Rebirth: My Home Has Become a Gathering Place for Young Women with a "Crazy" Spirit

Upon hearing Wu Xiaoxiao's words, Qin Lang reached out and flicked her forehead with a flick of his wrist. The force was not light, but not too heavy.

Wu Xiaoxiao cried out in pain and covered her forehead.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kick you out," Qin Lang said expressionlessly.

Wu Xiaoxiao rubbed her forehead, grimaced, and shrank her neck, but her eyes still wandered over Xu Han and the other two.

She noticed that after her cousin said those words, the three beauties reacted differently. Ruan Zhihuan and Su Yue's faces flashed with a hint of disappointment, while Xu Han's expression remained completely unchanged.

"Go wash up and go to bed early." Qin Lang pointed to the bathroom. "There are new towels and toothbrushes in the second drawer."

Wu Xiaoxiao said "Oh" and reluctantly went to the bathroom. Before closing the door, she peeked out halfway and glanced at the four people in the living room like a thief before finally closing the door.

As soon as the door closed, Ruan Zhihuan spoke up: "Your cousin is quick-witted."

"It's pretty fast," Su Yue added with a smile, "but it's turning in the wrong direction."

Qin Lang sighed and didn't reply. He tidied up the empty Coke cans on the coffee table and threw them into the trash can.

When Wu Xiaoxiao came out after washing up, her hair was still wet and hanging over her shoulders, and water droplets still clung to her face. She was wearing one of Qin Lang's old T-shirts, the neckline so large it slipped down to her shoulders and the hem covering her thighs.

"Brother, your T-shirt is way too big," Wu Xiaoxiao complained, tugging at her collar.

"It's good enough that we have something to wear." Qin Lang was scrolling through his phone and didn't even look up.

Wu Xiaoxiao scoffed, glanced at Qin Lang, and asked, "Um...where do I sleep?"

"My room." Qin Lang raised his chin, indicating that it was the room at the end of the corridor.

"Cousin...we're...I'm your cousin, you can't..." Wu Xiaoxiao grabbed her collar with her left hand and gathered the hem of her T-shirt with her right, looking at Qin Lang with a horrified expression.

"Get out of here!" Qin Lang glared at her fiercely. This girl's head was really toxic. He pointed towards the master bedroom and said, "I'll sleep in that room."

"Oh..." Wu Xiaoxiao pouted, slowly walked over and pushed open the door, and found that although the second bedroom was not big, it was very clean. The sheets and duvet covers were newly changed.

The wardrobe was half-open, with a few clothes hanging inside. They looked like Qin Lang's, but they only took up a third of the space, leaving the rest empty.

She stood at the door for two seconds, then turned back into the living room, sat down next to Qin Lang, and said in a low voice, "Brother, from childhood to adulthood, haven't we always been the closest of friends?"

Qin Lang glanced at her: "Just say what you have to say."

Wu Xiaoxiao chuckled and rubbed her hands together. "What I mean is, you see, it's boring for me to stay at home, and my mom nags me every day. She's actually more at ease knowing I'm staying with you, right?"

Qin Lang ignored her and continued looking at his phone.

Undeterred, Wu Xiaoxiao leaned closer: "Brother, do you have any plans for summer vacation? We can go out and have fun together. I see you guys get along really well, how about we form a group? Go to the beach? Go hiking? Go..."

"Go to sleep!" Qin Lang interrupted her, pointing towards the second bedroom, and said in an irrefutable tone.

Wu Xiaoxiao pouted, let out a drawn-out "Oh," and slowly stood up, walking towards the second bedroom with several glances back. When she reached the door, she stopped, turned around, and as if she had made a great decision, ran back and quickly kissed Qin Lang on the cheek before dashing into the second bedroom and slamming the door shut.

For a moment, the living room fell silent.

"You should get some rest too." Qin Lang stood up and walked towards the master bedroom.

……

The next morning, Wu Xiaoxiao was awakened by a delicious aroma. She sat up groggily in bed, her hair a mess, and before she could fully open her eyes, she smelled a fragrant aroma wafting from the kitchen. It was oily, with the aroma of scallions and eggs, and a kind of indescribable sweetness.

She followed the aroma to the kitchen doorway and saw Qin Lang standing in front of the stove, a spatula in his hand. The eggs in the frying pan were sizzling, their edges already crispy. A small pot of porridge next to him was bubbling away. On the other side of the stove, there was a dish of pickled vegetables and several freshly steamed buns.

"Brother...you can cook?" Wu Xiaoxiao rubbed her eyes, looking incredulous.

Qin Lang flipped the fried egg over, without turning his head, and said casually, "I know a little bit."

"You call this knowing a little bit?" Wu Xiaoxiao pointed to the breakfast piled high on the stove and said with a pout, "This cousin has even learned Versailles."

Su Yue had gotten up sometime earlier. She came out of the bathroom with her hair tied in a low ponytail and a sleepy look on her face. She walked to the kitchen doorway, glanced at it, said "Good morning," and then naturally picked up the plate of pickled vegetables and placed it on the dining table.

Ruan Zhihuan also sat up from the sofa, wrapped herself in a blanket, yawned, and despite her messy hair, she looked strangely good-looking. She sniffed and muttered, "I want my fried egg runny."

"It's still soft-boiled... Take it or leave it." Qin Lang put the fried egg on the table and said irritably.

It's already a favor that I made breakfast for you, and she's still being picky.

When Xu Han came out of the bedroom, she had already changed her clothes and combed her hair neatly. She glanced at the breakfast on the table, said nothing, and sat down to eat.

Wu Xiaoxiao stood in the corridor, looking at the three women, then at her cousin. These three beautiful women were spending the night at her cousin's house, and they all acted as if it were perfectly normal, neither putting on any show nor appearing awkward.

Something's not right... These people are all acting strangely.

After breakfast, everyone went about their own business. Su Yue nestled on the sofa, watching dramas on the iPad Qin Lang had bought her, practicing her acting skills. Ruan Zhihuan sat cross-legged on the carpet, browsing sketching resources. Xu Han went to Qin Lang's bedroom... to read a novel.

Wu Xiaoxiao wandered aimlessly around the living room a couple of times, her gaze landing on the half-closed door to the study. She remembered seeing a computer in the study last night.

"Brother, can I use your computer to go online?" she asked, clinging to the doorframe of the study.

Qin Lang was sitting at his desk, with a monitor and a laptop in front of him, both screens filled with densely packed interfaces. Hearing Wu Xiaoxiao's words, he didn't look up and replied, "Wait a minute, I'll finish this first."

Wu Xiaoxiao hummed in response, but had already stepped inside. Her gaze passed over Qin Lang's shoulder and landed on the computer screen.

On the left side of the laptop screen is the interface of a video editing software. The timeline is densely packed with footage, and the preview window shows a silly animated character making funny expressions and movements on screen.

On the desktop monitor to the right, a document was open, filled with dense text—at least several thousand words at a glance. At the top of the document was a title; Wu Xiaoxiao squinted to make out the words "shrimp," but couldn't make out the rest.

"Brother, are you making silly animations?" Wu Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"Hmm," Qin Lang responded, his fingers flying across the keyboard. The characters on the screen moved in sync with the voiceover, his movements fluid and seamless.