Xiao Qinghe panicked. "I meant nothing of the sort!"
He genuinely feared dredging up Xie Jun's painful past, so he stopped hesitating, picked up a slice of meat, and put it in his mouth.
His soft lips gently parted and closed around the two chopsticks.
He was merely eating, with no other intentions, but to someone watching with certain thoughts in mind, the sight became something else entirely, as though...
Xie Jun's throat tightened. She hastily turned away, not daring to look any longer.
She feared that another glance or two would make her unable to resist...
"Senior brother, I have no appetite. I'm done eating." Her throat dry, Xie Jun used her other hand to scoop up some soup.
Xiao Qinghe immediately set down his chopsticks and said solemnly, "Your clothes are stained with blood. You shouldn't keep wearing them. Would you like to bathe and change?"
"Mm." Xie Jun nodded lightly. She was about to say that she ought not keep her senior brother in her room any longer, but Xiao Qinghe's next words were-
"I'll help scrub your back."
"Pfft..."
Xie Jun sprayed out a mouthful of soup, looking as though she had seen a ghost for the first time.
"Y-you really are my senior brother?"
Her senior brother had always been thoroughly upright. He had never once offered to get close to her of his own accord.
Seeing that Xiao Qinghe was entirely serious and did not seem to be teasing her, her fingertips trembled.
It was as though an impossibly distant dream had suddenly become reality, catching her so off guard that she did not know what to do.
In the system's comment section, which she could not see, the readers erupted into howls.
``` [She longs so badly to be close to Qinghe, yet