Warm Like A Summer's Day

Li Xiuying sighed in defeat: "Call me whatever you want." In her heart, she comforted herself 'At least YingYing sounds better than XiuXiu'

Little 4th smiled in victory. He walked towards Li Xiuying and offered her the glass of water.

Li Xiuying: "Thank you, Qin Zhen." She took the glass from his hand and drank it down in one gulp.

Little 4th had a frustrated look on his face. "Big Sister YingYing, you have to call me Little 4th. Calling me Qin Zhen is too distant."

Li Xiuying sighed again: "Yes Yes."

Little 4th nodded. He patted Li Xiuying twice on the top of her head. 'Big Sister YingYing is really obedient.'

Li Xiuying froze when Little 4th touched her head. She hated being touched by people, it didn't matter if they were adults or children, family or strangers. She hated it.

Li Xiuying looked seriously at Qin Zhen: "Little 4th you can't touch me without my permission, I have a type of mysophobia. This isn't up for debate." She actually didn't have mysophobia, she just hated anyone touching her since that awful day, even if she was reincarnated she couldn't quite bring herself to accept someone else's touch.

Little 4th had an unhappy look on his face. He was just rewarding his Big Sister YingYing. He didn't mean to upset her.

Little 4th began to worry 'What if she stops liking me?'

Little 4th had his head lowered and was looking at the ground; his voice contained sadness: "I'm sorry big sister YingYing, I won't do it again."

Li Xiuying realized her words may have been a little harsh.

Li Xiuying: "It isn't your fault Little 4th. You weren't to know. I just don't like being touched by people. I appreciate your kindness."

Little 4th still looked sad as he nodded slightly.

Li Xiuying: "Erm, well okay then. Little 4th thank you again for the water I really needed it. My throat felt like it was as dry as the Sahara desert."

Li Xiuying wasn't good at comforting people so she always used her go-to strategy of diversion.

Little 4th cheered up after knowing he had helped his big sister.

Li Xiuying: "I'm assuming I'm in your house right now? Where is your family?"

Little 4th: "Everyone is downstairs. Yes, You're in my house, I was so happy when I found out you were here this morning! Mommy wanted to come and check on you but I volunteered instead. Oh No! I forget to check on you."

Little 4th paused and thought for a moment: "Big sister YingYing how do I check on you?"

Li Xiuying laughed. It was the first time she genuinely laughed since returning from her past life. It was a light laugh as gentle as a breeze and as warm as a light summer day.

Little 4th stood there shocked. His eyes were wide and his mouth was open like a fish. 'My Big sister is beautiful when she laughs. I have to make sure I make her smile more in the future.' However Little 4th didn't know how he made his big sister laugh. All he did was ask a serious question.

Li Xiuying: "You just ask the person how they are feeling and because it's the morning you can ask how the person slept."

Little 4th had an enlightened look on his face. "Big Sister YingYing how are you feeling? How did you sleep?"

Li Xiuying said with a smile: "I'm okay thank you for checking. I slept well." She deliberately used the word checking to make Little 4th happy.

From the corner of her eye, she could see there was someone leaning against the door frame. Li Xiuying immediately stopped smiling. She looked up to see it was Qin Song.

Li Xiuying: "How long have you been there?"

Qin Song replied coldly: "I just got here."

Qin Song told a little white lie. He had actually been there the whole time watching Li Xiuying interact with Little 4th. He was just about to say something when a light and gentle laugh entered his ears and traveled down to his chest to put a small crack in the wall surrounding his heart.

Qin Song tapped his chest. 'It must just be indigestion. I should have a full body checkup, my eyes and ears are clearly malfunctioning and I don't think a heart is meant to skip. I'll get my PA to schedule it in later. For now, I should take an antacid.'

Qin Song looked over at Little 4th.

Qin Song's voice became warmer and more gentle: "What are you doing Little man?"

Little 4th:" I was checking on big sister YingYing." He emphasized the word checking. Little 4th felt proud he had accomplished his job and learned a new skill.

Qin Song looked over to Li Xiuying once more. His voice regained an arctic undertone: "Your clothes have been washed and dried and are currently in the wardrobe, there is a set of toiletries in the bathroom and a towel for you to use. I will explain everything once you are done freshening up. We will be waiting downstairs."

Qin Song opened his arms wide for little 4th. Little 4th walked over to his eldest brother and allowed Qin Song to pick him up.

Li Xiuying heard Little 4th's voice shouting from the hallway.

Little 4th: "Big Sister YingYing I'll be waiting downstairs. Don't take too long freshening up."

There was a moment of silence before Little 4th's voice rang out again, it sounded further away this time.

Little 4th: "Big Brother I can call her Big Sister YingYing if I want to!!! If you try and force me to stop then I'll just ignore you forever. Don't test me."

Li Xiuying smiled to herself.

She stood up and walked to the wardrobe to take out her clothes. She carried them to the bathroom and locked the door.

She grabbed the bottle of shower gel that smelled of lemon and the mango-scented shampoo and stepped into the shower.

Li Xiuying took a long shower to release some of the tension from her aching muscles. She looked down at her body which was covered in scratches and bruises; she felt it was a small price to pay for her freedom.

Li Xiuying turned off the shower and stepped out. She dried herself and then wrapped the towel around her. She brushed her teeth and then moisturized her skin.

On the counter next to the sink there was also a new set of underwear in her size.

It was white but instead of plain white cotton she was used to, it was made of lace and had a delicate floral design.

Li Xiuying looked at the underwear now in her hand. She was horrified, 'Who would be so evil as to make me wear this? It doesn't look comfortable at all. Do I have to wear this from now on in my quest for beautification? Also, I hope it was a female assistant that arranged this in my size. It's bad enough some stranger touching my underwear let a random man.'

Li Xiuying got dressed and exited the room. She descended down the spiraling staircase.

At the bottom of the staircase, there was a woman in a maid's uniform waiting for her.

The maid spoke sharply: "Please follow me. Everyone is waiting for you in the dining room." She thought that Li Xiuying was incredibly inconsiderate making people wait for her for so long. Thus she didn't even bother being polite to this rude woman who clearly lacked basic etiquette.

Li Xiuying followed behind the maid with clear passive aggression issues. Li Xiuying had a quirky sense of humor and liked to use alliteration to give people nicknames. The maid clearly had an attitude problem and since she didn't bother to even introduce herself; Li Xiuying had dubbed her attitude Ang-Yin.

Attitude Ang-Yin led Li Xiuying to a large dining room.

When Li Xiuying entered the room. All the members of the Qin family looked up. They all had different expressions on their faces which ranged from happiness and curiosity to indifference and annoyance.

At the head of the table sat Elder Qin. Qin Song sat to his right, followed by Qin Jie and Qin Xian Jun. On his left sat a woman who looked to be in her late 50s and next to her was Little 4th.

It looked like she was about to face the Spanish Inquisition.