Chapter 8: Yixin, Without Chaos
When I woke up, I felt a draft and a chill in the lower half of my body.
I shivered and reluctantly got out of bed, wrapping the quilt around myself to close the window that the wind had blown open.
I wanted to go back to sleep, but I had lost the urge, so I stretched and prepared to get up.
Only after my consciousness cleared did I suddenly notice some strange things.
Did I not close the window last night?
Why were the buttons on my pajamas undone?
Why was part of the bedsheet wet?
Did I wet the bed… ugh…
I leaned in to smell it. It was a strange, indescribable scent, but it definitely wasn’t urine. Looking at how the bedsheet had dried and become a bit stiff, it might have been sweat.
But if I hadn’t closed the window last night, and I even woke up cold this morning, would I have sweated that much last night?
…What the heck.
At least I didn’t wet the bed. Otherwise, peeing the bed at my age would be a lifelong dark history.
Could it be that Xinran couldn’t help herself and did something to me again?
It shouldn’t be. If she had done anything drastic to me, my wound would have hurt. Moreover, I vaguely remembered that Xinran was quite well-behaved when I held her in my arms yesterday evening, not daring to move at all.
Ah, whatever, I won’t think about it anymore. I’m not Sherlock Holmes, and I can’t possibly deduce the whole story from these details.
I’ll ask Xinran about it later.
Thinking this, I walked into the second-floor bathroom to wash up and happened to see Xinran on the toilet.
She was still squinting, looking somewhat sleep-deprived.
“Uh… why don’t you lock the door when you use the restroom!”
I looked at Xinran sitting on the toilet, feeling a bit awkward. I quickly took two or three steps back, intending to close the bathroom door as I left. But Xinran said nonchalantly.
“Ah, Brother. You don’t need to go out, I’ll be done soon.”
A sound of flowing water came, sounding urgent… the volume seemed to be quite large. Well, after all, it had accumulated overnight… what the heck!
This reaction is wrong! Why can she still pee while I’m watching her!
“Why are you peeing!”
“Does Brother also need to use the restroom? I’ll make some space…”
As she said this, Xinran slightly lifted her nightgown, revealing her fair and tender thighs. She spread her legs ungracefully even while urinating, conveying to me with her actions, ‘Here, I’ve made some space for you, help yourself. I don’t mind.’
She deliberately stuck out her tongue, licking her upper and lower lips, conveying a misleading message that made people’s imaginations run wild: ‘After you finish, I can help you clean up, okay?’
I quickly covered my eyes and reprimanded her with some anger.
“You should mind! Xinran, you’ve become so casual lately! You weren’t like this before. Where has a girl’s modesty gone? Did you just throw it away! I don’t have such a shameless sister!”
Seeing my sister developing into a completely uninhibited hikikomori, or even a pervert, day by day, my heart aches!
She used to be so reserved in front of me. While she was somewhat cold, the distance between siblings was stable, and the boundaries were clearly defined, so I never felt unsure about our closeness.
But ever since Xinran confessed to me, the distance between us has become somewhat ambiguous, and the boundaries between siblings have begun to blur… Perhaps Xinran intended this, but I’ve noticed it all.
At this moment, I certainly cannot continue to be muddled. I must teach her a good lesson.
After being scolded by me, Xinran immediately pouted and murmured unhappily.
“Brother, didn’t you accept me…”
“I didn’t say I’d accept you to this extent!”
If this is acceptable, then won’t the next thing be her barging in while I’m bathing under the guise of ‘helping Brother scrub his back’?
This would then lead to ‘I’ll scrub Brother’s back with my chest.’ -> ‘Brother’s thing has gotten bigger, I’ll help Brother release.’ -> ‘Brother’s milk is all over my body…’ -> ‘Brother, Xinran has also become strange…’ -> ‘Wait, not here, let’s go to the room…’ -> ‘You beastly guy, you actually laid hands on your biological sister! I’ll break your legs!’ This kind of irreversible, blood-gushing development.
I don’t want to encounter a situation that would adversely affect my heart. I must nip this bud in the beginning.
Xinran snorted coldly and regained her usual ice-cold demeanor.
“Hmph…”
That’s right, this is the Xinran I’m familiar with.
“Alright, I’ll go out first. You hurry up and clean yourself.”
I scratched my stomach impatiently and was about to walk out of the bathroom…
The toilet paper was thrown at my face.
“What are you doing!”
“My hand slipped.”
“Stop fooling around, hurry up and clean yourself!”
“There’s no paper.”
Didn’t you just throw the toilet paper away yourself! If you don’t have any, just wipe with your hands!
I almost couldn’t help but yell this out, but I had a feeling that if I said that, she might actually wipe with her hands. So I held back my words.
*Sigh*… Calm down, I seem to be inexplicably irritable today… Is it because I caught a cold last night?
I picked up the toilet paper and rolled it over like a bowling ball. Xinran simply kicked it aside.
This girl… it seems she’s determined to target me today.
It’s been a while since we had a sibling quarrel…
Xinran and I rarely argue; most of the time, it’s a cold war, and we ignore each other. I remember when Mom and Ke Ling hadn’t come to this home yet, we had a major conflict, and we didn’t speak to each other for two whole months. Coupled with Dad being a man of few words, that period was like the entire house was muted.
Since then, her attitude towards me has become increasingly cold.
And I always felt that the fault was mine. As an older brother, I should yield to my sister, so I subconsciously lowered my stance in front of Xinran.
But now…
Hmm…
I silently picked up my toiletries and towel, preparing to go downstairs to wash up.
