Chapter 39 Adopted Brother [VIP]
"In the beginning, you shouldn't rinse your head with cold water when it's hot, or it will cause health problems when you get old."
Grandma Yu, who was brought back a little later, saw Pei Xu washing his hair with cold water and quickly spoke up to persuade him.
"If you feel hot, go inside and enjoy the air conditioning for a while, so you don't get sick."
The familiar voice jolted Pei Xu back from his numb self-examination.
"Okay, Grandma."
The boy turned off the tap in response.
He rubbed his face and straightened up; his wet face showed no unusual color.
Grandma Yu looked around and asked, "Where's Ranran?" The two brothers were usually inseparable, but she couldn't see him at the moment.
"Take a shower," the boy replied, his eyes lowered.
Seeing that her grandmother was carrying something, she reached out to take it.
The two entered the house one after the other. Behind them, Grandma Yu said that the bag contained fried lotus root sandwiches made by her friend's family, and she packed a large bowl of extra vegetables for her before she left.
She also said it was too late today, so she asked Grandpa Yu to cook rice and go out to buy braised dishes and cold dishes. They would eat these for tonight and make other dishes with fresh lotus root for him and Qingran tomorrow.
For example, lotus root balls, if made well, taste just as good as braised lion's head meatballs.
Pei Xu was lost in thought when he heard this and subconsciously said, "Qing Ran will definitely like it."
He paused, startled by the name that was on his lips.
"It's all thanks to your family for raising her so well. Ranran was a picky eater when she was little, but her appetite has been getting better and better over the years."
"Xu Hui, it's kind of you to always keep Ranran in your heart," Grandma Yu said with a smile as she turned around.
"Seeing you two so close, like brothers, makes Grandma's heart sweeter than honey."
Her hair was gray, her smile was radiant, and even the wrinkles on her face seemed to express contentment.
Pei Xu felt a dull ache in his heart.
But Grandma, I can no longer simply see Qingran as my younger brother.
Will you be very disappointed?
He pretended to be calm and helped his grandmother tidy up in the kitchen for a while. Afterwards, Qingran came to the door to call him after taking a shower.
"Pei Xuhui, it's your turn."
Pei Xu washed his hands and left the kitchen.
"Help me check," Qingran said, blocking his way. She turned her back to him and said, "I can't see from behind, so can you check if there are any more mud spots?"
He lowered his head slightly, revealing a section of his neck, his skin appearing radiant and full under the light.
Pei Xuhui realized for the first time that Qingran's neck was so slender, so slender that it seemed he could grasp it in one hand.
He composed himself and looked at his hair and the rest of his body.
"there is none left."
Qingran immediately stood up straight, walked past him, and slipped into the kitchen to find something delicious: "Go wash up, and I'll check your work when you're done."
Pei Xu raised an eyebrow and smiled: "You think I'm as careless as you?"
Before Qingran could come back and scratch him, he took a few long strides into the bathroom and locked the door.
After we finished washing up, Grandpa Yu had already returned from grocery shopping, so it wasn't good to play around during dinner time.
The boy, Chong Qingran, curled his lips smugly, his expression broad and his features handsome, displaying the unique arrogance of his age.
After dinner, the two elderly people washed some fruit and prepared to watch TV.
Qingran, who wasn't interested in these things, said, "Grandpa and Grandma, Pei Xu and I are going back to our room first."
“Go back if you want. I suddenly realized that war movies are actually quite good.” Pei Xu returned to his seat on the sofa without moving.
As a result, he was dragged back to his room.
The door closed, and soon the sounds of young people playing around came from inside. The two elderly people outside looked at each other, shook their heads and chuckled.
bedroom.
The two, tired from playing, lay side by side on the bed.
"You said I was stingy, but who's really the stingy one, huh? I just said 'careless' and you've held a grudge ever since."
The person next to him was too lazy to say anything, so he just kicked him.
Pei Xuhui raised his leg and pinned her down, but Qingran naturally continued to resist.
