Chapter 360: Morning Whispers

Around 9 AM, the breakfast atmosphere felt subtly awkward.

The four girls stayed mysteriously quiet, each lost in their own thoughts.

Heqing had made a nutritious seafood porridge for breakfast, and as Lin Zheng Ran ate, he noticed the four of them stealing glances at him now and then.

He asked the same question as when he first got home: “Why are you all staring at me like that? And with those eyes?”

The four girls shook their heads like rattles, quick and eager.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” they replied in unison.

Lin Zheng Ran eyed the generous sea cucumbers in his porridge: “When did you get these? They taste great.”

Little Heqing explained, “This morning. You didn’t come back last night, so we figured you were exhausted. We wanted to help you recover.” Her words carried a hint of jealousy.

The others felt the same way.

Among the four, only Lily stayed silent at first, then she paused and picked the few sea cucumbers from her bowl to give to Lin Zheng Ran: “Here, Zheng Ran, you have more. I don’t need to replenish.”

Lin Zheng Ran: “.”

After breakfast, with it being Saturday and no plans, Lin Zheng Ran thought about reading on the couch for half an hour before joining Lily for music practice.

The girls all sat on the couch with him, keeping him company.

Two on each side, some watching TV, others on their phones, but they kept the volume low so as not to disturb the family’s pillar.

Though watching TV and playing on their phones was just a cover, they exchanged meaningful glances among themselves.

In the end, they decided Han Wenwen would lead the way.

Han Wenwen set her phone aside, covering her shy face, her invisible fox tail swaying: “Brother Zheng Ran, can we talk to you about something?”

Lin Zheng Ran flipped through his book: “What is it? Just say it.”

Han Wenwen glanced at Jiang Jingshi across from her, and Jiang Jingshi cleared her throat, speaking gently: “Zheng, we’ve been living here for over a week now, and things are settling into a routine. Don’t you think we should discuss what we do every week?”

“Hmm? Things we should do every week?” Lin Zheng Ran looked up at the four girls’ slightly flushed faces and instantly understood what they were getting at, since none of them could quite meet his eyes.

Still, he played dumb: “What exactly do you mean?”

Lily jumped in with a tsundere fist-pump:

“You know, the important stuff! Think about it, Zheng Ran. Life’s not as hectic since we started university, but we still pull all-nighters sometimes, and that’s bad for the body. So, we need to make up for it. We were just talking about making you a nutritious meal every day.”

Lin Zheng Ran nodded: “Oh, so it’s just about nutritious meals? That works for me. I really enjoy them.”

Lily bit her lip, head down, twirling her pigtails: “Well… if you’re getting replenished, shouldn’t we girls get some too?” The last part came out in a stutter.

Lin Zheng Ran kept up his innocent act: “Of course. We can all share the nutritious meals then. Everyone gets replenished together.”

“Not that kind of nutritious meal!” Lily protested in a panic. “That’s not what I meant! I mean—”

She couldn’t get the words out and looked to her sisters for help.

Han Wenwen wagged her fox tail and held up a slender finger to smooth things over: “Ah! Nutritious porridge is for specific needs. What we’ll make is just for Brother Zheng Ran, so it won’t do much for us girls.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But Lin Zheng Ran said, “Wenwen, you forgot I’m a doctor. If you want nutritious porridge, I can figure out how to make it beneficial for everyone—men and women alike.”

Han Wenwen blinked her fox-like eyes, having completely forgotten that about Brother Zheng Ran.

Jiang Jingshi chimed in, all serious:

“Zheng, I just thought of something. The four of us go through a lot of cosmetics each month, and some of mine are really expensive. It didn’t seem like much before, but now that I add it up, it feels wasteful. If we saved that money, we could do so much more.”

The other three girls nodded quickly: “Yeah, we all want to save!”

Lin Zheng Ran smiled faintly: “Jingshi, you all don’t wear makeup that often anyway. And it’s fine to spend a little—I’m not bothered by the cost. Girls should treat themselves to good products.”

He waved the book in his hand: “Like me, I’ve spent a lot on books.”

Jiang Jingshi bit her red lip: “But we’re all trying to cut back where we can. Books are necessary, but cosmetics? They’re not great for the skin anyway.” She shyly glanced at Lin Zheng Ran: “Right, Zheng?”

“If I say so, then don’t worry about saving. Good cosmetics won’t harm your skin—I’ll get you the best.”

Jiang Jingshi gave him a look like a wronged wife.

Naughty Zheng, not taking the bait.

Just when things seemed stuck, Heqing suddenly stood up from the couch, her little hands clenched nervously in front of her, her face flushed red: “I think we don’t need to beat around the bush with Lin Zheng Ran. Let’s just say it straight!”

She looked around and saw everyone staring, so Little Heqing fixed her gaze on Lin Zheng Ran:

“Lin Zheng Ran, the truth is, we girls crave that kind of thing too—no, more than crave, we really want it! Because we all like you so much! We all want to be with you, want you to—”

The moment Little Heqing blurted it out, everyone was shocked, eyes wide open.

They all blushed furiously, mouths agape in embarrassment, never expecting her to be so direct and bold.

Little Heqing squeezed her eyes shut and said loudly in her soft voice:

“And Wenwen mentioned that after being with you, her skin gets better. All girls can’t resist that! So we were discussing—if we set aside the sneaky moments,

on the surface, shouldn’t each of us get at least two or three times a week? You can decide the number, but it has to happen! Otherwise, we’ll be too distracted to do anything else! What do you think? You tell us, Lin Zheng Ran! Of course, you can make requests too—we’ll all agree!”

After she finished, Lin Zheng Ran stared at Little Heqing in surprise.

The living room fell silent.

A dead quiet.

All the girls covered their faces and hung their heads, too ashamed to look up.

Even though they were all in relationships, talking so openly about how many times a week was enough to make them feel deeply embarrassed, like they wanted to vanish.

Lin Zheng Ran chuckled at that. At the crucial moment, this straightforward girl had charged ahead, and now he couldn’t pretend anymore:

“Well, of course we can. After all, it’s about the origin of life—something truly profound.”

His lofty words only made them feel more awkward.

Lin Zheng Ran continued:

“So, from my perspective, besides any sneaky moments or if I feel like it, let’s not tie it to a strict count on the surface. How about one day per person per week, and on that day, the intimacy can vary based on my mood? What do you say?”

Though shy, they were all on board—this was their idea after all.

They nodded rapidly, like pecking chickens.

Lily peeked with one eye and stammered: “So, starting today? Whose turn is it, and how do we rotate? We can’t just make you draw lots or something, right?”

Han Wenwen shot Lin Zheng Ran a jealous look: “If we draw lots, won’t that make you like an ancient emperor?”

Lin Zheng Ran wiped his brow: “I’m not into that. Let’s just draw straws.”

A moment later, Lin Zheng Ran tore a piece of paper into four parts: “This is just for today. We’ll make proper straws later and draw daily. You girls pick a strip.”

The four quickly each grabbed one and opened it nervously to check for marks.

Lin Zheng Ran asked: “Who got it?”

Jiang Jingshi raised her hand, face red, and said gently: “It’s me today…”

Heqing, Lily, and Han Wenwen looked on with envy as Lin Zheng Ran stood up and took Jiang Jingshi’s hand: “Then let’s go. You’ve got me thinking about it too, so don’t call us for lunch.”

Everyone watched them head upstairs hand in hand, mouths open in a mix of envy and jealousy.

Jiang Jingshi bit her lower lip in secret delight, following Lin Zheng Ran step by step to the second floor.