Yan patted XueQing's hand. "No rush. He can't run," he said.
Just then, sounds of movement from the staircase attracted the family's attention. JingYuan had left YiHan's bedroom and arrived downstairs. The crowd looked over. Okay. Another pair of panda eyes.
As a regular member of the Bai household, JingYuan had clothes he could wash and change into at the mansion. By the time he walked down, he had already washed himself up and changed into a new shirt.
"How's HanHan?" Ma hurriedly asked.
"He's fine. Sleeping," JingYuan replied.
The group let out a sigh of relief. Ma's heart felt rather apologetic at the bedraggled (unsatisfied) look on his face. Look at this child. He even changed his clothes. One could tell right away that her youngest son was terrible to deal with. A closer look made the apologetic emotions swirling in her welled up even further. Her heart froze. She could see several bleeding gashes on JingYuan's neck just above his shirt's collar!
"JingYuan, what's with your neck?" Ma asked in a panic. "Did HanHan do it? That child! Have you treated to them yet?"
Ma's abrupt questioning made everyone look at JingYuan's neck. The person in question raised his hand to touch at the wounds on his neck.
"It's fine," he replied with a smile. "It's just a tiny wound. No need for any salves."
XueQing had turned to look at JingYuan's neck too. From her angle, she could look down JingYuan's slightly agape shirt collar into his very sexy collarbone. But that's not the point. The point is the fresh teeth marks on that collarbone!
Static sounded out in her brain and she hopped out of her seat.
Everyone was startled by her sudden action.
"Why were you so jumpy, XueQing? You scared me," Ma said, bemused.
XueQing's mind had been flying at the speed of light in those few seconds. She looked at her family. Everyone looked normal. They must not have discovered them yet. She was about to say something when she saw JingYuan threw an apologetic glance at her.
In that unique deep voice of his, he said, "Uncle, Aunt, XueQing, I've something to tell you."
With those teeth marks as evidence, XueQing knew what he was going to say just off women's intuition. She didn't think it through. She immediately dashed over and took a hold of JingYuan's arm.
"Come with me, JingYuan," she said. "I have something to tell you." As she said so, she tugged him away from the couches.
"This brat just doesn't know restraint," Ma scolded with a smile.
"What year is it? No girl would display that genteel restraint these days," FuRen languidly commented.
Ma considered FuRen's words. "True. Strike the moment you see the one you like. Only then will you get what you want," she said.
FuRen: "…" That's not what he meant. But his dear wife seemed to have done the very same thing back then to him. Ah, they're old now. What should he do? It's suddenly so embarrassing.
Yan: I don't exist.
***
XueQing dragged JingYuan all the way into her room. She shut the door with a loud bang. JingYuan was currently feeling guilty and so just followed along.
She stood at the door. Her head dropped into her palm and she left it resting there for a long moment. Only then did she close in on JingYuan, peeled away his shirt collar with two slender and smooth fingers.
"Tell me. What's this?" she shot.