A Blushing Junior and a Shifting Bond

After they had left the scene, Li Chunsheng remained utterly silent, his grip tight on Liuxia’s wrist as he continued forward mechanically through the rain.

Liuxia stumbled along, pulled by his relentless pace, her gaze fixed on Li Chunsheng’s averted profile with a bewildered expression.

Since that moment, he hadn’t spared her a single glance.

‘Something is amiss,’ she thought.

‘This junior, he is profoundly off-kilter right now.’

‘Moreover, the hand that grasps mine holds an unexpectedly powerful grip…’

Before long, Liuxia found herself struggling.

The throbbing pain in her wrist elicited a soft whimper, and she whimpered like a puppy, “W-wait… just a moment! Chunsheng, your grip is so strong… you’re hurting me…”

“Ah!” Li Chunsheng exclaimed, as if jolted back to reality, releasing her hand with an electric swiftness.

“I’m so sorry, Senior!”

Even as he apologized, he kept his face resolutely averted from Liuxia, as if too ashamed to meet her gaze.

‘?’ A giant question mark bloomed in Liuxia’s mind.

“What’s the matter, Chunsheng?” The young woman circled Li Chunsheng, yet with each turn, she found his face deliberately evading her eyes.

Seizing an opportune moment, Liuxia rose onto her tiptoes, swiftly raising both her small hands to cup Li Chunsheng’s face securely.

“Heh! Gotcha!” she exclaimed with a triumphant little gasp.

“Let me see…!”

Yet, the moment she clearly saw Li Chunsheng’s face, she froze—his usually composed features were now flushed a startling, blood-red hue.

‘This junior… he’s blushing? Because of what just happened?’

As the realization dawned on her, the memory of their recent intimate encounter sent an involuntary blush creeping across her own cheeks.

Yet, alongside the shyness, a subtle hint of… secret delight also surfaced.

‘Well, well, it seems I wasn’t the only one mortified by that… Chunsheng, in his heart, isn’t quite as forceful as he outwardly appeared.’

This newfound insight instantly alleviated much of the embarrassment Liuxia had felt while playing along.

A faint smile graced the young woman’s lips as she gently reassured him, “Alright… we were just acting earlier, weren’t we?”

“You don’t have to dwell on it so much, Chunsheng, really.”

Liuxia’s delicate face flushed almost imperceptibly, her voice light and airy as she continued, “It was just… just a kiss on the cheek, that’s all. It’s truly nothing to make a fuss over…”

Her words seemed directed at Li Chunsheng, yet equally, they were a reassurance to herself.

Observing his senior’s magnanimous demeanor, Li Chunsheng couldn’t help but offer a wry smile.

“Indeed… it seems I, the one who initiated the plan, ended up looking far more flustered.”

Only moments before, when he witnessed his senior’s vehement reaction to Mu Shengling’s invitation, an inexplicable surge of anger had ignited deep within him.

Mu Shengling remained blissfully unaware, but he knew with absolute clarity that this delicate, beautiful young woman before him was still the senior he held in such high regard.

‘Therefore, for Senior to react with such fierce opposition, it must be because she hasn’t entirely moved on from that woman, Mu Shengling, in her heart, right?’

‘It was precisely because of that woman that you, Senior, met such a tragic end!’

In that very instant, Li Chunsheng’s anger sparked an uncontrollable impulse within him.

What emotion truly fueled that impulse?

Was it righteous indignation?

Or a simple, primal urge to protect?

Or perhaps… Li Chunsheng himself couldn’t articulate it.

He only knew that he had to immediately, utterly disrupt the current state of affairs.

And beyond that… he genuinely had no desire to share lunch with that woman, Mu Shengling.

Thus, almost entirely on impulse, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to the unsuspecting, adorable little face beside him, uttering those bold words from earlier.

The justification had been perfectly sound, and ultimately, his objective had been flawlessly achieved.

Yet, the moment he truly led Liuxia away from the scene, a tidal wave of overwhelming shame crashed over him, threatening to drown him whole.

‘What on earth… what on earth have I done?!’

‘Even if we were merely pretending to be a couple for an act, there was absolutely no need to actually kiss Senior’s face in front of others, was there?!’

‘Senior is a man! He’s the elder brother who has always looked after you! How could you defile her in such a manner?’

