"Why did you come back so late?"
As you entered carrying the snacks you’d bought, your mother, who was cuddling Little Qinniang on the sofa watching a horror movie, couldn’t help but complain.
"I ran into an old man outside who was over a hundred years old, and we chatted for a bit."
Your mother was well aware of your temperament. She raised her eyebrows and asked with a smile, "What did you talk about?"
Putting the things in your hands aside, you briefly mentioned what had happened outside. Listening to your story, your mother frowned slightly and said softly, "That’s really quite a coincidence, I didn’t expect you to fulfill the old man’s wish after so many years."
You smiled, and looking around, you noticed that Zhao’er was not there. You couldn’t help but ask, "Where’s Zhao’er?"
"That girl said she was sleepy and went to bed just now."
Nodding, you tiptoed into your room.
Your room wasn’t very large, but unlike the others, yours had an en-suite bathroom. So as soon as you entered the room, there was a small bathroom on the right side of the narrow corridor, and a few steps further was your bedroom.
By then, Zhao’er had already curled up on your bed. The girl hadn’t even taken off her coat or covered herself with the blanket, and her right foot hung off the bed with a pair of little white rabbit slippers still half on her delicate little feet, looking extremely adorable.
Seeing her in this sleeping position, you couldn’t help but chuckle and shake your head.
You tiptoed over, gently removed the little white rabbit slippers from her toes, softly pinched her small foot that you couldn’t resist holding in your palm, tucking it back under the covers before carefully pulling the blanket over Zhao’er.
After that, you squatted in front of her, looking at her cute, innocent sleeping face and couldn’t help but reveal a gentle smile of happiness on your face.
Looking at her was like looking at your entire world.
It was as if the Earth rotated because of her, and you lived because of her.
As you looked on, you couldn’t help but lean over to gently and quietly kiss her smooth forehead.
Slowly standing up, you backed out of the room step by step.
"Zhao’er fell asleep?"
Seeing you quietly close the door, your mother, munching on cookies, asked.
"Have you found a solution to Zhao’er’s problem?"
You shook your head, "Grandma Meng is not around; I’ll look for her tomorrow morning."
"Silly child, it’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow. Do you think she’ll be there?"
Scratching your head, you replied somewhat vexedly, "I’ll try my luck anyway, nothing much going on tomorrow."
"Mhm, that’s also fine." Your mother looked at Little Qinniang in her arms and added, "By the way, I’ve already bought Little Yan’s New Year’s clothes. I haven’t prepared yours or Zhao’er’s; you’ll have to take Zhao’er to the mall tomorrow."
"Er Ya has already bought my clothes, but for Zhao’er, I’ll take her tomorrow."
You woke up feeling stuffy, as if a giant stone was pressing on your chest in your dream. But when you opened your eyes, you laughed.
Zhao’er had flipped over on top of you again, treating you as a human-shaped pillow, her arms wrapped around your neck. Luckily, the girl was slim enough not to be too heavy. Otherwise, you might have actually been suffocated in your sleep.
What a fortunate morning, you thought, content to stay still as you admired Zhao’er’s unique sleeping pose. Then her long eyelashes twitched slightly before she opened her eyes, which seemed to compete with the sun and moon, and stared intently at you.
You leaned down to kiss Zhao’er’s forehead and said with a smile, "You lazy kitten, time to get up. I’m taking you clothes shopping today."
As Zhao’er sat up, your eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!
She... she was wearing your oversized nightshirt!
For Zhao’er, your nightshirt was simply too large. It wasn’t noticeable when you both were snuggled together, but when she sat up, you saw that the first button was not done up and the collar had loosened, allowing the shirt to naturally slip down her smooth white left shoulder and hang off her left arm. At that moment, a view that set one’s blood racing appeared before you.
For a second, it was a sight of majestic mountains and vast seas!
You could look no further!
You hastily turned away.
And then, oh dear, Zhao’er, oblivious to everything, actually leaned down close to peer at you.
You turned your head slightly, and oh Lord!
Underneath that shirt, the girl was bare!
"Yun, you’re bleeding."
Zhao’er hurriedly used her sleeve to wipe the blood trickling from your nose, but as she did so, it was as if a tremor shook the firmaments, gentle swaying, slight swinging...
No, that’s not right, the Three Purities!
Not even them, it’s... Argh! My mind is in a whirl!
Zhao’er placed her hands on your muscular frame, staring at you with eyes clear of any muddiness.
"No, nothing; it’s just that... boys can be more... vigorous in the morning. Let’s... let’s get up."
Zhao’er nodded and finally got off you.
Just as you breathed a sigh of relief, Zhao’er went ahead and pulled off your nightshirt right in front of you, and a pair of naughty white rabbits bounced out!
Just as you had sat up, your nose felt warm, and you collapsed backward onto the bed!
At last, after finally waiting for Zhao’er to get dressed, you managed to sit up again with great difficulty.
But as you were brushing your teeth in the bathroom, your mother looked at you with an exaggerated expression and asked, "Hey, kiddo, what did you two do last night? Why is there blood on the sheets? Don’t tell me you did that to Zhao’er..."
"Mother dear! That’s my blood, nosebleed!"
"Nosebleed?" Your mother looked at you skeptically, "Really?"
"Really! Truer than pearls!"
At this moment, you felt like banging your head against the wall. You were glad this embarrassing incident happened at home. If Yang Kai or Xiao Feng found out, you might as well not bother living!
Yet your incorrigible mother raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "I don’t believe it. Zhao’er has such a good figure and skin, even I can’t help but want to touch her. You tell me you aren’t tempted? Besides, how long has it been since you two last saw each other? It’s like new love rekindled, is it possible you couldn’t control yourself and did ’that’ to Zhao’er?"
Her expression was anything but what one might expect of a gentle, dignified mother; she was more like a female gangster!
You gave her a stare whiter than snow.