Sleep Now

After lunch, the girls began studying once they had digested their meal a bit. At the moment, Ye Shuang was in the kitchen, with Zhixia helping him wash the dishes.

"You're working hard, Zhixia," Ye Shuang couldn't help but say as he glanced at the girl in an apron beside him. "You're the guest here, after all."

"Teacher Ye, please don’t say that. We already feel bad that you prepared such a lavish meal for us. Helping out is the least we can do," Zhixia replied with a sweet smile. "I’m also quite good at household chores, so I definitely want to share some of the workload with you."

"Alright then," Ye Shuang conceded with a faint smile.

"But speaking of which…" Zhixia looked at the stack of dishes in the sink and sighed in amazement. "I didn’t expect all that food to be completely finished. Yu You’s appetite is truly impressive."

"She’s still growing, so eating a lot is a good thing," Ye Shuang said.

"Still growing…?" Zhixia could only smile politely.

At Yu You’s age, she probably wasn’t going to grow much more, was she?

"By the way, we’re planning to go swimming tomorrow. Would you girls like to join us?" Ye Shuang asked, recalling their earlier conversation.

Zhixia shook her head. "Linlin and I already made plans to watch a movie with friends tomorrow, so we won’t be able to go."

"Got it," Ye Shuang replied without pressing further.

After finishing the dishes, Ye Shuang dried his hands and walked into the living room. Seeing the girls deeply engrossed in their studies, he didn’t dare disturb them and quietly passed by—until he noticed that An Shiyu wasn’t holding a textbook.

Instead, she was reading a manga.

On the page, a villain was sent flying backward while declaring, [This is my escape route!]

"……"

Well, whatever. He might as well let her be—after all, she didn’t seem to need studying anyway.

"Ugh…" After a while, Tang Keke suddenly groaned in frustration, twirling her pen skillfully.

"What’s wrong, Keke? If you’re stuck, you can ask us," Zhixia offered, noticing her struggle.

Keke sighed. "This is a problem you guys probably can’t help me with."

Zhixia and Linlin exchanged glances. What kind of difficult question could stump both of them? The next moment, Keke lamented,

"Because… I’m sleepy."

Zhixia, Linlin: "……"

Fair enough. No argument there. Post-lunch drowsiness during what should be naptime was completely understandable.

But then Bai Yuyou, sitting beside Keke, offered a brilliant suggestion:

"Keke, I have a good idea."

"What?"

"The internet says you should put essential oil in your mouth."

"That’ll kill me?!" Keke immediately protested.

At that moment, Ye Shuang brought over a few cushions he had bought that morning. "If you’re tired, you can rest on these, or go sleep upstairs."

"No way! I can’t be the first to fall in a study session!" Keke declared, patting her backpack with determination.

"I, Keke, must fight to the end today!"

Half an hour later—

"Ugh… I can’t do it. My eyelids are wrestling each other…" Keke collapsed onto a cushion, wailing in defeat. Her "fight to the end" hadn’t even lasted an hour.

Ye Shuang wasn’t the least bit surprised. He then took Keke’s spot and began tutoring Bai Yuyou—not only that, but he also helped Zhixia with some of her questions.

"You can even explain specialized knowledge? Teacher Ye, you’re kind of a monster," Zhixia muttered before quickly correcting herself, waving her hands. "No, no! I mean that in a good way!"

"I know," Ye Shuang replied with a smile. "I just happen to know a little bit about everything."

"The legendary perverted uncle lives up to his name," An Shiyu suddenly remarked without looking up.

Ye Shuang was speechless.

Why did her words suddenly take such a weird turn?

Time flew by, and soon it was evening.

Dinner was just as lavish as lunch. Afterward, Ye Shuang headed out, telling the girls he was going to the supermarket to buy some things and wouldn’t be back for a while.

"Why is Brother going out so late? Couldn’t he just buy stuff tomorrow?" Keke wondered aloud, curious about what he needed at this hour.

"No, Teacher Ye is giving us time to shower without feeling awkward," Zhixia realized, picking up on his thoughtful gesture. "Come on, let’s hurry and take our baths."

"Oh, so that’s why?" Keke hadn’t considered that, though she personally wouldn’t have minded either way.

Bai Yuyou, on the other hand, didn’t quite understand—wouldn’t it be better if Ye Shuang were here during bath time?

He could help scrub her back.

After the girls took turns showering, Ye Shuang "coincidentally" returned, bringing some fresh fruit with him.

Once they finished the fruit, they changed into pajamas and began practicing their instruments. The soothing melodies filled the house, making it feel lively and warm.

"It’s so lively here. But I guess this kind of noisy, cheerful atmosphere is what youth is all about?" Ye Shuang mused to himself, his gaze settling on the girl strumming her guitar. Spending time with these girls had unknowingly brought more vitality to Bai Yuyou.

Maybe one day, she’d be able to smile as brightly and openly as Zhixia.

Ye Shuang looked forward to that day.

Night deepened.

The inky darkness of the sky grew thicker, and one by one, the lights around the neighborhood dimmed, leaving the world quieter.

It was time to sleep.

Since there were two beds upstairs, Ye Shuang planned to take the couch downstairs and let the girls use both beds.

But the girls rejected this idea outright. After some discussion, they settled on Ye Shuang taking one bed while Zhixia, Linlin, and the others would sleep on futons in the adjacent room with Bai Yuyou.

An Shiyu, Bai Yuyou, and Keke would share the bed, while Zhixia and Linlin would sleep on the floor, insisting that it was comfortable enough.

Ye Shuang relented after seeing their arrangement.

Unbeknownst to them, Bai Yuyou usually clung to Ye Shuang when sleeping, so they naturally assumed he’d be fine alone.

The girls chatted noisily in their pajamas, discussing some topic or another, and only quieted down well past midnight.

Once the lights were off, Ye Shuang quickly fell asleep.

At some point in the night, he faintly sensed someone climbing into bed—though the movements were light, he assumed it was Bai Yuyou, the clingy little bug. Half-asleep, he pulled the girl into his arms and gently stroked her head.

"Sleep… Just remember to go back later, okay?"

The body in his arms squirmed slightly before stilling completely.