Chapter 73

That night, they slept so soundly. Outside the window, firecrackers kept going without end, crackling nonstop.

Yu Nianyi frowned and burrowed deeper into the blanket. Feeling Xi Yu’s body beside her, she moved closer without the slightest hesitation and wrapped herself around her.

After holding on like that for a while, it started to feel a little stuffy, so Yu Nianyi shifted her arm and draped it over Xi Yu’s soft little belly. The blanket pressing down on her head was lifted away, and fresh air rushed in at once.

Yu Nianyi closed her eyes and chuckled, rubbing against Xi Yu as she followed her movement.

A video call suddenly rang. Yu Nianyi squinted at her phone, then flopped back down and pretended to be asleep.

The sound kept going. Xi Yu looked at the screen, then at Yu Nianyi’s perfectly still act of sleeping. “It’s your aunt’s video call. Want me to answer it for you?”

Yu Nianyi pouted and hummed, hiding herself in Xi Yu’s arms.

After a while, the ringing stopped; then Yu Lan’s voice came through. “Ah, Niannian, where did you run off to so early in the morning... Ah, so it’s Xi Yu.”

“Mm, Auntie. Niannian is with me,” Xi Yu said clearly and steadily from outside the blanket.

“Oh, as long as she’s with you, Auntie can relax now. I knew it; when I opened the bedroom door, it looked exactly the same as yesterday. How did both of you vanish overnight?”

“Niannian said she didn’t want to disturb your sleep last night, so she asked me to tell you in the morning.”

“That child.” Yu Lan sighed. “Niannian hasn’t gotten up yet, has she...?”

“...That’s right. I’ll send her back in a bit.”

“Will you stay for breakfast when you get back?”

Yu Nianyi shifted a little, stretching a hand out from under the blanket and waving it back and forth.

Xi Yu glanced at it, then looked away. “You’ve already been too kind. We won’t stay for breakfast.”

Yu Lan readily agreed, exchanged a few more polite words with Xi Yu, and then neatly hung up.

Yu Nianyi slowly opened her eyes and looked at Xi Yu. Xi Yu was leaning against the headboard now, setting the phone aside.

Xi Yu looked over, a faint smile on her face. “Awake?”

Yu Nianyi nodded and leaned clingily toward Xi Yu’s hand. Her voice was hoarse, still full of sleepy little hums. “Mm. I’m so sleepy. I still feel like I didn’t get enough sleep. And the firecrackers are so loud.”

Seeing Yu Nianyi frown, Xi Yu thought it over carefully, then said, “Then sleep a little longer? I’ll order some noise-canceling earmuffs.”

Yu Nianyi closed her eyes and thought about it, still muddle-headed. By the time she processed what was happening, Xi Yu had already picked up her phone and opened the delivery app.

A few seconds later, Yu Nianyi rubbed her head against Xi Yu’s arm again. Xi Yu’s movement paused, and she turned to look at her.

“It’ll be over in a bit anyway; forget it,” Yu Nianyi said with a contented sigh. “The firecrackers are what make it feel like New Year’s. That’s what makes it feel like the New Year.”

Thinking of that, Yu Nianyi smiled to herself again. She opened her eyes to look at Xi Yu; Xi Yu’s features were calm, her hair lying obediently over her chest. What a beautiful older sister! Yu Nianyi let out a couple of sneaky little laughs and started humming again. “New Year’s is so nice. This is the first time Sister Xi Yu came to Lincheng and to my home to see me. I think I’ll remember it for a very, very long time.”

Xi Yu quietly watched Yu Nianyi smile until her cheeks puffed up. Then she nodded. “I’ll remember it for a very long time too. I wonder how I did yesterday?”

It took Yu Nianyi a beat to react. Then a scene from last night suddenly flashed through her mind, and she jolted her eyes wide open; for some reason, even her ears started to burn. She met Xi Yu’s eyes, the two of them staring at each other for a moment, then Xi Yu laughed first. “Not that kind. I mean yesterday, when I visited Auntie. How did I do?”

