Chapter 46 - What Should I Do if My Younger Brother’s Crush Has Taken a Liking to Me?

Chapter 46 Xi Ning tilted her head and remained motionless, feeling an itch as her hair strands grazed her ears. She slowly raised her hand to the back of her ear, gently pursed her lips, feeling an inexplicable dryness in her mouth. She didn't know how to respond. Two emotions had been entangled in her mind all this time. One was the instinctive sense of crisis lurking in her subconscious, while the other was the emerging, unfamiliar but irresistible feeling. Her fingertips lingered on the screen for a long while, clearly showing that she hadn't adapted to this change in their relationship. "Forget it, I'm tired. Goodnight~" A lazy voice from Kong Nian Xi played automatically in her earphones. The voice was lazy, with an indifferent tone. Xi Ning felt a little nervous. She hadn't replied much in tonight's conversation, keeping the other party waiting, which made her seem indifferent. She paused, deleted the tangled words, and typed her response: [Goodnight.] After that, there were no new messages. She sat on the bed for a while. The dryness in her mouth made her get out of bed. There was still half a bottle of water left on the table from the daytime sports event. She unscrewed the cap and took a few sips. The Bluetooth earphones, which she hadn't removed from her ears, emitted a crisp alert sound. Her phone received a new message. Xi Ning immediately put down the mineral water bottle, returned to the top bunk, picked up her phone, and saw Xi Mu's profile picture. "..." [Brother Xi Mu: Sister, I saw someone at the convenience store entrance at the girls' dormitory. Looks like you.] Having lived together as siblings for more than ten years, they understood each other's temperaments very well. Xi Mu usually only messaged her when he had something important to discuss, as casual chitchat to enhance their sibling bond was out of the question. [Xi Ning: What's the matter? I'm about to sleep.] [Xi Mu: So, it's really you? Did you also see my girlfriend?] [Xi Ning:... Are you bringing this up just for that?] [Xi Mu: Well, Ms. Xu mentioned that our family hasn't gone out to eat together for a long time. She asked me to make sure you come back home this weekend.] Xi Ning faintly replied with an "Oh." She was about to put down her phone and sleep, but Xi Mu seemed to be afraid that she'd turn off her phone. He proceeded to send several more messages. [Xi Mu: So, be careful not to expose my relationship.] [Xi Mu: I don't want to be nagged.] Xi Ning stared at her phone, biting her lip. She couldn't understand why Xi Mu suddenly said this. She almost never bothered about this kind of trivial matter concerning him. [Xi Ning: You're overthinking it.] [Xi Mu: Well, that's good. By the way, how have you been with Kong Nian Xi recently?] Xi Ning was stunned, not expecting him to suddenly change the subject in that way. [Xi Mu: You know... I was blacklisted by her last time. Have you two fallen out because of that?] "..." Xi Ning awkwardly leaned against the wall with the wallpaper, and after a moment, she typed: [It's fine.] [Xi Mu: That's good. She's beautiful, but too arrogant.] [Xi Mu: No wonder you're in the same class, even though you claimed not to be familiar with her before.] [Xi Mu: Sorry, sis, for making you go through so much trouble for my selfishness before.] [Xi Mu: She's so lofty. Even if you become friends, it's still hard to express it, right?] Xi Ning furrowed her brows deeper and deeper, her face growing increasingly unpleasant. She endured it and, seeing that the chat box still showed "typing," an inexplicable displeasure rose within her. She forcefully typed: [Shut up.] [Xi Mu: ...?] [Xi Ning: You'd better not follow the crowd and lose your integrity.] [Xi Mu: ???!] Having sent that, she didn't intend to continue the conversation. Xi Ning pulled down the status bar, activated airplane mode, and tossed her phone aside before going to sleep. On the other side, Xi Mu, who was inexplicably at a loss, sent a few more messages, none of which received a reply. Having teased each other since they were young, Xi Ning was always blunt in her speech and treated her friends and her brother differently. It was said that hitting is caring and scolding is loving, probably a unique aspect of sibling affection. However, with Xi Ning's temperament, she generally wouldn't get angry at him for the sake of outsiders. But just now... why did she suddenly get angry? And with such a strong sense of anger, this wasn't right, was it? Perplexed, he put down his phone. --- The next morning. There was still one day left for the sports meet, with the first match starting at nine in the morning. So, after breakfast, there was some leisure time. After returning from the cafeteria, Xi Ning walked alone through the stairwell. There weren't many people on the stairs at this time. The laughter coming from the front sounded a bit abrupt. She casually looked up and saw several tall and slender figures on the upper floor of the stairs. The girls chatted and laughed as they walked upstairs, with Kong Nian Xi at the back. Her thick and silky hair fell naturally on her shoulders, with rosy lips and an eye-catching smile on her face. Xi Ning subconsciously halted her steps, waiting until the laughter faded and the figures in front disappeared before beginning to walk again. Though she knew what she did when she had reacted, she didn't understand why she felt the need to hide. She entered the classroom at a slow pace. The back row was noisy, so Xi Ning deliberately avoided making eye contact and