The street was bathed in orange-red twilight, like a splashed ink painting in someone’s hand.
Ye Beiming hopped and skipped, her cheeks flushed pink, her bright red almond eyes full of innocence.
Her steps were as light as a bird just learning to fly.
On the right, Lin Xue’er had a sweet smile on her lips, her brows curved gently, looking incredibly well-behaved.
Lin Lue walked in the middle.
Lin Xue’er clung tightly to Lin Lue’s arm, her small body almost leaning against him.
Her hair occasionally brushed against his neck.
She rested her little head on his shoulder, her nose twitching slightly as she sniffed delicately.
‘Big brother smells so nice.’
But Lin Xue’er couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling.
It seemed she could detect a faint milky scent mixed in—one that didn’t belong to her, nor to Ye Beiming beside her.
‘That’s… Tang Xinxin’s scent.’
‘Who else could it be?’
Lin Xue’er felt deeply uncomfortable, like a tiny feather poking at her heart.
But she said nothing.
She pressed herself closer, interlocking her fingers with Lin Lue’s, squeezing tightly, as if grasping firmly onto what was hers.
No one could take even a fraction away.
Lin Lue’s hand ached a little—Lin Xue’er was holding on quite tightly—but he didn’t dare say anything, because her aura was currently quite intimidating.
Ye Beiming turned around, her skirt fluttering like blooming lotus petals, walking backward as she chattered nonstop at Lin Lue.
“Lin Lue, this academy is really fun, you know.”
“The classmates are pretty nice. They even help me fill hot water.”
Lin Lue: “?”
‘That good?’
Lin Lue didn’t really believe it.
He glanced at Lin Xue’er beside him, guessing that his own sister had been looking out for Ye Beiming.
Just that she hadn’t let Ye Beiming know.
Ye Beiming suddenly stopped talking.
She reached out and tugged Lin Lue’s sleeve, her watery eyes full of dependence and expectation, tilting her little face up to look at him.
“Lin Lue… from now on, will you come pick me up every day? I want to see you as soon as school lets out.”
Lin Xue’er’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
Her originally sweet smile didn’t change at all, but the corner of her lips dropped by an imperceptible pixel.
She gave Ye Beiming a slight glance, and the temperature around her dropped a few degrees.
Lin Lue’s heart skipped a beat.
He immediately sensed the change in the little girl’s mood beside him—because his hand hurt even more.
“Okay, okay, no problem.”
Under Ye Beiming’s excited gaze, Lin Lue smiled… and patted Lin Xue’er’s little head.
“As long as big brother has time, he’ll come pick up his little sister every day.”
Lin Xue’er froze.
The twilight woven a coat of light around him.
There was light in his eyes, which made her lower her head involuntarily, her cheeks heating up from the setting sun.
“Mm.”
Her voice was very soft.
The grip in her palm loosened a little.
“Hey, Lin Lue, what about me?”
Ye Beiming’s face flushed red; she was practically fuming.
She was the one who asked!
“You?”
Lin Lue glanced at her.
“I’ll pick you up as a side job.”
Ye Beiming: “…”
Hah!!
“Lin Lue, you big jerk!”
Ye Beiming couldn’t hold back anymore.
Opening her rosy little mouth, she lunged and bit down on Lin Lue’s hand, her small, pearly teeth grinding without letting go.
Lin Lue’s mouth twitched.
The back of his hand stung—this little girl had a good bite.
But he tried his best to stay calm.
“Didn’t eat enough?”
“Bite harder.”
Ye Beiming: “…”
Ye Beiming grumbled and bit down even harder.
She shouldn’t have held back on this man!
Lin Lue watched Ye Beiming, who was bristling like an angry cat, then looked at Lin Xue’er, who had her head down, lost in thought, but whose cheeks were red.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
The delicate atmosphere had dissipated.
Let Ye Beiming suffer a bit first.
Lin Lue thought, ‘This is the darkness of adulthood.’
—
Before heading home, Lin Lue took the two little girls to a clothing store.
