3

After a moment of consideration, Wen Yixin nodded and said, "If you've made up your mind, you're welcome to stay another night. In any case, I have to go to the Qin family's house tomorrow, so we can go together."

"How does that sound?" Wen Yixin asked Qin Ruan.

Qin Ruan's expression softened slightly, "Alright, I'll go back with you in the morning."

A smile played on Wen Yixin's lips, "Great, after we finish dinner, I'll help you tidy up your room."

"I can help too," Qin Ruan quickly offered.

Wen Yixin didn't refuse and replied with a gentle smile, "Alright, we'll clean it together."

Qin Ruan nodded twice in agreement.

At 7:00 p.m., Wen Yixin led Qin Ruan to look at the two vacant guest rooms in the house. She didn't forget to ask, "Qin Ruan, which room would you prefer to stay in?"

Qin Ruan glanced at the distance between the guest rooms and the master bedroom before decisively choosing the one closest to the master bedroom, "I'd like to stay in this one."

This guest room was right next to the master bedroom, making it not only very close, but the room's layout was also similar to that of the master bedroom.

She really liked it.

"Alright, let's start tidying up the room," Wen Yixin said.

Qin Ruan nodded, "Okay."

Although they were tidying up together, Wen Yixin was mindful of Qin Ruan's injuries, so she didn't let her do much. She only asked her to handle small tasks like wiping the bedside table or holding pillows, while Wen Yixin herself took care of tasks like shaking out and spreading the bedding.

Wen Yixin lifted a sheet, placed it neatly on the bed, and then retrieved some clips from the bedside table to secure it. Just as she was about to clip the sheet in place, Qin Ruan spoke up in confusion.

"Miss Wen, what are those clips for?" Qin Ruan asked, puzzled.

"These?" Wen Yixin turned her head and smiled at her, "They're for securing the sheet so that it doesn't wrinkle when you turn over in bed."

Qin Ruan suddenly understood, "Oh, I see."

"Exactly," Wen Yixin replied with a soft smile before returning to finish securing the sheet.

Qin Ruan watched silently as Wen Yixin carefully made the bed, even meticulously clipping the four corners of the sheet in place. Her lips curved into a small smile.

She's so serious.

And all this for just one night...

One night...

The thought made the faint smile on Qin Ruan's lips gradually fade.

One night is too short.

How wonderful it would be if she could stay here longer.

As she became lost in thought, Qin Ruan didn't even notice when Wen Yixin finished making the bed.

It wasn't until Wen Yixin pulled the pillow out of her arms that Qin Ruan snapped back to reality.

Seeing Qin Ruan suddenly become alert, Wen Yixin couldn't help but laugh and asked, "What were you thinking about so deeply? I called you just now, but you didn't respond."

Qin Ruan licked her lips nervously, "I wasn't thinking about anything."

Noticing Qin Ruan's apparent nervousness, the smile on Wen Yixin's lips deepened. She tilted her head and teasingly leaned in closer, "So nervous—are you afraid I'll eat you?"

Qin Ruan, noticing how close Wen Yixin suddenly was, let her gaze drift over her jade-like features for a moment before turning her eyes away uncomfortably. She quietly denied, "No."

"You wouldn't eat anyone."

Worried that Wen Yixin might keep pressing the issue, Qin Ruan quickly changed the subject.

"Is the bed ready?" she asked.

Wen Yixin chuckled softly, "Yes, it's all done."

With that, she took a step back, creating a more appropriate distance between them.

She tilted her head and asked, "Are you planning to go to sleep now?"

"If not, how about having some fruit or a drink? Or we could watch some TV in the living room together."

As the space between them widened, Qin Ruan's heart gradually calmed. She shook her head slowly, "It's still early. I usually don't go to bed this early."

"Let's go out and have some fruit and watch TV. I'm not picky, so any fruit is fine."

"Alright then, let's go. I'll get the fruit from the kitchen, and you can wait for me in the living room," Wen Yixin said.

Qin Ruan agreed and followed Wen Yixin out of the guest room. They then headed in different directions.

She had only been sitting on the living room sofa for a short while when Wen Yixin came over from the kitchen with a plate of fruit.

"There were only plums and nectarines left in the fridge. The plums might be a bit sour, so you can try a nectarine instead." As she spoke, Wen Yixin handed a plump nectarine to Qin Ruan, "This one should be sweet. Give it a try."

"Thank you." Qin Ruan smiled as she accepted the fruit from Wen Yixin.

For a brief moment, her fingers brushed against Wen Yixin's slightly damp fingertips—cool to the touch, but not unpleasant.

As she thought about this, Qin Ruan quietly took a bite of the nectarine.

After giving Qin Ruan the nectarine, Wen Yixin placed the fruit plate on the coffee table, then picked up a green plum and popped it into her mouth before sitting down beside Qin Ruan.

She handed the TV remote to Qin Ruan, letting her choose the channel, and then turned her attention to the WeChat messages that had been buzzing nonstop since she was in the kitchen.

Casually opening the most recent chat, she was greeted by several voice messages.

Wen Yixin scrolled to the top and pressed play, hearing a sweet, youthful voice, "Sister, have you settled in K City?"

"Why haven't you sent us any messages?"

"I miss you so much..."

Listening to the string of chatter, Wen Yixin couldn't help but smile softly. The original owner's younger cousin had quite a sweet tongue and seemed to care a lot about her.

After replying to a few of Wen Miaoling's most pressing questions, Wen Yixin set her phone down and picked up another plum to snack on.

Throughout this time, she didn't notice that Qin Ruan had sneaked several glances at her.

Watching Wen Yixin in such a good mood, Qin Ruan recalled the syrupy "sister" and Wen Yixin's happy expression when she played the voice message aloud. She couldn't help but ask, "Miss Wen, do you really like that girl?"

Hearing this, Wen Yixin couldn't help but chuckle, "She's alright. That's my cousin."

"It's just that for someone so young, she's already good at saying sweet things. She has a bright future." Wen Yixin's tone was light and playful as she finished speaking.

"Sweet things?" Qin Ruan echoed quietly.

So she was happy because the other girl said sweet things?

Thinking of this, Qin Ruan bit heavily into her nectarine, her lashes lowering as her expression became unreadable.

Wen Yixin noticed Qin Ruan was lost in thought and couldn't help but ask, "What are you thinking about?"

Hearing her voice, Qin Ruan looked up and met Wen Yixin's clear gaze. Within them... it seemed like only her reflection was visible.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she hesitantly spoke:

"I..."

I want to call you 'sister' too.