After buying the cabinet, the two drifted deeper into IKEA; it wasn’t walking so much as slipping between showrooms like minnows through reeds.

"Xue’er, you sure my parents aren’t up ahead?" Tight-chested like a drum under cloth, Lu Ke flattened behind a wardrobe, while Xiao Qianxue stood in the bright aisle like a tiny scout.

"They seem to have gone to that section up front." The golden-haired girl narrowed her eyes like a fox at dusk, then tugged his sleeve, a quiet signal to come out.

"Good, at least we can move in this zone." Lu Ke craned his head out like a cautious turtle, let out a breath like steam, and stepped to her side. "We’re still short a table or two, right? Let’s check over there."

"Stop buying me pink. I like spark-blue and pale blue better." Little Loli pouted at a pink desk, the cute shape hidden beneath her hood like a blossom under snow.

"Alright, let’s try other colors." He’d been about to call a clerk, but her words turned his rudder like wind on a sail. He caught the small hand beside him and led Little Loli away like flying a kite.

After a few more turns, he pointed ahead. "Look, Xue’er, you’ll love that color." A pale blue desk brushed with deep blue sat not far away, calm as a lake under evening sky. The golden-haired girl lifted her head, and it slid into her view like the moon from clouds.

"Not bad at all. Buy it."

"Yes, milady little sister!"

They were about to round the corner when a girl came head-on, like two carts meeting at the aisle mouth.

"Oof, sorry..." The girl bounced back two steps like a startled sparrow.

"You okay?" Lu Ke asked, voice steady as water, but when both looked up, the air snapped like a twig.

"Lu Ke!?"

"Gu Wen?" Her tone rang with bell-bright surprise, while his sounded like a plain question in a quiet room.

"What are you doing here?" Gu Wen’s gaze flowed along Lu Ke’s hand to the person beside him—a kid in a hoodie and jeans… probably a boy, with legs slim as willow lines.

Little Loli tugged her hood down by reflex, then dipped her head like a turtle into its shell, making sure no one could catch her face.

"As you see, I brought my little brother to wander the furniture maze today." Catching Gu Wen eyeing Xiao Qianxue, Lu Ke loosed a neat lie like a tossed pebble.

"Oh—it’s getting late. How about we grab lunch together?" Gu Wen seized the moment like catching a falling leaf.

"Uh..." Lu Ke’s mind swayed like a branch in wind. Today Gu Wen wasn’t in her lab coat; a black-and-white mini vest hugged a fitted top, showing youthful curves like spring buds, and a knee-length white skirt carried cute patterns like petals.

Gazing at the bright college girl, he hesitated, a knot pulling tight, because he’d just turned someone down earlier; doing it again felt rude as slamming a door twice. But Xue’er stood by his side like a small star. He turned with a question in his eyes, and Little Loli sensed it, giving a tiny nod like a falling feather.

"Alright then, but we’re not done browsing… how about we meet at the restaurant in half an hour?" Lu Ke spoke with a wry tilt, like a smile in shade.

"Great! See you in a bit!" Gu Wen’s pretty face bloomed with a youthful smile, and she waved as she drifted away like a kite on wind.

"Was that necessary..." Lu Ke shook his head like scattering rain, then glanced at Little Loli, just as the golden-haired girl turned to meet his eyes like twin mirrors.

"A classmate?" Her voice, soft and sweet, brushed his ear like warm tea steam.

"Yeah. She drops by to chat almost every day, but I’m always rushing home to see Xue’er, so we’ve barely talked." Lu Ke scratched his cheek with a sheepish grin, like sunlight catching dust.

"That’s really unfair to big bro~ Because of your little sister, you can’t even flirt, huh~" The sweetness held a dark little edge, like sugar over ginger. "And she seems decent—kind of airheaded. Looks like you could take what you want and walk away."

"You’re too young for thoughts like that. At lunch, just sit tight and don’t say a word." Lu Ke tapped the blonde head without mercy, then slipped his hand under the hood to tousle those long smooth strands like silk.

"Hmph, always bullying your sister." She puffed her cheeks, then smoothed her hair with careful fingers, and set the hood back like a veil.

"No way. My Xue’er is the cutest!" Lu Ke didn’t miss the adorable look on Little Loli’s face, a peach blossom flashing and gone.

They browsed a while longer, picked up a few things like shells along a shore, and headed to IKEA’s in-house restaurant.

"Lu Ke!! Over here!!" As soon as they walked in, a girl’s voice rang from the side like a bell. He turned and saw Gu Wen at a nearby table, that young smile still bright as morning.

"I’ll go grab some food. My little brother will sit here first." Seeing Little Loli drop into a chair, Lu Ke added, uneasy as a guardian bird, "I’ll be right back."

He hurried off with quick steps like wind, leaving Gu Wen and Xiao Qianxue—time for a little sister versus friendly girl scene to unfold like a fan.

"Little brother, what’s your name?" Curiosity sparkled in Gu Wen’s eyes like dew as she looked at the hooded Xiao Qianxue. The little boy—cough—still kept that hood on, hiding his face like moon behind cloud; she ached to see it.

"Xiao Yan." She pressed her voice down, trying to make it rougher like gravel, but it still rang crisp as a bell. At this age, people might think he hadn’t hit the change yet; a little bluff could pass.

"Such a badass name, but such a cute voice!" Gu Wen seemed to accept a name most folks wouldn’t, and she had to hand it to someone’s naming sense.

The golden-haired girl added nothing and moved even less, sitting there quiet as a still pond.

"Xiao Yan, aren’t you hot under that hood?" Gu Wen kept fishing for topics like tossing lines, unwilling to let the air go flat.

"No." The blonde stayed blank, her reply trimmed short like a clipped leaf.

"Thanks for waiting!!" Lu Ke arrived with a big tray piled with food, aromas rising like steam, and he sat right beside Little Loli at once.

"Your brother’s name is actually Xiao Yan! I swear there’s a famous novel hero with that name." Gu Wen propped her hands on the table, eyes wide like lamps.

"Oh… right! It’s a pretty good name." Lu Ke blanked for a beat like a skipped note, then caught up.

"Let’s dig in first."