Chapter 118

After placing all the dishes on the table, Tang Huaijin had just found a spot on the sofa when Han Yaoyao sat down beside him, smiling as she said, “Jin, you’ve worked hard.”

Saying this, she picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and, with a look of enjoyment, remarked, “Jin’s cooking skills are really good. You can tell he often cooks at home. Your sister is so lazy; she must never cook at home, right?”

Tang Yaoyao had indeed not cooked much recently, and upon hearing this, she felt a bit guilty. She glared at Han Yaoyao in annoyance and said, “Don’t sit so close to my brother.”

Han Yaoyao looked at her in surprise and laughed, “What’s the matter? The sofa is only so big. Where else can I sit?”

Tang Yaoyao was furious and glanced at Shen Yiqiu, who was sitting obediently nearby, and said, “Yiqiu, why don’t you sit next to my brother? It’s a good chance for you two to exchange some student-teacher sentiments.”

But after saying this, she felt it was inappropriate. As her best friend, she understood Shen Yiqiu’s personality and knew she wasn’t fond of being close to men. Just as she was about to change her words, Shen Yiqiu nodded slightly and sat down between Han Yaoyao and Tang Huaijin, separating the two.

Meeting Tang Yaoyao’s somewhat surprised gaze, Shen Yiqiu pursed her lips and said, “Just sitting here doesn’t pose any major problem.”

She hadn’t told Tang Yaoyao that her condition was immune to Tang Huaijin. Through her observations that afternoon, she had realized that Tang Yaoyao was an incurable brother complex, hostile to anyone who approached her brother Jin.

Thus, she decided to proceed quietly without revealing her intentions, lest she end up like Han Yaoyao.

Tang Yaoyao was completely unaware of her best friend’s plan, thinking she was helping her, and she immediately gave Shen Yiqiu a grateful look.

Although Tang Huaijin didn’t understand Shen Yiqiu’s words, it didn’t prevent him from feeling a bit pressured. Watching his sister’s maneuvering, his mouth twitched involuntarily. His sister had always guarded against Han Yaoyao-Jie, but Han Yaoyao was actually just teasing her, not necessarily interested in him. Shen Yiqiu was the one who was truly acting strange.

Shen Yiqiu was wearing a pencil skirt today, her two black silk-clad legs very close to him. Tang Huaijin stole a glance and quickly looked away, pretending to be nonchalant as he said, “Alright, Sis, let’s eat.”

Seeing Han Yaoyao’s amused expression, Tang Yaoyao pouted and said, “Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

Only then did everyone start eating. Shen Yiqiu preferred light food, and she only picked one piece from the stir-fried choi sum, not touching it again afterward.

Noticing no one was eating the stir-fried choi sum, Tang Yaoyao moved it in front of Han Yaoyao, smiling as she said, “Yaoyao, try this dish. It’s Jin’s specialty, made especially for you.”

Han Yaoyao’s face lit up with surprise, and she quickly picked up a piece with her chopsticks, saying while eating, “Thank you, Jin…”

Halfway through her sentence, her expression froze, her brows furrowing deeply as she forced down the overly salty greens, barely managing a smile as she looked at Tang Yaoyao and said, “It’s really good, Yaoyao, you should try it too.”

Seeing Tang Yaoyao not only refusing to eat but also pushing the dish back towards her, Han Yaoyao smiled and picked up a piece for her, saying, “You should eat too, Yaoyao. Do you think Jin’s cooking isn’t good? My Jin is so pitiful, cooking and still being disliked by his sister.”

Though aware this was Han Yaoyao’s provocation, Tang Yaoyao still fell for it. She couldn’t stand anyone doubting her feelings for Jin, stubbornly saying, “I’ll eat.”

With that, she put the choi sum from her bowl into her mouth and picked up another piece for Han Yaoyao.

The two sisters went back and forth, both struggling with the salty taste but forcing smiles.

Tang Huaijin finally couldn’t stand it anymore, tapped his bowl, and said with a helpless smile, “Stop eating, I accidentally put too much salt in that dish.”

Tang Yaoyao struggled to swallow the food in her mouth, smiling as she said, “It’s okay, as long as it’s made by Jin, his sister loves it.”

Han Yaoyao’s expression also showed some discomfort, yet she still forced a smile and said, “Delicious, delicious.”

Looking at the two helplessly, Tang Huaijin stood up and walked to the fridge, asking, “Sis, Han Yaoyao-Jie, what would you like to drink?”

“Water,” they both said in unison, then exchanged a glance.

Han Yaoyao’s eyes darted around, and she smiled, “Yaoyao, are you thirsty?”

Tang Yaoyao didn’t know what her friend was up to but stubbornly replied, “I’m not thirsty, are you?”

“I’m not thirsty either, so why don’t we drink some alcohol?” Han Yaoyao said with a mischievous smile, knowing Tang Yaoyao couldn’t handle her liquor well.

After speaking, she looked at Shen Yiqiu and asked, “Yiqiu, will you drink?”

Shen Yiqiu put down her chopsticks and replied calmly, “I won’t drink. Let Yaoyao accompany you. I have to drive later.”

“Drink, drink then, who’s afraid of who?” Tang Yaoyao glared at Han Yaoyao fiercely, then turned to her brother and said, “Jin, get some baijiu. I remember you have a case of baijiu in your room, right?”

