“I’ve told you many times, just call me by my name, it’s fine.”
“Suit yourself. You’re not going to change anyway.”
It had already been said many times,
“I beg for your understanding, Lord Juncheng. You remained standing behind me, like a shadow, watching me.”
“I wasn’t looking at you earlier. I was looking at the wound on your back, and you also seem to have a way to heal your own wounds.”
“In my opinion… the reason for this was to stay by my side, so they were all put in single hospital rooms. Yu Hui also went to another single hospital room.”
“Xue Li said that in most situations, she would still be near me.”
“She just wouldn’t appear in front of anyone. I don’t know what method she used to hide her presence, and only when it’s like this, when we’re alone, will she reveal herself and talk to me. It feels like… a ninja guarding her lord.”
“Yu Hui’s obsession with me has reached this deep.”
“If this is also Chuunibyo, it’s probably at a level beyond cure.”
“It’s too serious.”
“While protecting me, she also tried her best to avoid causing trouble for my daily life. So, if I don’t talk to her, she won’t talk to me either.”
“But today, she looked like she had something to say.”
I scratched my cheek and turned my head, asking,
“Um, do you have something you want to talk about?”
Yu Hui paused for a moment, her expression turning a little gloomy as she said,
“I beg your pardon, Lord Juncheng, but you just had contact with that woman again.”
“…Are you talking about Lianbing?” I didn’t dare to touch her, but it must be about Miss Xue Li. So it must be about Lianbing.
“Now that I’m back to my daily life, should I sever ties with that woman?”
Severing ties is not a problem.
“She has no reason to break up with me. Although there are significant differences in our identities…”
“I’m not confident… This is incredibly a strange sense of confidence.”
“It’s not impossible that developments could even lead to meeting the parents?”
Seeing that I still looked unconcerned, she emphasized again,
“That woman is not good. The more beautiful she is, the more deadly she is. What seems harmless actually carries poisonous thorns. You should be very clear about this.”
“But… she has changed a lot too. Look, hasn’t she been very good to me this past month?”
“I was terrified of her before. But now there’s no fear at all, and I even want to be close to her. Has she changed, or have I changed?”
“That’s just a disguise. Her nature hasn’t changed at all.”
“Although I want to argue, I don’t know what to say. Because what Yu Hui said is the truth.”
“It’s precisely because I can see the title representing her nature that I know this even better. She is still [Corpse Lover Murderer]. As long as Lianbing doesn’t intend to harm me, I won’t…”
“…Even so, I can’t just start casually.”
“It seems I still can’t let go.”
“I’ll live my life. But her obsession is so firm that it’s impossible to shake.”
“I can’t listen to her at all. I’ll just let her sort out her thoughts alone.”
Yu Hui, still distracted, followed me. She was even further behind now, truly becoming my shadow.
Around eight in the evening, I stopped at my doorstep.
Yu Hui, still deep in thought, didn’t notice me stop and bumped into my back.
“I’m so sorry. I was lost in thought just now…”
I turned around and patted her head, saying,
“Do you want to come in? Xinran would be very happy to see you.”
Originally, Yu Hui and Xinran were both childhood playmates of mine, and I had a good relationship with Xinran. But when we were at the hospital, my sisters avoided me. So I haven’t met Xinran yet.
As expected, Yu Hui shook her head and refused my invitation again.
“No need.”
“Then… then I’ll go in first?”
I waved goodbye to her and opened the front door, walking inside.
The house was quiet. Could it be empty?
“Thank you for holding out for me, Mom…” The shoes were in the shoe cabinet, so she should be…
“Dad is still in the hospital. He handled my discharge procedures.”
“She must still be sleeping. After all, today is Sunday. My sister’s supervisor didn’t show up, perhaps those things were done by possessed guys.”
“Those ghost creatures secretly manipulating the murderers dare not act rashly. A slight mistake could bring fire upon themselves.”
“Ah… I can finally stop worrying about it, and for Mom, this means the long overtime hours are finally over.”
“–I should try to be as quiet as possible so as not to disturb her sleep.”
After taking off my shoes, I walked up the stairs without putting on slippers.
Suddenly, I had a sense of déjà vu.
“I remember being knocked out by something in the park before. When I woke up, it was already very late.”
“At that time, after returning home, I also tried to be quiet so as not to disturb my sleeping sisters, and even went upstairs without slippers.”
“And on the second floor, I met Xinran who was waiting for me. Could it be that this time too…”
A strange feeling lingered in my heart.
It was as if I had foreseen what was about to happen, and I walked up the stairs in a daze.
But Xinran wasn’t there.
“Ah…”
“Really, what am I thinking? Am I being neurotic? Mistaking déjà vu for prophecy is quite chuunibyo.”
A familiar voice reached my ears. From where? From behind!
I immediately turned around to look.
“…Aren’t you home?”
“Then why didn’t you answer me just now? Did you not hear me?”
“So you were home.”
I put down my single-shoulder backpack, unzipped it, and asked while taking out my toiletries,
“Xinran, why are you crying? Miss Shirley, with her immense powers, only learned about my discharge a moment ago. Xinran just…”
“The moment I knew, I waited and waited, and then I spaced out. When I came to my senses, my brother was right before my eyes.”
“I see. So you didn’t know I’d be back today, but you wait for me like this every day?”
“Oh, I’m so touched.”
