009 The Days With Her
Qin Ren was a little brother.
In the literal sense of the word.
So he had no experience taking care of a little girl, only experience as a little boy being taken care of by his older sister, and, as he gradually grew up, experience as the only man in the house taking care of his older sister, who had become a big girl.
Therefore, with a useless little girl suddenly showing up in his home—eating his food, drinking his water, sleeping in his bed—Qin Ren inevitably felt clumsy when looking after her.
What’s more, Luo Yao was no ordinary little girl.
First, she didn’t belong to this world.
Second, she wasn’t the same species as Qin Ren.
So after Qin Ren brought her back from the supermarket, he felt that some things he’d bought were unnecessary, while other things might have been missed.
“What’s this?”
“A plastic bag.”
“Plastic… what’s plastic?”
“Plastic is… tsk, can you not associate everything with food?”
Qin Ren wiped a glistening thread of saliva from the corner of the little brat’s mouth. He didn’t even bother with a tissue, just rubbed his fingers together. He had already discovered that Luo Yao, true to being a Spirit Beast, not only had sweet-smelling feet, but her saliva also had a faint, fragrant scent of nectar.
Of course, that was just the smell.
He hadn’t tasted it yet.
And he probably never would.
After all, tasting the saliva of a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, or tasting the saliva of a three-hundred-plus-year-old hag—either way you put it, it felt pretty perverted.
…
“Here, these are your new slippers, this is your face towel, this is your din… damn it? How did I end up buying a dog bowl…”
Qin Ren took inventory of the items from the bags one by one, and soon discovered some things he’d bought by mistake or forgotten to buy, all of which he noted down in a list on his phone.
“Qin Ren, Qin Ren, this is so pretty.”
Luo Yao really liked things that looked pretty or eye-catching, a trait quite similar to the legendary Pixiu’s love for gold, silver, and treasure.
“Can this eminence open it and take a look?”
“Yeah, just don’t get it dirty.”
Having received permission, a delighted Luo Yao happily opened a rectangular cardboard box from her pocket. With a spread of her small hands, she unfolded a piece of pure white triangular cotton cloth, adorned with a small pink bow and printed with blue polka dots.
“Hmm?”
She looked at it for a while, tilted her head, and then placed it on Qin Ren’s head.
“A strange hat.”
The High Immortal commented as such, and then had her cheek pinched.
“The boxer briefs you’re wearing now are mine. This pair I bought for you is yours. It should fit your body more comfortably. There’s also a matching little tank top. From now on, you have to put on the tank top and panties before you get dressed, understand?”
Luo Yao understood. It was just underwear. She had seen the Sect Master wear it before, but she wasn’t very keen on it.
“This eminence is a Spirit Beast, an immortal body. I shouldn’t be bound like this… Ouch!”
Qin Ren tapped her lightly on the forehead.
“You’re a girl on Earth now. You have to follow the common sense of girls on Earth to avoid causing me trouble.”
Luo Yao rubbed her forehead. Qin Ren continued to take stock of the little socks and shoes he’d bought for her. Considering her particularly delicate skin, he had also bought baby-specific lotion, body wash, and other miscellaneous items.
“Oh, right, you…”
“Hm?”
Qin Ren was originally going to ask something considering Luo Yao’s true age, but then he turned and looked at Luo Yao’s petite figure…
Forget it. A Spirit Beast and all…
She probably doesn’t have things like a monthly period…
——————————
The Spirit Beast Pixiu from another plane thus settled down in the retired exorcist’s home.
Starting from the next day, Qin Ren returned to his life as a corporate slave. Luo Yao gradually got used to the days when Qin Ren wasn’t home, got used to something called instant noodles, and ate them with great delight.
But considering nutrition, whenever Qin Ren got off work early or had a day off, he still had to cook personally. And considering her appetite, he also had to make her a late-night snack almost every evening, which made him feel as if he had returned to his middle school days of taking care of his sister.
Of course, the household living expenses skyrocketed as a result, forcing Qin Ren to slightly lower his quality of life, such as watching fewer movies, subscribing to fewer services, and buying fewer skins.
He initially thought this would be a big deal, but in reality, he found it wasn’t so bad. The occasional feeling of weary emptiness that emerged after work would quickly be filled by a chorus of “Qin Ren, Qin Ren.” While it was endlessly annoying, it also gave Qin Ren a strange sense of fulfillment.
…
So it had to be said, the matter of a corporate slave being pestered by an otherworldly Spirit Beast after coming home from overtime was truly a contradictory double-edged sword.
…
Every day, he would drag his exhausted body home and flop onto the sofa. Tuantuan would pounce into his arms, rubbing against him and acting coquettishly for a while. After that was over, the pretty little girl peeking from around the corner of the wall would come over and pester him to cook and tell stories.
She would either talk about some of her “novel” discoveries at home, like how Tuantuan could open the refrigerator door by herself, or ask Qin Ren to talk about his work at the company.
Qin Ren was tired and didn’t like to talk, but when he was pestered into telling stories by her chirping, he would feel the catharsis of having his desire to vent fulfilled.
He didn’t feel it in college, but after starting work, he realized that having someone by your side willing to listen was actually quite healing.
