Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

Two large bags of kitchen waste were collected. Chai Xiaomi was about to go downstairs to take out the trash when Wu Li snatched the heavier bag without saying a word.

Grandma praised from behind, "These days, it's rare to see a boy who's so observant. Xiao Wu is so sensible."

Chai Xiaomi thought to herself: What's so sensible about him? Does he think she doesn't know what he's up to?

In the dimly lit corridor in the corner of the community's green belt, in the shadows where the streetlights don't reach.

The girl was pinned against the wall.

As the kiss landed, her hand was grabbed, and the boy in front of her hooked her fingers around the hem of her T-shirt and lifted it up.

Soft palms pressed against hard abs, one muscle at a time, pure bliss.

"Sister, I haven't seen enough of mine, do you want to go see other people's too?"

He frowned, his voice low and hoarse, and before the last word had even faded, he kissed her again.

"Mmm..." Chai Xiaomi was pulled into his arms by his waist, and half of her body went limp.

Wu Li's restless hands pinched the flesh on her waist, making her shiver with ticklishness.

Noticing she was struggling to breathe, his kisses suddenly became light and gentle, pecking a few times, his sharp canine teeth rubbing against her earlobe: "You can only be mine, you can only look at me, you can only kiss me, you can only play with me. You can't even look at anyone else."

What's going on with this sudden, intense possessiveness?

"I was just talking to Grandma, who wants to look at other people's?" Chai Xiaomi muttered, her hand playfully and brazenly pinching his T-shirt twice. "None of the ones online are as tempting as you."

The little brat was clearly mostly appeased, but his teeth were still restlessly nibbling at her ear as he mumbled in a spoiled tone, "Mimi, I can't wait any longer. When can I marry you here? I want to be with you every day, no, every single moment."

"In this day and age, it's against the rules to get a marriage certificate too early, unlike in ancient times. Let's wait two more years until I graduate."

She stood on tiptoe and kissed the tip of his nose.

"What's the rush? I can't run away."

Wu Li lowered his eyelashes, his eyes dark and unfathomable: "I'm afraid you'll attract unwanted attention. Most men in the world are wicked, all harboring ulterior motives, including me."

"But I'll only be bad to you, and only good to you. Other men might not be like that. They can go to great lengths to be good to different women, and they can also use every means to be bad to them. If you encounter one, you must stay away. The best way is to cut off other people's thoughts and come with me to get a marriage certificate."

They even knew about the marriage certificate.

Chai Xiaomi suppressed a chuckle and said, "Do you know what you look like right now?"

"Like what?"

"Like a dog guarding its food, baring its teeth."

*

Taking out the trash took quite a while, so to avoid arousing suspicion, Chai Xiaomi dragged Wu Li to the supermarket to buy a few bags of potato chips, using the excuse of buying snacks to make the trip take longer.

Upon arriving at the doorstep, I could vaguely hear intermittent words coming from inside:

"Orphaned," "vicious relatives," "starving," "forced to drop out of school"...

Chai Xiaomi paused, turned to look at the boy who was the center of the family's conversation, and asked in surprise, "Who gave you this persona?"

Wu Li learns quickly and has a strong comprehension ability. He can understand many modern words. When asked about his "persona" by Chai Xiaomi, he answered frankly, "I learned it from a TV series. It's called something like 'butterfly.' When I told my aunt, she believed it completely."

Chai Xiaomi: "..."

Yao Xue works as a TV host, often shooting on location, and has been doing humanistic documentary programs for over a decade. She has visited many remote villages and seen all sorts of people, making her more vigilant and perceptive than most others.

She and Chai Mingde had privately sponsored the schooling of several children in the mountains, but they had never taken them home.

This time, however, they made an unprecedented suggestion: let Wu Li stay at home for a period of time during the summer vacation so that his daughter could help him catch up on his studies and find a way to help him resume his education.

She seemed to have an inexplicable trust in this boy she had only met a few times.

And so, Wu Li naturally moved into the house.

Chai Xiaomi sat cross-legged on the bedroom carpet, listening intently as her mother arranged a room and prepared toiletries for Wu Li outside.

So all the effort she put into making her future plans over the course of a day couldn't compare to someone's sudden inspiration.

Of the entire family, only Chai Mingde opposed this decision.

Even his maternal grandparents voted in favor, because in their eyes, no matter how tall he was, he was still just a child.

Before bed, Dad specially pushed open the door and instructed, "Your mom is like she's under a spell, I can't persuade her otherwise. From now on, lock your bedroom door at night. Based on my experience as a soldier and my counter-surveillance skills, the way that kid looks at you is definitely not simple."

Chai Xiaomi chewed on potato chips and nodded obediently.

She silently added to herself: Is it possible that the way I look at him isn't simple either?

