Seeing Tuan Ma frozen in place, Bai Yuze was the first to greet her.
"Hello, Auntie. I'm Yui Yuigahama's friend, my name is Bai Yuze."
"Ah... hello."
Tuan Ma immediately reconfirmed her suspicions! Although her daughter was enthusiastic, she wouldn't easily bring a male classmate home unless their relationship was extraordinary!
At this moment, Tuan Ma was like Sherlock Holmes reincarnated. She immediately noticed the scratches on her daughter's leg, and Bai Yuze's clothes had a few wrinkles...
Tuan Ma maintained a calm expression on the surface, already planning which room in the house to clear out.
"Come, come, don't just stand there. Come in and have some tea."
It was difficult to operate outside; bringing them in for further observation was the way to go!
"How are you? Are you alright?"
Bai Yuze asked Tuanzi beside him. Tuanzi hummed, and as she took her first step forward, the stinging pain in her leg made her lose her balance slightly.
Fortunately, Bai Yuze was prepared and caught Tuanzi in advance, preventing her from falling and getting injured.
"How did she get such a serious injury?!"
Tuan Ma walked over, took Tuanzi from Bai Yuze's hands, helped Tuanzi to the sofa, and then immediately ran to the storage room to find the medical kit.
In the world of anime, it's almost illegal for girls not to show their legs! They either show their legs or wear obvious over-the-knee socks, stockings, or similar items.
With bare legs and the added damage effect of concrete ground, it would be a medical miracle for her leg not to scar in reality. But anyone familiar with anime knows that in most slice-of-life series, as long as the injury isn't fatal, scars are just a joke!
Therefore, although Tuanzi's injury was very painful... it was probably just a superficial wound...
"She was injured and still walked so far! Tuanzi has really grown up!"
Bai Yuze went to the kitchen, wet a towel with ice water, and handed it to Tuanzi. He could, of course, have applied it himself, but their current relationship was a bit awkward, and any sudden, different behavior might scare Tuanzi.
"Thanks to you, otherwise, getting home would have been a problem."
Yui Yuigahama gently wiped the scratches on her leg with the towel. From her occasional trembling and gasps, one could feel the pain she was currently experiencing.
Bai Yuze thought for a moment and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Tuanzi, seeing this, asked,
"What are you laughing at?"
"Oh, nothing. I just feel like my left brain is contradicting my right brain. You've grown, but you're still that clumsy Tuanzi."
"You're laughing at me again! You big idiot!"
Yui Yuigahama lightly punched Bai Yuze, and Tuan Ma, hiding at the stairwell, witnessed it all.
"Hmm! It seems like it's him! So, should I go out and buy groceries now? What if he does something out of line? Yui is still injured, so he shouldn't be interested, right...?"
Tuan Ma was having an internal struggle at the stairwell. Should she give them private space or not? On one hand was Yui's happiness, and on the other was Yui's safety. This made her, as a mother, very conflicted.
"Auntie... what are you... doing here?"
Bai Yuze had appeared at the stairwell at some point. Five minutes had passed, and he thought Tuan Ma had encountered some trouble since she hadn't returned for so long.
After all, no one would get lost in a home they had lived in for over a decade, right?
Of course! For safety reasons, Bai Yuze had already checked Tuan Ma with a strange device when he was outside the door. If the device showed any unusual behavior, his hundred-meter speed, even with the heavy load, could rival Usain Bolt's!
"Uh... it's nothing, nothing! I accidentally fell. Bai Jun, could you please help Yui disinfect her wound first?"
To ease the awkwardness, Tuan Ma lied, claiming she had accidentally fallen, and asked Bai Yuze to help apply iodine to Tuanzi. This was partly to relieve the awkwardness and partly to test whether Bai Yuze had any ulterior motives.
If he really had other intentions... it seemed there was nothing she could do... go up and sacrifice herself? Form a mother-daughter sandwich?!
However, if Bai Yuze really was that kind of ill-intentioned person, she wouldn't let him succeed even if it cost her her life. Perhaps this was the telepathy between mother and daughter; the reason she was wary of Bai Yuze was that she sensed the awkward atmosphere between her daughter and Bai Yuze.
This didn't resemble a mutually ambiguous romantic relationship; it was more like a dramatic plot where one confesses, only to find out the person they like already has a partner!
"Don't look at me. Just bear with it for a bit; it might hurt a little."
Tuan Ma gave the order, and Bai Yuze simply carried it out. Yui Yuigahama had nothing to say.
Bai Yuze squatted down and took off Yui Yuigahama's sock. Seeing Tuanzi's puzzled gaze, Bai Yuze defended himself.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm just checking if your foot is sprained."
Tuanzi didn't resist, she just hummed softly.
"Hmph! You bad guy...!"
Before Tuanzi could finish her sentence, Bai Yuze's hand touched her leg directly. Tuanzi's entire body trembled violently. She bit her lip tightly, trying her best not to make a sound.
Seeing this, Bai Yuze deliberately played a trick, intentionally "accidentally" reaching out and tickling Tuanzi's sole. Tuanzi immediately struggled, but no matter how much she kicked, her foot remained held by Bai Yuze.
At this, Tuanzi could only beg,
"Bai Jun~ I was wrong, stop teasing me."
Bai Yuze didn't speak, but instead demonstrated the tickling motion in the air with his hand, implying that if she misbehaved again, he would show no mercy!
Tuan Ma, hiding at the stairwell, saw everything. She self-doubted,
"Should I go out and stop them? But they seem to be having a lot of fun! Even I can't help but smile! How strange!"
For the first time, Tuan Ma felt that peeking was so exhilarating! It was like a rat hiding in a dark, damp place, secretly observing others' happiness, occasionally snatching a bit of enjoyment from their overflowing sweetness...
But could Tuanzi be so submissive? Absolutely not! King Tuanzi had to get her revenge! So Tuanzi raised her other foot and gently gripped Bai Yuze's arm with her toes. Bai Yuze raised an eyebrow, and then Tuanzi's other foot was also caught by Bai Yuze.
This time, Tuanzi's pleading gaze was ineffective. Bai Yuze controlled both of Tuanzi's feet with one hand, and with the other, he took out a cotton swab from the medical kit.
With Tuanzi's terrified expression, he slowly moved the cotton swab to the sole of Tuanzi's foot... gently rubbing...
Tuanzi immediately covered her mouth with both hands, biting her teeth tightly, not allowing herself to make a single embarrassing sound.
But the body is always honest. Tuanzi's body had begun to twist. Finally, Tuan Ma couldn't bear it anymore! She immediately walked out and shouted,
"Yui, Mom needs to go grocery shopping. Could you please entertain your classmate?"
"Mom! Don't go!"
Tuanzi wanted to keep her last line of defense, but the only response she got was the sound of the door closing mercilessly...
Tuanzi turned her head somewhat stiffly, coming face to face with Bai Yuze's "kind" smile...
"Um... hehehe... I said my foot was being disobedient on its own just now... Do you believe me?"
Tuanzi tried her best to make her tone less nervous, but she overlooked one thing... she no longer had any bargaining chips...
"Of course I believe you! I'll believe anything Yui says, but naughty, disobedient feet should be punished!"
Bai Yuze smiled, and Tuanzi also smiled, but one was a genuine smile from the heart, while the other's every sound was unwilling!