Turns out Yuzhe had been overthinking it.

Worried there’d be too much food to finish? Not a chance.

If Little Lychee’s ravenous eating had been seen by her family, they’d have beaten her half to death.

She quickly polished off most of the food on the table.

All the while, Zixiao kept putting food on Yuzhe’s plate and barely ate anything herself.

Yuzhe kept putting food back on her plate, and finally managed to get Zixiao to eat at least a little.

“If only you could eat as much as Little Lychee. Look at her—she never has to worry about getting enough to eat.”

As he spoke, Yuzhe gently pinched Zixiao’s cheek. “You’ve never been able to eat much, even as a kid. Look how skinny you are, and you’re still trying to give me food!”

Zixiao gave him a slightly indignant look, gently moved his hand away, then clenched her right hand and rested it on Yuzhe’s thigh.

“Honestly, you’re always saying things like that. If you raise me until I’m a pig, you’ll have to take responsibility, big brother.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll take responsibility, I’ll take responsibility. You just have to eat properly, you little skinny cat.” As he spoke, Yuzhe picked up a piece of meat and put it straight into Zixiao’s mouth.

Zixiao felt like her day was complete. No—her whole week was complete.

Yuzhe’s offhand remark just now had made her very happy.

And that little feeding moment just now had indirectly...

This meal had been totally worth it!

It would’ve been even better if Little Lychee hadn’t come along.

Zixiao looked at Little Lychee, who was clearing the table like a bottomless pit, and sighed.

After the three of them happily chatted through the rest of the meal, Zixiao and Little Lychee went straight back to school. They still had classes that afternoon.

As for Yuzhe, he paid with Yuche’s bank card. After reminding the two girls to study hard, he headed home on his own.

Ahem. In times like these, you really needed Yuche. What could you do when you were short on cash?

Before they left, he also exchanged contact information with Little Lychee out of politeness.

That made Zixiao furrow her brow again, though she did it discreetly. But... she still couldn’t find anything wrong with it.

All she could do was threaten Little Lychee with her lunch and tell her not to message her big brother so much.

It wasn’t that she was worried about anything else. She just always felt an indescribable discomfort when her big brother talked to other girls.

And to be clear, that includes Little Lychee!

As soon as Su Yuzhe got home, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

Today had been exhausting. He’d gotten up early, been roped into delivering someone’s homework, and been mistaken for a girl several times.

The worst part was how mentally drained he felt!

He’d get a good night’s sleep, then wake up before it got dark and Zixiao came home to make her dinner...

The sunset slowly faded from the sky. It was already time to leave school.

Little Lychee called out to Zixiao, and they walked together for a while on the way home. Then they parted at an intersection.

The cheerful Little Lychee skipped all the way back to the Ouyang Family’s villa closest to the school.

She crossed the spacious courtyard, pushed open the lavishly decorated front door, and stepped inside.

The interior was just as luxurious as the outside, yet it somehow felt like home—a striking contrast.

The maid waiting by the door gave Little Lychee a slight nod, took her schoolbag, and went to prepare dinner.

Little Lychee politely returned the greeting, then headed toward the living room.

A young woman with dazzling golden hair sat on an obviously expensive sofa in the living room.

She was called young, though really, she only looked young.

She was Little Lychee’s mother, the lady of the Ouyang Family.

She looked a little like Little Lychee. With elegant poise, she held a cup of black tea and took small sips.

“Mom, is Dad still not home?”

“That’s right. He’s still at the office taking care of some things.”

Mrs. Ouyang looked at Ouyang Lizhi, who had sat down beside her with a grin, and set down her tea. Then she asked about lunchtime.

“Lizhi, where did you go for lunch? Why didn’t you come home to eat?”

Her mother’s gentle, composed voice put Little Lychee at ease, so she answered right away. “Mom, I had lunch out with a classmate! And my classmate’s big bro—ow!!”

She hadn’t even finished speaking.

Mrs. Ouyang’s whole demeanor suddenly changed. She smacked Little Lychee on the forehead, and a sharp crack rang out.