As he closed the door, Chai Mingde glanced at the transparent glass container on the bedside table, inside which a black scorpion was wagging its tail at him.

He shrank back, unable to understand when his adorable daughter had developed a liking for such creepy reptiles. She used to only like furry little animals.

*

Wu Li went to the store as usual during the day, so the so-called "tutoring" had to be concentrated in the evening.

Chai Mingde ordered that the tutoring session be held in the study, and that it be held no later than 8 p.m., after which everyone should return to their rooms.

Yao Xue assumed that Wu Li, being so young, would have to work to save for his tuition, and she had already pictured him struggling to make ends meet. Therefore, out of consideration for the two children, she would bring them various fruit platters every night, and sometimes she would even try making some small desserts following online tutorials.

Once the study door was closed.

It was time for the young couple to spend time alone together.

There were two chairs in front of the desk. Wu Li insisted on lifting Chai Xiaomi onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her from behind, and resting his chin on her shoulder, looking completely satisfied.

"You stinky Lili, this is class time! Your behavior is seriously disrespectful to the teacher." Chai Xiaomi patted the two arms around her waist speechlessly, feeling like she was back in an octopus. "Let go! What if my parents suddenly walk in? How am I supposed to explain that?"

Unable to break free, she could only turn her head and glare at him angrily.

"I placed a Gu worm three meters outside the door. It will detect anyone who gets close, so don't be afraid." He leaned closer to her, narrowed his eyes, and said with a hint of mischief in his voice, "Mimi, the way you look so timid and guilty makes us seem like we're doing something shady."

He turned his head and saw that her face was flushed with nervousness. He couldn't help but chuckle softly, his nose brushing against her chin, his warm breath falling into the crook of her neck: "Mingming, you've done even more outrageous things."

Chai Xiaomi blushed bright red, pointing her index finger at his forehead as a warning: "This is home, with elders around. Get your thoughts in line and stop thinking about driving and going to class all the time!"

She struggled to sit back in her chair, her hair practically screaming, "I'm a proper teacher."

The student tilted his head, looking innocent, and asked, "Does 'driving' in your sentence mean driving a vehicle with wheels? It doesn't seem like it; does it have a double meaning? Can you explain it to me, teacher?"

The teacher opened her notebook expressionlessly: "Shut up, you have too many questions."

The student, looking aggrieved, rested his chin on his hand and said, "Didn't you tell me to think more and ask more questions?"

The teacher's ears subtly turned red: "The point you asked about is completely irrelevant; let's skip it!"

Not long after.

Teacher Xiaomi's seat was forcibly moved onto Xiao Wu's lap again.

She gave up resisting and continued teaching.

Wu Li's nose was buried in the girl's long, loose hair on her back. He gently inhaled the faint scent of shampoo, only his lazy eyes peeking out from behind her shoulder as he watched her flip through the PowerPoint presentation on her computer.

While explaining modern items to him, Chai Xiaomi would also demonstrate how to operate electronic products.

She vaguely recalled the time when he taught her archery, but now their roles were reversed and the teaching progress was completely different.

Wu Li can remember anything after being taught it only once.

She finally understood why Old Ji's gaze towards Jiang Zhiyu had become increasingly helpless after he accepted Wu Li as his disciple.

Thinking of this, she suddenly paused.

Wu Li looked at her and asked, "Do you miss them?"

"Hmm..." Chai Xiaomi responded listlessly.

Only they themselves know who this "they" refers to.

Wu Li could always see through her emotions at a glance and hit the nail on the head.

Before the sad topic could continue, Chai Xiaomi's phone rang.

It's my best friend Qiuqiu.

"Baby, don't you love me anymore?!" Qiuqiu's plaintive voice came through the receiver. "Before, during winter and summer vacations, you would ask me to go out and play every day. Now, not only do you not play duo games with me, but you don't even reply to my messages."

"Tell me! Are you having an affair?"

Chai Xiaomi glanced silently at the person who was playing with her hair.

It's not that there's someone outside, it's that there's someone at home.

She tried to defend herself: "How could I not reply to your messages?"

"Are you playing me? Last night! Right here last night, we were having a great chat, and then you suddenly disappeared. Do you want me to screenshot our chat history and shove it in your face?"

Chai Xiaomi was stunned for a few seconds.

I remember now. I was so engrossed in chatting with Qiuqiu last night that I didn't pay attention to answering the students' questions, and I was manually "shut up." Later, she probably... maybe... possibly... replied to the messages with her mind.

Qiuqiu sobbed dramatically, "In the end, love is all about conscience. Feelings eventually fade. I really have no happiness left for today."

Chai Xiaomi, understanding and considerate, said, "Then let's contact each other again tomorrow."

Qiuqiu: "Do people say that?"