"Morning, Wang."
"Morning, Sakura."
He hugged his wife from behind, kissed her cheek, and nuzzled against her affectionately before asking in a soft voice.
"You're up so early?"
"Only a little earlier than you... Besides, I promised Ling I'd take her out today, so I need to prepare a few things."
"You're bringing food? Can't we just buy it there? Carrying it around all day will be inconvenient."
"The food at the amusement park is too expensive."
"It'll be fine, won't it? We have enough money for the occasional little indulgence."
"Still no. We'll bring something to fill our stomachs, then find somewhere to eat after we come out."
"Alright, alright~ Whatever you say."
Xi Wang did not really care about this. Their family was not short on money, but since his wife wanted to be frugal, he naturally went along with her... Besides, Sakura's cooking was very good.
Still, it was fine for him to get a little "revenge," right?
Smiling, Xi Wang slowly reached for the long ears atop Sakura's head.
"...Don't mess around."
At first, Sakura let him do as he pleased. But as he touched them longer and longer, and his technique became increasingly strange, she twitched her "ears" slightly, trying to escape those ever more "sinful" hands. Unfortunately, such mild resistance was useless.
"...Don't... Wang, stop touching them for now."
Sakura felt some switch within her gradually being flipped. Her lovely face slowly turned crimson, and her body temperature steadily rose.
"I'm still... cooking... We can... talk about it tonight..."
She spoke in a voice nearly like a whisper, then broke free from Xi Wang's embrace with weak force. With a flushed face, she stood before the stove and continued cooking the food they would bring with them.
"Ha ha..."
Xi Wang chuckled softly, stepped closer, and hugged her from behind again before whispering into her ear.
"Okay~"
After saying that, he gently blew on her ear, adding another hint of red to Sakura's face. The "ears" on her head instantly stiffened, then drooped down softly. Her long pink ears, already like cherry blossoms, became even more crimson.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
A faintly disdainful click of the tongue came from behind them. When they turned around, they found Ling standing at the foot of the stairs, leaning against the wall and shaking her head at them.
"What a sickeningly sweet pair... And you're my sister and brother-in-law, too. This is so embarrassing. I won't need to eat anymore—this dog food will fill me up every day."
"Ling, you can't skip meals."
Sakura waved the spatula in her hand slightly, speaking in a scolding tone.
"You're not even denying that you two spread dog food every day? Sister, you've disappointed me too much."
Ling put on a heartbroken expression.
"Am I not your most beloved little sister anymore?"
"What are you talking about? Of course you're my dearest little sister."
"Yay! Then I want to sleep with Sister tonight!"
"Uh..."
Sakura was momentarily speechless.
"Brother-in-law won't mind, right~?"
Having said that, Ling turned her attention to Xi Wang and giggled.
"At worst, I can sleep with both Sister and you, Brother-in-law~"
"Do you hear yourself?"
Xi Wang gave her a deadpan look and spoke helplessly.
"What's wrong with that?"
Ling puffed up her cheeks and ran into the kitchen, squeezing herself between them and hugging her sister.
"I'm still a poor, helpless child. I'm scared of the dark when I sleep alone at night... Ow!"
"You're such a little rascal. It's not like you can't sleep by yourself... And I'm cooking, Ling. Stop making trouble."
"That's so unfair! Brother Wang is allowed to!"
"Call him Brother-in-law."
"No! Sister is biased. Now that she has Brother Wang, she doesn't want her little sister anymore. So unfair!"
"Alright, alright, don't make Sakura worry too much..."
Xi Wang picked Ling up with both hands, intending to carry her to the living room. Ling naturally let go of Sakura, though she still put on a panicked expression and shouted loudly at her sister.
"Sister, save me! Your most beloved little sister is being kidnapped by Brother Wang~"
"Stop fooling around."
"Boohoo, sob sob... Brother Wang, I'm warning you, if you dare do anything to me, I won't let Sister marry you!"
"Then you're too late. We already got our marriage certificate—your sister is already mine! Ha ha!"
"No—!"
"Have you two had enough...?"
Listening to their conversation behind her, Sakura looked helpless. She only turned around and pointed her tasting chopsticks vaguely at Ling.
"If you keep fooling around, I won't take you out to play."
"It's fine~ Brother Wang will take me, right~?"
Ling giggled again, wrapping her arms around Xi Wang's neck and pressing against him affectionately as she spoke to her sister as though showing off.
"No. If Sakura says she's not taking you, then I'm not taking you either."
"Huh? No—how could even you betray me, Brother Wang? This isn't what we agreed on!"
"Sakura is my wife. Of course I listen to her first."
"Hmph, I'm your sister-in-law! You should be the one listening to me obediently! Otherwise, I'll have my sister teach you a lesson!"
"Ling, be good—"
Sakura's doting voice came from the kitchen, though her words carried a faint warning.
"Boohoo—you two are bullying me! When we go out later, I'm going to play hard! Eat hard! I'll eat you two into bankruptcy!"
"I made lunchboxes. We won't need to buy food at the amusement park. We'll just eat a little to fill our stomachs, then find somewhere to eat after we come out."
Without paying attention to Ling's fake sobbing, Sakura's voice drifted over, crushing Ling's "evil plan" at its source.
"You even planned for that? How hateful!"
Ling spoke indignantly, waving her fists at Xi Wang beside her in impotent rage. They were soft and weak, with no force behind them at all.
"Alright, alright, stop playing around. Go wash your hands and get ready for breakfast... Wait, Ling, did you brush your teeth and wash your face?"
"I finished ages ago while you two were being all lovey-dovey! Honestly, Sister, I'm grown up now. I can handle things like that myself. You don't need to remind me."
"Since you're grown up, you can definitely sleep alone tonight too, right?"
Sakura said with a smile as she set breakfast on the dining table.
"No, no, that's different... I'm scared of the dark. I want to sleep with Sister!"
"You only know how to weasel your way out of things."
Sakura was somewhat helpless. Then she spoke to Xi Wang, who had also stood up and was about to step forward to help.
"Go call Elysia down. She streamed very late last night, so she should only be waking up now."
"...?"
Elysia?
Xi Wang's body suddenly froze. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes, and his head began to ache faintly again, making him knock on it with his hand.
Why was Elysia here? And living with us?
"What's wrong?"
Sakura looked over in confusion and asked with concern.
"...No, nothing."
Xi Wang did not want Sakura to worry, so he merely smiled, shook his head, and calmly walked toward the stairs.
Why was Elysia living with us?
As he walked to the second floor, that question kept circling through Xi Wang's mind.
He lifted his leg, took a step, and climbed the stairs to the third floor.
Oh, right...
Xi Wang seemed to remember.
Elysia is my girlfriend, so she lives on the third floor... Yeah, that's it... That's how it is... right?
When he arrived on the third floor, Xi Wang's head began to ache faintly again, making him knock on it. He did not want Elysia to worry about the state he was in, but the strange question in his mind kept lingering, leaving him confused.
Elysia is my girlfriend... That's right. There's nothing wrong with that.
After repeating it to himself several times, Xi Wang found nothing wrong with that line of thought. The pain in his head also disappeared, as though everything just now had merely been an illusion.
"...Don't tell me I'm physically weak?"
Xi Wang found his previous headaches utterly baffling. He exercised regularly, so why had his body started having problems only a few days after getting married...? Surely not?
"Sigh... I'll have to exercise more in the future."
Xi Wang sighed, walked to Elysia's room, and knocked on her door.
"Elysia, get up and have breakfast... We're taking Ling out to play today."
Before you continue