The next morning, sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, landing on the messy crown of Su Ling’s head.
Su Ling opened his eyes groggily amidst a sense of steady warmth.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the soft lines of Ye Moran’s jaw. Lifting his gaze a bit higher, he could see her blurred features.
He was still cradled in her arms, his hands and feet instinctively wrapped around her like a small beast hiding in its mother’s warm embrace.
Sensing the person in her arms move, Ye Moran looked down. Her fingertips lightly brushed over the red marks at the corners of his eyes that had yet to fully fade. Her voice carried the low rasp of someone who had just woken up.
“Awake?”
Su Ling quietly shrunk further into her arms and gave a small, whispered response.
“Mmh…”
Ye Moran let out a low chuckle, her chest vibrating slightly. “You like snuggling into my arms that much?”
Su Ling’s movements stiffened. His first thought was to leave her embrace, but her arms were very warm and gave him a great sense of security. He did not really want to leave.
For a moment, he was caught in a dilemma, frozen in one position.
…
…
…
…
“Why have you stopped moving?”
“I…”
Su Ling’s face flushed. No longer caring about the warmth of the embrace, he turned around and nimbly left her arms.
“Heh, are you shy?”
Su Ling’s body trembled, and it felt as though a faint pink tint had spread across his skin.
“Weren’t you quite brave last night? You even dared to ask me for a penalty. Why are you so shy now?”
…
Su Ling’s cheeks heated up. He turned around and glared at her huffily. However, his eyes were misty, and he lacked even a shred of intimidation. Instead, it made one want to bully him until he cried!
“You!”
“You did that on purpose!”
Su Ling was so angry that the rims of his eyes turned red. He clenched his small fists tightly but only dared to wave them vaguely in the air, not daring to actually let them land on Ye Moran.
“I am not shy!”
He shrunk back, his cheeks burning fiercely. Even the tips of his furry ears were stained with a layer of faint red. He looked soft and easy to bully.
Looking at his bristled yet fearful appearance, Ye Moran’s mood improved even further. She reached out and scooped him back into her arms, locking him in place!
“You still say you’re not?”
She lowered her head, her nose lightly rubbing against his burning earlobe. Her voice was low and alluring.
“Your face is already this red.”
“Let me go!”
Su Ling struggled a couple of times, but the difference in their strength was too great. He could not break free no matter what, so he could only glare at her indignantly.
“You’re not keeping your word! You just took The Vow yesterday not to lie to me or bully me!”
At the mention of this, Ye Moran actually loosened her grip slightly, her eyes flickering with playfulness.
“Oh? You remembered yesterday’s vow that quickly?”
Her fingertips lightly scraped his cheek, her tone turning serious.
“I am a woman of my word. However, how is it that I remember what I promised you yesterday was not to lie to you, not that I wouldn’t bully you?!”
Su Ling was instantly rendered speechless by her words. His small mouth hung open, unable to squeeze out a single word for a long time.
He lowered his head, and for a long while, there was no sound.
Ye Moran felt suspicious. She leaned in closer and looked down, only to find that the little fellow was actually crying.
“Why are you crying?”
“It’s… it’s nothing…”
Su Ling turned his head away and sobbed quietly, insisting that nothing was wrong.
Ye Moran was stunned for a moment. She forcibly turned the little fellow’s body back around and stared into his panicked and pitiful eyes.
“Stop crying. You won’t look good if you cry. It was my fault. Sister shouldn’t have bullied you until you cried. I’ll apologize to you, okay?”
Su Ling’s lips twitched. The grievances he had been suppressing found an outlet. Instead of stopping, he began to cry even harder.
Su Ling’s shoulders shook as he sobbed. His tears were like pearls from a broken string, hitting the bedsheets one by one.
Watching this, Ye Moran’s heart tightened for some unknown reason.
The grievances in Su Ling’s heart could not be stopped. It was bad enough that Nangong Wan had deceived him, but now even his closest Elder Sister was bullying him like this.
“You’re lying… you clearly took The Vow…”
Su Ling choked out, his voice light and shattered.
“You said you wouldn’t lie to me, but you’re still bullying me… You are all the same… You all lie to me…”
Ye Moran was taken aback. She did not follow the little fellow’s logic. Was there a connection between her lying to him and her bullying him?
But seeing the little fellow like this made her heart clench. Originally, she only wanted to tease him, to see him blush, to see him bristle, and to see his huffy little face.
