“Yan Qing, Yan Qing.”
“Little one, don’t cry.”
“Time to eat! I made your favorite braised fish today~”
With that, Xu Yinsheng twisted the handle of Yan Qing’s bedroom door and pushed it open. The room was simple and clean, all white. But opposite the single bed stood a bookshelf a full two meters tall, strikingly different in style, neatly lined with books whose edges had turned yellow.
These were all novels Xu Yinsheng had read before. The room had originally been used to store novels, but after the little boy Yan Qing came to stay with them, she cleared it out for him to use.
However, right now, as Xu Yinsheng looked at the entire bedroom, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
The sheets and pillows were neatly folded and stuffed into the wardrobe. The floor was swept spotless, as smooth as a mirror, without a speck of dust.
If she hadn’t glanced at the room number, Xu Yinsheng would have thought she’d entered the wrong room.
Xu Yinsheng walked to the bookshelf. On the second shelf was a letter. She opened the envelope and shook out a piece of paper covered in handwriting.
“Dear Sister Xu and Brother Zhao, when you see this letter, Yan Qing is already on his way home. Although leaving without saying goodbye is rude, Yan Qing can tell that Sister Xu has been in a bad mood lately, so I won’t trouble you anymore.”
“Ever since that day when Teacher slapped Yan Qing, I’ve been thinking about one question: Is it really right for Yan Qing to like Teacher in that way? Would Teacher like the way Yan Qing likes him?”
“I thought and thought, cried and cried, but in the end Yan Qing still couldn’t find an answer. After all, Yan Qing is just a cat, and human emotions are still too complicated for me, meow… So Yan Qing has decided to go find Teacher and apologize with a thorny branch on my back! This time, even if Teacher gets angry and makes cat meat hotpot out of Yan Qing, I’ll accept it, meow!!”
“Goodbye, Brother Zhao, goodbye, Sister Xu, don’t miss me, meow! We’ll definitely meet again!”
“Also, Yan Qing wishes you two a speedy fruition of your love… um… Yan Qing doesn’t know if ‘fruition’ is the right word here. But anyway, I wish you well, I wish you have a baby soon. If Yan Qing is still alive by then, I’ll definitely bring Teacher to attend the baby’s one-month celebration.”
“Yan Qing, sincerely.”
The childish writing spanned only a few lines, but it was neat and legible, every word containing genuine emotion. Xu Yinsheng clutched the paper tightly, her knuckles turning white. She let out a long sigh and then put the paper back into the envelope.
Another one gone. Her parents had left, Yan Qing had left. The villa, already lonely enough, felt even more empty.
Xu Yinsheng went back to the living room. Zhao Yicheng was just setting a steaming plate of braised fish on the table. Normally, a certain cat-eared boy would be hugging the Lair Cat and meowing about how good it smells.
“He’s gone.”
Xu Yinsheng picked up a small piece of fish and put it into her mouth, then briefly told Zhao Yicheng about the contents of Yan Qing’s letter.
While eating the fish, she laughed and joked.
“I hope Zhang Junfang doesn’t want to eat cat meat, or else a perfectly good cat-eared boy will be skinned alive.”
“Mn,”
He seemed not too concerned about the cat-eared boy.
He picked up a small piece of broccoli and put it into Xu Yinsheng’s bowl.
“Eat more broccoli. It’s full of vitamins.”
Poking at the green broccoli in her bowl, Xu Yinsheng complained.
“Why are you like this now? Making me eat things I don’t like. You’re nothing like the old Palu Zhao.”
“Before, I loved you. Now I not only love you but also have to take care of you.”
Zhao Yicheng picked up another piece of broccoli and put it into the girl’s bowl, drawing angry glares from Xu Yinsheng.
“Broccoli is rich in vitamins and good for your health. You didn’t have to eat it before, but now you must. It’s my responsibility as your guardian.”
“Alright, I’ve practically found myself a second father.”
She really wanted to dump the broccoli into the trash can under the table when Zhao Yicheng wasn’t looking, but his stern father-like gaze was fixed on her, as if watching to make sure she ate it. In the end, the girl endured the discomfort, picked up a small piece of broccoli, put it in her mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then drank some water to soothe herself.
Seeing this, a knowing smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Yicheng’s mouth.
He reached out, used a tissue to wipe the remains from the corner of her mouth, and said softly.
“Eat slowly.”
She glanced at him but said nothing.
After Xu Yinsheng finished all the broccoli in her bowl, Zhao Yicheng patted her head and gently pinched her puffed-up cheek, as if teasing a cat.
“Tomorrow, I’ll take you somewhere.”
“Where?”
Xu Yinsheng rolled her eyes at him, her expression full of disdain.
“I won’t say for now.”
Zhao Yicheng waved his hand with a smile, but Xu Yinsheng saw it as deliberate mystery.
She snorted.
“If you don’t tell me now, then I’m not going tomorrow!”
With that, she crossed her legs and assumed a pose that said, “If you don’t explain things clearly to me today, don’t even think about me leaving this villa one step tomorrow.”
“Not telling.”
“Then I’m not going!”
“Really not going?”
“Really not going!”
“Fine.”
Zhao Yicheng nodded very amiably.
He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his solid, muscular arms.
“Xiao Yin…”
He didn’t say what would happen otherwise, but the implication was clear.
Xu Yinsheng laughed. This was the first time she had seen Zhao Yicheng threaten her.
Before, he had treated her like a precious treasure, afraid she would break if he held her too tight or melt if he put her in his mouth. Now he was actually threatening her straight to her face.
She purposefully teased.
“If I don’t go, what will you do? Beat me to death?”
“I’ll teach you a lesson, and then drag you there tomorrow.”
Zhao Yicheng paused. Then Xu Yinsheng heard him say.
“Like how a father punishes his disobedient daughter in movies.”
“…”
Right, Zhao Yicheng really planned to be both her boyfriend and her… father? Ugh, guardian!
She had thought he was just joking when he was being crazy.
“Alright, Great Guardian Zhao, I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
Under the table, she kicked his calf with her foot and playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
“But, my good brother, my lover, my family, once this twisted love of ours begins, it can’t be stopped~”
“If one day you dare to get off this ride, I will also destroy the last straw I’m holding onto~”
Xu Yinsheng tilted her head, her smile sweet and charming, but the slightly manic laughter in her eyes could no longer be hidden.
‘Just as I pulled you out of the abyss five years ago, now you must be prepared for the consequences of pulling me out.’
Zhao Yicheng smiled, reached out, and grabbed Xu Yinsheng’s ankle. He looked up at her, his eyes deep as the night sky, seemingly filled with infinite tenderness.
“You are mine, and I am yours.”
“We only love each other.”