Serenade

Jin Xi puffed up her cheeks in annoyance.

Bo Yanqing gave a faint smile and said gently, "My Jin Xi looks very pretty today."

"Huh?" Jin Xi looked at the phone screen where Bo Yanqing gazed at her with gentle eyebrows, "You dressed up carefully."

"So you noticed after all. I was just joking earlier that you didn't." Jin Xi said contentedly, "Just now you were still fooling me."

"A sloppy ghost who can go downstairs to get takeout wearing pajamas, of course it's noticeable when she suddenly dresses up."

"Who goes to get takeout in their pajamas!" Jin Xi thought to herself, at least she would put on a down jacket.

Just then, Bo Yanqing's phone was suddenly snatched away, the picture became shaky, and a little girl's voice rang out, "Dad! Grandpa! Look, Bo Yanqing's girlfriend, he's video chatting with his girlfriend!"

The chaotic picture showed a large family, with young and old.

Bo Yanqing rushed out, his voice sounding a little angry, "Give me back my phone!"

Jin Xi quickly covered the camera lens, her heart thumping rapidly, her face blushing crimson red.

At this time, she heard a deep elderly male voice from the receiver, "No manners, give your brother back his phone."

"Mm..." The reprimanded little girl gave Bo Yanqing back his phone.

Bo Yanqing saw that the screen showed the home menu, Jin Xi had already hung up the video call, so he pressed the lock button and put the phone back in his bag, and fiercely twisted his cousin's ear, "Itching for a beating again, I'll deal with you later."

The girl stuck out her tongue and hurried back to her parents.

Grandpa with white sideburns looked at Bo Yanqing and asked, "Little Yan, dating a girlfriend?"

Bo Yanqing gave a faint smile, "Not official yet."

Little auntie said gently, "Little Yan had a difficult childhood, find one who's gentle and considerate, who understands cold and warmth, and will cherish you."

Bo Yanqing was silent for a moment, and gave a soft "Mm".

The phone screen was pitch black, and you could hear the lively chatter of the big family in the background.

Jin Xi guiltily ended the video call, sitting alone on the edge of the bed in a daze.

Seeing that someone had suddenly fallen silent, Shen Ping Chuan took off his headphones and glanced at her, "You dumb or something?"

Jin Xi crawled over to Shen Ping Chuan and squatted in front of him, smiling and asking, "Bro, do you think I'm gentle?"

Shen Ping Chuan covered his chest in shock, "What're you doing?"

Jin Xi sat next to his legs again and grabbed his hairy calves, gently pinching them, smiling and saying, "Bro, do you think I'm considerate?"

Shen Ping Chuan was very shocked, "Sis, if you've got something to say just spit it out, don't do this, you're scaring me."

"No!" Jin Xi grabbed his feet again, narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Bro, you've taken good care of me, let me trim your toenails for you."

Shen Ping Chuan crawled to the head of the bed, asking in frightened confusion, "Are you trying to kill me?"

**

On Lantern Festival day, Bo Yanqing finally took Jin Xi to see the little kitten she had been looking forward to for so long.

The two met at the school gate. Jin Xi wore a light down jacket and the rabbit fur scarf Bo Yanqing gave her, the loose and puffy feeling made her look like a little white dove.

She stood at the school gate, looking left and right, sometimes lowering her head to mumble to herself.

Bo Yanqing's mouth curved up as he walked over.

"My lady."

"Don't call me that."

Jin Xi looked up and saw him approaching, his open coat revealing a light v-neck sweater underneath. In the sunshine he looked fresh and warm.

He was holding a small bag, and in his other hand a waffle cone ice cream.

Jin Xi happily tried to take the ice cream from his hand, "Thanks dad...I mean, thank you senior."

Ugh! It was just an ice cream.

Jin Xi, stand up straight!

Jin Xi was also holding a small bag of cat food. Early that morning Shen Ping Chuan had gone to the market to sell pig liver and lungs, cooked and chopped them to mix into the food. Cats loved it the most.

Bo Yanqing didn't like that her hands weren't clean, so he took the ice cream from her. Jin Xi held his hand and tiptoed to lick it a few times.

Watching her rosy tongue, it really wasn't much different from a kitten's tongue. Bo Yanqing raised his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth curving into a warm smile.

Seeing Bo Yanqing staring at her, his gaze seemed quite intent and thirsty. Jin Xi asked, "Do you want to eat it too, senior?"

Bo Yanqing lowered his head to look at her, "I do."

He wanted to eat her little cherry.

Jin Xi bit off a piece of waffle cone, crunching loudly, "Well you can't have any."

The ice cream was all hers.

The two walked unhurriedly into the school.

The school was almost deserted during winter break, cold and lonely. On the sports field there were a few boys playing basketball, and only the two of them slowly walking under the long road of chinaberry trees.

Sunlight filtered through the chinaberry leaves, dappling the ground.

Jin Xi licked her lips, "Senior, we've circled the school twice, where's the kitten?"

Bo Yanqing calmly said, "We're still looking for it, aren't we?"

