Chapter 7 – Sister-in-law Wanted to Be the King of the Kids

The secret about his missing front tooth had been discovered by Sister-in-law, and Huo Ran had been so ashamed that he had curled his toes in embarrassment for an entire afternoon.

Dinner had been brought back from the canteen. After the meal, Huo Zeye was responsible for washing the dishes with hot water the first time, while Chu An stood beside him, waiting for him to finish so she could rinse the plates, bowls, and chopsticks again with cold water.

While they were washing, Huo Zeye suddenly frowned and turned his head. “Why are you lifting your skirt?”

Chu An lifted one side of her skirt. “A mosquito bit me.”

There were many mosquitoes in the seaside summer. In just that short while she had been standing there, the back of her calf had already been bitten twice.

She pinched a cross on the mosquito bites and applied some cooling balm, but it was useless. The bites from those flower-legged mosquitoes were vicious—itching as though someone were constantly tickling her skin with a blade of dogtail grass, tormenting her until she wanted to scratch her heart out.

She hurried to finish rinsing the dishes, bouncing in place a few times, but in the end, she still could not resist pulling up her skirt again to scratch hard.

Huo Zeye said concisely: “There’s a way to stop the itching.”

Chu An’s eyes lit up. “What way? Hurry up and try it on me.”

Huo Zeye took a metal spoon, placed it in the hot water of the back pot for a few seconds, then grabbed Chu An’s ankle and pressed it firmly against the mosquito bite.

The sudden heat made Chu An yelp: “Ow!”

Huo Zeye gave a short laugh. “So delicate.”

Chu An suspected he was deliberately taking revenge on her, but when he removed the spoon, the mosquito bite truly no longer itched.

“That’s pretty amazing. Could you please heat the other bite too?” Chu An said, lifting her skirt a bit higher.

The other bite was near her knee. Her legs were straight and fair, the only blemish being the reddened spot where she had scratched, while the rest of her skin had the luster of white jade.

Huo Zeye paused for a few seconds. Only when Chu An called his name in puzzlement did he use the same method to press the remaining mosquito bite.

The warmth of the ankle in his palm suddenly reminded Huo Zeye of the fact that, later that night, the two of them would still have to share the same bed.

The bed in the master bedroom was over two meters wide. In the past, Huo Zeye and she had each occupied one side, with two separate quilts, never disturbing each other. But strangely, tonight, for the first time, the thought of lying next to Chu An made him feel pressure.

Under the incandescent light, the man’s side profile was strikingly handsome, the brow casting a shadow into the eye socket.

Chu An, feeling a spark of mischief, touched the muscle lines on his arm and said with a straight face: “How nice, you’re not even afraid of mosquito bites.”

Having taken advantage of him, she suddenly noticed the deep look he gave her and realized that, in the conservative and reserved mindset of the 1980s, a woman who touched a man so casually might well be seen as a shameless flirt.

She coughed twice to cover it up and made an excuse. “I was just touching at random.”

Then she oiled the soles of her feet and ran off.

Before washing the dishes earlier, Chu An had urged the two cubs to brush their teeth and wash their faces. Now, each sat by a children’s bed with a small basin, washing their feet.

At first, they had been happily playing a hand shadow game. But when Chu An passed by now, she found the two cubs glaring at each other.

“What are you arguing about?” Chu An asked.

Huo Mian pouted so much she could hang an oil bottle on her lips. “Big Brother bullied me.”

Huo Ran turned his head away. “You clearly lost but won’t admit it.”

That remark made Huo Mian fume. She babbled an entire string of words in protest, and it took Chu An a good while to piece the story together.

The two cubs had been playing hand shadows, but as the game went on, it had turned into a contest over whose shadow was more impressive.

Because she was half a head shorter than her Big Brother, Huo Mian’s eagle shadow had been completely swallowed by his shadow, suffering a defeat before even achieving victory.

Huo Ran mimicked a tiger’s roar. “Mine is the king of the jungle, the tiger. You can’t beat mine.”

“Even if you ask for help, it’s useless.” He glanced proudly at Chu An.

That smug look made Chu An laugh.

Although the little brat usually treated his sister well, sometimes he acted a bit too much like a “straight man.” puffing Huo Mian’s cheeks out in anger.

Chu An raised an eyebrow in challenge. “I happen to know something more powerful than a tiger.”

Huo Mian immediately straightened her small back.

Huo Ran said indignantly: “Liar, what could be stronger than a tiger?”

“A monster.”

Chu An yanked the quilt over her head and, under the incandescent light, mimicked a gorilla beating its chest. On the wall, a black shadow the size of a small mountain appeared.

The shadow swayed for a moment, then suddenly enveloped Huo Ran in the quilt.

From the wall’s projection, it looked as if someone had been swallowed whole.

Caught off guard, Huo Ran let out a startled “Ow!” Huo Mian peeked over, and once she confirmed that Huo Ran was unharmed, she burst into a string of giggles.

The giant shadow wriggled again and swallowed the laughing Huo Mian as well.

Then the monster patted its belly, let out a burping sound, and slowly spat out two cubs with hair as messy as bird nests.

Chu An draped the quilt over her shoulders like a superhero’s cape, threw her head back, and laughed triumphantly. “Well? I’m the final winner!”

Huo Mian clapped in cooperation. “Monster, amazing!”

Huo Ran pushed aside his messy hair, fuming as he thought, How did this bad Sister-in-law suddenly become like a child?

No, he had to come up with something even more powerful than a monster!

From the other room, Huo Zeye heard the bursts of giggles coming from the cubs’ bedroom, and his brows unconsciously softened.

Perhaps it was because Chu An had behaved so out of character today—whether it was the warm gaze earlier or the brief physical contact after dinner—whenever he thought of having to share the same bed with her tonight, Huo Zeye felt a strange, inexplicable sensation.

He brooded for a moment, then decided to stop thinking about it.

Just as he stepped out of the master bedroom, he ran right into Chu An coming toward him.

She had changed into a soft, straight-cut nightdress, her long hair loosely tied behind her ears, her brows and eyes relaxed and gentle.

Huo Zeye’s heart gave an odd little jolt.

It was just one bed—why on earth did it suddenly feel so pressuring?

He instinctively stepped aside to let her pass.

But Chu An stood there, smiling with curved eyes. “I came to tell you, I’ll be sleeping with Ran Ran and Mian Mian tonight.”

After an entire evening of mental preparation, Huo Zeye: “…”