With the guiding principle of “Boys need to protect themselves too,” Shen Xiyan switched seats, moving far away—so far, in fact, that he ended up sitting right next to Wenwen, now facing Qin Sheng and Lin Ci across the table.
Qin Sheng didn’t push her luck. She had never liked seeing Shen Xiyan sitting close to Lin Ci, so this arrangement was just right. Now, whenever she looked up, she could see him.
The only thing she was dissatisfied with was that, after glancing at Shen Xiyan several times, she found that his eyes were filled only with homework problems.
His gaze was so focused that it seemed her own delicate and charming face was less attractive to him than the tip of his pen.
How infuriating!
Qin Sheng angrily kicked Shen Xiyan and complained, “Xiyan~~ My legs are sore, massage them for me, would you∼∼”
“What does your leg soreness have to do with me?!” Shen Xiyan was stunned.
Why was she getting bolder and bolder?
“They’re just sore, just sore! Aunt is inside getting a gastroscopy, so I can only wait outside like an idiot!” Qin Sheng puffed out her cheeks, blinking her big, watery eyes at him, then began flailing her long legs.
Her foot moved from his calf to his thigh, and kept going up… Any higher and it would be rated R.
Without a change in expression, Shen Xiyan reached under the table and grabbed Qin Sheng’s soft, fair foot—her toes round, delicate, and smooth.
He met her lively gaze, their eyes locking. A blush quietly crept up Qin Sheng’s cheeks, and then she squinted, smiling like a little fox.
Qin Sheng, usually a cool beauty, now showed a sly, foxy grin—a strikingly cute contrast. Maybe it was because she felt she’d taken advantage of Shen Xiyan, but she was laughing happily.
Shen Xiyan shot her a glare, let go of Qin Sheng’s foot, and silently mouthed, “Get lost!”
He felt like his scolding no longer had any effect on Qin Sheng. It was starting to sound more like flirting…
Soon, Aunt got up to pack her suitcase in the bedroom. Besides a few essential clothes, she would buy new toiletries at the Hospital, but still managed to fill up an entire suitcase.
Then her gentle figure leaned against him. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll have to stay home alone. Can you manage?”
She smelled faintly of shampoo, with a hint of disinfectant too.
“I’m not a kid anymore, neither is Wenwen. Of course we can… If you’re worried, we can set a time for a daily video call?”
“Mhm… Of course! If I let you two run wild, wouldn’t you just go crazy?”
Lin Ci smiled and said, “Aunt, my parents are here too, it’ll be fine.”
Qin Sheng rolled her eyes, thinking:
“This green tea faker, acting all obedient again!”
Little did she know, she herself was the worst offender when it came to acting cute.
“…Then, help me keep an eye on them. Don’t let them run off after school. Even if I’m not home, make sure you get back early.”
“Heh…,” Shen Xiyan gave Aunt a perfunctory laugh.
Aunt knocked him on the head and glared. “Be serious! No ‘heh’ to your Aunt!”
Shen Xiyan lowered his head and continued his homework.
Then Aunt tugged his ear and whispered, “Especially—no inappropriate relationships with Qin Sheng! Puppy love is one thing, but if you really get her pregnant, her dad will kill you!”
“How could that even happen!” Shen Xiyan protested.
Everyone:
“???”
“In any case, if there’s a problem, fix it; if not, stay vigilant…” Aunt stared at him hard, making Shen Xiyan’s hair stand on end.
“Don’t say stuff like that!”
Shen Xiyan flicked her on the forehead—”pa!”—and was promptly caught by Aunt, who, with tears in her eyes, gave him a playful beating, threatening to execute this unfilial brat.
“Hey, hey! Stop, stop! What do you want to eat? I’ll make porridge for you?”
“Better let me do it… I can at least make porridge. You all focus on your homework, so you don’t have to stay up late again tomorrow~~”
Aunt really was quite understanding.
These days, high school students wish there were forty-eight hours in a day. Even as an adult, she thought the homework load was excessive.
Cooking and washing dishes could easily take up an hour or two—perfectly normal. Since there wasn’t much weekend rest time anyway, saving a bit was a blessing.
At least that way, they could enjoy a leisurely afternoon tomorrow.
Otherwise, their precious double weekend would be lost to an endless sea of test papers.
