Lin Luoluo did not refuse again.
Bai Chen had also begun to enjoy feeding her like this.
It was a novel feeling, utterly different from the life he had led in Monster Forest for the past few hundred years. There, growing stronger had been his only creed.
But now, every second was filled with a warmth he had not felt in a long time.
Bai Chen fed Lin Luoluo one spoonful after another.
"Ah—"
Lin Luoluo's cheeks flushed, but she obediently opened her little mouth.
Though Lin Luoluo was small and slightly plump, her pale lips showed that she was actually malnourished.
After going so long without enough protein or fat, filling her stomach on carbohydrates alone, her health was naturally bound to suffer.
As Bai Chen fed her, he made plans in his head.
Once they passed tomorrow's Contract Spirit Master qualification test and had a legal identity and a source of income, the first thing to do was improve their meals.
He had to make sure the two girls ate better and nursed their bodies back to health.
The meal went on for more than half an hour, until the food on all three plates had been swept clean.
Only then did Lin Chuchu, across from them, laboriously straighten up before flopping onto the bed. She lifted her oversized T-shirt, revealing her fair little belly, which was now visibly rounded.
"Oof! I'm stuffed! I haven't eaten this much in ages."
Lin Chuchu's voice was loud at first, but it grew softer and softer until it turned into a faint snore.
She had fallen asleep just like that.
Did she just fall into a carb coma?
Bai Chen was a little surprised as he watched.
As Bai Chen was thinking this, Lin Luoluo looked at her younger sister and explained softly,
"Xiao Bai, this is Chuchu's illness. She's been like this since she was little and can fall asleep at any time.
"And she has a heart problem too, so all these years, I haven't dared let her go out."
A trace of sorrow colored the girl's voice, though there was a faint glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looked at Bai Chen.
Hearing this, Bai Chen understood the two sisters' predicament.
She could fall asleep at any time?
Bai Chen's memories surged through his mind.
Based on the medical knowledge he had gained on Earth, the symptoms sounded a lot like a rare neurological disorder.
Its typical symptom was irresistible sleep attacks; she could fall asleep anytime, anywhere.
Lin Luoluo had also mentioned a heart problem, which made the situation even more complicated. Lin Chuchu could not even experience overly intense emotional swings.
No wonder her younger sister could not go out, even though Lin Luoluo, who had lost all feeling in both legs, had to go out and make a living.
If she could fall asleep at any moment, it really would be extremely dangerous for her to leave home.
Bai Chen did not yet know what the standard of medicine was like in this world.
But even on technologically advanced Earth, this illness was considered a difficult and complicated condition, one that was very hard to cure completely.
Now that he was here, though, things were different.
The power of a Contract Spirit was formidable. Perhaps if he devoured a healing-type ability later on, he would be able to cure Lin Chuchu's illness.
Just then, Lin Luoluo's voice reached Bai Chen's ears again, tinged with shyness.
"Xiao Bai, could you help me get to the bathroom? There's a stool in there. I... want to take a bath."
The girl's voice was as faint as a mosquito's hum, and a blush spread across her cheeks.
"Then we'll go to sleep. The Contract Spirit Master test is at eight every morning, so we need to get up a little early."
Bai Chen froze for a moment when he heard that.
A bath?
After he came to his senses, he let out an instinctively mischievous chuckle.
But then he caught himself and immediately adopted a perfectly serious tone.
"Miss Luoluo, first of all, let me make one thing clear: I'm not some lecherous Contract Spirit. I'm saying this entirely out of concern for your safety.
"Your wheelchair is broken, and you can't move your legs. Taking a bath alone is very dangerous, you know!"
As he spoke, Bai Chen actually began listing examples.
"Think about it. The bathroom floor is slippery, and there's so much steam. If you're sitting on the stool alone, what if it isn't steady, or you lose your balance and slip while reaching for something?
"You'd fall on the floor and be unable to move. See how dangerous it is to bathe alone?"
Bai Chen made it all sound perfectly reasonable.
But Lin Luoluo was not moved in the slightest. His words even made her blush so furiously that she nearly buried her head in her chest.