Yu Nianyi froze, then said, “Ah.” She tugged on Xi Yu’s arm; Xi Yu followed and lay down. Only then did Yu Nianyi say, “You were definitely perfect! My mom likes you super, super much. She was already looking forward to you before you even came. And you were so polite, so smart and capable, and you’re beautiful too, and you even thoughtfully brought gifts for everyone in the family. That was absolutely a perfect score, sister!”

Xi Yu looked at Yu Nianyi seriously for a while. She was clearly quite pleased by the praise and nodded. “If that’s the case, then that’s even better.”

Yu Nianyi agreed without hesitation. “Absolutely.”

The two of them quieted down. Yu Nianyi clung to Xi Yu tightly like an octopus, occasionally touching Xi Yu’s hand, and then, like some pervert, touching Xi Yu’s...

“So how was yesterday?” Xi Yu suddenly asked.

Yu Nianyi’s hand froze. She looked up and went, “Ah?”

Xi Yu arched a brow and turned fully onto her side; Yu Nianyi’s hand slipped down with the movement, trapped between them.

Yesterday, yesterday, yesterday—then it had definitely been extremely shocking, extremely engrossing, extremely satisfying.

Yu Nianyi averted her gaze, belatedly realizing what she wanted to say was a little too scorching to put into words. She cleared her throat, gave Xi Yu a thumbs-up, and nodded with an old cadre-like seriousness.

Xi Yu’s eyes curved. Seeing Yu Nianyi’s whole sequence of reactions, she couldn’t help finding it a little funny. “What is it? Not good?”

Yu Nianyi hurriedly waved her hands, even raising her voice a little to build momentum. “It was amazing! Definitely a perfect-score kind of experience!”

As she said that, she propped herself up on one arm and half-crawled closer, as if she were about to whisper, and Xi Yu cooperatively leaned her ear in.

“Sister Xi Yu looked really good last night too. I could see everything so clearly from below.” Xi Yu’s gaze paused for several seconds, and then she heard Yu Nianyi continue, “Just thinking about that scene now makes me like it so much. It feels like below...”

Xi Yu’s eyes widened slightly; her lashes trembled twice, and she lowered her gaze, pressing her lips together.

Yu Nianyi’s heart thudded wildly. She forced herself to stay calm as she pulled back, then rested her head on her hand and crawled back in front of Xi Yu, her brows and eyes sly. “Is Sister Xi Yu satisfied?”

Xi Yu steadied herself, withdrew her gaze a little, and looked at Yu Nianyi’s triumphant expression, like a little fox. After studying her for a bit, she gave a slow “Mm.”

Then she picked up the disinfecting wipe in front of her, lowered her eyes, and wiped her hand repeatedly and quickly. She raised her eyes again.

Yu Nianyi shuddered just in time to see Xi Yu brace herself and slip a hand inside.

Yu Nianyi jumped. She felt Xi Yu’s hand pressing down on her thigh, and from under the blanket came Xi Yu’s voice: “Really?”

Yu Nianyi: “!!!@$#%^~&^&+~~~~~~”

So the two of them hid under the blanket again and lingered there for a while. By the time they came back out, they were already hot and damp through and through, and Yu Nianyi was sprawled on the bed, too tired to move.

“...So tired,” Yu Nianyi sighed, staring at Xi Yu, who was propped over her legs.

Xi Yu’s hair was a little messy; some of it had been grabbed by Yu Nianyi in a moment of losing control, and it had fallen to one side, partially covering half of Xi Yu’s vision.

Xi Yu said nothing. She raised her right hand and lowered her head to look at her middle finger, rubbing it back and forth.

Yu Nianyi blinked in confusion. Before she could react, Xi Yu slowly looked over at her; her eyes were dark, with unmistakable amusement in them. “Niannian is really amazing.”

The tone was openly praising, like she was commending someone for accomplishing something remarkable and especially worthwhile, and most importantly, it was Xi Yu saying it.

Yu Nianyi’s face instantly flushed red. She couldn’t help thinking again of what had just happened between them, and hurriedly grabbed the blanket to cover her head.

“You’re breaking the rules,” Yu Nianyi protested, her ears burning fiercely as she clutched the edge of the blanket.

Xi Yu hummed. Following the blanket Yu Nianyi had pulled up, she climbed in too. Yu Nianyi took a deep breath and saw Xi Yu bracing herself on either side of her, her hair falling loosely down her back as she looked down at her. “How so?”

