Li Xingya tried to push Lin Jin’an away.
She didn’t budge. Just like back then on the rooftop.
The gap in strength between them was too great.
Seeing how happy Lin Jin’an looked now, Li Xingya even wondered if she had seen through her act of pretending to have amnesia.
‘That can’t be, right?’
‘Compared to forcing a smile, I’m pretty good at pretending not to know.’
‘I don’t know, I don’t understand, it wasn’t me.’
‘Three Rules of the Working Person…’
“Taking a bath… I can do it myself, really.”
Li Xingya didn’t dare look at Lin Jin’an.
She was afraid she’d slip up. Li Xingya had to admit, she liked the way Lin Jin’an looked at her.
That gaze that, no matter what, seemed to look right into her soul—a gaze full of love.
Jiang Chiyue loved “Li Xingya.” But Lin Jin’an loved Li Xingya herself.
If she recklessly met those eyes, she’d definitely show a subconscious crack in her facade.
Lin Jin’an looked at Li Xingya, who was lowering her head silently in her arms, and couldn’t help but smile even more.
‘So cute.’
‘Like a little animal.’
“Ready to go, Xiaoya?”
Li Xingya’s eye twitched.
‘So stubborn.’
‘I already said I can do it myself.’
It wasn’t that Li Xingya was embarrassed—she just found the idea of needing someone to help her bathe… really strange.
After all, even back in her previous life when she was young, no one cared whether Li Xingya lived or died.
‘Forget it.’
‘Since you insist on washing me…’
‘Then suit yourself.’
Acquiescence. Li Xingya was best at that.
***
Inside the bathroom.
In the large bathtub big enough for two people, Lin Jin’an gently washed Li Xingya’s hair.
“How does it feel?”
“Mm…”
Hearing Li Xingya’s ambiguous hum, Lin Jin’an nodded in satisfaction. “It feels nice, doesn’t it?”
“Mm.”
‘It really is comfortable.’
‘A little tingly, and a bit numbing.’
‘And…’
‘It’s so soft behind me.’
Li Xingya was now lying entirely in Lin Jin’an’s arms, and she had to admit, Lin Jin’an had developed really well.
‘I wonder if I’ll develop like this in the future.’
Of course, Li Xingya wasn’t talking about her figure—she meant her height.
She had no obsession with curves or anything—it’s just that she really wanted to be taller.
‘Sigh.’
‘I don’t want to be a shorty.’
‘Being short, even if I want to be assertive, I can’t pull it off.’
“Next… is this part.”
Suddenly, Lin Jin’an reached for the bandage around Li Xingya’s neck.
This action made Li Xingya’s body tense up immediately. She covered her neck and shook her head. “No, not here… really not here.”
‘Don’t take it off.’
When Lin Jin’an had gone to find the attending physician, Li Xingya had secretly gone to the bathroom to look.
In the mirror, there were several vicious bruises on her neck, and when combined, their shape was exactly that of a pair of hands.
‘I absolutely don’t want Lin Jin’an to see this.’
‘It’s too ugly.’
‘Sister only needs to see my pretty side… that’s enough.’
Seeing Li Xingya’s resistance, Lin Jin’an withdrew her hand. “…Alright, I’ll leave this to Xiaoya.”
‘Jiang Chiyue, Jiang Chiyue.’
‘Have you really gone crazy?’
‘To do something like this to Xiaoya… I don’t really want to give her back to you.’
Lin Jin’an looked at Li Xingya in her arms.
‘I’ll just raise you like this.’
‘I’ll be a good sister.’
Li Xingya, lying in her arms, naturally had no idea what Lin Jin’an was thinking. She just yawned quietly.
“Getting a little sleepy?”
“Mm.”
Li Xingya nodded. “I guess I ran around too long.”
‘The water in the bathtub is warm.’
‘Sister’s body is warm too.’
‘So comfortable.’
‘I feel like sleeping a bit.’
“Then let’s finish washing quickly and get some rest.”
Lin Jin’an lifted Li Xingya’s arm slightly.
Li Xingya didn’t speak, just cooperatively raised her arm, letting the other apply body wash.
***
Half an hour later.
Li Xingya, with her hair blow-dried, lay on the bed. Beside her lay Lin Jin’an.
“Since I’ve always lived alone, I haven’t prepared a guest room. For now, you’ll have to put up with sleeping with your sister, Xiaoya.”
That was Lin Jin’an’s explanation.
Li Xingya quickly accepted it.
After all, they’d already bathed together, so even sleeping together at night wasn’t a big deal.
If anything, breathing in Lin Jin’an’s unique scent made Li Xingya feel more at ease.
“Haa~”
Li Xingya yawned again.
Subconsciously, she turned onto her side, facing away from Lin Jin’an, and closed her eyes.
“Going to sleep?”
Behind her, there was the sound of fabric rustling, and soon Lin Jin’an pressed close.
Feeling the familiar, soft touch behind her, Li Xingya let out an “Mm.”
During the bath, she found it comfortable, but now she only felt…
‘So hot.’
‘Lin Jin’an’s body is so hot.’
‘There’s no way I can sleep like this.’
‘And sleeping while being held like this—no matter how I think about it, it’s troublesome.’
‘I can’t figure out what Lin Jin’an is thinking.’
“Click.”
The room lights turned off.
“Even though it’s only afternoon, since Xiaoya is sleepy, let’s take a nap first.”
Lin Jin’an held Li Xingya.
Not long after, the two let out steady breathing sounds… Li Xingya opened her eyes again.
‘She should be asleep by now, right?’
Li Xingya took a deep breath.
‘Even though I’m sleepy,’
‘I can’t fall asleep at all.’
‘After all, even in my previous life, from when I was underage, I was always using any spare time to work illegal jobs.’
‘So I don’t have a habit of taking naps.’
Li Xingya carefully, little by little, slipped out of Lin Jin’an’s embrace.
She turned over and looked at Lin Jin’an’s sleeping face, and many thoughts surged in her mind.
‘Did you actually realize I’m faking the amnesia?’
‘You’ve actually figured it out, haven’t you.’
‘I feel like it’s really hard to fool you…’
Li Xingya reached out, wrapping her fingers around a strand of Lin Jin’an’s hair.
‘Found out or not,’
‘The main thing is that I have to fool Jiang Chiyue.’
Li Xingya thought about how that big house, which felt empty whenever Jiang Chiyue wasn’t home, was really unappealing.
‘Besides, staying with you for a while is actually a good choice.’
‘It’s not because I’m scared.’
‘It’s just… it’s just because you’re so fond of me.’
Li Xingya lay on her side.
Even now, there was still a faint ache in her throat.
‘So…’
‘Please, you have to keep liking me forever.’
‘Because we made a promise.’
‘Even if… even if it’s just a pretense to deceive me,’
‘I’m not as good as you—I won’t be able to tell…’
Li Xingya moved, burrowing back into Lin Jin’an’s arms.
Her childhood experiences made Li Xingya afraid of being abandoned, so she would take the initiative to force Jiang Chiyue to kill her.
Even knowing Lin Jin’an had seen through her, she would maintain the status quo.
Li Xingya always did this unconsciously, instinctively, like some kind of self-preservation behavior.
Like the debt in her previous life—Li Xingya hated debt, but she really needed something to sustain herself.
‘It doesn’t matter whose sister I am.’
‘As long as someone can stay with me, that’s enough.’
Li Xingya still couldn’t sleep.
But she closed her eyes anyway.
In this life, she wanted to use “familial bonds” to control herself.