Jin Xi was speechless.

So you said you'd bring me to see the kitten, but you don't even know where the kitten is yourself.

Bo Yanqing gently coughed and calmly explained, "The kitten just turned one month old. Big White has hidden it well, won't let others see it easily. We can only find Big White first, and have it bring us to the kitten."

Jin Xi: "Then where's Big White?"

Bo Yanqing looked at the tranquil campus, and drew out a long syllable, "Ummm..."

Jin Xi: ...

Alright, let's keep looking then.

Bo Yanqing brought Jin Xi to an deserted experimental building in the northern part of campus. This building was left over from the previous century, and had been abandoned due to its age.

The grey brick walls were covered in climbing green vines.

This abandoned laboratory building was a base for many stray animals on campus.

Bo Yanqing held Jin Xi's hand and walked up the moss-covered steps, pushing open the north door of the building which let out a long creak.

There was faint light coming from the end of the laboratory corridor, the passage was empty, with discarded paper items.

Jin Xi asked in a low voice, "Senior, is Big White here?"

Bo Yanqing gave a soft whistle, the whistle echoed in the corridor.

From somewhere came a few "meows", and Jin Xi's eyes lit up, "Oh!"

Bo Yanqing gestured for her to be quiet, then led her inside.

Because of its age, there was a certain stale and decaying smell in the air, and drafts blew through the hallway, cold and creepy. Jin Xi unconsciously grabbed Bo Yanqing's sleeve.

"Senior, it's so dark here."

"Mm."

"Is Big White here?"

"Don't know."

Jin Xi couldn't help but sidle closer to Bo Yanqing.

Just then, a couple suddenly came out of a classroom into their line of sight.

This couple looked completely mad, the boy directly pushed the girl against the wall, kissed her passionately, while his hands roamed all over her body.

Jin Xi's eyes suddenly widened, and at this moment, she felt a warm hand cover her lips, muffling her so she couldn't make a sound.

He stood behind her, his other hand reaching across her neck to pull her back against the wall, hidden in the darkness, so the passionate couple wouldn't notice them.

The couple were no longer satisfied with just kissing, the boy pushed the girl against the wall from behind and started vigorous "physical exercise", panting and moaning sounds rang out...

Bo Yanqing held Jin Xi from behind, her back was pressed against his firm abs, while his arm was across her collarbone area, pinning her tightly.

In the darkness, an intense battle had reached a fever pitch.

Bo Yanqing lowered his eyes, glancing down to see the little girl's face flushed red, her earlobes burning hot, eyes wide open and fixed on watching them, unable to tear her gaze away.

Bo Yanqing: ...

He reached out to cover her eyes.

Unexpectedly, the little minx pried his fingers open again, leaving a tiny gap to keep peeking through, blinking blink blink, continuing to watch.

He leaned down slightly, breathing softly next to her ear, warm breath: "That nice to look at?"

"Mm..."

Jin Xi obediently closed the gap between his fingers again, not looking anymore.

The passionate couple were indulging wantonly, making loud sounds.

Bo Yanqing could clearly feel the little girl's breathing become more and more urgent, her hands gripped his clothes tightly, her small face grew hotter, almost unable to endure it.

If an innocent little girl was already like this, how could he, a virile young man, remain unaffected.

Jin Xi reached back to feel her lower back, it seemed something was poking her. Bo Yanqing's hand quickly came down to grab Jin Xi's, sternly warning, "Don't touch."

"Oh."

Bo Yanqing said lightly, "Let's go."

"How...do we go."

Without waiting for her reaction, Bo Yanqing grabbed her hand and led her towards the end of the corridor.

Heaven knew when this couple would finish, Bo Yanqing certainly didn't want to endure having Jin Xi's waist rub against him while watching their full live show.

The couple were shocked to find there were actually others here.

Bo Yanqing didn't even glance at them as he pulled Jin Xi past them, his hand still covering Jin Xi's eyes.

"Sorry, excuse us." Jin Xi explained flusteredly as they walked, "We didn't see anything, please continue."

The two almost broke into a run after leaving, not stopping until they were out of the laboratory building.

"My god." Jin Xi clutched her heaving chest, panting as she said, "They're so shameless!"

Seeing that Bo Yanqing didn't respond, Jin Xi curiously looked back, "Senior..."

Bo Yanqing stood with his back to her by a tree, saying heavily, "Don't come over."

"What's wrong with you?"

"I told you not to come over!"

Bo Yanqing suddenly raised his voice, startling Jin Xi and making her shrink back, quickly retreating several steps.

"Why...why are you yelling."

Bo Yanqing took off Jin Xi's little backpack that was on his back, holding it in front of himself as he turned and walked away.

"Hey, senior..."

"Go wait for me at the Third Playground."

Without waiting for her reaction, Bo Yanqing jogged off swiftly until he was out of sight.

Jin Xi was left standing there, completely baffled. What was his problem?

The grass at the Third Playground was withered and yellow. She paced back and forth to the spectator stands. Suddenly recalling her backpack was taken by Bo Yanqing, and her water bottle was still inside, now her mouth was parched.

