’ll run off while you’re changing clothes.”

“I didn’t think you wanted to.” Leng Jin Yu leaned closer and kissed his lips before finally letting go. He still looked at him for a moment longer before he left the room though.

Jinde stayed behind and shook his head, laughing to himself. Sometimes, it felt as if the two of them hadn’t been married for several years by now but had instead just gotten married a few days ago or even just fallen in love.

In short, they had that type of energy you often saw in young couples even though they were likely the furthest from that kind of relationship as you could be. It would have been more apt to describe Qiu Ling and Jing He that way. But then, maybe this was what happened when you were given a second chance. Maybe by going through everything they had gone through, they had also gained a new appreciation for everything that would always stay with them. He sure hoped that was the case.

While Jinde was quietly thinking to himself, Leng Jin Yu got ready for the day as well before returning to the room. The two of them sat quietly, just embracing each other while looking at their son.

When the little one finally woke up, another two hours had gone by. Jinde happily changed his clothes and then, the family of three made their way out into the courtyard to see how the child liked the snow before setting foot outside the palace and walking through the streets of the capital city.

Comparing this day to the past from all those years ago, it seemed as if they had finally arrived where they should be. Even if it was late, that couldn’t diminish the happiness they felt at this time. No matter what, it seemed that good things still came to those who were willing to wait.