""Just think of me as Dongxue! I’m your sister too, what’s wrong with a sister using her brother’s thigh as a pillow?" He Zhilan retorts, lying still.
"You’re not Dongxue, and Dongxue wouldn’t sleep leaning against my thigh!" He Teng replies.
"Right, I’m certainly not Dongxue. I am your other sister, the one who would sleep using your thigh as a pillow!" He Zhilan fires back, unapologetically.
He Teng is about to lose it, calming his voice, "Acting grumpy won’t help! Get up!"
He knows too well that He Zhilan is just trying to trick him this way because acting coy has failed.
Seeing He Zhilan still motionless, He Teng adopts a stern tone, "I’m counting to three. If you still don’t move, I’ll leave you here and go back home!"
He Teng started the countdown after uttering the warning.
In the past, He Zhilan would have obeyed before the countdown ended, but, this time, the countdown seemed to have no effect on her.
He Teng gritted his teeth and scooped He Zhilan up. He initially intended to throw her onto the bed after picking her up, but he couldn’t bear to do so when she was in his arms, and soft bed seemed hard as a board. Instead, he gently placed her onto the bed and then covered her with a quilt.
He Zhilan grinned secretly, she knew even if He Teng was provoked, the most he would do was move his leg away and wouldn’t harm her.
He Teng’s anger usually didn’t last long, as long as it wasn’t a matter of principle or ethics.
"Petty." He Zhilan pouted and muttered, but obediently went to sleep.
The mouse story was made up by He Zhilan. In weather , rodents probably hibernate. How could there be mice in the house?
Although He Teng believed her, and just as she wished, he stayed in the house with her, He Zhilan felt contented.
She visited the army over the weekend, and if He Teng was not able to be with her for the whole day because of training, she could cope. But if even at night he strictly followed the rules, her trip to army camp would be a waste, wouldn’t it?
Although He Teng was staying with He Zhilan in the house for now, he remained silent. His eyes searched the room, probably for potential hideouts of the mouse. Then he turned to look at He Zhilan and saw that she wasn’t closing her eyes, but instead, smiling at him. He felt helpless.
This time, He Teng deeply felt He Zhilan’s change.
Not her superficial changes, nothing like her becoming more sweet towards him or sweet on failing to pout, it was something that changed deep down inside her.
How she treated him was no longer like before; timid and cautious. She liked being a brat more now. And yet, she seemed to have become more mature, stable in her mental state that had nothing to do with her nature.
"Bro, I heard from sister-in-law that many people in the army have been eager to introduce you to new partners after knowing you’re divorced! How do you feel about it?"
"I have no opinion." He Teng gave a glance at He Zhilan, who had rolled herself up in the quilt like a chubby caterpillar. When she spoke, her eyes smiled, her lips slightly parted, revealing her toothy grin and lovely pointed canines on either side. He Zhilan, in this state, seemed to be more childlike.