Yukinoshita's Correction Method

She did not tug. She just pinched.

Yukino Yukinoshita: "..." She really did seem like his actual little sister.

"She is my actual little sister." Dong Yunshan looked helplessly at Yukino Yukinoshita's captured hair. "Sorry, she'll let go after pinching it for a while. I don't even know when she picked up that habit."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "..." I think I know.

"You heard my dad call me yesterday, didn't you?" Dong Yunshan reminded her. "My mom's getting ready to go back to work, so my dad wanted to take her out to relax for a while before she starts. It just so happens I'm on spring break too, so they left Xixi with me for a while."

"Your father?" Yukino Yukinoshita froze. "Not Brother Yan?"

"That's just how my family addresses each other." Dong Yunshan shrugged. "When my mom asks me to do things, she calls me Brother Shan too."

"Brother Shan..." Yukino Yukinoshita tried to sort out the relationships, but could only give up helplessly.

Dong Yunshan: "Yes?"

He answered so readily.

Yukino Yukinoshita glared at him out of habit.

But she forgot about Dong Yunxi in Dong Yunshan's arms.

Baby Xi clearly froze for a moment, released the hand gripping Yukino Yukinoshita's hair, and shrank into Dong Yunshan's arms.

Then...

"Waaaaaaah!"

She started crying.

"Don't cry, don't cry..." Dong Yunshan hugged Baby Xi and comforted her softly. "Big Sister wasn't glaring at you~ Xixi's a good girl~"

Yukino Yukinoshita, rarely flustered, grabbed her hair and offered it to Baby Xi's hand. "I'm... I'm sorry... I..."

"Yaaaaaaah~" Baby Xi's little hands pushed Yukino Yukinoshita's hair away, and she cried even louder.

"It's fine, don't worry. She'll be okay in a bit." Dong Yunshan let out a long breath. "I should leave the bookstore first—could you help me push the stroller?"

When a baby started crying, no one knew when she would stop.

They could not keep disturbing everyone else in the bookstore, so it was better to leave first, walk around a couple of times, and maybe the baby would calm down once something else caught her attention.

Dong Yunshan had picked Baby Xi up from the stroller just now precisely because she had shown signs of wanting to cry.

If he put her back in the stroller now, she would probably cry even harder.

With his hands full, Dong Yunshan had no choice but to trouble Yukino Yukinoshita for help.

Yukino Yukinoshita lightly bit her lower lip, pushed the stroller, and followed Dong Yunshan out of the bookstore.

"Wuu, wuu, wuu..." Baby Xi lay against Dong Yunshan's chest, still whimpering softly.

Once they left the quiet bookstore, the noise outside immediately drew Baby Xi's attention.

The little baby gradually stopped whimpering. Her large, clear black-and-white eyes blinked as she curiously looked around.

When she saw Yukino Yukinoshita, she turned her head the other way.

Yukino Yukinoshita pressed her cherry lips together. "I'm sorry..."

"It's not that serious." Dong Yunshan chuckled. "She's a child. It's normal for her to cry a little."

"She's six months old?"

"Yeah." Dong Yunshan was curious. "How did you know?"

"After six months, babies gradually begin to understand the meaning of facial expressions." Yukino Yukinoshita sighed. "I should have paid more attention."

Dong Yunshan knew Yukino Yukinoshita was knowledgeable, but he had not expected her knowledge to extend this far. "You know about this too?"

"I happened to read some books..." Yukino Yukinoshita glanced back at the bookstore. "Did you come here to buy books?"

"I haven't read any books on this before..." Dong Yunshan's eyes moved. "Help me out?"

"...Wait here." Yukino Yukinoshita locked the stroller's wheels in place, then turned and walked back into the bookstore.

Before long, Yukino Yukinoshita came out carrying several books. "Academy of Pediatrics Parenting Encyclopedia. It covers the vast majority of problems that may arise in a baby's life from age zero to five, including development, feeding, care, health, vaccines, safety, family relationships, and all-around knowledge like that—if you want the basics, this one is enough."

