Surely This Guy Wouldn't Dare Harbor Any Improper Thoughts

In the quiet room, only the ticking clock on the wall could be heard.

Jiang Yubai stood frozen in place, feeling as though his system was about to crash.

The soft, warm body in his arms felt incredibly real. The girl's arms were lightly wrapped around his neck, her shallow breaths brushing against the side of his neck.

A faint lavender fragrance lingered beneath his nose. His brain spun desperately before he finally grasped this incredibly simple fact.

Lin Tingwan... had just hugged him?

Honestly, thanks to Dong Chengze, rumors had already linked him, Jiang Yubai, with both Zhao Yun and Li Qiuyue.

But when it came to actual experience, it could be summed up in one sentence...

Embarrassing as it was to say, even as a senior in high school, he had genuinely never even held a girl's hand.

Jiang Yubai tried to calm his racing heart. The first thing he did upon coming back to his senses was turn toward the kitchen—

Through the half-open glass door, Lin Jianxia's busy figure was clearly visible.

She seemed to have finished chopping the vegetables and was now stir-frying the food in the wok. Amid the sizzling oil, he could even faintly smell the aroma of cooking.

What had Lin Jianxia just said?

"Also, you're only allowed to chat. Don't bully her, got it?"

The girl's warning still echoed in his ears, but...

He lowered his head and looked at the quiet Lin Tingwan in his arms, falling silent for a moment.

This...

No matter how he looked at it, this probably, maybe, perhaps... didn't count as "only chatting," did it?

But this couldn't be considered me bullying her, right? If I said we were chatting and she suddenly hugged me, would you believe me?

Jiang Yubai shifted his hands, unsure where to put them, and cautiously called out, "Lin Tingwan?"

There was still no response, only the soft, even breathing by his ear.

Jiang Yubai glanced once more at Lin Jianxia, busy in the kitchen, and felt his heart pounding.

No, holding her little sister like this right in front of her sister was admittedly a bit... too thrilling.

But if Lin Jianxia suddenly turned around—

Forget getting a free meal. He would be lucky if he didn't have to leave lying down.

Though the girl's embrace was so soft and warm that he was reluctant to let go, Jiang Yubai hesitated for a moment before deciding to gently help her away.

Yet just as his hands were about to touch Lin Tingwan's waist, the girl in his arms let go first.

Jiang Yubai's hands froze midair. At first glance, it instead looked as though he had been the one trying to hug her.

Lin Tingwan leaned back slightly and sat upright. Her gaze fell on his hands still hanging in the air, and she tilted her head in confusion.

Jiang Yubai: "..."

Before he could explain himself, Lin Tingwan picked up her spiral notebook, lowered her head to write a few words, then gently pushed it toward him.

"Like hugs. They feel nice."

Jiang Yubai stared at the line, and his mind stalled once again.

What kind of explanation was that?

Even if you said you'd had a crush on me for two years, that you were usually too shy to speak at school, and that you finally couldn't hold back and hugged me today... I could still understand that!

But what kind of explanation was "hugs feel nice"?

Perhaps noticing the way his brows were nearly knotted together, Lin Tingwan put down the spiral notebook and reached for the open novel beside her.

She flipped through several pages with her head lowered, then lightly tapped a line with her fingertip, signaling Jiang Yubai to look.

"'The moment Mu Jiuli fell into his arms, she was like a weary bird finally returning to the forest. His warmth seeped through their clothes, not scalding, yet warm enough to make one want to sigh.'"

"'The sounds of the world suddenly faded away, leaving only the rhythm of one heartbeat overlapping another.'"

Jiang Yubai instinctively read the words aloud as he looked. As he kept reading, his pace gradually slowed.

Wait...

The novel described hugs as feeling nice—she wanted to try it—she hugged him—and it really did feel nice.

What pure logic...

He turned his head hesitantly. Lin Tingwan was looking up at him, her eyes utterly clear, her expression carrying the frankness of That's just how it is.

At that moment, Jiang Yubai finally realized that Lin Tingwan's psychological issues... might be even more serious than he had imagined.

She probably truly had no social experience at all.

She had never experienced those ambiguous little tests, secretly passed notes between classes, or been approached by self-proclaimed flirtatious upperclassmen.

So after reading a novel and wanting to try hugging, she had simply hugged him. She did not even know what it meant.

All of Jiang Yubai's romantic thoughts suddenly vanished.

He pursed his lips and said helplessly, "A novel is just a novel. It's best not to imitate it..."

Lin Tingwan seemed unable to understand, so she handed him the spiral notebook again.

"Why?"

Why...

Jiang Yubai was momentarily speechless. With a bitter smile, he said, "That's hard for me to explain... By the way, is this book yours?"

He had caught a glimpse of the cover earlier. The bold title read After I Ended Up on the Streets, the Domineering CEO Fell in Love with Me. It was hard to imagine Lin Tingwan choosing to read this sort of novel herself.

"My sister's."

Jiang Yubai's mouth twitched.

Don't just leave this kind of weird stuff in your little sister's room! It's so easy to lead kids astray, okay?!

He could not help glancing toward the kitchen again, his feelings complicated.

So Lin Jianxia usually acted like a prickly little hedgehog, but she secretly read this kind of novel too?

"What's wrong?"

The spiral notebook was gently pushed toward him again.

Looking at the words, Jiang Yubai felt that his guess had probably been right.

The Lin Tingwan at school, always silent and quiet and never interacting with anyone, was most likely just an act.

This girl who could be curious, write notes to ask questions, and even reach out to hug someone over a single line in a novel—perhaps this was who she truly was.

And for some reason, she seemed to have... no guard up around him at all.

Jiang Yubai sighed. "Boys and girls are different, so you absolutely can't just hug someone like that in the future, understand?"

"Why?"

"..."

"Listen carefully to what I'm saying..."

He had truly never expected that, despite being alone in a room with a beautiful girl, their conversation would somehow begin with proper boundaries between men and women.

And he was the one teaching her...

After placing the last plate of stir-fried choy sum onto the table, Lin Jianxia let out a long breath and used a tissue to wipe the thin sweat from her forehead.

She suddenly remembered something, and her heart tightened. She quickly turned to look into the room—

Her sister and Jiang Yubai were sitting side by side on the edge of the bed. Jiang Yubai seemed to be speaking softly, while her sister had her head tilted slightly, listening with rapt attention.

Only then did Lin Jianxia's suspended heart slowly settle.

She curled her lips, her gaze lingering on Jiang Yubai for several seconds before she gave a soft snort.

Surely this guy wouldn't dare harbor any improper thoughts.

After spending time with him these past few days, Lin Jianxia had come to understand him—this bad guy was only improper with his words. In reality, he was much more well-behaved than he looked.

Besides, her sister's impression of him was unbelievably good. She had even taken the initiative to write him notes.

She herself rarely got that kind of treatment, okay?!

If she did not think he truly helped with her sister's psychological recovery... then no matter how good Jiang Yubai's character was, she would never have allowed him into her room.

Thinking of that, Lin Jianxia's gaze involuntarily fell on the edge of the bed again—it was where she usually slept, yet a boy was sitting there now.

The tips of her ears quietly reddened, and she quickly looked away.

Having a boy sitting on her bed really was a little... embarrassing.

Forget it.

As long as it helped her sister, that was enough.

There probably... wouldn't be any problems, right?