"Miss, where to?"

The driver was already waiting when we got in the car. Weren’t you just tailing us a second ago? What’s your deal?

"Where do you want to eat?" Jiang Chen ignored the driver and turned to us instead.

"I’m easy. Never been picky."

*Yeah, right.* Back when Mom cooked those... *things*, I swallowed them without flinching. What food could possibly scare me now?

Seeing my non-answer, Jiang Chen shifted his gaze. "How about you two?"

"Anywhere Ye Xi goes!"

"Anywhere *Gege* goes!"

They spoke in perfect unison, then locked eyes. Whatever they were thinking, I didn’t want to know.

My head throbbed. Two headaches for one brain.

Jiang Chen smirked at me. "Seems they trust you completely. Guess the decision’s back on you."

"Don’t look at me. First time here—I know nothing. You pick. We’re flexible."

"A man with no backbone?" Jiang Chen sighed, turning to the driver. "Guanqian Street."

*Hey!* No backbone? That’s harsh. I don’t even know which way’s north here!

"Guanqian Street’s Suzhou’s busiest commercial zone," Jiang Chen explained. "Famous shops, authentic flavors—you’ll find something you like."

*Guanqian Street.* Named for the Xuanmiao Temple at its heart. Once called "Tianqing Temple Street" in the Song Dynasty, it bloomed with peach trees like scattered brocade—earning it the nickname "Brocade-Shard Street." Renamed after the temple’s Yuan Dynasty shift to "Xuanmiao," it finally became Guanqian.

I’d seen similar spots in S City. Probably just tourist bait. But stepping onto the street, I felt its weight.

S City’s pedestrian zones lacked soul. Chenghuang Temple’s maze-like alleys drowned culture in chaos. Nanjing’s Confucius Temple felt cramped, its square too small for grandeur. But Guanqian? It shed its dusty exterior, lifting the ancient Xuanmiao Temple above the commercial buzz. History and heritage held the street’s clamor in check. Walking it felt like a quiet revelation.

Not that Xia Tong or Xiaoxi noticed. Their eyes darted between shop signs—true foodie instincts.

From Cai Zhi Zhai’s zongzi candy to Daoxiangcun’s fruit pastries, from Yeshouhe’s Ningbo cakes to Wenkuizhai’s pear cough syrup—

Their mouths never stopped moving. Jiang Chen and I trailed behind, unimpressed.

*Might actually become friends,* I mused. Shared love for snacks counts as common ground, right?

"Gege, open up!" Xiaoxi popped up beside me, a zongzi candy pressed to my lips.

I obeyed. The cool candy melted on my tongue, carrying a trace of bamboo-leaf fragrance. Xiaoxi beamed, flashing her little fangs, and popped one into her own mouth.

"Lay off the sweets," I warned. "Forgot how you cried during that tooth extraction?"

Her hand trembled.

"That was *years* ago! And I’m stopping, see?" She shoved the candy bag into my arms. "Hold this!"

I took it. Freed of snacks, she latched onto my arm.

"I’m stuffed! Let’s just wander—so many cool shops!"

"Took you long enough! Who’s gonna feed you when Mom’s back? You’ll really turn into ‘Little River’! How much do you weigh now?"

Her smile vanished. "Shut up! If no one will, *you* will. You’re the one who spoiled me anyway."

*Spoiled you?* I opened my mouth to argue—

"Ye Xi, open up!" Xia Tong’s voice cut in from my left. She held out a fruit pastry. *Is she... feeding me?* I reached to take it.

"What?" She stepped back, scowling. "*Open. Your. Mouth.*"

"I can feed myself."

Xiaoxi’s grip on my arm tightened.

"But you opened for Xiaoxi!"

"She’s my *sister*."

"Nobody knows that! Pretend I’m your sister too. Open." She thrust the pastry forward again.

"Why should I care what strangers think? Stop messing around."

Xia Tong stayed silent, arm outstretched, staring. *Not moving until I take it.*

"Gege..." Xiaoxi tugged my sleeve. "Just eat it? Xiaojie means well. It’s really good."

*Xiaoxi, selling me out?* What did Jiang Chen say to her? Why the sudden change?

Jiang Chen, walking ahead, turned at the commotion. He strode back, pulling Xia Tong’s arm.

"What now? Can’t move again?"

Xia Tong didn’t answer. Just held the pastry to my lips, determined.

