Yukinoshita's Correction Method

When she closed her eyes and opened them again, it was already the small hours of the morning.

Yukino Yukinoshita looked around in a daze, and it took her quite a while to remember that she was in Dong Yunshan's home.

And she was wearing his shirt, lying in his bed, under his blanket, on his pillow, while also looking after his little sister... Why had things turned out like this?

"Ah..." A muffled sound interrupted Yukino Yukinoshita's thoughts.

Dong Yunxi clumsily sat up in the crib and waved her little hands. "Dada..."

Gathering her messy long hair, Yukino Yukinoshita got up and lifted Dong Yunxi out of the crib. "Xixi, are you hungry?"

She had originally prepared herself to be woken by Dong Yunxi's crying, but the baby Xixi in her arms was showing an adorable smile instead.

Dong Yunxi nestled against Yukino Yukinoshita and softly went ah.

"Then wait a moment." Yukino Yukinoshita set baby Xixi on the bed. "I'll go make your formula."

Yukino Yukinoshita got up to leave, only to feel a faint tug. It turned out Dong Yunxi had grabbed a corner of the shirt.

"...You can come with me, then." Yukino Yukinoshita had no choice but to pick Dong Yunxi up again, open the bedroom door, and walk into the living room. She casually turned on the dimmer, less glaring secondary light. "Wait for me on the sofa—"

At the sight of the person on the sofa, Yukino Yukinoshita's voice abruptly cut off.

"Hm?" Dong Yunshan sat up on the sofa. "Xixi woke up?"

Yukino Yukinoshita made out Dong Yunshan's face. "When did you come back?"

"Nine... almost ten, I guess." Dong Yunshan yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I meant to come back earlier, but there was a car accident on the road."

"A car accident?" Yukino Yukinoshita's gaze scanned up and down Dong Yunshan's body.

"Someone else got into a car accident and blocked the road," Dong Yunshan added. "When I got back and saw the lights were off, I slept on the sofa."

"Dada!" Upon seeing Dong Yunshan, baby Xixi instantly perked up, waving her little hands and making happy sounds.

"You hold her." Yukino Yukinoshita walked closer. "I'll make the formula."

"Mm." Dong Yunshan reached out and took Dong Yunxi into his arms. "Was Xixi good this afternoon?"

"She can't understand that." Yukino Yukinoshita picked up the thermostatic kettle and poured water, skillfully making the formula. "Right now, she can only understand simple emotions."

"True." Dong Yunshan kissed Xixi on the cheek. "Did my little baby miss me?"

"She did," Yukino Yukinoshita answered aloud.

Dong Yunshan raised his eyes to look at Yukino Yukinoshita.

"She searched everywhere for you for quite a while, and when she realized you really weren't home, she started crying." Yukino Yukinoshita walked over with the bottle. "She only quieted down later, after she had toys."

"This..." Dong Yunshan's eyes went blank. "I see."

The warm lamplight looked faintly hazy, reflecting snow-fair skin and waterfall-like long hair.

The oversized shirt only made the girl seem more petite, while the baby bottle in her hand and the drowsy haze lingering in her eyes added an almost dreamlike beauty.

Finals Spring Break: All Was Silent

Yukino Yukinoshita blinked, and only after noticing Dong Yunshan's dazed stare did she remember that she was currently wearing his shirt.

Raising a hand to cover her chest, Yukino Yukinoshita felt her face heat up and glared viciously at Dong Yunshan. "What are you looking at!"

"No... I mean... you don't have to cover yourself." Dong Yunshan snapped back to his senses and immediately explained, "I didn't see anything."

Yukino Yukinoshita lowered her head and glanced down. When she raised her eyes again, her gaze was already even colder.

"That's not what I meant... uh..." Dong Yunshan decisively closed his eyes. "I saw... no, I didn't see... no, that's not right, I wasn't looking... fine, I looked, but not the kind of look you're thinking of. I didn't mean to look that way... You get what I mean, right?"

"Shut up." Yukino Yukinoshita stuffed the bottle into Dong Yunshan's hand. "Feed her."

"Then I can open my eyes?"

Yukino Yukinoshita's voice was icy. "You're not allowed to look this way."

"Where are you... On the right. I heard it." Dong Yunshan opened his eyes and lowered his head, focusing on feeding Dong Yunxi.

"I accidentally got food on myself earlier... Don't turn your head." Yukino Yukinoshita pinched Dong Yunshan, stopping him from turning his head. "So I borrowed your shirt."

