The three of them headed to the shopping district and found a fancy restaurant for lunch.

They really did turn a lot of heads along the way. Yuzhe figured it had to be because Zixiao and Little Lychee were so pretty.

That was part of it, sure—but most people were actually looking at Su Yuzhe.

Even with two girls who were practically school beauties at his side, he still stood out. Yuzhe didn’t learn the truth until they were inside the restaurant and the girls told him.

Ahem. This was just impossible to understand!

Was his trench coat not manly enough, or was there something wrong with their taste?!

Once they were inside, Yuzhe led the two girls to a private dining room.

It was a little extravagant for three people to take up a whole private room, but what could he do? Yuzhe really did like things on the quiet side.

After Zixiao entered, she set a chair out for Yuzhe and had him sit down first. Then she efficiently rinsed the tableware, poured him some tea, and even asked if the air-conditioning was set to a comfortable temperature.

Little Lychee, sitting beside Yuzhe, watched the whole routine in a daze.

Zixiao... was she always this good at taking care of people?

Then why... was her own cup empty... and why had nobody done anything about her tableware?

That was some seriously obvious favoritism.

Little Lychee didn’t dare ask. She could only pick up the menu and look over the restaurant’s dishes.

Hmm... there really were a lot of tasty options. They were just a little expensive.

Ouyang Lizhi’s family was indeed very wealthy. They couldn’t compare to the Su Family, but they were probably about on par with the Qi Family!

But Little Lychee was very thrifty.

She looked at the prices on the menu, her brows knitting together as she debated.

She wanted to try them... but they were so expensive.

Yuzhe happened to catch the look on her face.

When they came in, Zixiao had seated Yuzhe in the middle, so she and Little Lychee had naturally taken the seats on either side of him.

Perfectly symmetrical!

Seeing Little Lychee frown, Yuzhe guessed what she was thinking.

“Little Lychee, don’t be shy. Order whatever you like today. It’s on me.”

Yuzhe’s words made Little Lychee’s eyes light up as if stars had begun to twinkle in them. But the next moment, they dimmed with disappointment.

“How could I, Brother Yuzhe? I... I may be a bit of a glutton, but I should still pay for my own food.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Yuzhe watched the principled girl on his right struggle with herself, amused. “Zixiao and I insisted you come eat with us instead of going to the school cafeteria. So it’s only right that I treat you.”

Then Yuzhe added with a grin, “Besides, I’m the oldest. There’s no way I should let you two pay.”

“But... I’m the one who insisted on coming along...” Little Lychee murmured.

Before Little Lychee could reply, Yuzhe had already made up his mind.

“All right, just order whatever you like. Zixiao finally has a friend she can really talk to, so don’t worry about the money.”

Little Lychee seemed to give in. She nodded slightly at Yuzhe, then picked up a pen and started circling things on the menu.

But Zixiao, sitting to Yuzhe’s left, looked a little worried.

She leaned close to Yuzhe’s ear and whispered so Little Lychee wouldn’t hear, “Brother... are you sure it’s okay? Little Lychee can eat a lot. I remember the restaurants around here are pretty expensive, and you’re making money by drawing manga now...”

“It’s fine. Don’t panic.” Yuzhe leaned close to Zixiao’s ear to whisper back, making her blush bright red in an instant.

Brother was so... so close! And his breath tickled a little.

“Remember that bank card Yuche secretly brought over last week? I haven’t checked exactly how much is in it, but I think there were a lot of zeroes. We’ve got plenty of backup funds, so don’t panic.”

Heh. Father, you said you wouldn’t give me any money—but I still have Yuche. Bet you didn’t see that coming.

Still, Yuzhe really didn’t want to use the money Yuche had given him unless he absolutely had to. It’d be so embarrassing!

“All done, Brother Yuzhe! I’ve picked everything!”

Little Lychee happily handed Yuzhe the menu, with all the things she wanted already marked.

Yuzhe took it, planning to ask Zixiao to choose a few dishes too. But looking at the menu, now scribbled all over, it seemed there was no need...

They’d already ordered quite a lot. Yuzhe wondered if the three of them could really eat it all.

There were also several dishes she’d chosen and then crossed out. She hadn’t ordered any of the most expensive ones, which showed she really had tried to save Yuzhe money.

Yuzhe quickly reached an accurate assessment of Little Lychee: she was a lovable airhead and a huge glutton!

Yuche... thanks for the bank card. Looks like I’ll get to use it this time.

Yuzhe smiled helplessly and glanced at Zixiao. She saw him smiling and returned a look that said, “I get it.”

Then Yuzhe stood up and handed the menu to the waiter waiting outside.

Now all that was left was to wait for the food.

“Oh, right.”

Yuzhe returned to his seat and pulled two bottles of strawberry yogurt he’d bought at the supermarket earlier out of his huge coat pocket.

He handed one to Zixiao first.

Zixiao took it, looking incredibly happy, like a child who’d just gotten a beloved toy.

She couldn’t even bear to drink it. It was from her brother! So happy!

Then Yuzhe handed the remaining bottle of yogurt to Little Lychee on his other side.

