"Humble servant, today I grant you freedom to go home on your own. Show your gratitude, but I'm sure you'll ask what I'm going to do. I...I'm definitely not going to visit any clubs, and certainly not the cosplay club. Please don't misunderstand, I have no interest in such low-level, boring things."

After school, Su Yuqian, who was supposed to go home with me, was nowhere to be found. Just as I was wondering about it, my phone beeped with a new email notification. I opened it and saw this somewhat amusing message:

It seems the intention here is quite clear. Was it Yuan Muxi who brought up this topic at noon, and now Su Yuqian can't wait for school to end? Is cosplay really that fun? It seems to have ignited such enthusiasm in Su Yuqian, but I have absolutely no interest in such things.

"Looks like I have to go home alone today. Since I have plenty of time, I might as well take a stroll," I made up my mind and picked up my school bag. Suddenly, my phone beeped again with another email notification.

Could it be that Su Yuqian changed her mind? Is she really that easily swayed? With a skeptical attitude, I opened my phone and discovered that it was from An Lisi.

"Yuu-gege, can we go home together?"

An Lisi's home is in a different direction from mine. Although I could go her way, it would be a detour. However, since I still have plenty of time, I decided to go home with her.

"Sure, let's meet at the school gate," I replied and left the classroom to head towards the school gate.

"...Yuu-gege," An Lisi smiled and waved at me. It seemed a bit too fast. After replying to her message, there was only a 30-second gap before An Lisi arrived at the school gate.

"An Lisi, you're so fast. I just replied to your message less than a minute ago," I said in surprise.

"Well...I really wanted to see Yuu-gege quickly," An Lisi said softly with her head lowered.

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"N-Nothing."

"I see... Alright then, let's go," I said, feeling like she said something but couldn't hear clearly. An Lisi and I walked side by side out of the school gate and headed towards her place.

"Are you getting used to today?" I asked after we had walked a few steps.

"Uh...it's alright," An Lisi said, but her expression showed that she wasn't completely at ease.

"Have you encountered any difficulties? In terms of studying or communicating?"

"In terms of studying, thanks to Yuu-gege's help, I can understand...," An Lisi finished her answer, but I felt like something was missing. Did she skip talking about communication?

"Is there any problem with communication?" I continued to ask.

"Um...that..." An Lisi seemed reluctant to speak.

"Do you have some issues?" Her behavior didn't seem like everything was fine.

"I can't do anything without Yuu-gege around..." An Lisi continued to speak softly, looking troubled.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Take it slow and everything will be fine," I said in an encouraging tone, hoping to make An Lisi better at communicating in one go.

"Okay..." But An Lisi still didn't look happy, so there must be something bothering her.

"By the way, have you considered joining any clubs?" Joining a club might bring some sunshine and cheerfulness to her.

"Did Yu Gege participate?" An Lisi asked in response.

"I... never thought about participating in any clubs or activities. After all, on one hand, there are no clubs or activities that I am interested in. On the other hand, I feel like it would be a waste of time," I explained my thoughts.

"I also don't want to participate in any clubs or activities," An Lisi quickly replied.

"Don't you want to consider it?" I expressed my regret about her hasty decision.

"Yu Gege didn't participate in any clubs or activities either, right?" An Lisi stared at me and said, making me feel like I had set a bad example.

"That's true..." I suddenly lost confidence.

"Well, if you don't want to participate, then let's just go home," I said with a sense of resignation.

"Go home club?" An Lisi seemed confused.

"It means going home after school..."

"Hmm... going home with Yu Gege after school," An Lisi suddenly seemed very happy. Is going home after school really that enjoyable? Those guys who tirelessly participate in clubs and activities after school, enriching themselves, don't seem like useless individuals who don't contribute to society in comparison to us.

But belittling ourselves only boosts the ego of others. Those who don't go home after school and participate in clubs and activities can look forward to dying from overwork...

As the words left my mouth, I realized that I unintentionally implicated Su Yuqian and Yuan Muxi. It's truly my fault. I repent here.

"Yu Gege?"

"Ah... let's continue walking," daydreaming on the street is not a good thing.

"Yeah..." An Lisi replied enthusiastically, and then there was silence for a while. I accidentally looked at Su Yuqian's hair and became curious.

