Waiting with nothing to do was boring. Yuzhe didn't like playing games, so all he could do now was stand by the wall at the front of the classroom and stare blankly out the hallway window.

Outside, a class was having P.E. on the school field. The midday sun spilled across the world, bright as the light in the eyes of the people below that Yuzhe was watching.

How should I put it...? It was actually a perfectly ordinary scene.

The boys had their arms around each other's shoulders, apparently joking around.

The girls chatted beneath the shade of the trees. Every so often, one of them would lower her head, looking a little shy. Were they talking about romance? The other girls laughed and teased her.

Yuzhe was on the third floor, which wasn't all that high, so those faint yet unmistakable laughs reached his ears.

For some reason, the longer he listened, the more the corners of Yuzhe's mouth lifted. Before he knew it, a faint smile had appeared on his flawless face.

Once, he'd longed for a life like this. Now, he only ever saw it in manga, watching from far away. He yearned for it. Maybe one day, he could find a meaningful life of his own, too.

How nice...

Time didn't pass slowly at all beneath the warm winter sun. A melodious bell rang, and a cheer burst from the school field as everyone scattered after class.

Yuzhe quickly came back to himself and turned around. That meant Zixiao's class should be over, too.

But even though class had ended, there wasn't much movement inside the classroom.

The first person to come out was a middle-aged woman who looked rather strict. She stepped outside, gave Su Yuzhe a once-over, then asked cautiously,

“Um... excuse me, are you a student? You don't look like you go to this school. Are you here to see someone?”

Yuzhe wasn't wearing a uniform, but... that alone wasn't enough to prove he wasn't a student here, was it?

That only made Yuzhe more curious.

“Hello, ma'am. I am here to see someone, but before that, could I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“How did you figure out that I'm not a student here? Some students don't wear their uniforms, do they?”

“That's easy.” The teacher looked as if the answer were obvious. “If you were a student at this school, the results of the beauty pageant everyone was talking about would have changed.”

Su Yuzhe understood. It clicked instantly.

But then he took another critical hit—real damage!

“Uh... Ahem. Let's move on, ma'am. I'm here to see Su Zixiao from your class. She's my younger sister. I came to bring her something.”

“Su Zixiao? She's your younger sister? No wonder. You have such good genes, though you don't look alike...”

The teacher looked so curious that Yuzhe couldn't be bothered to explain further... Explaining too much was exhausting, and in the end, the teacher would be the one shocked. She could just believe whatever she wanted.

The teacher didn't say anything more. She simply turned toward the classroom and called out, “Su Zixiao, someone from your family is here to see you. Come out for a moment.”

“Thank you, ma'am.”

Yuzhe thanked the teacher politely and watched her leave.

About ten seconds later, he looked toward the classroom door again. Zixiao was walking toward him with the utmost elegance, each step as graceful as a blooming lotus. Even Yuzhe, who'd studied etiquette since childhood, couldn't help admiring her.

“I can't embarrass Big Brother... I can't embarrass Big Brother...” That was the inner monologue of the supremely elegant Zixiao at that very moment.

The teacher's call had made the students, who'd still been scribbling away, look up toward the door. The moment they saw Su Yuzhe, almost all of them sucked in a breath. Seriously, he was so beautiful it was hard to describe!

The classroom immediately filled with chatter.

“That girl at the door is way too pretty! I'm losing my mind.” Boy A patted Boy B on the shoulder.

“Don't interrupt me while I'm looking at my 2D waifu! What could a 3D girl possibly— Whoa?!” The moment Boy B looked up, he started questioning his whole life.

“For once, I agree with the boys. Seriously... I'm not exaggerating when I say she's every bit as beautiful as our class's super-popular beauty, right?” Girl A looked stunned, too.

“I get it, but why is she wearing boys' clothes?” Girl B had spotted the real mystery.

The classroom wasn't big, so Yuzhe heard every last comment clearly—especially that last one. Don't notice things you're not supposed to notice! Why weren't they scribbling away and studying now?!

Zixiao had already obediently come to stand in front of Yuzhe. If her brother didn't say anything, she wouldn't do a thing.

Besides, Little Lychee would probably be following her over, too...

Yuzhe saw the girl with pale golden hair tied partly into a ponytail stumble along behind Zixiao and come to a stop in front of him.