“You little troublemaker! You really dare talk back?! How many times have I told you to call if you’re not coming home for lunch? Do you know how many people the Ouyang Family sent out looking for you today? Your dad was frantic. We only found out you’d gone back to school when we called this afternoon!”

Seeing her mother’s true colors, Little Lychee knew she’d messed up again. She trembled and didn’t dare say a word.

“Ah, forget it, forget it. You’re all grown up—why are you still acting like a child?” Mrs. Ouyang sighed, then continued her question. “Finish what you were saying.”

“Wah... I... I meant, I went to lunch with my classmate, and... and my classmate’s older brother.”

Smack!!!

Another sharp crack rang out, making the maid outside flinch.

That merciless iron hand came down on Little Lychee’s forehead again.

“You little troublemaker! You went out to eat with a boy?! How dare you!”

“Ah... n-no, my classmate was there too. We all went together.”

Little Lychee clutched her poor forehead and really wanted to cry.

That hurt so much!

“You’re talking back to me now?!”

“N-no, I’m not!”

“So which classmate did you have lunch with? And what does her brother do?” As she spoke, Mrs. Ouyang seemed to return to her earlier self and genuinely started worrying about Little Lychee. She stroked the reddened spot on her forehead where she’d hit her and continued,

“Don’t think I’m being strict with you for no reason. Sometimes you’re really slow on the uptake, and you’re far too innocent. Your father and I are genuinely worried someone might trick you.”

“Mom...” Little Lychee was deeply moved. Her mother really did have her best interests at heart!

She composed herself and answered Mrs. Ouyang’s question.

“I went with my good friend... the girl who sits behind me, Zixiao... You know Su Zixiao, Mom. I went out with her, and her big brother, Brother Yuzhe. His name is Su Yuzhe!”

Looking at her mother’s slightly dazed expression, Little Lychee thought they’d finally be able to have a proper mother-daughter conversation.

And then...

Smack!!!

That... that merciless iron hand...

It really hurt!

With a whimper, Little Lychee crouched on the floor, clutching her forehead, and protested tearfully, “Mom, stop hitting me on the forehead! I feel like I’m so dumb because you keep hitting me there!”

“Nonsense! If you weren’t so dumb, would I have to hit you? Get the order of things straight!”

Only after scolding her did Mrs. Ouyang remember the real issue.

Su Zixiao... Of course she knew who that was. The Su Family had adopted her ten years ago, but now she was unquestionably one of the three children in the Su Family’s main household!

And as for her older brother, Su Yuzhe—he was absolutely the Su Family’s favored genius, the oldest of the three children in the main household. Honestly, he was remarkable... Both Su Yuzhe and his biological younger sister, Su Yuche, were genuine super-geniuses.

Of course, none of that had anything to do with Mrs. Ouyang. The reason she’d reacted so strongly was...

The Ouyang Family’s businesses in Fenghai City were supported almost entirely by the Su Family...

And her own little troublemaker had gone to lunch with children from the Su Family’s main household—including Su Yuzhe.

That left Mrs. Ouyang a little panicked.

She raised her merciless iron hand, then lowered it again.

Gradually calming down, she stared at Little Lychee, who was still crouched on the floor.

“Lizhi, you didn’t do anything rude at lunch, did you? Those two are... very important to our family.”

Hearing how serious her mother sounded, Little Lychee thought it over very seriously, then came to an answer.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Mom, but I didn’t do anything! Brother Yuzhe said he was treating us, so I went ahead and ordered a lot of dishes. Oh, but I... I deliberately ordered a few less...”

“Then I accidentally spilled yogurt on my own skirt, and Brother Yuzhe... helped wipe it off.”

“And... Zixiao seemed kind of unhappy the whole time...”

After she finished, Little Lychee felt she hadn’t done anything wrong this time and broke into a bright, happy smile.

“What?!”

But Mrs. Ouyang’s face turned ashen in an instant, and she raised her iron hand.

“You little troublemaker!”

Smack!!

“Ah!!”

“I’m so mad! No dinner for you! I’ll beat your head right off!”