Chapter 136: Brother-in-law, you taste so good!

I stammered for a good while, raised my finger, and finally gave an answer.

"Boyfriend!"

I stole a glance back at Wangchuan, but he seemed to have no particular reaction to my answer.

I felt the same way anyway. No matter what I answered, in his heart I was simply his cat, and that was something unchangeable.

He probably didn't care what I really thought, as long as I didn't proactively deny our relationship. He wouldn't object, nor would he get angry.

Upon hearing my answer, Xin'er blinked her eyes, looking somewhat dazed and stunned.

"Older sister's boyfriend..." She murmured, staring at Wangchuan, continuing to look blankly.

I felt a little scared, but judging by Xin'er's reaction last time, she should understand what a boyfriend actually means, right?

Could she—could she understand what I meant?

Before I could even react, she sprang up into the air. Although she still seemed quite terrified of Wangchuan, a golden gleam began to sparkle in her eyes.

"Older sister's boyfriend! He smells amazing!"

"Huh?"

I was stunned once more. What kind of... evaluation was this?

Smells amazing. I suddenly had the bizarre sensation that Wangchuan had been roasted and served on a platter.

Yet if that day ever truly came, I would definitely shout at the top of my lungs: Everyone stop, Ji-ji is mine!

Ahem... I drifted off a bit. I couldn't quite figure out why Xin'er would use "smells amazing" to describe Wangchuan.

Could it be—was it the kind of thing children always say when they find a guy so handsome that he exudes a certain charisma?

Seeing me staring blankly, Xin'er offered an explanation.

"It means older sister's boyfriend is tall and handsome! He's comparable to Brother Han!"

As she spoke, she even blushed slightly.

The corners of my lips couldn't help but curl upward. Indeed, a grown girl cannot be reined in; she lays eyes on her brother-in-law and immediately compares him to her crush.

With that, we ran out of things to talk about, and a sudden awkwardness settled in. Xin'er kept staring at Wangchuan, then looked back at Han Mingxuan, seemingly making a comparison.

Yet the way she looked at Wangchuan seemed a little strange, and then she... began to sniff the air with her nose.

What on earth did this mean? Had she been around canines for too long, learning how to track scents?

That couldn't be right. Even though Wangchuan was a feline with a sharp sense of smell, my own nose only became this sensitive after I conceived his pup. I...

I suddenly grew so nervous. What was going on with Xin'er?!

The smile lingering at the corners of Wangchuan's mouth also looked somewhat terrifying. I swallowed hard, feeling that the current situation was growing rather chaotic.

Next, we entered the house, and Wangchuan stated his purpose directly: he wanted to take Xin'er to play inside the rift for a while.

Han Mingxuan considered it for a moment and replied, "That depends on whether Xin'er is willing."

"How long will she stay?"

"Depends on your mood," Wangchuan answered.

Xin'er looked at me, then looked at Wangchuan.

In truth, there was still a trace of fear in her eyes—a very strange kind of fear, defensive, much like... seeing a natural predator?

Xin'er kept wanting to back away.

Generally speaking, Xin'er was quite bold. That large dog on the second floor, for instance, didn't frighten her at all.

Wangchuan did carry a bit more of an oppressive aura, but right now he still had short hair and a slightly endearing touch to him. She hadn't even seen what Wangchuan looked like with long hair... which was even more terrifying.

Yet what made me most curious was that after sitting inside the house for several minutes, Xin'er still appeared utterly terrified of Wangchuan.

Afraid she might be, there was nothing I could do.

After all, when I first laid eyes on Wangchuan, I was terrified of him too. After being teased and flirted with by him a few times, I just got used to it, haha...

Although Xin'er wouldn't be teased by Wangchuan, precisely because of that, keeping her distance meant nothing terribly frightening would happen.

After thinking for a long time, Xin'er asked again, "Is the rift far away?"

Han Mingxuan smiled, and Wangchuan answered earnestly, "Not far."

Xin'er was equally serious, "If we don't have to take a boat, I can go."

Hearing this, I burst out laughing. This little girl got motion sickness, and she actually remembered it herself!

After a while, Han Mingxuan pulled a few bags out from inside the room—little pink pouches—and told Xin'er,

"Your underwear is in here, your outerwear is here, skincare items for going out are on this side, and little snacks are right here. Did you remember all that?"

"I remember," Xin'er nodded, taking the items.

"Did you really remember?" He asked again.

"I remember," Xin'er nodded once more.

"Mhm. Be obedient outside. I'm not worried about you being bullied; I'm just worried you'll pick up all kinds of cat-like habits."

