Chapter 142: Lick it

“Brother-in-law, are you feeling lonely? Why are you watching this kind of thing in the middle of the night…”

In the darkness, neither could see the other’s expression, nor could they see what the other was actually doing. But the awkwardness filling the air alone made Jiang Lai, who had just been caught red-handed, want to find a hole to crawl into and disappear.

Chi Yingyu, wanting to see Jiang Lai’s face clearly, flicked the light on with a soft click.

The sudden brightness illuminated the whole room. Jiang Lai instantly yanked her blanket over herself, covering her whole body, and a nearly panicked voice came from under the covers, “Why are you turning on the light? Yingyu, hurry up and turn it off. Go back to sleep. If you stay up so late, you’ll get dark circles tomorrow.”

Because she spoke through the blanket, Jiang Lai’s voice sounded muffled. Normally, Chi Yingyu always listened to Jiang Lai, but at this moment, she only wanted to ask her brother-in-law properly why, when he had such desires, he wouldn’t come to her, but instead chose to be alone and work so hard by himself.

Jiang Lai kept herself tightly under the blanket. After she said her piece, no more sounds came in from outside—except for the light still being on, everything outside was utterly quiet.

Once the thought formed in her mind that her little sister-in-law might have left, Jiang Lai’s heart, which had been pounding so hard it seemed it might jump out of her chest, gradually calmed down. Her nerves eased, her breathing slowed, and she prepared to sit up.

Almost the moment Jiang Lai loosened her grip on the blanket, it was yanked away by the person outside.

“Brother-in-law, why are you hiding, even burying your head under the blanket? Aren’t you afraid of suffocating?”

Chi Yingyu’s voice was clear and gentle, like a babbling brook—normally a very pleasant sound, but it startled Jiang Lai so much she stretched out her hand to snatch back the blanket. “What if I’m not wearing anything under here?”

“Of course I’m not afraid. If brother-in-law would be shy about me seeing everything, how about I let you see me too?”

“What nonsense are you saying?”

Jiang Lai didn’t know if it was from the guilt of what she had just done, or from being teased by such unrestrained words, but her delicate little face and slender neck both flushed crimson.

When she felt her little sister-in-law looking at her with a gaze that was almost tender, Jiang Lai, red-faced, turned away. Her hair, messy from her earlier scrambling, spread across her back down to her waist. As for the stolen blanket, there was no way to get it back now.

Chi Yingyu looked at Jiang Lai’s slightly pouted, red lips and carefully sat on the bed, reaching out to gently caress her brother-in-law’s now burning hot face.

“Did you have fun just now?”

Hearing such a direct question, Jiang Lai wanted to retort that she hadn’t done anything like what her little sister-in-law was implying—but it was true, after all. In the end, she opened her mouth, but deflated without a single word.

Chi Yingyu, seeing Jiang Lai unwilling to answer, slipped off her own slippers, climbed fully onto the bed, and pressed her entire body gently against Jiang Lai’s.

Jiang Lai had planned to keep giving Chi Yingyu the cold shoulder, but when she felt that icy-cold body against her, all her anger and irritation vanished, replaced by worry about why her little sister-in-law was so cold.

“Why are you so cold? Didn’t you turn on the AC in your room, or were you outside for a long time?”

Jiang Lai turned around, intending to reach out and feel if her little sister-in-law’s face was as cold as her body. But just as her hand was about to make contact, she realized something and quickly pulled it back.

Jiang Lai was right-handed, and she always relied on her right hand for everything—including just now. It was all her little sister-in-law’s sudden appearance that left her no time to clean her hand.

Although her hand was a bit dry now, her right fingers were still a little sticky. How could she touch her little sister-in-law with this hand? Luckily, she reacted in time.

Just as Jiang Lai was grateful she’d withdrawn her hand, Chi Yingyu grabbed her wrist and pulled her right hand out again.

“Brother-in-law, your hand was already reaching out, so why pull it back?”

Jiang Lai glanced at her right hand, now held tightly by her little sister-in-law. Remembering what she’d just done with that hand, her heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks instantly turned as red as a ripe tomato.

In a flash, she quickly averted her gaze, not daring to look at the sight of Chi Yingyu holding her dirty hand.

“It’s nothing… If you’re done, could you let go now?”

Jiang Lai just wanted to get her blanket back and hide herself in it again—she really, truly couldn’t face anyone right now.

Seeing Jiang Lai’s flustered appearance, a mischievous glint flickered in Chi Yingyu’s eyes. The moment she grabbed that wrist, feeling the sticky texture, she already understood why Jiang Lai had tried to pull her hand back.

She hadn’t expected there to be so much—Chi Yingyu had thought it would only be a little on her fingers, but her entire palm and wrist were coated. This was something from Jiang Lai herself. Chi Yingyu didn’t find it dirty at all; in fact, she was thoroughly fascinated.

“But brother-in-law, why does your hand have such a special smell?”

Chi Yingyu raised her brows, brought Jiang Lai’s beautiful hand closer, and with her pointed nose, traced from wrist to palm to fingers. Finally, she pressed her lips to Jiang Lai’s fingertip.

“Don’t!!”

By the time Jiang Lai’s protest burst out, it was already too late. Chi Yingyu pressed her entire face against Jiang Lai’s palm—but if it was just her palm, Jiang Lai wouldn’t have reacted so strongly. What made her truly panic was that Chi Yingyu actually stuck out her little tongue and gently licked Jiang Lai’s finger, her eyes brightening instantly as if savoring some newly discovered delicacy.

Chi Yingyu, how can you do this.

Aaaah…

Jiang Lai, seeing this scene, felt something in her head snap. Her face flushed deep red, her lower belly tightened, and she took a sharp breath. With her face still burning, she yanked her hand back from Chi Yingyu, scolding this terrible habit.

“Chi Yingyu, do you know that licking things like this so carelessly is an easy way to get sick? You’re not a little kid anymore, you can’t act like this.”

“Why is brother-in-law so shy? It’s not like you haven’t licked fingers before.”

Chi Yingyu looked at Jiang Lai, who was now angry out of embarrassment, and felt delighted—her soft, boneless brother-in-law, gently pushed down onto the bed. “I can’t sleep with Xu Ruobing, so… can I sleep with you tonight?”