Qin Sheng also clamored to help, then brought out a plate of freshly washed strawberries. The bright red skins were still covered in sparkling water droplets—bought last night.
She popped one into her mouth herself.
“Xiyan, have some fruit~~ These strawberries are super sweet! Only a tiny bit less sweet than me…”
Shen Xiyan:
“???”
“Wenwen, have some fruit!”
Shen Wen looked troubled, clutching her round little belly. “I just ate grapes, I’m kind of full.”
“Where did the grapes come from?”
“Lin Ci brought them…”
“Oh!”
The plate landed with a thud on the table in front of Shen Xiyan, then Qin Sheng cheerfully skipped back to the kitchen to help.
The corner of Shen Xiyan’s eye twitched violently. He glanced at Lin Ci, saw nothing unusual on her face, then looked back toward the kitchen.
Qin Sheng had already put on his apron, cleaned the cutting board and knife, and was now slicing century egg and lean pork.
Shen Xiyan called out, just for form’s sake, “Aunt! Need any help?”
“No, just do your homework.”
So Shen Xiyan went back to his homework.
After another five minutes, he still felt restless, a vague unease stirring in his heart. Maybe it was the sense that something was about to change.
Lin Ci also noticed the obvious difference between herself and Qin Sheng.
Listening to the laughter from the kitchen, she really couldn’t understand—how did Qin Sheng manage to get so close to people, so naturally?
Didn’t she care about her image?
In the kitchen.
After washing the rice and putting it in the pot, the two of them had nothing to do but stare at it, chatting idly to pass the time.
“Aunt, I’m bored. Do you have any photo albums of Xiyan when he was little?”
“I do, but…” Aunt glanced back at the living room, her eyes complicated. “His parents are in them. We hardly look at those anymore. I can’t show you now—it would upset them.”
“Oh~~ I was just asking.”
Seeing Qin Sheng’s disappointed look, Aunt thought for a moment and said, “But I do have some on my phone, if you want to see…”
The first photo was Shen Xiyan and Wenwen in high school, the family of three smiling happily at the school gate.
The second was from their third-year Graduation Party in junior high. Wenwen was dressed up exquisitely, like a beautiful, elegant little swan, with a “ugly duckling” standing beside her as contrast.
Wenwen mischievously tugged at her brother’s face, while Shen Xiyan looked at his little sister with a face full of disdain.
The third was also from junior high, but at the start of first year. Shen Xiyan had his arm around Wenwen’s shoulders, the siblings’ heads leaning together as they grinned at the camera.
The fourth was from elementary school, the siblings roughhousing after school. The older brother had somehow provoked his sister and was being dragged by his backpack.
Qin Sheng could almost picture Aunt’s carefree laughter back then.
Fifth photo, sixth photo, seventh photo…
Aunt didn’t have many photos stored on her phone, but they were all snapshots of happy moments. Qin Sheng saw the childhood of Shen Xiyan and Shen Wen, full of laughter and playful chaos.
People say childhood is the most carefree time, but the younger they were, the more solemn their expressions became.
***
By the time they started elementary school, the light in their eyes was completely gone. The brother no longer teased his sister, and the sister no longer fought back.
Aunt held them close, heart aching for them.
Looking at the photos, Qin Sheng suddenly felt a faint melancholy.
A little further on, Qin Sheng saw the father and mother from her memories. Just like in the old photos, their smiles were still so gentle.
“Qin Sheng… you can’t look at the rest,”
“Hmm?”
Qin Sheng’s hands were faster than Aunt’s words.
With a quick swipe, she saw a photo from when Shen Xiyan and Wenwen were toddlers.
Both were wearing split pants, chubby and adorable. Wenwen, thanks to her “flatness,” wasn’t revealing anything, but with Shen Xiyan… you could clearly see a tiny, silly little thing…
“Haha, can you even recognize him? Wasn’t he tiny back then?”
Qin Sheng smiled, “Everyone grows up eventually~~”
“Aunt, can I keep copies of the earlier photos? I really love them!”
Aunt had no reason to refuse. After thinking for a moment, she nodded:
“…You can.”
“Thank you, Aunt!”
Qin Sheng beamed, and casually saved that “cute” photo too.
Now, it was already kind of terrifying.
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