"Jiang Shuyi." Wen Yao called out as Jiang Shuyi finished her shower.

Jiang Shuyi felt a bit happy, wondering what Wen Yao wanted.

Wen Yao adjusted the books in her hands and handed Jiang Shuyi a mug from the table. "Drink this."

Jiang Shuyi looked at the mug, curious about its contents, and then glanced at Wen Yao.

"It's a cold prevention drink."

Jiang Shuyi felt disappointed, this was completely different from what she had imagined!

She stealthily placed the mug back on the table. "I can count the number of times I've caught a cold on one hand. I won't catch a cold."

Wen Yao glanced at Jiang Shuyi and naturally picked the mug back up and placed it back in Jiang Shuyi's hands.

"Drink it, I'll give you three seconds."

"One..."

Jiang Shuyi knew she couldn't win against Wen Yao, so she reluctantly drank it down.

Wen Yao quietly organized the medicine box in front of her.

"You should get to bed early. Good night."

Watching Jiang Shuyi finish the drink, Wen Yao quietly left the room.

"......Good night." Jiang Shuyi said softly, feeling wronged as she looked at Wen Yao's retreating figure.

The next morning, the weather wasn't great, and the sound of water echoed in the hallway.

Jiang Shuyi rubbed her eyes, feeling a bit drowsy with sore shoulders. She looked up at the alarm clock on the bedside table; it was already the time when classes usually started.

Since today was New Year's Day, it didn't really matter whether she got up early or not.

But Jiang Shuyi still scratched her ear and eventually got up. The light in the bathroom across from her was on, and the door was half-open.

She walked over, rubbing her eyes, and realized Wen Yao was washing up.

Jiang Shuyi stared at her graceful neck for a while, recalling what had happened yesterday.

In a daze, she hugged Wen Yao's waist from behind, pressing her body against Wen Yao's back and inhaling the scent from her shoulder.

"...This is mine."

Wen Yao, caught off guard while brushing her teeth, froze and didn't move.

"Jiang Shuyi......" After a moment, Wen Yao said seriously, "I can't move."

"If you don't brush your teeth, then get out." Wen Yao said sternly.

Jiang Shuyi, pressed against Wen Yao's back, mumbled, "Then I want you to help me squeeze the toothpaste."

Seeing Jiang Shuyi devolve from a human into a hermit crab, Wen Yao sighed and squeezed toothpaste onto Jiang Shuyi's toothbrush.

Wen Yao squeezed the toothpaste from the bottom of the tube.

Watching Wen Yao's method, Jiang Shuyi lazily remarked, "No wonder it always seems new when I use it."

"You should do it this way, too."

Wen Yao carefully rolled up the toothpaste, capped it, and placed it back in its spot.

". . ." Pretending not to hear that, Jiang Shuyi put the toothbrush in her mouth.

Wen Yao continued, her expression unchanging, "When I went to the bathroom yesterday, I saw the towels all scattered."

"Why do you always pull the towels from the middle?"

Jiang Shuyi's bathroom towels were stuffed in a shelf, and she always liked to pull them out from the middle, which sometimes caused the ones on top to topple down.

The little housekeeper was starting to lecture again.

Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao, who had just squeezed toothpaste for her, feeling a bit smug and wanting to retort. But she quickly realized it would only bring trouble to herself, so she obediently kept her mouth shut.

Jiang Shuyi rinsed off the foam on her face and honestly reached for the towel from the top, pulling one down to dry her face.

Even though it was a New Year's holiday, Wen Yao had assigned Jiang Shuyi as much homework as usual. At first, Jiang Shuyi was reluctant, but when Wen Yao asked her what she wanted to do, she couldn't come up with an answer right away. After all, all she wanted was to stick close to Wen Yao.

Moreover, Wen Yao was the type of person who might actually give extra homework during the holidays, so Jiang Shuyi went ahead and did her assignments.

"By the way, the movie."

"Shall we watch a movie at home?"

