“A housekeeper?” Cha Yiguan didn’t react for a long moment.
Cheng Simian laughed.
“Cha Yiguan, stop pretending. You totally did this on purpose—bringing a girl home to flirt.”
“Who says it was on purpose? Xiao Mianmian, I went through so much trouble to bring Xiaoxiao here for your sake!”
He shot Su Xianyan a glare.
“Besides, Xianyan only said to bring back a woman. How was I supposed to know he meant a housekeeper?!”
A trace of helplessness flashed through Su Xianyan’s eyes as he looked at Cheng Simian.
“What do you think?”
Cheng Simian shrugged. “I don’t really mind. Anyway, Cha Yiguan will repay this favor for me.”
“That’s fine, then.” After saying that, Su Xianyan turned and headed upstairs.
“Xianyan, Xiaoxiao will be staying here for a while,” Cha Yiguan added.
Su Xianyan paused for a beat. “…Suit yourself.”
Ye Xiaoxiao was not only pure and sweet-looking, but also extremely capable and considerate. She was completely different from the types of girls Cha Yiguan used to flirt with. Because of that, Cheng Simian found herself liking her more and more—this girl was far better than those heavily made-up vixens who always stared at Su Xianyan.
“Dinner’s ready,” Ye Xiaoxiao said as she brought out the last dish.
Cheng Simian stared at the table full of food, dumbfounded.
“Sister Ye, did you make all of this?”
“Yes. Try it and see if it’s good,” Ye Xiaoxiao said with a smile as she untied her apron. “I’ll go get the rice.”
“Sweetheart, I’ll help you,” Cha Yiguan said eagerly, trotting after her into the kitchen.
Cheng Qin was also surprised, and at the same time couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.
“How did such a nice girl end up in the hands of a scoundrel like Cha Yiguan?”
Cheng Simian didn’t care who had “ruined” whom. She immediately reached for her favorite braised pork. After one bite, her eyes lit up.
“It’s so good!”
Su Xianyan smiled faintly at her exaggerated reaction.
“Su Xianyan, try it,” Cheng Simian urged. “This is way, way better than my uncle’s cooking.”
Cheng Qin’s mouth twitched. He raised his hand and flicked her forehead.
“You dare look down on me?”
Covering her head, Cheng Simian protested indignantly, “I’m just telling the truth! If you don’t believe me, try it yourself.”
“You—!”
Later, Cheng Qin did try it. And later still, he fell silent. It was… a little better than his. Just a little.
Once the meal started, Cheng Qin watched Cheng Simian shovel piece after piece of meat into her mouth and couldn’t help complaining,
“You’re going to finish the whole plate! Your hand’s injured and you’re still that fast!”
Cheng Simian shot him a glare.
“My left hand can only use a fork! And forks are only good for meat!”
“So many excuses. You can’t pick up vegetables?” Cheng Qin said with disdain. “Eat some veggies!”
Cheng Simian ignored him.
“Cheng Simian, listen to your uncle. Eat some vegetables,” Su Xianyan said, placing some into her bowl. “Eating only meat isn’t good for you.”
Cheng Simian looked at him pitifully. Su Xianyan remained unmoved, calmly tapping the vegetables in her bowl.
“Finish them.”
She pouted, struggled for a moment, then conceded.
“…Okay.”
While helping Ye Xiaoxiao pick food, Cha Yiguan laughed at Cheng Qin.
“See? That’s real authority. You’re not even as convincing as Xianyan as an uncle.”
Cheng Qin snorted.
“Then let Xianyan be the uncle.”
“I don’t want that!” Cheng Simian blurted out loudly.
Everyone at the table froze. Cha Yiguan looked at her in confusion.
“Why are you so worked up?”
Cheng Simian choked slightly.
“I—I like my uncle! He’s great and irreplaceable!”
This time it was Cheng Qin who froze.
“…What’s wrong with you?”
Cheng Simian grinned at him and hooked her arm around his.
“An uncle is an uncle. How can you just replace someone with such close blood ties?”
Cheng Qin coughed.
“Enough.” Even so, there was a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Cheng Simian secretly let out a sigh of relief and stole a glance at Su Xianyan. His expression was calm and unreadable, seemingly unaffected.
Good. After all, he was her future… other half. How could he possibly become her uncle?
During the days Ye Xiaoxiao stayed with them, Cheng Simian lived exceptionally well.
Good food, good rest—and someone even helped her bathe.
One night.
Cheng Simian was in her room flipping through an art book. Cha Yiguan had given it to her; it was filled with illustrations of anime and game characters. Ever since drawing with him once, she’d become a little obsessed, often studying it whenever she had time.
“Hmm… what’s this called again?” She stared at one picture.
“Is it a game NPC? No, that doesn’t seem right…”
Unable to let it go, she picked up the book and headed for Cha Yiguan’s room. Forgetting something always bothered her. She knocked on his door—but after just a light tap, the door shifted inward slightly.
She paused. It’s not locked?
Pushing it open a crack, she was about to call his name when she suddenly heard faint, soft sounds—like a kitten’s whimper, delicate and weak, enough to make one’s heart itch.
Instinctively, she peered through the gap—and the scene inside froze her in place.
Pale skin entwined, flushed and intimate. The woman was held in the man’s arms, her body bent into a beautiful curve. Her head tilted back slightly, her expression caught between pain and pleasure…
Cheng Simian realized that the kitten-like sounds earlier had come from Ye Xiaoxiao.
