Dad had been home for less than a week before he had to leave again. Lin Ran knew how hard Dad worked, always rushing around for the sake of the family. And since he was an adult on the inside now, he understood Dad’s situation perfectly. Over the few days he’d spent with Liu Wenjun and Lin Ruixue, he’d gradually stopped disliking the mother and daughter. It might sound strange, but Lin Ran could tell Liu Wenjun truly cared for Dad, and Dad genuinely loved his partner, too. As for Lin Ruixue, she was a complete little goody-goody. Tell her to do something, and she’d do it without a word. After just these few days, Lin Ran had come to think of her as nothing but sweet and airheaded—so much so that even he’d found himself wanting to drop his cold attitude around her.

Still, because he disliked girls, Lin Ran wasn’t exactly nice to her. At most, he’d say hello—and even then, only when Lin Ruixue greeted him first. But he’d also noticed that she really did seem afraid of him. Or maybe she was afraid of boys in general. Every time she said hello, it was as if she’d spent decades working up the courage. Her voice was tiny, and she didn’t dare look at him. If he stared at her for more than three seconds, she’d run straight back to her room and hide.

At first, Lin Ran had only scoffed. Lin Ruixue was just putting on an act. In his mind, girls were experts at playing dumb and acting pitiful to win sympathy. It was all just a façade. But after spending a few days around her, he’d started to doubt himself. If it was an act, Lin Ruixue was far too good at it. She hadn’t slipped up once. She seemed so genuine that it was hard to believe.

Of course, Lin Ran had no interest in asking her about it. If she was putting on an act, sooner or later she’d slip up.

With half a month left before school started, Dad and Liu Wenjun had to return to work. Before they left, they told Lin Ran to take good care of Lin Ruixue and call them if anything came up that he couldn’t handle. Dad even bragged that he was a big shot now and could take care of a few things, big or small.

Lin Ran assumed Dad was joking. But now that he thought about it, Dad used to smoke five-yuan cigarettes. Sometimes, just to save face, he’d buy a pack of ten-yuan ones and keep it in his bag. This time, though, he’d been smoking the twenty-five-yuan kind. Had Dad really made it big?

Before leaving, Dad gave Lin Ran four thousand yuan. Two thousand was for the siblings’ living expenses, and most of the other two thousand was for Lin Ruixue to buy the things she needed for school. Lin Ran didn’t mind. Those were necessary expenses.

Before they left, Lin Ruixue clung to Liu Wenjun’s arm, looking terribly nervous. Liu Wenjun smiled and gently patted her head. “Don’t be scared. Xiao Ran is your brother. He won’t bully you. And you can’t stay by my side forever.”

“Don’t be scared, Xuenu. If that brat bullies you, tell me. If I hear he’s been picking on you, I’ll come right back and beat him up!” Lin Zihao said with a hearty laugh. He ruffled Lin Ruixue’s hair, then left with Liu Wenjun.

The front door shut. Lin Ruixue stared blankly at it.

Lin Ran frowned, but just as he was about to turn and head back to his room, Lin Ruixue suddenly called out to him.

“Lin Ran-ge,” Lin Ruixue called softly.

“What is it?” Lin Ran turned to look at her. Hmm. The girl really was pretty cute. With that timid look of hers, surely any guy who saw her would want to pull her behind him and protect her.

Too bad for her, he was Lin Ran.

“……” Lin Ruixue clenched her little fists. She hesitated for a long while, then finally worked up the courage to bow to Lin Ran. “Lin Ran-ge, I hope we’ll get along from now on!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Ruixue darted back to her bedroom.

Lin Ran frowned and glanced at Lin Ruixue’s door. A Pikachu charm hung from it, swaying from the force of her rather loud door slam.

Lin Ran shook his head and went back to his room.

Not long afterward, Lin Ran grabbed a bottle of mineral water, went into the kitchen, and took two of the boiled eggs he hadn’t finished. With everything in hand, he headed downstairs.

After Lin Ran left, Lin Ruixue’s bedroom door quietly opened a crack. She peeked out from behind it at the front door, then quietly closed her own door again.

