Before leaving, William Carter carefully closed the door for her—he really didn’t want that group of “flies” to just wander in and rummage around.

From here to the backyard, you still had to go around the front yard. It seemed that after she tucked the blanket around him, she ran over there.

The distance wasn’t long, but by the time William Carter reached the backyard, a thin layer of snow dust had already settled on his shoulders, and the snowfall was getting heavier.

Noticing his footsteps, the girl curled up on the chair turned her head to glance at him, then silently looked away.

Crunching through the thick snow, William Carter walked up to her. “Why did you come out here?”

Without turning to look at him, the girl with her back to him spoke in a slightly hoarse, quiet voice: “Just feeling a bit annoyed. It’s quieter back here.”

Breathing out a cloud of white, William Carter looked around and realized it was unusually cold here. If not for the awning overhead, he might not have found the little girl already covered by snow.

“I had a hard time finding you.” William Carter stood beside her, looking at Ethan Lane’s youthful profile and her reddened nose, and said softly, “It’s really cold here, let’s go back.”

Ethan Lane stubbornly lowered her head, not letting William Carter see her tear-stained face. “I’ll go back in a bit.”

William Carter shook his head. “Let’s go back now, it’s pretty cold out…”

“Can you stop being so annoying?!”

The girl, head down, suddenly burst out in frustration, lifting her head to glare at him. Her voice, clearly hoarse from crying, was so loud it startled even herself.

William Carter just looked at her in silence, neither angry nor arguing, which made her eyes redden again.

She lowered her head quietly, choking out, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you, I’m sorry… Just let me be alone for a while.”

“I’m not angry.”

William Carter sighed, reaching out to ruffle her hair, but his hand stopped midair, unsure how to comfort her.

“I—I didn’t want to yell at you…” She curled up on the chair, burying her face in her knees, sobbing softly, “I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“I know, Ethan Lane is a good girl.” William Carter ruffled her hair. “So I’m not angry.”

He sat quietly beside her, and only after her emotions had calmed did William Carter ask, “I’m going to buy something to eat. Is there anything you want?”

From yesterday until now, William Carter hadn’t eaten, and neither had she.

“I’m not hungry.” Ethan Lane sniffled, her voice low. “Don’t worry about me, I can take care of myself.”

William Carter let out a quiet sigh. “That’s exactly why I worry about you.”

With a wry smile, he wrapped his scarf around her neck, carefully tucking it in. His cold hands gently rubbed her pale cheeks as he said softly, “I’ll be back soon, and I’ll bring you a late-night snack.”

Her shoulders trembled slightly. She lifted her head a little, her voice still shaky: “I don’t want instant noodles.”

William Carter paused, then smiled. “Alright, fast food.”

He pulled out a pair of big gloves from his pocket and put them on, then wheeled the snow-covered bicycle out from the corner of the yard. Turning back to the girl who was staring at him blankly, he said, “I’ll be right back, don’t be afraid.”

Her small face wrapped in the scarf, Ethan Lane nodded gently. “Mm.”

……

The bicycle tires crunched over the snow, making a strange sound, as if the snow dust was continuously being crushed.

Riding a bike in snowy weather was really a worrying thing—one careless moment and you could slip, and depending on how and where you fell, you might roll anywhere from one to ten meters…

So, you had to be very careful.

The feeling of dry, cold wind sneaking in through your collar was truly awful, like someone kept pouring ladle after ladle of cold water into your chest, making your diaphragm and insides spasm from the icy shock.

After three years in this city, it was the first time William Carter had encountered such a cold winter. But compared to legends of heavy snow collapsing rooftops, this was still relatively mild weather.

His uncle’s house was already in a low-lying suburb, not too far from the city center. The 24-hour “Colonel Ken’s” would only take five or six minutes by car—but considering the old “Flying Pigeon” bicycle William Carter was riding, it would probably take even longer.

Late at night, when everything was quiet, heavy snow always seemed to absorb all the noise, making the whole world feel as if it had fallen asleep—a perfect time for thinking.

For example, the accident where the owner of “Kangguang Pharmacy,” Dr. Lane, and his wife both died in a car crash on their way back from a house call.

William Carter had heard from the police that the car lost control at high speed, broke through the guardrail, and tumbled down the mountain road—a drop of dozens of meters, enough to crush anyone unlucky into pieces.

William Carter had gone to see the accident site, but didn’t dare bring Ethan Lane, afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

But his uncle, always a mild-tempered, good-natured man who never lost his temper, was said to never drive over seventy kilometers per hour—how could such an accident have happened?

He really couldn’t figure it out, nor did he want to dwell on it.