Chapter 107: Late-night Labor

The banquet ended amid laughter and chatter, and Huang Rong, Zhao Ling'er, and Shuang'er rose to tidy up.

Huang Rong neatly stacked the bowls and dishes, her movements showing her usual efficiency, with a lingering smile at the corner of her mouth.

The happy smile on Zhao Ling'er's cheeks had not yet fully faded; she lowered her head slightly and carefully wiped the wooden table surface with a cloth, her fingertips lightly gliding over the smooth grain, her movements extremely gentle.

Shuang'er gathered the chopsticks and bowls into one place, her big eyes occasionally glancing furtively toward Li Qingxuan's direction, as if wanting to confirm whether there was still an unfinished story there.

The three carried the tidied bowls and dishes, turned lightly, and walked toward the kitchen; the sturdy wooden door was ajar, casting a warm glow.

Li Qingxuan took Feifei's hand and headed upstairs; just as the three entered the kitchen and set down what they were holding, they tacitly leaned against the door crack.

Seeing the two go upstairs, Huang Rong gave a "puchi" laugh, her shoulders trembling slightly, she turned and neatly placed a stack of bowls and dishes into the sink, the clinking of the bowls and dishes clear and pleasant.

She turned her back to the counter, arms crossed, a familiar mischievous smile playing at the corner of her mouth, her gaze wandering between Zhao Ling'er and Shuang'er.

"Take a look at these two……" she drawled, her teasing tone obvious, "They really don't avoid anyone."

Zhao Ling'er's face "peng" turned red again; she hurriedly put down the cloth she had been wiping the table with, took a few steps to Shuang'er's side, instinctively wanting to cover her sister's ears, her voice both shy and urgent: "Sister Rong! You… you keep it down! Shuang'er is still here!"

Shuang'er nimbly dodged her sister's hand, her big eyes bright, full of excitement and curiosity, she hehe-laughed: "Ling'er sister, Qingxuan brother and Feifei sister went upstairs, want to go take a look later?"

"Shuang'er! You've learned to be bad too," Zhao Ling'er almost jumped up, her cheeks burning, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into: "No nonsense! Quick, help sister wash the dishes!"

She tried to divert her sister's attention with a task, gently pushing Shuang'er toward the sink.

Huang Rong looked at Zhao Ling'er's embarrassed state, laughed even more happily, her eyes twinkling with an all-knowing amusement: "Shuang'er, how about we go take a look later? When Li Qingxuan is laboring, we might even be able to help your sister Feifei from the side."

She deliberately emphasized the words "labor" and "help," matching her gaze, making the teasing meaning reach its peak.

Zhao Ling'er felt uncomfortable all over under her stare, her ears turning red, she stomped her foot and pouted: "Sister Rong! If you keep this up, I'll ignore you!"

She turned around, and in a fit of pique vigorously scrubbed the bowls and dishes in the sink, the clattering of bowls and dishes suddenly increasing.

Although Shuang'er was pushed by her sister to wash the dishes, her mind was clearly still upstairs; absentmindedly stirring the water, she muttered softly: "I want to go take a look, I don't know how Sister Feifei is performing."

"All right, all right," Huang Rong saw Zhao Ling'er truly annoyed, then she restrained her exaggerated smile, though the amusement in her eyes still hadn't faded.

She walked to the sink, picked up a cloth, and efficiently wiped the clean bowls and dishes; she turned her head to look at Zhao Ling'er's flushed cheek, her voice softening, carrying a barely perceptible reassurance: "Silly girl, what's there to be shy about? Male-female joy is human nature. At this point, you want to go……"

She didn't continue speaking, merely shaking her head with a smile; everything was left unsaid.

Zhao Ling'er's hand movements slowed, the flush on her face not yet faded, but that shy annoyance was somewhat dispelled by Huang Rong's calm words; she lowered her head and softly hummed an "um," treating it as a response.

In the kitchen only the sound of flowing water, the light clink of bowls and dishes, and Shuang'er's occasional bold remarks remained.

The three continued with their chores, prolonging this late-night labor; but the air seemed to still linger with a hint of unspoken, tacit ambiguity belonging upstairs.

Huang Rong gently placed the last dried plate into the cabinet, slowly closed the cabinet door, clapped her hands, and said, "Done, tidied up properly." She turned her head to look at Shuang'er; the little girl was already a bit sleepy, yawning. "Come, wash up and go to sleep."

She also looked at Zhao Ling'er's face faintly flushed, and softly said: "Ling'er, Shuang'er, you should rest early."

"Mm, got it, Sister Rong." Zhao Ling'er replied softly, watching Huang Rong take Shuang'er's hand and walk toward the washroom; she herself also let out a long sigh, as if setting down some invisible burden.

The kitchen light remained bright, gently illuminating the just-restored tidy space, quietly sealing away the late-night "busyness" with quickened heartbeats, awaiting the arrival of tomorrow morning.

The three went upstairs and tacitly stopped at Li Qingxuan's bedroom door; the drowsy Shuang'er also widened her eyes, curiously listening to the sounds inside, from within came faint, pleasurable breaths, the sound seeping through the door panel, faintly drifting out, making people's scalps tingle.

Huang Rong's mouth corners instantly rose high, a faint blush appearing on her face, revealing a "as expected" knowing smile, she even lightly bumped her elbow against Zhao Ling'er beside her.

Zhao Ling'er only felt her cheeks "boom" flare up, her heart racing almost to jump out of her throat, she instinctively reached out to cover Shuang'er's ears, but Shuang'er twisted her head to dodge.

"Ling'er sister……" Shuang'er asked in a small voice, her big eyes full of pure curiosity, "Shall we push the door open and take a look?"

"Shh——!" Zhao Ling'er, her face flushed with embarrassment, lowered her voice to a growl: "What are you looking at? Don't look randomly! Hurry up and go!"

She grabbed Shuang'er's wrist without explanation, half-dragging, half-pulling the little girl back to the room, the force enough to make Shuang'er stagger.

Huang Rong watched Zhao Ling'er's look of facing a great enemy and fleeing in defeat, finally couldn't hold back, and a stifled light laugh escaped her throat.

She finally glanced at the tightly closed door, as if it separated another scorching world, the mischievous smile in her eyes nearly overflowing.

She shook her head, then turned and followed after Zhao Ling'er and her sister; her steps, however, seemed a bit lighter than when she came, carrying a pleased understanding without speaking it out.

Zhao Ling'er pulled Shuang'er into the room, turned to shut the door, her back against the panel, and let out a long, silent breath, as if trying to blow away that embarrassing heat; her heart still pounded in her chest, making her eardrums buzz.

"Ling'er sister," Shuang'er was pressed to sit on the bedside, her big eyes full of curiosity, she leaned in and lowered her voice, excited like an explorer: "Did you hear that just now? Feifei sister's voice…… it sounded really pleasant; do you think Qingxuan brother will come to our room tonight?"

"Shuang'er!" Zhao Ling'er was on the verge of breaking down, the flush on her cheeks having just faded a little, now surged back even stronger than before.

She clapped a hand over Shuang'er's mouth with such force that the little girl almost rolled her eyes back: "No nonsense! No more questions! Sleep! Right now! Immediately!" Her voice was kept extremely low, yet carried an unprecedented severity and embarrassment.

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