It's Time for Us to Evolve

Shen Nian was very well-behaved today. Sitting next to Xia Yanchun, he merely held her hand and pinched her cheek.

When the armchair stopped rocking, he would even use his hand to rock it for her.

Although Xia Yanchun was often infuriated by Shen Nian, to be honest, this was still quite comfortable.

It was a pity she wasn't sleepy right now, otherwise she would have let Shen Nian rock the chair until she fell asleep.

There was a longan tree in front of her house. In the past, a hammock used to be tied between the longan tree and a utility pole, and this was exactly how she used to boss Shen Nian around to help rock her.

It really was impossible to study next to Shen Nian. Xia Yanchun pulled her hand back, closed her book, casually stuffed it into Shen Nian's arms, stood up, and tugged at her pants. "I'm going back to my room."

"Not studying anymore?"

"I can't study with you here."

"You're blaming me for that too? I feel like you're the type of person who, if you score lower than me on a test, would say it's because I was constantly distracting you."

"That's exactly what it is."

"Damn, you say that even when I haven't scored higher than you. I can't even imagine what you'd do if I actually beat your score."

Xia Yanchun gave a soft hmph and ignored him. She climbed onto the bed, gathered the pillows, and picked clean the broken hairs left behind from lounging in bed with Li Shiyan over the past two days.

There were quite a few long strands of hair. These all belonged to Li Shiyan; her own hair only reached her shoulders, so comparatively, it didn't fall out as easily.

Hair loss was a common annoyance for all girls.

Shen Nian also entered the room, closed the balcony window, and conveniently drew the curtains, instantly plunging the bright room into half-darkness.

The warm-toned world outside the curtains cast a dim light into the room. Xia Yanchun immediately shrank back under the covers, exposing only half her face as she stared at the approaching Shen Nian.

This guy drawing the curtains definitely had no good intentions.

"You even lay down on the bed. Are you taking a nap?" Shen Nian scratched his cheek.

"No, can't I just lie down?"

"Why not? I'll lie down too."

Watching Shen Nian already lifting the blanket and slipping in, Xia Yanchun couldn't help but nuzzle into his arms.

Hmm, he smelled a bit funky, not as nice as Shiyan.

The girl in his arms kept rubbing against him, her hair slipping into Shen Nian's collar and tickling his chest.

I see you missed me quite a bit too.

Shen Nian muttered to himself in his heart. He didn't intend to say this out loud; if he did, Chunbao wouldn't nuzzle him anymore.

He rubbed Xia Yanchun's fluffy hair. The strands slipped through his fingers, fell smoothly, and were then gathered up again by him and tucked behind her ear.

He couldn't see Xia Yanchun's expression clearly, only the girl's gradually reddening earlobes.

"Did you take a shower this morning?" Xia Yanchun sniffed deeply a few times, her voice soft. Even though there were only the two of them, she didn't want to raise her voice; as long as Shen Nian could hear her, it was enough.

"I did."

"You smell funky."

"They say a dog's nose is sharp, seems it's true."

Xia Yanchun expressionlessly gave Shen Nian a slap, a very loud one.

"Hiss, that didn't hurt."

"How many days has it been since you showered? Is your skin that itchy?"

"Didn't I just say I washed this morning?" Shen Nian bared his teeth and poked Xia Yanchun's forehead. "Is your left brain attacking your right brain? Why is your head so pointy?"

Xia Yanchun furrowed her delicate brows, flipped over forcefully, and propped herself up on her hands and knees over Shen Nian, pinning him beneath her.

Her slender fingers pinched Shen Nian's lips. "Your mouth is too talkative. You're not allowed to speak, got it?"

"I will speak."

"Hmph."

Xia Yanchun made a zipping motion, attempting to sew Shen Nian's mouth shut, then pulled his arm up, placed it properly, and lazily lay down, using it as a pillow.

"I thought you were going to kiss me..."

"Very disappointed, huh? Serves you right, who asked you to have such a smart mouth."

"Tch, if you won't kiss me, then don't. I don't care."

"Your mouth is the most stubborn part of your whole body," Xia Yanchun exposed him. "I wonder who it was that kept pulling me into the hallway every day before, hugging and kissing me."

"I also don't know who it was standing in the hallway letting me hug and kiss them. I've lost my memory, could my dear Haji-Chun tell me who it was?"

"..."

Sure enough, she still really hated Shen Nian.

