8
Qin Ruan was momentarily stunned. Under Wen Yixin's gaze, she subconsciously raised her hand to touch her own face, her lips trembling slightly as she asked, "Big Sister Wen, do you really think I'm beautiful?"
Not only that, but Wen Yixin was even willing to protect her face at the cost of burning her own hand.
Was her face really that much to Wen Yixin's liking?
"Of course." Wen Yixin nodded confidently. Seeing Qin Ruan's lack of confidence, she asked, "Has anyone ever said you're not beautiful?"
"No," Qin Ruan shook her head, "but no one has ever said I am." Not only that, but most of the people at her school avoided her, so Qin Ruan never paid much attention to her appearance. She even once believed she belonged to the "not beautiful" category.
But today, hearing someone say she was beautiful and even getting hurt to protect her seemingly insignificant face made her feel conflicted.
She bit her lip and said softly, "Big Sister Wen, you're the first person to tell me that so directly."
"Is that so?" Wen Yixin pondered for a moment before smiling, "Then I'll make sure to compliment you more often from now on."
"You..." Qin Ruan was stunned for a few seconds, staring at her.
Wen Yixin gently pressed her index finger against Qin Ruan's cheek, creating a small dimple. But as soon as she lifted her finger, the dimple quickly vanished.
Amused, Wen Yixin couldn't resist poking her cheek a few more times, but she swiftly withdrew her hand before Qin Ruan fully processed what was happening. "Qin Ruan, why don't you wait outside for a bit? I'll finish up with the fish and then come out too."
"But your hand..." Qin Ruan bit her lip, "Big Sister Wen, you should go put on some ointment first."
"It's fine. I'll finish up here and then take care of it. It won't make much difference," Wen Yixin said. She was about to urge Qin Ruan to step outside when she suddenly smelled something slightly burnt and quickly moved to the pan, turning off the heat.
She flipped the fish over, and upon seeing that only a small portion was slightly charred, she let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness it wasn't completely ruined.
After making sure the fish was still salvageable, Wen Yixin carefully added the hot water she had boiled earlier into the pan and turned the heat back on to let it simmer.
Once everything was set, she turned to Qin Ruan with a helpless smile, "Alright, we can both wait outside now."
"Okay," Qin Ruan agreed.
"Let me help you put on the ointment, Big Sister Wen."
"No..." Wen Yixin began to decline but quickly changed her mind when she met Qin Ruan's concerned gaze, "Alright then."
"I'll be counting on you to take care of me."
Qin Ruan nodded, "It's no trouble at all. Let's go."
With a smile, Wen Yixin led the way out of the kitchen, gently pulling Qin Ruan along.
In the living room, Wen Yixin directed Qin Ruan to where the first aid kit was stored. Qin Ruan quickly went to fetch it, returning moments later with the ointment in hand.
"Big Sister Wen, give me your hand."
"Here you go." Wen Yixin extended her injured hand to Qin Ruan, her gaze lowering to the small red marks and blisters.
Qin Ruan carefully took Wen Yixin's hand, gently applying the cooling ointment to the burned area with utmost care, as if afraid of causing her pain.
Watching Qin Ruan's meticulous movements, Wen Yixin couldn't help but smile, "It doesn't hurt, you don't have to be so cautious."
Qin Ruan remained silent, her lips tightening as she continued her task, seemingly disagreeing with Wen Yixin's words. However, she didn't voice her thoughts, leaving them unspoken.
It wasn't until she finished applying the ointment that Qin Ruan's tense expression finally relaxed.
Wen Yixin looked at the evenly spread ointment on her hand and smiled softly, "Thank you."
"Little one."
Qin Ruan's ears reddened slightly, and she murmured, "No need to thank me. It's what I should do."
Wen Yixin chuckled, unable to suppress her laughter as she watched Qin Ruan's serious expression. Deciding to change the subject, she said,
"By the way, you probably haven't explored much of my place yet. If you're interested, after we eat, I can show you around."
"I have a large study room here. If you ever get bored, you can browse through the books to see if there's anything you like."
Wen Yixin spoke to Qin Ruan for a while before finally asking, "What do you think? Interested?"
"Yes." Qin Ruan nodded slightly, gazing at Wen Yixin as she replied, "I'd like that, Big Sister Wen."
"Great." Wen Yixin agreed readily.