"An Lisi, did you dye your hair or is it natural?"

"Hair?" An Lisi seemed a bit puzzled as she touched her own hair. "Ah... I'm mixed race."

"Oh... mixed race?" That's an interesting term to hear.

"My father is Chinese, and my mother is British..."

"That's really an international love story... The two of them must have a passionate past to be together and in love," I speculated.

"Well... it was just a chance encounter and then we fell in love..."

"A flash... marriage?" I blurted out those two words.

"Not really... we dated for a few months and then got married, and then I was born..."

"So... An Lisi inherited her mother's genes, because most British women have blonde hair, right?"

"It seems so... does Yu Gege not like blonde hair?" An Lisi showed a hint of gloom for some reason as she touched her hair.

"I like it... doesn't blonde hair look beautiful? Like the radiance of the sun, it gives warmth and healing," I said dreamily.

"Yu Gege likes blonde hair... umm... I'm so happy..."

"Huh?" An Lisi seemed strangely happy. Did I just imagine hearing those four words, "I like blonde hair"?

"That... Anyway, I will take good care of my hair."

"Um... Um." Why does it feel like I'm not making any sense? But never mind, it's important to take care of your hair, isn't it?

"But there's something else I'm concerned about... It's about An Lisi's parents. Why haven't they shown up... and why are you living alone?" As soon as I finished speaking, An Lisi's smile disappeared instantly, and a shadow seemed to cast over her face.

"What... What's wrong? Did I ask something I shouldn't have? Well... I apologize." I immediately bowed and apologized.

"My father and mother are divorced..." An Lisi said as if she had no feelings about it.

"Divorced...?" I was quite shocked to hear that.

"They got divorced because of some differences in their beliefs and ideas," An Lisi said flatly.

"It's a pity, isn't it? They worked so hard to be together, but ended up like this. It's not good for anyone," I expressed my opinion, but An Lisi's face gradually lost any expression, which made me worried. So I decided not to continue.

"Sorry... for bringing up such a heavy topic," I apologized.

"It's not Yoo-gege's fault. It's all because I got too immersed in the past..." An Lisi smiled awkwardly.

"It's also my fault for asking so rudely and making An Lisi unhappy," I regretted bringing up this topic.

"I'm not unhappy... I'm so happy to be with Yoo-gege and go home together," An Lisi suddenly seemed in a better mood, but she seemed to be murmuring something. Did I embarrass myself just now?

"What made you suddenly happy again?"

"Ah... It's nothing," An Lisi was startled for a moment and quickly said. It's really strange, I always feel like I can't figure An Lisi out. But it's okay, there's nothing better than being able to walk out of darkness and move towards the light again.

Unconsciously, we arrived at the apartment. When we entered the courtyard, we saw Aunt Zheng sweeping the leaves on the ground.

"Back from school?" Aunt Zheng stopped her work and smiled as she asked.

"Yes... By the way, are you sweeping the floor?" I looked at the broom in her hand and asked.

"I don't know why, but this tree has shed a lot of leaves, even though it's not autumn yet," Aunt Zheng looked up confusedly at an old tree. "There are leaves everywhere... it's a bit troublesome to clean up."

As the wind blew, the leaves scattered around, indeed testing one's patience.

"If you use a vacuum cleaner, it might be better..."

"A vacuum cleaner seems possible... but it might be better to have one specifically designed for this," using a regular vacuum cleaner would be troublesome with the power cord hindering movement. If there was a vacuum cleaner dedicated to this, it might be better, but I couldn't afford it without any funds.

"It's really tiring and troublesome..."

"That's true, but once you get used to it, it's not a big deal. It's just a matter of physical strength," but more importantly, it requires patience. If I saw leaves scattered everywhere with every gust of wind, I would definitely break the broom on the spot.

"An Lisi... How was school today?" Aunt Zheng shifted her attention to An Lisi. An Lisi was fine earlier, but after being asked, she became like this morning, grabbing onto my clothes. What habit is this?

"Um... it's... it's okay..."

"Is that so? That's good..." It felt like there were a lot of things to say to me, but now it feels so awkward.

"Isn't Youjie's relationship with An Lisi♂+♀ really good? Hehehe." Aunt Zheng said with a meaningful smile.

"No... it's not what you think." It seems like the misunderstanding deepened.