After completing her homework, Jiang Shuyi sweetly sought Wen Yao's approval.

Wen Yao didn't say anything, she thought that relaxing for a hundred and twenty minutes was still forgivable.

Jiang Shuyi randomly picked a movie to watch, holding a bowl of cherries and continuously popping them into her mouth, completely focused on the screen.

The movie was a mystery thriller, with a plot that seemed quite brainy. The cover was flashy, and it had high ratings.

But Jiang Shuyi found it exhausting; she hadn't expected that watching a movie would require so much brainpower. Yet, her curiosity kept her eyes glued to the screen during the key plot points.

In contrast, Wen Yao figured out who the culprit was after just ten minutes, her face showing a calm, bored expression.

Jiang Shuyi bombarded her with questions like a machine gun: "Who's the culprit?" "How did they commit the murder?" "How did you know?"

However, no matter how much Jiang Shuyi asked, Wen Yao refused to reveal who the murderer was.

Jiang Shuyi felt a headache coming on and eventually gave up on thinking.

She wondered if all mystery movies darkened their color palettes to enhance the suspenseful atmosphere, making the visuals drowsy and dull.

After watching for a bit, Wen Yao felt a little sleepy, so she leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes.

Seeing Wen Yao resting on the sofa, Jiang Shuyi directly placed Wen Yao's head on her lap.

Wen Yao felt her head being lifted slightly but remained silent.

"You'll hurt your neck sleeping like that," Jiang Shuyi said, stroking her hair, "Put your legs up and lie down."

Wen Yao seemed reluctant to lie down in the living room in that position Jiang Shuyi suggested; after a long time, she finally placed her legs on the sofa.

Jiang Shuyi didn't disturb her and continued eating cherries while watching the movie.

After a while, Jiang Shuyi's phone lit up, and she glanced at the person sleeping on her lap before quietly answering the call.

"Hello?" she whispered.

On the other end, she heard Song Jinxi's voice.

"Jiang Shuyi, we've arrived at the supermarket near your house with Zhou Jingtang and the others. Do you have any cheese at home? We're making baked lobster later, and I'm not sure if we'll have enough..."

On the other end of the phone, Yan Jingshu's voice came through. "I don't like onions, put it back."

"But if we don't add this, it won't taste good. How about choosing a white onion instead?" Zhou Jingtang interjected.

". . ." Jiang Shuyi listened to the noisy background and felt momentarily confused. "You guys, are you coming to my house now?"

"Yeah, isn't that how it's always been in previous years?"

Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao, who had her eyes closed on her lap. "But there's nothing at my place..."

Just people.

"It's fine, we're buying stuff. Just tell us what you need. Do you have cheese at home? If not, I can bring some. We also bought your favorite ice cream, they even have mustard honey flavor this season..."

"Don't."

Jiang Shuyi immediately rejected the idea. "Actually, I'm not feeling well today, so it's probably better if..."

"'Not feeling well?' Are you okay? Weren't you fine while playing the piano yesterday?"

Song Jinxi's worried voice came from the phone.

"......Ah, yeah, it snowed yesterday, and maybe I caught a bit of a cold."

Jiang Shuyi pretended to cough a few times for effect.

"Shuyi, are you sick? Do you really not need us to come check on you?" Yan Jingshu's concerned voice came through the phone, loud and energetic.

"Ah, if you come, you might catch it, so it's best not to come over."

Maybe sensing Jiang Shuyi's firm attitude, Song Jinxi took over the phone.

"Then make sure you take your medicine, and keep your room ventilated. It's easy to get a fever with the flu this season."

Jiang Shuyi felt a twinge of guilt in her conscience. "Mm, I know."

"Remember to call me when you're feeling better." Song Jinxi reminded her.

"Mm, have a good time!" Jiang Shuyi replied and hung up the phone.

Lying felt not quite right, Jiang Shuyi thought.

"Is it okay not to let them come?"

Wen Yao's voice came from below.

