Chapter 18
Knowing that Pei Huai was coming, Li Miao entertained her brother for a while before transforming back into a human. She sat quietly on the sofa, her toes raised and her heels resting on the wooden floor, leisurely watching Animal World with her brother.
When the Animal World episode featured tigers, it was practically a feline episode. The little tiger cubs were fluffy and adorable, and Li Miao watched it with great interest.
Before long, the aroma of food filled the kitchen.
"Do you need my help?" Li Xuan looked up at the kitchen and asked.
It's not good to just sit and wait for your meal.
Pei Qingsong has been studying for his master's and doctoral degrees on his own for years, and has long been used to cooking for himself.
He doesn't need to help. It's Li Miao's first time here, so Li Xuan should play with his younger brother instead.
Time passed slowly.
Halfway through the animal documentary, there was a knock on the door. The knocking was rhythmic and unhurried.
"I'll go open the door!" Li Miao sprang to her feet and ran to open the door.
The first thing I saw when I opened the door was Pei Huai, whose hair was slightly messy, and who was carrying two large bottles of drinks.
"The food isn't ready yet, just wait a little longer and we can eat." Li Miao took the things from Pei Huai's hands, and their fingertips unconsciously brushed against each other.
“Okay.” Pei Huai, who was tall and slender, bent down slightly, kicked off his sneakers and put on slippers.
Upon entering the living room, I immediately saw Li Miao's brother.
Li Xuan: "You're here? Your brother is still cooking in the kitchen. Sit here and watch TV while we wait."
He acted as naturally as if he were the master of the house.
On the way there, Pei Huai realized another meaning behind his cousin's invitation to dinner: his cousin and Li Miao were living together.
Pei Huai was filled with curiosity about men dating and living together.
Once I actually set foot in this place, I couldn't help but secretly observe the living environment. It didn't seem any different; it was cozy and clean.
"Okay, then I'll go say hello to my cousin first." Pei Huai said and headed towards the kitchen.
"Brother, don't you also find it amazing that the senior who tutored me is now my roommate?" Li Miao whispered in her brother's ear.
Li Xuan withdrew his gaze from the kitchen, gave a disdainful snort, and thought to himself that it was no wonder. If it weren't for this coincidence, he would have suspected that sharing a dormitory was arranged by someone.
But these are truly random; it's just a coincidence.
"Pei Huai has helped me a lot all this time, and I want to give him a gift to thank him." Li Miao was unsure what to give him. "Brother, what gift do you think I should give Pei Huai that would make him happy?"
"Ideally, it should be a free gift," Li Miao added, blinking her eyes.
Although Li Xuan didn't like his younger brother having too much contact with Pei Huai, he wouldn't act like the bad guy just because Pei Huai hadn't done anything to his brother yet.
"A gift that doesn't cost money is probably something handmade or something similar," Li Xuan said casually.
Li Miao dragged out an "Oh~" sound, thinking it made sense, but he didn't know how to do crafts, so what could he give Pei Huai as a thank-you gift?
...
Dinner was quickly prepared, and the home-style dishes on the table looked exquisite, steaming hot.
We're all young people, so there's no need to be formal about eating.
Li Xuan kept piling food into her younger brother's bowl, then turned her head to examine his face for a moment before saying with concern, "You look so thin. Miao Miao, you're still growing, so you need to eat more. If you don't have enough money, you have to tell your brother, okay?"
Li Miao picked up the food her brother had put in his bowl, nodded, and said sweetly, "I will eat well, thank you, brother."
"I have enough money. I'll let you know if I need more."
Hearing Li Miao lie face to face, Pei Huai slightly lifted his pale eyelids, his gaze falling on Li Miao's delicate face, but he said nothing.
He could actually understand why Li Miao said those things; she didn't want her brother to worry.
As for Li Miao not having enough money to eat, it's not a big deal. He can feed Li Miao while he's eating with her.
