Seeing her adorable expression, Xiao Ran couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle her hair. "Alright, alright, enough with the flattery."
Compared to her two hundred thousand, buying her a hanging chair was nothing.
The girl, delighted by the hanging chair, shrugged and flashed that radiant, sweet smile that only she possessed.
Just then, the young salesman walked in, happening to see this very scene.
He felt a pang of jealousy. ’Are they really just brother and sister?’
’Why do I feel like I’m watching a couple’s PDA?’
Hearing footsteps, the two turned around and saw the young salesman standing behind them.
"How did it go?" Xiao Ran asked.
"You can count on me. No problem, man. Let’s go sign the contract now."
"Okay."
...
After a busy morning, they had finally gotten everything done. The two of them returned to the electric scooter and saw the steamed buns and millet congee hanging from the handlebars.
Only then did Xiao Ran remember they hadn’t even eaten breakfast.
He handed the buns and congee to Yan Xici. "Here. You must be starving. Go on and eat."
After speaking, he casually sat down on the scooter.
The girl first wrapped her arms skillfully around his waist, then swung a long leg over to straddle the seat behind him. Only then did she take the buns he offered. They were the perfect temperature—not too hot, not too cold.
She carefully opened the plastic bag around the buns and began to eat in small bites. With the first bite, a rich broth filled her mouth.
The girl let out a satisfied "Mmm," unable to stop herself from sighing, "This is so delicious."
In front, Xiao Ran shook his head helplessly. ’What a little foodie.’
Xiao Ran twisted the throttle, and the scooter started off toward home.
They left the residential complex and turned onto the main street. It was almost noon, just in time for the lunch rush, so the street was exceptionally crowded with pedestrians, electric scooters, bicycles, and cars. The traffic was heavy.
"These buns are so good! How come you’ve never brought me here before?" the girl behind him asked, her words muffled by a mouthful of food.
She followed it with a sip of millet congee.
They reached a traffic light, which turned red at the crosswalk ahead. Xiao Ran naturally squeezed the brakes.
However, the girl behind him was right in the middle of enjoying her bun, her hands full and her cheeks puffed out.
As the scooter came to a stop, the girl let out a small yelp, her hands instinctively pressing against Xiao Ran’s shirt to steady herself.
The juicy soup bun was squeezed so hard that its broth splattered all over Xiao Ran’s white T-shirt, leaving a large stain.
The millet congee showed no mercy either, with nearly half the cup spilling out!
"Ah!"
Staring at the large, greasy yellow stain, the girl wished she could find a hole to crawl into and disappear.
’It’s over!’
’This is my brother-in-law’s favorite shirt!’
’His absolute favorite!’
’He’s been wearing this short-sleeved shirt practically all summer. Now that I’ve ruined it, how am I going to explain this to Brother Xiao Ran?!’
Of course, the naive girl had no idea that Xiao Ran wore this shirt every day simply because he didn’t have any others.
She thought he must have really, really liked it, or that it held some special meaning for him!
The more the girl thought about it, the guiltier she felt.
’Heavens, what have I done?!’
’Why am I so greedy!’
’Couldn’t I have just waited until we got home to eat?!’
’And now look, I’ve dirtied Brother Xiao Ran’s shirt!’
Feeling a sticky wetness spread across his lower back, Xiao Ran didn’t even have to think to know she must have spilled the bun on him.
After all, he was quite familiar with her fidgety nature.
Xiao Ran asked instinctively, "What’s wrong?"
The girl looked mortified. "I... I..."
Hearing her voice, as quiet as a kitten’s meow, Xiao Ran knew she must have done something wrong.
"Did you get the bun on me?" Xiao Ran felt a little like laughing.
Yan Xici bit her lip and mumbled quietly, "I’m... I’m sorry..."
She quickly reached into her small bag, pulled out two tissues, and started wiping at Xiao Ran’s shirt. "I’ll wash it clean for you as soon as we get home!"
The girl bit her lip, her expression a mixture of shame and guilt.
She really hadn’t done it on purpose.
To be honest, her rubbing on the outside of his shirt like that was a bit uncomfortable.
Xiao Ran said helplessly, "It’s just a shirt, and an old one at that. It’s really not important. But... can you please stop wiping?"
Wiping like that just made the fabric rub more and more against his skin.
The sticky feeling was becoming even more pronounced.
Hearing this, the girl’s small hands paused, and her glistening eyes stared nervously at Xiao Ran’s back.
"Oh, is it uncomfortable?"
"What do you think?"
Xiao Ran’s blunt rhetorical question made the girl realize.
’Wiping like that really must be uncomfortable.’
’The most important thing right now is to wipe off what soaked through to his skin, then put a couple of tissues there to separate the shirt from his skin. That would be more comfortable.’
With that in mind, the girl’s small, fair hands quickly lifted Xiao Ran’s shirt and began to carefully wipe the damp spot on his back with a tissue.
Perhaps because she was afraid of getting scolded by Xiao Ran, the timid and nervous girl’s movements were very gentle, very light.
It was making Xiao Ran feel a bit ticklish.
The brush of her fingertips against his skin, somehow feeling both accidental and deliberate, made his heart inexplicably speed up.
It was no exaggeration to say that Xiao Ran felt his entire back go numb.
He swallowed hard. "Um, you can stop wiping now."
Hearing that, the girl looked at the yellow-stained tissue in her hand and declared with conviction, "It’s okay, just hang in there a little longer. It’s not very hygienic otherwise."
With that, she pulled out another tissue and continued to wipe him down. By now, the area just above his waist was clean.
As her fingers moved further down, the girl’s eyes followed.
Her gaze happened to fall on the little bit of gray waistband of Xiao Ran’s underwear that was accidentally showing.
And the worst part was, she had somehow managed to get the millet congee on it—and it was yellow, too...
The girl’s pupils contracted in shock, and her delicate little face flushed red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
To put it bluntly, she felt like her heart was about to stop.
’How am I supposed to wipe that!’
’This is too much!’
’I really can’t do this job!’
’This is a guy’s underwear, you know!’
If her brother-in-law saw that she’d gotten millet congee on the waistband of his underwear... Just the thought made the girl’s toes curl in embarrassment.
After a long, stunned moment, she swallowed hard, suppressed her racing heart, and carefully pulled his shirt back down.
’Forget it. I’ll just accept my fate.’
’I’m going to get scolded no matter what.’
’Worst case, I’ll just buy him a new pair.’
’But it’s still so awkward...’
Just then, the red light at the crosswalk flickered and turned green.
Xiao Ran continued to ride forward. Once the girl behind him finally settled down, he quickly regained his composure.
The scooter turned a corner, passed through a familiar street, and finally arrived home.
The two of them got off the scooter, skillfully entered the passcode to open the door, and walked in one after the other, standing together on the doormat to change into their slippers.
One large gray pair, and one small pink pair, both very clean.
The moment he was inside, Xiao Ran couldn’t wait to go to his bedroom and change his shirt. He had no intention of letting her wash it, however; he was just planning to toss it.
After all, he had worn this shirt for many years.
Who knew that the second he stepped out, he would almost run right into the girl waiting at his door.