Time flew. In the blink of an eye, another two weeks passed. Qin An lived quite comfortably—teasing the pretty girl next to him when bored, occasionally getting "extorted" by his little sister for lollipops, or being dragged off by the little tyrant to practice taekwondo.

With May Day approaching, the class bulletin board needed updating. Naturally, such "major events" had nothing to do with Qin An.

But An Qi wore a sour expression. As the class’s arts committee member, she was utterly miserable.

After school, Qin An shouldered his bag to head home. To his surprise, An Qi stood before the blackboard, tears streaming down her face.

He first signaled his little tyrant sister to go home alone. Then he tiptoed silently behind An Qi.

Qin An gently covered her eyes with both hands. An Qi gasped, reaching up to pry his fingers away.

"Guess who I am?" Qin An asked in a silly voice. Of course she recognized him—the moment his hands blocked her vision, she knew it was that troublemaker. That’s why her resistance was so mild.

"Let me go now, or I’ll get mad and ignore you forever!"

"I’m so scared! Don’t ignore me, An Qi! I’ll have no friends left!"

"Hmph. You should know better."

Once she could see again, An Qi’s mood lifted.

"Where’s your squad?" Qin An glanced around.

Just mentioning them made her fume. "All gone home!"

"Guess you’re unpopular. Such a waste—you’re even pretty."

"Says the lone wolf."

"Shall I tell the teacher to..." Qin An mimed slashing his throat and stuck out his tongue.

An Qi burst out laughing through her tears. "I’m no secret agent! That’d just make me more hated."

"Aren’t you indirectly calling our class monitor unbearable?"

"She *is* unbearable! No—I mean *you* said that!"

"You just admitted it yourself."

After more playful chasing, An Qi sighed. "Stop messing around. If I don’t finish this board, homeroom teacher will scold me tomorrow."

"Need help?"

"Duh! If you don’t help me..." An Qi turned away with a huff, resuming her work. "You know the consequences."

Dressed in a white skirt and mint-green long-sleeve tee, An Qi stood on a stool, sketching carefully on the blackboard. Her glossy black hair cascaded down to her waist.

Qin An happily handled the heavy tasks—moving desks, wiping the board, drawing lines. Sometimes he’d sneak in a giant turtle doodle or scribble worm-like characters, earning either An Qi’s bell-like laughter or a scolding.

An hour and a half later, the half-finished bulletin board was complete. Neat handwriting and lovely illustrations covered the rectangular board. Even Qin An couldn’t help nodding in approval.

An Qi dusted chalk from her palms and sat to rest. Spotting Qin An doodling with green chalk in the board’s blank margin, she warned, "Qin An! If you mess it up, you’ll pay for a new one!"

"Pay? How about I *accompany* you instead?"

"Pervert! Who wants your company!"

"There. Now it’s even prettier."

"You drew this?"

"Who else?"

An Qi stared, dumbfounded. Qin An had sketched bamboo—clean lines, nearly lifelike.

"Big liar! You said you can’t draw!"

"I can’t draw. But I *can* draw bamboo!"

Qin An grinned, smudging green chalk on both her cheeks. Instantly, she became a little green-faced kitten. An Qi retaliated, smearing chalk on his face too.

"It’s getting dark. Let’s go home."

"Mm."

"No one picking you up?" Qin An scanned the emptying schoolyard. Given her poise, he’d expected her to have a chauffeur like Huang Jiajun’s level of privilege.

"Sent them home today."

"Then allow me to be your knight in shining armor."

"Heh. We’ll see if you’re up to it." An Qi skipped ahead, giggling.

"Wanna bet?"

"On what? You’ll just cheat. No bets."

"Don’t refuse so fast. Midterms are coming. If I score higher than you, you grant one humble request."

"And if *I* score higher?" An Qi had zero doubt—she’d been top of her year for semesters straight.

"Same. One request from me."

"*Any* request?" A faint blush spread across An Qi’s flawless skin. Her rose-petal lips glistened. That fleeting charm made even Qin An freeze for a second.

"Nothing extreme. Like... taking out the class monitor."

"Deal."

"Deal."

*Thud—*

Qin An’s heart clenched at the petite figure waiting by the school gate. His chivalrous plan was ruined. Another unopened flower bud needed his protection.

"Yage..."

"You know her?" An Qi’s tone turned icy.

"My sister."

"Oh!" An Qi beamed instantly. "Your sister’s adorable! Though she looks nothing like you."

"Bro~" The drawn-out whine came with loud crunching. Qin Yage chewed a lollipop furiously, as if executing someone. She forced a smile. "Big sister, I’m Qin Yage. Thanks for putting up with my idiot brother. But wow—you’re so pretty! No boyfriend?"

An Qi, unprepared for such boldness from a child, flushed crimson. She glanced back at Qin An, stammering, "O-of course not! We’re just... good friends."

"Then try harder, big sister! My idiot brother *already* has a girlfriend!" Qin Yage shot Qin An a sly wink.

An Qi’s mind went blank—as if nuked. Tears welled in her dewy eyes, trembling on the brink.

"An Qi, don’t listen to Yage’s nonsense. You’re my only friend at school. How could I have a girlfriend?" Qin An shot his sister a death glare. She just stuck out her pink tongue defiantly.

"...Makes sense." An Qi relaxed. Qin An only spoke to the class monitor besides her. But his sister? That little brat tried to sabotage them! She was his *only* friend—thank goodness she was smart enough to see through it.

"I’ll head off now. See you tomorrow, Qin An. Bye, Yage." An Qi hailed a taxi. Before getting in, she and Qin Yage exchanged a perfectly polite smile. But Qin An smelled gunpowder—and saw lightning crackling in their locked gazes.

"Who wants to see *you*!" Qin Yage yelled once the taxi vanished.

*That scheming vixen!* Her brother was already suspiciously close with Teacher Wang—always draping arms over shoulders. Didn’t they know men and women shouldn’t touch?

*He’s a total playboy. Needs discipline.*

"People are gone. Let’s go home."

"Starving. Can’t walk." Qin Yage stretched up on tiptoes, arms outstretched—clearly demanding a piggyback.

"Hopeless."

"You’re heavy."

"Same line every time. Get new material."

"Why tell her I have a girlfriend?"

"I don’t like you with her. Hmph!"

"Why?"

"No why! I just don’t!"

Qin An was used to her unreasonable demands.

Perched on his back, Qin Yage drew circles on his shoulders—then turned them into tiny fists, pounding rhythmically. *Stupid brother, finding me a sister-in-law! How old am I? Trying to ditch me already? Sisters-in-law are totally unnecessary!*

Her tiny fangs glinted in the moonlight. Qin An’s shoulder stung—fresh blood bloomed on his shirt.