"Can it go in now?"
Xie Chengxiao's usually cold face flushed slightly red.
Oh.
She was referring to the silver needle and thin thread in her hands.
What else could it be.
Xie Chengxiao cleared his throat, his long, narrow phoenix eyes narrowing slightly as he aimed the thread and pushed it through the eye of the needle.
"Done."
As he handed the threaded needle back to her, he was met with a pair of dewy, innocent eyes.
Bai Liuyue said in a joyful tone, "Brother-in-law, you are amazing."
It was just threading a needle; what was so amazing about that.
Xie Chengxiao kept his face stern and gave a faint "Mm" in response, but the corners of his lips couldn't help but curl up slightly.
Bai Liuyue began earnestly sewing the epaulette back onto his military jacket. The fine needle and thread wove back and forth through her fingertips with nimble and practiced movements.
Under the warm glow of the lamp, the young girl's porcelain-white face was lowered, her almond eyes sparkling.
As the needle and thread flew between her fingertips, a few playful strands of hair curled at her temples on the side facing him, painting a picture of gentle tenderness.
It felt as though no matter how late he came home, there would always be a light left on for him, and a pair of hands ready to mend his clothes, bringing him a perfect, cozy warmth.
If it were her, it seemed like it wouldn't be so bad.
This thought suddenly surfaced in Xie Chengxiao's mind, startling him.
"Brother-in-law." The soft female voice drifted to his ears again.
Xie Chengxiao snapped back to reality. "Hm, what is it?"
Bai Liuyue pointed to the newly sewn epaulette and a section of white thread tied off and hidden within the inner lining, saying:
"I forgot to bring scissors."
Forgot the scissors?
Then just bite it off with your teeth.
Xie Chengxiao thought to himself instinctively.
Bai Liuyue blinked, as if she could see right through to his thoughts.
She pointed to her own cheek.
Her slender fingertip pressed into her fair, plump cheek, creating a small dimple.
With seventy percent seriousness and thirty percent distress, she said slowly:
"I ate some candy a few days ago, and my teeth still hurt a little."
Xie Chengxiao's face remained aloof, but inwardly he murmured: Oh, she really is just a little girl.
She even loves eating candy.
The next second.
Bai Liuyue stood up from the edge of the bed. Her left hand held the mended jacket, while the fingertips of her right hand pinched the needle and the tied-off thread.
She took a small step forward.
Stood on her tiptoes.
Tilted her face up, and said naturally:
"Brother-in-law, you bite it."
As she spoke, she raised her hands a little higher.
Gesturing for him to lower his head and bite off the thread.
But didn't the young miss of the Bai family feel that the distance between them was a bit too close, and that this action was dangerously intimate?
Various thoughts continued to swirl in Xie Chengxiao's mind.
Bai Liuyue raised her hands again, a little displeased by his distraction. She wrinkled her nose and called out:
"Brother-in-law~"
It sounded like a complaint, yet also like she was acting coy.
As if blaming him for being so slow to react.
Her arms were getting sore.
Possessed by some strange impulse, Xie Chengxiao actually obliged her and slowly lowered his head.
When he bit off the knot, his head was almost pressed against her chest.
He could see the smooth, rounded tips of her pale, translucent fingers.
His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily a couple of times.
From a distance, this posture looked excessively ambiguous and intimate.
The bedroom door was left open.
"What are you doing?" came Xie Manyu's shocked gasp from the doorway.
She and Nanny Wu had just helped the unconscious Bai Baozhu into the guest room to rest. Having just settled her on the bed, she was on her way to urge the family doctor to hurry.
Passing by the staircase, she noticed that the door to the first room on the left was wide open.
It was Bai Liuyue's room.
Out of curiosity, Xie Manyu stealthily poked her head in, wanting to see what she was up to.
And so she saw Bai Liuyue facing her, her almond eyes slightly upturned, radiating the bewitching charm of a vixen in the fluidity of her gaze.
And her brother, Xie Chengxiao, was actually bending over, leaning down, and resting against her embrace.
This position...
Was absolutely terrible!
Seeing this scene, Xie Manyu was first stunned, and then furious.
Her sister-in-law was still lying unconscious in bed. How could her brother hide away in a room with his wife's younger sister behind everyone's back, striking such an intimate pose.
It was utter moral depravity!!!
Xie Chengxiao quickly turned around, only to see Xie Manyu glaring at him with wide, angry eyes, a look of absolute condemnation on her face.
As if he were some kind of cheating scumbag.
"What are you doing at the door?" he asked coldly, his sharp brows slightly raised with a hint of scrutiny.
Hearing this, Xie Manyu grew even angrier.
Oh, so they had the nerve to do such shameless things.
And were afraid of what people might say?
She replied in a huff:
"You dare to do something like this, yet you care about what I'm doing standing at the door?"
"Sister-in-law is still unconscious right now. Brother, do you have any conscience at all."
Xie Chengxiao furrowed his brows, having no idea what kind of spell Bai Baozhu had cast on Manyu.
His sister had actually become her die-hard loyalist.
No matter what Bai Baozhu did or said, Xie Manyu supported her unconditionally.
Even the last time when Bai Baozhu eloped with Xu Yanci, Xie Manyu had helped her by deliberately delaying the timing of their search.
"Manyu, shut up."
Xie Chengxiao didn't want to explain.
Just now, Bai Liuyue was merely helping him sew back his fallen epaulette, and since there were no scissors handy, he had used his teeth to bite the thread.
Their interaction was completely open and aboveboard.
Pure and innocent.
It was Xie Manyu who was looking at them with dirty eyes.
Xie Manyu got even more fired up, this time aiming her fire at Bai Liuyue.
"To think Sister-in-law even spoke well of you in front of me, saying you've always been kept sheltered at home, that you have a pure and introverted nature, and asking me to treat you more gently."
"What noble young lady, bah! It's all an act."
"You're just a vixen seducing your brother-in-law."
Bai Liuyue was leisurely organizing her sewing kit, placing it meticulously on the table.
She then picked up the jacket with the newly sewn epaulette and gave it a shake.
After confirming that it wasn't sewn crooked, she nodded in satisfaction.
She showed absolutely no reaction to Xie Manyu's provocations.
"Brother-in-law, raise your arm."
"Hm?" Xie Chengxiao blanked for a moment. Before he could fully process it, his body obediently raised his arm first.
Bai Liuyue stood on her tiptoes, unfolded the jacket, and slipped it over his long left arm.
"Right side."
Xie Chengxiao instinctively slid his right arm in.
The perfectly tailored jacket was now on him. Bai Liuyue even smoothed out the wrinkles on the back of the jacket to ensure it looked flawless, before nodding in satisfaction.
Xie Chengxiao felt her warm fingertips brush across his spine, and his entire body stiffened slightly.
This scene fell into Xie Manyu's eyes.
To her, it meant Bai Liuyue was incredibly arrogant, completely ignoring her questioning, and even dressing her brother right in front of her face.
Her movements were natural, her demeanor intimate.
She simply didn't know the meaning of shame.
This is way, way, way, way, way! Way too much!
"Waaah waaah... You, you guys are too much." Xie Manyu was genuinely brought to tears by anger. Speaking without thinking, she cried: "You shameless adulterers, I hate you."
After saying that, she covered her face and ran away.
Bai Liuyue's small face revealed puzzlement and confusion. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze fixed straight on Xie Chengxiao.
She pointed at him.
Then she pointed at herself.
And said in a soft, slow voice:
"Shameless adulterers?"
"You..."
"And me?"
Her almond eyes blinked innocently, as if she didn't quite understand.
