The old man also smiled. To these young people, such issues seemed still too early anyway.
But why did it always feel like the subtext of his words was gathering the two of them into his clutch?
"Grandpa, you have asked all your questions; can you let go of me now?"
"Eh, now that you're here, let me prick you with this!"
The old man suddenly changed his tune and wobbled about with a flying knife in hand.
Xu Musen swallowed hard—this was no joke!
The old man thrust the flying knife forward, and under the night sky, the cold light was fierce as the tip of the knife landed instantly over Xu Musen's heart.
Xu Musen felt a pain in his chest, and then… there was no "then."
The flying knife fell to the ground, making the sound of wood hitting the floor.
Xu Musen broke into a cold sweat.
The old man, acting like his prank had succeeded, laughed heartily as he went to untie Xu Musen and picked up the fallen knife. Looking at its glinting surface, it was nothing but wood with a layer of iron powder on top.
"Just joking with you; you're Nuannuan's favorite person right now. If I hurt you, my precious granddaughter wouldn't let me off the hook!"
The old man laughed heartily and handed the knife over, patting Xu Musen on the shoulder.
"Alright, you just make sure to lead a good life with Nuannuan. With that, this old bag of bones can die in peace."
With the wooden flying knife in hand, Xu Musen was somewhat caught between laughter and tears—how could the old man resemble the playful Zhou Botong?
He ended up staying the night.
An Nannan was very happy, clinging to her sister after their bath, comfortably lying together on the bed.
She burrowed into her sister's arms, inhaling the fragrance on her: "Sister, you smell different than before, have you used a different body wash?"
An Nannan smelled her sister's scent, that special milky fragrance was particularly comforting, and it seemed like the flesh on her sister's body was even softer than before.
An Nuannuan's cheeks were flushed; she hadn't changed her body wash. She too raised her hand to sniff: "I don't know, perhaps... it's because I've been eating different things lately."
She thought of the past few days when Xu Musen made her various sweet porridges daily to nourish her blood and qi.
"Eating different things? Sister, did you and he secretly eat some delicious food without me knowing? Share with me too~"
An Nannan's foodie eyes gleamed, pestering her sister for treats.
"Nothing different really, just eating more things to nourish the body..."
"But it really smells good. Mom used to tell me when coaxing me to drink milk that the more milk you drink, the more your body will have a milk scent. Sister, did you secretly drink some special milk..."
An Nuannuan's mind suddenly blushed as she recalled something. She grabbed the storybook from the bedside and interrupted her sister.
"Nannan, let me tell you a story instead."
An Nuannuan spoke softly, telling the story, but her mind was still shy and somewhat distracted.
She looked out the window at the beautiful moonlight—it was nice to sleep with her sister again.
But now, she had grown accustomed to sleeping nestled in his arms every night.
Without him by her side, she felt there was an emptiness, and she actually started to suffer from insomnia.
It was what is commonly called, missing her husband...
Like withdrawal symptoms, An Nuannuan felt she was lacking "Musen Element."
She lowered her head to look at her sister lying in her arms and said softly, "Nannan, should I talk to you about math problems instead?"
An Nannan did not nod as readily as usual, but rather shook her head fiercely in her embrace: "No, I always fall asleep when you talk about math problems. I haven't slept with you for days, and I want to stay with you longer!"
An Nuannuan, touched by her sister's coquettish manner, softened and stroked her head: "Alright, I'll sleep with you tonight."
"Yeah, hehe~ Sister, I still want to hear a story!"
An Nuannuan continued with the story, and while her sister went to use the bathroom, she took out her phone and sent a message to Xu Musen.
"Xu Musen, tonight I'm going to sleep with my sister（pouting bunny.）"
"Aren't you always sleeping with your sister anyway?"
"I mean, don't wait for me at midnight...（blushing bunny.）"
An Nuannuan's cheeks were as red as the emoticon; she typed in the chat: "Go to bed early, we can go home tomorrow..."
Before she finished typing, she saw Xu Musen's reply.
"Okay, thanks to my wife for giving me a day off!"
An Nuannuan's cheeks puffed up with a mix of irritation and humor—what did he mean by 'a day off'? It made it sound like she was some kind of greedy boss lady.
And there she was, unable to sleep, yet he didn't even seem to mind not sleeping together.
"Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore（angry bunny!）"
Xu Musen, looking at the messages on his phone, could not help but laugh.
At such a vigorous age and accustomed to having a beautiful woman by his side, it was naturally uncomfortable to lie alone all of a sudden.
But he had just been "warned" by the old man's flying knife—better to behave tonight.
Besides, Nuannuan's body couldn't handle being tossed around every day.
Seeing An Nuannuan's messages, it was rare to get messages with such a tone from her, and it was actually quite adorable.
Thinking of cheering her up tomorrow, Xu Musen was about to send a comforting reply when An Nuannuan sent another message.