"You should eat more too, don't be shy. I asked you to tutor Li Miao before, and it's good that you were here." Pei Qingsong said this and then closed his mouth. Then he felt that the atmosphere was a little cold, and thinking of Li Xuan's enthusiasm for his younger brother, he followed suit and picked up a piece of food for Pei Huai.
Pei Huai looked up at his cousin calmly and said, "I can do it myself."
I took the food that my cousin had put on his plate and put it back on his plate, and gave it to him.
Pei Qingsong: "..."
Although Pei Huai showed no expression, he still detected a hint of disdain. Indeed, he didn't need to imitate Li Xuan's treatment of his younger brother; it was best to get along naturally with Pei Huai.
"Wow, brother, your boyfriend's cooking is so delicious!" Li Miao's cheeks were puffed out, and she couldn't stop talking.
With just a few simple words, he managed to win over Pei Qingsong.
Pei Qingsong couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Really? If you like it, eat more. You're welcome to come to our house for dinner in the future."
Li Xuan kept her head down and blushed silently.
"Brother, how long have you and your boyfriend been together? I've never heard you say anything about it," Li Miao asked curiously.
"It hasn't been long... just focus on your food." Li Xuan gritted his teeth and piled more shrimp into Li Miao's bowl, trying to shut his younger brother up.
Li Miao looked at the small mountain piled up in her bowl, chuckled to herself, and ate her rice with gusto until she was full.
Noticing that Pei Huai hadn't eaten much, Li Miao picked up a piece of tomato and beef brisket with her chopsticks and handed it to Pei Huai, saying, "You should eat more. There's enough food for us. I see you're eating very little."
"Don't put food on his plate, he won't eat it." Before Pei Qingsong could finish speaking, he saw Pei Huai already hand over his bowl to take the food.
Pei Qingsong: "."
She couldn't help but facepalm. She had been careless and forgotten that Pei Huai should have feelings for Li Miao.
"What?" Li Miao asked blankly.
"It's nothing, eat your food." Pei Qingsong quickly tried to ease the awkward atmosphere.
After dinner, the dishwasher takes care of washing the dishes.
Everyone sat on the living room sofa and chatted.
The animal world show had already ended, so Li Miao asked her brother to put on Tom and Jerry for her.
The group watched cartoons while digesting their food.
Pei Huai noticed the plush toys on the sofa armrest and also found two clumps of light yellow animal fur on the sofa fabric.
"Brother, you got a golden retriever?" Pei Huai asked, stroking its fur.
Pei Qingsong was stunned for a moment, before he could explain.
Li Miao puffed up her cheeks like a frog in anger: "What kind of eyes do you have? Fur with such a beautiful color isn't dog fur, it's cat fur, cat fur!"
Pei Huai's eyes widened slightly at the sudden anger in Li Miao's eyes.
"Oh, it was cat hair. I'm sorry, I haven't seen many cats and didn't recognize it," Pei Huai said softly. "Thank you for your explanation."
"Uh..." This time it was Li Miao's turn to feel embarrassed.
Pei Huai didn't intentionally mistake his cat's fur for that of a golden retriever. Besides, he knew Pei Huai didn't pet cats much, so it was perfectly normal that he couldn't recognize it.
On the contrary, he was overly excited about the kitten.
"I was speaking too loudly just now, you didn't do anything wrong." Li Miao licked her lips and said softly, "Now you know it's cat hair and not dog hair, that's good."
"Hmm." Pei Huai nodded, then asked his cousin, "Brother, do you have a cat? How come there's cat hair in the house, and so many toys?"
"A cat has appeared that can get close to you?" Pei Huai asked curiously.
Or perhaps the evil cat spirit that was attached to my cousin has disappeared.
My cousin has finally become a cat lover.
Pei Qingsong glanced at Li Xuan, unsure how to explain. He thought that Li Xuan had a cat, but couldn't conjure one up right now.
If you say he doesn't have a cat, Pei Huai will take a closer look and find a cat tree in the corner of the balcony. Open any cabinet and you'll find cat treats.
Pei Qingsong coughed lightly and could only explain, "Someone from my sect asked me to take care of the cat for him temporarily."
"The cat has been returned."
