Chapter 38: The Revealed Mark

A moment later, under the watchful eyes of an unseen audience, Xiao Xi emerged, clad in an oversized bathrobe, his movements hesitant and awkward.

Ahem, let’s clarify what ‘under watchful eyes’ truly meant here. Conventionally, it implies numerous gazes fixed upon one, yet in the room, apart from Xiao Xi, only Sister Yuan was present. How then, could it be ‘under watchful eyes’?

Well, the truth was… Xiao Xi felt as though Sister Yuan wished she possessed eight pairs of eyes to scrutinize him. ‘Is she trying to become a monster girl?’ he mused. ‘Hiss—though, come to think of it, a Sister Yuan with eight eyes would be quite alluring…’

Ahem… that wasn’t the point at all!

Sister Yuan, you lecher! Your eyes are practically popping out from staring at me!

“Come, come~ Xiao Xi, sit by your hubby, your hubby will blow-dry your hair~” Sister Yuan chuckled, patting her thigh. ‘Was she… was she asking him to sit directly on her lap?’

This was far too strange!

Even so, he couldn’t simply ignore Sister Yuan’s words. In the end, Xiao Xi settled in front of her, though certainly not on her lap. He sat there, head bowed in quiet compliance, allowing her to tend to his hair.

Phew~

“Wifey, hoho, are we sleeping naked later?” Sister Yuan playfully pinched Xiao Xi’s soft, flabby belly. ‘Mmm—’

“I… I’ll just wear pajamas…” Xiao Xi quickly shook his head. ‘Naked? Normally, that would be fine, but if he slept naked tonight, it wasn’t just about Sister Yuan potentially indulging in more games with him.

Even if she merely woke up in the dead of night, idly glanced at his stomach, and spotted that peculiar mark, he would have no way to explain it!’

Wuwu…

“No, no, I want to see Xiao Xi~ If you wear pajamas, it won’t feel the same when I hug you~”

“Given how you are right now, I think it’s better to feel nothing at all! Sister Yuan, please… really, just wear pajamas tonight. That… that thing, I’ll look into it, and we can discuss it tomorrow.”

‘He’d only talk about it again once that peculiar pattern was completely gone!’

“No, no~” Sister Yuan continued to coo playfully, setting down the hairdryer. Then, she reached out from behind and embraced Xiao Xi’s waist.

‘Ugh, here we go again. Next, she’d kiss his ear, whisper seductive words, and then…’

“Yayyaya—Secret Technique—Back Suplex!”

Xiao Xi had been sitting there, steeling himself for Sister Yuan’s usual affectionate teasing. Suddenly, with a burst of strength, Sister Yuan executed a back suplex, sending him sprawling onto the bed.

She then collapsed beside him, convulsing with laughter as she watched his utterly terrified expression.

‘Wh-wh-what the hell was that! Why a suplex out of nowhere!’

‘But that wasn’t the crucial part; the critical issue was…’

After Sister Yuan’s sudden outburst, his bathrobe… his bathrobe had fallen off!

Xiao Xi’s bare body was suddenly exposed before Sister Yuan. While she had seen him naked countless times before, this instance felt distinctly different. The reason was… that peculiar mark was now visible, too…

Sister Yuan laughed for a moment, but the instant her eyes caught sight of the mark, she froze, utterly stunned…

Danger!

Sister Yuan immediately flipped over, scrambling quickly to Xiao Xi’s side. Then, she began to scrutinize his stomach intently.

Hiss—

A look of sheer terror dawned on Xiao Xi’s face. ‘Help! Sister Yuan has caught me red-handed!’

“Tsk, Xiao Xi…” Sister Yuan’s expression turned rather grim. She looked up, gazing seriously at Xiao Xi, and asked, “Who put this on you?”

Ugh…

Ah, this…

Xiao Xi gasped, a sharp intake of breath. ‘How could he possibly explain this? Could he tell the truth? That wouldn’t work, would it? Normally, one would surely lie, right?’

