Chapter 141 Let's Pull Up Turnips Together

Wanchuan was stunned for a moment. "She can eat it, of course, but I can't provide for her indefinitely. If I give her things from the immortal realm, how will she manage when she finds a husband and has to live on her own later?"

"I..." I was also stunned for a moment. "You mean, whichever one she chooses, she can only stick to one kind..." And the possibility of a future between Xin'er and Han Mingxuan was truly very high.

"Mhm," he responded, pulling me into his arms and rocking me gently. "Don't think too much about it. Everyone has their own destiny. Having ghostly sustenance is already much better for her than a normal human, isn't it?"

"That is true..." I nodded, though my heart still felt a bit sour.

What Wanchuan said was entirely reasonable. Xin'er's radiant and supple appearance now was undoubtedly tied to these very things.

I shouldn't blame Han Mingxuan.

Han Mingxuan going everywhere to procure these ghostly entities required just as much effort as Wanchuan going everywhere to gather immortal fruits and spiritual treasures for me.

If Xin'er had grown up normally and married a human husband, she might never have been blessed with such fortune.

After lingering in Wanchuan's arms for a while and letting the earlier sense of disgust fade away, I began discussing with him the matter of Xin'er staying here.

We chatted leisurely while I changed into my pajamas. Since summer had arrived, I had plenty of pajamas to choose from.

Take the cute cotton pajamas I was wearing right now, for instance; both pockets were shaped like little carrots, making the outfit quite adorable.

"Is there anything Xin'er shouldn't do?" Before heading out to settle Xin'er in, I asked again.

"Anything you can do, she can do." Wanchuan held a bamboo scroll, the corners of his lips curving into a smile as he answered easily.

"I can sleep with you too, you know!" I hurled a pillow right at him—that big cat who loved making mischievous jokes!

"Haha—" He caught the pillow and laughed. "If you're willing, I wouldn't mind holding one more!"

"Jerk, jerk—! Even if you're willing, I'm not!" After spitting in mock disgust a few times, I turned on my heel and left!

I arranged for Xin'er to stay in a room slightly toward the south. Since no one had lived there year-round, I laid out an electric blanket to make it feel a bit warmer.

I didn't dare look into Xin'er's bag. Inside were still a few small lunch boxes—the Lock & Lock kind—but with breathable holes punched into the lids, clearly containing living things.

I figured the things Han Mingxuan had brought for her were far more than just those scorpions; there might be other flora and fauna from the ghost realm as well.

No wonder Wanchuan hadn't let me carry that bag earlier; he was probably afraid I would be scared if I discovered those terrifying creatures.

After helping Xin'er get settled, I saw her hugging the little doll I had bought her back then as she lay on the bed.

Actually, I really wanted to ask if she wanted big sister to sleep with her.

But—in the end, the words didn't escape my lips.

Time passed far too quickly. Facing Xin'er, I always felt as though my hair had turned white overnight.

How could time fly by so fast? The little sprout I had held in my arms just yesterday was now just as tall as me, and even prettier than I was.

I couldn't help feeling a bit envious. If I had encountered such good fortune at Xin'er's age, perhaps I could have been a bit prettier too.

Everyone loves beauty, and seeing Xin'er looking like this, I was genuinely happy for her.

Yet, I also wished I could look a bit better myself.

Fortunately, although this body of mine was given by Wanchuan and wasn't entirely that of a normal human—nor did it develop in the usual way—it had still undergone some changes at last.

Whether it was due to postpartum hormonal shifts or the credit of drinking deer milk and eating immortal fruits, my skin had become much fairer and more tender.

Placed next to Xin'er now, while I wasn't quite as pale as her, my skin was at least fair and smooth.

Xin'er's skin looked just like fresh milk, resembling the computer-retouched complexions seen in television commercials.

I couldn't help worrying: was it really good for someone at her age to have such a stunning figure?

At ten years old, she had yet to experience the sedimentation of time, nor did she have the time to learn more of what she ought to learn.

Would this rapid physical growth ultimately result in some strange situation?

For now, however, everything seemed to be fine.

Xin'er and I chatted for a long time. I hadn't brought up sleeping in her room because we could no longer curl up together the way we used to.

Firstly, as Wanchuan had just mentioned, Xin'er was now a normal young girl in her own right, and having consumed ghostly sustenance, she... perhaps wasn't entirely human anymore either. Wanchuan calling her a female beast probably had some validity to it.

Because of something Xin'er had said earlier: "Sister, you smell entirely like Brother-in-law right now. Brother Han said so too; no matter where you go, everyone knows you have a man."

