(1)
“Click.”
In the silence of the rainy night, the door slowly creaked open, as if something was quietly peeking inside.
Before An Jing could react and turn around, Zhu Ying’s mother was already standing in the room.
“Auntie, hello…”
“Ying Ying?”
“She went to take a bath…”
“I see. Here, Auntie made you papaya milk, one bowl each. Drink it slowly, and go to bed early after you finish, okay?”
“Okay…”
An Jing lowered her head to look at the milky white liquid in the porcelain bowl.
She instinctively took the silver spoon with golden trim that was handed to her, quickly saying thanks.
“There’s also some lily bulbs and lotus seeds in it. If you don’t want to eat them, just leave them.”
“Mm, it’s fine. I’m usually not picky,” An Jing said awkwardly, watching the other woman’s mother slowly leave.
The stiff smile on her face crumbled the moment the door closed.
Dealing with adults she wasn’t very familiar with was still a bit troublesome for her.
And it was usually the overly warm kindness that overwhelmed her the most.
Just as she was about to look more closely at the bowl of papaya milk, the door suddenly swung open with a loud “clatter.”
Her body shivered, and she nervously looked up to see Zhu Ying wrapped in a towel kicking off her wet slippers at the door and quickly walking inside barefoot.
Her damp hair swayed gently with her movements, and white steam rose from her head like a freshly steamed bun…
“Huff huff—!”
Zhu Ying jumped and rolled straight onto the bed, then wriggled like a caterpillar, using her fingertips to hook the clothes on the pillow beside her.
“Xiao Jing! I told you to bring my clothes, why haven’t you brought them yet?”
“Ah? Ah… I forgot…”
“So you just want to see me without clothes?”
“No, no!!”
“You want to see? Then I won’t show you. Go outside, I’m changing!”
“Tch, I don’t want to see anyway, flat chest…”
“What flat chest? I have one, thank you very much!”
“Flat flat, a pure flat-screen TV!”
An Jing pulled a funny face and stuck out her tongue.
“Flatter than a flat-screen TV!”
“Xiao Jing!!”
A pillow flew through the air and landed with a smack on An Jing’s head.
“You’re the flat one!”
“But I’m a guy, so what if I’m flat!”
An Jing darted to the door, pulled it open, and slipped out.
The middle-aged woman sitting on the couch in a man’s arms, watching TV, looked back in confusion.
“Jing Jing, what’s wrong?”
“Xiao Ying is changing…”
“Pfft, why is she still so shy? They’re both girls, what’s the big deal about changing clothes in front of each other?”
“Ahem…”
An Jing didn’t dare to explain.
She awkwardly scratched her head and tried to whistle a few notes against the door, but she wasn’t good at it, only managing a soft “shoo shoo” sound.
Whistling was something Zhou Chao was good at. He had taught her before, but she never learned.
While An Jing was distracted, the door suddenly opened again from the inside.
Leaning against the door, she lost her balance and fell backward into a soft embrace.
Before she could react, she was quickly pulled inside.
“Wah—!!”
Her panicked struggle looked as if she was about to be devoured by a monster named Girl’s Bedroom.
“The two girls really get along well,” the woman said with a smile, patting the man’s shoulder.
He nodded seriously, then after a few seconds, a slight smile appeared on his face.
“It seems our daughter never had such a close relationship with another girl before. Heh, having a confidante is a good thing. If they keep this friendship, they can watch out for each other when they enter society. Nowadays kids are all only children; sometimes friends they grow up with can be even closer than siblings.”
“Yeah, but that girl looks well-behaved and shy. Don’t let Ying Ying bully her to tears.”
“What’s there to fear? They’re already in middle school. Ying Ying knows her limits and won’t play pranks too far—it’s not like when they were little. Back then, she was the mischievous one…”
“Speaking of which, I remember that time the teacher called…”
***
(2)
An Jing’s hair was a mess, and she surrendered helplessly with her hands up.
“Stop it, stop it, I give up already… my hair is all messed up…”
“Then touch it yourself! Is it flat or not?”
“No…”
“Touch it now!”
“No, no…”
“Come on, just touch!”
“O-okay then…”
“You really dare to touch, Xiao Jing. Hmph—I’m going to punish you for this!!”
“Ah, you tricked me!”
“What do you mean tricked? This is clearly training your patience.”
“Ew!!”
After a while of goofing around on the chair, the two finally calmed down.
An Jing, panting, leaned over the desk while Zhu Ying took a wooden comb and carefully brushed her short, ear-length hair.
“Look at you, your hair’s all messed up.”
“Not my fault, you messed it up…”
“Did I? Got any proof?”
“Wasn’t it you? Tch! I didn’t even try my hardest, otherwise, you’d never be my match.”
“Fine, then arm wrestle me. If you lose, you’re my doll for today. If I lose, then I’ll be your doll!”
“Ew! What a boring bet, I don’t want to.”
“Afraid?”
“Not afraid!”
“Then dare to bet?”
“No! I’m tired!”
“Afraid after all.”
