"If you want to recover faster, let me give you a massage, that should fix it right away."
"What are we waiting for, help me massage it."
"But we're in a public place..."
"What's there to be afraid of in here?"
"It's not that I'm afraid, but I need to take off your shoe."
"Take it off, take it off." Xu Shanshan was very eager. She had always been a playful and mischievous girl, and being inconvenienced by a sprained ankle would be more distressing to her than anything.
Li Yifei carefully removed Xu Shanshan's shoe, revealing her foot clothed in a pair of gray cotton socks. The petite foot was just enough to fill his hand, seemingly delicate and boneless. Although he hadn't seen the foot in its entirety, Li Yifei was certain it was the most beautiful one he'd seen among all the women he'd encountered.
Li Yifei didn't have a foot fetish, but everyone has an appreciation for beauty, and how could he not admire such a foot?
"Brother-in-law, are you... going to rub it or not?" Xu Shanshan's voice was soft and tender, her eyes watery with a mix of shyness and embarrassment.
"Ah! I'll rub it!" Li Yifei suddenly felt a bit awkward, as if he was caught doing something wrong, and he quickly started to massage Xu Shanshan's foot earnestly.
"Bear with it, it will be better soon." Perhaps feeling guilty, Li Yifei's tone was extremely gentle, and his movements were very careful, not increasing the pressure until Xu Shanshan got used to the pain.
Xu Shanshan was initially a bit embarrassed by Li Yifei's attention to her foot, but as she watched him massage her so earnestly, a wave of tenderness slowly filled her heart. She had been doted on by her parents when she was younger, but as she grew up, they stopped pampering and cherishing her in the same way. Li Yifei's attentiveness made her feel that sense of being cared for and spoiled once again.
Li Yifei's massage techniques were not ordinary. As a top-tier special forces operator, minor injuries during training were common occurrences, and one simply could not go to the hospital for every little thing—especially when out on missions, one had to take care of oneself. Over time, Li Yifei had become quite proficient at treating simple injuries. Xu Shanshan's minor issue was easily managed by him.
"Does it still hurt?" Li Yifei looked up to ask Xu Shanshan, only to meet her gaze, which held a special sparkle that made his heart involuntarily skip a beat or two.
"It doesn't hurt anymore, brother-in-law, you're so kind." Xu Shanshan gave Li Yifei a sweet smile, showing off her pearly white teeth.
"Am I your brother-in-law? If I don't take good care of you, your sister might hold me accountable." Li Yifei chuckled and picked up the shoe, slipping it back onto Xu Shanshan's foot.
Xu Shanshan let Li Yifei attend to her without moving, her lips curving into a very attractive arc, but that arc disappeared before Li Yifei looked up again.
"All done, let's go. But you still need to be careful not to strain yourself." Li Yifei supported Xu Shanshan's arm with one hand and her waist with the other, slowly helping her to stand up.
Xu Shanshan tested her ankle and slightly furrowed her brows, saying, "It seems to still be a bit painful when I put weight on it."
"That's normal; it will be fine in a while."
"Mmh, then you have to hold me and make sure I don't fall again."
"Don't worry, I've got you." Li Yifei's hand on Xu Shanshan's waist applied a bit more pressure to emphasize his assurance. Her waist was very soft, befitting someone who practiced dance—the feel was amazing, almost addictive to touch.
The two of them walked slowly forward, and suddenly, Xu Shanshan turned her head, leaned in close to Li Yifei's ear, and whispered, "Brother-in-law, what were you daydreaming about just now?"
"Daydreaming just now? No, why?"
"I'm not talking about now. I'm talking about when you were taking off my shoe."
"Did I?" Li Yifei pretended to be confused.
Xu Shanshan playfully blinked and said proudly, "Stop pretending. You were clearly daydreaming. You actually held my foot and spaced out. Let's see if I don't tell my sister about this."
Li Yifei, of course, refused to admit it and immediately said, "I was checking how badly your ankle was twisted. Only then could I take action. It's like a doctor's examination. I'm helping you with such seriousness, and you actually say I have dirty thoughts? That's so unfair."
Xu Shanshan tilted her head, smiling with squinted eyes, "Really?"
Xu Shanshan turned her head and continued walking forward, which allowed Li Yifei to let out a sigh of relief. Indeed, as Xu Yingying said, Xu Shanshan was a sly one. If there was a slight mistake, she really could catch it.
Taking the escalator down one floor, Xu Shanshan suddenly asked, "Brother-in-law, do you think my feet are pretty?"
Xu Shanshan shook Li Yifei's arm and chided, "Stop hemming and hawing, I'm just asking if they're pretty or not?"
"They are indeed pretty," Li Yifei said truthfully.
Xu Shanshan smiled proudly and then asked again, "Then tell me, whose feet are prettier, mine or my sister's?"
"Of course, they're both equally pretty," Li Yifei responded offhand. Since the two were twins and looked so alike, their feet naturally would also be similar. Additionally, such a statement could also be interpreted as not wanting to offend Xu Yingying, so this seamless answer was fitting.
"You're smooth with words," Xu Shanshan winked at Li Yifei, her gaze carrying a hint of slyness.
This made Li Yifei suddenly feel uneasy. Could it be that Xu Yingying's feet were very different from Xu Shanshan's? But he hadn't seen what Xu Yingying's feet looked like until now, plus, the information Xu Yingying gave him didn't include details about her feet. He guessed such a thing would be overlooked by someone.
He tried to get some clues from Xu Shanshan, but at that moment, Xu Shanshan changed the subject and said, "Ah, what a loss."
"I was so focused on having you buy clothes for you that I completely forgot about sister's share. Isn't that a huge loss?"
"Haha, then you can let her buy it later. For now, you should go home first. It's already noon, and they must be anxiously waiting at home."
Xu Shanshan waved her little fist and said, "She can't run away from it sooner or later. I can't catch her this way more than a few times a year. I can't let her off easy this time."
When the two of them reached downstairs, it was almost twelve o'clock. Xu Yingying was already waiting impatiently, but when Xu Shanshan and Li Yifei appeared in her line of sight, her face grew even uglier. Li Yifei was holding several bags in one hand and wrapping the other arm around Xu Shanshan's waist, while Xu Shanshan leaned against Li Yifei. Both were wearing smiles, looking so blissful that it would make anyone jealous.
Xu Yingying certainly wouldn't be jealous. After all, Li Yifei wasn't her real boyfriend. She was angry. Li Yifei had come here to play her boyfriend, and now he was with her sister. Wouldn't that expose the whole charade? Moreover, Li Yifei being so close to her sister, taking advantage of her, was even more intolerable.
If not for her good self-control, she would have rushed forward to slap Li Yifei at that moment. Instead, she just stood there, looking at Li Yifei coldly.