"Force of habit." Dong Yunshan defended himself. In their previous exchanges, the two of them had spent most of the time facing off, and Dong Yunshan had gotten used to observing Yukino Yukinoshita's expression while talking, so when he heard her voice, he instinctively wanted to turn his head. "So that's what happened. I thought you had some kind of teaching plan that required using my clothes."

"I would never have that kind of plan..." Yukino Yukinoshita let go of the soft flesh at Dong Yunshan's waist. "Speaking of plans, I'm going to revise it again."

"You still need to revise it?"

"Mm. I'll clearly mark the connection between the game content and the specialized skill training." Yukino Yukinoshita paused. "But during the game, the baby's feelings come first—are you turning again?"

Yukino Yukinoshita expertly pinched the same spot she had just released.

"Hiss..." Dong Yunshan's brow twitched. "That was me being surprised."

Yukino Yukinoshita said, "You're not allowed to be surprised."

"...I'll do my best." Dong Yunshan paused feeding her and patted Dong Yunxi's back to burp her. "You tried it?"

"Compared to the things I wanted her to do, she had things she wanted to do more." Yukino Yukinoshita lowered her eyes slightly and briefly recounted what had happened that afternoon. "...Only when I thought she couldn't do it did I realize she could. If I'd believed in her from the start..."

"Then she would've lost the chance to learn with you." Dong Yunshan's gaze was firm, his voice gentle. "There always has to be a process."

Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes stirred slightly, and she bit her lower lip. "I told you not to turn this way."

He tightened his grip.

Dong Yunshan said, "Hiss~"

Yukino Yukinoshita said, "Hmph~"

Dong Yunxi said, "Burp~"

After drinking a bottle of milk, Dong Yunxi soon began to doze off.

Once Dong Yunshan had coaxed her to sleep, he put her into the crib.

Then he took out another blanket and handed it to Yukino Yukinoshita, who had both arms folded in front of her chest.

Yukino Yukinoshita wrapped herself in the blanket, covering her body, but not the blush on her face.

"Oh, right." Dong Yunshan picked up the shopping bag beside him. "I brought you a gift."

Yukino Yukinoshita did not take it. "I was the one who offered to look after Xixi."

She did not need any token of thanks.

Yukino Yukinoshita reached out and took the shopping bag, removed the item inside, glanced at it, then raised her eyes to Dong Yunshan. "What were you thinking?"

"You reminded me," Dong Yunshan answered honestly. "I was still wondering what to give you, and then your email came, and I suddenly had inspiration. I thought I'd get you some clothes, but I don't know your exact size..."

Yukino Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes slightly. "So you chose loose pajamas?"

"A nightdress. Properly fitted pajamas would need a size too," Dong Yunshan corrected her, then noticed Yukino Yukinoshita's unfriendly gaze and added the full course of his thoughts. "I figured it was already a little late when I got back. With Xixi here, I couldn't take you home, and I wouldn't feel easy letting you go back alone. If you stayed here, you'd happen to need a nightdress." It was just that Dong Yunshan had not expected Yukino Yukinoshita to sleep in his shirt.

Yukino Yukinoshita wanted to say she did not need it.

But that would mean that, compared to the nightdress, she preferred Dong Yunshan's shirt.

...So she did need it after all.

Yukino Yukinoshita sighed. "Couldn't you have just brought some food?"

"I did." Dong Yunshan opened the fridge and took out a strawberry cake. "Try it. I think it tastes really good. Limited-time, limited-quantity sale."

Looking at the eye-catching strawberries, Yukino Yukinoshita lightly pressed her cherry lips together. "Just a marketing tactic."

Dong Yunshan nodded. "I deeply agree."

Yukino Yukinoshita wanted to accept the cake as the gift, then refuse the nightdress Dong Yunshan had given her.

But the problem was still the same. That would mean that, compared to the nightdress, she preferred Dong Yunshan's shirt.

But if she accepted the nightdress, then accepted the cake too...

Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes shifted slightly. "Are you hungry? There's still a bento I made in the fridge. You can eat it after simply heating it up."

"Now that you mention it, I kind of am." Dong Yunshan got up. "I'll go heat it."

"I'll do it." Yukino Yukinoshita shot him a sidelong glance. "I don't want the bento I made to be ruined by you heating it badly."

Dong Yunshan said, "...Fine."

A moment later, Dong Yunshan was eating the steaming-hot food.

Across from him, Yukino Yukinoshita was wrapped in the blanket, eating cake in small bites.

The dense cream balanced out the strawberries' faint tartness, while the fresh strawberries diluted the cream's cloying sweetness. Paired with soft cake and refreshing jam, one bite filled her heart with happiness.

