Chapter 154: Brother, I want to eat pig trotters

Qin Xuan curiously picked up a corner and examined it. Good grief! Something about you is very wrong!

Releasing his hand and letting the stockings drop back into the wastebasket, Qin Xuan looked over at Lin'er, who was already awake on the bed and had witnessed the whole scene.

"Big bro~ How come you have the hobby of rummaging through your little sister's trash?" Lin'er propped herself up on her hands, smiling brightly at Qin Xuan.

"You... I didn't!" Qin Xuan put down the wastebasket and defended himself.

Lin'er stared at Qin Xuan and shook her head. "I saw it all, you know."

Qin Xuan raised an eyebrow. So what if you saw it? This was your doing in the first place...

Realizing the implication of his gaze, Lin'er's aged face blushed, and she turned over so she no longer had to look at him.

Yet as Qin Xuan gazed at the back Lin'er had turned to him—especially the indentation at her waist—his thoughts took a rather strange turn.

Qin Xuan knelt half-way on the bed and promptly dealt Lin'er a light smack.

Just as she was lying comfortably, a sudden sting hit her rear. Lin'er clutched her backside, turned her head, and glared angrily at Qin Xuan. "Qin Xuan! I want to beat you up!"

"As if you could beat me up?" Qin Xuan crawled onto the bed, pinned Lin'er underneath him, and gave her another smack...

At this, Lin'er bit her lip, awkwardly buried her face in the pillow, let out a couple of muffled "uwu" sounds, and weakly pushed against Qin Xuan with her small hands.

"What did you guys do last night?" Qin Xuan pinched her hand and asked.

Lin'er's face was completely flushed with redness. Feeling deeply embarrassed, she shook her head. "We didn't do anything!"

"Then what is this thing in here?" Qin Xuan released Lin'er's hand and whispered softly right beside her ear.

Then Qin Xuan felt Lin'er struggle desperately for a few moments, but to no avail...

"It's just what you think it is! So what?!" Lin'er shouted indignantly. "Who told you guys to be so noisy last night!"

"..." Qin Xuan was momentarily at a loss for words. Feeling awkward, he got up, went down from the bed, and tidied up the trash.

"Do you want to get up and eat?"

"Yes!" Lin'er watched Qin Xuan's back as he headed toward the door, and suddenly called out.

Qin Xuan paused, standing at the doorway. "Then get up. We still need to go out and buy some groceries."

Ten minutes or so later, Qin Xuan carried a bag of garbage while Lin'er clung to his other arm, and the two slowly stepped out of the house. A faint flush still lingered on Lin'er's face...

"Big bro, I want to eat pork trotters!" After wandering around the vegetable market for a long time, Lin'er's eyes lit up as she stood before a meat stall.

Qin Xuan bought the last two trotters on the stall, thinking he would go back and stew them into soup. Lin'er quite enjoyed gnawing on these things, which was probably why her skin was so nice, and her little cheeks felt rather pleasant to pinch.

"What else do you want to eat?" Qin Xuan glanced at Lin'er and asked.

"Hmm..." Lin'er looked around the vegetable market, her gaze finally landing entirely on Qin Xuan. "You!"

Qin Xuan raised a hand and ruffled Lin'er's hair a few times. "We'll eat slowly when we get back."

"Hehe," Lin'er smiled at her older brother and nodded with satisfaction.

When the two returned home, they discovered that Nan Zhiyi was already gone. Qin Xuan pulled out his phone and checked the message Nan Zhiyi had sent him—it turned out something had come up at home, so she went back to have a meal there.

He had actually planned to cook something delicious at noon for her to try. With a helpless sigh, Qin Xuan placed the pork trotters into the refrigerator; he would just stew them tonight instead.

Carrying the groceries, Qin Xuan headed toward the kitchen. Lin'er had originally intended to follow along, but after a second thought, she boldly pushed open the door to Qin Xuan's bedroom.

Seeing that Sister Xi was still sleeping in bed, Lin'er wore a mischievous smile, pulled back the blanket, and lay directly on top of Liu Ruoxi.

So comfortable! Lying on top of Sister Xi, Lin'er let out a long sigh of relief. This feeling~ was even better than eating snacks all day long.

"Mhm?" Liu Ruoxi was jolted awake. Seeing Lin'er pressing down on her, she wondered what on earth she was up to.