Jiang Chen sighed. "Seriously? Such a fuss over nothing. Ye Xi—what’s seven plus one?"

*Why’s he asking math?*

"Eight—*mmph!*" Xia Tong jammed the pastry into my mouth, her finger sliding across my tongue. She finally smiled, pulling away with a glistening fingertip.

I chewed and swallowed. "You—"

"Move it!" Jiang Chen snapped. "Refusing a hand-fed treat? You’d drown in spit if word got out."

*Since when is this my fault?* She forced it on me! Arguing with these two was pointless.

Xia Tong dumped her shopping bags into Jiang Chen’s arms and clamped onto my other arm.

"Hey! I can’t walk like this!"

She ignored me.

"Gege, just walk," Xiaoxi pleaded. "It’s so hot!"

"Fine," I grumbled. Trapped between two girls, every passerby’s stare burned. One guy with two girls? They weren’t whispering "lucky." They were thinking: *Spoiled rich kid. Wasting two good girls.* I endured the walk like a public execution.

"When are we heading back?" I called to Jiang Chen ahead.

He stopped dead, turning. "Ye Xi—when did you get the *delusion* we’re going back?"

"Huh?"

"Gege..." Xiaoxi whispered. "Jiang Chenjie told me this morning. I thought you knew. I packed your clothes—in my bag."

*I thought that bag held makeup!* "Could you warn me next time? Feels like I’m always in the dark."

"And would you have come if I did? Huh? Mr. Shut-In."

*Ouch.* True, but still stung.

"We’re staying tonight. Rooms are booked. Finish this street, then hotel. Back tomorrow." Jiang Chen turned away. "And stop embarrassing me in public."

He held up two keycards. "How to split?"

"Ye Xi, let’s go!" Xia Tong snatched a card, yanking my arm.

"Not so fast!" I flicked her forehead. She winced, all fake innocence. *Not falling for it.*

"I’ll take Xiaoxi." I grabbed the other card and turned to leave.

Jiang Chen chuckled. "Wait. Did you really think I’d book just *two* rooms? How cheap do you think I am?" He pulled two more cards from his pocket, handing one to Xiaoxi.

Xiaoxi glanced at me. "I’ll share with Gege. No need to waste—"

"Nonsense. You’re grown. And these are single rooms. Take it."

After assigning rooms, Jiang Chen said, "We leave at dawn. Rest well."

Back in my room, I grabbed my clothes from Xiaoxi, soaked in a bath until my bones unknotted. Bored later, I scrolled through class group chats on my phone, TV murmuring in the background.

Xiaoxi, meanwhile, dialed a number the second her door shut.

"Hello?"

"Tang Tang! Thank goodness!" Her voice bubbled over.

"What’s wrong? Win the lottery?"

"No! Today I went out with Student Council President Jiang Chen, my brother, and Xia Tong."

"And? You’re not this happy just from sightseeing."

"Turns out Xia Tong’s crush is totally one-sided! Gege doesn’t care about her at all. I was wrong before—he’s never been interested!"

"Isn’t that perfect? You won’t have to worry about your brother being swept away by Xia Tong, and you can still play the understanding little sister in front of him—best of both worlds!"

"Exactly! Today, I even made up with my brother!"

"As long as you’re happy. Your brother’s really pitiful—having to be secretly watched even while dating. I bet he never expected his sweet little bunny to be so devious, huh?!"

"What are you saying? I have to vet my brother’s girlfriends, don’t I? He’s never dated before—what if some girl scams him?"

"Xia Tong probably won’t scam your brother. She’s rich and gorgeous, and besides, your brother doesn’t have much worth scamming for…"

"You talk too much! My brother has tons of good qualities!" Xiaoxi was a little unhappy. After all, Xia Tong was the one not good enough for her brother.

"Yes, yes! Anything else? You can’t stop talking about your brother—I’m so tired of it. I need to study. If nothing else, I’m hanging up!"

"Bye-bye-bye-bye! I’ll tell you more when I get back!" Xiaoxi’s face beamed with smiles, completely unlike her calm daytime self.

"Sigh! I feel sorry for myself—how did I end up with a brother-obsessed friend like you? Bye!" Tang Tang hung up the phone.

Xiaoxi happily put away her phone, grabbed her change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom to shower. Meanwhile, a dark figure poked its head out of a room, glanced left and right, and after confirming no one was around, tiptoed out and ran off.