Xia Yanchun made a shushing gesture and, like Tom the Cat, slipped into Shen Nian's room.
Shen Nian followed closely behind. Every movement was kept incredibly light; he absolutely couldn't let Shen Yue know that Xia Yanchun was staying over in his room.
Although Shen Yue had returned to her room by now, she was definitely lying in bed looking at her phone. Anyone who could fall straight asleep the moment they entered their room was practically a god.
Even someone as disciplined as Shen Nian had to read a book first.
It was impossible to remember how many times Xia Yanchun had stayed over at Shen Nian's place. She made herself completely at home, scrambling onto the bed in a flash. Her small hands fluffed up the pillow before her whole body sank softly into it.
She hogged the entire blanket, tucking all the edges and corners tightly underneath herself, with absolutely no intention of leaving any for Shen Nian.
"Scoot in a bit."
"No, you sleep on the inside." Xia Yanchun shifted outward, making room for Shen Nian against the wall.
Usually, adults slept on the outside and kids on the inside. Since Shen Nian was the younger brother, it was only natural for him to sleep on the inside.
Shen Nian was oblivious to her little scheme. The inside it was, then. Sleeping was sleeping, no matter where. It was just a bit of a pity that he couldn't squish Xia Yanchun against the wall.
"Happy New Year."
He had just lain down when the young girl's small hands crept over and draped around his neck.
Shen Nian's Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously. Being so close, that pleasant scent of Chunbao was very distinct, gently teasing his heartstrings bit by bit.
Damn it, it was actually the second soul skill, Charm!
"Happy New Year to you too. What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll cook you something good."
"No, I want to sleep in. I'm skipping breakfast." Xia Yanchun nuzzled against Shen Nian's hand. "By the way, what time will your sister wake up? I'm worried Sister Shen Yue might get up first tomorrow morning."
"Don't worry. If she's up before twelve, I'll give you eight hundred bucks."
"Then I'll secretly tell her to get up early, and we'll split the money."
"Then I'll keep my eye on you all night. Touch your phone and I'll give you a punch."
Sleeping on the outside, Xia Yanchun glanced over and spotted her hair tie that had been left on the desk. She sat up to grab it. Without replying to Shen Nian, she grabbed his hand and slipped the hair tie he had previously taken from her onto his wrist.
"You're not allowed to take it off tonight."
"Here we go again."
"I'm going to sleep."
"I'll make you get up and go to sleep all over again in a minute."
Xia Yanchun simply ignored him. Blushing shyly, she dove into his arms and nuzzled his neck.
Having his crush mess around like this made Shen Nian's sense of impending doom grow stronger. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Xia Yanchun by the shoulders and pushed her a little further away.
He's way too easy to tease!
Xia Yanchun raised an eyebrow. She looked up to meet Shen Nian's somewhat awkward gaze, feeling absolutely delighted.
"You're blushing."
"Shut up," Shen Nian sweatdropped. "You did that on purpose, didn't you."
"No, I just wanted to hug you. Who knew you'd react like this again."
"Give me a break, I saw right through it."
"Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
"Get lost."
Shen Nian's expression was awful. He had been completely played, and he had absolutely no way to deal with Chunbao.
Ever since he had been caught red-handed before, he had always been at an absolute disadvantage when it came to certain things.
He was shaking with frustration, stiff as a popsicle.
Xia Yanchun seemed to still want more.
Teasing Little Shen Nian and seeing him all shy always gave her a little thrill of joy.
Now that she was happy, she would sleep even more comfortably tonight.
"Go to sleep, go to sleep."
Xia Yanchun patted Shen Nian's head, her big sister energy maxed out.
Shen Nian was speechless. "You're too much."
"Shh, time to sleep. Goodnight."
"..."
Goodnight.
The next day, New Year's Day.
The weather was fantastic, and the morning mist had thinned out considerably.
Perhaps because she had slept so comfortably and with such incredibly high quality, Xia Yanchun, who had originally planned to sleep in, woke up just after eight o'clock.
Although she was up bright and early, she had still gotten a full seven hours of sleep.
The spot next to her in bed was already cold. Xia Yanchun sat up, still feeling a bit groggy.
Slipping into her slippers, she tiptoed to the door and pressed her ear against it to listen for any noise outside. After confirming there was no sound at all, she quietly opened the door.
The house was completely silent. She had no idea where Shen Nian had run off to.
Xia Yanchun returned to her own apartment and sent Shen Nian a message on her phone.
[Xia Yanchun]: Did you fall into a cesspit?
[Shen Nian] replied very quickly: ??
[Shen Nian]: I'm buying fish bait. I'll be back in a bit.
[Xia Yanchun]: (Angry) I can't believe you didn't wait for me to go together. I'm going to beat you up when you get back.
[Shen Nian]: Beat my what?
Xia Yanchun thought about it for a moment before realizing Shen Nian was making a dirty joke. She was so mad her face turned red.
Being in her own home, she had no reservations and directly initiated a video call.