Tang Huaijin rolled his eyes. Of course, he knew this was his sister’s hint. Neither of them usually drank baijiu, so where would they get any at home? He simply fetched a bottle of red wine for the both of them, opened it, let it breathe, and poured them each a glass.

The two best friends exchanged a glance and began competing to see who could drink more.

Tang Huaijin didn’t try to stop them; nothing serious could happen at home, after all. All he could do was occasionally pick up some food for them, making sure they didn’t drink on an empty stomach and hurt their stomachs.

Despite her bold words, Han Yaoyao actually couldn’t hold her liquor very well. Otherwise, Tang Yaoyao wouldn’t have agreed to this. In no time, both of them were tipsy, slurring their speech as they laughed about each other’s embarrassing stories from school.

Tang Huaijin stood by, feeling a little amused, but he knew if he laughed out loud, the two would definitely gang up on him. So he just silently ate a few bites of food from time to time.

Shen Yiqiu sat beside him, the corners of her lips gently curved upward. She didn’t join in the conversation between the two women. Noticing they weren’t paying attention to this side of the table, she inched even closer to Tang Huaijin. After a moment’s hesitation, she slipped her small foot, clad in black stockings, out of her slippers and gently rested it atop Tang Huaijin’s cotton slipper.

The sudden weight on his foot made Tang Huaijin glance down instinctively. He quickly looked up again, shooting a stiff glance at Shen Yiqiu.

Shen Yiqiu’s face was expressionless, but a faint blush slowly bloomed on her delicate face. She kept her eyes fixed on the laughing best friends beside her, as if the little foot caressing Tang Huaijin’s calf had nothing to do with her.

Shen Yiqiu’s small foot, like her figure, was plump yet perfectly proportioned. Under the thin black stockings, a hint of her skin tone peeked through. She looped her foot around Tang Huaijin’s calf, caressing it, her delicate toes occasionally curling and gently tugging on the fabric of his pajama pants.

Her movements were gentle, but they made Tang Huaijin’s heart itch, like a cat was scratching at it. He glanced uneasily at his sister, but she was still happily drinking with Han Yaoyao, oblivious to what was happening over here.

Fortunately, after a while, seeing that Tang Huaijin didn’t react, the little foot retracted, seemingly a bit disappointed.

But before Tang Huaijin could catch his breath, a soft, boneless hand reached over, unnoticed by the others, and lightly rested on his thigh. Five slender, pale fingers danced across his leg like they were playing the piano.

His thigh-so close to his most sensitive part.

Sensing Shen Yiqiu’s little hand creeping upward, Tang Huaijin couldn’t hold back any longer. He gave a light cough, looking at Shen Yiqiu awkwardly, his eyes filled with confusion.

Shen Yiqiu quietly withdrew her hand, took out her phone, and sent Tang Huaijin a message.

Tang Huaijin unlocked his phone and froze. He couldn’t help but glance at her crossed, beautiful legs, then looked up at Shen Yiqiu with disbelief in his eyes.

The message read: “I touched you, so you can touch me too. It’s only fair.”

Sensing his gaze lingering on her legs, Shen Yiqiu felt an electric jolt inside her, making her whole body go soft. She bit her lip and sneaked a glance at Tang Yaoyao, feeling a strange rush of excitement that made her snowy neck flush with a wild, feverish red.

Meeting Teacher Shen’s vaguely encouraging gaze from across the table, Tang Huaijin swallowed hard, struggling not to let his other head take over. He forced himself to say, “Sis, stop drinking. You and Han Yaoyao-Jie are about to get drunk.”

Tang Yaoyao was already tipsy, still laughing foolishly, completely unaware of what Tang Huaijin had just been through. She replied, “Your sister isn’t drunk.”

“I-I’m not drunk either,” Han Yaoyao slurred.

But she could hold her liquor a bit better than Tang Yaoyao, and she didn’t want to make things hard for Tang Huaijin. Smiling, she said, “But I’ve decided not to drink anymore. I’ll let you off the hook this time.”

“Fine, you know what’s good for you,” Tang Yaoyao mumbled, her words barely intelligible. She leaned her head back against the sofa cushion, her drunken eyes gazing at Shen Yiqiu. “Yi-Yiqiu, go see Han Yaoyao off, okay?”

Shen Yiqiu was always unusually obedient in front of Tang Yaoyao. Hearing this, she nodded sweetly, stood up to help Han Yaoyao, and said softly, “Come on, I’ll take you home. I drove here.”

Tang Huaijin shot his sister a pained look, then got up to help see the two women downstairs.

He helped Shen Yiqiu stuff the dazed and drunken Han Yaoyao into the back seat. With a complicated expression, Tang Huaijin looked at Shen Yiqiu and said, “Teacher Shen… I really don’t want to make any mistakes. Please, don’t do this again.”

Beneath the streetlights at night, the flush on Shen Yiqiu’s face was even more pronounced. She pressed her lips together, then said softly, “This isn’t a mistake. It’s allowed by your teacher.”

“And… even if you do make a mistake, your teacher won’t blame you.”

After that, she looked at Tang Huaijin’s dumbfounded face, cheeks burning, and silently added in her heart: As long as you take responsibility.

Tang Huaijin was truly at a loss now. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. All he could do was silently watch as Shen Yiqiu got into the car and drove away from the neighborhood.