Chapter 370 - 169: Unwitting Love, Grown Deep

Chapter 370: Chapter 169: Unwitting Love, Grown Deep

"Enough talk. Get over here."

Xiao Wanqing couldn’t be bothered to listen to Su Ran ramble on. She hooked her arms around his neck, pulled him in, and ’forcefully’ kissed him, long and deep.

「A few minutes later.」

"Stop."

She weakly pushed Su Ran away and leaned against the wall, her face flushed red and her lip gloss smudged. She pursed her lips, but it seemed Su Ran hadn’t had his fill of the strawberry flavor, as he pulled her back in to keep kissing her...

This went on until she truly couldn’t take it anymore. She felt if they kept kissing here, she would lose control. So she stomped on Su Ran’s foot, pushed him away, and ran toward the village entrance.

Su Ran touched the corner of his mouth and smiled. ’So much for being an older "sister." In the end, she’s still just a girl.’

"Hey, Sister Wanqing, I want more strawberries!"

Su Ran shouted ’provocatively’ down the alley ahead.

As she ran, Xiao Wanqing glanced back and yelled, "No more for you! You always take things too far."

...

The night sky over the Loess Plateau was breathtakingly beautiful. After dinner, the group gathered around a fire in the courtyard to chat. Aunt Luo took a sip of water, cradling her cup as she gazed out at the desolate landscape. "...I never knew Liheng’s hometown was so remote," she said. "It wasn’t until after the deed was done that he finally brought me back here. The moment I saw this place, my heart just sank."

"Haha... You must have regretted it back then, huh?"

"I regretted it for two days, but he was good to me, so I accepted it. Besides, it’s not like we lived here, right? Later on, we’d come back once or twice for the holidays, and over time, I actually grew quite fond of this place."

As the four young women and the old lady chatted, they all noticed Su Ran was absently poking the fire with a stick, seemingly lost in thought...

"What are you thinking about?" Liu Jinyu asked Su Ran, who was sitting across from her.

Su Ran’s seating position was very deliberate. He sat apart from Aunt Luo and the four girls, drawing a clear dividing line between them.

’The main reason was that if he sat next to them, what if Liu Jinyu hugged his arm, and then Xiao Wanqing on his other side did the same? That would be way too awkward. So he staked out his own territory to avoid any mutual embarrassment.’

"Nothing."

Su Ran replied casually.

In reality, he was pondering a serious problem: the sleeping arrangements for the night.

The cave dwelling had two chambers, both with a large, shared kang bed. He’d "shared a bed" with them before, but this time it was a literal, heated kang.

They had all slept in the same space twice before, but this time was different. Two of the girls were in a relationship with him, one almost had been, and one had no romantic ties to him. The situation was no longer simple, which made it awkward.

’Su Ran wondered if they had realized the problem, or if they had, were they just pretending not to and leaving him to deal with the awkwardness?’

At that moment, Aunt Luo gave a bitter smile. "Back in the Imperial Capital, I asked Su Ran a favor. I asked him to bring my ashes back here when I die, so I can be with my husband."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent. They all knew Aunt Luo had no children.

"Hmph! Heaven is so unfair!" The fiery Aina stood up indignantly, shaking off Liu Jinyu’s hand. She vented, "Aunt Luo, you’re such a good person and you’ve done so much charity work! How could Heaven treat you like this, leaving you all alone in the world? Aunt Luo, please don’t be disheartened. From now on, we’re your good friends. If you’re ever bored or lonely, just call us. We’ll talk with you and keep you company."

"Thank you." Aunt Luo smiled. "Actually, I had a granddaughter, but she passed away too. If she were still alive, she’d be about your age now."

Xie Yiren said, "Aunt Luo, don’t dwell on the past. You have us to keep you company from now on."

Aunt Luo patted Xie Yiren’s head and said a single word, "Okay." She then stood up and said, "Actually, Heaven has been pretty good to me. It’s given me all of you young people, and that makes me very happy."

Heaven had indeed been very good to Aunt Luo, for it had brought her very own granddaughter back to her side.

She smiled, content. "It’s getting late. Everyone should get some rest. Hey, Su Ran, what are the sleeping arrangements?"

"Huh? I... AHEM..." ’This old lady is trying to stir up trouble, isn’t she?’ Su Ran thought. ’And after I spent all those years taking care of Uncle Qin, now you’re pulling this on me.’ "How about this: the five of you ladies sleep on one kang, and I, the one guy, will sleep on the other. Okay?"

Su Ran felt this was the best possible arrangement.

’If I suggested sleeping with Sister Jinyu to give everyone else more space, Xiao Wanqing’s face would turn green. For her, it would be a classic NTR scenario, watching her boyfriend sleep in the room next door... And if I said I’d sleep with Sister Wanqing, Liu Jinyu would probably give me the cold shoulder, as if to say, "And what about me? Am I, your ’sister,’ just dead to you?" So, sleeping alone was the safest option.’

Aunt Luo said with a smile, "My kang is too small. It won’t fit five people. You’ll have to take two of them."

PFFT—

Su Ran nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The four girls: ???

Su Ran made his difficult choice. He reached out and pulled Liu Jinyu and Xiao Wanqing to his side. "This works, right?"

Actually, this arrangement was quite logical.

Aunt Luo would sleep with Xie Yiren and Aina.

Su Ran would sleep with the two "sisters," Xiao Wanqing and Liu Jinyu.

The former group had no romantic complications.

The latter group did.

Besides, he could only pull these two. Pulling either of the other two would have been awkward.

Liu Jinyu and Xiao Wanqing didn’t object.

"Fine. That’s the plan, then. Let’s get to sleep." The two sisters crossed their arms. "Get in here with us!" they said to Su Ran assertively, then walked straight into the room.

Aunt Luo led Xie Yiren and Aina back to her cave chamber. Su Ran sighed, pushed open the door to the adjacent chamber, and was greeted by a sight. The two sisters, in perfect sync, had crossed their arms to lift up their woolen sweaters, revealing their slender waists. Their waists looked incredibly nice—perfectly toned and flat without a hint of excess fat, soft and smooth to the eye.

Of course, Su Ran was the only one who had ever caressed these two slender waists, a fact that made him feel quite smug. The young ladies from Demon Dance truly had amazing figures, and with the enhancing effects of the Finger Technique Fragrance, their skin was delicate and felt wonderful to the touch.