"Huh?" Xin'er didn't understand, still busy inspecting which pouch held what.

"It's nothing." Straightening her collar, Han Mingxuan gave one final injunction: "I just mean there are a lot of cats over there, so stay away from them. Don't let them scratch you."

I was deeply moved. To be honest, at that moment I felt as though I were looking at a tender and sweet-talking Wangchuan.

When I went out, Wangchuan would give me those exact same endless rounds of instructions and warnings.

Unexpectedly, Xin'er suddenly smiled, revealing two little canine teeth, "It's fine, if I see a cat, I'll just eat it!"

I shuddered all over! Just how on earth was Han Mingxuan teaching my little sister! Even if he was a canine who loved eating meat, he shouldn't teach Xin'er like that!

Han Mingxuan's face instantly hardened, "Who taught you to eat that kind of thing?"

"I..." Seeing that Han Mingxuan seemed angry, Xin'er pouted, "I won't eat them... I was just joking."

"Go on then. Don't play for too many days, or your studies will fall behind quite a bit."

"Don't worry!" Xin'er waved her hand, holding her bags to bid farewell to Han Mingxuan.

After the farewell, I hurriedly reached out to take the bags from Xin'er's hands.

Only to be interrupted by Wangchuan, who simply lowered his gaze to look at me.

I was somewhat bewildered, "What are you doing?"

"She can carry her own things," Wangchuan said simply.

"I know, but I can help her carry them too," I lowered my eyes, thinking that Wangchuan probably didn't understand what human familial affection meant.

Even though Xin'er was about as tall as me now, she was still a ten-year-old child after all, and doing too much heavy lifting wasn't good for her.

"No need, Older Sister, I can carry them myself!"

Seeming to understand Wangchuan's meaning, Xin'er looked a bit embarrassed and held her small bags tightly by herself.

Moreover, she looked remarkably strong, much sturdier than when I had first left! Those two bags looked as light as two balloons in her hands—so effortless!

Wangchuan didn't speak and walked behind us. I looked at Xin'er, marveling inwardly.

How time flew! This single glance felt as though five or six years had passed!

Yet who could have known that I had only been dead for a little over a year?!

In less than two years, Xin'er had suddenly shot up into a tall, fourteen or fifteen-year-old young maiden!

She even looked to be about the same height as me, exquisitely proportioned with all the right curves in all the right places! And she had grown to be exceptionally beautiful, too!

I wondered if she had completely inherited our mother's looks, considering our old man looked like an ordinary man, nothing to write home about in terms of looks.

Yet Xin'er was genuinely a beauty. Looking at her now she was already pretty, and once she blossomed fully in the future, she would surely be as breathtakingly gorgeous as a lotus flower!

A wave of pride welled up in my heart. To be honest, this made me even happier than if I had been the pretty one!

Though for the most part she owed it to Han Mingxuan's blessing—being raised with scientific care, afternoon tea pastries, and spiritual energy nourishment—I truly didn't know how to thank him properly!

Yet seeing how respectfully Han Mingxuan treated Wangchuan today, while still not proactively stepping forward to chat or cozy up to him, I always felt something was a bit strange.

Still, Han Mingxuan had once mentioned that he had a favor to ask of Wangchuan, though it wasn't out of mere bootlicking.

Affairs between men were none of my business, so I didn't dwell on it too much. I figured it was just some matter between them that women weren't supposed to know about. As long as I could live happily and joyfully, that was enough!

After walking for a while, we reached an open clearing. Seeing no one around, Wangchuan made a slicing motion with his hand, directly tearing an entrance into the trunk of a tree.

A mirror-like entrance made Xin'er freeze instantly.

Having never witnessed such a sight before, I comforted her, "This is a shortcut to your brother-in-law's home. Otherwise, we'd have to take a boat."

With that, I stepped into the rift's entrance first.

Wangchuan obviously wouldn't go first. For one, he needed to stay behind to seal the entrance, and for another, if he went inside first and something happened to us outside, it certainly wouldn't be good.

With his extraordinary sense of responsibility, he definitely wouldn't leave first. Me being the first one to step inside was for the best!

Xin'er watched me go in, then reached out a hand to touch the surface.

Seeing a tiny hand probing out from this side, I grabbed it and pulled her right in!

"Whoa!" The moment Xin'er came through, she gasped in shock, her small mouth agape. Finally, seeing Wangchuan step inside as well, she hurriedly stepped aside by two paces, though her mouth remained unclosed.

"Older... sister... as expected... there are so many cats!"