She usually bathed with her younger sister, or had her carry her into the bathtub beforehand. When she was finished, Lin Chuchu would carry her back out.
But Lin Chuchu was already asleep today, so she could only trouble Xiao Bai.
But together with Xiao Bai...
For an easily embarrassed girl like Lin Luoluo, it really was far too mortifying!
Especially since Bai Chen had a boy's voice, one that made her blush just listening to it. She was afraid that if she bathed with Xiao Bai, her reaction would be even more embarrassing.
So Lin Luoluo resolutely waved her hands and refused. "No, no!"
"Xiao Bai, just run some hot water for me and carry me over to the bathtub. I can manage on my own!"
Bai Chen could hardly insist, so he could only sigh inwardly with some regret.
Ah, what a shame.
He waved a tentacle to show his agreement, then wriggled his main body into the tiny bathroom first to run Lin Luoluo's bath.
After that, Bai Chen stayed outside the door, listening to the splashing water as the minutes and seconds ticked by.
After ten minutes or so, Lin Luoluo's voice came from inside, carrying a trace of shyness.
"Xiao Bai, I'm done bathing. Carry me out, please..."
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, one of Bai Chen's tentacles could no longer hold back and pushed the bathroom door open, a little excited.
The door was not locked.
However, the scene he had imagined—a beauty emerging from her bath amid billowing steam—did not appear.
Unfortunately, Lin Luoluo did not look as Bai Chen had imagined. She had already used the strength of her arms to get out of the bathtub herself and had dried the water from her body with a bath towel.
The towel was now wrapped tightly around her shapely figure, covering every key area and leaving only her rounded shoulders and a stretch of smooth, fair thigh exposed.
Droplets fell from the ends of her wet hair, slid across her collarbone, and vanished at the edge of the towel.
Half-concealed like this, she was even more alluring.
The next second, Bai Chen lashed his own main body hard with another tentacle.
Smack!
What are you regretting, you beast?!
If he had not known Lin Luoluo's age, her appearance alone would have been enough in his previous life to make countless people shout, "Three years in prison would be a bargain, and even the death penalty would be worth it!"
Bai Chen hurriedly reined in his thoughts and forced himself to calm down.
He gently lifted Lin Luoluo with a thick tentacle and placed her securely on his soft main body.
Then he carried her on top of him all the way to the bedside.
"Get to sleep early, Xiao Luoluo."
Once the girl had been placed on the bed, she quickly slipped under the covers. Then she picked up the pajamas beside her and rustled as she put them on beneath the covers.
She glanced at Bai Chen by the bed. His dark, jelly-like body looked rather cute in the dim light.
Lin Luoluo hesitated, then said softly, "Xiao Bai, come in and sleep with us too."
In Lin Luoluo's view, family was supposed to sleep together.
She and her younger sister had always done so since they were little, and now that Xiao Bai had become part of their family, he naturally should join them too.
Bai Chen did not refuse.
He understood the girl's kindness, and he was also a little reluctant to let go of this hard-won warmth.
He slowly moved onto the bed.
Lin Luoluo pulled back the covers and gathered his cool, soft body into her arms.
The girl's body carried the fresh fragrance of her bath and the warmth of her skin, her soft figure pressed tightly against him.
Feeling all of this, Bai Chen had no other thoughts at that moment, only a deep warmth in his heart.
Was this what a family's embrace felt like?
He stayed quietly in Lin Luoluo's arms, listening as her heartbeat and breathing grew steady.
After a while, just as Bai Chen thought she had fallen asleep, Lin Luoluo gently patted the top of his "head" and spoke in a voice like a murmur in her sleep.
"Xiao Bai, good night..."
"Tomorrow... I'm counting on you."
Only after saying that did she truly sink into a deep sleep.
Counting on me?
Bai Chen's mind was clearer than ever before.
Don't worry.
Feeling the warmth in his embrace, he silently answered her in his heart.
Tomorrow's Contract Spirit Master test is only the beginning. We'll get the qualification and earn enough money to cure your sister's illness and heal your legs too.
From now on, I'll protect your happiness...