After a brief silence, Luan Xi was quite surprised by the news he received from Shen Li's words. It turned out that the other party had already been living in this family for over seven years, and while his features had matured, Shen Li should also be reaching the age of transformation.

In plain terms, differentiation is just a transitional stage in a child's normal growth, symbolizing the onset of the second sex characteristics, especially considering that children nowadays mature earlier. At the age of fifteen, it's neither too young nor particularly old. Luǎn Xī is well aware of what he should and shouldn't understand at this age. However, when compared to his peers, Shěn Lí still appears slightly more innocent and naive. Luǎn Xī believes that Shěn Lí should have gender awareness in this situation. For a moment, Luǎn Xī even thought that maybe his mother's ideas were right. Everyone in the family could see that Shěn Lí relied too heavily on him. Yet, this excessive dependency was not a good thing for a child.

Fifteen-year-old Shen Li should start learning to be independent.

Shen Li didn't receive a response from Luan Xi, thinking that the other party wasn't paying attention to him. As a result, he extended his icy cold feet towards Luan Xi's direction.

"Are you listening?"

I'm listening, go to sleep now.

Luān Xī withdrew his hand from Shěn Lí's grasp, and then pinched the chubby cheeks of the child a couple of times. Unfortunately, he didn't quite gauge his strength properly, leaving Shěn Lí puffing up and glaring at him. However, even if Shěn Lí continued to glare at him, it was useless since the room was not lit.

After he lay down, Shen Li, as usual, tried to roll into his embrace. Lu Xixi's body stiffened, instinctively blocking her with his hand. Shen Li didn't mind, thinking that he was just playing with her. She wiggled a few times and snuggled into Lu Xixi's arms. Lu Xixi was unprepared at first, but when he reacted, Shen Li had already nestled her head against his neck. She even leaned in for a couple of habitual nuzzles. He could clearly feel the warm breath that the child exhaled.

For a moment, both of them remained silent.

"Oops, how could you forget again?" Shen Li waited for a while, but seeing that the other party remained motionless for a long time, couldn't help but raise her head to remind them.

"Luan Xi couldn't help but give in, finally, and lowered her head to give him a goodnight kiss. 'Have you remembered?' she asked softly. 'Now, can we go to sleep?'"

Shen Liru fulfilled her wish and buried herself in the blanket. She then let out a sigh and said, "Hmm, I really like you a lot."

Children's way of expressing emotions is the most straightforward. When Shen Li says "like," it is simply liking someone without any impurities mixed in. He is well aware of this, but Lu Xi still doesn't know the complex mixture of feelings in her own heart.

Because Shen Li's straightforward words caused a wave to ripple in his heart, he found himself staring blankly in the darkness, unable to fathom the origin of these inexplicable emotions.

Not long after, the baby in her arms fell asleep. Luanshi sighed and gently moved Shen Li away from her embrace.

He thought, starting tomorrow he should sleep separately from Shen Li.

In fact, Luan Xi did exactly that. The next evening, just before bedtime, he stood at the door, with no intention of letting Shen Li into the room.

"Huh?" Shen Li was a little surprised, finding Luan Xi's behavior completely bewildering. They had clearly slept together just yesterday.

"You listen to my mother, go back and sleep by yourself."

He explained all the reasons that needed to be explained. Luan Xi stood with arms folded, looking serious and determined. In fact, only he knew the extent of his determination to endure all of Shen Li's coquettishness without giving in.

Shen Li refused to comply and exclaimed, "You've changed!"

The two of them spent nearly twenty minutes at the door. Luan Xi insisted on not stepping back, and Shen Li couldn't bear being treated this way. He tightly held the small pillow in his arms, pouted his mouth, and his eyes turned red.

Luan Xi is really too bad, Shen Li thought angrily, he doesn't want to continue liking Luan Xi anymore.

He turned and left without saying a word, but the look of grievance on his face made Luan Xi feel a bit sympathetic. He even wondered if his words just now were too harsh. Even though it had led to the current situation, Luan Xi still did not believe that he was wrong, because everything he had done was for Shen Li's own good.

To his surprise, the child started to ignore him the next day. He didn't initiate any conversation with him, didn't invite him to play games, and didn't ask him for help with homework anymore. Instead, the child went directly to Yan Jiexu. Even when he bought Shen Li's favorite strawberry cheese milk cap, the child stared at the cup for a while and then stubbornly shook his head, refusing to accept it.

Luan Xi found it both funny and exasperating when Shen Li unilaterally started a cold war. Despite being small in stature, their temper was certainly not.

However, these days did not last long before being broken. According to reason, Shen Li stubbornly waited for Luan Xi to bow his head to him. But that night, he was awakened from his dream in the middle of the night, a wave of heat climbing up his nerves, leaving his mind blank. The sudden and surging heat made Shen Li scared, and he curled up in the blanket, biting his lower lip.

Ugh, I feel awful, like I'm gonna die.

Shen Li was tormented by the heat wave, causing tears to uncontrollably well up in his eyes.

He wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but the first person that came to mind in his mind was Alpha - Luān Xī, the only person he regarded as safe and reliable.

"Wu..."

Shen Li regretted it. He did not want to continue the silent treatment. At this moment, he wanted to go find the other person even more.