Hearing the last words, Rong Lan's eyes welled up with tears. She almost burst into loud sobs in front of her aunt, but she managed to hold it back. Letting go of her aunt's arm, she waved her hand casually, pretending to be nonchalant. "Okay! Aunt, wait for me! Once I'm sure the man I've lured will come home with me, I'll come back right away!"
"All right."
In the blink of an eye, the familiar figure in front of her disappeared. Once again, she seemed to hear the steady but somewhat heavy breathing in her ear.
Chu Hengyuan tilted his head slightly to avoid the tickling sensation on his neck. "Lanlan?"
Had his little girl woken up after just a short nap? They hadn't even returned to the hotel yet. He'd thought she'd be out for a while.
Rong Lan slowly opened her eyes. Her quivering eyelashes brushed against Chu Hengyuan's neck several times, making his breathing falter for a moment.
The newly awakened little fox was completely unaware. After opening her eyes, she lifted her head and looked around sleepily, looking like she didn't know where she was.
It took the little fox a minute to pull her consciousness back from the dream to reality. She let out a long sigh. "I had another dream..."
Chu Hengyuan laughed softly. He stopped walking and adjusted the girl on his back to carry her more steadily. "What did you dream about? Was it a nice dream?"
"It was a nice dream. I dreamed about my aunt." Any dream about her family was a good one, except those involving her ambitious younger sister. "I suddenly remembered a formula my aunt once told me."
"Hmm? What formula?" he asked with a smile. He could tell that the aunt she was talking about was her real aunt, not a member of the Bai family.
"The marriage formula. My aunt said that married couples generally go through four stages. In the first stage, love outweighs responsibility. In the second stage, love is equal to responsibility. In the third stage, responsibility outweighs love. In the fourth stage, the combination of love and family affection outweighs responsibility."
Chu Hengyuan understood the meaning of this formula and slowly explained his understanding to the girl. "The first stage exists because it's the newly - married period. People get married because of love, so love takes up a large proportion. The second stage comes because the trivialities of daily life erode the initial love, and the couple begins to rely on their marital responsibilities to maintain the relationship. The third stage is similar to the so - called'seven - year itch'. This stage is most likely to breed all kinds of conflicts, and in severe cases, it may lead to divorce. The fourth stage is the balance achieved after surviving the third stage. By then, the lover has become an indispensable family member, so love and family affection are inseparable."
"Perfect explanation!" Rong Lan swayed her legs. "Brother is so smart! When I first heard this formula from my aunt, I didn't really understand it. I just thought it was interesting, so I remembered it."
Chu Hengyuan shook his head helplessly. At his age, how could he not understand such a simple formula? "But in my opinion, this formula is not a perfect one."
"Then what do you think the perfect formula is, brother?" She reached out and tugged at his collar.
"The first three stages are the same, but the fourth stage should be that love outweighs responsibility." Chu Hengyuan smiled. His gaze fell on the deserted road ahead, and his expression was far - reaching. "The first three stages are inevitable. No matter how in love a couple is, they can't guarantee that they won't have arguments or get tired of each other during decades of marriage. But in the fourth stage, I hope that love outweighs responsibility. Only a marriage like this can be considered a life well - lived."
"Brother is so greedy." It's not easy to maintain a state where love outweighs responsibility. She'd lived for five hundred years, and most of the marital relationships she'd seen fit her aunt's formula. Those that fit his formula were rare, so rare that she could count them on one hand in five hundred years.
"It's not a bad thing to be a bit greedy in this regard." Chu Hengyuan's smile was gentle. "It's a pity that this marriage formula doesn't suit us."
"There is a formula that suits us."
Chu Hengyuan was surprised. "Really? What is it like? Tell me, Lanlan."
Rong Lan cleared her throat. "In the first stage, responsibility outweighs love. In the second stage, responsibility is equal to love. In the third stage, love outweighs responsibility. A three - stage marriage formula is enough for us."
Chu Hengyuan laughed. "In Lanlan's opinion, which stage are we in now?"
Rong Lan thought for a while. "From my perspective, we're in the second stage. What do you think, brother?"
Chu Hengyuan thought seriously before answering. "The second stage as well."
Rong Lan broke into a smile. She lowered her head and wanted to rub against his shoulder. But when her face touched his clothes, she noticed that the clothes on his shoulder were wet, and the wet area was not small.
She looked confused. She reached out and touched the wet spot, then felt her mouth corner. "When I was sleeping... did I drool?!"
Chu Hengyuan glanced sideways at the little fox with drooping ears, who was doubting her life. "Did you?"
He hadn't paid attention to such a thing.
"Yes..." Rong Lan was on the verge of tears. She could clearly feel the sticky corner of her mouth. "And I've found the evidence."
She patted the wet spot on his clothes. "No, no. I'll destroy the evidence when we get back to the hotel!" She was such an adult, yet she drooled in her sleep? This kind of embarrassing history must not be left!
Chu Hengyuan was both amused and helpless. "This is my only coat."
"I'll buy you a new one!" The little fox, who didn't have much money, said boldly.
Chu Hengyuan shook his head helplessly. Given their current busy schedule, they probably wouldn't have time to go shopping for clothes.
"Are you tired, brother? Maybe I should walk for a while." Rong Lan poked the man's shoulder.
"I'm not tired. We'll probably be back at the hotel in another ten minutes. I've carried you this far, and I can carry you for the remaining ten minutes." Chu Hengyuan said with a smile.
As soon as he finished speaking, something white and fluffy floated down in front of him.
He stopped in his tracks, just standing under a street lamp. He looked up at the sky. "Lanlan, it's snowing."
Rong Lan looked up too. "It is! I can see the snowflakes!"
Chu Hengyuan didn't expect such a pleasant surprise. He didn't think it was cold enough to snow, perhaps because he was carrying someone on his back. "Lanlan, have you heard the saying 'Snow on our heads, a symbol of enduring love'?"
"Yes." Rong Lan reached out to catch the snow, but the warmth of her palm didn't allow it. The snowflakes melted into cold water as soon as they landed on her palm. "But such a sad poem doesn't suit us. We don't need the symbolic white - haired appearance created by the snow. Anyway, after many, many years, we'll surely still be together when our hair turns gray."