Sleeping Hand in Hand

"What's with that expression? Tell me, what exactly is that look on your face?"

Shen Nian laughed out of exasperation. Haji-Chun's reading comprehension was so poor she actually thought he was going to wear them himself.

Can't you tell your bro bought them for you?

"I feel like perverts usually have that exact expression."

"How is it perverted? Doesn't buying stockings for my girlfriend show how considerate I am?"

"All I see is a lecher."

"So what?"

"..." Xia Yanchun was left completely speechless. She took the small box of stockings from Shen Nian's hand to take a look.

Although she couldn't open it, looking at the picture on the box, she knew it was just a pair of very ordinary stockings.

He hadn't picked out fishnets, torn styles, or lace garters, so Shen Nian was being relatively honest.

"You're paying."

"Of course, I'm paying for everything tonight, alright?"

"You're so greasy, stay away from me," Xia Yanchun said in disgust.

Since the stockings were bought, so be it. Speaking of which, she had never owned this kind of thigh-high stockings before. She'd find time to search for outfit posts to see if she had any suitable short skirts to match them with; she could wear them when traveling.

As for wearing them just to satisfy Shen Nian's lust, Xia Yanchun had no such intention. She just treated it as buying a reward for herself.

Most of the clothes and skirts in her wardrobe were light-colored, so she specifically bought an extra box of white ones. Light colors matched well together. A white dress with black stockings—just thinking about it felt weird and didn't fit her aesthetic.

"Chunbao..." Shen Nian was moved to tears. Haji-Chun really understood him, actually buying white stockings too.

"Chunbao my foot, pay up."

"Alrighty."

They were all street stall goods. Two boxes of stockings plus a hairband didn't cost much. Even if he only had eight hundred in living expenses, Shen Nian wouldn't have hesitated for a split second, let alone the fact that he currently had three hundred thousand in his bank card.

No matter how you looked at it, he was somewhat of a rich guy now.

Shen Nian carried the bags and followed behind Xia Yanchun, accompanying her all the way. Finally, after buying some cream-flavored sunflower seeds, Xia Yanchun decided it was time to go home.

They had been strolling for about an hour, and she felt a smell of barbecue smoke on her body, all from being smoked by the roadside barbecue stalls along the way.

"Do you want to buy anything else?" Xia Yanchun looked at Shen Nian curiously.

"I don't need to. Having this serendipity is enough." Shen Nian lifted the bags.

"So creepy. Let me declare in advance that I won't wear them specifically for you to look at. I'm using these for my outfits."

"I bought them for your outfits too. See, you're overthinking it," Shen Nian grinned.

"Get lost, will you."

Xia Yanchun walked in front, heading to the parking spot with Shen Nian. She got on the electric scooter first and said cheerfully, "I'll be merciful today and give you a ride home."

"Here, the keys."

"Get on, get on." Xia Yanchun carefully backed the scooter out.

Shen Nian quickly got on, sitting on the back seat with both feet still on the ground, afraid that Xia Yanchun wouldn't be strong enough to hold it up and they might accidentally fall.

It wouldn't matter if he fell, given his physical strength, but it wouldn't be good if Haji-Chun fell. If Haji-Chun fell and got hurt, her eyes would get red and she'd want to cry.

There were many pedestrians. Naughty seven- or eight-year-old kids made loud, strange noises on the street, while the elderly held hands with children, and the children held balloons, walking slowly. But mostly, there were young people. After all, at this hour, the nightlife for young people was just beginning.

The electric scooter drove very slowly. Shen Nian held onto Xia Yanchun's slender waist like this, returning to their residential compound unhurriedly.

It was almost one o'clock in the morning, yet Xia Yanchun wasn't sleepy at all.

After finishing the leftover oysters and eggplants, Xia Yanchun went to brush her teeth again. Shen Nian also went back to brush his teeth and wash his face, then immediately slipped over, hugging Xia Yanchun, who was still applying her pre-sleep skincare products, swaying left and right like a little penguin.

Xia Yanchun, who hadn't spoken the whole time, didn't open her mouth sleepily until Shen Nian hugged her, laid her back on the bed, and covered her with the small quilt. "What should we do tomorrow...?"

"Continue resting at home for the whole day."

"But I feel so idle."

"Isn't it good to be idle? You worked hard for three years and finally got such a long vacation. It's only the second day and you already can't sit still, right?"

Shen Nian continued muttering, "You're just like my mom. It's rare that there's nothing to do at the breeding farm, and she could have rested for a whole day. Wouldn't it be nice to drink tea and chat with her sisters? But no, she insists on getting those plastic jewelry beads to string together. Stringing them all day only earns her sixty or seventy yuan."

"But I really want to find something to do, something we haven't done before."

"Damn, why didn't you say so earlier? I know one thing neither of us has done before..."

It only took Xia Yanchun 0.01 seconds to realize what Shen Nian was about to say. Before he could even finish, her foot had already kicked his leg.

"Still going to say it?"

"Not saying it."

"Hmph, you only behave after getting kicked. You really are something."

Shen Nian didn't speak, just kept nuzzling his face against Xia Yanchun's.

"It's decided. We'll go to the hospital for a check-up in the next couple of days," Xia Yanchun suddenly said. "If they find any problems, there's still time to treat them now."

"Let's go."

"Let me look it up first."

Xia Yanchun scrolled through Xiaohongshu again. Upon searching, she saw that a basic full-body check-up at the hospital started at a thousand yuan and couldn't be covered by medical insurance. Her little face fell.

"Hehe, not going anymore. It's too expensive."

"How much is it?"

"Anywhere from one thousand to three thousand."

"That's normal, I remember there are quite a few items to check." Shen Nian rubbed the girl's cheek with his thumb, squeezing a layer of soft flesh, and smiled faintly. "If you want to go, let's go. The weather has been hot lately, and more people are buying fish. I'll catch and sell fish to pay for your check-up."

"Selling fish is so hard. You squat there for a whole afternoon and might not even sell out. Forget it."

"No..."

Seeing that Shen Nian was about to speak again, Xia Yanchun hurriedly raised an index finger and placed it against his lips. "I said we're not going, so we're not going. Did you hear me?"

"Heard you."

Shen Nian held onto her pale, slender finger without letting go, quietly tucking it into his embrace to keep it warm.

Let's just hold hands and sleep like this.

Thinking this, Shen Nian reached out and turned off the light. "Let's sleep."

"Mhm." Xia Yanchun took the opportunity to touch Shen Nian's chest, smiling softly. "Are you going to work out tomorrow?"

"I haven't worked out in a long time."

"You've gotten lazy."

"Sleeping with a bad woman makes a person lazy."

"You always say I blame you, but you blame me plenty too, okay?"

"I'm not blaming you, it really is your fault. If you don't believe me, look: before sleeping with you, I was as diligent as could be. After sleeping with you, I work out less and less."

"Heh, after sleeping with me, your test scores have been getting higher and higher."

"You can't say it like that."

Shen Nian knew he was somewhat in the wrong, so he chose to play dead. One second he was talking, and the next he was already snoring with his mouth open.

If this were a cartoon, there would definitely be several Zs floating out of Shen Nian's mouth.

Xia Yanchun stopped talking too. Time to sleep, time to sleep.

Her hand was still being held by Shen Nian. Well, the tables had turned today; it was her turn to fall asleep touching Shen Nian's stomach.

Mmm... two... four... six... eight pack... hehe.