Chapter 43
That evening, Lin Li took the bag from her father's hand and returned to her room.
Take the clothes out one by one.
A dark blue cotton-padded jacket and a pair of straight-leg jeans.
I'll wear this tomorrow.
Then she took off her sweater and went into the bathroom.
-
early morning.
Pretending to be serious: Want to eat breakfast?
When the message that Lin Li was particularly concerned about sounded, Lin Li woke up from her bed.
I turned on my phone and sat up happily.
"eat!"
When Lin Li finished dressing and came out of the hotel, she saw Tong Yao standing at the door waiting for her.
Today she wore a dark blue duffle coat and black trousers.
Lin Li stood beside them, looking at their similar clothes, and smiled.
Matching outfits!
"Where should we go for breakfast?" Lin Li asked excitedly, reaching out to take Tong Yao's hand.
"At my home," Tong Yao dodged.
"What?"
Lin Li hesitated, "Maybe we should just forget about it?"
No one is home.
Tong Yao noticed Lin Li's concerns.
"My parents went out early this morning to buy things we need for the Chinese New Year."
Chinese New Year... Yes, it's almost Chinese New Year.
No, Lin Li counted on his fingers and suddenly realized something – he wouldn't turn 16 until August of this year.
That means Tong Yao is only 15 years old now.
He had been subconsciously thinking of himself as 16 years old... Seeing that Tang Yue was older than him, he vaguely assumed that he had reached that age as well.
"Tong Yao," Lin Li followed Tong Yao into her house, changed into slippers, and asked with a questioning tone, "Your birthday is in April, right?"
Tong Yao casually placed her schoolbag on the sofa, nodded, and looked at him with some confusion: "Yeah, what's wrong?"
He remembered it clearly: it was April 25th, a Taurus. His birthday was August 12th, a Leo.
Lin Li's eyes lit up, as if he had discovered something new. He immediately took a few steps closer, a slightly smug smile spreading across his face: "You're only 15 now, but I was already 18 before I transmigrated." He slightly raised his chin, his tone filled with obvious expectation, "Logically speaking, shouldn't you call me 'brother'?"
Tong Yao was pouring water when she heard this. She didn't even bother to lift her eyelids and simply gave him a single word: "Get lost."
Lin Li was unwilling to give up, so she followed her like a little tail from the living room to the kitchen, while coaxing her, "Hey, rules are rules, but people are flexible. We can each do our own thing, that's fine too."
Seeing Tong Yao stop in front of the stove, he immediately went around to her side, his eyes sparkling as he offered a "solution":
“Okay, I’ll call you ‘sister’,” he paused, observing her expression, and then stated the key condition, “and you’ll call me ‘brother’.”
He felt this was a good deal, and then, in a flash of inspiration, he added an option that seemed even more "tempting": "Or... you can call me 'sister'! I'm not picky!"
At this moment, Tong Yao lifted the pot lid and began to put noodles into the boiling water.
Lin Li peeked out and couldn't help but complain, "They only have noodles for breakfast? That's too simple."
"Fine, don't eat it then." Tong Yao said calmly, making a move to take his portion.
"Eat! I'll eat!" Lin Li immediately gave in, leaned closer to the pot, and exaggeratedly sniffed, "I love noodles the most! Plain noodles are the most nutritious!"
The noodles cooked quickly, and soon Tong Yao turned off the heat.
Lin Li was very perceptive and immediately stepped forward, carefully carrying a bowl in each hand, and placed the steaming bowl of noodles on the table.
Tong Yao glanced at him, said nothing, turned around and walked to the chopstick holder by the wall, and took out two pairs of chopsticks.
She pulled out a chair and sat down, but didn't immediately pick up her chopsticks. Instead, she rested her chin on her hand, watching Lin Li, who was fiddling with her chopsticks across from her, with a leisurely, teasing smile playing on her lips.
"Then call me 'sister' first."
As she spoke, she picked up her chopsticks, slowly picked up a few noodles, and gently blew on them.
"elder sister!"
Lin Li uttered the name almost without hesitation, her clear and loud voice filled with undisguised excitement, causing Tong Yao to pause slightly in her noodle-eating motion.
"I called!" Lin Li emphasized immediately, then leaned forward like a child asking for candy, holding a chopstick in one hand and looking at her expectantly. "It's your turn! Call me 'brother'!"
However, Tong Yao simply continued to slowly blow on the noodles on her chopsticks, not even glancing at him, her tone matter-of-fact yet tinged with a hint of roguishness:
“I didn’t promise you I had to call you that.” She looked up and saw his expression instantly collapse, her smile deepening. “So, I won’t call you that.”
Lin Li immediately deflated like a punctured balloon, poking at the noodles in her bowl with her chopsticks, muttering under her breath, "Cheating... not keeping her word..."
Then Tong Yao didn't even glance at Lin Li.
At noon, Lin's father called to ask where Lin Li had gone.
