I Want the One in Your Mouth

Nan Xingyu immediately swallowed the strawberry in her mouth and glared at him. "Don't push it!"

Xi Jin leaned against the stove, arms folded, watching her. "How am I pushing it? It's not my fault the strawberry in baby's mouth... is sweeter."

His eyes were full of teasing laughter.

"You!"

Nan Xingyu pointed at him, then pulled her hand back and clenched it into a fist.

Her dad could come in at any moment. She couldn't fool around with him.

"This is my home. Can you watch yourself and stop talking nonsense?"

She was about to leave when Xi Jin caught her wrist.

With a gentle tug, he pulled her into his arms, her back against his warm chest.

"Xi Jin!"

Nan Xingyu bristled, but didn't dare raise her voice. She growled, "Stop it. I'll go get you some strawberries!"

Xi Jin lowered his head, the tip of his nose brushing the curve of her ear. "I want the one in your mouth."

Footsteps came from the kitchen doorway.

Nan Zhiping was back.

Nan Xingyu struggled and pushed him away. "My dad's here!"

Seeing that she was really anxious, Xi Jin stopped teasing her. The moment he let go, she escaped from his arms.

Nan Zhiping returned, muttering to himself, "Why is Xiaoyu's face so red..."

Liu Meili couldn't stay in bed any longer. She got up and came to the kitchen, scolding Nan Zhiping for being so old and still not understanding a simple thing.

How could he let the Xi family's young master help cook?

Xi Jin finished making the dish and was pulled out of the kitchen by Liu Meili.

Nan Zhiping helped Liu Meili back to her room. "I have to say, Xi Jin seems like a really good young man. How many young people can cook these days?"

Once Liu Meili had lain down, she said, "Honestly, he was just being polite when he told you to call him by name, and you really went and called him Xi Jin, Xi Jin."

Nan Zhiping said, "You don't work for the Xi family anymore, so what's wrong with calling him by name?"

Liu Meili said, "It's better to show some respect."

Nan Zhiping said, "He said just now that he has a girlfriend."

Liu Meili glanced at him. "What? If he didn't have a girlfriend, would you have some ideas?"

Nan Zhiping laughed. "I thought he seemed pretty close to our daughter. The way he kept calling her Xiaoyu sounded so affectionate."

Liu Meili said, "Stop letting your imagination run wild. Although Xiaoyu lived at the Manor, she couldn't just enter the master's domain whenever she wanted. The two of them never played together growing up, so how could they be close? I think he's just copying the way we address her."

Nan Zhiping said, "Maybe. I just feel like he and our daughter make a good match."

Liu Meili said, "Stop daydreaming. Look at his family, and then look at ours."

Outside the door.

Xi Jin sauntered out into the courtyard.

Nan Xingyu stood on a stool, pasting up couplets and standing on tiptoe to reach the doorframe.

With his hands in his trouser pockets, he said with a smile in his voice, "My baby is so capable. She can even put up couplets all by herself."

"..."

Nan Xingyu looked down and glared at him. "Stay away from me. Don't get in the way of my putting up the couplets."

Xi Jin didn't budge. He looked up at her. "What if baby falls? I have to stay here and protect her."

"..."

Nan Xingyu firmly patted the couplet she had just put up and said with complete confidence, "How would I fall? I put them up every year, and I've never fallen!"

"Really?"

Xi Jin drew the word out.

As soon as he finished speaking, he gave the leg of her stool a gentle kick with the tip of his shoe.

"Ah—"

Nan Xingyu lost her balance and tilted to one side. She instinctively turned around and fell straight toward Xi Jin.

The next instant.

She fell into a strong embrace.

Xi Jin caught her steadily, his arm around her waist. His grip wasn't tight, but it was enough to hold her securely.

Nan Xingyu wrapped both arms tightly around his neck, her feet off the ground. When she came to her senses, she hurriedly said:

"Put me down."

Xi Jin caught sight of Nan Zhiping coming out of the house from the corner of his eye. He loosened his grip and gently set her on the ground.

The movement was so natural that it looked as though he had merely steadied her.

"Xiaoyu, what happened?"