Xia Yanchun's temper flared up. She tugged at the blanket, spun around, and wrapped the entire blanket around herself, turning into a Big Chun Roll, leaving Shen Nian with no blanket to cover himself at all.

If he didn't say a few sweet words, a certain someone wouldn't have any blanket to cover themselves in her house. She hoped a certain someone would have some self-awareness.

Chunbao is so cute.

Tying herself up to act as a bolster for him, Chunbao really is something else, I'm dying of laughter.

So Shen Nian hugged her like a sloth, resting his chin against the back of the girl's head, in a great mood.

His breath landed directly on her hair, making it tickle. Xia Yanchun uncomfortably tilted her head up and started talking about something else.

"Shiyan told me before that she thinks you like me."

"We've been discovered?" Shen Nian was astonished.

"No, she just thinks you like me, that's all."

"Hmm... it's quite normal for her to know."

Shen Nian couldn't even be bothered to act proper in front of the little girl; he played with her hair whenever he wanted, so it was only a matter of time before they were noticed.

He didn't mind being found out by Li Shiyan, and looking at Xia Yanchun's calm demeanor now, it seemed she didn't care much either.

"What else did she say?"

"Nothing else." Xia Yanchun told a little lie; anyway, Shen Nian wouldn't know.

"That's it? Let her talk. Her guess was pretty accurate, but why didn't she guess that you like me too?" Shen Nian muttered.

"It must be because I'm too outstanding. Usually, it's scrubs like you secretly crushing on an unattainable flower like me."

"Calling yourself an unattainable flower? That's quite narcissistic."

"Blehh, but you really are a scrub."

Xia Yanchun wriggled like a caterpillar. Seeing that she wanted to squeeze out, Shen Nian exerted more force, hugging the roll in his arms even tighter.

"Ah, let me go quickly! My back is itchy!"

"Haji-Chun, you rascal."

As soon as Shen Nian let go, Xia Yanchun did a quick roll, unwrapping the blanket from around her body.

Stretching her arms like the Monkey King emerging from the mountain, Xia Yanchun immediately scratched her back. She really was a bit itchy.

A corner of her pajamas was lifted, exposing the girl's smooth lower back to Shen Nian.

"What are you looking at, pighead."

Xia Yanchun felt embarrassed and annoyed. She quickly pulled her clothes down, and not only that, she also checked her collar and buttoned the highest button, not letting Shen Nian take any advantage at all.

After finishing all this, she propped herself up again and looked at Shen Nian.

"Even Shiyan can tell you like me, it seems you really do like me a lot." She hooked her pinky finger with Shen Nian's. "Quickly say you like me, or I'll hit you."

"I've said it so many times already."

"Say it quickly."

Shen Nian also sat up, scratched his cheek, and cleared his throat. His two large hands naturally wrapped around the girl's slender waist, drawing her closer, and he whispered softly in her ear, saying the words she wanted to hear.

The warm breath made Xia Yanchun's small face flush red. Even though she had heard it a few times before, with Shen Nian leaning in so close and saying such extremely intimate words, she still couldn't help but feel shy.

Her defense was high, but she hadn't put any points into resisting shyness.

"Your turn."

Shen Nian rubbed against Xia Yanchun's forehead, wanting to be indulged by her just a little bit this once.

Xia Yanchun pursed her lips, blinked her almond eyes twice, and, imitating Shen Nian's manner, spoke as if whispering a secret in his ear.

"I like you..."

Her voice was very, very soft.

Shen Nian's ears grew hot. Having the person he liked lean in so close to confess her feelings was something he simply couldn't remain indifferent to.

His heart felt as brilliant as a burst of fireworks.

Unable to hold back his emotions, Shen Nian lowered his head, kissing her so deeply it was as if he wanted to steal away her very breath.

Xia Yanchun's fingers went from stiff to relaxed. At some point, her fingers had deeply intertwined with his. Her breathing grew erratic, her chest rising and falling, and even her fingertips turned white from her grip.

"Phew..." Shen Nian chuckled softly. "I thought you really didn't miss me at all."

"You were the one who insisted..."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Shen Nian gently pinched Xia Yanchun's soft cheek and smoothed out her slightly messy hair, his heart completely free of any lingering gloom.

It was as if he had made a firm resolution.

"Xia Yanchun, I think it's time we took the next step. I want to formally confess my feelings to you."