Dong Yunshan looked at the terrifyingly thick book. "That looks like a little too much enough..."

"For sleep, read Practical Routine Parenting Method." Yukino Yukinoshita raised another book. "The author emphasizes a regular method of parenting that can help children develop a healthy schedule."

"This one's thickness is all right." Dong Yunshan glanced at it. "Sleep really is important."

"At six months, you can gradually start adding complementary foods. Baby-Led Weaning explains it in great detail." Yukino Yukinoshita briefly explained, "It offers a natural, relaxed, and pleasant way to introduce complementary foods."

"Complementary foods, huh. Brother Yan really did leave me a recipe list." Dong Yunshan nodded. "I'll compare it with this when I get back."

Yukino Yukinoshita picked up another book. "For health, read Before Your Child Gets Sick Next Time. Improve your own medical knowledge, pay attention to observing the baby's symptoms, and avoid worry and anxiety."

"I was originally thinking I'd just call them if something happened... This is better. It'll save me from bothering them." Dong Yunshan's eyes were full of gratitude. "Thank you. You really helped me a lot."

"It was nothing." Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head, then seemed to remember something. "Right, this doesn't count either."

Dong Yunshan was momentarily speechless. Yukino Yukinoshita actually still remembered the second order... Huh?

Yukino Yukinoshita's second order required Dong Yunshan to entrust to her something he could not complete on his own.

At the same time, that order was also a corrective method Yukino Yukinoshita had tailor-made for Dong Yunshan.

To complete that order as quickly as possible, Dong Yunshan would have to think on his own about the limits of his abilities, gradually correcting his own problem.

But the problem was that Dong Yunshan did not believe he needed correcting.

Even if he did have a problem, the very fact that Yukino Yukinoshita had successfully corrected it would also affect his correction of Yukino Yukinoshita.

So he could not think along the lines of Yukino Yukinoshita's order.

But if he did not think about it, he could not complete the order.

A dead end had turned into a double bind.

As the time remaining grew shorter and shorter, Dong Yunshan was genuinely conflicted for a while.

But just now, he had thought of an excellent request.

"Yukinoshita." Dong Yunshan held Dong Yunxi in his arms. "I thought of a request that fits the requirements of the second order."

6:56.

"Hmm?" Yukino Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes, almost instantly realizing what Dong Yunshan was thinking.

Dong Yunshan wanted her to help take care of Dong Yunxi!

To be precise, to take good care of her.

Taking good care of a baby was something that had no true sense of "completion."

How well counted as good?

If it was already very good, could it be just a little better?

Even a professional could not easily say that they had completed the task of "taking good care of a baby."

As a high school student, Dong Yunshan naturally could not complete it either.

Then this request fit the prerequisite Yukino Yukinoshita had demanded: "something Dong Yunshan could not complete on his own."

After Dong Yunshan entrusted Yukino Yukinoshita with helping take good care of Dong Yunxi, the situation would still be the same.

How well counted as good?

So Yukino Yukinoshita would be unable to complete this request too.

But in essence, taking good care of a baby did not fall into the realm of anything especially outrageous.

As long as Dong Yunshan made this request, Yukino Yukinoshita would have to help him take care of his little sister.

Not only would the corrective method tailor-made for Dong Yunshan become invalid, she would also lose to Dong Yunshan again.

Too wicked!

Yukino Yukinoshita prepared to glare with her eyes.

Only to meet Dong Yunxi's innocent gaze head-on.

...No glaring, then.

"My request is..." The smile on Dong Yunshan's face gradually turned wicked.

"Huh?" Baby Xi curiously raised her head and looked at Dong Yunshan.

Seeing Dong Yunxi's chubby little face, Dong Yunshan froze for an instant, then shook his head helplessly.