Little Lychee politely thanked him and accepted it.

Zixiao’s smile froze, and her brows drew together.

He used to give both bottles to her...

Little Lychee... Zixiao really wanted to say, “You’re not getting any lunch.”

Zixiao seemed lost in thought, so Yuzhe didn’t disturb her.

Instead, he asked Little Lychee, who was happily drinking her yogurt, a little about herself. She was Zixiao’s friend, after all. It was only natural to ask.

“Little Lychee, your light golden hair is pretty unusual, and it’s really beautiful. Are you mixed-race?”

“Mm, that’s right, Brother Yuzhe. Mmph...” Little Lychee swallowed a mouthful of yogurt, then politely turned to face Yuzhe and answer his question, without putting down the bottle in her hand.

“I’m mixed-race. My dad’s from here, and my mom’s from Northern Europe. So I guess I got this hair from her. She has really beautiful blonde hair too!”

As she spoke, Little Lychee happily twirled a lock of her golden hair around a finger, using her free hand. It seemed she wasn’t just saying her mother had the same hair color—she was also happy that Yuzhe had complimented her hair.

“But... I think your silver hair is even prettier, Brother Yuzhe... Um... It’s really beautiful. Not just the color, either. Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you in my whole life.”

With Yuzhe’s face so close, Little Lychee couldn’t help marveling at him again.

Zixiao’s ears twitched when she heard that, and the frown on her face gradually eased. Hearing people compliment her brother always made her proud!

Yuzhe, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as happy to hear it.

All he could do was force a smile.

“Ahaha... Little Lychee, if you can, I’d rather you describe me as ‘handsome and dashing’... instead of ‘pretty.’”

Little Lychee’s brain stalled again, but Yuzhe’s words made her even happier. Brother Yuzhe, you’re obviously pretty!

Zixiao’s brother really was so interesting and approachable.

“Then Brother Yuzhe is both pretty and handsome, and... Aah!”

Little Lychee suddenly let out a cry.

A little yogurt spilled from the bottle in her hand onto the hem of her skirt.

Looks like multitasking was too much for this lovable airhead. Who told you to keep clutching your yogurt while you chatted?

“Brother!” Zixiao seemed to have noticed what was happening with Little Lychee too.

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.”

Little Lychee was at a loss, and Zixiao was sitting farther away. Yuzhe was the first to react.

“Don’t move yet.”

Yuzhe was used to taking care of his two younger sisters at home. He stood up almost automatically and grabbed a napkin from the table.

He pushed his chair back, bent down, and gently lifted the hem of Little Lychee’s skirt. Then... he carefully dabbed at the yogurt with the napkin, trying to soak up as much as he could.

His hand brushed Little Lychee’s thigh from time to time, but he really wasn’t thinking about anything else. He just wanted to wipe up the yogurt as quickly as possible. If it sat there too long, it’d be hard to wash out.

Little Lychee had completely frozen. She didn’t even notice the blush creeping across her face; her brain just couldn’t keep up with what was happening.

Huh...? Wh-what... Who am I? Where am I?

Even with Yuzhe holding the hem of her skirt, this little airhead had no idea what she was supposed to do.

Zixiao couldn’t take it anymore. The sight made her bristle at once!

Her brother had actually gone out of his way to wipe yogurt off someone else’s skirt?

The last time he’d done that for her was when she was little!

How could she put up with this?

If Yuzhe knew what she was thinking, he’d definitely complain: “That’s because you’re meticulous about everything. Aside from when you were little, when have you ever had an accident like this? You’re not an airhead.”

She hurried around the table and gently took hold of her brother’s wrist, making sure to keep some distance between them.

Only then did she whisper a scolding at Yuzhe, her face full of jealousy. She couldn’t help it—she just couldn’t bring herself to get mad at her brother.

“Honestly, Brother! How can you have so little common sense? Little Lychee can take care of that herself!”

“Huh? But I just... If the yogurt stays on too long, it’ll be hard to wash out...”

Little Lychee finally came to her senses too.

“Ah... Right! Right! I can do this myself!”

She quickly turned around, pulled a few napkins from the table with her little hand, and started wiping off the remaining yogurt.

She was too distracted to notice the blush on her own face.

There was hardly any yogurt left on the hem of her skirt anyway. Yuzhe had already taken care of almost all of it when he reacted so quickly.

But what he hadn’t taken care of was Little Lychee’s feelings.

Right now, she wasn’t thinking about anything in particular. She’d just been startled.

And yet... saying that was all there was to it didn’t quite describe how she felt, either.

Brother Yuzhe looked like a girl so beautiful it was almost unreal, but even Little Lychee, whose little brain didn’t always work right, knew he was a boy.

She’d never been this close to a boy in her entire life.

That was why she’d been so stunned for a moment.

Her heart was all over the place, and naturally her little brain couldn’t keep up.

A long while passed as Zixiao kept telling Brother Yuzhe all sorts of things he should know.

At last, Little Lychee had fully recovered. She turned back around and looked into Yuzhe’s eyes with her innocent smile again.

“Thanks for just now, Brother Yuzhe!”