Shen Nian answered quickly. The camera was very shaky. She could tell he was inside a shop, but she couldn't clearly see what was being sold.
"Are you at the bait shop?"
"Yeah, they have ready-made bait here, quite cheap," Shen Nian's voice drifted over. It was a bit noisy, with the sound of someone asking for prices in the background.
Xia Yanchun had originally wanted to scold him and call him a creepy pervert, but since he was outside, she couldn't quite bring herself to say it. If others heard her, Shen Nian would definitely be embarrassed.
"I'll scold you when you get back. Bring me some rice noodle rolls and soy milk."
"Okay baby, I'll bring you breakfast. Can you bring me a good morning kiss?"
"...No. Hurry up and come back."
"My devotion was in vain."
"Beep beep beep."
Xia Yanchun hung up the phone and went to brush her teeth and wash her face.
They had agreed to go fishing together today. She didn't know how to fish; going there was really just to keep Shen Nian company and chat.
From what she understood, most of the time, anglers just sat there for ages without catching anything. If no one was there to keep them company, it really was a very quiet and boring hobby.
Although catching a fish would be very exciting, the prerequisite was having to endure the silence before the bite.
That should be how it is... No matter how good Shen Nian was, it wasn't like he could catch fish non-stop. Not even the national fishing champion was that good.
The heavens were cooperating. Today was beautiful and sunny, with a clear, boundless sky, softly rolling clouds, and a gentle, pleasant breeze. Just looking at the sunlight streaming through the window made her feel warm.
Shen Nian sought the cold in the summer, while she sought the warmth in the winter. As natural enemies, they really were total opposites.
Standing on the balcony, feeling the warm breeze, Xia Yanchun's mood was exceptionally relaxed. Was Shen Nian some kind of magical heavenly treasure? How could sleeping together make her feel so refreshed and energized...
Half an hour later, Shen Nian finally returned. He held a small bag of bait in one hand and breakfast for three in the other.
His and Xia Yanchun's were the same, while Shen Yue's was a portion of congee and some packaged pickled vegetables. It was easy to heat up, so it wouldn't matter even if it was left until noon.
"Open the door, open the door, my hands are full."
He hollered from outside. The door was quickly opened from within. The young girl stood by the door looking at him. The sunlight from the balcony dyed her unbound hair cascading over her shoulders into a golden hue, adding a touch of faint gentleness to the girl who had recently woken up.
So pretty.
"Phew, it's so warm today. We won't even need to wear hoodies when we go out later." Shen Nian exhaled a breath right into Xia Yanchun's face, hurrying into the house and placing the breakfast and bait on the coffee table.
"Ew, your bait looks so gross..." Xia Yanchun said with disgust.
"It's for the fish to eat, not for you, you little glutton."
"Who'd want to eat that? What is this stuff even made of?"
"Probably some crushed corn, wheat, and rotten fish and shrimp. If we don't buy this, we'll have to go dig up earthworms or buy small shrimp."
"Aren't you going to have to grab it with your hands later? I'll fill a plastic bottle with water for you so you can wash your hands easily."
"Chunbao, you're amazing. I'm moved to tears."
"That's what older sisters are for."
Xia Yanchun looked everywhere for an unwanted bottle. She searched the entire house and finally found one in the storage room to make do with.
"Let's eat breakfast first, stop busying yourself." Shen Nian helped her open the rice noodle rolls and poured all the sauce over them.
"Coming, coming."
Xia Yanchun washed her hands, sat next to Shen Nian, and squeezed in close to him.
"Your soy milk."
"Just leave it there for now, I'll drink it in a bit."
Xia Yanchun grabbed her chopsticks and was just about to pick up a piece of rice noodle roll to put in her mouth when her hand was suddenly grabbed by Shen Nian. His face leaned in, and he pecked her on the cheek.
"Where is my good morning kiss?"
"Not giving you one."
"Damn it, didn't you say we were the absolute best today? You're going back on your word, aren't you!"
"That doesn't mean I have to give it to you just because you want it... All you do all day is ask for kisses and hugs. Can't you have a little ambition?"
"I'm afraid that if I ask for something more ambitious, you'll hit me."
"Get lost, get lost. I surrender to you." Xia Yanchun tugged on his ear, acting high and mighty. "Also, what was that message you sent earlier? Did you think I wouldn't understand it?"
"See? The moment I say something ambitious, you act like this."
"That does not count as being ambitious!"
"Then what does?"
"Making me happy is what counts as being ambitious."
"666, you bastard, if you want to train me, just say so."
Shen Nian pressed his forehead against hers. As soon as the words left his mouth, his lips were already covering Xia Yanchun's, preventing her from forming a complete sentence.
Xia Yanchun was a bit passive, letting out soft whimpers as she was forced to accept Shen Nian's tender affection.
Mmh.
This time, this guy didn't humbly beg for it anymore...
.
Bros, I am stuck on the second chapter again.

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"

close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"

ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!