After taking a deep breath, I reached out again and used two fingers to pry open the wound on Qin Ling's skin. Apart from those two fingers, I tried my best not to let any other part of my hand touch her, otherwise it would cause another misunderstanding.
Qin Ling leaned closer to me, probably to make it easier for me to work, but her pajama bottoms slipped down a bit more. I tried to keep my eyes straight ahead, but I could still vaguely see a damp stain slowly spreading beneath the white fabric. I didn't pay much attention, though, because I didn't understand why...
"Alright." I handed the porcelain shard I had taken out to Qin Ling, proudly showing off my achievement.
Qin Ling's face was still flushed, perhaps because of the heat, and the way she looked at me seemed a little strange. After a moment, she seemed to come to her senses, took the fragment from my hand, and glared at it fiercely, as if she were glaring at a bitter and vengeful class enemy.
Seeing Qin Ling pull up her pajama bottoms, I subconsciously asked, "Is this the only wound?"
"Mm." Qin Ling nodded and smiled at me, but I felt a strange sense of regret.
"This little wound hurt you so much?" I glanced at Qin Ling with feigned disdain to cover up my earlier regret.
"Girls are afraid of pain!" Qin Ling blushed a little, then added, "Besides, I fell pretty hard."
"It's alright, you're lucky you didn't get a big cut," I comforted Qin Ling.
"Thank you so much for going tonight..." Qin Ling thanked me again, but I felt that her eyes were looking a little strange. Maybe I was just overthinking it.
"Sigh..." I sighed. I didn't know why I sighed. I really wanted to ask her about Qin Qin, but I couldn't bring myself to say it.
"Let's finish this good deed..." Qin Ling smiled at me strangely. Her smile made my heart race. What did she want me to do now?
Women are such strange creatures; they caused so many dramatic changes in my emotions in just one night. I have a premonition that my thoughts and my life will be different from what they were before.
"What do you want now?" I glared at Qin Ling, feigning impatience. For some reason, I had begun to enjoy talking to her, even bickering with her.
"The toilet is broken. I want to go to the property management office to use the restroom before coming back to sleep. I'll go down alone..." Qin Ling hesitated.
Hearing her say that, I felt a sense of relief, but also a bit disappointed. I didn't even know what was going on in my head.
"Wearing this?" I stood up and pointed to her pajamas.
"Of course not." Qin Ling said as she put on the coat that was on the sofa, then turned around and looked at me with a grin: "Is it okay for a grown man like you to keep acting like this? Don't act like a woman."
"Damn it!" I don't want to say anything more. I was acting all serious just to maintain some image in front of her, right? Anyway, in our city where it's as hot as an oven in the summer, men usually go out shirtless and wear only shorts.
"Let's go downstairs." Qin Ling opened the door after changing her clothes. I felt that she was asking for trouble. It was just a matter of taking a dump. She could have just done it under the shower and rinsed herself off with the water. Why did she have to run to the property management office in the middle of the night?
Although I thought so, I didn't dare to suggest it. After all, that's something only unclean men would do, and she would definitely frown if she heard me suggest it.
When she came downstairs, Qin Ling was already able to walk on her own, so it seemed that she wasn't seriously injured; the damage was mainly caused by the shards.
"Your sister is on holiday too, right?" I asked casually as I walked down the street. It shouldn't be too much to ask such a casual question.
"Mm." Qin Ling nodded.
"Where is she planning to go to college?" I asked next.
"President Chen has already contacted someone, and we'll have news soon." Qin Ling glanced at me after saying that. She seemed to sense that I would get annoyed every time she mentioned the words "your father," so this time she deliberately changed it to "President Chen."
"Oh... she didn't even think of coming to the city for a visit this summer?" I continued to probe Qin Ling's intentions. After the summer vacation ended and she went back to school, the chances of running into Qin Qin again would be even slimmer.
"She originally wanted to come and stay for a few days, but your father said you were coming back to stay, and I was worried it wouldn't be convenient if you came back too, so I didn't let her come." Qin Ling said this while glancing back at me.
"That's alright, let the child come and play if she wants to." I shamelessly suggested to Qin Ling, using the term "child" to make her feel that I wouldn't have any bad intentions towards her sister.
