Chapter 144: Sister Zhiyi—Quite Bold Indeed!

Hearing this, Qin Xuan felt a bit awkward and said with little conviction, "These two things aren't directly related, alright!"

"You'll have to ask Lin'er about that," Liu Ruoxi said, staring curiously at Lin'er, eager to uncover something.

Lin'er felt a bit guilty under Sister Xi's gaze.

"Ask me what? I didn't see anything!"

"Huh?!" Liu Ruoxi and Nan Zhiyi stared at her in astonishment. You're acting suspicious!

"I'll deal with you tonight!" Liu Ruoxi gave her a fierce look and stood up, planning to head home for a bit.

As soon as Liu Ruoxi stepped out the door, she saw Qin Jianguo having his ear pinched on the sofa...

Seeing someone come out, Wang Manshu let go of Qin Jianguo's ear. "Ruoxi? Where are you off to?"

"I'm going home to check on things and tidy up a bit," Liu Ruoxi answered the two of them obediently.

"Your parents went traveling again. Make sure to come over for dinner tonight, okay?" Wang Manshu said, taking the approaching Liu Ruoxi by the hand. Having watched this child grow up since she was little, she had long considered her as one of her own.

"Okay!" Liu Ruoxi nodded repeatedly.

Leaving Qin Xuan's place and seeing a layer of dust on her own front door, Liu Ruoxi let out a helpless sigh. Turns out she really was left to fend for herself...

Opening the door, Liu Ruoxi looked at the familiar arrangement in the living room. Wasn't this exactly how it looked when she left? You guys went off to play the moment I walked out the door?

Resigned, Liu Ruoxi picked up the broom and began to clean. How on earth did so much dust accumulate in just a few months?

Halfway through the chores, Liu Ruoxi couldn't take it anymore and collapsed onto the sofa, completely unwilling to move.

"Tap, tap, tap!"

Curious, Liu Ruoxi listened to the knocking at the door. She walked over, opened it, and was pleasantly surprised to find Qin Xuan and Nan Zhiyi, along with Lin'er, standing outside holding half a watermelon.

"What are you guys doing here?" Liu Ruoxi stepped aside to let them in and asked curiously.

"To help you tidy up, of course," Lin'er said, walking over to the sofa and sitting down to survey the room, which was already mostly clean.

"Oh... thanks a lot," Liu Ruoxi invited them to sit down and went to wash a plate for the watermelon.

"How come Uncle Liu and the others went off to play again?" Qin Xuan asked, speechless.

Washing the plate in the kitchen, Liu Ruoxi heard Qin Xuan's question and replied, "Hasn't it been like this ever since we were kids?"

Qin Xuan thought about it and said, "True. But if not for that, we might not have ended up together."

"Don't worry, you won't escape either," Liu Ruoxi said, coming out with the plate arranged with watermelon slices and shooting Qin Xuan a sidelong glance.

After the four of them ate a few slices of watermelon, Qin Xuan looked around the room.

"Next time I play games with Uncle Liu, I'm definitely going to mess him up a couple of times."

"You playing games with my dad... I think you should just play normally," Liu Ruoxi mercilessly roasted him.

Qin Xuan: ? Who are you looking down on!

After cleaning the room thoroughly, the four of them checked the time—it was already past five o'clock.

Qin Xuan wanted to take them out for a stroll, which would also be a good opportunity for Nan Zhiyi to get familiar with the neighborhood.

...

"This is the exact spot where I met Zhiyi when we were kids, and the last time she got lost was right here too!" Qin Xuan pointed to a tree by the roadside and told Liu Ruoxi and the others.

"Oh, stop talking! You weren't any better!" Nan Zhiyi pinched Qin Xuan's waist in retaliation.

"Still, I was better than someone who cried until snot came out of her nose. Too bad I didn't take a picture back then."

Nan Zhiyi didn't remember herself crying with snot running down, but she could easily imagine the scene. Clenching her small fist, she wanted nothing more than to punch Qin Xuan!

Watching the two of them chase and bicker, Liu Ruoxi and Lin'er exchanged a glance and chuckled.

"Come on, confess. Do you often catch Qin Xuan doing *that*?" Liu Ruoxi linked arms with Lin'er and asked curiously.

