Chapter 42 Taking an inch and wanting a mile is unacceptable! Time to sleep!

What kind of behavior is that?

Who makes demands when receiving a birthday gift?

Xing Lan frowned and pretended to be angry. She glanced at the childish person playing tricks on her beside her, then simply put her hand down and said, "I don't want it anymore."

After saying that, he turned his head away, pretending to be uninterested. Li Baidong waited in vain for Xing Lan, so he had no choice but to lean over and wait patiently.

"That……"

"I'll give you a kiss if you want."

As he spoke, he casually put the gift box aside, gently cupped Xing Lan's face in his left hand, lowered his eyes, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Xing Lan's expression was indifferent, but her cheeks were soft, her skin was exceptionally good, and she carried a faint, refreshing, and pleasant fragrance.

After Li Baidong finished kissing him, his nose lingered there, reluctant to leave. He tilted his head and stared at Xing Lan's fair and smooth face, wanting to secretly pinch him when he wasn't looking.

Xing Lan turned her head, looked at the gift box on the carpet, and looked up at Li Baidong, saying, "You've already kissed it, can you open it now?"

Li Baidong nodded, quickly took the gift box, and handed it to Xing Lan.

Although Li Baidong is young, he is very meticulous. Take the birthday gift I gave him this time, for example. Even the outer wrapping paper was specially chosen. The pattern was very cute, and the ribbon was Xing Lan's favorite blue.

Xing Lan slowly untied the ribbon and then peeled off the delicate wrapping paper inside. His movements were light and slow, making a soft rustling sound in the quiet air.

Both of them looked down at the square box in Xing Lan's hand. But when the large gift box was finally opened, there were several smaller gift boxes of different sizes inside. They were all neatly arranged by color by Li Baidong and fit together perfectly.

"..." Xing Lan paused, turned to look at Li Baidong, and raised an eyebrow, "Russian nesting dolls?"

Li Baidong smiled and explained innocently, "I wanted to give away too many things, this is already a simplified list." Originally, there should have been twenty-five.

Xing Lan remained silent as she disassembled the colorful little nesting dolls one by one.

Despite the large quantity, he remained patient, carefully unwrapping each one to avoid damaging the outer packaging.

He unpacked a water glass, a bottle of perfume, a scarf, a pair of headphones... and a belt.

The items were of various kinds, but when they were placed together, they looked remarkably harmonious and not at all cluttered. All the items had a unified and high-end style, clearly indicating that Li Baidong had done a lot of research and carefully selected each one.

The only thing that stood out was that white and blue handmade scarf, which was so ugly it could only be described as a complete mess.

Xing Lan picked up the wrinkled scarf with one hand, which looked like a pickled vegetable and leaked air everywhere. After a few seconds of silence, she commented bluntly without any euphemism, "It's ugly."

Everything else was bought with money, but this "ugly" thing was something Li Baidong secretly knitted himself after Xing Lan fell asleep, staying up for several nights in a row.

He was clumsy, but he worked very hard at knitting, redoing it several times, and almost pricked his fingers with the crochet hook.

Hearing Xing Lan so coldly and ruthlessly belittle his painstaking work, his heart was breaking.

Before the puppy could even shed its tearful grievances, it saw Xing Lan expressionlessly shake the scarf in the air and wrap it around her neck.

"It's quite warm, though." Xing Lan glanced at Li Baidong indifferently, nodded to him, and said, "Thank you."

This scarf was so ugly it looked like a rag that had been sitting in my grandma's house for twenty years and had been scratched by a cat, but when worn on Xing Lan's slender, fair neck, it was miraculously saved and looked strangely fashionable.

It's true that as long as someone is good-looking, they'll still attract attention even if they're wearing rags.

After putting on the scarf, he went to look at other gifts.

Li Baidong has excellent taste; every gift he gives is exquisite and beautiful, and obviously not cheap.

That belt, in particular, is a new product just launched this month by a luxury brand. The leather is high-quality, the materials are top-notch, and the price is naturally exorbitant.

Although Li Baidong loves dressing up and wears trendy clothes, he is still an approachable ordinary college student. He buys clothes based on whether they look good and are cost-effective. The most expensive thing he owns is probably his brand-name sneakers.

The day he bought Xing Lan a gift was the first time he stepped into a luxury store. He spent a long time carefully selecting items at the brightly lit counter, but when it came time to pay, he did so without hesitation.

Xing Lan was thin with a very slim waist, and even when she wasn't wearing a suit, she sometimes needed to wear a belt. Li Baidong remembered that Xing Lan had a pair of jeans with a great fit. Every time Xing Lan wore them, her legs looked long and thin, and her hips were round and full, making him stare at her intently.

But Xing Lan hasn't worn those pants much lately. He's lost a bit of weight recently, his waist has narrowed, and the pants that used to fit him are now too baggy and don't fit properly.

This belt is quite thin, has a high-quality feel, and a slim and elegant design, making it very suitable for Xing Lan.

Just imagining Xing Lan's alluring figure with her belt fastened, her slender waist peeking out from under her white shirt, made Li Baidong feel a rush of heat to his nose and his nosebleed was about to start.

During this period, he actually transferred all his income from self-media to Xing Lan, and the money to buy gifts was earned by him working odd jobs around the world.

Although he was very busy with his job, he didn't feel tired. He just hoped that Xing Lan would like it.

Xing Lan looked at the glittering luxury brand logo on the belt, but suddenly frowned and her expression became somewhat serious.