"That's fine, as long as you don't mind. I'll call her in a couple of days and see if she still wants to come over." Qin Ling seemed quite happy to hear me say that.
In a couple of days? I was quite annoyed when I heard Qin Ling's words. Could you make this call now?
But it's so late now, Qin Qin is probably already asleep.
Sigh... How did I suddenly become lovesick for Qin Qin? I've never thought about her before.
It's all because her sister suddenly became my stepmother, which makes me feel like there's suddenly a possibility between me and Qin Qin...
Holy crap! Qin Ling is my stepmother, so does that mean she's my aunt? I'm so confused...
I still have so many things I want to ask Qin Ling about Qin Qin, such as whether Qin Qin has a boyfriend, what she likes... everything about her...
However, I dared not ask any further questions, otherwise Qin Ling would definitely become suspicious.
For Qin Qin's sake, I've even started to try to please Qin Ling. I make sure to find something to talk to her about even when I don't have anything to say. This seems to flatter Qin Ling, but I can tell she's very happy.
Generally speaking, stepmothers hope to gain the approval of the husband's children, right? Little did she know that I harbored such ulterior motives.
After returning from outside, Qin Ling and I said goodnight to each other and went back to my room. The excitement from the tea had worn off, and fatigue washed over me. Before long, I fell into a deep sleep.
I don't know if it was the tea, but I kept having dreams all night, and my nerves were in a state of constant excitement. Then, the last dream the next morning...
In my dream, I was helping Qin Ling find that fragment again... but this time, my hands were a little unruly...
Experts say dreams are an expression of the subconscious. When a strange sensation washed over my body, I suddenly woke up from my dream. A damp, cool feeling somewhere reminded me that my period had started...
How could I have such a dream!
How could I let Qin Ling enter my dream like this!?
Depend on!
But that's not the most frustrating thing...
When I opened my eyes, I found someone standing by my bed looking at me. When she saw me open my eyes, Qin Ling laughed and said, "Get up! It's almost ten o'clock!"
"What are you doing here?" I was startled. I looked at the sheet covering me and felt relieved for a moment. At least she wouldn't discover the secret in my dream.
"I just came to wake you up. You woke up as soon as I walked over," Qin Ling quickly explained, blushing. My words made it sound like she had been spying on me from my room.
"Okay, I'm awake. You can go out now, I need to get dressed." I waved to Qin Ling. How could I get up if she didn't leave?
Qin Ling gave me a strange look, as if wondering, "What other clothes do you have to wear?"
However, she still left my room. I quickly rushed to the door and closed it. Did I forget to close the door last night? Or did Qin Ling think she could come and go from my room as she pleased?
Is this lock broken? I pressed the deadbolt on the back of the door and found that it seemed to be malfunctioning. No wonder Qin Ling could enter my room so easily!
I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Should I remind her that she should knock before entering my room from now on?
Considering Qin Qin's situation, and since I need her help, I decided not to be too aggressive towards her.
After sitting back down on the bed, I looked at my disheveled state, and it was truly a pitiful sight...
Luckily, the suitcase I brought back from school was right next to my bed. I quickly wiped myself down and then found a clean pair of underwear in the suitcase to change into.
What should I do with these dirty underwear? Just as I was hesitating, Qin Ling's voice rang out again from outside: "Chen Wei, how much longer are you going to get up? I've already reheated breakfast three times."
"Right now!" I shouted outside, then stuffed my underwear under the mat, as if that was the safest place.
There were some stains on my boxer shorts, but they weren't very noticeable. I tugged at my T-shirt; thankfully it was long enough to cover my bottom. After straightening my clothes, I opened the door and went out.
"You're really lazy! Such nice weather, why are you getting up so late!" Qin Ling scolded me as she sat at the dining table.
You're really meddling! And what right do you have to tell me what to do? I instinctively wanted to retort to Qin Ling, but after thinking of the beautiful Qin Qin, I swallowed my words.
After washing up, I put on a smile and went to the dining table. Qin Ling lifted the lids of several bowls on the plate. She had cooked porridge and made a few side dishes, which tasted quite good.
"You haven't eaten either?" I noticed that Qin Ling and I were eating together.
"Yeah, I've been waiting for you, I was starving." Qin Ling seemed quite upset that I got up so late.