The Best in the World Today

The socks were piled in a small basket underneath her clothes. Ignoring Xia Yanchun's muttering, Shen Nian sifted through a few pairs with his hands, picking them out as if he were seriously examining them.

Xia Yanchun puffed her cheeks in anger.

What kind of pervert would shamelessly grab a girl's socks? What exactly do you want someone else's socks for!

"This pair feels quite nice... rather cute." Shen Nian pinched a light blue sheer sock. It had a texture similar to pantyhose; although slightly thicker, the sock itself was sheer enough that you could see the toes when worn.

The top opening even had a bit of wavy lace. By the way, wouldn't this thing pinch the feet?

Shen Nian didn't understand. Girls sometimes preferred to sacrifice comfort just to look pretty, like getting manicures, or wearing this pair of socks that others couldn't even see.

Completely ignored, Xia Yanchun was furious. She lunged directly onto Shen Nian's back, tucked her feet in, and hung onto him like a sloth.

Her two small hands clasped in front of Shen Nian's chest, letting out a sound like a small animal baring its fangs.

Shen Nian felt that if he kept playing with her socks, his little puppy Chun was going to catch rabies.

"Didn't you want to give me some socks? Now that I'm picking them out myself, you're not happy about it."

"Get lost!"

Xia Yanchun didn't get off Shen Nian's back. After returning home, she had only taken off two layers of clothes and was still wearing a rather thick mid-layer, completely unafraid of pressing her softest parts against him.

To be honest, it could still be felt, but Shen Nian thought it would be a bit impolite to point it out. Plus, he had always been a man of few words, so he just had to keep quiet at a time like this.

I, Shen Nian, am not good with words.

"Don't fall off, get down." Shen Nian put her socks down. He wasn't so repressed that he actually needed a pair of socks; he was just teasing her.

"No." Xia Yanchun was already hanging onto him. She brought her small head close to Shen Nian's ear, her voice muffled.

Not only did she refuse to get off, but she also nibbled on Shen Nian's earlobe, her hot breath blowing onto his neck, making it itch.

Shen Nian flipped his hands back, supported the young girl's bottom, and stood up effortlessly. He then walked over to the bed and set her down.

All those squats he practiced every day weren't for nothing. Shen Nian never expected they would actually come in handy here.

Before he started working out, he couldn't guarantee that he could carry a hundred-pound Chunbao on his back and stand straight up from a squat without stumbling.

Even when they reached the edge of the bed, Xia Yanchun still didn't get off him, holding on tightly.

"You're being too rowdy. If you don't get down, I won't hold back."

"What's wrong with giving me a piggyback ride?"

"Then I'll carry you for a while, but you have to carry me later."

"Are you trying to crush me to death? Where would I get the strength to carry you?"

"You had it when we were kids."

"Who told you to grow so heavy?"

"I'm just a bit taller. For this height, this weight is perfectly normal, alright?"

"That's still heavy. Anyway, I can't lift you. It works out perfectly. When we were little, I was stronger, so I carried you. Now you're stronger, so you carry me."

"Then don't even think about getting down." Shen Nian hoisted her up a bit and carried her small frame out, walking into the hallway.

It wasn't until he pressed the elevator button that Xia Yanchun fiercely tugged at his hair.

"Where are you carrying me off to?"

"Carrying you downstairs to throw you in the trash can."

"Go back right now!"

His hair hurting from being pulled, Shen Nian had no choice but to head back.

Only then did Xia Yanchun agree to get off his back. She instinctively curled her legs and sat on the bed, her hair a bit messy.

Her clothes weren't finished being organized yet. Xia Yanchun didn't speak; she got off the bed again and squatted in front of the closet to fold her clothes.

Shen Nian didn't help her fold them. Instead, he opened another closet door. Inside, there was a small section where all her intimate wear was hung.

When Xia Yanchun hung them out on the balcony, he didn't even bother to look. But seeing them hung in the closet gave him an inexplicable feeling of sneaking around, especially right in front of her. It felt rather thrilling.

"Clack!"

Xia Yanchun didn't say a word. She merely reached out, closed the closet door, and continued with her head down to fold clothes.

"Ahem, I'm a bit sleepy. I'll lie down first."

"Change your pants. You've been wearing them outside all day, and now you're lounging on my bed. Who knows how dirty they are."

"Is that really necessary? Are you a germaphobe now?"

"Not really, but you still have to change."