Lin Li said, "I'm fishing, you guys eat. Just call me when you're leaving."
Lin Li listened to Tong Yao complain that her father couldn't catch any fish in the fishpond and reservoir.
Lin Li became interested, and after returning to the hotel, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and dragged Tong Yao out fishing.
Beside the Yuanba Reservoir.
Lin Li quickly completed all the preparations and gave a fishing rod to Tong Yao.
Because he gave the only stool to Tong Yao, he sat on a big rock.
Lin Li first baited the hook for a while to see if the fish were biting.
A long time passed.
Still no fish bit the hook.
Lin Li was staring intently at the water when he suddenly felt a fine, ticklish tingling sensation on his calf. He looked down and his scalp tingled – a swarm of unidentified brown insects were frantically crawling up his trouser leg!
"Whoa!" He jumped up in surprise and frantically patted the ground.
Tong Yao turned around at the sound and was stunned by what she saw. She immediately dropped her fishing rod and went over to help him swat and clean the insects.
Lin Li, still shaken, unbuttoned his coat to make sure no bugs had crawled inside before finally letting out a sigh of relief. After this ordeal, he dared not sit down again and could only obediently squat down next to Tong Yao to continue fishing.
Not long after, Lin Li's fishing float suddenly sank!
"It's here!" he exclaimed excitedly, pulling the rod up hard. A heavy pull immediately came from underwater. He quickly stood up and gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands.
The fishing line drew rapid ripples on the water's surface, and a red carp leaped out of the water, its scales shimmering in the sunlight. Judging by its size, it weighed at least three pounds.
"It's a big one!" Lin Li exclaimed excitedly, carefully reeling the fish in. Tong Yao also held her breath, watching the water intently.
Just when victory was in sight, Lin Li exerted too much force, and with a soft "snap," the fishing line broke.
"Oh! What a pity!" Lin Li slapped his thigh in frustration, but when he turned his head, he found that Tong Yao's brows were furrowed and her expression was not right.
"What's wrong?" he asked hurriedly as he leaned closer.
Tong Yao's voice trembled slightly: "My ankle hurts so much..."
Could she have been bitten by bugs? Lin Li's heart tightened, and a sense of guilt instantly welled up—it was all his fault for insisting on dragging her fishing.
He immediately squatted down and, ignoring Tong Yao's slight resistance, deftly removed her shoes and socks. Two prominent lumps were visible on her fair ankles, the surrounding skin already red.
Lin Li casually stuffed the socks into his pocket and helped her put on her shoes: "Try walking."
Tong Yao struggled to her feet, but gasped as soon as she took a step: "It hurts so much, it's terribly swollen, and it's hard to walk..." For the first time, she showed a panicked expression. "Lin Li, did I get bitten by an insect? Could it be poisonous?"
Lin Li began to examine her shoes carefully and, sure enough, found the culprit—a small red bug.
He recognized it as a bedbug; though not poisonous, its bite was particularly vicious. Seeing Tong Yao's tense expression, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
He pointed to the small hole in the wound and said with great seriousness:
"Look at this bite mark, this insect is probably poisonous!"
"What should we do?" Tong Yao's voice was filled with panic.
"Don't be afraid," Lin Li said with a heroic expression, "I'll help you suck out the poison!"
Before she could react, he grabbed her ankle and bent down.
"No!" Tong Yao hurriedly pushed him away. "What if you get poisoned?"
Seeing his decisive action, Tong Yao's heart skipped a beat, and a warm feeling welled up inside her.
Lin Li, however, took advantage of Tong Yao's inattention with a wicked grin, switched to his other foot, and "inhaled" again.
He then leaned against Tong Yao's thigh, breathing weakly:
"I...I feel dizzy..."
Tong Yao's heart clenched instantly. Looking at his tightly closed eyes, the previous feeling of being moved turned into real panic.
Lin Li squinted and secretly glanced at Tong Yao. Seeing that the girl's eyes were slightly red, she panicked and hurriedly stood up: "Actually, dizziness is normal. You'll feel better after resting for a while."
Tong Yao immediately stopped crying. Was this reaction a little too fast? She keenly sensed something was wrong, but still stood up to offer him the chair.
Lin Li helped Tong Yao up and said, "Your foot is injured, we can sit together."
As he spoke, he immediately picked Tong Yao up horizontally and held her steadily in his arms as they sat down.
Tong Yao was a little dazed by the sudden feeling of weightlessness. Just as she was about to lash out, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar little red insect quietly crawling up Lin Li's collar onto his shoulder.
She reached out and gently pinched the insect without making a sound.
This is—a bedbug! She'd heard that these bugs bite badly, but they're not poisonous at all!
Oh dear, she actually got tricked by this guy! Her earlier worry and gratitude instantly turned into embarrassment and anger at being mocked, making her so angry she wanted to bite him.
Lin Li, completely unaware of what was happening, continued his performance: "I still feel a little dizzy, I might need CPR..."
