The villa was located on the edge of the city’s second ring road, near the third ring, backed by a chain of mountains with winding paths.
Stepping off the bus into the fading glow of the sunset, Luo Shiyin held the hand of a little girl who was drowsy after the long ride.
She looked toward the residential area not far ahead.
Among the low-rise buildings—mostly two to three stories high—stood a striking five-story white house, including an attic, making it stand out.
However, shielded by a beige wall, only the second-floor balcony was visible from the street.
“Hm?”
As her gaze swept past the balcony, Luo Shiyin felt she had caught sight of something odd.
There were clothes drying on the balcony, mostly in light blue and white shades.
Amidst them, something blue stood out…But it was a bit too far to see clearly.
“Hmm… This place is still kind of far from the city center.”
Just then, a young receptionist with a neat ponytail stumbled off the bus, a bit dizzy, and leaned against the bus stop sign to take a few deep breaths of fresh air.
It was obvious—this girl wasn’t used to traveling by bus.
“An hour’s ride isn’t that bad,” Luo Shiyin said, checking her phone for the time.
She looked again toward the second-floor balcony.
“So… should we just go over now?”
“Yeah, I already contacted them using the landline back at the reception center. We can head straight over.”
Seeing the luxurious item the long-haired loli had taken out, the receptionist regained a bit of confidence.
Even her carsickness felt less intense.
They arrived at the iron gate outside the villa’s wall.
A girl with shoulder-length hair was already waiting there.
From the way she occasionally tiptoed and peeked around, it looked like she’d been waiting for a while.
When she spotted them approaching, the girl in a brown school uniform and gray skirt enthusiastically waved: “Feng-jie! Over here!”
“She’s Zhao Doudou, a second-year student at Sanhua High School,” the receptionist—called Feng-jie—explained to Luo Shiyin, noticing her glance.
Zhao Doudou smiled and bent forward with her hands on her knees to greet the two hand-in-hand lolis:“Hi there, little sisters~”“B…”The receptionist immediately showed a somewhat awkward expression at Zhao Doudou’s words.
Before she could say anything, Zhao Doudou cheerfully continued: “Wow, you girls are sooo cute! Even prettier than the child stars in movies! Did your mom bring you here to see the house? I bet she’s super beautiful too!”
As she spoke, she straightened up and looked around, trying to find the “distinguished guest” Feng-jie had mentioned.
“Doudou, this is Miss Luo and her sister.”
At last, the receptionist found an opening to speak and quickly apologized to the black-haired loli: “I’m really sorry—I might not have explained clearly earlier, which led to the misunderstanding. Doudou and the others are very well-behaved kids. They didn’t mean any offense.”
As for Zhao Doudou—realizing that this loli might be her future guardian—she instantly froze, her brain short-circuited.
No wonder she was sent to work at the reception center alone…Seeing the panicked look on Zhao Doudou’s face, Luo Shiyin couldn’t help but recall her own early days in society—how green and naive she had been, nearly getting dragged into “in-depth discussions” at hotels by wealthy female clients more than once.
“It’s fine. Let’s go inside and take a look.”
Shaking off those thoughts, Luo Shiyin gave a small shake of her head.
Being called a “little sister” by girls much younger than herself was a bit of a blow, but as long as it wasn’t intentional, she wouldn’t take it to heart.
After all, she wasn’t the petty type.
“I-I’m really sorry!!”
Finally snapping out of her spiraling thoughts about possibly gaining a “loli mom,” Zhao Doudou apologized frantically.
After Luo Shiyin waved it off, showing she didn’t mind, she followed them into the villa.
As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she looked up at the balcony again.
This time, she saw clearly.
All the clothes drying there belonged to girls.
Aside from two summer school uniforms in a blue-and-black color scheme, there was nothing else.
That flash of blue she thought she saw earlier must’ve been her imagination.
“That’s Xiaochun’s room,” Zhao Doudou said with a slightly flushed face, seeming to struggle a bit before she added, “Luo… Luo-jiejie, do you want to go take a look? I can ask Xiaochun for you.”
Hearing this, Luo Shiyin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Although it felt a bit rude to walk into a girl’s room on the first day, she was pretty sure that the blue she had seen earlier wasn’t a hallucination, which piqued her curiosity.
Seeing the legal-loli nod, Zhao Doudou breathed a sigh of relief and smiled—happy to be of help.
The inside of the villa was very nice.
The facilities matched those in the brochure, showing no signs of damage or wear from long-term rental.
That alone was proof that what the receptionist had said was true:
the three high school girls were well-behaved.
Just…a little airheaded.
Luo Shiyin’s gaze lingered briefly on the little girl beside her, then she followed them into the living room.