This was between him and Yukino Yukinoshita.

There was no need to drag his little sister into it.

"I haven't read many books, and now I have to take care of Xixi too, so I don't have that much free time." Dong Yunshan kissed Baby Xi on the cheek, and Xixi immediately laughed happily. "Can you help me look up some more information and fill in the gaps?"

From the change in Dong Yunshan's expression, and from her understanding of him, Yukino Yukinoshita could be certain that what Dong Yunshan had just been thinking was absolutely the same as what she had guessed.

But... Dong Yunshan had changed his mind.

Yukino Yukinoshita's cherry lips parted slightly. For her, looking up some information could not be simpler.

By making a request like this, Dong Yunshan was essentially handing over a victory that had already been in his grasp.

In other words... 0... admitting defeat.

This should originally have been something worth being happy about.

But Yukino Yukinoshita did not feel happy.

First, Yukino Yukinoshita's corrective method was to guide Dong Yunshan into thinking through the second order; winning or losing within the second order was meaningless.

Second, Dong Yunshan had a way to win, yet had chosen to admit defeat, which gave Yukino Yukinoshita the feeling that her victory had been given to her by Dong Yunshan.

Lastly...

"I already said just now, this one doesn't count either." Yukino Yukinoshita put the book down. "We'll talk when you think of some other request later."

"...Fine." Dong Yunshan could more or less guess some of what Yukino Yukinoshita was thinking too. "Then hold her for me for a while. I'll sort out the things."

Yukino Yukinoshita had also noticed just now that the stroller was loaded with many things, most of them bought for Dong Yunxi.

"This..." Yukino Yukinoshita raised her hands helplessly. "How do I hold her?"

"Bend your arm and let her rest her head in the crook of it. Yes, support her with your hand." Dong Yunshan guided her as he placed Dong Yunxi into Yukino Yukinoshita's arms. "Use your other hand to support her bottom and legs. Yes, just like that... Wait, I'll slowly pull my hands away."

Dong Yunshan gradually eased his strength and withdrew his arms.

In that brief moment of physical contact, he could clearly feel how stiff Yukino Yukinoshita's body was.

Dong Yunxi seemed to have already forgotten her earlier crying. Lying in Yukino Yukinoshita's arms, she stared fixedly at her face. "Dada~"

So small...

Under Baby Yunxi's clear-eyed gaze, Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly seemed to understand why Dong Yunshan had changed his mind.

Just as seeing the ocean made one feel broad-minded, seeing a baby's pure eyes also made her feel as though her own heart had been cleansed.

The soft little baby nestled defenselessly in her arms, carrying a faint milky scent, like a warm little cake.

So this was what it felt like to hold a baby?

Just as Yukino Yukinoshita was staring dazedly at Dong Yunxi, Baby Yunxi blinked, then suddenly broke into an adorable smile.

She really was a baby... She had been crying so loudly just now, and now she was smiling so happily.

The corners of Yukino Yukinoshita's mouth lifted slightly without her realizing it, and the eyes that were usually so cold were now filled with tenderness.

"All set." Dong Yunshan quickly finished tidying up the stroller. "Thanks for the trouble."

Wait... Seeing Dong Yunshan reach out to take the baby, Yukino Yukinoshita instinctively wanted to refuse, but reason still made her return Baby Yunxi to Dong Yunshan.

"I... will look up more information when I get back." Yukino Yukinoshita forced herself to look away from Dong Yunxi. Just as she turned to leave, she felt a faint tug.

At some point, Dong Yunxi's little hand had grabbed her hair again.

"Yunxi, you can't grab, okay~" Dong Yunshan tried to free Yukino Yukinoshita's hair. "Big sister still has things to do..."

Before he could finish speaking, Dong Yunxi's little mouth puckered. "Wuu..."

"I'll hold her a little longer." Yukino Yukinoshita reached out and took Yunxi from Dong Yunshan's arms.