Tong Yao replied with a forced smile, "Okay."
Lin Li leaned closer with delight, but just as she was about to touch her, her ear was grabbed—
"Pretending to be poisoned? Pretending to be dizzy?" Tong Yao pinched his ear and whispered in his ear, "You've been acting ever since you said you wanted to 'do drugs,' haven't you?"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Lin Li winced in pain, but still tried to endure it: "I'm really poisoned..."
"Oh?" Tong Yao tightened her grip slightly. "Should I ask the doctor how to treat bed bug poisoning?"
Upon hearing the word "bedbug," Lin Li immediately deflated and chuckled awkwardly, "When...when did you find it?"
"Right after you picked me up." Tong Yao let go of his hand, but didn't leave his embrace. She just glared at him. "Your acting was pretty good. I almost fell for it."
Lin Li defended herself, feeling wronged, but her arms tightened around her subtly. "But I'm worried that you really are."
"Let go." Tong Yao's voice turned cold. She ignored Lin Li's excuses. The panic she had just shown had vanished, replaced by a distant and unapproachable demeanor.
She stopped struggling, but every line of her body conveyed resistance.
Lin Li tightened his arms, holding her firmly in his embrace. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and said in a muffled voice, "I won't let go."
"Lin Li." She called him by his full name, her voice carrying a warning.
"I won't let go! Unless you give me a kiss." He looked up at her, his eyes sparkling.
Tong Yao turned her face away, avoiding his burning gaze: "I'm angry."
Her tone was calm, but her tightly pursed lips and slightly heaving chest betrayed her true emotions.
Lin Li's gaze fell on her neck, which was so close to his own, and then he noticed a tiny red mole on the left side of her neck, about two fingers below her earlobe.
This discovery stirred something within him.
“You…” Tong Yao noticed his gaze and was about to turn her head away.
Lin Li suddenly leaned in and kissed precisely the spot on the left side of her neck where the red mole was.
Driven by his desire for revenge, he gently took his lips into the delicate skin around the red mole, giving it a light, yet firm, sucking motion.
"!" Tong Yao trembled, her cool demeanor instantly shattered. She instinctively tried to push him away, but Lin Li gently grasped her wrist.
A few seconds later, Lin Li looked up and looked at her "masterpiece" with satisfaction—the small red mole was covered by a reddish mark.
Tong Yao abruptly broke free from his hand, covering the left side of her neck, a flash of disbelief and embarrassment crossing her eyes. The skin still retained a warm, moist sensation; she knew without looking what had been left behind.
"Lin Li!" Tong Yao was so angry that she reached out and pinched his ear again, this time with all her might.
"Ouch—that hurts!!" Lin Li gasped in pain, this time genuinely aggrieved, her voice muffled. "You've been bullying me since yesterday! You hit my arm, tickled me, and even lied to me this morning! Now you're pinching my ear..."
Tong Yao snorted coldly and forced herself to stand up from his arms. The stinging pain in her ankle made her stagger, but she still stubbornly walked forward.
Lin Li rubbed her reddened ears, looking at her limping figure. Guilt overwhelmed her grievance, but she caught up with her in a few steps and squatted down in front of her.
Without further ado, he picked up Tong Yao and steadily supported her knees with both hands.
"Didn't you say I was bullying you?" Tong Yao asked, still annoyed as she lay on his back.
Lin Li mischievously lifted her up, and seeing the girl immediately hug his neck in fright, he smiled triumphantly.
“Then…” He turned his head, his ears slightly red, but his voice was exceptionally clear:
"I love being bullied by you!"
Tong Yao looked at his still red ears and her heart softened. She gently scolded him, "Silly boy."
Upon hearing this, Lin Li deliberately huffed and puffed her up on his back, causing her to gasp softly and instinctively hug his neck tightly.
The next second, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A gentle, warm breeze brushed against his sensitive earlobe—it was Tong Yao leaning slightly forward, gently breathing on his reddened ear.
"I'll blow on it for you." Her voice was soft, with a touch of uneasy gentleness, and her warm breath brushed against his skin like a feather.
Lin Li froze, his ears turning red rapidly, but this time not from pain. He felt his heart pounding uncontrollably, and even his steps became unsteady.
Halfway there, Tong Yao remembered the fishing gear they had forgotten by the river.
"Don't you want your fishing gear anymore?" she asked softly.
Lin Li smiled foolishly and shook her head, lifting her up a bit: "You're the most important. I'll go pick you up after I take you home."
The setting sun illuminated his profile, and his eyes were filled with seriousness.
Tong Yao felt a warmth in her heart, and her arms around his neck tightened unconsciously once again.
"Loosen up, loosen up," Lin Li immediately coughed exaggeratedly, "Class monitor, have mercy, you're going to strangle me!"
Tong Yao hid her burning cheeks behind his back, but her voice remained cold: "Just strangle him."
"Why? Don't you like me anymore?" Lin Li cried out, feeling wronged.
"Shut up!"
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