went straight to her seat. There wasn't much to do. She habitually pulled out a book titled "XX Hundred Practice Questions" from the shelf and began working on it with a piece of draft paper. Just as she had completed a couple of questions, the curly-haired head in front of her, who had been dozing off since the morning self-study until now, began to stir. He sluggishly got up from the desk, yawning and stretching as he rubbed his eyes and looked around. Eventually, his gaze landed on Xi Ning in the back. He then leaned over and poked his head over: "Those little rascals didn't even call for me. I'm so hungry… Study Queen, do you have any snacks? Can you spare me some?" Xi Ning stopped writing and, seeing that he truly looked pitifully hungry, thought for a moment before reaching into her desk pocket. She didn't have a hobby of hoarding snacks, but every time Tu Xiaoyuan came, she liked to stuff snacks in her desk pocket. Over time, her stash became quite plentiful. She pulled out a packet of crispy noodles and handed it over to the curly-haired student, who gladly snatched it, exclaiming joyfully, as if he had hit the jackpot, "Thank you for your generosity, Study Queen! Maybe I'll score a few more points on the joint exams after eating what you gave me!" "..." Xi Ning was speechless, her hand supporting her forehead in disbelief. At this moment, a voice rang out next to her, "Then I also want to score a few more points~" As soon as the voice fell, a backpack was suddenly dropped onto the desk next to her. Xi Ning shifted her gaze slightly and saw a slender white wrist resting on the edge of the desk. Kong Nian Xi had sat down beside her, looking directly at her. "I'm also hungry. Study Queen, feed me~" Her tone was soft, with a hint of playfulness, deliberately sounding sweet but not to the point of causing discomfort. It made it hard for people to refuse her. The curly-haired student guarded the bag of crispy noodles in his arms, "Elder Sister Nian Xi, first come first served. I've claimed this meal for myself, you see." Kong Nian Xi turned to give him a cold glance, "Who wants to compete with you? Go sit over there." The curly-haired boy laughed playfully, "Alright, alright, I won't disturb the two of you anymore~" After saying that, he shot a wink at Xi Ning and turned to eat his noodles. "..." Xi Ning looked away, reaching into her desk pocket again. "You didn't have breakfast?" "Yeah, I got scolded by Tian Jiabao all morning and didn't have time to eat." Kong Nian Xi pouted at her with a look of grievance. The intense gaze from the side made Xi Ning unconsciously dodge, slightly arching her slender back. She quickly fished out everything edible from her desk and placed it on the table. There was a marinated egg, a bag of small bread, a stick of ham, and a bottle of milk, which appeared quite abundant at first glance. Kong Nian Xi scanned the items on the table, teasing, "Do you have so much saved up? Have you given me everything?" Xi Ning pushed the food toward her table and looked up at the clock hanging on the blackboard, pursing her lips, unable to hold back, "But there's still time now. It would be better to go to the cafeteria if possible." Kong Nian Xi blinked and leaned in, asking, "Is this... the kind of concern between normal classmates?" The words "normal classmates" were emphasized, and Xi Ning sat up a bit straighter, glancing over the bright red lips that seemed to be of the same shade as last night. She tried to maintain a normal tone and went along with her comment, "If you think so... then, I suppose." But after saying that, she felt a little guilty. She felt like she was baiting the other person, trying to be both welcoming and rejecting. After a tense silence, Xi Ning tightly gripped her pen, pondering about finding a new topic. Suddenly, she felt something being pushed into her shirt pocket. She raised her head in confusion and pulled out a box of medicine upon glancing at it—Stomach-Protecting Digestive Pills. "..." She looked up blankly at Kong Nian Xi. Kong Nian Xi smiled and said softly, "I bought this specifically for you – aids digestion." Xi Ning was taken aback, knowing that she was referring to the events of last night. After pausing for two seconds, she was about to speak when Kong Nian Xi picked up a bag of bread, "Whatever you give must be eaten properly. Going to the cafeteria won't earn you any extra points." She trailed off, her slender fingers pinching the packaging, tugging but not tearing it open. Biting her lip, she cast a fleeting glance at Xi Ning. Xi Ning glanced at her for a few seconds, wanting to say something, but the words seemed to get stuck. The corners of her lips curved slightly as she reached out, effortlessly tearing open the packaging and offering it to Kong Nian Xi. However, Kong Nian Xi didn't take it. Instead, she leaned in closer, lowered her head, and took a small bite of the bread from Xi Ning's hand, then looked up with a smiling gaze, gently chewing. The rosy lips parted slightly, revealing clean, white teeth. With the smooth motion of her slender neck as she swallowed, a soft pink tongue quietly peeked out and flashed at the corner of her lips. Xi Ning hastily averted her gaze from the other's lips, feeling somewhat flustered, and turned her head, intending to take back the bread in her hand. But when she did so, her hand was suddenly empty as Kong Nian Xi took it from her. As her fingertips brushed across Xi Ning's wrist, a rush of warmth swept through her. Kong Nian Xi smiled, "With this kind of feeding, I think I can score a few hundred more points in the next joint exam."