If I can’t afford to provoke her, can’t I just avoid her?
Seeing my actions, Xinran suddenly pouted as if she were throwing a tantrum. She tore off a piece of toilet paper, crossed her arms, grabbed both sides of her nightgown, and pulled it up significantly. A large expanse of fair and tender skin was exposed to my eyes, her cute navel and abdominal muscles completely visible. Most importantly, she wasn’t wearing a bra!
“Wait, what are you doing!”
“Wiping urine.”
“Then do you need to take off your clothes!”
“Yes, I need to, it’ll get my skirt dirty.”
This is simply arguing against reason!
I finally understood. Xinran is doing this to embarrass me and get revenge for me yelling at her earlier.
Just as I expected, after taking off her nightgown, Xinran threw it towards me, as if expressing her dissatisfaction.
“What exactly do you want…”
Xinran bent down to pick up the paper she had just thrown and extended her hand towards me, saying indifferently as if to hand it to me.
“Brother, help me wipe.”
“Who’s going to help you! Wait, don’t spread your legs like that!”
“Not wiping?”
“Not wiping!”
“Then I won’t wipe anymore.”
As she said this, Xinran stood up and bent down to pull up her light blue cotton underwear, which had been pulled down to her calves. Just as she was about to put them on, I hurriedly called out.
“Hey? Wait! I didn’t mean I wouldn’t wipe, I meant you should wipe yourself! Don’t just pull up your underwear! It’ll get dirty!”
“Then help me wipe.”
“Tsk…”
Seeing her persistent attitude, I understood. If I didn’t help her wipe today, she would remain sulky until my head ached!
Better a short pain than a long one. I might as well help her wipe!
Calm down, it’s fine, don’t overthink it.
I pinched the philtrum, prepared myself mentally, cleared all distracting thoughts, and resolutely walked over. I picked up the toilet paper from the floor, tore off a long strip, folded it four times until I felt it was thick enough, and then squatted in front of Xinran.
Calm down, calm down, be at peace. She’s my sister, it’s not like I haven’t helped her wipe before.
Although that was when I was in first or second grade, and it’s completely incomparable to now, I still have some experience.
Xinran spread her legs without any restraint and placed her hands on my shoulders. I couldn’t look directly ahead at that mysterious place, and if I looked up, I would see her chest completely exposed. So I simply tilted my head back to look at Xinran’s face.
She had looked sleepy just earlier, but now her eyes were completely open. In the depths of her eyes, there was a barely perceptible excitement and fervor… just like Lianbing.
Could my sister also be falling into some kind of pathology…
Don’t think too much about it, just finish quickly!
With one go, I took the toilet paper and inserted it deep into Xinran’s…
The wetness that soaked through several layers of paper and touched my palm made me suddenly sober up.
Uh… I think I did something very, very, very bad!
Ahhh, I regret it so much! What have I done! What have I done to my own biological sister!
Xinran gasped for breath, sweat dripping from her chin onto my face, her eyes hazy.
She leaned on me like a deflated ball, hugging my neck and murmuring.
“Actually, Brother… Xinran… I’m not your biological sister?”
I froze instantly.
“…Huh?”
As my body stiffened, the grip of my hand unconsciously tightened.
“Brother, there, it hurts…”
What did Xinran just say?
She’s not my biological sister?
We’re actually not related by blood?
…Huh?
“Ugh… Brother… don’t tense up, Happy April Fools’ Day…”
My taut nerves suddenly relaxed.
“Ah, hahahaha… You scared me to death. It was just an April Fools’ joke… *Huff*…”
To be honest, the moment I heard those words, I felt like my blood had frozen solid.
If Xinran wasn’t my biological sister… Hmm, I dare not imagine, nor do I want to imagine, such a possibility.
“Only… on April Fools’ Day… can you say such things…”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Xinran unclasped her thighs, and I quickly pulled my hand out. I threw the paper into the toilet, my hand soaked.
“Ahhh, that’s enough! This is ridiculous, what have we done!”
“This way… we’re even then.”
“Huh? Even?”
“Last time I helped Brother… uh… and this time Brother helped me wipe, we’ve made wonderful memories.”
“This is considered a wonderful memory?!”
It’s another dark history! It’s likely that Miss Shirley caught it on camera again!
“It’s all Brother’s fault for getting wet again, and soaking wet at that.”
“It’s my fault?!”
I looked at my terribly messy hand, my eye twitching.
Last time Xinran didn’t help me… this time I helped her… uh…
Huh… This smell is similar to the smell on the bedsheet…
Could it be…
“Xinran, you still came to my room last night.”
“I didn’t enter Brother’s room yesterday.”
“Hmm? You didn’t enter my room last night?”
Xinran said with a serious, certain, and affirmative tone.
“Yes, I was afraid of aggravating Brother’s wound, so I endured and didn’t go to Brother’s room… so I didn’t sleep well all night.”
“Ah?”
But I distinctly remember someone getting into my covers last night. I thought it was Xinran and just slept holding her…
Wait, wait, wait, could I have seen a ghost?
“What’s wrong? Brother? You look pale.”
“It’s nothing…”
I thought I could finally return to my normal daily life, but perhaps it was all my illusion…
Is my sister also acting strange?
No, that’s not it at all.
Whether it’s Xinran or Ke Ling, they are both my lovely sisters.
Of course, I mean when they aren’t being difficult.
When facing them, my identity in my heart is solely that of a brother.
On this point, I will absolutely not be confused.
