Homestay

"Ye, we're about twenty kilometers away from the hotel in the city center," Chen Qin said. "I'll have the driver come over."

"There's no need. We have to come back tomorrow to visit the Cat Shrine anyway, so wouldn't it be better to just find a bed and breakfast on this street?" Ye Shuang felt there was no need to waste time commuting, even though the hotel in the city center might have a better environment.

"Whatever you want. It's up to you, Ye," Chen Qin smiled.

Since no one had any objections, Ye Shuang used his translator to ask nearby shopkeepers about local bed and breakfasts or hotels. Fortunately, the merchants on this street were quite friendly, and following their recommendations, Ye Shuang and the others soon arrived at the entrance of a B&B.

A massive yard appeared before them. Not far away stood a three- or four-story detached house, and the words "Little Raccoon Manor" were written at the entrance.

"Hmm... is this really a B&B?" Ye Shuang observed from a distance. He glanced at the piece of paper in his hand to confirm the number was correct before deciding to press the doorbell.

After a short while, the front door of the house in the distance opened, and a familiar little munchkin trotted over. Upon seeing Ye Shuang and the group, she looked a bit surprised. "Wow, it's you guys."

"Little girl, we meet again." Ye Shuang was also a little surprised to see Futaba Yako here. He then asked, "You live here?"

"My home," Yako said. "Is it pretty?"

As she spoke, she opened the iron gate to let Ye Shuang and the others inside.

"Such a beautiful house is being used as a B&B?" Ye Shuang looked a bit surprised. After all, even an average villa wasn't this nice, right?

"Our family has over a dozen beautiful houses like this, even in Tokyo," Yako introduced in her milky, childish voice. "Daddy uses them to collect rent."

"Uh..."

So you're actually a little landlady loli?

It really is true that you can't judge a book by its cover.

After Yako led Ye Shuang and the others inside, they found common log-style furniture, and even the floors were made of wood. However, it was decorated very warmly. The faint evening sunlight shining in through the windowsill made the wooden floors look even cozier.

"The room is on the third floor," Yako said as her short little legs stepped onto the stairs. "The second floor is for tenants, but everyone is out right now."

Upon reaching the third floor, the little munchkin took out a key and opened the room door. "This is it."

Ye Shuang and the others looked into the room. A simple large bed paired with a wardrobe, an en-suite bathroom, and a balcony made it look quite nice.

"Looks pretty good."

"Right?" Yako tilted her little head up.

"Yeah, then please give us two rooms," Ye Shuang said with a smile.

"Why?" Yako tilted her head.

"What do you mean, why?" Seeing the little munchkin's puzzled expression, Ye Shuang was momentarily stunned. Did he say something weird?

"The bed inside is very big. Four or five people can sleep on it without a problem," Yako pointed out.

Ye Shuang: "..."

"It's still better to sleep separately."

"Is it?" Yako looked thoughtful. "But Daddy and my mommies all sleep like this. Sometimes Yako can't even squeeze in."

Not just Ye Shuang, but even Chen Qin and the others felt as if their brains had short-circuited for a second.

"Um, Yako, do you have a lot of mommies?" Ye Shuang asked.

"Not many," Yako said.

Ye Shuang just assumed it was a child's nonsense. "That makes sense."

"About seven or eight."

"Pfft." Ye Shuang immediately leaned against the wall and started coughing, while Yako began counting on her fingers. "Mommy Nana, Mommy Shoko, Mommy Kaoru..."

"Um, uh... do you think that's okay?" Ye Shuang asked.

"If they like each other, they should all be together. Everyone is happy, and it doesn't bother anyone else," Yako replied in her childish voice. "Eh, is that not allowed?"

"Hiss..." Faced with Yako's innocent gaze, Ye Shuang didn't know what to say for a moment. Was this a Japanese custom? It definitely felt a bit different from back home. Although the circles of the wealthy back home could be quite messy too, no one ever spoke about it as righteously as Yako did.

Especially a child.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ye Shuang could only say, "Two rooms, please."

"Nope."

"Uh... why?"

"Because there's only one room left." Yako peeked outside slyly.

Ye Shuang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He then turned to Chen Qin and the others beside him and said, "Then we'll just have to find another place. There aren't enough rooms here."

"It's fine, let's just stay for the night," Chen Qin suddenly spoke up, reaching out to wrap her arm around Ye Shuang's. "Look, everyone's tired after such a long flight."

Ye Shuang paused for a second, a bit surprised that Chen Qin would say something like this.

"It's still not too late." Before Ye Shuang could finish, Chen Qin gave Yako a sweet smile. "We'll take it."

"O-okay." After receiving the cash and deposit handed over by Chen Qin, Yako left the key and happily trotted downstairs.

"Hooray, time to buy some snacks."

...

...

Although he didn't understand why Chen Qin did this, Ye Shuang and the group planned to spend the night in this room.

Tang Keke originally lived at his house anyway, so it wouldn't be too awkward. It was just that Ye Shuang was slightly unaccustomed to it.

After all, how should he put it...

At this moment, Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou were chatting. Obviously, the two girls didn't mind making do here for the night.

"Wouldn't it be better to find another hotel?" Ye Shuang couldn't help but ask Chen Qin in a low voice.

"It's fine," Chen Qin said. "Ye, hurry up and go take a shower."

"Mm..."

After his shower, Ye Shuang left the bathroom. He wiped the water droplets from his hair and noticed that Chen Qin and the others were chatting about something, looking quite happy.

"Brother, how about we play cards tonight?" Tang Keke suddenly raised her hand and suggested.

"That's not a problem, but you guys..." Ye Shuang paused, ultimately just asking, "Aren't you tired from the flight?"

"It's fine! Brother, look at this bed. We can all sit around and play cards without any problem."

Saying that, Tang Keke patted the bed.

Ye Shuang took a look and finally had no objections. "Then let's play cards. You guys go take a shower first."

"Okay."

After the girls finished bathing, Ye Shuang accompanied them in playing cards. Gradually, Ye Shuang seemed to lose that weird feeling. Perhaps he was simply overthinking things.

Chen Qin was wearing a silk nightgown with a wide-open neckline. Whenever she played a card, the bouncing figures of her slimes could occasionally be seen. Meanwhile, Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke wore matching fluffy bestie pajamas, which were much more conservative.

After playing cards until the early hours of the morning, it was just about time to go to sleep.

"How should we arrange this?" Ye Shuang looked at the round bed before him. It seemed he could only sleep next to Chen Qin, letting her act as a barrier to separate him from Keke.