From the moment he was born, this might have been the longest time Shen Xiyan had ever “pee’d.”
Don’t ask why it took so long — the gun was too long, controlling the recoil wasn’t that easy.
When he finally came out, Lin Ci was on the balcony helping him hang the laundry.
She took down a hanger, fished a piece of clothing out from the bucket, hung it up, then stretched out to hang it on the drying rod, looking all warm and cozy.
But as for her laundry-hanging skills—
“Do you always hang clothes like this at home?”
“I don’t hang clothes at home.”
“… My mom always does it for me.”
“No wonder. Come, come! I’ll teach you how to hang clothes properly. Forget about pants and stuff, but T-shirts like these must be shaken out, or else they’ll dry all wrinkled and look terrible when you wear them.”
Shen Xiyan couldn’t stand it anymore and took the hanger from her to hang the clothes himself, even taking off the ones she had already put on hangers and redoing them.
“I thought girls like you would definitely be maxed out on the ‘married woman’ vibes…”
“What the heck is ‘married woman’ vibes?! I’m only in first year of high school!”
“… That was a compliment, saying you’re gentle and virtuous.” Shen Xiyan shrugged.
“As long as you can hang clothes properly…” Lin Ci muttered softly, obediently stepping to the side.
According to her girlfriends, only unqualified girlfriends ask their boyfriends if they want to eat after coming home.
Qualified girlfriends strip naked, put on an apron, stick out their butt, and ask their boyfriend if he wants to eat first or her first.
“What did you say?”
“… Nothing.” Lin Ci’s voice was barely above a whisper, her heartbeat suddenly uncontrollable. She bit her lip lightly, feeling nothing herself, but Shen Xiyan clearly saw a blush spread across her cheeks.
“If you’re feeling hot, come inside and turn on the AC. Your face is all red…”
“No!”
Those words shook the girl’s eardrums, and her faint blush instantly deepened into a flush of crimson, her eyes panicked in an instant.
“Ohhh~~”
Shen Xiyan fell silent, then suddenly reached out to fiddle with her twin ponytails.
He’d played with this hairstyle more than once. If she only tied one ponytail, it would be too thick and hard to hold, but split into two, it felt really nice to the touch. No wonder men like horseback riding.
“Xiyan~~ What are you doing?”
“Sorry, sorry… couldn’t help it.”
“Couldn’t help what?”
“Uh…”
“Pervert! Weirdo! Dirty-minded!” Lin Ci covered her twin tails, shaking her head wildly, annoyed and embarrassed.
Shen Xiyan escaped to the living room, casually grabbed a handful of cherries: “Don’t hit, don’t hit… I was wrong… Please eat cherries…”
“You’re offering me the cherries I gave you?”
“Uh…”
“Not happening again!” Lin Ci stuck out a finger, picking at his palm.
Her soft fingertips slid across his palm. The breeze blew her hair gently, and her expression softened.
Finally, Lin Ci picked out the biggest cherry and stuffed it into Shen Xiyan’s mouth, then asked, “Are you free this Sunday?”
“… Huh?”
Shen Xiyan was obviously stunned for a moment: “Lin Ci, you’re so lewd!”
“???“
Lin Ci’s expression twisted oddly as she stared at Shen Xiyan’s incredulous face for a while before she finally synced up to his wavelength.
Her face immediately flushed bright red. She slapped Shen Xiyan irritably, “W-what are you thinking!?”
She felt a little troubled — how did Shen Xiyan turn out like this?
Sometimes she felt that her reserved self was somewhat out of place with him.
“Just joking… just joking…”
“You’re the worst!”
Lin Ci punched Shen Xiyan in the chest, then flopped down into the corner of the sofa, covering her face with a pillow, embarrassed and wishing she could just dig a hole and bury herself.
Her muffled voice came from behind the pillow.
Shen Xiyan stood in front of the sofa, looking at this writhing little worm.
“Your underwear’s showing — Bear Pattern…”
“!!!”
Lin Ci pulled the pillow away, tugged at her shorts, glaring at him in embarrassment and anger: “Where’s any Bear Pattern?!”
Shen Xiyan could only apologize: “Sorry, sorry, I’m rolling on the floor begging for forgiveness.”
When Wenwen made mistakes, she would “act cute and beg for forgiveness,” but when he messed up, it was “rolling on the floor to get pardoned.” That applied to Lin Ci as well.
The more shameless a person is, the more invincible.
Lin Ci suddenly flipped up and sat: “Sunday… pfft! Are you free this weekend or not?”
“I’m going to see my aunt.”
“Seeing your aunt is just for one day, and you’re going on Friday, so what does that have to do with the weekend?”
“… What are you planning?”
“I already gave you your birthday gift. Wenwen’s is still not settled — I have to help her pick one.”
“Wh-…”
Shen Xiyan suddenly remembered something. He seemed to have promised Qin Sheng something earlier.
“I’m free on Saturday, but not the weekend.”
Lin Ci frowned, “I can’t do Saturday. If I don’t finish my homework, they won’t let me out. What are you doing on the weekend?”
“Got some things to take care of outside.”
Going on a “date” with Qin Sheng just didn’t feel right to say out loud.
“Ah… okay then.”
Lin Ci was a bit disappointed. As she got up, she saw Shen Xiyan’s fingertip was covered in blood and let out a small cry: “Ah! Xiyan, you’re bleeding!”
Shen Xiyan looked toward her finger. Sure enough, his index finger had a cut. It was pretty sharp, so even the slightest move made him wince and suck in air.
“Ouch… kind of hurts.”
“How did you do that?”
“No idea… maybe I cut it while hanging laundry just now?”
Lin Ci’s eyes were full of concern. “Does it hurt?”
“It’s fine. If you noticed later, it’d probably be healed already.”
“Are you a pig? You can cut yourself like this? Ah! It’s bleeding again.” Without thinking, Lin Ci sucked his slender index finger into her mouth.
The warm, moist sensation wrapping around Shen Xiyan’s finger made his whole body tremble lightly, as if electrified. His breathing was completely disordered.
“Does it feel better?”
Lin Ci looked up, blinking, like a gentle little kitten staring at him, all while licking the wound more vigorously with her tongue.
The scene was too intense — as if in a dream.
Shen Xiyan lowered his head, feeling his blood flow quicken by who knows how many times, his blood vessels about to burst.
Their proximity was so close he could clearly see her face, even the barely visible fine hairs on her skin. He could smell her breath — a sweet milky fragrance…
Gradually, Shen Xiyan’s head dipped lower and lower.
He felt an uncontrollable urge to kiss her.
Time seemed to slow down…
Until her eyelashes fluttered lightly before his eyes, Shen Xiyan suddenly realized the dangerously close distance between them and quickly straightened up.
Lin Ci also realized what she had done and broke away as if shocked, forcing a calm expression: “… Just disinfecting you.”
“But…”
“But what?”
Lin Ci’s heartbeat suddenly raced.
She clutched her shirt tightly, swallowed hard, and her eyes sparkled with shyness.
But I just wanted to kiss you?
Shen Xiyan hesitated.