Xiaobai Is Also Troubled Today

"Not going back?"

 
Lin Yunian's single question made Bai Tingzhi freeze on the bed.
 

Damn it, she'd completely forgotten she wasn't at home. In her current state, wasn't she just a cuckoo occupying a magpie's nest?
 
Lin Yunian reached into the covers. Bai Tingzhi, huddled inside, suddenly felt a warm hand grasp her ankle and pull it out.

 
"Put on your socks. Are you this casual at home, too?"
 

She just does whatever she wants, he thought. It seems I'll have to straighten out that habit of hers in the future.
 
"No... I'll do it myself..."

 
She peeked out from the covers again, embarrassed, and tried to pull her foot back, but Lin Yunian had already picked up the white socks and deftly slipped one on for her.
 

Phew...
 
Bai Tingzhi breathed a sigh of relief.

 
Thank goodness Lao Lin is straight, otherwise it would be so embarrassing for him to be holding my foot. But... it is pretty warm...
 
"Anyway, your parents aren't around. Just sleep here tonight."

 
Bai Tingzhi clutched the edge of the blanket, thought for a moment, and asked with a hint of excitement, "Are your ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) parents coming back tonight?"
 

"Mine?"
 
Lin Yunian pointed at himself in confusion, then opened his phone to double-check. "They're not coming back tonight. They just sent a text."

 
Bai Tingzhi's expression changed in an instant, and she flopped back onto the bed with a thud. From the edge of the tightly wrapped blanket, a pair of bright, watery eyes peeked out, looking at Lin Yunian with a sly smile.
 

"You're cooking two dishes for me tomorrow morning!"
 
Lin Yunian: -_-

 
She then rolled herself into a burrito and tossed and turned on the bed, even bouncing a couple of times.
 

"Alright, I get it. But what if you make the bed collapse?" Lin Yunian walked to the head of the bed and pressed down on the "burrito".
 
Bai Tingzhi slowly peeked out from one end. Pursing her lips, her face was a mixture of embarrassment and secret delight, her messy hair adding to her disheveled charm.

 
The two of them were quite close, their eyes fixed on each other.
 

"You should go to bed early, too. It must be getting late," she blurted out without thinking, only realizing her mistake a moment later.
 
This was his room, after all. Lin Yunian stood up silently and glanced at the time on his phone.

 
"It is time to get some rest."
 

It was almost eleven o'clock. Unlike Xiaobai, he didn't have a habit of staying up late.
 
"Forget about the homework," he said, changing the subject.

 
"Ah—no!" She almost tried to get out of the blanket, but she was wrapped too tightly and only managed to lift herself an inch or two off the bed with great effort.
 

Looking at Bai Tingzhi's disappointed expression, Lin Yunian said helplessly, "Okay, okay, I'll take pity on you. And even if I wanted to rest, there's no space for me on the bed."
 
Bai Tingzhi: ...

 
Hearing what Lao Lin said, she was so embarrassed she nearly squirmed inside the blanket.
 

She had taken over Lin Yunian's room, his bed, and his blanket... and then told him to get some rest early. Why did it feel like she was the one kicking him out?
 
Although they had rarely slept in the same bed after growing up—because the bed was a little too small for two people to have their own space—there was nothing wrong with it in principle. Good brothers could share a bed without it being awkward.

 
The problem was, she was probably a girl now, wasn't she...?
 

Bai Tingzhi didn't know what to say; everything felt inappropriate.
 
Lin Yunian, however, simply sat down on the chair beside the bed and tidied up the desk.

 
"I wouldn't dare sleep in the same bed with you. I'd catch a cold by morning."
 

"I just got a chill!"
 
"Who knows if there's a flu going around," Lin Yunian said lightly. "You sleep first. Don't get up to play on the computer later. Is there anything you want to eat tomorrow morning?"

 
Bai Tingzhi slowly unrolled the blanket, deciding not to force Lao Lin.
 

"Fine, I was kidding... Where are you sleeping?" she finally asked, her voice hesitant.
 
"Isn't there a guest room?"

 
"Oh, right..." She shrank back into the blanket, burying her face in it.
 

With a soft click, the door closed firmly. Bai Tingzhi peeked her head out again to check that it was shut.
 
She raised a hand to shield her eyes from the light, then pressed her cool palm to her forehead, a refreshing chill spreading through her.

 
I won't check my temperature. I'll just go to bed early. If I still feel unwell in the morning, I'll deal with it then.
 

This was the first time sleeping at Lao Lin's house had felt so unsettling. What was this feeling...?
 
Bai Tingzhi couldn't put a name to it. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she slowly drifted off.

 
Early the next morning.
 

The girl woke in a daze and gave a small stretch.
 
She didn't feel as uncomfortable, nor was she cold, just a little thirsty.

 
When had she fallen asleep last night? She had actually passed out without even washing up.
 

Her head still hazy, she got out of bed and pulled open the curtains on the balcony side. Cool sunlight filtered past the plants, scattering on the windowsill and in the corners of the room. A refreshing post-rain breeze slipped through the slightly open glass door, but the air was already beginning to carry the hint of summer heat.
 
Bai Tingzhi rubbed her eyes and, without even grabbing a jacket, pushed open the bedroom door, still half-asleep.

 
"Lao Lin—is there anything to eat?"
 

The voice she expected didn't answer. When she finally rubbed the sleep from her eyes, an equally slender figure emerged from another room.
 
"Xiaobai, are you feeling better? Yunian has already left for school. He asked for a day off for you, by the way," the woman said gently.

 
Bai Tingzhi snapped awake. "Auntie, good morning..." she said hurriedly.
 

The two families were very close, but for some reason, certain things still felt awkward when she was alone with her, especially now, and especially in front of Lao Lin's mother.
 
"Why are you wearing so little? You have to be more careful about staying warm when you have a cold..."

 
Aunt Lin began to nag. Bai Tingzhi didn't find it troublesome, but she did feel a sense of social death.
 

Right now, she just wanted to curse someone.
 
"Yunian set the rice cooker for porridge last night. Have some to eat first."

 
Bai Tingzhi nodded and went to wash up, Aunt Lin's chattering still audible behind her.
 

"I don't know why that boy stir-fried two dishes. He must have made them this morning and didn't eat a single bite. He clearly left a message last night saying..."
 
She quickly hid in the bathroom, swallowing the curses that were on the tip of her tongue.

 
So he had said his parents wouldn't be here. And they weren't, last night. They just came back this morning.
 

Hearing that Lin Yunian had really cooked two dishes for her, something in her heart suddenly sank.
 
It wasn't embarrassment, nor was it sadness.

 
It was a heavy feeling.
 

By the time she got back to the classroom, two morning classes were already over. She couldn't have stayed at Lin Yunian's house a moment longer!
 
Even in the classroom, Bai Tingzhi still wanted to strangle a certain someone. She only imagined it, of course. It wasn't that she couldn't beat him... she was just letting Lao Lin off the hook.

 
Lin Yunian was, as usual, not at his desk. Even if she wanted to hit him, she couldn't find him. Besides, he had left her food this morning, so she decided to let it go...
 

Humming a tune, Bai Tingzhi suddenly noticed that someone had drawn several little pigs and dogs on her desk with a black marker.
 
There were also some messy words, some of which seemed to have been wiped away and were no longer clear.

 
The drawings weren't big and were confined to a corner. If you weren't looking at her desk specifically, you would never have noticed them.