Perhaps Luo Yao didn’t understand things like “bonuses,” “projects,” or “capital,” but she would sit obediently by his side and listen. When she got tired of listening, she would rest her head on Qin Ren’s lap and doze off for a while. When she fell asleep, Qin Ren would carry her to the soft bed, no longer banishing her to the sofa to ward off evil spirits.
Because of this, over time, Luo Yao grew especially fond of “story time,” and the number of times she slept on the sofa decreased. Qin Ren thus discovered Luo Yao’s first practical use:
A human air conditioner.
…
It sounded a bit like the title of a horror movie, but in fact, just as Qin Ren had discovered the first time he pinched Luo Yao’s face, Luo Yao seemed to be a “cold-blooded animal.” Not just her face, but her entire body maintained a consistently cool, low temperature.
Even right after a hot shower, her body would cool down rapidly in a minute or two.
Against this backdrop, one day, the power went out in the residential community.
Qin Ren was the type who could never get used to sleeping on a bamboo mat. Lying in bed on a hot day without air conditioning was worse than death. Then he remembered, doesn’t Luo Yao discharge electricity? He had her try to “charge” the air conditioner.
The result, after a small string of crackling sparks, was a wisp of green smoke rising from the air conditioner.
“I’m sorry, Qin Ren…”
“…”
It was his own bad idea, so how could Qin Ren blame it all on her? He tried to force himself to sleep with the mindset of “a calm heart brings natural coolness.” But unexpectedly, without the cover of the air conditioner, waves of faint coolness continuously radiated from the Pixiu beside him.
Like discovering an oasis in the desert, Qin Ren tentatively pulled her soft body a little closer into his arms. He then found he couldn’t put her down. His whole body felt as if it were sleeping on one of those cooling ice packs, an indescribably magical and comfortable feeling.
After that, Qin Ren completely abandoned the idea of making her sleep on the sofa and allowed Luo Yao to sleep with him. He didn’t even call anyone to fix the broken air conditioner, which conveniently saved a large sum on the electricity bill.
The only downside was that occasionally when he woke up, he would still be entangled by a certain Spirit Beast like a koala.
————————
The days with Luo Yao were becoming more and more like a few years ago.
Qin Ren had to cook for two, wash clothes for two, tell stories to coax her to sleep when she couldn’t, and hold a small hand when they went out…
Weren’t these the days when he and Gu Qing were studying at Rongcheng No. 7 Middle School?
Qin Ren scrolled through his recent WeChat, QQ, and call logs, and sighed with a wry smile.
“It’s been so long since we’ve been in touch… Is she still angry…”
Qin Ren wasn’t sure. After all, his sister had been a model student since she was young. Even in grad school, she wouldn’t slack off. It was normal for her not to contact him when she was busy.
There was no need to dwell on this. In comparison, Qin Ren was thinking about how to handle Luo Yao in the future.
Just raise her for the rest of his life?
Putting aside the question of whether this was realistic, Qin Ren was first curious about her own thoughts.
Sometimes, when he was doing housework or drawing at home, Qin Ren would see the little girl standing on the balcony, gazing at the sky.
Sometimes, he would see her staring intently at a documentary about the landscapes of their motherland on TV.
Sometimes, he himself would be on the balcony and see her swinging alone on the swing set downstairs, watching the other children in the community run around and laugh, lost in thought.
This beautiful little girl, who was a bit clumsy and a bit smart, a bit mischievous and a bit well-behaved, would sometimes have a silhouette that looked exceptionally lonely, like the most exquisite and loneliest doll, left forgotten in the corner of a display window.
…
“Luo Yao.”
“Mhm.”
“Have you ever thought about going back to the Myriad Demon Continent?”
On a cool, rainy night, Qin Ren, who had worked overtime until two in the morning, called out to the sleeping Pixiu on the sofa the moment he got home. Then, he slumped down, lit a cigarette, and asked the question that had been brewing for some time.
The summer rain pattered against the window, making the small living room feel exceptionally peaceful.
Luo Yao blinked her clear, bright eyes and didn’t answer Qin Ren for a long time. Qin Ren couldn’t read any unusual emotions from her little face either.
It wasn’t until the cigarette had burned to its end and Qin Ren tilted his neck back to blow out a smoke ring that he felt his arm being hugged tightly by a pair of soft arms.
He turned his head slightly and only saw her leaning against him like a cat.
Her beautiful long hair still had a fresh, sweet scent. Her slender back, under the thin white dress, faintly revealed the warm color of jade. Qin Ren couldn’t see her expression, couldn’t see her eyes. Only after a long time did he hear a soft, faint complaint by his ear:
“…Qin Ren, it would be nice if you smelled less like smoke when you hold this eminence at night…”
“…”
Qin Ren didn’t speak. A moment later, he let out a dismissive scoff, patted her little bottom as usual, and sent her off to take a shower.
After that, life went on.
Qin Ren continued to cook for two, continued to wash clothes for two, continued to tell stories to coax the High Immortal to sleep when she couldn’t, and still had to hold a small hand when they went out…
He might hug her more often, like when there were no seats on the bus, but overall, almost nothing was different.
Except for one thing.
Ever since that rainy night, Qin Ren had quit smoking.
