Chapter 88: It's better to call her... than older sister.

Jiang Ling listened to the soft whispers in her ear, feeling half her body grow numb and tingly, as if an invisible feather were gently tickling the hollow of her neck.

She couldn’t help but shrink her neck, trying to struggle. “How about you let me go first, and then—”

“Nope.”

Mo Ran answered quickly, her voice laced with a hint of a gentle laugh, using her own weight to slowly push Jiang Ling down onto the bed.

The mattress let out a faint creak. Mo Ran pressed Jiang Ling’s head onto her thigh with a slightly forceful motion.

In a daze, a word flashed through Jiang Ling’s mind.

Lap pillow?

Before she could think it through, Mo Ran raised her hand and gently stroked Jiang Ling’s hair, her voice soft and slow. “Are you a little tired?”

At the sound, Jiang Ling wanted to say no, but feeling the soft, springy yet firm sensation under her head, she let out a muffled hum instead, her eyes, which had widened in surprise, slowly beginning to blink.

From time to time, a frictional sensation came from beneath her head. Forcing herself to stay awake, Jiang Ling turned her face to glance downward and saw that Mo Ran was wearing a pair of black, tight-fitting pantyhose today—sheer and revealing, making it impossible to look away.

It just felt… so comfortable.

Watching Jiang Ling’s expression, the smile on Mo Ran’s lips deepened. Her fingers slid down Jiang Ling’s hair to her temples, massaging with just the right pressure. “Did you run into any problems with your practice?”

Jiang Ling savored the comfortable force on her forehead, her thoughts wandering, her posture gradually shifting to lie flat, and she answered almost unconsciously, “Mm… I feel like I’m still not doing well enough.”

“Where exactly?” Mo Ran gently encouraged, her voice tender.

“Nowhere’s good enough,” Jiang Ling murmured with her eyes half-closed, the negative emotions that had piled up in her heart slowly spilling out, “Even though I’m consciously training, I still can’t be sexy enough, and it’s way too different from the original. There isn’t much time, either, and I’m afraid I’ll affect Xiaoyu’s performance. This could impact her future…”

As she spoke, she fell silent for a moment. Then, the corners of her lips unconsciously drooped, and her eyebrows knitted, looking utterly downcast.

Mo Ran smoothed out her tightly furrowed brows with her fingertips. “Don’t push yourself too hard, okay? As for the stage atmosphere, I can give you some advice. For now, just relax and rest a bit.”

Her voice seemed to have a magical effect, soothing Jiang Ling’s troubled heart.

Jiang Ling felt as if her whole body was floating, her eyes slowly closing as her breathing became even and steady.

Mo Ran kept her gentle smile, softly patting her.

“All right, go to sleep.”

No one knew how much time had passed before Jiang Ling finally woke from her drowsy sleep. As soon as she opened her eyes, what greeted her was… undulating peaks?

Just waking up, Jiang Ling’s eyes were blank as she dazedly reached out, cupping with her palm the beautiful shape before her—so tempting one couldn’t help but want to climb it.

“Mmm…”

A soft, quick whimper sounded above her head, the flirtatious voice snapping Jiang Ling wide awake. Her arm froze in mid-air, and her fingers, sunken into the softness, instinctively squeezed.

Eh, so soft…

“Are you a baby?” Mo Ran let out a helpless giggle, pinching Jiang Ling’s blank cheeks with a little exasperation. “That’s enough.”

“Ahhhhh!”

Jiang Ling finally realized her situation, and almost scrambled off Mo Ran’s thigh in embarrassment, a faint, pleasant scent seeming to linger on her fingers.

“Awake?”

Watching Jiang Ling’s frantic look, Mo Ran didn’t overreact. Instead, she leisurely stared at Jiang Ling’s flushed face. “So red, huh?”

At this, Jiang Ling ducked her head in shame, screaming internally: What on earth did she just do?

First, she’d fallen asleep on Mo Ran’s lap without even realizing, then upon waking… she’d even touched something she definitely shouldn’t have! Ugh!

Most importantly, why didn’t Mo Ran react at all?!

If a normal girl were treated this way, shouldn’t she be—

“Ah! Xiao Lingdang, you pervert! I hate you! I’m not talking to you anymore!”

—like that?!

Jiang Ling’s mind was a mess. She snuck a glance up at Mo Ran, only to find her looking unruffled, as if teasing a child, which made Jiang Ling feel even more defeated.

“Why do you look so upset?” Mo Ran raised a brow in mild confusion, then beckoned to her. “Come sit closer. Didn’t you sleep so soundly just now? You’re just going to toss your big sis aside after using her? How heartless…”

Hearing Mo Ran’s slightly aggrieved tone, Jiang Ling hid her flustered nerves and sat back down, trying to appear calm.

Almost as soon as she came near, Mo Ran smiled and wrapped her arms around Jiang Ling. “That’s better~”

Jiang Ling snuggled in her embrace, her gaze naturally falling on the full, radiant curves that had made her act so foolishly just now.

She pursed her lips, trying to close her eyes to resist this sudden onslaught of stimulation, when Mo Ran thoughtfully spoke up. “You don’t need to force yourself to mimic someone else’s sexiness. Just be yourself.”

Those words reeled Jiang Ling’s wandering thoughts back, and she asked doubtfully, “Be myself…?”

“Learn to make full use of your own strengths,” Mo Ran said, releasing her arms and cupping Jiang Ling’s face, looking left and right. “With this pure, innocent face, you can play up that sense of contrast with your expressions and actions.”

“Um…?”

Jiang Ling, getting her cheeks pinched this way and that, let out a confused mumble.

“It’s like a gentle, well-behaved good girl who, after school, turns into the school bully and pins you to the wall for a forceful kiss,” Mo Ran casually gave an example.

The scene instantly played out in Jiang Ling’s mind, and the more she thought about it, the more intriguing it seemed.

“So should I go forcefully kiss Xiaoyu too?” Jiang Ling blurted out.

Of course, the moment she said it, she realized how strange that sounded and coughed awkwardly a few times. “No, that’s not what I meant!”

Mo Ran wore a faint smile. “Sounds like your true feelings slipped out?”

“No, it’s not!” Jiang Ling’s face turned red as she waved her hands in protest, quickly changing the subject. “Anyway, thank you.”

She was certain Mo Ran had noticed her tangled emotions and called her into the room because of it.

She had to admit, after receiving Mo Ran’s lap pillow and comfort, Jiang Ling felt much more refreshed. She let out a silly laugh and looked at Mo Ran. “I feel alive again. I’ll go study it properly in a bit… Xiao Ran, you’re the best!”

Hearing that, Mo Ran hooked her finger under Jiang Ling’s chin, her voice tinged with a bit of dissatisfaction. “You call everyone else ‘Big Sister’, so why don’t you call me that? Playing favorites?”

Forced to tilt her head up by Mo Ran’s hand, Jiang Ling hesitated, but still parted her lips and softly said, “Xiao Ran… Big Sister.”

“Hm… still missing something,” Mo Ran said, pressing down, a smile in her eyes.

“Would it be better if you called me ‘Mom’ instead?”