Jin Xi took out her phone and sent Shen Ping Chuan a text message:

"Chuan Chuan, something super embarrassing just happened. A couple was caught doing xxoo in the experiment building by me and the senior. "

Shen Ping Chuan: "Which one?"

Jin Xi: "xxoo!"

Shen Ping Chuan: "Oh, naughty."

Jin Xi: "Annoying, I didn't even see the cat."

Shen Ping Chuan: "Where's Bo Yanqing?"

Jin Xi: "Don't know, he ran off and told me to wait for him. It's been half an hour and he still hasn't come back. Don't know what he's up to."

Shen Ping Chuan: "Hmm, men."

Jin Xi: "?"

Shen Ping Chuan: "Nothing."

...

Just as they were talking, Bo Yanqing came back carrying her small backpack, his cheeks flushed red, eyes shimmering with water, looking rather alluring.

Jin Xi copied Shen Ping Chuan's earlier tone and said to him: "Hmm, men."

Bo Yanqing's face turned even redder. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sat down next to her, resting his head straight against her slender shoulders, "Xi Xi, dad is broke."

His voice even carried a hint of whining.

Jin Xi curiously asked: "What did you just go do?"

Bo Yanqing nuzzled against her shoulder, "You don't know what I went to do, why are you randomly hmm-ing."

"I'm just randomly hmm-ing."

Bo Yanqing leaned against her shoulder, gazing at the setting sun in the distance, feeling exceptionally comfortable.

His short hair tickled her ear, his entire body weight pressed down on her -

"Xi Xi, dad loves you so much." His voice was lazy.

Jin Xi looked at him in disgust: "Are you sick?"

Bo Yanqing leaned closer against her, rubbing against her shoulder bones: "Xi Xi, when will you grow up?"

The golden sunset cast a touch of dusk on her soft face. She casually said: "What do you care when I grow up?"

Bo Yanqing lifted his head, breathing hot and wet against her ear: "The senior is about to lose control."

Jin Xi did not understand: "What?"

...

Just then, a "Meow Meow" sounded from behind.

The two looked back to see a big white cat sitting in the spectator seats, its tail curled around its feet, looking at them.

Jin Xi excitedly called out: "Senior, Big White is here!"

Bo Yanqing waved at the white cat. The white cat bounded over and nimbly climbed onto his lap, intimately cuddling against him.

"Big White, long time no see!" Jin Xi stroked its chin and gently asked: "Where are your kittens?"

Bo Yanqing put the cat down and waved the cat food in his hand. Big White seemed to understand something. It lifted its tail and slowly walked down from the spectator seats with cat-like steps.

Jin Xi and Bo Yanqing immediately followed it.

The two tailed a cat, leaving the stadium, passing the emerald green lake, going through the narrow path between two classroom buildings, and arrived at an empty field near the military academy training base.

At the edge of the field were several concrete slabs, and meowing sounds came from the grass under the slabs.

Jin Xi jogged over and found three black and white kittens in the grass between the stacked concrete slabs. The kittens were no bigger than a palm. One was snoring away while the other two played together...

Bo Yanqing reached in and took out the three kittens, placing them on the open field.

Big White meowed a few times, looking very proud, as if showing off to Bo Yanqing that it was a mother now.

Bo Yanqing stroked its little head to show encouragement.

Jin Xi opened the "Kitty's Favorite" food that Shen Ping Chuan had prepared and handed it to Big White. Big White contentedly took the bag and went to the side to enjoy its meal.

The kittens were not afraid of humans at all. Bo Yanqing sat on the grass and they climbed onto him, scratching his black pants and sweater with their little paws.

Bo Yanqing brought the kittens over to Jin Xi, but the kittens ignored her and all climbed back onto him. Jin Xi found this very unbelievable. He really had built-in catnip skills. Not only cats he had interacted with before, these kittens were meeting Bo Yanqing for the first time!

"They all like you so much."

Jin Xi squatted next to Bo Yanqing and said enviously: "Senior, were you a god in your past life who saved little animals? How do you attract little animals so easily?"

Bo Yanqing brought each kitten over to Jin Xi one by one, but the kittens only liked him and kept squeezing next to him.

The kittens all ignored Jin Xi and only surrounded Bo Yanqing, scratching and rubbing against him as they climbed onto him.

Bo Yanqing kneeled on one knee, the other leg stretched out on the grass, as he stroked the kittens' heads.

The sunset shone warmly on him. Jin Xi squatted silently next to him.

Seeing Jin Xi's silence, Bo Yanqing lifted his eyes to look at her: "What's wrong?"

Jin Xi pouted: "The baby is jealous."

The kittens wouldn't play with her.

Bo Yanqing's mouth curved slightly, his eyes filled with unprecedented tenderness. He reached out his hand and stroked her little head like he did with the cats -

"Don't be jealous, the senior loves you more."

Author's note: Jin Xi: Hmm [coldly.jpg]

Red envelopes available.