Suddenly, a cheerful female voice rang out from the kitchen:
“Feng-jie, is that you? I made mung bean soup tonight—it’s chilled and perfect for cooling off in this weather! Want some… eh? Eh? There’s a cute little sister here?!”
The girl speaking had her braided hair tied up behind her head, a spatula in hand, and wore a pink apron over a black-and-blue school uniform skirt.
What really stood out, though, was the combination of the uniform, apron, and spatula—she gave off a full-on “housekeeping JK” Vibe.
When the girl spotted Luo Shiyin and the white-haired little one behind her, her expression lit up like she’d discovered a stray kitten.
Her voice even unconsciously went up an octave: “Hello, little sisters! Did you come to see the house with your mom?”
“X-Xiaoya! That’s Luo-jiejie—she’s here to see the house!”
“We’re really sorry, Miss Luo!”
“Eh? Eh? Eh?!”
Hearing that all-too-familiar tone—the same one she’d just heard from Zhao Doudou—now coming with a childish lilt, Zhao Doudou instantly panicked.
Especially when she noticed Luo Shiyin’s face darkening slightly.
She immediately scrambled to fix the situation:
“U-um, Luo-jiejie, Xiaochun’s room is just upstairs—let me show you!”
Watching the flustered girl trying so hard to salvage things, Luo Shiyin was clearly a bit annoyed.
But it wasn’t like she could just reach over and squish the girl’s cheeks out of spite—at leastnot until they got to know each other better.
Setting a mental note for a future “bun-face squishing” plan, the black-haired loli kept a neutral expression and let the two girls lead her upstairs.
Downstairs, the girl called Xiaoya scratched her cheek awkwardly as she watched them leave.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned and rushed back into the kitchen—the mung bean soup she had made earlier should be nicely chilled by now.
Perfect for entertaining guests—and maybe also as a peace offering.
Meanwhile, on the second floor, they reached a wooden door with a “Please knock first” Sign.
Zhao Doudou stepped up and knocked.
Soon, noises could be heard from inside.
Just a few seconds later, the door swung open.
Standing before them was a girl wearing the top half of a black-and-blue school uniform—but on her lower half, only a pair of light blue panties.
Her long, ivory-white legs were fully exposed, and she held a towel in her hand.
“Xiaochun, this is—”This time, thanks to the earlier blunders, Zhao Doudou and the receptionist both rushed to explain—yet again, still a beat too slow.
“Hm? Cute little thing. Where’d you find her?”
As she spoke, the girl—who’d clearly just come out of the shower, judging by her damp hair—crouched down in front of them.
Her panties and pale thighs squished together in ways that sparked all kinds of thoughts.
But Luo Shiyin wasn’t paying attention to that—because this girl had just reached out to pat her head!
To be honest, after being called “little sister” three times in a row, she’d grown numb to it.
But being patted on the head—especially by a girl younger than yourself—was absolutely unacceptable.
In a flash, she raised her arm to block the offending hand, then smiled a dangerous-looking smile—clearly beautiful, but also somehow terrifying.
She grabbed the girl’s cool, delicate face: “Don’t be fooled by my size. I’m already in my twenties—and I’m going to be your guardian. That’s something you couldn’t get even if you worked your whole life for it, understand? Little sister?”(emphasis with gritted teeth) “Wuh… gulu… s-sorry!”
Crushed by the sheer dark energy radiating from the black-haired loli, the cool and aloof-looking girl could only squeak out a strangled apology.
Watching this unfold, the receptionist’s spirit completely deflated.
Bringing a VIP client to inspect the place, only for her to be repeatedly mistaken for a child and teased…this was basically modern-day tragedy fodder.
She even began wondering whether soaking bread in water to make porridge could help stretch her meager salary a few more days.
But Zhao Doudou, on the other hand, suddenly lit up at something Luo Shiyin had said.
“Luo-jiejie, does that mean… you’ve agreed to be our guardian?!”
“…Let me look around first.”
She paused mid-face-squeeze, then let go and casually backed off.
Freed from the grasp of doom, the girl called Xiaochun quickly stood up and rubbed her cheeks.
Still in disbelief, she cautiously asked: “So… you really are the guest Feng-jie mentioned?”
“Any objections?”
Luo Shiyin cast a sharp glare at the cool girl who only looked quiet until she opened her mouth.
After calming down a bit, she looked into the room.
The interior was quite simple.
Aside from a few stuffed animals by the bed, there was only a desk and built-in wardrobe.
The posters on the wall were normal, girlish ones.
Except…Between the desk and the window was a mounted blue magic wand, its top shaped like a heart.
And currently dangling from the wand’s handle—a pair of plain white panties, fluttering slightly in the breeze.