Sitting in the warmly lit living room and looking out at the pitch-black sky beyond the window, Yukino Yukinoshita felt dazed for no reason.

At this hour, she would usually still be sleeping soundly at home.

But now, she was in Dong Yunshan's home, wearing Dong Yunshan's shirt, wrapped in a blanket, enjoying delicious food in the dead silence of night.

An unusual time, a different place, special clothing... Everything combined into an unprecedented experience, weaving together into a unique feeling almost like excitement.

This was something she had never done at home, nor had she done it after leaving home to live alone.

And this novel experience was all because of...

"Dong Yun," Yukino Yukinoshita called out.

"Hm?" Dong Yunshan raised his head. "What is it?"

Yukino Yukinoshita pressed her lips together. "Remember to brush your teeth after you're done eating."

Dong Yunshan said, "..."

"Don't..." Yukino Yukinoshita waved both hands, and when she found Dong Yunshan had no intention of stopping, she pushed at Dong Yunshan's arm with her hand. When she found she could not push it away, she immediately put in a little more strength. "Don't!"

Dong Yunshan drew his hand back in cooperation with Yukino Yukinoshita's movements, put down the apple in his hand, and picked up a strawberry. "Then what about this?"

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded lightly, stretched out her arm, and opened her fair palm. "I want it."

"Here." Dong Yunshan placed the strawberry in Yukino Yukinoshita's palm.

Yukino Yukinoshita ate the strawberry and revealed a faint smile. "It's really good."

Dong Yunshan picked up a toy and held it in front of Dong Yunxi. "Xixi, do you want to play with this?"

Just as Dong Yunxi was about to reach out and grab it, she saw Yukino Yukinoshita pick up the bottle.

"You can play with this." Dong Yunshan held the toy a little closer. "Do you want this?"

"Ah..." Dong Yunxi kept her eyes fixed on the bottle, awkwardly pushed the toy away with her little hand, and reached toward Yukino Yukinoshita. "Naa, naa!"

"Do you want this?" Yukino Yukinoshita brought the bottle in front of Dong Yunxi. "Here."

"Ah!" Dong Yunxi grabbed the bottle and immediately tried to stuff the nipple into her mouth, but then she stopped, gave Yukino Yukinoshita an adorable smile, and only then bit down on the nipple.

"She finally learned it..." Dong Yunshan let out a long breath. "After demonstrating it so many times, I was starting to lose track of what meant yes and what meant no."

"You'd better make an effort to keep them straight." Yukino Yukinoshita returned to her usual expressionless look. "From now on, you also need to pay attention to her movements and slowly guide her to express her needs and thoughts through body language. That way, before she learns to speak, she can learn to communicate with others, which will help her develop an open, sociable personality and prepare her for verbal expression in the future."

"If it's only for a day or two, I'm afraid it won't have much effect." Dong Yunshan took notes seriously. "Looks like we'll have to put our Xixi Manual on the agenda too."

We...?

Yukino Yukinoshita lowered her eyes slightly. "That's about it for the basic potential-development games. Also, remember to take her out for walks. I've washed your shirt, so remember to put it away later. She's still in the middle of switching formulas right now, so don't use the wrong milk powder, and don't add any new solid foods. You don't need to forcefully correct her when she sucks on her fingers; just pay attention to keeping her hands clean, interact with her more, and distract her. The increase in drooling is due to the stimulation from teething, so keep her clean, and don't pinch her cheeks..."

Having said too much at once, Yukino Yukinoshita was a little short of breath. She paused for a moment to recover. "That's about it. I'll be going now."

Originally, Yukino Yukinoshita had been planning to leave that morning.

It was only because she was worried that Dong Yunshan wouldn't be able to properly carry out her plan that she had stayed a little longer to observe how he implemented it.

Now that Dong Yunshan had already proven his ability to carry it out, Yukino Yukinoshita naturally had no need to stay here any longer.

Dong Yunshan did want to ask Yukino Yukinoshita to stay for lunch.

But if Yukino Yukinoshita really stayed, she would definitely insist on cooking herself.

Yukino Yukinoshita wasn't like Dong Yunshan, who could casually muddle through and call it a meal. She would inevitably make a lavish spread.

Considering that, Dong Yunshan didn't try too hard to keep her.

He'd practice a bit more first, then invite Yukino Yukinoshita to stay for a proper meal another time.

After coaxing the full Dong Yunxi to sleep, Yukino Yukinoshita packed her things and prepared to leave.