He turned to look at Li Baidong, who was grinning and trying to curry favor with him, and poked the dog's forehead with his fingertip, reprimanding him in a lukewarm tone: "You just made a little money, and you're already spending it like this?"

“It’s not expensive, bro.” Li Baidong looked at him, his dark eyes wide open, trying to bluff his way out. “It’s an out-of-season item, heavily discounted, a special offer.”

“I saw its ads online a few days ago,” Xing Lan said expressionlessly, exposing his lie. “What, does someone else’s new product become an old model to you?”

His attempt to fool them failed. Li Baidong chuckled sheepishly and touched his nose.

Xing Lan lowered her head, carefully putting the belt back into the box, and said emotionlessly, "You're still a student now, so you probably don't have much financial pressure. But when you graduate, you'll need to find a job, and you'll need to find the right one..."

Li Baidong suddenly interrupted him.

The smile on his face vanished instantly. He stared at Xing Lan and asked sharply, "What are you looking for?"

Object?

Isn't Xing Lan his girlfriend?

Li Baidong's eyes darkened almost imperceptibly.

Xing Lan realized she had misspoke, paused for a moment, and then quickly tried to smooth things over: "I said, it's not easy to find a job that matches your skills."

"Many recent graduates are finding it difficult to find suitable jobs in the short term and are left unemployed. This is a common situation, so try to save as much money as possible during your university years to enhance your ability to withstand future risks, you know?"

Xing Lan said so much in one breath, but Li Baidong didn't hear a single word.

He stared intently at Xing Lan's face, remaining silent for a long while.

Xing Lan felt a chill run down her spine under his intense gaze.

But when he looked up again, he saw that Li Baidong had regained his usual cheerful and lively smile, and came close to him as if nothing had happened, hugging him tightly with his arms, hanging on him like a koala.

"Oh, I know." Li Baidong pursed his lips slightly and said in a coquettish tone, "But this is my brother's twenty-fifth birthday after all, and it's also the first time I've given him a birthday present, so of course I have to make it a bit more grand. But don't worry, it's all within my budget."

"I know what I'm doing and I won't let myself be penniless."

"So, do you like these birthday gifts I gave you, brother?" Li Baidong asked with a smile, but his dark eyes also concealed a subtle sense of oppression.

He pressed on, his voice low and his emotions unreadable, "Brother, you only said thank you, but you haven't said whether you like it or not."

Xing Lan sat cross-legged, head down, sorting through the gifts, completely unaware that beneath the smiling face of the person beside her, a chilling expression had suddenly appeared.

He wasn't disappointed, and casually nodded, saying, "I like it."

“But I’ll only accept such an expensive gift this once,” Xing Lan warned. “If you buy it again next time, I won’t accept it, and you’ll have to go to the store to return it yourself. I mean what I say, I’m not joking with you.”

"I know, brother." Li Baidong smiled, looking at him, the coldness in his eyes gradually melting away, regaining its former brilliance. He kissed Xing Lan on the other side of his cheek and said with a smile, "I'm glad you like it, brother."

That night, he kissed both sides of Xing Lan's face, except for her lips.

He stared intently at Xing Lan's lips, then suddenly raised his hand, his fingertips gently tracing the soft lips, his voice low and husky as he involuntarily murmured something.

"elder brother……"

I want to kiss you.

"May I?"

Xing Lan paused, glancing at him.

"You knew to ask beforehand this time?"

"Of course." Li Baidong buried his face in his neck and said sweetly, "I'll learn from my mistakes and remember every word you say, brother."

Li Baidong had a warm scent that Xing Lan couldn't help but like. Looking at Li Baidong, who was clinging to him like a big dog, he couldn't resist raising his hand and touching his hair.

"So is that okay?" Li Baidong raised his eyes, looked at Xing Lan, and licked his lips.

"No." Xing Lan looked at the expectation in his eyes and teased him on purpose.

Li Baidong's bright eyes instantly turned into disappointment, and the two invisible dog ears on his head drooped down.

He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already very late, and Xing Lan's face showed an undeniable weariness.

Li Baidong sighed, and in the end didn't say anything. He just lowered his eyes with a wronged look and said, "Okay, let's go to sleep then."

He then looked sad and tried to get up from the ground. Xing Lan suppressed a laugh and asked him, somewhat surprised, "If I said no, you really won't kiss me?"

Li Baidong nodded and said seriously, "I won't do anything you don't like, no matter how much I want to."

Upon hearing this, Xing Lan smiled softly.

Suddenly, he grabbed Li Baidong's arm, who was about to get up, and lifted his face slightly to place a light kiss on the boy's cool lips.

Li Baidong leaned against the bedside, half-standing, and suddenly froze in place.

"Alright, let's go to sleep." Xing Lan kissed him once, then moved her lips away and casually ruffled Li Baidong's hair.

Li Baidong's hair was very soft and felt great to the touch. Xing Lan thought, "So, petting a person feels just as good as petting a dog."

Li Baidong belatedly realized what was happening, and the light that had just fallen into his eyes instantly brightened, his heart suddenly racing wildly.

He scurried back to bed with Xing Lan, sticking to him like glue, pouting slightly and begging, "Brother, brother, one more kiss~"

...They took an inch and wanted a mile.

Xing Lan remained calm and ignored his request, decisively turning off the light with a snap.

"No kissing!"

"sleep!"

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Author's Note: I'm just so overwhelmed by the sweetness of this young couple!