Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Bai Li looked at the question Chen Tingting sent on the screen, and a little sweat appeared on his forehead.

A woman's intuition is truly terrifying.

He glanced at Zhang Qian, who was sleeping soundly beside him.

This girl is a very restless sleeper; her little feet are kicking Bai Li's chest, and there are several hickeys on her neck.

If those three old ladies saw this, what would happen?

[Bai Li]: What are you thinking? I took her back and then went back to my hotel. She has a family too, she can't just stay with me, can she?

[Rampaging Lolita]: I don't believe it! Unless you turn on your video!

[Lin Xiaoshuang]: Yes, yes, yes! Let's turn on the video and see!

【Cool Xin】: We need to check up on you.

Bai Li cursed under his breath, "What a nuisance!"

But he knew that if he didn't answer the video call, Chen Tingting's personality would definitely cause a scene all night, and she might even take a taxi back overnight.

He quickly tucked Zhang Qian into the quilt and pulled the quilt up to cover her head.

After doing all this, he adjusted his posture, leaning half of his body against the headboard, trying to look as natural as possible, and then pressed the call button.

The video call connected, and the screen split into three.

Chen Tingting was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), with a wall covered with newspapers in the background;

Lin Xiaoshuang sat in the courtyard wrapped in a thick cotton-padded coat; Li Jiaxin sat in the dim light.

"See? It's just me." Bai Li waved her phone around, deliberately avoiding the other side of the bed. "Satisfied now?"

"Tch, who knows if you're already done?" Chen Tingting was stubborn, but her expression was noticeably better.

"Big brother, did you just wake up? Your hair is a bit messy." Lin Xiaoshuang chuckled on the other end.

"Yeah, I just took a nap."

Bai Li made up a story casually, but his eyes darted toward the blankets beside him.

Because he sensed that something was moving.

Zhang Qian woke up.

She vaguely woke up when Bai Li was speaking.

Hearing that Chen Tingting and the others were checking up on her, she didn't hide; instead, a mischievous thought arose in her mind.

Why can you act cute and affectionate in a legitimate way, while I have to hide it?

Bai Li froze, almost dropping her phone.

He frowned in the video: "Ahem, is the signal bad on your end?"

"No, I'm fine." Chen Tingting looked at the screen in confusion: "Big brother, what's wrong with you? Your expression is weird."

"It's nothing, just a leg cramp." Bai Li gritted her teeth, forcibly controlling her facial expression.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of a zipper was heard.

"What was that sound?" Li Jiaxin asked keenly. "It sounded like something was being torn apart?"

"Oh, I opened a bag of potato chips." Bai Li said without batting an eye.

But Zhang Qian was determined to cause trouble at this moment.

"Hiss—" Bai Li gasped sharply, and the veins on his neck throbbed.

"Big brother? What's wrong?" Lin Xiaoshuang asked worriedly. "Have you caught a cold?"

"No... huff..." Bai Li took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady: "It's just a bit hot, the air conditioning is set too high."

Gurgle, gurgle~.

"Hey bro, are there rats over there?" Chen Tingting pressed her ear close to the phone. "I'm hearing some strange noises."

"Cough cough!" Bai Li coughed heavily twice. "Maybe the neighbors are renovating; this shabby hotel has terrible soundproofing."

On the other end of the video call, Chen Tingting stared at the screen suspiciously: "Renovation? Renovation in the middle of the night?"

"The water pipe burst." Bai Li gritted his teeth, his voice a little strained. "They're doing emergency repairs next door, so it's quite noisy."

Gurgle.

The air fell silent for two seconds.

Lin Xiaoshuang brought her face close to the camera and blinked:

"Big brother, are you eating... jelly?"

Bai Li gasped, trying to calm his breathing and managing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Hmm, this is a complimentary late-night snack from the hotel, a jelly-like treat, and it's quite a large one."

"Let me see it, I want to eat it too." Lin Xiaoshuang swallowed hard.

"I'm done eating." Bai Li didn't even want to say another word.

At this moment, Li Jiaxin, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, her eyes somewhat unfocused:

"Brother, why is your face so red? Is it too hot in the room?"

This girl usually seems aloof and reserved, but her observation skills are damnably sharp.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense." Bai Li felt that if he didn't hang up the phone soon, he would definitely die here tonight.

He feigned impatience, frowning deeply: "I'm going to go to the front desk and yell at them. (Hanging up)"

"Hey wait! Big brother, we haven't talked yet..." Chen Tingting was still shouting.

"beep."

Bai Li didn't give her a chance at all. With a tap of her finger on the screen, the world finally became quiet.

The phone was casually tossed onto the bedside table.

Zhang Qian's long blue hair was disheveled, with a few strands sticking to the corners of her mouth.

Seeing Bai Li's murderous glare, she didn't flinch.

Instead, she stuck out her pink tongue and gently licked the corner of her mouth, her eyes full of ingratiating charm.

"Are you crazy?" Bai Li stared down at her, his chest heaving.

Zhang Qian's skin was dazzlingly white under the lights.

She tucked her disheveled hair behind her ear and smiled in a way that was both silly and crazy.

Her voice was hoarse: "Yes, I'm crazy, but only for you."

As she spoke, she crawled over like a cat: "Big brother, I'm afraid you've forgotten me."

In that phone call just now, Chen Tingting and the others had relatives, a lively atmosphere, and the respect Bai Li provided back in their hometown.

But Zhang Qian had nothing.

This sense of disparity made her desperately want to grasp onto something.

Seeing her like this, Bai Li's anger instantly turned sour.

This isn't some kind of "energetic young lady"; she's clearly a pathetic creature desperately insecure who uses this method to gain attention.

But it must be said that this tactic worked very well for him.

He reached out and pinched Zhang Qian's chin, forcing her to raise her head.

His fingers caressed her delicate cheeks with just the right amount of pressure.

"You're such a troublemaker." Bai Li squinted, his voice low and carrying a dangerous aura.

Upon hearing those two words, Zhang Qian trembled, her eyes becoming even more unfocused.

She offered her face to Bai Li's hands, like a puppy longing for its owner's touch.

"Ah... I am." Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes unfocused. "But brother... I am a cup that belongs only to you."

"Please feel free to use it..."

She said this with utmost sincerity.

In this cold world, only this one man took her in, dressed her in warm clothes, and took her out for a hot pot meal.

What's wrong with being his dog?

It's better than being a stray dog ​​outside.

Bai Li was amused and exasperated by her self-destructive yet deeply affectionate demeanor, and at the same time felt that the system reward was working again.

"Depend on."

Bai Li cursed, grabbed her blue hair, and forced her to tilt her long neck back.

"Looks like I still need to teach you a lesson."

All sounds were swallowed up.

Outside the window, the cold wind howled; inside, the atmosphere was warm and sweet.

"Big brother...I was wrong...I shouldn't have bitten you just now."

"It's too late."

creak creak.