Yu Nianyi looked back at her without backing down. “In every way.”

Xi Yu tilted her head. “In every way?”

Yu Nianyi said firmly, “Just in every way.”

Xi Yu pressed her lips together in a smile, then leaned down, tilting her head to bring herself close to Yu Nianyi’s ear, just like Yu Nianyi had done before.

Yu Nianyi shrank her neck in response, her ear itching.

“But Niannian seems even more of a rule-breaker,” Xi Yu’s voice sounded. In the next second, something seemed to brush a kiss against her ear, and hot breath followed, spilling in. “My fingers still have your scent on them.”

Yu Nianyi’s body short-circuited for a moment. She turned her head to look at Xi Yu’s still calm, composed face, except that her usual eyes were filled with a very deep smile.

Yu Nianyi silently screamed inside for a while; even her ears and cheeks burned. She lifted both hands to cover her ears, mortified.

Xi Yu finally couldn’t hold back her laughter. It was very light, very soft. She opened her arms and pulled Yu Nianyi into her embrace, then pressed her lips quietly to the side of her forehead.

Yu Nianyi was wrapped in Xi Yu’s jasmine scent, carried along by a comfortable warmth. The air was so quiet that she almost grew sleepy again. She blinked and thought she vaguely heard Xi Yu’s voice.

“So cute.”

Yu Nianyi was instantly awake. Her little heart started racing again, and her mind automatically replayed Xi Yu praising her as cute. It repeated over and over and over before she finally gave a soft hum and rolled her eyes, asking in a gentle voice, “Where am I cute?”

Xi Yu paused, then repeated, “Where are you cute?”

Yu Nianyi hummed twice. “You can’t say everywhere is cute.”

As soon as she said that, Xi Yu curved her lips into a smile. After a two-second pause, she sounded a little helpless. “You’re breaking the rules again.”

Yu Nianyi said, “Where did I break the rules? I’m asking a perfectly serious question.”

As she spoke, she tipped her chin up and kissed Xi Yu’s jaw. “So tell me where I’m cute, sister. I want to hear it.”

Xi Yu lowered her head to look at Yu Nianyi, stroked her dazzling golden hair, then touched her ear.

The surroundings stayed quiet for a long time. Yu Nianyi was held in her arms. After several seconds, Xi Yu finally said, “When you cover your ears because you’re embarrassed.”

Yu Nianyi blushed. After waiting a few more seconds, she still didn’t hear Xi Yu’s next line. She gave a little chuckle and said softly, “And what else, sister? I still want to hear more.”

Xi Yu hummed. After hesitating a few seconds, she said, “And when you look all spirited and tempt people.”

Yu Nianyi’s mouth was about to curve all the way up to her ears. She wriggled out of Xi Yu’s arms, rewarded her with a kiss on the side of the face, and blinked her big eyes again. “And what else, what else?”

Xi Yu lifted a hand to brush away the not-very-obvious stray hair in front of her eyes. She pulled Yu Nianyi back down to lie with her, then cleared her throat. “And when you close your eyes and want to sleep in; when you showed your feelings last night; when you kept putting food in my bowl without stopping and even arranging the dishes.”

Yu Nianyi let out an impressed “Wow.” She burrowed into Xi Yu’s neck and rubbed against her, then kissed her like a little pervert. Still giggling, she lifted her chin and kissed Xi Yu on the mouth, then kissed her eye, and when one eye wasn’t enough, she kissed the other one too. Seeing that straight bridge of nose, she puckered up and kissed that as well.

Xi Yu froze, letting Yu Nianyi do as she pleased without moving.

Yu Nianyi lifted her chin and smiled smugly. “How come our wife is so well-behaved?”

Xi Yu clearly went still for a moment. She pressed her lips together and looked at Yu Nianyi’s smiling face.

Yu Nianyi kissed Xi Yu’s mouth again. “Sister Xi Yu, you observe things so carefully. Admit it; you were already completely dazzled by me, weren’t you!”

Xi Yu’s eyes curved as she gave a hum, then held Yu Nianyi in her arms again.