Woman, You're Playing with Fire

"Ahem."

"Uh... cough..."

"Cough... uh..."

"If your throat really hurts, you should go to the hospital to see a doctor first."

Hua Xin pursed her slightly pale lips, then stopped chopping scallions with a blank expression and said in a deep voice. It seemed that just standing here made her feel a special kind of awkwardness, which caused a faint sense of helplessness to always be on her mind.

Originally, she planned that since she was already living under someone else's roof, she would have to go along with their wishes in other aspects to some extent. After all, one is bound to be indebted to others, and one is bound to be indebted to those who live under their roof.

Even so, the girl still couldn't bear the fact that someone had been deliberately coughing intermittently for several minutes.

Can't we just say what we want to say directly?

Xia Yan seemed to sense the questioning tone in Hua Xin's voice. He then abandoned his previous gentle and tactful manner, continuing to process the fresh shrimp in the pool without looking up, while simultaneously raising the corners of his mouth slightly and speaking in a feigned calm tone:

"Pants."

"Pants?"

Hua Xin took a step back with some confusion, then lowered her head.

The first thing that catches the eye is a pair of small, delicate feet in slippers. They are still a little wet from a recent shower, and the neatly trimmed nails look adorable on the tiny toes.

What's so strange about that?

Could it be that Xia Yan is a foot fetishist but is too embarrassed to admit it? Heh...

Knowing all about men's strange fetishes, the girl obviously didn't have any particularly disdainful thoughts about it. In fact, she even had a sly feeling towards Xia Yan's innocent and naive appearance.

Moving upwards further, the view shifts to straight, slender calves.

Hua Xin, who relies on Thirteen Spices, various pure green vegetables, PDD (Personalized Shopping) relief food, and various vitamins to maintain her life, is already very thin. This results in her being quite tall but actually very frail.

Even so, the leg curves are still perfect.

Having observed no further developments, the girl shifted her gaze slightly upwards once more.

The fabric only appeared between the knee and the upper thigh, and the gray-black shorts covered the above area. Not a corner of the panties was visible, and the shorts showed no signs of damage.

The slightly longer hem of the short-sleeved shirt hung down normally over the shorts.

?

A question mark, neither too big nor too small, appeared in Hua Xin's mind.

There's nothing there, so what is Xia Yan being so sensitive about?

Could it be that he's deliberately teasing her again? This guy is definitely doing this on purpose. Considering Xia Yan's past history of "humor," Hua Xin has plenty of reasons to believe that this is the truth.

After confessing everything in the school's small pavilion that day and experiencing a series of scenes that make her blush every time she recalls them, Hua Xin deliberately ignored Xia Yan for a period of time after that day, whether out of shame or out of a desire to escape. She would also choose to sit separately from Xia Yan during class until some time after the final exams, which is now when she returned to normal.

Okay, that's what they say.

Xia Yan had no complaints or objections to this, and continued to be a regular online commentator, just like before.

However, it's normal for Xia Yan to feel a little wronged.

Isn't being tsundere a privilege reserved for beautiful girls?

Xia Yan dared to be so audacious; he's no ordinary person. We must strike hard!

Etc...

Just as Hua Xin was about to launch a fierce attack and express her doubts, she suddenly realized something and swallowed back the words she was about to say.

She rarely dresses like this when she's home alone. A short-sleeved shirt and shorts are a cool outfit that she can only wear in the hot summer to cope with the lack of air conditioning and fans.

In winter, she usually stays at home wrapped in a small quilt, or wearing a down jacket while squatting in front of the computer playing games. She would never dress like that in this cold season.

After all, she didn't want to freeze to death this winter. (At least she wanted to die well-fed.)

When she arrived at Xia Yan's house, it took a lot of effort and energy to help him move luggage and tidy up the room... Hua Xin, who had never been in such an environment before, took a hot shower that was hot the whole time.

She actually wanted to take a bath, but the bathtub was in Xia Yan's main bathroom.

So after taking a shower, and since Xia Yan's house was quite warm, wearing short sleeves and shorts was naturally more comfortable than wearing heavy clothes.

I don't know why, but even though I was in Xia Yan's house, I didn't feel any sense of unfamiliarity.

Perhaps it was because she had stayed at Xia Yan's house for a few days before? So she didn't have the same sense of rejection and despair she had when she moved from the "Little Black" to the "real dark room".

Otherwise, how could she have dressed like this without any precautions against Xia Yan, given that she has always been very vigilant since becoming a girl?

You should know that Xia Yan was the man who directly and forcefully kissed her lower body!

But you know what, this does show that Xia Yan's first kiss was indeed his first, and there was no "Why are you so skilled?" moment like in the classic scene from White Album.

Sweet talk can be learned, humor has a formula, and mannerisms can be learned through habit.

Hua Xin remembered that although she was quite nervous and her mind went blank at the time, Xia Yan's actions—just touching her lips without any further movement—were understandable; she could interpret it as the young man being a little nervous on his first time. (Teasingly.)

Okay, let's get back to the main topic.

Conclusion: Xia Yan, the young boy, is probably shy.

In all the time they've spent together, she's almost never dressed so "revealingly" in front of Xia Yan before, but judging from Xia Yan's behavior just now...

What's wrong with your pants?

Hua Xin showed no embarrassment or shyness; instead, she looked at Xia Yan with a sly and confident air, and said in a puzzled yet adorable tone.

As soon as she finished speaking, she walked over to Xia Yan's side in two quick steps. Since she had just taken a shower, her hair still carried a faint scent of lavender, which immediately made Xia Yan stop what he was doing.

Hua Xin's eyes looked somewhat innocent, and her fluttering eyelashes, along with her beautiful eyes that seemed to say "I know what you mean, but I still want to be cheeky," made people's hearts itch.

Hua Xin, who has always been rather "quiet" and rarely shows such a seductive and cute demeanor, suddenly made Xia Yan, who had kindly reminded her that she was not dressed too lightly and wanted to see her shyness and panic, and also reminded her not to catch a cold, feel as if a fire was burning in his heart.

"..."

Just as he was about to say something helplessly, he felt something rubbing against his leg.

Looking down slightly, Xia Yan saw the girl's calves bending and swinging back and forth.

Take a deep breath. Xia Yan wiped her wet hands on a kitchen paper towel.

"Bang!" The sound of kitchen utensils colliding.

The two suddenly stood very close, leaving Hua Xin had been so at ease, momentarily stunned and unsure of what was happening.

Xia Yan shielded the girl's waist with one hand and gently supported her head with the other. Strands of her still-damp hair escaped through his fingers. Then, he lowered his head and gently bit Hua Xin's delicate earlobe, speaking in his magnetic voice:

"Woman, you're playing with fire."