But when the little fellow actually cried this sadly, curled up into a ball with eyes full of grievances as if he had been abandoned, all her playfulness vanished, leaving only a wave of panic.
This was the person she held most dear.
Although she enjoyed making the little fellow cry and then acting as the good person to comfort him, now that he was really crying, she felt a bit lost on what to do.
If they were in the middle of *that* kind of activity, she would not hesitate to continue bullying the little fellow, but right now, she could not bring herself to do it.
Ye Moran immediately softened all her sharp edges. She reached out and gently pulled him into her arms, her movements cautious, as if afraid of scaring him again.
Her voice became extremely light and soft, carrying a sense of panic and apology she had never felt before.
“It’s my fault.”
“It’s Sister’s fault. I shouldn’t have teased you, I shouldn’t have…”
She stroked Su Ling’s trembling back over and over, as if soothing a severely injured little beast.
“Stop crying, okay? When you cry, my heart gets all flustered.”
Su Ling buried his face in her shoulder, his tears soaking her collar. He sobbed and asked, “Are… are you really sorry…?”
“Really.”
Ye Moran nodded and kissed the soft crown of his head, her expression incredibly serious.
“Then you aren’t allowed to bully me anymore in the future.”
“Heh, that… that won’t do!”
“Not lying to you is one thing, but the bullying that needs to happen must still happen!”
As soon as Ye Moran’s voice fell, Su Ling’s entire body froze.
He lifted his tear-stained face. His eyes were red and swollen, filled with disbelief and even deeper grievance.
“You… you’re lying to me again!”
He pushed Ye Moran with all his might, his voice so choked with sobs that it was almost unintelligible.
“You clearly apologized! You clearly admitted you were wrong, yet you still want to bully me… You never planned to be good to me at all!”
Ye Moran was slightly stunned by his sudden force.
Usually, the little fellow did not even dare to resist with much strength. But now, his grievances had reached their limit, and he no longer even cared about being afraid.
“I didn’t lie to you.”
Ye Moran’s voice deepened, but she continued with patience.
“I said I wouldn’t lie to you, and I absolutely won’t. I’m telling you in advance that I’m going to bully you, so it doesn’t count as lying.”
“That is still bullying!”
Su Ling sniffled, his tears falling even more fiercely.
“I hate being bullied! I hate the pain! I hate that you always… always treat me like that!”
The more he spoke, the more aggrieved and frightened he became. His entire body could not stop shaking.
Looking at his unreasonable behavior, the last shred of Ye Moran’s patience was exhausted!
Slap!
Without hesitation, she dealt a harsh slap to the little fellow’s face!
Su Ling’s crying stopped. Ye Moran also froze for a second. She stared blankly at her own palm, then at the red mark gradually rising on the little fellow’s face!
‘I actually hit him… How could I?!’
‘Is it because I didn’t take my medicine again?’
Su Ling was completely stunned. His sobbing came to an abrupt halt.
He remained in the position where his head had been turned by the blow. His cheek burned with a stinging pain that was clearer and more bone-chilling than any pain he had felt before.
He slowly turned his head back, his red, misty eyes staring blankly at Ye Moran.
He did not cry, he did not throw a tantrum, and he did not struggle anymore.
It was just that in those eyes, the original dependence, grievance, and fear shattered bit by bit, replaced by total daze and helplessness.
Ye Moran looked at her slightly numb palm and then at the clear finger marks rapidly swelling on Su Ling’s face. Her heart felt as though it were being squeezed by a hand, and her breathing hitched for a beat.
“…”
Ye Moran opened her mouth, her voice carrying a tremble she didn’t even notice.
She reached out, wanting to touch Su Ling’s face, but the little fellow gave a slight flinch.
Just that one flinch, so light it carried almost no strength, was like a knife stabbing into Ye Moran’s heart.
“Don’t touch me…”
Su Ling’s voice was very soft and raspy, as faint as a mosquito’s hum, yet it carried a numbness that suggested he was completely broken.
“Don’t touch me… You are a bad person…”
Ye Moran’s hand froze in mid-air, and her heart sank abruptly.
She had never been this panicked.
She was even more panicked than when the little fellow had cried and shouted about wanting to leave!
“I’m sorry…”
She softened her voice almost immediately, saying each word with unprecedented panic and lingering fear.