Chapter 52: A Cool Summer

Lin Yiren walked to the side of the pool, picking up the Water Pipe to examine it.

There was a trigger switch, a knob, and a buckle on the nozzle. The Water Pipe was a common garden hose.

Lin Xingyao ran over through the sunlight, tugging at her hem and saying, “Mama, Mummy asked what you were doing running over here.”

She looked over; Chen Zhaoyue was propping up her smooth chin, watching with interest.

“I’m going to make it rain from the sky,” Lin Yiren raised a slender white finger and gave her daughter a mysterious smile. “Do you want to see the rain?”

“Rain?” Lin Xingyao knew “rain” meant water flowing down from that pale blue patch overhead.

But would it rain now?

“Mm-hm, just watch closely.”

Lin Yiren connected the hose to the outdoor faucet, unscrewed the buckle, and carried the Water Pipe to the boundary between shadow and sunlight.

She pressed the trigger switch.

“Gurgle gurgle.” The sound of liquid flowing came from the hose. Immediately, like a carbonated drink being opened, accompanied by the sound of release, a clear and rushing stream of water crashed into the sky filled with sunlight and heat.

The water pressure was like a spear, splitting the heat waves to reach the highest point, finally exploding in the air. An umbrella-like mist of water fell onto the scorched earth.

The damp scent of summer heat spread out, cool yet stifling.

“Wow!” Lin Xingyao clapped enthusiastically; she had never seen this mist-like water curtain before.

“It can move too.” Lin Yiren held the Water Pipe like a gun, sweeping it back and forth. The water stream swayed in the air, ensuring every flower received its “fair share of rain and dew.”

However, the water flow didn’t seem strong enough; it could only cover a small area at a time.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the knob on the Water Pipe.

This should be for adjusting the size. Lin Yiren grabbed it, remembered her strength had decreased significantly after becoming a girl, and gave it a hard twist.

But she overestimated the knob’s resistance, and her hand turned in a wide arc.

The water flow suddenly became higher and stronger.

“Ah!”

A certain Eldest Miss sitting in the distance only felt a sudden chill descending from above.

A familiar voice, an unfamiliar cry. Lin Yiren felt a chill as well, only hers rose from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

No, surely not. She quickly closed the trigger and struggled to lift her gaze.

Water droplets dripped along the hair on her forehead onto a collar that had already been soaked. Fortunately, the clothes were gray and didn’t become transparent easily, but several droplets slid down her collarbone to places out of sight.

Lin Yiren swallowed hard—not out of distraction, but because her eyes met Chen Zhaoyue’s.

A cold stare.

“Mummy, you got rained on!” Lin Xingyao said, enjoying the spectacle.

Chen Zhaoyue walked over, patted her head, and swept a sharp gaze across.

“I, I’ll go get a towel.” Lin Yiren planned to slip away.

A flexible and strong hand directly clamped her arm. Turning around, Lin Yiren could see crystalline water droplets sliding down the tip of Chen Zhaoyue’s nose, the convex surface reflecting her panicked face.

“The weather happens to be so hot.”

Chen Zhaoyue suddenly said something nonsensical.

Lin Yiren was still dazed when a pull came from her arm, and she was dragged forward without paying attention.

The two crossed the boundary of light and shadow together. In the dazzling brightness, Lin Yiren saw Chen Zhaoyue break into a brilliant smile. Her gaze froze as she let the other woman pull her into the sunlight, and then—

“Sshhh—”

A Spray Bottle sprayed a stream of water at her.

“Eek!” Lin Yiren felt a chill on her neck and shuddered.

But this obviously wasn’t the end. A continuous stream of water attacked her body, soaking several spots on her clothes.

“Zhao Yue, I… ah!”

“I didn’t mean… mm!”

“Wait, wait a minute!”

Lin Yiren ducked her neck, shielding her face with her hands.

“Wait for what?”

The water flow stopped.

Lin Yiren seeing the attack temporarily cease, peeked at Chen Zhaoyue through the gaps in her fingers. The Eldest Miss had a mischievous grin, like a child about to start a water fight in summer.

Lin Yiren puffed her cheeks, a fighting spirit igniting in her eyes.

“Waiting for—this moment, of course!” She moved quickly to pick up her own water bottle from the ground and did a horizontal sweep with her eyes closed.

No sportsmanship, a desperate counterattack.

As expected, Chen Zhaoyue didn’t react in time, and the wet patch on her chest expanded.

“Lin Yiren, you’re something else!” A voice through gritted teeth came from the Eldest Miss.

Lin Yiren was well-versed in guerrilla tactics. After a successful hit, she scurried into the Sunflower Patch like a rabbit. Her graceful figure made Chen Zhaoyue’s blood boil—the kind where her fists clenched.

A grand chase under the sun began.

“Aren’t you a man? All you can do is run?”

“Hmph, this is called a Junzi waiting for the right moment—which is now! I bet your bottle is out of water.”

“Mama, Mummy, I want to play too!”

“Okay, hit Mummy. Mama will let you sleep in my arms tonight.”

A barrage of water, splashes flying everywhere.

***

“Is Xing Yao asleep?”

Lin Yiren saw Chen Zhaoyue wearing crescent-white pajamas coming downstairs.

“Mm, what are you making?”

“Making fruit cups.”

Lin Yiren put watermelon, honeydew, and the like into porcelain bowls, pouring thick yogurt over them.

“Your hair isn’t dry yet. I told you to blow-dry it longer earlier.”

“I was in a hurry to make food,” Lin Yiren glanced at her. “It was quite late by the time we finished showering.”

She hadn’t expected them to play outside for so long; the cool sensation seemed to linger on her skin.

“Hmph, you even instigated Xing Yao to help you this afternoon. Relying on the fact that she likes your soft ‘pillows,’ aren’t you?” Chen Zhaoyue leaned against the table, standing opposite Lin Yiren.

She naturally couldn’t spray her daughter, so she had to endure two streams of firepower.

Lin Yiren’s face turned slightly red, but she still spoke firmly, “A loss is a loss, why so many excuses?”

“Oh? How counts as me losing?”

“You got sprayed so many times.”

“But the effect of the water was most obvious on you, wasn’t it?” Chen Zhaoyue’s gaze moved meaningfully over her body.

Lin Yiren tugged at her hem, the pink on her face instantly spreading to her neck.

Unlike Chen Zhaoyue, who wore gray, she had worn white this afternoon. The light fabric was comfortable and breathable, but the only drawback was that it became… transparent when wet.

“Even though they were both white, I could still tell at a glance…”

“Stop talking!” Lin Yiren shook the bowl in her hand so loudly it clattered. The fruit and yogurt mixed together like they were fighting.

“I’m going to eat the late-night snack.” She ran past Chen Zhaoyue holding the bowl, bringing a flurry of panicked wind.

Chen Zhaoyue couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle as she watched her back, following after her.

Two lamps lit up in the backyard. A table and two rocking chairs were bathed in a warm yellow glow, with a winding trail of white smoke from a mosquito coil nearby.

Chen Zhaoyue saw that Lin Yiren had prepared everything so thoroughly and laughed, ”A long night ahead. Are you planning on having a heart-to-heart talk with me?“

“Talk about what? On such a beautiful night, one should eat snacks and look at the stars.” Lin Yiren placed the fruit cups on the small table and lay down comfortably in the chair.

“Come here, quickly.”

She waved to Chen Zhaoyue.