The two men's legs were intertwined, and they were moving around. It looked like things were about to escalate, but Pei Xuhui called them to stop in time.
"I'm not coming anymore, I'm going to play some games."
Qingran rolled over and lay on her arm, watching as the boy sat on the edge of the bed and took out his phone, which emitted familiar game sound effects.
"You've been playing this game for three years, haven't you?" Pei Xuhui had seen him playing it since he was in high school. "Not tired of it after all this time?"
"It's alright. Each level has a different level of difficulty and a different format."
"That sounds interesting."
Want to come together?
"More fun than me?"
The boy lowered his gaze to his phone screen, and after a long while, he said in a slight smile, "What are you comparing yourself to a game for?"
Qingran snorted and didn't say anything. She got up and snuggled into the boy's arms: "I want to see how fun this is."
Pei Xu replied, "How old are you? You're still so clingy."
Despite saying that, he skillfully put his arm around her and started the game, going straight to hell mode and forcing himself to focus all his attention on the game.
Perhaps the hell mode was indeed somewhat useful; he was quite focused during it and didn't get distracted much.
But then he realized that he was focused because the person in his arms was behaving well and not making any small movements that would distract him.
The boy tilted his head slightly.
The person in his arms was sleeping soundly, their head resting on the crook of his neck. Their face was soft and white, their breathing light and gentle. Long eyelashes cast small shadows under their closed eyes, like butterflies pausing to rest.
Looking at Qingran's sleeping face, Pei Xuhui's tense mood, which had been tense all night, suddenly softened.
However, after the initial tenderness, there is a sense of bewilderment, not knowing where to go next.
The bond between him and Qingran was far more than just brotherly affection. It included the way their parents, elders, and the outside world viewed them…
All of this compels Pei Xuhui to maintain the status quo no matter what, and not to cross the line.
He repeatedly reminded himself that he was only eighteen years old, far from being old enough to make mature decisions.
How long can the initial attraction at eighteen last?
One year? Two years?
If he were to disrupt the current harmonious and stable situation, only to find in the following years that the passion had faded and the love had disappeared, how would he and Qingran cope?
Most importantly, does Qingran like him?
Based on his observation, he felt that Qingran's closeness to him was more out of habit and dependence.
After all, Qingran is only 16 years old.
At 16, a minor, they may not even be mature enough to understand what liking someone means.
Therefore, Pei Xuhui dared not show the slightest sign of anything unusual.
He cannot use his status as the elder brother, or take advantage of Qingran's trust and reliance on him, to mislead or even induce him.
He cannot.
Gently exhaling the pent-up emotions in his chest, the boy tightened his arms and gently embraced the person in his arms.
I never knew liking someone felt so wonderful.
Unfortunately, I couldn't experience it for longer.
Having personally severed the budding feelings, Pei Xuhui felt a bitter lump in his throat.
The boy's smooth forehead was so close, he could kiss it if he turned his head, but he only dared to rub his cheek against the soft hair.
I can be a good older brother.
I will remain true to my duty, practice self-discipline and adhere to propriety, and stay by your side as your elder brother for as long as possible.
"Hmm... why did you stop playing?" A soft, almost coquettish question sounded in my ear.
Pei Xuhui suddenly snapped out of his daze, quit the game, threw down his phone, and said, "Yeah, I'm done playing, time for bed."
Qingran reached out and touched his Adam's apple: "Your voice is so hoarse. Grandma said you washed your hair with cold water. Did you catch a cold?"
"Ahem," the boy cleared his throat, and when he spoke again, his voice was much more normal. "I'm strong and healthy. When have you ever seen me catch a cold?"
"Is that so?"
[Zero Zero, what happened to Pei Xuhui?] He asked the system in his mind.
Since learning that the legend was true and the small world wouldn't easily collapse, the system stopped paying attention to the plot and spent its free time wandering in the online world.
Hearing the question, I quickly replied, "[I don't know, he just finished playing a game and has been spacing out.]"
Maybe it's because I haven't spoken for so long and I'm not used to it yet.
Qingran attributed it to an accident and touched it again.