My face had flushed red with embarrassment. Only then did I seriously consider that I indeed carried Wanchuan's masculine scent all over my body.

Aside from anything else, sleeping in the same bed as Xin'er wouldn't have a good influence on her.

Secondly, I would simply feel too self-conscious; Xin'er had grown too pretty and changed far too rapidly.

I found it a bit hard to accept, feeling as though... she had been swapped out for a totally different child!

Haha—though it sounded a bit strange to say it like that, that was genuinely how it felt!

We leaned against each other and chatted for a long time. It felt almost like midnight, yet neither of us felt tired.

Our topics were all over the place, ranging from her teachers and classmates to the dog near Han Mingxuan's house, and finally ending up on a male duck chasing a female duck all over the street.

Until a voice suddenly drifted from far away in the neighboring room: "Bai Miaomiao."

It was a very steady tone, neither too loud nor too soft, but hearing it made me shiver all over, feeling as though the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end.

Oh no, Wanchuan was angry!

For Wanchuan, Bai Miaomiao was my full name. He almost never addressed me that way; when he was in a good mood, he would call me Miaomiao, or Little Miaomiao.

But whenever he used my surname, it meant his temper was flaring!

Rubbing my head sheepishly, I smiled awkwardly. "It's so late. Sleep well, Xin'er. Your brother-in-law... ahem, I need to go back to sleep too!"

"Mhm!" Xin'er smiled as if she understood everything completely.

I wiped the sweat from my brow again. Sure enough, children grow up and you can't keep secrets from them anymore!

By then, my heart was fluttering with anxiety, wondering what was going on with Wanchuan. So I dashed into the bathroom, washed up with the fastest speed of my life, then sprinted back to the bedroom, stood at attention, and gave a military salute!

"Reporting to Master, Bai Miaomiao is here!"

Wanchuan had still looked somewhat displeased initially, but seeing me act like this, he couldn't help laughing and beckoned me over.

I grinned sheepishly, scurried over, crawled onto the bed, and flopped down beside him.

I could feel his hand continuously stroking my head, as if checking my mental state. Having confirmed I was fine, he flicked me lightly on the forehead.

"Weren't you planning to come back?"

"As if!" I stuck out my tongue and began resorting to crooked logic. "You didn't hang any clocks in the house, so I had no way of knowing the time."

"Come here and make it up to me." He pointed to his cheek.

I immediately lunged forward and planted a loud smack on it, only to be ambushed in return. It wasn't until my mouth had been thoroughly plundered for a long while that I realized that counted as the end of it.

Damn it, I'd been scared to death just now, thinking I was going to be punished again!

I felt him pull me into his arms, pull the blanket up to tuck me in, and slide one hand straight up from my waist to cup my breast as he asked, "Did you miss me?"

I let out a snort of laughter. "It's only been a few hours, okay? Why would I miss you?" And what was going on with this wandering hand of his?

"Of course you should miss me." He looked entirely righteous. "Your whole heart should be filled with me. Whether I'm around, in the next room, or far away, you must miss me, just like I miss you."

"Alright, alright, I miss you." I nodded repeatedly, covering my face to cool down the sudden heat.

I suddenly realized that when this fellow grew serious, the things he said actually carried the subtle flavor of romantic pillow talk.

He even said he missed me... It certainly felt a bit like sweet-talking.

Yet immediately after, I felt him pinch me, his intent exceedingly obvious. But since Xin'er was not far away, no matter what, I couldn't possibly start groaning and whimpering the moment I returned to the room, could I?

This—this would thoroughly corrupt a child!

So I immediately coughed twice and deliberately put on a look of utter confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Pulling a carrot," Wanchuan replied with utmost seriousness, pointing with his other hand to the carrot embroidered on my pajamas.

I couldn't hold it in, biting my lip as I smiled. "You might as well just say you want to nourish me with your vital essence, wouldn't you?"

"I think just pulling a carrot to help with sleep will do."

With that, he eagerly flipped over to press his advantage. I pushed against him, refusing to spread my legs no matter what.

"Aigoo, Xin'er hasn't fallen asleep yet!"

"She's asleep." Wanchuan kissed my cheeks twice.

"How do you know?" I curiously glanced toward the pitch-black little room in the distance.

"She has better sleep quality than you. She's snoring."

Hearing that, I listened closely, and sure enough, the sound of tiny little snores was drifting over. I couldn't help letting out a sigh. "That ears of yours..."

"Come here, let's pull the carrot."

"Hateful."