To buy some dresses.
Warm yellow light spilled over the racks, with rows of beautiful little dresses hanging in the apparel section.
As soon as Ye Beiming entered, her eyes lit up.
She tugged Lin Lue’s arm, swinging it back and forth.
“Lin Lue, the little dresses are so pretty! Can you buy one for me?”
“You just bit me…”
Ye Beiming blinked, then stuck out her little tongue and licked the delicate teeth marks on Lin Lue’s hand.
“I’ll lick it for you, it won’t hurt~”
Lin Lue: ‘This little loli really knows when to bend and when to stand tall.’
“You’re from the Upper District; you’ve seen plenty of pretty little dresses. Why are you so excited?”
“It’s different this time.”
Ye Beiming giggled, revealing a neat row of pearly teeth.
Her bright red pupils reflected his face.
“Because this time… someone’s accompanying me to buy dresses.”
Lin Lue was stunned.
Lin Xue’er sensed something was off.
Ye Beiming had inadvertently landed a critical hit—she knew all too well that Lin Lue was weakest against this kind of talk.
So Lin Xue’er made her move.
She lifted her little face, rubbed against Lin Lue’s arm, and spoke in a sugary voice: “Big brother, Xue’er wants a new dress too. I want one that big brother thinks is pretty.”
Lin Lue’s gaze shifted to Lin Xue’er.
His little sister was asking him for a dress for the first time—this was a good thing.
‘That pitiful version of my sister from before should never show up again.’
“Alright, alright.”
Lin Lue smiled and ruffled both their hair.
“Okay, we’ll buy them all. Try on whatever you like.”
The saleswoman, despite being professionally trained, was still shocked.
She watched as Lin Lue let Lin Xue’er and Ye Beiming freely wander among the many dresses.
His “I’m loaded, I’ll buy everything” aura made her heart complicated.
The dresses here, if priced in the Upper District, might not be much, but in the Lower District, they were quite expensive.
A man doing honest work couldn’t possibly have that much wealth.
So…
Did he con money from other women to support these two little sisters?
As for why it didn’t look that way… In the Lower District, there were plenty of blended families with no blood ties.
The saleswoman was full of emotion.
She couldn’t help but sniffle, and her gaze toward Lin Lue grew softer and softer.
She could already see the fragility in his heart.
If he was willing, she could pay for a wonderful night with him.
A strong brother enduring humiliation for the sake of his little sisters—that was a delicacy you had to try!
Lin Lue: “???”
Lin Lue felt something was off about the saleswoman next to him.
Her eyes suddenly turned strange as she looked him up and down, making his back hair stand on end.
He couldn’t help but take a step back.
—
“Lin Lue, Lin Lue!”
Ye Beiming spotted a light blue princess dress.
She grabbed it and ran over to Lin Lue.
“Is this one pretty?”
Lin Xue’er, on the other hand, picked a relatively plain little dress, but its color matched the clothes Lin Lue was wearing.
“Lin Lue, wait for me! I’ll go try it on for you!”
Ye Beiming hugged the dress and excitedly entered the fitting room.
Lin Xue’er tugged on Lin Lue’s shirt hem and whispered coquettishly, “Big brother, when Xue’er comes out, you have to praise me first.”
“Okay, big brother will definitely praise you first.”
With that, Lin Xue’er was satisfied and walked into another fitting room with small steps.
After a short while, Ye Beiming ran out first.
The light blue skirt fluttered with the breeze, making her skin look fair and delicate, like a lively little butterfly.
She twirled, revealing her legs in gradient white-to-pink over-knee stockings, and looked at Lin Lue expectantly.
“Do I look good?”
“You look good.”
Lin Lue nodded seriously.
Lin Xue’er also came out.
She walked slowly up to Lin Lue, slightly tilting her head, eyes sparkling.
“Big brother, does Xue’er look good?”
Before Lin Lue could reply, she leaned closer to him and added in a soft voice, “I look better than Ye Beiming, right?”
Ye Beiming: “?”
‘This girl is throwing shade at me?’