The green plum that was almost ntr

Late at night, the apartment building’s corridor was silent, a quietness shattered by the sudden sound of knocking on the door.

Yang Yuan looked up from the sofa and glanced at the wall clock; the hands were already pointing to eleven o’clock at night.

‘It’s this late, why is someone still knocking?’

He pondered in his heart, a sense of confusion rising. Normally, at this hour, besides Su Xiaoyou occasionally returning late from work, basically no one would come to disturb him.

Although he found it strange, Yang Yuan still got up and walked to the entryway.

Peeking through the peephole, he saw a familiar figure pacing outside the door and realized it was Sun Guihua, who lived across the hall.

Sun Guihua was a single woman in her thirties who lived alone and was usually a bit… overly enthusiastic.

After a moment’s hesitation, Yang Yuan slowly opened the door, and a complex smell mixed with cosmetics and some kind of food fragrance assaulted his senses.

Sun Guihua was standing at the door, wearing a silk slip nightgown with a very low neckline, which was particularly eye-catching under the warm yellow corridor lights.

“Little brother Yang finally opened the door. Big sister’s hands were getting sore from knocking~”

Yang Yuan’s internal alarm bells went off immediately, knowing that she was up to no good again.

This neighbor had often tried to strike up conversations with him under various pretexts, and her attire frequently challenged the limits of his patience.

“Sorry, Sister Sun.”

Yang Yuan’s tone was polite, but his body imperceptibly took a small step back, leaving himself a sufficient safe distance.

“I was getting ready for bed, I didn’t expect you to come knocking so late.”

His words were cleverly phrased, expressing both apology and hinting that her visit was ill-timed.

But Sun Guihua didn’t seem to catch the subtext in Yang Yuan’s words, or perhaps she simply didn’t care.

“Oh, it’s just that I made some extra food while practicing my ability and immediately thought of you, little brother.”

As she spoke, she magically produced an insulated lunch box from behind her back, holding it with both hands and leaning forward, trying to get close to Yang Yuan.

Seeing her trying to use her assets to “bump” into him, Yang Yuan subconsciously took another step back, causing Sun Guihua to lunge into empty air and nearly hit the doorframe.

“Aiyo!”

Sun Guihua let out a small cry, the smile on her face a little stiff. The awkward scene made both of them fall silent.

In the corridor, only the hum of the air conditioner’s outdoor unit and their mutual, unspoken embarrassment remained.

Sun Guihua forced a couple of chuckles, and Yang Yuan could only twitch the corners of his mouth in response, a stiff smile plastered on his face.

Just then, a chilling voice came from behind Yang Yuan.

“What are you two doing?”

Su Xiaoyou had woken up at some point and was now standing beside Yang Yuan, her usually pure and cute face devoid of any expression.

Her clear, almond-shaped eyes seemed to be covered with a thin layer of ice as she stared coldly at Sun Guihua.

Sun Guihua was startled by the sudden voice, and the smile on her face completely crumbled.

She kept rubbing her hands to cover up her awkwardness, her tone betraying her guilt.

“Haha… Little sister, you’re home too.”

Sun Guihua thought to herself that, based on past experience, every time she came knocking, nine times out of ten it was Su Xiaoyou who answered the door.

Although that little girl was usually kind and approachable, she became a different person whenever it concerned Yang Yuan, leaving her with no opportunity to take advantage of.

This time, seeing that it was Yang Yuan who opened the door, Sun Guihua had been secretly delighted, thinking her chance had finally come, but she never expected this one to still be at home.

“What? Auntie thought that if I wasn’t home, you’d have your chance?”

“Little sister, what are you saying? Auntie… no, big sister was just afraid you two hadn’t eaten and came to bring you something.”

Sun Guihua quickly corrected herself, plastering on a smile in an attempt to ease the atmosphere.

Su Xiaoyou sneered, her eyes narrowing slightly, her voice exuding a dangerous pressure.

“So… you came to deliver food at eleven o’clock?”

This remark directly hit Sun Guihua’s sore spot. Her forced smile instantly collapsed, and she stammered, wanting to argue but unable to utter a single word, clearly knowing she was in the wrong.

Seeing her opponent speechless, the chill in Su Xiaoyou’s eyes intensified, and as if declaring her sovereignty, she said in a fierce tone.

“No need to trouble yourself with concern. I’m more than enough to take care of A-Yuan.”

After speaking, without giving Sun Guihua any chance to react, the security door was slammed shut with a loud bang.

“Tsk… why is it so hard to find a man.”

In the corridor, Sun Guihua stomped her foot forcefully, her heart filled with resentment.

She had finally gotten a chance to be alone with Yang Yuan and had thought she could take the opportunity to get closer to this man she had long coveted, only to have her plans ruined by that little girl Su Xiaoyou.

Frustrated and angry, she could only give up for now, walking back to her room in her slippers with a sway of her hips to continue practicing her superpower.

It seemed that now, only the growth of her power could slightly appease the unwillingness in Sun Guihua’s heart.

****

After sending off the uninvited guest, Sun Guihua, Yang Yuan and Su Xiaoyou returned to the living room sofa.

Although the door was tightly shut, the air in the room seemed to still be filled with the tense, gunpowder-like atmosphere from just now.

Su Xiaoyou didn’t sit casually as she usually did; she held onto Yang Yuan’s arm tightly.

Her warm palm pressed against his forearm, her fingers even gripping the fabric of his clothes with some force, as if she felt that if she let go even for a moment, Yang Yuan would immediately disappear.

Su Xiaoyou’s head was drooped in disappointment, her black hair covering the side of her face, making it impossible to see her expression.

