Fang Yongnian did not speak, whether it was out of shyness or protest, she could not tell.

He got out of the car in silence, silently ordered the takeout, silently ate with her, and silently washed the rice, cooked porridge, and helped Lu Yixin set the electric rice cooker to the timer.

“Take a shower and go to sleep right after.”

That was the first thing he said to Lu Yixin after returning home.

Lu Yixin lay on the bed, blanket pulled up to her chin, blinking her eyes at Fang Yongnian.

She actually still felt a little afraid of him.

When he did not speak, she would still wonder if he was angry, if she had gone too far before.

Even though he had kissed her forehead, even though she knew that for someone like Fang Yongnian, once there was that kind of physical contact, things between them could no longer be the same as before.

But the weight of his authority still lingered.

So Lu Yixin was extremely uneasy.

She worried that the things she said in the taxi earlier might have been too much. She worried that Fang Yongnian might really be angry. So ever since they got home, she had behaved herself.

She did not overstep her bounds, nor did she deliberately tease him again.

Fang Yongnian was silent, so she stayed silent too.

Her large eyes looked as if she wanted to speak but held back, shimmering faintly.

Fang Yongnian sighed.

Since returning, he had not gone into Lu Yixin’s room.

He busied himself in the living room, studying the rice cooker for quite a while, even opening the refrigerator to look at the side dishes Lu Boyuan had mentioned.

He knew his silence had frightened Lu Yixin, but he truly did not know what he should say now.

The inside of his arm still seemed to carry a faint trace of the sensation Lu Yixin had emphasized earlier in WeChat.

That feeling was too unfamiliar for him—so unfamiliar that he felt their situation now, a man and woman alone in the middle of the night, was very dangerous.

Some feelings were starting to slip out of control.

He had always been at ease in front of Lu Yixin. Even back then, when her reckless pursuit startled him and left him flustered, he had always known clearly what should and should not be done.

It had always been him who controlled the pace between them. Lu Yixin was young and mischievous; many of her words were just quick retorts, or she only said them to see his helpless reaction. She never really understood the true meaning behind much of her teasing.

Just like she had no idea what that so-called “touch” really meant to an adult man.

He hesitated at the door of her room for half a minute before finally walking in—eyes straight ahead, expression steady—and sat down at the edge of her bed.

The bedsheet on Lu Yixin’s bed was mint green, flattering against her skin.

Her fever had just subsided, and she looked even paler than usual. Because she couldn’t guess what he wanted to say, she looked pitiful and delicate.

Fang Yongnian was still hesitating.

He had taught Lu Yixin many things—some subtly, some by force.

Now that they were no longer uncle and niece, did he still need to assume the role of an elder and teach her the differences between men and women?

“Sometimes I think about how the two of us should get along more naturally.”

When Fang Yongnian was deep in thought, his speech slowed even more than usual.

When his voice lowered and his speech slowed, each word was pronounced distinctly, the deep tone of it utterly captivating.

Lu Yixin quietly swallowed.

“I’m more used to being your elder, to scolding you a bit when you do something wrong or act immaturely.” Fang Yongnian did not notice Lu Yixin’s small movement. He felt what he was about to say was very important, so his expression was serious, his brows slightly furrowed. “But doing that will make you afraid of me.”

Though he might be perverse, he did not want Lu Yixin to fear him in the slightest.

Lu Yixin reached her hand out from under the blanket and slipped it into Fang Yongnian’s palm, stubbornly interlacing their fingers.

Fang Yongnian paused.

Just like now—he had clearly meant to reason with her, but the moment she interrupted him like this, he lost all sense of direction.

Holding hands like this while still trying to act like an elder was far too strange.

Yet, he still wanted to reprimand her…

The word “touch” that she had mentioned in WeChat had shaken him so much that the inside of his arm still tingled faintly.

Only after actually feeling it did he understand what Lu Yixin meant. Indeed, though flat, it still had sensation.

Damn it…

Fang Yongnian narrowed his eyes.

“Let me finish before you start acting up!” His tone was chilling.

Lu Yixin blinked.

Once Fang Yongnian started talking, she was no longer afraid of him.

Especially when he put on that elder-like air again, ready to lecture her—at that point, she wasn’t scared at all.

If he was still willing to scold her, it meant he wasn’t really angry.

If he wasn’t angry, then what was there to be afraid of?

“I wasn’t acting up.” She wrinkled her nose, looking wronged. “You just ignored me.”

“The things I sent you on WeChat in the taxi earlier, I was actually going to ask you directly.” Whenever she twisted the situation around, she always managed to pinpoint her footing quickly and precisely. “But I held it in, I deliberately sent it to you on WeChat.”

“It was something only the two of us could see. Even if it might have been a bit much, only we would know about it.” Because of her cold, her voice was still slightly nasal, and that nasal tone made her little grievances sound all the more sincere.

“But you didn’t say anything, you just ignored me.” After wrinkling her nose, she furrowed her brows too, then rubbed her head against the pillow. Feeling unsatisfied, she simply rested her head on Fang Yongnian’s lap and rubbed again.

Just like his family’s fat cat.

Fang Yongnian instinctively shifted his right leg to the side, not wanting Lu Yixin to touch his prosthetic.

Lu Yixin glared at him, grabbed his right pant leg, and pulled it back, then even patted it firmly in indignation.

Her body language was crystal clear.

She was upset, and for now, couldn’t be bothered with his feelings of inferiority.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.” She even muttered under her breath, righteously reminding him, “My cold isn’t even completely gone yet, don’t you act up!”

Fang Yongnian: “……”

Damn it…

So what was he supposed to do next.

