Chapter 7: A Kitten’s Lesson and a Sister’s ‘Punishment’

“Well, well, well—”

Sister Yuan emerged from the other bedroom. Wrapped in a bathrobe, she sat on the edge of the bed, drying her hair while smilingly patting Xiao Xi, who lay there.

“Already learning how to warm the bed?” she teased.

“What ‘warming the bed’?” Xiao Xi muttered, turning his head away, speechless. Sister Yuan found his bashful reaction amusing. She laughed, patting his backside. “If you don’t behave, I’ll spank your bottom all night long, you know,” she warned.

“Ugh…” Xiao Xi immediately cowered. Taking advantage of his hesitation, Sister Yuan leaned in close to his ear. “How about it? Aren’t you secretly looking forward to it?”

“No…” Xiao Xi shook his head hesitantly. ‘It’s too embarrassing,’ he thought, ‘so definitely not.’

‘But there were only him and his sister in the room. Who would even be there to be embarrassed in front of?’

“Actually,” Sister Yuan began, putting away the hairdryer and changing into her pajamas. She then climbed into bed, embracing Xiao Xi. Slowly, she spoke to him, cradled in her arms. “Isn’t it quite easy to bring a kitten to your side?”

“A kitten?” Xiao Xi was momentarily confused.

“The kitten you mentioned, the one trapped on the roof. You weren’t lying to me, were you, Xiao Xi?”

“No, no,” Xiao Xi quickly denied, shaking his head. Shi Yuan nodded, satisfied. She was confident enough to discern the truth from Xiao Xi’s eyes.

“Kittens actually have a strong innate jumping ability. Even if they leap from a height, they’ll be fine. So why would it be trapped there?”

“Because… it’s still too small?”

“No, it’s because it lacks experience. A kitten has never tried jumping from a height before, which is why it fears the leap. But if it were to take that first step, it might gradually adapt, and perhaps even come to love the sensation of falling~”

As Sister Yuan spoke, she pulled Xiao Xi into an even tighter embrace. ‘Sister… Sister’s hug is warm,’ Xiao Xi thought, ‘but I really want to lie a little higher. Help, I’m going to suffocate…’

Yet…

In truth, Sister’s embrace was incredibly warm. Xiao Xi even felt his limbs growing weak from the hug, his body losing all strength. He simply lay there, quietly nestled in her arms.

Carefully pondering his sister’s words, Xiao Xi couldn’t shake the feeling that she had a hidden meaning. His sister probably wasn’t concerned with how to rescue a kitten. What she truly cared about… was perhaps himself.

‘Could he really make the kitten jump down willingly? Or was she implying he could guide it down? Courage, it was easy enough to say. If only he truly understood cat language, he could offer a few words of encouragement. But how could a kitten possibly understand him?’

‘Naturally, his sister didn’t understand cat language either. Her words, then, were meant for him.’

Xiao Xi vaguely considered this, though he wasn’t entirely certain. But then, his sister leaned closer, whispering into his ear, “Xiao Xi, do you want to experience what it’s like to fall in love with being punished?”

“Ah…” Xiao Xi fell silent. Only then did he realize his sister’s words carried a deeper meaning. Instinctively, he tried to shake his head, but his sister gave him no chance to refuse, pulling him into a forceful embrace…

****

Hah—

Opening his eyes, Xiao Xi climbed out from under the covers. He looked at the disheveled sheets and sighed.

Compared to the night before last, last night seemed even more intense. Was this truly punishment?

Hiss. Xiao Xi found even sitting on the bed uncomfortable. His bottom ached terribly.

‘It was all Sister’s fault!’

Xiao Xi angrily punched the bed. The sound woke Sister Yuan, who was lying beside him. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, then sat up and stretched.

“Oh~ Good morning, Xiao Xi~ Did you have fun last night?”

“Who would be happy being punished!” Xiao Xi retorted, still grumpy from waking up. Shi Yuan, with a wicked grin, pulled the fuming Xiao Xi into her arms once more. “Daring to get angry at your sister and even waking her up? Could it be that Xiao Xi wants another punishment?”

“Ah…” Xiao Xi suddenly realized. Recalling last night’s ‘punishment,’ he frantically apologized. “I’m sorry, Sister, I didn’t mean to… I…”

“Alright~ Look how scared you are~ How about—you atone by wearing women’s clothes?”

“Yes… huh?”

‘Wearing women’s clothes?’

Xiao Xi blinked awkwardly. Sister Yuan, looking quite excited, nodded and added, “That’s right, Xiao Xi. I’ve had this idea for a long time. From now on, you’ll live your life wearing women’s clothes~ Wear them when you go out, wear them at home. In short, wear them all the time!”

“How… how is that possible! I’m a boy!” Xiao Xi vehemently shook his head, refusing. “I still have to go to school, and go out. How can I wear women’s clothes?”

“Oh, it’s fine. You already look like a girl anyway~ Even if you wear women’s clothes on the street, passersby won’t notice. As for school… hehe, this way Xiao Xi won’t want to go to school, and then you can stay home with me every day.”

“No, I’d rather go to school then.”

“Pfft—Don’t you want to spend every day clinging to your sister?”

“Sister, you’re busy with your family’s business, right? How would you have time to cling to me every day?”

“Alright~ Didn’t you say last night that you’d listen to everything I say?” Sister Yuan once again adopted her queen-like demeanor. Xiao Xi lowered his head, then… reluctantly nodded.

“Alrighty~” Sister Yuan excitedly leaped off the bed and opened her wardrobe. Xiao Xi stared blankly at the large closet before him. So many… so many clothes. ‘How many has Sister bought?’ he wondered.

‘While Sister usually wore many beautiful dresses, looking at this now, he realized what he’d seen before was probably just the tip of the iceberg.’

Sister spent a long time choosing, constantly pulling out clothes and holding them up against Xiao Xi. After a considerable while, she finally selected a black and white floral dress. Returning to Xiao Xi’s side, she moved to put the dress on him, startling him into quickly stopping her.

“I’ll do it myself!”

“Hmph, it’s not like I haven’t seen you before,” Shi Yuan tsked. She handed the dress to Xiao Xi, then forcefully pushed a pair of black over-the-knee socks into his hand. “Wear these too, Xiao Xi~”

‘Oh, this…’

Xiao Xi took the clothes and went into the bathroom. He put on the dress, then pulled on the over-the-knee socks…

‘Eek, so… so embarrassing.’

Xiao Xi touched his face; it felt a little warm. He hesitated in the bathroom. ‘Maybe… maybe I should just take them off,’ he thought. ‘It feels so strange to see Sister like this…’

“Hurry up, Xiao Xi~ Sister can’t wait any longer~”

Outside the door, his sister’s voice sounded quite cheerful.

‘What to do? Waiting online, it’s urgent. Stuck in the bathroom doorway by Sister, wearing women’s clothes.’

‘Xiao Xi could almost imagine the replies if such a post were made on a forum. They would surely be something like, “Recommend quickly pouncing on them, guaranteed to love it~” But right now, it was *him* who might get “eaten.” That was precisely why he shouldn’t go out so easily.’

“If you don’t come out soon~ Xiao Xi, I’m coming in!”

“I… I know!” Xiao Xi replied frantically. He then vigorously clapped his hands, trying to calm himself. ‘Damn it, damn it,’ he thought. ‘It seems not only my face is flushed, but my body is excited too!’

‘If he went out like this, Sister would see him at a glance and devour him!’