Looking a bit awkward, Lin'er tried to disengage her arm from Sister Xi's grip. "No such thing! Don't slander me."

"As if I'd believe that. Did you take pictures? Let me see your phone." With that, Liu Ruoxi made a move to reach into Lin'er's pants pocket.

"Hey!" Lin'er quickly covered her pocket. Absolutely not!

After a brief tug-of-war, Lin'er stood off to the side with her hands on her hips, looking utterly aggrieved. There was simply no winning against her...

Liu Ruoxi stood triumphantly with Lin'er's phone in hand, unlocking it with her own fingerprint...

That's right, all of them had registered their fingerprints on each other's phones. The idea had originally come from Lin'er, who initially wanted to snoop through Qin Xuan's phone—never expecting it to backfire on her now!

Liu Ruoxi tapped on the photos, didn't even hesitate, went straight to the hidden album, and expertly entered the password.

The next second, Lin'er watched as Sister Xi's jaw dropped in utter shock... It's just a few extra pictures, is that really necessary?

Yet, the moment Liu Ruoxi cast a glance her way, Lin'er still felt a twinge of guilt.

Silently, Liu Ruoxi forwarded all the photos to her own phone before handing it back to Lin'er. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I never would've guessed, little Lin'er~"

"Hmph! You think I don't know what you used to do?" Lin'er snatched her phone back, shoved it into her pocket, and lifted her chin defiantly.

"Me... what did I do? Don't talk nonsense," Liu Ruoxi muttered to herself, trying to recall her past actions, which seemed to amount to nothing more than studying Qin Xuan's face while he was asleep.

"Haven't you done plenty of things?" Lin'er shot her a disgusted look and said with lingering grievance.

Now it was Liu Ruoxi's turn to be baffled. She rubbed her hands and said, "I'm going to have a thorough discussion with you tonight!"

Just as Lin'er was about to defend herself, Qin Xuan walked back over with an obedient-looking Nan Zhiyi in tow. They'd made up already?

"Let's go. We'll wander around for a bit longer and then head back for dinner. Mom's already calling us," Qin Xuan told them.

A dozen minutes later, the group strolled back home happily, holding ice cream cones in their hands.

Wang Manshu was still stir-frying dishes when she saw them return, each holding a treat.

"Dinner is almost ready, and you're still eating ice cream!"

Embarrassed, Lin'er licked her lips and shoved her ice cream cone directly into Qin Xuan's hand.

Seeing this, Liu Ruoxi and Nan Zhiyi followed suit and handed theirs to Qin Xuan as well.

Holding three ice cream cones, Qin Xuan stood there in a daze. Really...?

In the end, Qin Xuan tearfully finished all three cones, realizing he probably wouldn't need any dinner tonight.

Sitting next to Nan Zhiyi, he noticed her staring at him strangely. Suddenly, Nan Zhiyi reached out, used her thumb to wipe a smudge of cream from the corner of Qin Xuan's mouth, popped her thumb into her mouth, and flashed him a sweet smile...

Not only was Qin Xuan stunned by this gesture, but Qin Jianguo and Wang Manshu, who had just picked up their chopsticks, were also dumbfounded before warm, knowing smiles broke out across their faces.

Realizing what she had just done, Nan Zhiyi's face flushed red. Why couldn't she control her hand?!

Throughout the entire dinner, Nan Zhiyi completely lost the casual ease she had at noon. She ate with utmost caution; aside from raising her head to say thank you when Wang Manshu scooped food into her bowl, she kept her head down and focused entirely on her rice.

After dinner, Nan Zhiyi sat on the sofa chatting with the others while occasionally stealing glances at Qin Xuan, who was washing dishes in the kitchen.

Naturally noticing her little habits, Wang Manshu very tactfully pulled Qin Jianguo back to their bedroom, leaving the living room to the young people.

"Zhiyi sis~ You've got quite some nerve!" Seeing her aunt and uncle retreat to their room, Lin'er nudged Nan Zhiyi's shoulder and said with a beaming smile.

"Go on, get away with you," Nan Zhiyi stood up from the sofa. "You're one to talk."

Lin'er imagined herself doing something like that... and shuddered, thinking she'd probably be yelled at or even hit.