Qin Heng was just about to sit down beside Ning Muxuan, but before he could even lower himself onto the seat, she turned away and shifted quite a bit farther to the side. Still wearing a chilly expression, she crossed her legs and went right back to reading something on her phone, looking every bit like she wanted nothing to do with anyone.

Qin Heng was completely baffled, but he still shamelessly edged closer to Ning Muxuan and asked on purpose,

“Sis, aren’t you hot?”

“Ah, I forgot. With your constitution, how could you possibly feel hot?”

After asking and answering his own question, he even reached out and touched Ning Muxuan’s back. Her skin felt cool and smooth beneath his hand, but she still didn’t react.

“Man, I wish I had a constitution like yours. I’m practically melting over here…”

Qin Heng took it one step at a time, carefully leading her toward the answer he wanted.

“Siiis~ You wouldn’t want your dear little brother to suffer here, would you?”

Sure enough, Ning Muxuan reacted as soon as he finished speaking. Her lovely eyes turned and flicked a glance at Qin Heng, then quickly turned away again.

That’s promising!

Qin Heng quietly shifted both hands toward Ning Muxuan’s slender waist and wrapped his arms around it. Then he placed his hands on her lower abdomen…

Of course, Ning Muxuan had noticed Qin Heng’s little tricks from the very beginning. She only gave a cold snort and let him be.

Only when she felt the warmth against her lower abdomen did Ning Muxuan’s long legs suddenly tremble. Ripples stirred in her eyes, and a faint blush gradually spread across her pretty face. Even so, she held herself upright and said nothing.

Qin Heng slowly leaned closer until his body rested against Ning Muxuan’s back, then pulled her fully into his arms.

“Wow~ You really are nice and cool. I knew my big sis cared about me the most~”

Having gotten what he wanted, Qin Heng kept playing innocent. He tightened his arms around her and deliberately breathed against her ear.

Before long, he felt the delicate body in his arms tremble slightly.

A blush gradually spread across Ning Muxuan’s neck and around her ears. Her eyes held a faint, rippling warmth as she shot Qin Heng a somewhat displeased glance.

“I can’t be bothered… to deal with you.”

Her voice was still icy, but Qin Heng could hear the tenderness mixed into it. That proved his guess had been right.

Qin Heng looked down at Ning Muxuan in his arms, somewhat helplessly…

When he was little, Qin Heng really had loved sticking close to Ning Muxuan. It wasn’t just because her embrace was so comfortable; more than anything, he’d wanted to be close to his big sister.

But that had been when he was a child. As he grew older, Qin Heng entered his rebellious phase and realized how embarrassing that sort of thing was. Gradually, he stopped clinging to Ning Muxuan and begging her to hold him.

Now that he was an adult, that was even more out of the question. How could he go around after her like a little kid all day…?

But Ning Muxuan didn’t seem to see it that way. She was very unhappy about him acting like this.

Even now, Ning Muxuan would suddenly hug him no matter where they were or what was going on. She didn’t care whether he agreed, and always insisted that it was her right as his big sister.

…………

“Phew.”

Qin Heng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he put all those thoughts out of his mind.

As he edged closer to Ning Muxuan’s neck, a distinctive fragrance drifted to his nose. He found a comfortable spot against her neck and settled in, cheek to cheek.

“Don’t move around…”

A soft voice came from beside him, tinged with a little displeasure and the faintest hint of affection.

“Okaaay~”

Qin Heng drawled lazily, rubbing his face against Ning Muxuan’s neck once more before going limp and still like a salted fish. His arms remained wrapped around her slender waist, and every so often his fingertips idly rubbed her lower abdomen.

“Sis, what are you reading?”

Maybe it was because he was holding Ning Muxuan, but the cool, soothing sensation gradually made Qin Heng drowsy. His eyelids began to droop, and the salted fish buried his head a little deeper.

He hadn’t actually looked at Ning Muxuan’s phone just now. He’d only picked a random topic to strike up a conversation.

Before Ning Muxuan could answer, Qin Heng had already buried his whole face against her neck. He breathed in her faint fragrance, gave a lazy little mumble, and prepared to nod off.

Ning Muxuan placed a slender hand on her lower abdomen, then took Qin Heng’s right hand and held it in hers, slowly lacing their fingers together. Feeling the warmth in their joined hands and the steady breathing against her neck, a deep sense of happiness welled up from within her, and her body gradually began to relax…

“It’s some materials from the research institute.”

Ning Muxuan waited a while before answering. She affectionately nuzzled Qin Heng’s cheek in reply, as if she knew he was about to fall asleep.

Qin Heng was already half-asleep. He only managed to lift his eyelids and force out a quiet “Mm.”

Then he was about to drift off…

“Huh?!”

“Is it the lab you used to work at, Sis?!”

Qin Heng suddenly realized what she meant and snapped wide awake.

“Mm. Your tutoring is over, and you’ll have to earn your place at university on your own.”

“I’ve been away for quite a while, and I haven’t had time to sort through a lot of the materials. I may have to go back tomorrow.”

That’s right. During Qin Heng’s senior year of high school, Ning Muxuan applied to the Academy of Science and Education to defer her studies for a year so she could tutor him. If she hadn’t kept a close eye on Big Couch-Potato Qin and acted as his personal tutor, getting into Jing University would’ve been harder for him than a salted fish flipping over.

Jing University was one of the top schools in both the province and the country. Ning Muxuan had graduated from there herself, so naturally she insisted Qin Heng get in too. Otherwise, with his personality, he’d have coasted through senior year and then gone off to some random university, away from her, to mess around. Ning Muxuan would never allow that!

—Back to the present

As Ning Muxuan answered, a trace of sadness crept into her eyes. She moved Qin Heng’s hand back to her lower abdomen, as if that warmth might disappear at any moment.

But while Ning Muxuan was feeling down, Big Couch-Potato Qin looked as if he’d just won a lottery worth hundreds of millions. He was beside himself with excitement.

“So starting tomorrow, you’ll be going to the research institute every day again, just like before?!”

Qin Heng’s eyes lit up with longing for freedom. And now, the chance was right in front of him!

“Mm. I’ll be back in the evenings, like before. If you miss me, you can—”

Before Ning Muxuan could finish, Qin Heng cried out happily from behind her.

“Really?! That’s ama—”

Feeling Ning Muxuan’s gaze turn even colder and seeing green scales slowly appear along her collarbones, Qin Heng hurriedly changed tack.

“I mean, it’s such a shame! I could never bring myself to leave Muxuan-jie!”

He tightened his arms around Ning Muxuan’s slender waist and spoke with exaggerated regret, wiping at tears that weren’t even there.

Ning Muxuan turned around in his arms. Now, instead of Qin Heng holding her, she reached out and hugged him from the front.

The magnificent swell of her breasts pressed against Qin Heng, taking on an even more alluring shape. Her breathtaking face drew closer to him, and her red lips parted slightly.

“Really?”

Ning Muxuan pinched the soft flesh on Qin Heng’s back and asked, sounding unconvinced.

“Really! I mean it!”

Ning Muxuan had suddenly turned around and was so close to him that Qin Heng was flustered too. Even his hurried attempt to play along came out a little garbled.

Looking at her beautiful face right in front of him, Qin Heng began to feel guilty and instinctively shifted his gaze downward.

But that only brought the view in the valley between those magnificent peaks straight into his line of sight…

—Ngh!

Qin Heng quickly turned his head away. Ning Muxuan didn’t seem to care at all; she simply spoke again.

“Then how about I give up my place at the lab and stay home with you?”

“Huh?!”