"It's not that they're not afraid of me, I just feed them and that's it. I don't really take care of the cats."
"I see." Pei Huai nodded knowingly and threw the cat hair into the trash can.
Having temporarily escaped suspicion, Pei Qingsong breathed a sigh of relief.
The moonlight outside the window was getting late, and I still had to get back to the dormitory before eleven o'clock.
Seeing that it was almost time, Pei Huai and Li Miao said goodbye to their brother and went back to school together.
Li Xuan offered to escort them downstairs, and Pei Qingsong, having nothing else to do, changed his shoes and followed along.
After dropping him off at the entrance of the residential area, Li Miao told her brother that he didn't need to go back.
Li Xuan didn't engage in any pretense or excuses, and simply told his younger brother to send him a message to let him know he was safe after returning to the dormitory.
"Okay, bye-bye, brother~" Li Miao smiled, waved, and turned to leave with Pei Huai.
Li Xuan stood there, intending to watch her younger brother's figure disappear before going upstairs with Pei Qingsong.
Suddenly, Li Miao and Pei Huai, who hadn't gone far, stopped abruptly.
The dim, yellowish light cast by the streetlights enveloped them.
After stopping, Pei Huai, who was taller, raised his hand and brushed the ends of Li Miao's hair, as if he were brushing away the fallen leaves on Li Miao's head.
The two stood face to face, both with outstanding and eye-catching looks; even from behind, they really looked like a couple.
Up to this point, everything was fine; Li Xuan merely frowned. Then, he noticed that Pei Huai didn't remove his hand but instead continued to rub his younger brother's fluffy head.
That wasn't enough; he even pinched Miaomiao's cheek, behaving affectionately.
"Pei Huai, I'm going to kill you." Li Xuan squeezed out a gritted-teeth voice from his throat, cracking his knuckles.
Pei Qingsong quickly put his arm around his wife's waist, "Don't be angry, they might just have a good relationship."
"You approached me step by step like this back then, and I thought we were just friends!"
Pei Qingsong coughed lightly and coaxed his wife to go home temporarily.
This averted a bloody disaster.
***
I went home angry.
Li Xuan sat on the sofa and suddenly thought of a way to give Pei Huai a little warning.
[Miaomiao, your brother has thought of a free gift you could give Pei Huai.]
On the other side, Li Miao had just returned to the dormitory with Pei Huai and was resting in his seat.
Upon seeing her brother's message, she replied with delight: 【Really?】
Li Xuan: [Really, and it will be a gift that Pei Huai will be very satisfied with.]
Li Miao asked impatiently, "Brother, please tell me what the gift is so I can prepare it."
Li Xuan snorted coldly, her slender fingers tapping out the words: 【Isn't Pei Huai's favorite cat?】
【Miaomiao, you are a cat!】
[Brother means I should turn back into a cat and get close to Pei Huai so he can pet me a few times? Brother, you're so clever!]
Pei Huaicai is not qualified to kiss his younger brother's belly!
Li Xuan: [Of course not, Miao Miao, you need to show your sincerity. Do you know that cats repay kindness? They will bring their hard-earned prey to their benefactors.]
Li Xuan: [For example, small birds, dead fish, mice, etc.]
Li Xuan: [Little brother, just secretly give these things to Pei Huai. Just think, if Pei Huai sees these things and knows that a cat worked hard behind the scenes to hunt for him as a gift, how happy he will be! He'll probably cry tears of joy (Minion smiling face)]
Li Miao's eyes lit up; she felt that what her brother said made perfect sense.
Pei Huai had always been disliked by cats, but one day a cat not only didn't dislike him, but also gave him a lot of prey. How happy Pei Huai must have been!
Li Miao became more and more excited as she thought about it, feeling as if she could already see Pei Huai moved to tears.
Li Miao: [Brother, your idea is fantastic! I'll catch a mouse tomorrow and give it to Pei Huai!]
Hmph, Li Xuan chuckled coldly when he saw his brother's message.
Who gave you the right to pinch my brother's cheek, you brat?
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