Jiang Shuyi jumped slightly, looking down at Wen Yao. "It's nothing, just keep sleeping."

She patted Wen Yao's shoulder.

Wen Yao slowly turned over, her soft, warm body pressed tightly against Jiang Shuyi's thigh, and she opened her eyes to look at Jiang Shuyi.

Jiang Shuyi returned to watching the movie, the light casting shadows over her face as she focused on the characters on the big screen.

The movie's plot reached its climax.

The characters began to gather, and Jiang Shuyi knew that the identity of the culprit was about to be revealed. Although this had become a trope, she still looked forward to seeing the truth.

She was very curious to find out if the killer was the person she had guessed.

Wen Yao lay on Jiang Shuyi's lap, watching Jiang Shuyi as she mindlessly popped cherries into her mouth. Jiang Shuyi had deep red cherry juice lingering on the corners of her lips.

Just by looking, Wen Yao couldn't understand what the juice tasted like.

"Are cherries sweet?" Wen Yao suddenly asked.

Jiang Shuyi, still focused on the big screen, nodded. "Mm, do you want to try some?"

She held the bowl of cherries in front of Wen Yao.

Wen Yao picked up a stemless cherry and examined it. "Open your mouth."

Jiang Shuyi blinked, somewhat puzzled, and opened her mouth.

Wen Yao gently placed the cherry into Jiang Shuyi's mouth. During the process, her index finger accidentally brushed against Jiang Shuyi's lips, leaving a bit of deep red cherry juice smeared on them.

Jiang Shuyi was taken aback. She was surprised that Wen Yao would actively feed her something, and without thinking, she bit down on Wen Yao's finger as well.

"Let go." Wen Yao sighed.

"Oh, sorry."

Jiang Shuyi felt a bit embarrassed.

Wen Yao pulled back her finger, slightly licking the tip of it.

The action was a bit too sensual, making Jiang Shuyi's heart skip a beat.

Wen Yao maintained a neutral expression and quietly instructed Jiang Shuyi, "Close your eyes."

Instinct told Jiang Shuyi not to resist, so she obediently closed her eyes again.

With her eyes shut, Jiang Shuyi felt Wen Yao's cool hands wrap around her neck like soft vines, gently pulling her head down.

Then, Jiang Shuyi felt warm breath on her face, followed by a gentle bite on her lips, and her mouth was enveloped softly.

The intoxicating scent of roses filled her mouth.

Jiang Shuyi found herself responding to Wen Yao, lost in the moment.

On the screen, two police officers were seriously identifying the culprit.

After a while, the red fruit that had just been fed to Jiang Shuyi was taken away, and Wen Yao released her grip from Jiang Shuyi's neck. She gradually bit into the cherry she had taken, calmly commenting, "Too sweet."

Jiang Shuyi took a deep breath, a multitude of questions flashing through her mind, and she swallowed her saliva somewhat unaccustomedly, the lingering taste of roses remaining in her mouth.

—Ah, French style.

". . ." Wen Yao quietly sat up from Jiang Shuyi's lap, acting as if nothing had happened, and turned away to tidy her hair.

Jiang Shuyi sneakily glanced at Wen Yao, noticing her indifferent expression.

If it weren't for the lingering taste of roses in her mouth, Jiang Shuyi might genuinely believe nothing had occurred.

"What are you watching?" Wen Yao asked casually.

Jiang Shuyi cleared her throat. "I was thinking, should we eat a few more cherries...?"

Wen Yao casually glanced at the screen in front of them.

In the movie, the culprit had started kneeling on the ground, crying in despair.

"Let's watch the movie next time." Wen Yao said.

Jiang Shuyi immediately mimicked the way Wen Yao had just acted and popped a cherry into Wen Yao's mouth. "Anyway, let's eat ten of these first, shall we?"

". . ." Wen Yao frowned.

Before Wen Yao could respond, Jiang Shuyi bit down on the cherry.

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