Sister, can I be a maid too?

Seemingly having finally replenished his energy, Jiang Yubai could feel the little head nuzzling against him in his arms. He took a deep breath before reluctantly letting go.

Jiang Yubai sat up straight, but still couldn't help asking:

"Wanwan, do I... smell something?"

He had actually wanted to ask this question for a long time.

Every time, whether it was him or Lin Tingwan who carried her, in the end, this girl would always sniff around in his arms like a little animal.

At first, Jiang Yubai thought he had some kind of smell on him, and he secretly sniffed for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

Upon hearing this question, Lin Tingwan blinked and lowered her head to write in her notebook:

"Jiang Yu Bai smells very nice."

There really is one?

Jiang Yubai raised his arm, somewhat skeptical, and sniffed it carefully again—but all he could smell was the faint scent of laundry detergent and the soft lavender fragrance from the girl's hair in his arms.

"...Why can't I smell it?"

He looked doubtful.

Lin Tingwan simply looked up at him with her clear eyes, her expression pure and innocent.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yubai seemed to have thought of something and turned to ask:

"By the way, Wanwan, can you smell your own scent? It's like lavender."

Lin Tingwan seemed a little puzzled. She lowered her head and gently sniffed her sleeve, then shook her head at him.

So, Lin Tingwan can smell the scent on me, and I can smell the lavender scent on Lin Tingwan.

How about we let Lin Jianxia smell it next time?

...Never mind, I might get called a pervert by this little hedgehog.

In the end, Jiang Yubai could only vaguely attribute it to the differences in male and female physiological structures, and didn't pay much attention to it.

He was just about to start a conversation when he saw Lin Tingwan lower her head and write something carefully in her notebook, then gently hold it up to him.

"Pinch your cheek."

Jiang Yubai: "?"

“…Uh,” he stared at the three words and asked hesitantly, “What does ‘pinching cheeks’ mean?”

Lin Tingwan lowered her head and wrote again, then pushed the notebook back.

"At the entrance of the bubble tea shop, you pinched my cheek like that."

Jiang Yubai: "......."

The air was still for a few seconds.

He remembered now; it seemed Lin Jianxia was agonizing over a two-yuan difference, looking so adorable that he couldn't resist rubbing her cheek in response...

—Serves you right for being so impulsive. Now look what you've done, the kid's been corrupted...

Jiang Yu hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back, but ultimately couldn't resist the pangs of conscience and forced himself to speak:

"Um... Wanwan, pinching cheeks is something that's usually done between two people who are very close."

Lin Tingwan tilted her head, seemingly confused, then lowered her head and wrote another line:

"Don't Jiang Yubai and I get along well?"

...This time, Jiang Yubai was completely stuck.

Saying "No, we have a very good relationship"—then why can't we pinch each other?

Saying "Yes, our relationship hasn't reached that stage yet" would probably make Lin Tingwan faint on the spot.

Then Lin Jianxia woke up to find that her younger sister's condition had regressed by a whole year. Upon questioning her, she discovered it was because her sister had gone to her room in the middle of the night...

Jiang Yubai suddenly shivered, coughed lightly, and tried to phrase his words more tactfully:

"Well... if I were a girl, then pinching cheeks and stuff would be fine. But between boys and girls, generally only... well, boyfriends and girlfriends do that kind of thing."

After listening, Lin Tingwan lowered her head and wrote quietly for a while, then slowly raised the notebook.

The above is a line of neat handwriting:

Are Jiang Yubai and my sister a couple?

Jiang Yubai: "........."

He was silent for two seconds, then raised his hand:

"Where should I pinch?"

What can we do? We can't just tell people every night, "Oh, actually I was just flirting with your sister," can we?

If she goes back and tells Lin Jianxia, ​​he'll be beaten to death by that prickly little hedgehog...

Never mind, it's really just... a little bit intimate.

Let's just be... let's be like brother and sister, it's no big deal to pinch each other's cheeks.

Jiang Yubai comforted himself in this way, finally suppressing the guilt he felt for 'seducing an innocent girl'.