Nan Zhiping hurried over. Seeing the overturned stool, he quickly asked, "Did you fall? Are you all right?"

Nan Xingyu's face turned red. "Mm."

"Be careful. You always put them up just fine before. How did you fall today?"

"..."

That scoundrel Xi Jin wasn't here before!!!

Nan Zhiping turned to the other person. "Luckily Xi Jin was here."

He pointed at Nan Xingyu. "Hurry up and thank him. If he hadn't caught you, we'd have another injured person in the family."

"..."

Thank him, my ass!!!

"Thank you."

Nan Xingyu spoke in a low voice.

When she looked up, she saw the "sly" smile in Xi Jin's eyes.

In an suggestive tone that only she could understand, he said, "You're welcome."

Before they knew it.

The sky was growing dark.

The lanterns were lit.

At the dining table, warm yellow light shone over a spread of dishes.

Nan Zhiping was the first to raise his glass, his voice ringing out. "Cheers! I wish everyone good health and all the best in the new year!"

Afraid of neglecting Xi Jin, Liu Meili kept putting food on his plate, saying:

"Young Master Xi, eat up. This is a Jiangzhou specialty."

Nan Zhiping clinked glasses with Xi Jin and chatted about the local customs of Jiangzhou.

Nan Xingyu kept her head down, eating prawns. The shells piled up like a little mountain in front of her.

"Xiaoyu,"

Nan Zhiping saw that she was spitting out some of the meat without eating it all and asked, "Is this how you usually peel prawns?"

"Usually..."

Halfway through her sentence, Nan Xingyu almost let the truth slip, but swallowed it back down. "Mm, I usually peel prawns with my mouth."

Xi Jin sat opposite her, the corners of his lips curving slightly.

"Looks like Xiaoyu really likes this dish."

Nan Zhiping looked at Xi Jin again, his voice full of gratitude.

"Xi Jin, that was really thoughtful of you, bringing giant river prawns all this way just to cook for Xiaoyu."

"Don't waste food, child."

As Liu Meili spoke, she picked up a few prawns, peeled them, and dropped the meat into Nan Xingyu's bowl.

"You're all grown up and you still don't know how to eat."

"Thanks, Mom."

Nan Xingyu smiled.

The family of three chatted and laughed together.

Xi Jin watched silently, his eyes growing a little darker at some point.

Nan Zhiping noticed his silence and asked with concern, "Xi Jin, is the food not to your taste? I don't think you've eaten much."

"Uncle Nan, it's delicious."

Xi Jin spoke mildly. "I'm just not very hungry."

Liu Meili asked as well, "Young Master Xi, when will you finish your work here? What day of the new year are you going back to Jingzhou to celebrate?"

Xi Jin said, "I don't know when I'll go back."

No one cared whether he went back to Jingzhou for the new year.

Nan Zhiping and Liu Meili exchanged a glance and asked no more, turning instead to stories about life in the small city of Jiangzhou.

After dinner.

Nan Zhiping asked Nan Xingyu to take Xi Jin for a walk by the lake.

In previous years, it had always been lively there at this time.

The two walked along the lakeshore. The evening breeze carried the chill of the water, children ran around with lanterns, and adults set off fireworks.

Brilliant fireworks bloomed in the night sky.

Their light made the surface of the lake shimmer.

Nan Xingyu bought a sky lantern and borrowed a brush from the vendor to write her New Year's wish with care.

Xi Jin had finished writing his long ago. Standing beside her, he watched her write:

[May happiness always be with my family and friends.]

"What did you write?"

Nan Xingyu finished writing and looked up at him.

Xi Jin turned the sky lantern around and held it out in front of her.

Nan Xingyu saw that only her name, "Nan Xingyu," was written on it.

The strokes were forceful, in a style unmistakably his own.

"Why did you write my name?"

She looked up at him, puzzled.

Xi Jin looked at her, the light and shadows of the fireworks reflected in his eyes. "My wish is you."

"..."

Nan Xingyu's eyes flickered slightly.

The warm glow of the sky lantern fell across his face, softening his features. His usual overbearing manner and obsession had vanished, leaving only a depth of affection.

As if compelled by some unseen force, she asked, "What if I leave you someday?"