“The waiting time must have been long, and you didn’t even know if you’d be able to wait. My sister is truly…”
“I think I’m going to cry.”
“It’s not a dream. Your brother is really standing here.”
“Yes. So it wasn’t a dream. Well, even though it’s a little late, welcome home, brother.”
“Yeah, I’m home.”
The cold expression of the ice block instantly melted. The corners of her beautiful lips curved upwards at a thirty-degree angle, like a gentle breeze in March caressing every inch of my skin.
“As expected, my sister is the most beautiful.”
“Other people’s daughters are not as beautiful as my daughter! There’s no comparison!”
“I’m clearly not a sister complex, but how could this kind of sister…”
As long as she doesn’t do anything outrageous, Xinran is a model sister.
“Speaking of which, where is my other cute sister?”
“Right, where’s Keling? Did she go out?”
“If Keling were home, she would have immediately rushed over to hug me the moment I opened the door.”
“Since she hasn’t appeared, there’s only one possibility: Keling is not home.”
“But I’m already on the second floor, and she still hasn’t appeared.”
“You have many friends, Keling. It would have been too much to ask her to stay home with me every weekend before.”
“She’s a lively type who likes to go out with friends.”
“It’s normal for her to go out and play with friends.”
“But… I’m a little lonely.”
“When someone who was always there is gone, that’s how it feels.”
Noticing my slightly downcast expression, Xinran tilted her head and asked,
“Should I call her back?”
“No, if she’s out with friends, don’t disturb her.”
“It’s not a big deal like my discharge that requires a grand welcome.”
“Of course, if no one welcomes me, I’ll feel lonely. But this…”
“Seeing you sitting here by my room door, looking forward to my return,” Xinran said.
After putting my toiletries and towel in the bathroom, I put on my backpack again and started up the stairs, saying to Xinran,
“Xinran, move aside. I need to go to my room.”
“My house stairs aren’t very wide, so two people can barely squeeze through.”
“If Xinran sits in the middle of the stairs so carelessly, it’ll be difficult for me to get past.”
“Let me pass.”
“Brother, if you want to go up, then go up.”
“No, you’re blocking me. How can I go up?”
“Then I’m going up, okay?”
“She seems to be in a good mood, having the energy to play with me.”
I tilted my head towards Xinran, who was sitting at the top of the stairs. Xinran looked down at me, her expression as blank as ever.
However, the feeling she gave off was different from usual.
The most obvious change was her attire.
Xinran was wearing her signature black tights today.
It’s already May, and the weather has improved significantly. Wearing such tights should be very hot, but Xinran didn’t seem to be bothered.
“She would take them off when she’s at home, but for some reason, she’s wearing them at home today. And her lower body clothing is also unusual. She used to wear shorts when she was home, but today she’s wearing a skirt that reaches her knees.”
“If the original Xinran was indifferent, now she gives off a profound feeling, adding a… a sense of mystery?”
“Yes, because it’s not the way I’m used to seeing her, this unfamiliarity gives me a sense of mystery.”
“Heh, then let me get to know my sister again.”
With that thought, I walked up the stairs and reached her side.
“Huh? Looking closer, her thighs are visible, but today they are semi-transparent…”
“Before, Xinran wore outfits that were completely… Not to mention makes my heart race, a strange color.”
“What’s wrong with me today?”
“I was looking at Lianbing’s chest earlier, and now my eyes are glued to Xinran’s feet.”
“I can’t control my eyes anymore.”
“Like a dream, she stared at those feet in a daze, and I unconsciously moved closer to her body.”
“If you want to go over, then carry me.”
Xinran rubbed her electronic wristband and placed her hands on her knees, leaning her shins against her thighs. A cluster of hair mischievously peeked out from the triangle area below her crotch.
“Her long legs, encased in black tights, and her completely visible underwear were exposed to my eyes.”
“The black silk created a subtle contrast.”
“I don’t know why I’m thinking this. Perhaps it’s because Xinran gives me a different feeling today, a mysterious allure?”
“Almost instinctively, I took two more steps forward, then knelt down on one knee.”
“Due to her extreme beauty, I felt an urge I couldn’t resist. I extended my hands to support her feet.”
“I had no choice but to catch them.”
“How could I bear to let these feet hang in the air, tired?”
“I caught the soles of her feet with one hand and grasped her ankle with the other.”
“From the heel to the hollow of her knee and then back again, it was like tearing the tights, pressing into her toes, and then suddenly changing to caress…”
“Xinran’s beautiful legs.”
“I feel like the tights are getting hot. My legs feel hot wrapped up like this.”
“I really can’t resist this…”
“Why am I suddenly touching my sister’s legs!”
“My calves are on fire. Brother, if you want to touch, continue upwards.”
Saying this, as if to let me touch her, Xinran slowly straightened her long legs.
“What’s above the calves? Of course, it’s the thighs…”
“And much fuller and softer than the calves.”
“I want to continue stroking them, playing with them in the palm of my hand.”
“This area that no one can invade, I can easily step into.”
“Step into this trap that you can’t escape from, the alluring swamp called ‘sister’.”
“Brother, help me take them off.”
“Yes, if I peel off this layer of ‘skin,’ I can taste the ‘meat’ inside.”
The sound of the door opening startled me, and I fell backward down the stairs.
Thump, thump, thump!
“Ah, ahahahaha…”
“Damn, what was I just doing?”
