Before the Older Sister

She slowly raised her hand, her fingertips already brushing against the drooping shrub branches and leaves, preparing to gently part them and find out what lay beyond.

Just then, a faint rustling suddenly came from the other side of the woods.

The sound was not loud, the leaves rustling as if someone had accidentally snapped a dry branch.

Her movement stopped abruptly, her attention previously aimed at the bushes instantly drawn away.

Her head, covered in a black lace cloth, tilted slightly to carefully distinguish the source of the sound.

"Over there?" Lan Susu murmured in a low voice, her inner confusion deepening.

She had not yet figured out those two strange noises from the bushes just a moment ago, so why was there movement from the other side again?

Lan Luoluo and Chen Jie in the bushes also heard this sudden sound, both of them startling at the same time.

Lan Luoluo held her breath, her originally tensed body relaxing slightly, a flash of surprise crossing the bottom of her eyes as her heart, which had leaped to her throat, fell back down a little.

Lan Susu hesitated for a moment, weighing her options, and slowly withdrew her hand reaching for the branches, turning around to walk slowly toward the direction of the noise coming from the other side of the woods.

She lightened her footsteps, her ears continually catching the surrounding movements, temporarily giving up on searching this patch of bushes as her figure slowly moved into the distance.

Once she confirmed that Lan Susu had walked far enough away and could not hear the sounds from here, Lan Luoluo let out a long breath she had been holding for a long time, her shoulders trembling slightly and a layer of light sweat oozing from her temples.

Her skin was still being rubbed by Chen Jie's hand, and her back was still pressed against his warm chest. She turned her head to look at Chen Jie, complaining in a soft, breathy whisper: "It's all your fault, Chen Jie, you're so bad, actually using that much force..."

Chen Jie still wrapped his arms around Lan Luoluo, his lower hand applying even more force.

He lowered his head, his gaze landing on Luoluo's deeply flushed cheeks as his warm breath blew against her ear, lowering his voice with a playful edge: "It's your fault for being too cute and tempting."

Chen Jie leaned close to her ear, continuing to laugh in a low voice: "Right in front of your sister just now... wasn't it thrilling?"

Lan Luoluo's eyelashes fluttered gently, her complexion rosy, her heart jolting from his words as her gaze dodged, not daring to make prolonged eye contact with Chen Jie. She slightly bit her lower lip and muttered in a small voice: "You... you stop talking nonsense."

Chen Jie gazed at her reddened face, asking softly: "Does it feel good? Should we keep going?"

Lan Luoluo bit her lower and inner lip, her heart flustered and chaotic. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded softly, her voice as thin as a mosquito's: "Very... we can do it a little longer..."

She tried to gently struggle against her gripped wrist, but her strength was weak and she simply could not break free, her back still pressed tightly against Chen Jie's chest.

The forest was dead quiet, with only the wind rustling the leaves, and Lan Susu's footsteps in the distance had already grown very faint.

Chen Jie's fingertips gently stroked the skin of her wrist, his gaze fixed constantly on her flushed face as he chuckled in a low voice: "You almost got discovered by your sister just now, didn't you have a sense of excitement?"

Lan Luoluo said in a soft voice: "But be a little lighter, make sure you don't make any more noise."

Chen Jie raised an eyebrow slightly, leaning close to her ear and replying with a teasing, breathy tone: "Shouldn't it be you who shouldn't make any noise?"

As soon as his voice fell, Lan Susu's faint call suddenly came from the distance: "Luoluo? Chen Jie? Where are you guys?"

Hearing her sister's voice, Lan Luoluo's body stiffened abruptly, and the heart that had just relaxed instantly hung suspended again as she hurriedly held her breath and anxiously looked outside the bushes.

Chen Jie's smile deepened as he lowered his head to lean into her ear, his breath warm: "Careful, your sister is still looking for us. Let's finish this quickly."