Yang Yuan felt the force from her arm and knew that her emotions were a bit complicated at the moment.

He didn’t rush to speak, just gently patted the back of Su Xiaoyou’s hand, conveying comfort in a silent way.

After a good while, Su Xiaoyou finally broke the silence.

“Did I… scare you just now?”

She didn’t choose to look up at Yang Yuan, just gently rested her cheek on his shoulder.

“Not scared, really.”

Yang Yuan’s tone carried its usual cadence; he knew this would help Su Xiaoyou relax.

“In any case, I think that version of Xiaoyou is quite cute.”

Hearing Yang Yuan’s words, Su Xiaoyou’s cheeks visibly reddened, the heat even passing through her thin nightgown to Yang Yuan’s shoulder.

“Still talking slick, I’m being serious!”

She took a deep breath, mustered up her courage, and began to reveal her feelings to Yang Yuan, piece by piece.

“I’m always like I was just now. Whenever I see A-Yuan being pestered by those women with ill intentions, my heart feels so uncomfortable… really, especially uncomfortable.”

“That feeling is like something of mine is about to be snatched away. It’s always been mine, but they want to reach out and grab it.”

As soon as her voice fell, Yang Yuan gently raised his hand and flicked Su Xiaoyou’s smooth, full forehead with his index finger.

“Ah!”

Su Xiaoyou cried out in pain, a pinkish mark instantly appearing on her forehead.

She held her head, her almond eyes wide open, filled with confusion and dissatisfaction.

“Alright, my lady Xiaoyou, calling me a ‘thing.’ How about showing some respect for me as a living person?”

As soon as Yang Yuan said this, Su Xiaoyou’s gaze shifted from wronged to somewhat evasive.

“It was just a metaphor, I didn’t mean anything else by it!”

She knew she had let it slip just now, exposing her deepest possessiveness.

“If I didn’t know that [Void Palm] can’t absorb living things, I’d probably have to be on guard against you using lethal force on those women, wouldn’t I?”

Yang Yuan said half-jokingly, gently scraping Su Xiaoyou’s nose with his finger.

“How could that be! A-Yuan, how could you think of me like that? I’m very law-abiding!”

“At most, I’d just swallow their important belongings into the void so they can’t find them~”

Su Xiaoyou said this, deliberately pouting and putting on an innocent look as if she would never do such a thing.

But at this moment, a tumultuous storm was already raging in Su Xiaoyou’s heart.

She had indeed imagined it on countless nights, in every moment she saw Yang Yuan being harassed by other women.

If her ability could do it, she could use [Void Palm] to silently devour those women who had improper designs on Yang Yuan, leaving them forever in the endless void.

The imagination was so real that it even gave Su Xiaoyou a morbid sense of satisfaction.

However, Su Xiaoyou would never let Yang Yuan know about these dark, extreme thoughts.

In front of him, she would always be the gentle and kind childhood friend.

“Alright, alright, stop thinking about all this nonsense.”

Yang Yuan started to knead Su Xiaoyou’s chubby little face, as a way to comfort her.

“It’s getting late, hurry up and go to sleep.”

Su Xiaoyou’s face turned red from his kneading, and she squinted her eyes comfortably.

But as soon as she heard the word “sleep,” her eyes rolled, and her mouth immediately drooped into a pitiful expression.

“But… the weather forecast said there will be thunder tonight.”

“You think, maybe we should follow the old rule…”

Hearing this, Yang Yuan curiously picked up his phone from the coffee table and opened the weather forecast app.

The screen clearly displayed: “Cloudy, light breeze, temperature 18℃.”

“What thunder?”

Yang Yuan held up his phone and shook it, motioning for Su Xiaoyou to see clearly.

“Isn’t this cloudy weather?”

Su Xiaoyou’s eyes instantly became vigilant, and she shot up from the sofa.

She reached out with her small hand and snatched the phone from Yang Yuan’s grasp.

“It’s not cloudy! A-Yuan’s phone’s weather forecast just hasn’t updated yet!”

“Yes, it must not have been updated!”

Su Xiaoyou found a perfect excuse for herself, her little face filled with an unquestionable certainty.

After speaking, she even deliberately turned off the phone screen, as if doing so would make the thunder a foregone conclusion.

“Alright, alright, if you say there’s thunder, there’s thunder.”

“Then… old rules?”

Faced with Su Xiaoyou’s pestering and unreasonable behavior, Yang Yuan could only helplessly agree.

Besides, he couldn’t bear to refuse those cute eyes full of anticipation.

“Go get the quilt and bring it to my room. I’ll go over after I wash up.”

Seeing Yang Yuan agree, Su Xiaoyou immediately cheered and skipped towards the bedroom.

****

Time ticked by. Yang Yuan lay in bed trying his best to fall asleep, but Su Xiaoyou beside him wouldn’t settle down.

“Hehehe~”

Lying on her side, Su Xiaoyou suddenly let out a few incomprehensible chuckles.

“What are you laughing at…”

“Nothing~ I’m just so happy!”

“Being like this, it feels like we’re back to our childhood again.”

Yang Yuan’s thoughts were pulled away by these gentle words, and blurry images involuntarily appeared before his eyes.

It was a place without the glamorous heroines from the TV news, and a place without any hope.

Yang Yuan clearly remembered that the Su Xiaoyou from his childhood was just as dependent on him.

Back then, Su Xiaoyou’s face was filled more with unease and fear, not the joy and satisfaction of this moment.

Thinking of this, Yang Yuan’s brow furrowed unconsciously. Su Xiaoyou beside him seemed to sense the change in his mood and restlessly rubbed against his shoulder.

“Childhood… huh?”