Once the door was shut, Lin Ruixue lay on her little bed, hugging her beloved Pikachu plushie. She felt terribly uneasy. It was the first time in all these years that she’d lived with a boy she didn’t know, even if he was technically her older brother.

“Pikachu, what do you think of Lin Ran-ge?”

“After spending these past few days with him, I feel like he’s not that scary, even though he always has a stern look on his face.”

Lin Ruixue lay on her bed, talking to her Pikachu plushie. It was a little silly, but it helped calm her unsettled heart.

Lin Ran was feeding the kitten milk and eggs when he got a call from Su Shijie, who’d been missing for almost a week. Su Shijie said only one thing: “Bro, something huge happened! Has your dad left yet? Ah, doesn’t matter if he has or not—I’m coming to hide at your place for a few days!”

Less than ten minutes after hanging up, Su Shijie came panting up to Lin Ran.

Lin Ran looked at him with amusement. “What happened? Someone show up at your door to beat you up?”

Su Shijie sat down beside Lin Ran, panting, and shamelessly snatched the half-bottle of water left over. He poured it down his throat. Once his heartbeat had settled, he waved a hand. “Don’t even ask. Hey, tell me—doesn’t Baozi from Grade 12, Class B have a serious attitude problem? She’s always looking for trouble when there’s nothing going on. What’s wrong with having a meal and a few drinks with a younger girl? Did I do something to her? Did I offend her? That damn woman showed up at my door and threatened to beat me up. If she weren’t a girl, I’d have taken her down myself. I, Su Shijie, have never had anyone show up at my door like that in my life. And that security guard, too—letting just anyone in!”

Lin Ran shook his head and reminded Su Shijie with a smile, “I seem to remember someone specifically telling the guard that if a pretty girl came looking for him, he didn’t need to stop her.”

“Did I say that?” Su Shijie scratched his head.

“You brought this on yourself. Of all people, you had to mess with her.” Lin Ran shook his head, impressed. He had to hand it to Su Shijie: the guy actually dared to provoke Bao Xinrou from Grade 12, Class B. Oh, Bao Xinrou was the “Baozi” Su Shijie had been talking about. Her surname was Bao, so people had nicknamed her Baozi. Lin Ran had no interest in knowing about her, but Bao Xinrou was one of the well-known faces at No. 5 High School. People talked about her all the time, so it was hard not to hear about her.

Lin Ran’s impression of Bao Xinrou was that she was a delinquent girl who liked going against the teachers, fighting with boys, and standing up for girls who were being bullied.

Su Shijie must have gotten involved with a girl from their school this time. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten on Bao Xinrou’s bad side.

“Damn it, I’m starting to think that line of poetry was right. This Dead Bun is so damn violent. Forget punching two bulls to death—this woman could probably kill two tigers with one punch! I can’t go home, so I’m staying with you until school starts.” Su Shijie cursed as he tugged his twisted sock back into place. Then he held it up to his nose and sniffed.

Lin Ran hesitated for a moment. He didn’t mind Su Shijie staying over, but there was one problem: someone else lived here now.

Oh, well. He couldn’t make a friend he’d only just met sleep on the street. For all he knew, Bao Xinrou might catch Su Shijie and beat him up one of these days—and then, no doubt, Su Shijie would come crying to him about it.

“I’m telling you, take them home with you for now. The weather forecast says there’ll be heavy rain for the next two days. And then, when Shen Qingyuan gets back, I’ll get to see her too. Heh-heh!” Su Shijie chuckled to himself.

“As your buddy, let me give you a piece of advice: if you want to win Shen Qingyuan over, you need to stop acting like the playboy you are now. Don’t go out meeting girls at night whenever you feel like it. Birds of a feather flock together. You and Shen Qingyuan are completely different kinds of people. There’s no way you two will ever end up together.” Lin Ran spoke seriously.

His experience from his previous life had taught him that there was nothing wrong with the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.”

“I know that without you telling me! I swear to God, I haven’t asked a single girl out all week. I’ve deleted hundreds of girls from my friends list. Starting next semester, I’m going to study hard and make progress every day. No need to rush—I’ll take it slow!” Su Shijie said with a grin.

Lin Ran nodded. It was best if Su Shijie understood. Still, it was probably better not to believe a word he said.