‘Should he claim someone else had put it on him? If he were that intimate with another girl, Sister Yuan would undoubtedly lock him in the house, never allowing him to leave. He absolutely couldn’t say that…’

‘But… how could he possibly explain it then?’

Ugh…

Sister Yuan’s gaze grew sharper, a piercing stare that seemed to see through everything. It made Xiao Xi tremble uncontrollably.

In utter desperation, Xiao Xi could only choose…

…to take the blame himself, wuwu!

“I… I stuck it on myself,” Xiao Xi mumbled, turning his head away, a hint of guilt in his hushed explanation.

“Oh~” Sister Yuan nodded, a hint of skepticism in her gaze, then leaned closer. “Really? Xiao Xi, you truly put this pattern on yourself?”

‘How could that be? What normal person would put such a pattern on themselves? And a girl who… put such a pattern on herself wouldn’t typically be as honest as he was, right?’

‘What should he do? It was far too unbelievable, and Sister Yuan wouldn’t fall for it, would she? What to do, what to do?’

“Yes… because… a good female classmate brought some tattoo stickers, and I thought this one looked nice, so I took it. Is something wrong, Sister Yuan?”

At this point, his only option was to continue playing dumb. He adopted an expression of utter bewilderment at Sister Yuan’s reaction, hoping she would believe that he, this innocent and naive boy, truly understood nothing of such things!

Hmm…

Sister Yuan gazed at Xiao Xi’s innocent, guileless expression. ‘Hmm…’ she nodded with satisfaction. ‘Indeed, how could our adorable Xiao Xi possibly understand such things? He must have been led astray by some little hussy in his class!’

“Is that female classmate of yours usually a bit… ill-behaved~”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Xiao Xi nodded decisively. ‘Just kidding, he wasn’t lying this time. As for ‘behavior’… well, constantly acting like a chuunibyou could certainly be deemed problematic, right? Sister Yuan hadn’t specified what kind of behavior she meant.

Besides, Mia had even forcefully kissed him when they first met; that was definitely problematic behavior!’

“Hoho, I see now, Xiao Xi, you’re so silly~ Do you know what this pattern means?” Sister Yuan asked, a mischievous grin playing on her lips as she pointed at Xiao Xi’s belly.

“N-no, I don’t know, isn’t it just a tattoo?” Xiao Xi continued to feign ignorance.

“Hehehe, this pattern means…” Sister Yuan leaned close to Xiao Xi’s ear and whispered, “A desire to be watered~”

…

Huh?

Th-th-this!

Ahhh! How could something Mia put on him have such a meaning! What in the world was this! How could he ever face anyone again!

“So, Xiao Xi, how do you explain choosing this specific pattern and sticking it on yourself?”

“Wuwuwu… I… I don’t know…” Xiao Xi stammered, his face flushed crimson as he hastily backed away. Yet, Sister Yuan, like a beautiful serpent, continued to coil around him, then spoke:

“Xiao Xi~ On the surface, you appear to be an innocent, adorable, naive sweetheart, but deep down, in your heart, you’re actually a little devil longing to be watered~”

‘No, no, no! Sister Yuan, don’t just arbitrarily add traits to me! First of all, I had no idea what that tattoo meant, and secondly, I didn’t even put the thing on myself!’

‘And what was this talk of… a little devil!’

‘He was nothing of the sort!’

“Hoho, this kind of contrasting cuteness is also incredibly adorable, ya. Although I promised Xiao Xi we’d sleep peacefully tonight, now you’ve stirred me up so much I can barely sleep~ Na na na, Xiao Xi~”

Sister Yuan hugged Xiao Xi, beginning to coo playfully. “Don’t wipe off this pattern, okay? I’d love for Xiao Xi to keep it on forever. It would be such a delight to see it when we play our games~”

“No…” Xiao Xi was on the verge of tears from the injustice. ‘No, I can’t let Sister Yuan toy with me like this anymore. I need to find a way to fight back!’

Hiss—

‘I’ve got it!’

“Why are you… so knowledgeable about these patterns, Sister Yuan?” Xiao Xi asked, his face darkening as he looked at her.

‘Eh?’

Sister Yuan’s mouth twitched…