Qin Shuo pushed his luck, gripping the back of the chair as he kissed her again and again without stopping.
With a sharp crack, the chopsticks in Jiang Xun’s hand snapped in two. He could not endure it any longer, so he shoved Qin Shuo away and pulled his Little Sister into his own arms.
Caught off guard by the sudden force, Qin Shuo lost his balance and nearly fell to the ground. He steadied himself, his eyes still filled with a deep, unsatisfied hunger after being interrupted.
He moved to take her back, but Jiang Xun was faster. Turning around, he quickly carried the girl toward his bedroom.
Xiong Ji and Nan Qi shut their eyes in pain. She still disliked them, and they did not dare act rashly, so they could only watch helplessly as their treasure was taken away by another man.
Jiang Xun set his Little Sister on the bed, then turned and deliberately slammed his shoulder into Qin Shuo’s, signaling him to step outside to talk.
When the two of them came out, Nan Qi finally spoke.
“Let her choose for herself… I…”
Qin Shuo said, “Choose for herself? No! I can’t be without her! We’ll compete fairly… or…”
Jiang Xun replied, “What difference does it make? Doesn’t it all end the same, with the loser crawling away?”
The four of them fell silent for a long time. Inside the room, Li Tong was locked in and unable to leave. She pressed herself against the door, listening to the sounds outside, afraid they might hurt each other again like before.
Rumble—
A massive roll of thunder echoed across the sky, followed by a flash of lightning.
Timid by nature, Li Tong was startled and covered her ears, crouching down and curling into herself.
The four men knew their Little Sister too well. They all moved at once, opening the door and going inside.
Qin Shuo crouched down and coaxed her softly, “Don’t be afraid, baby, Big Brother is here.”
He lifted her into his arms and sat on the edge of the bed, one hand wrapped around her soft waist while the other gently patted her back, occasionally swaying like a cradle.
“Be good, sweetheart, don’t be scared.”
Seeing this, the same answer slowly surfaced in all four of their hearts.
Since none of them could leave her, and all of them loved her…
Rather than risking that one-in-four chance, rather than enduring the pain of forcibly tearing away their hearts and souls, it was better to share her. That way, they could remain with the one they loved forever.
Xiong Ji slowly loosened the fist he had been clenching. His pupils grew faintly unfocused, and he turned and walked out.
The other two followed closely behind, leaving together.
The door closed. Qin Shuo glanced at it, then pulled her into his arms and resumed the unfinished kiss from earlier at the dining table.
He frowned slightly and gently touched her soft red lips with his fingertips.
“Why is it like this… ah, baby, Big Brother only kissed you for a little while…”
Li Tong raised her hand and touched her lips. The slight injury healed instantly.
“Don’t kiss me anymore, Big Brother…”
Her words had no effect at all. Qin Shuo removed the hand covering her mouth and kissed her again.
His arms caged her small head on both sides, firmly trapping her in place.
Li Tong tried to move, but he was too heavy. She had no strength to resist and could only endure it passively.
…
In the corridor, the crowded people began to grow noisy, and children cried loudly.
They knew that as long as the disaster outside continued, rescue would never come.
It had only been a few days since the beginning, and everyone still maintained a harmonious atmosphere of mutual help.
An hour later, Li Tong finally opened the door and came out.
Jiang Xun stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her, asking casually.
The girl said Qin Shuo had gone to the Small World to take a bath.
All of them were men, so how could they not understand what had happened? No wonder he was willing to let their Little Sister out of that wolf’s den.
The three of them lounged on the sofa playing cards, while Xiong Ji was in the bathroom washing her clothes.
Nan Qi teamed up with Jiang Xun to tease her while they played. After losing several rounds, Li Tong’s lips were about to pout, so they immediately went easy on her and let her win.
The temperature outside had stopped dropping. With many portable heaters placed around the house, she did not feel cold even wearing a short nightdress.
According to the prediction, the torrential rain would not last long and would end after a month.
After playing for a while, she lost interest and curled up in Nan Qi’s arms, watching a TV drama on her phone.
Seeing her take the initiative to come close, Nan Qi was as happy as a child, holding her carefully and hardly daring to breathe too loudly.
Jiang Xun watched with jealousy, his smile gone. Not wanting to stay in such a painful place, he stood up and went to the gym to work out.
Li Tong took out a pack of duck necks, intending to snack while watching.
Nan Qi hurriedly held her, not letting her leave his arms.
“Big Brother, I want snacks!”
Nan Qi said, “Like this, just eat them in my arms.”
“It’ll dirty your clothes, I don’t…”
Nan Qi pleaded, “Please, baby, just stay in Big Brother’s arms, alright? Don’t go. If it gets dirty, I’ll wash it.”
He picked up a duck neck and brought it to her lips.
Sensing something off in his mood, Li Tong stopped moving and let him feed her bite by bite.
After she finished the meat, Nan Qi casually nibbled at what remained before throwing it away and handing her a new one.
The duck necks were not spicy, seasoned with cumin and salt, making them easy to keep eating.
When her mouth grew dry, she took out a plate of cut fruit.
Nan Qi fed her piece by piece with a fork.
“Big Brother, you eat too!”
He smiled and nodded, eating the half-bitten piece of cantaloupe she had left.
“Hahaha, it feels like we’ve gone back to childhood. Big Brothers used to feed me like this too. I’m so lucky that you picked me up.”
He looked at her with tenderness, then lowered his head and kissed her forehead.
“No, we’re the lucky ones, to have brought a little angel from Heaven back home.”
Li Tong giggled at his words.
After finishing the laundry, Xiong Ji came out and hung the clothes on the balcony rack.
“Big Brother! You actually washed them! There’s a washing machine in my Small World!”
“In the future, Big Brother will wash them for you too. Just put your dirty clothes in the hamper in my room.”
“That’s too troublesome, there’s a washing machine!”
Xiong Ji did not know if she had forgiven him, so he lowered his head and said nothing. After hanging the clothes, he also turned and went to the gym.
Outside, it was so dark that day and night were indistinguishable. To conceal the fact that they still had electricity, the heavy curtains had never been opened.
It was already ten at night. She turned off her phone and stretched in Nan Qi’s arms.
“Big Brother, I’m going back to sleep.”
He stood up, carried her, and brought her into his bedroom.
“Big Brother, this is your room!”
After tucking her into the blanket, Nan Qi squeezed in beside her.
“Didn’t Big Brother always hold you like this to coax you to sleep before?”