Having seen scenes where guys came out of the restroom with wet hands and just wiped them on each other's clothes or their own, Xia Yanchun wasn't very keen on Shen Nian slipping right into her bed like this.

She could tolerate him wearing a pair of shorts, but this was a definite no. Maybe the day Shen Nian actually used a paper towel to dry his hands after coming out of the bathroom, then they could talk about getting into bed without changing clothes.

Whether it was being overly fussy or having a bit of a germaphobe streak, she genuinely didn't like it.

"Change, change, I'll change, alright? I yield to you."

Shen Nian ran back and changed into a pair of mid-length shorts at lightspeed, aiming for a comfortable sleep.

He was also a bit afraid that Xia Yanchun was just tricking him into going back so she could lock him out, but thankfully, Chunbao wasn't that mean.

Oh my, how is Chunbao so wonderful?

Now he could lie on Xia Yanchun's bed with peace of mind and full justification. He was so happy that he did a full 360-degree roll. In no time, the bedsheets were a bit messy, and the plushies originally piled by the wall were scattered everywhere.

Xia Yanchun ignored him. Groaning, she stood up, holding her lower back with a pained expression. "My back is sore just from squatting for a little while."

"Haha, so weak. I told you to come work out with me but you wouldn't. Now you know you were wrong, right?"

"Give me a massage!" Xia Yanchun dropped the act.

"Are you treating me like a slave?" Shen Nian feigned anger.

"A younger brother is supposed to give his older sister massages."

Xia Yanchun's eyes curved into a smile. She crawled onto the bed on all fours, hugged a plushie, and immediately flopped down on her stomach. Her fair little feet swung back and forth. "Hurry up, hurry up. Just massage for ten minutes and it'll be fine."

"Speechless. I'm being bullied. I'm going to expose you on Tieba."

Xia Yanchun hummed, turned her head toward him, beaming with joy, and muttered something along the lines of, stop babbling and hurry up and massage your sister.

Seeing her so happy, Shen Nian didn't know what to say for a moment. He let out a heavy sigh, and his large hands landed directly on Xia Yanchun's lower back.

He tensed his thumbs and pressed down hard. Xia Yanchun immediately flinched, letting out small groans. She still couldn't describe this kind of soreness as comfortable.

If a manual laborer were getting a muscle massage, it would definitely feel great. But Xia Yanchun rarely used her muscles in her daily life, so they were already soft. This kind of muscle-relaxing massage couldn't bring her any relief.

"I'll massage you to death, mwahaha. Do you like my big thumbs?"

"Ugh, it hurts a bit."

"Massages are always like this."

"I know." Xia Yanchun thought for a moment and decided to switch to something more enjoyable. "Just scratch my back for me. If you scratch it nicely, I'll fall asleep."

"You really know how to enjoy yourself."

"Of course."

"Then lift yourself up a bit so I can pull your shirt up. It'll be easier to scratch."

"Alright."

Xia Yanchun proactively lifted her outer shirt. Underneath, she was wearing a base layer short-sleeve shirt. The fabric was relatively thin, which made scratching feel comfortable.

Shen Nian used two fingers to lightly scratch her back. This kind of scratching always felt very soothing, whether you were actually itchy or not.

Shen Nian propped his face on his hand, watching her look so comfortable that she was about to start snoring. He couldn't help but stop his movements to pinch her tender little cheek.

"Ngh~" Xia Yanchun whined, expressing her dissatisfaction.

Shen Nian had no choice but to continue scratching her, going all the way down from her spine. The scratching made Xia Yanchun melt softer and softer into the mattress, and even her restless feet settled down peacefully.

"Scratch a little higher."

"Here?"

"A little more to the right... yeah, that's it." Xia Yanchun narrowed her eyes. "It feels like we're going back in time. You used to scratch me just like this. It's so nice."

"I would've gotten a beating if I didn't. Did I even have a choice?"

"I was only bluffing back then."

"Trying to rewrite history, Haji-Chun, you little rascal..."

"Let's drop it, let's drop it. Either way, we really are going back to the way things were."

"That's true." Shen Nian gently stroked Xia Yanchun's hair with his free hand. "We're getting closer and closer."

"Mhm..."

Xia Yanchun purred softly. Shen Nian sat beside her, scratching her back, while she lay on her stomach, her fingers gently tugging at his leg hair.

"Today is the last day of the year, so I'll let us be the best of friends in the whole wide world for now."