Looking up, I saw that Lin Tingwan beside me had tilted her head slightly, looking adorable as if she were ready to be picked.

—Oh no, my guilt is even worse now...

Jiang Yubai hesitated for a few seconds, then slowly reached out and gently touched her soft cheek.

It was less of a pinch and more of a light touch.

After finishing, he solemnly withdrew his hand:

"Okay, that's done."

Lin Tingwan watched him silently, neither speaking nor writing, but her eyes clearly conveyed the meaning that "it's not enough."

When Jiang Yubai saw her like this, she really looked a bit like Lin Jianxia, ​​glaring at him angrily.

...I have to say, they truly are sisters.

Jiang Yubai pretended not to see it and looked over innocently. Lin Tingwan didn't move either, just looked up at him with her little face upturned.

The two remained in a silent standoff for a while, until Jiang Yubai finally gave in and let out a long sigh.

“You asked for it yourself,” he said, his tone tinged with self-abandonment. “You’re not allowed to tell your sister later, saying that I bullied you or anything.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Tingwan finally made a move and nodded slightly.

Having made up his mind, Jiang Yubai finally stopped being polite, stretched out his hands, gently cupped the girl's soft cheeks, and rubbed them with some force.

The feel of it was just too good.

It's soft and warm, and when you sink your fingertips in, you can feel the delicate skin and the slightly plump flesh.

On a whim, he decided to tease her like a cat, rubbing her cheeks down to her ears, then rubbing her chin with his knuckles, and finally ruffling the top of her head.

It was just a joke, but Lin Tingwan actually acted like a cat being stroked, squinting her eyes in comfort and even turning her head to offer her other cheek to his hand.

Suddenly, Jiang Yubai seemed to have thought of something.

He stopped what he was doing, stretched out his right hand, and made an "eight" gesture with his thumb and forefinger in front of the girl, looking at her expectantly.

Lin Tingwan felt the rubbing of her face stop. She raised her eyes somewhat blankly, looked at his face, and then at the hand gesturing in front of her.

She blinked, as if she understood something.

The girl slowly lowered her head, gently resting her soft chin on the web of his hand, then tilted her head back and quietly looked at him with her clear eyes.

Like a well-behaved kitten waiting to be patted on the head.

"........."

In that instant, Jiang Yubai finally understood what "a little game that can only be played between people who are close enough" meant.

This is just too unfair.

He kept repeating to himself, 'This is Wanwan, this is Wanwan, I'm treating someone, I'm treating someone,' before he could barely suppress the urge to bury his face in her hair and rub against her.

Jiang Yubai rubbed her face haphazardly a couple more times before withdrawing his hand as if fleeing, and coughed lightly:

"Is this alright now?"

Lin Tingwan blinked her eyes, and finally nodded obediently, looking quite satisfied.

For the rest of the time, Jiang Yubai rambled on about the trivial things she had encountered recently and the gossip she had heard, just like when they chatted in her room.

As he spoke, his mind wandered inexplicably. Suddenly, he felt a slight weight on his shoulder.

Turning his head, he saw that Lin Tingwan had leaned on his shoulder at some point, her eyes slightly closed, her breathing even and shallow, looking like she was about to fall asleep.

"Wanwan, Wanwan?"

He lowered his voice and called out twice.

Lin Tingwan slowly opened her eyes, tilted her head up to look at him, her eyes still a little sleepy.

"Now you want to sleep, right?" He rubbed her head, his voice even softer. "Go back and sleep with your sister."

Lin Tingwan looked at him quietly for a while before nodding gently, picking up the spiral notebook from beside her pillow, and slowly writing a line.

Goodnight, Jiang Yubai.

Goodnight, goodnight, sleep well.

Jiang Yubai chuckled softly.

Only after the girl's soft footsteps disappeared outside the door did Jiang Yubai let out a long sigh of relief, reach out to turn off the bedside lamp, and slowly close his eyes in the deepening night.

"........"

"........"

After an unknown amount of time, he slowly opened his eyes, his expression one of helplessness.

I'm having trouble sleeping again.

only......

This time it doesn't seem to be because of milk tea.