“Tch…”
An Jing sat up slightly and stiffly changed the subject.
“The papaya milk your mom brought in earlier is going to get cold if you don’t drink it.”
“Drinking that again today?”
“Do you drink it every day?”
“Several times a week, I guess~”
“It tastes okay, just a little bland.”
“Not good to drink something too sweet before bed, though I do think it’d be better sweeter.”
Zhu Ying suddenly grinned slyly.
“Xiao Jing, drink more!”
“Why?”
An Jing turned sideways to block Zhu Ying’s gaze falling on her chest.
“These lotus seeds are bitter…”
“Then don’t eat them.”
“Can I just drink the milk?”
“Sure.”
“Phew, your mom is pretty good to you, always giving you something to drink before bed.”
“Your sister isn’t bad to you either.”
“Sis is nice… but my mom definitely isn’t as attentive.”
An Jing curled her lips.
“You’ve finished your homework, right? Put it away later.”
“Wanna play games for a bit?”
“Ugh, no school tomorrow.”
“Not that late yet.”
Zhu Ying glanced at the computer’s bottom right corner.
“Ten o’clock. Play for one more hour, then sleep?”
“Only sleep six or seven hours?”
“Then play half an hour more, then sleep? Just got out of the bath, can’t sleep yet.”
“You play then…”
“Xiao Jing, you play. Or better, help me play some Jian Wu Tuan?”
“If I lose, don’t blame me.”
“It’s fine, just a few rounds.”
***
(3)
Half an hour was too short for gaming.
Just as An Jing started enjoying it and wanted to play a few more rounds, she realized it was already 10:31.
The rain was light but continuous, and most of the friends on QQ were offline, only a few still online.
An Jing opened the group chat and glanced at the pictures posted, when suddenly she felt a shadow fall behind her.
“Oh~ Xiao Jing likes these kinds of pictures?”
“Ahem! Those were sent by others in the group!”
“Mm—-I have JK skirts like that.”
“I know, you wore one last time you came to my place.”
“No, I mean the color’s the same, blue and white.”
“Hmm…”
“I also have white tights, but these white ones are kind of see-through, I probably don’t have ones that thin.”
“Ahem!”
“Next time I’ll wear them for you to see?”
“If you want to wear them, then wear them. It’s not like I have to see…”
“Is that so? Then I won’t wear them.”
“Ah…”
An Jing’s tone became extremely disappointed.
“Pfft… Xiao Jing is so funny~”
Zhu Ying grinned mischievously and pinched her little face.
“My hair’s dry now, let’s sleep?”
“Ah.”
An Jing looked at Zhu Ying’s soft bed, which wasn’t small but half of it was taken by various plush toys, and hesitantly nodded.
“Or… I could sleep on the floor?”
“What? Sleep on the floor? Sleep together!”
“Then I’ll sleep outside?”
“Inside, inside—”
Zhu Ying pushed An Jing, making her squeeze in with her neatly lined-up plush toys.
“But if I sleep inside, I might mess up your things… looks like you arranged them nicely.”
“What does it matter? Xiao Jing is a doll anyway. Come on in~”
“Hey hey!!”
***
(4)
An Jing curled up in the corner of the blanket, squeezed together with a bunch of plush toys.
At first, it felt a bit uncomfortable, but when the blanket warmed up, she felt especially safe—like being protected by a group of little dwarfs.
Of course, these “little dwarfs” couldn’t stop the “Big Devil”—Zhu Ying’s attacks at all.
“Eek—what’s that?”
“Hehe, it’s my foot.”
“Hey hey, it’s so cold.”
“Let me warm you up~”
“Ugh… don’t put your foot on me…”
“But I feel really comfy like this?”
“Of course you do… geez, your way of sleeping is just like Fei Jie…”
An Jing sighed helplessly.
“You’re about to squash me against the wall—”
“Hmph, watch me turn Xiao Jing into a meat pancake~”
“The milk I just drank’s gonna come out squeezed by you…”
“Really? Then I’ll catch it mouth-to-mouth for you~”
“Ew—gross.”
“You’re such a spoilsport, Xiao Jing.”
“Uh… what’s that hard thing behind me?”
“Which one?”
“On my back? Around the shoulder area…”
“Is it the duck? Its beak is hard plastic.”
“Ah? Ah…”
An Jing reached out from under the quilt, blindly feeling around, then grabbed the yellow-and-white duck.
“Phew… much better.”
“Xiao Jing, hold me.”
“Uh…”
“Faster, faster.”
An Jing shyly and carefully put her hands on Zhu Ying’s arms.
“Hold tighter, can’t you be a little more proactive?”
“Ahem!”
Their chests pressed together, almost able to hear each other’s heartbeat.
Just as An Jing braced for Zhu Ying’s next move, she realized Zhu Ying had stopped moving.
In the long rainy night, her breathing gradually evened out, as if she had already fallen asleep.
“She actually fell asleep just like that…?”
An Jing was a little surprised, and after relaxing, felt a tiny bit sad.
“Well, I guess I should… sleep too…”