“Sister Qianxin! Let go of me, stop kissing me.”
“What’s wrong? Didn’t Xiao Yu say he wouldn’t get angry with his sister?”
“Even so, you shouldn’t…”
Gu Yu turned his head to avoid Yun Qianxin’s gaze. Below, a certain physiological reaction pressed against the fabric of her clothes. It was obvious the woman knew exactly what response she had enticed from his body, yet she continued to tease him with indifference.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop messing with you.”
Yun Qianxin sat up and tidied her disheveled hair. Her pink tongue licked around her thin lips as if savoring the sweetness from a moment ago.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom to handle that, Xiao Yu? Or would you rather…” She caught his awkward embarrassment, the smile at the corners of her eyes deepening.
“I’m not going. I’m fine.”
Gu Yu lifted his legs and pressed them together to hide the awkwardness at his inner thighs, a shy flush spreading from his neck to the tips of his ears. He stared intently at his shoelaces, silently reciting mathematical formulas in his head, trying to quell his primal impulses and cool his brain down.
Yun Qianxin playfully reached out to scratch his chin. “Xiao Yu, you don’t feel guilty toward that girl you like just because your sister teased you, do you?”
“I… a little bit. Sister Qianxin, why are you doing this to me? Is it because you still think of me as a child?”
“Is that what you think? I simply like you, Xiao Yu. Why? Am I not allowed to pursue you?” Yun Qianxin gripped Gu Yu’s jaw and forced his face toward her.
There wasn’t a hint of seriousness in her voice, so Gu Yu naturally took it as a joke. He felt only respect, care, and gratitude toward Yun Qianxin as an “older sister.”
She was beautiful, and he didn’t hate her touch—those kisses and contacts were temptations hard for an adolescent boy to resist. But he understood that this wasn’t good for her.
“Of course not. Do as you please, Sister Qianxin, just don’t…”
“Don’t what? You aren’t anyone’s boyfriend yet, Xiao Yu, so why can’t I do these things?” Yun Qianxin paused, her palm sliding down his neck to rest against his chest. “Or is it that you feel this isn’t enough? Do you want to have more with me…”
“Behave yourself, Sister Qianxin. You’re an adult, yet you’re as naughty as a child.”
Gu Yu gently pushed her palm away. He tried his best to avoid her half-serious, half-joking words. He didn’t allow himself to view her through a sexual lens; to him, that was a matter of respect for both of them.
He still liked Luo Ming and had never been able to elevate Yun Qianxin’s affection to the level of a romantic relationship. He was unwilling to face it, and even more unwilling to believe it—she was the sister he had always regarded as his closest kin.
“Xiao Yu, you really don’t know how to seize an opportunity…”
Yun Qianxin lowered her head slightly, her jet-black hair falling to obscure her eyes. The cold, icy ferocity within them was hidden away, and the smile on her face instantly vanished into stillness, like ripples disappearing from the surface of water.
“Want to go shopping with me? The shops outside have new stock, and your house is missing quite a few things. Shall we go take a look together?”
“I’d rather not. It looks freezing outside. The things at home are enough.”
“But those shops happen to be having a sale. Just come with me as a favor; I’ll buy you some new clothes.”
Yun Qianxin picked up the bright red scarf Gu Yu had left on the sofa and wrapped it around him without a word. She smoothed his collar, preparing to lead him out.
“Alright. But forget about buying me clothes. I’ve already troubled you enough; I can’t just keep taking things for free.”
“Why so formal with me? I’m not short on money. Just be a good boy and listen; no refusing.”
After saying that, Yun Qianxin picked up the remote to turn off the TV and pulled Gu Yu to the entryway to change shoes. The contrast between the boy’s worn-out sneakers, which he had worn for nearly a year, and her brand-new, expensive black designer boots was stark—cheap versus precious, revealing the gap between their backgrounds.
She lifted a leg clad in black stockings and stepped into her boot. With her back to Gu Yu, she bent over to pull up the zipper at the back. The movement tightened her dark bodycon skirt, showcasing her perfect figure—both sexy and suggestive.
A wasp waist and long legs, with just the right balance of slenderness and curves. Gu Yu recalled the sensation of being pinned under her earlier; her graceful posture and soft, delicate skin could easily shake his rationality.
He immediately realized he shouldn’t be thinking such things and forced himself to maintain his usual polite demeanor, shifting his gaze elsewhere and refusing to look again.
Once her boots were on, her stiletto heels made a crisp clack-clack sound on the floor. She grabbed a cloth bag, a formal, sweet smile on her face—switching back to the dignified and gentle persona she used for the outside world.
Gu Yu put on his shoes and followed. The narrow hallway was too crowded for two people to walk side-by-side. Once they were downstairs and out the door, Yun Qianxin turned back to walk beside him, linking her arm with his. The soft fullness of her chest pressed against his arm.
“Sister Qianxin?”
“What? I’ve already pinned you down and kissed you forcefully; am I not even allowed to hold your hand?” Yun Qianxin blinked her bright eyes, the innocent purity in them showing no flaws whatsoever.
“Never mind. If you like it, fine.”
They walked arm-in-arm like a couple in a passionate relationship. Yun Qianxin loved this proximity; her status as “sister” brought too many conveniences, allowing her to keep the boy firmly in her grasp, ready at any moment to…
They encountered several elderly residents out for air. A few aunts knitting sweaters spotted them and immediately began to whisper among themselves. Yun Qianxin noticed and was satisfied with the outsiders’ misunderstanding of their relationship; they would eventually reach that stage anyway.
“Xiao Yu, you’ve hooked up with Qianxin again, have you? You two actually look like a married couple.” A talkative aunt greeted them, joking with Gu Yu.
Yun Qianxin had been living there for a while now, and most of the neighbors remembered her—beautiful, generous, well-spoken, and well-bred. She was as likable as ever. They could also see her affection for Gu Yu, and they often gossiped about whether the two could become a pair.
“Last time I saw you seeing a pretty girl off to a car, and later you were helping another good-looking girl home. Xiao Yu, this won’t do; you have to be devoted.”
It was clearly just banter, and Gu Yu awkwardly tried to explain, but he felt the grip on his arm tighten. Those beautiful willow-leaf eyes were staring at him resentfully.
“Auntie, you’ve misunderstood. Those two are my classmates. Sister Qianxin is just my…”
“Auntie Zhou, is what you said true?” Yun Qianxin interrupted Gu Yu’s explanation, smiling at the aunt. “My boyfriend is that capable?”
“Isn’t he? Those two girls were quite charming and pretty. Qianxin, you have to keep a close eye on Xiao Yu. He’s getting more and more handsome; he’s bound to attract a lot of ‘peach blossoms’.”
“Alright, thank you for the reminder, Auntie Zhou. I’ll keep a close eye on him. Were those two girls as pretty as me? Did Xiao Yu do anything with them?”
Yun Qianxin’s smile was pleasant to look at. Her good upbringing allowed her to chat effortlessly with a woman twenty or thirty years her senior. She pulled Gu Yu close and stood still, dutifully playing the role of the older girlfriend, never ceasing her teasing remarks toward the boy.