"I miss you so much, I really, really miss you."
Ye Wenxi's voice trembled slightly, bringing a hint of choking: "I've been feeling terrible these past few days, will you please keep me company? Let's not go home tonight."
Ever since finding out about her mother and Qin Chuan, Ye Wenxi's heart had been in turmoil.
Even though Luo Yi had tried to console her once.
But it only made her situation more conflicted.
On one side was her mother who raised her, on the other was the little brother Chuan she liked.
No matter who she chose, it was bound to be painful.
Ye Wenxi thought that by avoiding it, she could pretend none of it ever happened.
But, these past few days of not seeing Chuan made her even more troubled.
She often wondered if her brother Chuan and her mother had already been together.
If they were engaging in joyous acts every night when she wasn't home, and whether she could no longer go back to that house.
Of course, there was also the constant worry that that little flirt Su Qian would seduce brother Chuan.
After days of torment, Ye Wenxi finally couldn't resist wanting to meet Qin Chuan.
She thought she could pretend nothing had happened.
But the moment she saw Qin Chuan, she could no longer suppress her feelings.
She wanted to be with brother Chuan, to be glued together every day, never to part.
Facing Ye Wenxi's request, Qin Chuan shook his head: "No, we must go home."
His stepmother's illness required daily massage and therapy, which couldn't be interrupted.
Once interrupted, not only would they have to start over, it could even backfire, causing her stepmother's health to deteriorate even faster.
So, no matter what, in the next twenty-odd days, even if the sky falls, he couldn't spend the night outside.
Unless, it was with his stepmother.
Of course, he couldn't tell Ye Wenxi these things.
If Ye Wenxi discovered that treating his stepmother involved massaging her chest, she would likely think he had ulterior motives.
After working hard to mend their relationship, Qin Chuan didn't want to return to their previous estrangement.
"Aunt Mei hasn't seen you for days, she misses you dearly, she talks about you every day."
Qin Chuan spoke a white lie, hoping to dissuade Ye Wenxi from the idea of staying out overnight.
"I won't go back! I don't want to go home, I want to be with you tonight!" Ye Wenxi started pouting like a child, her eyes red as she stared at Qin Chuan.
"Let's... let's talk about it after this period, okay?"
Qin Chuan patiently comforted her, reaching out to hug her: "How about during the National Day? I'll take you to the countryside for some relaxation."
"I don't want to! I want it tonight!"
Ye Wenxi's eyes filled with tears, her reddened eyes written with intensity.
"Well... how about I come to your room, or you come to mine, is that okay?" Qin Chuan, feeling helpless, offered a compromise.
However, Ye Wenxi insisted on going out to book a room.
She simply couldn't face both her mother and brother Chuan at the same time.
If her mother truly liked brother Chuan, then what would it mean for her to be holding brother Chuan in her room?
Would it mean competing with her mother for a man?
Only outside would Ye Wenxi momentarily let go of this guilt and be with Qin Chuan properly.
"Sweetheart, we really can't spend the night outside." Qin Chuan's face showed difficulty, but he still tried to console her.
"Brother Chuan, don't you like me? Do you hate me? Do you think you're getting back at me for giving you a hard time when you first arrived?"
Ye Wenxi cried like raindrops, tears streaming down her delicate face, making one want to cherish her.
"No, no, don't cry, don't cry..."
Qin Chuan quickly hugged her tightly, reaching out to wipe her tears.
Ye Wenxi now regretted judging people by appearance back then.
Brother Chuan was clearly so good, so excellent, so kind, just because he dressed plainly, but that wasn't wrong, it was frugal.
Why did she have to give him a hard time?
Ye Wenxi sobbed, her large tears falling like a broken string of pearls: "I'm a bad girl..."
"This, this, this..."
Why was it that the more he comforted, the harder she cried? Qin Chuan was at a loss.
"You two siblings are hiding here hugging and kissing, making it hard for me to find you."
At this moment, Su Qian appeared at the alley entrance.
Ye Wenxi quickly turned her face away, quietly wiping her tears, not wanting Su Qian to see her disheveled state.
"Let's go, let's eat," Ye Wenxi said to Su Qian, trying to appear strong.
Su Qian could tell she'd been crying but didn't want to directly ask, so she glanced at Qin Chuan for an explanation.
Qin Chuan shrugged helplessly.
Su Qian kept her mouth shut, thinking she'd find another opportunity to ask later.
At that moment, Ye Wenxi silently walked ahead.
Su Qian, wanting to comfort her friend, followed her.
But before going over, in the blink of an eye, she stuffed something into Qin Chuan's hand.
Qin Chuan was surprised and instinctively opened his palm to look.
Oh!
Not looking was fine, but looking made him panic.
It was a pair of pink, sexy panties.
They were damp.
Clearly, they were the ones Su Qian had just been wearing.
No wonder she went shopping for underwear.
They were evidently so wet they were uncomfortable to wear.
Qin Chuan quickly stuffed the damp panties into his pocket, not daring to look again.
There were people everywhere on the street, and if someone saw him, a man, holding a pair of panties, he'd likely be mistaken for a pervert and arrested.
After tucking away Su Qian's panties, Qin Chuan quickly jogged to catch up with the two.
Soon, they arrived at a trendy internet-famous restaurant.
These days, girls liked to eat light meals.
In Qin Chuan's opinion, light meals were just expensive food that wouldn't fill you up.
He grew up in the countryside and wasn't picky about food, as long as it filled his stomach.
If it were up to him, he'd rather get something from the street vendor than spend money in such a place, it was just money for discomfort.
However, since Su Qian and Ye Wenxi were girls and liked more atmospheric places, he couldn't complain.
So Qin Chuan just tagged along.
Soon, plates were placed in front of them that were hardly enough to fill his teeth, a steak, a colorful salad that looked like pig food, a few BBQ wings, and some foreign noodles.
The taste was average.
As for the prices, they were absurd.
Altogether, it was almost three hundred, making Qin Chuan grit his teeth.
You could buy the ingredients at the market for fifty bucks and still get change.
But they're charging three hundred?
Daylight robbery!
Still, in front of the two, he kept quiet and ate silently.
At that moment, Ye Wenxi suddenly asked Su Qian, "Weren't you shopping for lingerie? Why didn't I see you carrying anything? Did you forget?"
Su Qian spoke while eating steak, "Didn't see anything I liked, so I didn't buy."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Qin Chuan, just having taken a sip of water, almost choked at the words.
What was going on?
Didn't buy?
Then how did she give him the one she was wearing?
Su Qian, noticing this, seemed to realize something and smiled slyly, then dropped her fork: "Oh, brother Chuan, I think my fork fell your way, can you pick it up for me?"
"Yes... yes."
Already feeling flustered, Qin Chuan bent down immediately hearing this.
But as he picked up the fork, he suddenly noticed Su Qian's legs slowly parting...