At first, Zixiao thought she must’ve misheard. Yuche wanted to take a bath with her brother? Was she kidding?

But after Zixiao finished her own bath, she saw the two of them walk into the bathroom together, carrying towels and pajamas to change into.

She nearly collapsed onto the sofa.

No way. They were really doing this?

Hearing the bathroom door lock from the inside, Zixiao lightly touched her freshly dried, straight black hair. Its familiar feel told her she wasn’t dreaming.

Yuche really was going through with it! How had her brother agreed to this, too?!

She had taken a bath with her brother before, sure—but that was when they were little! They were almost adults now. Was this really okay?!

As the sounds of running water and playful chatter started coming from the bathroom, Zixiao fell into deep thought.

Yuzhe’s apartment was pretty fancy, she had to admit. The bathroom had not only a shower but also a large bathtub that could fit two people.

Fit two people...

Were her brother and Yuche taking a bath in the tub right now, or showering under the spray...?

She imagined what might be happening while her brother helped Yuche bathe, and... she absolutely couldn’t think about it!

Yuche was just too awful!! Zixiao was so jealous!

Zixiao’s mind was in complete chaos! Her face was already bright red.

Yuche was way too bold! They’d agreed not to sneak ahead, so how had she managed to get so far ahead?!

Zixiao could only think that she was not just a total wimp, but a coward, too. No wonder she was stuck outside, listening.

Fine. She’d planned to go to bed after her bath, but now there was no way she’d be able to sleep if she went back to her room. She’d just wait on the sofa.

After about twenty agonizing minutes, the bathroom door finally opened. Zixiao sprang upright to see what was going on.

Yuche came bouncing out in an adorable pure-white set of pajamas, looking delighted. Her hair clearly hadn’t been dried or tied back; it danced freely as she moved.

She looked like a little angel. But right now, Zixiao saw her as a full-blown devil! And she even had the nerve to smile!

Yuzhe followed close behind, leaning halfway out of the bathroom with a hair dryer in his hand. “Yuche, get back here! You haven’t dried your hair yet. Aren’t you worried you’ll catch a cold?”

Ah, her brother fresh from the bath, his silver hair still steaming... So beautiful... Zixiao drifted off into her own world again.

Yuche stopped and called back with a smile, “It’s way too hot in the bathroom! Come on, Brother. Help me dry my hair in the bedroom!”

Before Yuche could take another step, Zixiao came back to her senses and said, “Yuche, where are you sleeping? The guest room’s still free. I’ve fixed it up for you, so you can sleep there tonight.”

“Oh, no need.” Yuche spoke to Zixiao in that slightly taunting tone again. “I’m sleeping in Brother’s room. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Zixiao’s mind exploded all over again.

In a daze, she walked over to Yuzhe, who was holding the hair dryer and about to head back to his room.

She solemnly wished him good night, then walked back to her own room.

What else could she do? Whenever Yuche came over, she always ended up feeling miserable. She might as well go to bed. There was always tomorrow.

...........................

Back in his room, Yuzhe carefully dried Yuche’s hair, bit by bit.

Her hair was really long, probably about as long as his own. But when it came to his hair, Yuzhe usually just gave it a quick rub with a towel, sat down in a chair, and let it dry on its own. This time, he’d at least dried it in the bathroom first—otherwise, Yuche would definitely have given him an earful.

But he couldn’t be careless with Yuche’s hair. He’d feel bad if he was.

Yuche enjoyed having her brother dry her hair, as docile as a little white cat. With her silver hair and pure-white pajamas, she really did look like one!

Every now and then, she let out a little “mew,” and Yuzhe knew she was showing him how happy she was.

Her two bare little feet swung back and forth. Yuche was really enjoying this. She wished her hair would never dry.

Nearly ten minutes passed before Yuzhe finally switched off the hair dryer.

He unplugged it, tossed it onto the bedside table, and gestured for Yuche to go to sleep.

Yuche didn’t hesitate for a second. She flopped onto Yuzhe’s pillow and pulled the blanket over herself.

“Where am I supposed to sleep?”

Yuzhe was confused. Huh, hadn’t something like this happened yesterday when Zixiao came into his room, too?