She stood there, blankly, unable to react. At that moment, a shadow suddenly fell over her from behind, and a pair of hands covered her eyes.
Warmth pressed close, smooth palms sealing off her vision.
The faint, suggestive sounds still lingered in the air—and Cheng Simian also realized who was behind her.
He quickly turned her body away. She lowered her head immediately, not daring to look at him at all.
Su Xianyan reached past her shoulder and gently closed the door. Then he bent down until his eyes were level with hers.
“Cheng Simian.”
The moment she met his gaze, she shook her head frantically.
“I didn’t see anything!”
Su Xianyan frowned slightly, grasped her wrist, and led her down the corridor, away from that inappropriate place.
“Ahem—I really didn’t see anything,” Cheng Simian said, leaning against the wall, pretending to be calm despite her guilt. After all, seeing something like that would at most give someone a stye—she wasn’t exactly inexperienced…
The real problem was that Su Xianyan had seen her seeing it.
He’d seen her watching a live erotic scene.
That was unbearably awkward…
Meanwhile, Su Xianyan rubbed his temples, suddenly regretting agreeing to let that girl stay.
“Su Xianyan, did you close the door for them just now?” Cheng Simian asked. When she noticed the strange look in his eyes, she quickly added, “I’m worried my uncle might push the door open later. He probably wouldn’t even knock when going into his own room! That would be so awkward if he saw that.”
“Cheng Qin has at least that much sense,” Su Xianyan replied.
“Oh…” True enough—knowing there was a woman in the room, he wouldn’t just barge in.
“What were you doing going to his room?” Su Xianyan asked.
“I—I just went to ask a question,” Cheng Simian said helplessly. “Who knew I’d see something I shouldn’t. Honestly, Cha Yiguan is really… he didn’t even close the door.”
Su Xianyan tapped her on the head.
“Kids shouldn’t look at things like that.”
“Who are you calling a kid?” Cheng Simian puffed out her cheeks. “I’m about to be an adult!”
“An adult? You’re still two years away,” Su Xianyan said with a laugh. “How are you not a kid?”
Looking at her puffed-up, rosy cheeks, he naturally reached out and pinched them.
He raised an eyebrow—
The texture was unbelievably good.
Cheng Simian felt stifled with frustration. She really hated being treated like a child! Whether it was because she was angry or not, she suddenly turned her head and bit his hand without thinking.
It was an impulsive move, and Su Xianyan didn’t react in time either. His hand was still in the pinching position when she opened her mouth and bit down on his finger…
She didn’t use much force, but she clamped down firmly. Su Xianyan froze and instinctively moved slightly—his fingertip brushed across her soft tongue, warm and damp.
Cheng Simian blinked in confusion. When she finally realized what she’d done, she jumped back a step.
His finger slipped out of her mouth, the tip wet—
With her saliva.
Cheng Simian hadn’t even blushed when she saw Cha Yiguan and Ye Xiaoxiao doing that last night, but now her face instantly flushed bright red. She couldn’t help feeling that the scene just now was somehow… indecent.
She didn’t dare look at Su Xianyan’s expression. After standing there dazed for a few seconds, she spun around and fled back to her room at lightning speed.
Su Xianyan watched her escape, then slowly lowered his gaze to the finger she had bitten earlier, his eyes dark and unreadable.
Cheng Simian didn’t sleep well that night. When she woke up, only Ye Xiaoxiao was left at home.
“Morning, Simian.”
“Morning.” Cheng Simian glanced at her, involuntarily recalling the not-kid-friendly scene from yesterday—and the fact that she’d bitten Su Xianyan…
She cleared her throat.
“They all went to work?”
“Yes,” Ye Xiaoxiao replied. “There’s breakfast on the table. Go ahead and eat.”
“Thanks.”
As Cheng Simian ate, she thought about Cha Yiguan’s usual antics. Honestly, after spending some time together, she felt Ye Xiaoxiao was a really nice person. Judging by how she treated Cha Yiguan, she genuinely liked him.
“Sister Ye, when did you and Cha Yiguan get together?” Cheng Simian asked, chewing on her bread.
“Huh? Oh…” Ye Xiaoxiao smiled shyly. “About two weeks ago.”
“Two weeks?” Cheng Simian marveled inwardly—Cha Yiguan really had his ways. “Then… you agreed to come stay here? Isn’t it troublesome?”
“Not at all. You’re all his friends, so you’re my friends too,” Ye Xiaoxiao said. “Besides, I’m a teacher. Just like you, I don’t have much to do during the holidays.”
“You’re a… teacher?”
“Yes. I teach elementary school.”
Cheng Simian took a sip of milk and, after thinking carefully, asked,
“Sister Ye, does Cha Yiguan treat you well?”
“Him? He’s very good to me,” Ye Xiaoxiao said, her face glowing with happiness. “He’s attentive, gentle, and extremely considerate in everything he does. He even always comes up with little surprises…”
“Oh. Then… you’ve only known each other for a few days. Um… have you really gotten to know each other well?”
Ye Xiaoxiao paused. “Hm?”
“It’s nothing…” Cheng Simian decided it was better not to meddle in Cha Yiguan’s messy affairs. She smiled. “Sister Ye, this bread is really good.”
Ye Xiaoxiao looked confused. “Ah? If you like it, eat more.”