She looked completely flustered. This really wasn't your usual vibe, girl!

“Huff... huff... Zixiao, why did you suddenly leave without telling me? I told you I wouldn't steal your food... Huh?”

Little Lychee had been flustered, but when she saw Su Yuzhe, she looked completely shell-shocked. Zixiao hadn't been kidding—he really was the kind of person who could leave you stunned!

He was way too beautiful! She'd never seen anyone this beautiful before!

But she'd heard he was Zixiao's older brother... So...

The little airhead's train of thought got even more tangled.

Ugh... This world is so hard to understand.

“Zixiao, is this your friend? Let's not stand in the classroom doorway and disturb everyone. We can talk downstairs.”

Yuzhe broke the silence, took Zixiao by the hand, and led her out of the chattering classroom. They went down the stairs and left the school building.

The open area outside the school building was practically empty. It was lunchtime, after all, and everyone was going to eat or take a break. The students in the top classes might still be scribbling away for a while.

Little Lychee hurried after them in a fluster. She was really curious.

“Um... Zixiao's... brother? Sister? Huh... I feel so dumb.”

Little Lychee tapped her little head with her hand.

“This time, it's really not your fault.”

Zixiao reassured Little Lychee. It really wasn't her fault—her brother was just so... stunningly beautiful that anyone who saw him would get confused.

Hearing that, Yuzhe felt he should explain things himself. He didn't care what other people thought, but this was Zixiao's friend. He had to make sure she understood.

“Hi. I really am Zixiao's older brother, and she's my younger sister. We're not related by blood, but she's just like a real little sister to me!”

“That's not true!”

“Huh?”

He hadn't expected Zixiao to interrupt him.

Zixiao puffed out her cheeks and spoke to Yuzhe in a slightly coquettish tone. “I'm not just like your little sister! I don't want that title. That's something Yuche can worry about. Big Brother, don't take away my competitive advantage!”

“Huh?”

Yuzhe was dumbfounded. What was she talking about? He couldn't understand a word.

If she didn't want to be his little sister, then what did she want to be?

All right, he'd set that aside for now. There was still someone here he hadn't met properly.

So Yuzhe turned to speak to Ouyang Lizhi, who was still standing there in a daze.

“I'm Su Yuzhe. What's your name? You can just call me Yuzhe.”

Hearing Yuzhe introduce himself in that gentle, clear voice, Ouyang Lizhi finally put two and two together and snapped back to her senses.

She hurriedly waved both hands. “Huh?! I couldn't do that! How could I call Zixiao's older brother by his name? That'd be so rude. And my name is Ouyang Lizhi, but everyone calls me Little Lychee!”

She thought for a moment, then continued, “Can I call you Big Brother Yuzhe?”

For some reason, she seemed rather happy. Maybe calling someone as beautiful as him “Big Brother” felt like a novel experience!

But that form of address made Zixiao's eyelid twitch. For some reason, it bothered her, even though she couldn't say exactly what was wrong with it.

“Of course. Then I'll call you Little Lychee, too. That's such a cute name. And thank you for helping and looking after Zixiao at school.”

Little Lychee felt like her hands were about to fall off from all that waving, but she waved them again anyway.

“No, no, Big Brother Yuzhe! Zixiao's always the one looking after me! I just end up making things harder for her. I'm the one who should be thanking her!”

Aw... What a sweet kid.

Yuzhe chatted with the two of them for a bit, then suggested they go get lunch.

They didn't have much time at noon, and Zixiao had class again in the afternoon. There was no way they could go home and cook at this hour.

“Zixiao, I said I'd make lunch today, but since you deliberately left this workbook at home, we don't have enough time. Let's just eat out.”

Yuzhe put extra emphasis on the word “deliberately.”

Zixiao gave Yuzhe an apologetic smile.

Yuzhe sighed, then affectionately patted Zixiao on the head.

Little Lychee was completely lost watching the two siblings interact.

But what occupied her little head even more was food.

“So, Zixiao, Big Brother Yuzhe, where are we having lunch? What about the school cafeteria? It's got lots of delicious food!”

At the mention of the school cafeteria, Yuzhe looked a little troubled, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Seeing that, Zixiao immediately turned him down on his behalf.

“Big Brother doesn't like crowded, noisy places. Let's go to a restaurant on the shopping street outside the school instead.”