Lan Luoluo, her complexion rosy, breathed heavily and urged in a small voice: "Then hurry up, will you?"

Oh~ ho ho ho~

Lan Luoluo leaned closely against Chen Jie's back. The state of high tension just now had left them both burning hot all over and sweating quite a bit; Chen Jie's palms were covered in fine sweat, and Lan Luoluo's skirt and leg skin were stained with a layer of crystal-clear perspiration.

The continuous tension left her entire body limp, her legs trembling slightly, and she nearly lost her footing with a sway, having to lean desperately against Chen Jie to steady her form with his strength.

After calming her breathing slightly, Lan Luoluo lowered her head to look at her sweat-soaked clothing and raised her hand to take it off.

The moment the clothing left her body, a chilly sensation swept over her entire system, and she gave a slight, tiny shudder.

Inwardly, she could not help feeling secretly apprehensive: I'm wearing a skirt today of all days, what should I do if someone discovers this?

She promptly stuffed this piece of clothing directly into the palm of Chen Jie's hand.

"Everything's soaking wet, I can't wear it anymore, I don't want it, I'm giving it to you-you can just secretly gloat."

Chen Jie lowered his gaze to the item in his hand, inwardly reflecting: You really know how to play.

He raised his eyes to look at Lan Luoluo and spoke softly: "You're the first person to give me something like this..."

After tidying up properly, the two of them straightened their clothes and walked out of the bushes side by side, heading in the direction of Lan Susu.

The branches and leaves in the forest rustled, and Lan Susu had already stopped her steps, standing quietly in place to wait.

Seeing the two of them walk over, she immediately removed the lace cloth from her face, her gaze falling upon Lan Luoluo with slightly furrowed brows as she asked with concern: "Luoluo, Chen Jie, where did you two go just now? I looked for you for ages and couldn't find anyone anywhere. Luoluo, why are you sweating so much?"

Chen Jie smiled and casually explained: "We were hiding in the bushes deep inside, and the paths are winding, making it hard to find. We were just adjusting our state in there and getting used to each other's rhythm along the way."

Lan Luoluo hurriedly followed up by nodding in agreement: "That's right, the space inside was narrow and stuffy, which is why we worked up a sweat."

Lan Susu's gaze swept over her younger sister's slightly flushed cheeks and her skirt stained with thin sweat. Although she vaguely felt something was amiss, she did not continue to press the matter, merely nodding gently: "So that's how it is, I thought you two had wandered far off."

The wind blew through the treetops, bringing a wave of coolness.

With his hands behind his back, Chen Jie firmly gripped the item Lan Luoluo had just handed him, his expression remaining composed and natural without a trace of abnormality.

He looked at Lan Susu before him and offered a soft proposal: "Let's call it a day on the hide-and-seek. The hour is getting late, so we might as well take this opportunity to discuss the strategy for tomorrow's Freshman Assessment."

Hearing this, Lan Susu nodded, her eyes full of seriousness: "That's fine too. Tomorrow's assessment is of utmost importance, we really ought to properly smooth out our coordination methods."

The three of them walked over to a clean bluestone nearby in the forest and sat down, preparing to discuss strategy.

Chen Jie quietly initiated the mental Simulation. In Lan Susu's perception, she only saw him and Lan Luoluo sitting quietly, appearing upright and attentive to the lecture, everything completely normal without a single flaw.

Taking advantage of Lan Susu's focused immersion in the simulation imagery, Chen Jie stealthily reached his hand out to stroke Lan Susu's thigh.

Lan Luoluo's fingertips trembled violently, her heartbeat accelerating sharply as she lowered her breathy voice in a panic: "What are you doing, Chen Jie? My sister is watching right there, stop for now..."

[Wishing all reader lords a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!]

[The two chapters updated today kept getting stuck in review and weren't released until past six o'clock; especially chapter 20, which was rejected and sent back for repeated revisions, truly bad luck. Thank you everyone for your patient waiting.]