At 1:00 PM, after lunch and a bit of rest, Wen Yixin took Qin Ruan on a tour of the house, familiarizing her with the layout.
Their last stop was a dance studio within the house.
Wen Yixin glanced at Qin Ruan, "This is my dance studio. If you ever want to practice, you're welcome to use it."
With that, she opened the door, revealing the spacious dance studio to Qin Ruan.
The room was large, easily twice the size of a typical dance studio, with expansive mirrors lining the walls.
Qin Ruan's gaze fixed on her reflection in the mirror, standing beside Wen Yixin, her eyes narrowing slightly.
She realized that she was half a head shorter than Wen Yixin. Although she had some curves, they were nothing compared to Wen Yixin's graceful, shapely figure.
Qin Ruan's eyes lingered on Wen Yixin's lithe form before sliding to her slender waist, where her gaze paused.
After a moment, she turned to Wen Yixin, "Big Sister Wen, do you practice here often?"
"Hmm, you could say that," Wen Yixin mused. Though she hadn't been in this world long, both she and the original host had a habit of practicing in their home dance studios.
In fact, her previous dance studio was even larger and better equipped than this one, but unfortunately, she no longer had access to those resources.
This thought made Wen Yixin feel a bit lost, a sentiment she was slowly processing when Qin Ruan's voice brought her back.
"Big Sister Wen?"
"Hmm?" Wen Yixin responded, gradually returning to reality.
She pushed aside her wandering thoughts, turning to Qin Ruan with a soft question, "Why do you ask? Do you want to learn to dance?"
"No," Qin Ruan shook her head slightly, "I was just wondering what it would look like when you're dancing here."
"It seems like... it would be very beautiful."
Hearing this, Wen Yixin laughed, "So, you want to see me dance?"
Qin Ruan nodded shyly, "Is that okay?"
Wen Yixin chuckled and nodded, "Of course, there's nothing wrong with that."
"If you want, I can dance for you right now."
"Really?" Qin Ruan's eyes lit up with excitement, her cheeks dimpled with a smile, "Thank you, Big Sister Wen."
Wen Yixin hummed softly, lowering her gaze to her current outfit. When she looked up again, her eyes were full of mirth, "Qin Ruan, I'll dance a piece for you, and if you like it and want to learn, you can always ask me."
"I'll teach you for free," she added with a laugh.
Watching Wen Yixin smile, the anxiety that had been gnawing at Qin Ruan since seeing her moment of distraction finally settled.
She had felt that the Wen Yixin from earlier had seemed distant, as if she was out of reach, detached from this world, and it had left her with an unsettling sense of unreality.
But now, it seemed that her worries had been unfounded.
Qin Ruan smiled faintly, "If Big Sister Wen is willing to teach me, of course, I'd like to learn."
Wen Yixin nodded thoughtfully, resting her chin on her hand as she pondered, "There's a particular dance that I think would suit you. I'm not sure if you'll like it, so how about I show it to you first?"
"Okay, thank you, Big Sister Wen," Qin Ruan quickly agreed.
Wen Yixin smiled, "Just wait here for a bit. I'll be ready in no time."
Qin Ruan obediently sat down to watch as Wen Yixin prepared the music.
The moment the music started, Wen Yixin began to dance gracefully.
Her dark hair, styled in soft waves, flowed like silk as she moved, tracing elegant arcs through the air before cascading down in smooth, fluid motions.
Qin Ruan's gaze fixed on Wen Yixin's slender waist, and after a while, she couldn't resist raising her arm to compare it against Wen Yixin's waistline.
At first, she did this out of simple curiosity. But as she realized how tiny Wen Yixin's waist was—small enough to fit within the span of her own arm—her gaze grew darker.
Wen Yixin's waist was so slender.
It would be easy to wrap her arms around it.
Wrap her arms...
Qin Ruan's lashes lowered slightly, her delicate arm tracing a soft arc toward Wen Yixin's waist, her fingers curling in a phantom grasp.
Such a tiny waist, it would feel so nice to hold or embrace...
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but even after Wen Yixin finished dancing, Qin Ruan remained in the same position, only lowering her hand when Wen Yixin approached.
"Qin Ruan, what were you doing just now?" Wen Yixin asked curiously.
Qin Ruan quickly dropped her hand, her fingers curling tightly into her palm, "N-Nothing."