Na'er, Would You Be My Little Sister?

After returning home, Wu Yang Jin put everything away where it belonged. He also prepared a few things for Na'er and had her wash up first.

"Na'er, can I call you that?"

"Yes."

"Mm, go take a bath first. Is that okay?"

Na'er nodded, then went inside. After a while, once she had finished washing, she suddenly realized she did not have any clean clothes and began to panic.

But she was a girl, so she could not exactly wrap herself up and go out to ask.

Just as she was about to open the door, she saw the shadow of clothes outside. She quietly cracked the door open and found clothes hanging there.

They were Wu Yang Jin's clothes and somewhat too large, but they would do for the time being.

"Is this... home?" Na'er suddenly asked blankly.

After hurriedly changing, she quickly went out to look for Wu Yang Jin.

She found him in the kitchen, fiddling with something. She did not feel comfortable approaching him, but Wu Yang Jin noticed her and looked over.

"Huh? You look pretty good, Na'er."

"Th-thank you!" Na'er suddenly said.

"It's nothing. It hasn't been easy for you either. Go get some rest—lie down in the room for a while. I'll cook."

But when Wu Yang Jin turned around, she did not leave and simply stood there.

The truth was, she wanted to help, but she did not know how and had no idea what she could do.

Wu Yang Jin noticed Na'er's helplessness again and understood.

"Mm... Na'er, could you pour me some water?"

"Ah! Okay."

Na'er trotted off, quickly found the kettle, poured some water, then hurried back and brought it to Wu Yang Jin.

Wu Yang Jin drank the water with satisfaction. When Na'er saw that, she smiled happily as well.

"Hmm? Na'er, you look really pretty when you smile."

"Huh? I..." Na'er said shyly.

"All right, I know you want to help, Na'er. That's very good. But it's fine. Let me take care of you today."

As he spoke, he patted Na'er on the head before turning back to continue working.

Na'er placed a hand on her own head, savoring that head pat, then obediently returned to the room to rest.

Later, when Wu Yang Jin saw the food on the table, he was starving after all that cooking. But he knew Na'er was even hungrier than he was.

"Mm..."

"It's fine, Na'er. Eat. Eat as much as you want," Wu Yang Jin said.

Hearing that, Na'er no longer held back. She ate quickly—very quickly—because she truly was hungry.

Wu Yang Jin had Na'er stay in the room because he was afraid she might see Old Long take human form or sense his aura. He also had Old Long conceal his aura. (Actually, there was a bit of a plot hole here from the part where they returned home and cooked.)

So he decided to let it go for today, but in the future, he would try to buy food outside or mooch meals at Tang Wu Lin's house instead.

Before long, Na'er had almost cleaned every dish. Wu Yang Jin ate too, but because of Na'er, he did not eat much. Na'er seemed to notice and felt a little embarrassed.

"It's fine, Na'er. Eat more. It doesn't matter," Wu Yang Jin said.

"R-really? Then you won't eat?"

"It's fine. The most important thing right now is getting your body healthy again."

After they finished eating, Na'er still insisted on helping, but Wu Yang Jin talked her out of it.

Once everything had been taken care of, Wu Yang Jin sat on the sofa, and Na'er followed him over and sat down as well.

He decided to ask some questions. After all, although he wanted Na'er to stay, what if she had parents or family?

"Na'er, I feel like you might not like talking much, so if you can answer, just nod or shake your head. Do you know where you're from? Or where your home is?"

Na'er shook her head without speaking.

"Then... do you have any contact information for your family? Or any other information?"

Seeing Na'er shake her head again, he was at a loss, but he continued asking.

"All right, Na'er, then how old are you? You should know that, right?"

Ah, that was a question that required her to speak.

"Five and a half."

This time, Na'er spoke. Her voice was light, lovely, and pleasant to hear.

"Five and a half? Then stay here tonight, Na'er. There's only one bed, so... you can sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep on the sofa. Tomorrow, I'll ask an uncle and aunt I know to take you to the administrative officer and see whether we can find your family."

At that, Na'er suddenly trembled. Wu Yang Jin felt it too and realized he should have mentioned this earlier.

"Ah, don't worry. They're a very kind couple. They won't hurt you, Na'er. I promise!"

"Mm... I understand," Na'er replied.

Looking closely at Na'er, her skin seemed even fairer than Tang Wu Lin's, tender and rosy as though water could be squeezed out with the lightest pinch.

Having just bathed, she gave off a faint, fresh fragrance. She looked like a delicate porcelain doll.

But just like during dinner, although Na'er did not like to talk, she did not hold back when it came to eating. She ate at lightning speed, and like Tang Wu Lin, she had cleaned everything up in no time.

Not long afterward, after settling Na'er into the room, Wu Yang Jin returned to the sofa to sleep. It was his first time sleeping on the sofa at night.

Before lying down, Na'er blinked her large eyes and watched Wu Yang Jin lying on the sofa.

The night was peaceful, and it was as comfortable as ever. Although Wu Yang Jin had never slept on the sofa at night before, he still slept soundly.

But just as he was sleeping deeply, he was suddenly awakened by a rustling sound.

"Hmm? Na'er?"

That was right. He saw Na'er carrying a pillow and blanket over to the sofa. She had originally intended to quietly move him aside so she could lie down there, but she woke Wu Yang Jin instead.

"Ah! I... I didn't mean to," Na'er said.

"It's fine. Na'er, are you... scared? Or is there something you want to say?"

"A little... and I feel bad making you sleep on the sofa," Na'er said softly.

I didn't expect Na'er to start caring about me after knowing me for such a short time.

"Can we sleep together?" Na'er asked.

"Huh? Ah... if you don't think it'll be too cramped, Na'er," Wu Yang Jin replied.

As she spoke, Na'er slowly climbed up and lay on the outer side of the sofa. Wu Yang Jin wanted to hold her while they slept, afraid that she might fall off, but he felt too embarrassed to do so.

Na'er understood what Wu Yang Jin meant. After she said it was fine, Wu Yang Jin peacefully held her and prepared to sleep.

However, he thought of a question. He had wanted to ask it earlier, and before they went back to sleep, he finally decided to ask Na'er.

"Na'er, would you be willing to stay here?"

Wu Yang Jin asked Na'er and waited for her answer.

"Mm... I..."

"Um... this is a little embarrassing, and maybe it's too soon, but... would you be willing to be my little sister? Ah, not my real little sister, of course, but don't worry—I think I can be a good big brother!"

Wu Yang Jin kept talking on and on. He did not know why he was saying so much, when in truth, he did not care about those things.

"Mm... I'm willing. Thank you," Na'er replied.

The next day, Wu Yang Jin took Na'er to Tang Wu Lin's house first because he wanted to ask Uncle and Auntie to take Na'er to the administrative officer.