"You knew it was okay, why did you still touch it?" Pei Xuhui grabbed his hand.
Qingran didn't struggle and said in a coquettish tone, "It's hard and slippery, it's kind of fun."
"Don't you have any? Go do your own thing."
“Mine isn’t that obvious.” She rubbed her forehead and nose against the boy’s neck.
Pei Xuhui's heart softened as he rubbed against him: "Little brat, you haven't grown up yet."
[He's lying to you; some people aren't naturally gifted at it.] The system that hadn't left yet secretly informed on this.
Qingran tilted her head and bit the boy's chin: "One minute you say I'm grown up and shouldn't be clingy, the next minute you say I haven't grown up yet. How can you be so fickle?"
Pei Xuhui's mind was in turmoil, and he wished he could be more flexible.
At least he can be restored to his former self, so that he won't easily lose his composure because of Qingran's every move.
*
The next day, when Qingran woke up, there was no one next to her.
After slowly washing up, he went outside and saw Grandma Yu holding a ladder outside the living room door, while Pei Xuhui stood on the wooden ladder picking magnolia orchids.
It's only a little past seven in the morning, and the sun hasn't fully risen yet.
In the center of the courtyard, the clothes the two had changed out of yesterday were hanging on the clothesline, fluttering in the wind. Upon closer inspection, there was also an extra set of shorts that the boy had worn to sleep last night.
Qingran walked to the tree and looked up: "What are you doing?"
He saw that the plastic bags on the ground were half full, containing magnolias and gardenias. Did he have to pick them all?
"That's enough, Xu Hui, come down quickly," Grandma Yu said.
Then, with a smile, he explained to Qingran, "I'm bored at home, so I'm making some flower garlands to sell on the street."
Qingran became interested: "How do you do it?"
“Grandma, why don’t you go set up your stall? Qingran wants me to make him some skewers.” Pei Xuhui said as he jumped down the wooden ladder, patting the dust off his hands.
As soon as Grandma Yu left, he kept his word and strung a few magnolia flowers together with needle and thread and pinned them to Qingran's collar.
Qingran pulled up her collar and smelled it: "It smells so good."
You can smell the rich fragrance even without tearing it.
The boy had already put the needle and thread back.
Don't you want it?
"I don't need it."
"Then smell mine."
She walked straight up to the boy, grabbed his collar, and said, "How is it? Doesn't it smell good?"
Summer clothes already have wide necklines, and when he pulled them like that, a large expanse of fair, smooth skin was revealed.
A delicate red hue seemed to flash by in my field of vision.
Pei Xuhui didn't dare to lower his eyes and turned his gaze away directly: "I've smelled it, it smells very good."
What came to mind wasn't the scent of magnolia, but something more subtle and delicate...
Pei Xuhui felt disgusted with himself for having such a thought and wanted to get away from the topic at hand.
"There's breakfast in the kitchen, have you eaten?"
"without."
"Go eat quickly, and then come do your summer homework."
Qingran's eyes were deep and unfathomable: "The day's plan starts in the morning, and you actually made me use that time to do my homework."
Pei Xuhui said calmly, "The early bird catches the worm, so I'm letting you use it to do your homework."
Qingran turned her head away and went to the kitchen.
Pei Xu went to his bedroom to get his homework.
Once inside the room and making sure he wouldn't be noticed, the boy deflated and slammed his fist against the wall.
Being a pure older brother was harder than he had imagined.
He's disgusting; he can't even control his desires in the most basic way. He's like an uncivilized beast.
Pei Xuhui repeatedly told himself to wait a little longer, until the new semester started, Qingran would stay in Qing City to study in her second year of high school, while he would leave home for university...
But T University and Qing City are only separated by one province.
"Can I really hold back?"
The boy gave a wry smile.
A note from the author:
Thanks for watering! *kissing*
Reader "绾清w" watered the plant with nutrient solution +1
Reader "Tree Without Thoughts" watered with nutrient solution +1
Reader "Waaa Crying Ali" watered the plant with 10 nutrient solution.
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