“You’re not planning to fall asleep like this, are you?” Fang Yongnian no longer had the mood to scold her. What concerned him more now was just how long she intended to stay like that.

The kind of thing where she’d hold onto him and sleep till morning, he truly believed Lu Yixin was capable of doing it.

Lu Yixin rubbed against him again.

Because she had spent little time with her parents since childhood, she was actually very sensitive to human emotions. She could clearly sense that she had successfully turned the tables just now.

All it took was acting a little wronged, a little spoiled—and the power of conversation was back in her hands.

“Why did you ignore me?” she asked sweetly, pulling the topic back to where it had started, to that moment when Fang Yongnian had been about to scold her. Only this time, she was the one asking the question.

Fang Yongnian couldn’t help but laugh.

He had always understood the little twists and turns in Lu Yixin’s mind. When the girl was in a good mood, she knew exactly when to stop; as long as the adult softened a little, she would never go against him.

That kind of understanding came from years of watching people’s moods.

So when his expression softened, he reached out and rubbed her hair.

“And you? Why were you feeling guilty?” Why had she been unable to meet his eyes after they got home, looking like someone who had done something wrong?

Lu Yixin lifted her head slightly and shot him a glare. “You’re answering a question with another question again!”

So sly!

But she forgave him.

“I was afraid you’d think I was too much of a pervert…” she admitted, her face turning slightly red.

Of course she knew Fang Yongnian would never despise her for her flat chest, she understood too well what kind of relationship they had.

They weren’t like those people outside. The feelings and trust they had built up would never be tainted by appearances or external temptations.

It was precisely because she knew this that she had grown more and more unrestrained.

“Do you even know what being a pervert means?” Fang Yongnian smiled bitterly.

Young people, having experienced little, always liked to use exaggerated words to express their feelings.

They never truly understood the real meaning behind those words.

Just like how Lu Yixin talked about “being a pervert,” or about “touch.”

“The one who’s being a pervert isn’t you.” He finally reached out to touch the inside of his own arm. “The one being a pervert is me.”

Lu Yixin’s eyes widened, full of confusion.

“This is the first time I’ve entered a girl’s room.” Fang Yongnian had already moved on to another topic. “Before coming in, I hesitated.”

Lu Yixin’s eyes widened even more.

“Because the thoughts in my head were very indecent,” he said quietly, “so much that I was actually a little afraid to come in.”

“Men’s thought patterns are different from women’s.” Fang Yongnian clearly had no intention of explaining his indecent thoughts. “I wasn’t ignoring you earlier. I was just… processing my own thought patterns.”

After saying that, he patted Lu Yixin’s head.

“Go to sleep.” He decided that was enough for tonight.

He had always moved at a slow, deliberate pace, and Lu Yixin should be used to that by now. She was clever, some things didn’t need to be said too plainly. He knew that once she thought it over later, she would figure it out herself.

So tonight would end here. After all, Lu Yixin had been running a fever for two days and was surely exhausted.

“I’ve set the porridge on timer. Eat it tomorrow morning and check your temperature again.” He patted her head once more as he prepared to stand.

Lu Yixin suddenly sat up.

“You…” Her hair was loose and messy, her body still carrying the fresh scent of shower gel. “What exactly did you think about?”

You’ve got to be kidding…

It was so rare for Fang Yongnian to admit he had indecent thoughts, how could she possibly let him off that easily!

Say it and then try to run away? As if pretending to be all proper would fool her.

How long had she known him? She’d practically spent half her life glued to his side!

Fang Yongnian: “……”

“What kind of indecent thoughts could you possibly have just from entering my room?”

When Fang Yongnian didn’t answer, Lu Yixin decided to look for clues herself. She lifted her chin, glancing around. “Too bad, I already put away my underwear…”

She remembered that in romantic movies, whenever the male lead came into the female lead’s room, he would always somehow spot her underwear and then the two would blush and exchange a shy glance.

Fang Yongnian: “……”

“If you don’t tell me, it’s going to be hard for me to control my imagination.” Lu Yixin, unable to find anything in the room that could be deemed indecent, widened her eyes and started to threaten him.

Fang Yongnian: “……”

“I was wrong, you do know what being a pervert means,” he said quietly. “So let go of me. I’m going to sleep.”

He never learned his lesson. He always thought too much.

He shouldn’t have been so honest. He had always been the one in control, and if the other person found out that he had lost it even for a moment, what followed would be nothing short of a disaster.

Like now.

Lu Yixin even pulled out her phone, scrolling through her messages from earlier in the taxi.

“Touch?” Her eyes suddenly lit up. “And the scent in my room!”

So those erotic novels she’d been reading hadn’t gone to waste after all.

“I’m sleepy.” The stimulation was too much; Fang Yongnian’s expression went blank again.

“Hehehehehe.” The fever had only just gone down, yet Lu Yixin was smiling like a little witch.

“Good night!” She released his hand and waved cheerfully at him.

“I’ll keep letting my imagination run wild!” she said happily, burrowing back under her blanket until half her face was hidden.

Fang Yongnian: “……”

He bent down, lowering his head until he was very close to Lu Yixin.

Just moments ago, Lu Yixin had been so arrogant—now her pupils contracted, and she instantly forgot how to breathe.

Fang Yongnian kissed her forehead. Feeling that it wasn’t quite enough, he curled his fingers and flicked her lightly.

“Good night.” He stood up and turned off the light for her.

Though they both understood everything, she still had a mischievous heart but no real courage.

Just wait a little longer—according to his pace, and hers too.

Only…

That word “touch” really was far too easy to let one’s thoughts wander…

Damn it…