Yuche shifted farther in, making room on the right half of the pillow, then patted it. “You sleep here, Brother. Stop saying I’m small—you’re not much bigger than me. Together, we’re only about one and a half people. There’s room for both of us!”

Fine. At least Zixiao had brought her own pillow yesterday. You’re even worse!

Yuzhe nodded, but before he could lie down, a knock at the bedroom door caught his attention.

“Zixiao? What’s wrong?”

Yuzhe turned and opened the door. Zixiao stood there in her pajamas, looking as listless as ever.

Huh? Zixiao was usually asleep by this time.

“Brother, could you ask Yuche to come out for a moment? There’s something I forgot to tell her.”

“Oh, sure. Yuche, Zixiao’s calling you. Sounds like she still has something to tell you.”

Yuzhe didn’t ask any questions. If Zixiao had come by this late, she must have something she wanted to ask. She probably wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if she didn’t get it out.

That was just the kind of person Zixiao was.

Yuche got out of bed with extreme reluctance. “Ugh, what a pain...”

“Sorry...”

As soon as Yuche had slowly shuffled out in her slippers, Zixiao hurriedly closed the door.

Before Yuche could say a word, Zixiao rushed out with her question. “Yuche, what are you even thinking? Is it really okay to go this far?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Taking a bath with Brother, sleeping with him—what is this whole routine? I don’t get it!”

“You’re a wimp. Of course you don’t get it.”

“Forget whether I’m a wimp or not.” Zixiao went on to ask the question she’d been wanting to ask all night. “You said Brother agreed so easily to take a bath and sleep with you. Could it be because he just sees you as a little kid?”

“Why would you think that?” For some reason, Yuche felt a little annoyed when she heard that.

“Because... Look, it’s something so embarrassing, but Brother didn’t seem at all flustered. Doesn’t that mean he sees you as a little kid?”

After hearing Zixiao’s explanation, Yuche laughed. “Heh. Since when did you get so stupid? You used to be pretty smart. Tell me, do you really think Brother felt nothing at all?”

Zixiao didn’t like hearing that. “You’re the stupid one! What else am I supposed to think? Brother looked exactly the same after taking a bath with you!”

“That’s why I said you’re stupid.” Yuche helplessly spread her hands. “After all these years, you still can’t see through Brother’s calm mode? He’s putting on an act. He’s actually really flustered. I feel like he was this close to losing it.”

At the thought, Yuche’s eyes filled with anticipation.

“So he was pretending to be calm... I guess... But how can you be sure? You’re just guessing, aren’t you?”

Yuche knew that Zixiao wouldn’t be convinced without proof.

“Don’t believe me? When it comes to knowing Brother, I’m so much better than you, it’s not even funny. How about this: tomorrow morning, around nine, listen outside the door. Then you’ll understand.”

“I have to listen again?!”

Zixiao had had enough. Why did she always have to listen? Another long, agonizing wait?!

Whatever, whatever. She’d deal with it tomorrow. Tonight, she’d get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, Zixiao would try not to be such a wimp.

With her question answered, Zixiao opened the door again, wished Yuzhe good night, and headed back to her room. This time, she really was going to sleep!

Once Zixiao had gone back to her room, Yuche returned to Yuzhe’s and closed the door.

She found her brother already lying in bed, looking like he was about to go to sleep.

“Hehe...”

Yuche quietly swung one leg over Yuzhe, leaving her other leg on the other side, then sprawled across him over the blanket, grinning mischievously.

Yuzhe still looked perfectly calm. “Yuche, what are you doing?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to admire your peerless beauty from up here.” Hehe. Let’s see how long you can keep up that act, Brother.

“Quit fooling around and go to sleep.”

Yuzhe rolled over, taking Yuche with him and moving her to the inside of the bed.

Then he tucked the blanket around Yuche and gently moved her long hair out from under her.

Since they were sharing a pillow, their foreheads were practically touching.

That little move left Yuche, who’d been trying to tease him, blushing helplessly.

After a long while, Yuche finally spoke softly. “You’re still awake, right, Brother...? Actually, there’s something about today I wanted to talk to you about...”