She had gone to sleep rather late last night, so Liu Ruoxi tiredly pushed at Lin'er. "Get off me, you're heavy as lead."

"I'm not heavy!" Lin'er rolled over, lying flat on top of Liu Ruoxi, and instantly felt her breathing become somewhat restricted.

"Get lost," Liu Ruoxi reached out, pushed Lin'er's head away, sat up, and rubbed her chest.

"Sigh," Lin'er sat up and let out a helpless sigh. She really wanted to take a bite...

Noticing Lin'er's ominous gaze, Liu Ruoxi rolled out of bed. "Stay away from me!"

With that, Liu Ruoxi slipped into her slippers and scuttled away with a rapid *pat-pat-pat*.

Catching the fragrant aroma drifting from the kitchen, Liu Ruoxi curiously walked over to take a look.

"You're awake?" Qin Xuan put the lid on the pot, turned his head to look at the disheveled Liu Ruoxi, and beckoned her over.

"What are you making? It smells so good," Liu Ruoxi walked over and gave a little sniff with her delicate nose.

"Braised chicken thighs," Qin Xuan reached out to straighten her clothes, noticing in particular that a small spot on her shirt was a bit damp. Could this be... saliva?

Realizing that Qin Xuan was staring at her clothes, Liu Ruoxi pulled the fabric back into place. "It was Lin'er. So annoying."

Qin Xuan: What on earth did you two do behind my back?!

"Go wash up, and by the way... go back and change into another shirt," Qin Xuan said to Liu Ruoxi with a somewhat awkward expression.

"Oh," Liu Ruoxi nodded in embarrassment before heading toward the bathroom.

Lin'er poked her small head out from Qin Xuan's bedroom, still reminiscing about just moments ago.

"Big bro~ You guys haven't cleaned up your things yet," Lin'er scampered over obediently to Qin Xuan's side, wrapped her arm around his, and said with a cheeky smile.

Qin Xuan's hand, which was just about to pull away, suddenly paused. Why couldn't he remember what "things" she meant?

"Ta-da!" Lin'er produced a pair of stockings from behind her back... completely torn! She had only discovered them caught in the blankets after rolling around in the bed a couple of times just now...

"Give it here, give it here," Qin Xuan instantly regretted not noticing this item when he was cleaning up the trash earlier.

"Tsk tsk tsk, no way!" Lin'er retreated half a step, putting a little more distance between herself and Qin Xuan. "I never would have imagined you guys played quite so wildly?"

Qin Xuan looked ready to snatch it back, teasing Lin'er as he said, "Want to try it yourself?"

"..." Lin'er smiled at Qin Xuan. "Alright! I'll be waiting for you tonight."

"Let's just hope you don't end up crying later." Ignoring her further, Qin Xuan reached out and lifted the lid of the pot; the broth was still bubbling away.

Just as Lin'er caught the scent and tried to lean in closer, the stockings in her hand were suddenly snatched away in a swift motion.

Liu Ruoxi looked at the item in her hand and stared at Lin'er with a strange expression. "Is your skin itching for a beating? You touch everything."

"Hehe, just curious," Lin'er watched as Sister Xi confiscated the item from her hands and let out a few obedient, giggling laughs.

"Taste this," Qin Xuan grabbed a small bowl, picked out two pieces of chicken thigh meat, and handed them to Lin'er.

Lin'er took the bowl, walked right up to Liu Ruoxi, and ingratiatingly offered the chopsticks.

"You eat it," Liu Ruoxi refused the bowl Lin'er offered, swished the torn stockings around, and headed back into her bedroom.

Seeing this, Lin'er picked up a piece with her chopsticks, blew on it, and stuffed it into her mouth. It was a bit hot, but she still couldn't bring herself to spit it out.

After finishing the first piece, Lin'er picked up another one and held it out toward Qin Xuan.

Qin Xuan bit off half of it right there to test the flavor. It wasn't salty enough, but Lin'er and Liu Ruoxi just happened to like it this way; his own palate tended to run a bit heavier.

Seeing that Qin Xuan had only bitten off half, Lin'er decisively tossed the remaining half straight into her own mouth.

"Big bro~ I want more," Lin'er smacked her lips and handed the bowl back to Qin Xuan.

"Wait until we sit down at the table and you can eat your fill," Qin Xuan patted Lin'er's head soothingly.