‘Merely because she has changed her appearance, do you truly no longer regard her as your Senior?’

‘But… but Senior’s cheek was so incredibly soft and smooth… springy like jelly…’

‘No! Li Chunsheng! Stop reminiscing about it right now, ahhhh—!’

If there had been a wall nearby at that moment, Li Chunsheng had no doubt he would have been so utterly mortified that he’d have repeatedly slammed his head against it, a dozen times over.

Alas, there was none, and so this unvented embarrassment ultimately channeled itself through his arm, manifesting as an increasingly powerful grip.

The more he replayed the scene in his mind, the less Li Chunsheng dared to meet Liuxia’s gaze.

He was terrified, fearing he might catch even the slightest hint of disdain or revulsion in her clear eyes.

Yet, to his surprise, the young woman showed no such reaction.

Far from being angry, she had instead gently reassured him.

‘As expected of Senior, truly… so mature.’

Witnessing Liuxia’s composure, Li Chunsheng swiftly emerged from his recent wave of mortification.

Just as he was about to speak, hoping to lighten the atmosphere, Liuxia beat him to it, pointing excitedly at the sky.

“Ah, Chunsheng, look! The rain seems to have eased up a little now!”

“Perhaps I can seize this lull to run back!”

“Chunsheng, you hold onto both the bento and the umbrella. I, your Senior, will just run back first. Remember to eat well, and then head back to work, okay!”

‘This person… she’s actually planning for me to go back to work while she returns alone, drenched in the rain!’

A sudden surge of indignation flared within Li Chunsheng at the thought.

His voice abruptly rose an octave as he bellowed, “Senior!”

“Eek—!” The young woman flinched, her body giving an involuntary shiver at the sudden, sharp rise in his voice.

“Please, you absolutely must! Let me buy you some warm clothes first, and only then should you even think about going to work!” In his pique, Li Chunsheng issued this “request” in a tone that bordered on a command.

“Eh?! Yes! Alright!” Having attended university and undergone military training as a Paladin reservist, Liuxia instinctively snapped to attention at the commanding tone, a crisp “snap” accompanying her posture.

‘Wait, no!’

The very next moment, she realized the oddity of her reaction, and her delicate face immediately flushed crimson once more.

‘Wuwuwu… how did I let this junior lead me by the nose again? I’m supposed to be the Senior!’

Liuxia felt deeply abashed, yet found herself unable to fault Li Chunsheng, for his intentions, after all, were genuinely for her well-being.

‘Darn it… I just went along and agreed… I should have insisted he go back to work; that would have been better for him…’

‘But, Chunsheng just now was truly… so imposing…’

Liuxia’s heart hammered wildly in her chest.

She cautiously lifted her gaze, stealing a furtive glance at the junior who, with a resolute expression, continued to pull her along.

Only then did she belatedly realize how much had subtly shifted between the two of them.

‘Chunsheng now, he seems… so tall…’

Yet, a long, long time ago, she had been the taller one, and Chunsheng had merely been a little tyke who required her constant care.

Her attention then drifted to the force that now guided her once more: that warm and broad hand.

‘His hand is also… so large… if he truly grips it tightly, it feels as though I couldn’t break free… It seems I won’t be able to change his mind…’

‘So that’s how it is.

Yes, that’s truly how it is.’

‘Chunsheng, he’s no longer the little brother who simply trailed behind me, obeying my every word…’

A sudden sense of bewilderment washed over Liuxia.

Though she wished to steadfastly preserve the simple, unadulterated sibling bond they once shared, events seemed stubbornly to be drifting in a direction she had never anticipated.

‘What… what exactly should I do? How can I… how can I properly guide Chunsheng?’

As if sensing the subtle flicker of bewilderment and helplessness in the young woman’s palm, Li Chunsheng’s hand instinctively tightened its grip.

This sudden gesture, in turn, made Liuxia’s heart pound even more rapidly.

‘No, no! Liuxia, Liuxia! You must pull yourself together!’ she admonished herself inwardly.

‘How can you let your heart race so wildly just because of a casual gesture from Chunsheng?’

‘Sigh, I’ve burdened Chunsheng once more this time.

When we buy clothes later, I absolutely must not let him spend money indiscriminately!’

Deep within herself, Liuxia rallied her spirits, and slowly, the young woman felt her resolve return.