The three of them took a bus to the night market.

On the way, Lu Chuqing looked left and right, feeling that the current situation was really hard for her to process.

So she quietly moved closer to Lu Linqi, and taking advantage of the crowded and noisy carriage, whispered, "Second brother, do you know where your deskmate lives?"

The boy was annoyed by his sister's backpack full of apples, and upon hearing this, he subconsciously replied, "I don't know, what does making friends have to do with where they live?"

Lu Chuqing paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you know anything about his family situation? For example, his parents' relationship, whether he has a younger sister or something."

Lu Linqi felt that her question was very strange, and frowned, saying, "I sit at the same table as him, not his family. Why do I need to know so much?"

"And besides..." He looked at the girl with a scrutinizing gaze, his tone quite unfriendly, "Why do you, a little girl, know so much about other boys? Didn't you say you wanted to study hard and get into Tsinghua or Peking University? Don't waste your time on such nonsense."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and flicked her forehead, the force a little too strong, causing Lu Chuqing to hiss in pain.

"You stinky second brother! I was just asking a question, and you hit me so hard! It hurts like hell!"

Lu Linqi was in a bad mood. He glanced at the expressionless boy who was surrounded by several girls, and then looked at his younger sister rubbing her forehead. He suddenly regretted asking Xi Qingxu to come and sell apples with him.

"Pain teaches a lesson! You're just a little one, so focus on your studies and stop having all those weird thoughts." His words, though seemingly casual, carried a strong warning.

Lu Chuqing curled her lips without saying a word, "Serves you right for not caring about this or that. Just wait until you find out the truth and see if you have a heart attack."

Lu Linqi doesn't like eating fruit, and there's usually no one at home. The apples they receive on Christmas Eve could last him for half a year!

Lu Chuqing would also receive apples, and Lu Ying would buy all kinds of fruit to keep at home. There were so many that she couldn't finish them all, so she suggested taking them to the night market to sell, hoping to capitalize on the nighttime popularity.

Thinking about his good relationship with Xi Qingxu recently, Lu Linqi asked him when he saw that his seat was also piled with apples, "Last year, my sister and I took the apples we collected to the night market and sold them at a low price. Do you want to come with us tonight?"

Xi Qingxu knew who his sister was, and he also knew that he had prepared an apple to give to Lu Chuqing, so he thought he would also prepare an apple to give to the girl.

When Lu Linqi said he wanted to sell apples with Lu Chuqing, an experience he and Lu Chuqing had never had, he agreed without hesitation.

When we arrived at the city's busiest night market square, all sorts of stalls were packed with people, and many were still selling apples.

The three of them found an empty spot on the side of the road, away from the apple seller, put a large box of apples on the ground, and began their preparations.

Taking advantage of the Christmas Eve hype, apple prices were deliberately inflated. Since the apples were all obtained for free, the three of them decided to sell them for one dollar less than others. Moreover, they didn't have many apples, so they wanted to sell them quickly and go home as soon as possible.

Although it was Lu Linqi who was speaking, Lu Chuqing certainly wouldn't have any objections, and Xi Qingxu naturally wouldn't have any either.

After deciding on the price, Lu Linqi said to Lu Chuqing, "Do you want to sell some of the things in your backpack?"

Lu Chuqing was writing price tags on the cardboard box lid when she heard this. Without even looking up, she said, "Keep two, sell the rest."

As the older brother, Lu Linqi knew very well what kind of apples Lu Chuqing liked to eat. He unzipped the bag and started taking them out, finally leaving two big, pink apples.

After zipping up the girl's backpack and putting it aside, he began to sort through the apples. Only then did he realize that a small apple, not fully red, stood out among a group of very pretty apples.

He glanced at Lu Chuqing, who was busy working, and thought that since it was just a small apple that wasn't very pretty, he didn't say anything to her. He picked it up and put it in a corner, effectively discarding it.

After Lu Chuqing finished writing the sign, she had Lu Linqi and Xi Qingxu stand on opposite sides. The boy was tall and good-looking, and he quickly attracted the attention of passersby.

People are rushing to get off work and school at this time, and the night market is very crowded. Before long, people came to ask about the prices.

Despite Lu Linqi's sometimes sharp tongue, he had sold apples with Lu Chuqing twice before and had accumulated some experience. When someone came to ask, he spoke to the customer with ease and quickly sold the apples.

Lu Chuqing and Xi Qingxu helped with the accounting and bagging. When packaging was needed, the packaging boxes that Lu Chuqing had taken apart earlier came in handy.

A large box of apples was sold out in just over half an hour.

"Selling even faster this year than last year, and all the customers are gorgeous ladies!" Lu Chuqing exclaimed as she counted the cash she received, inwardly screaming with delight—

It's true that handsome men are more attractive. She's not bad-looking either, so why don't any handsome men come to buy her apples?

Lu Linqi was checking the payment on WeChat, waiting for Lu Chuqing to finish calculating and give a small portion to Xi Qingxu. "Hurry up and count, my dad has already sent a message urging us to go over quickly."

After saying that, she looked at the taciturn boy and said, "You've been quite busy tonight. Does your home live far from here? My driver is coming over later, do you need a ride?"

With Lu Linqi around, Xi Qingxu didn't speak to Lu Chuqing at all tonight. Now that he's finished with his work, he's staring at the girl counting money.

Lu Linqi noticed his gaze and looked over, only to see a small apple lying alone in the corner of the empty cardboard box next to Lu Chuqing.

He thought Xi Qingxu was looking at the apple, so he bent down, picked it up, and handed it to him, saying, "This is the last small one; you can take it home and eat it."

Lu Chuqing had finished counting the money by then. Hearing this, she glanced at the little apple and somehow felt that it might have been given to her by a simple boy who wasn't into fancy things.

Besides being a bit smaller and having an uneven red color, its shape is actually quite beautiful, showing that it was carefully selected.

She felt a pang of reluctance and reached out to stop the apple, saying, "I want to eat this. If you want one, I'll get you another." With that, she took one of the remaining large red apples and handed it to Xi Qingxu.

The boy looked at the apple that was handed to him and wondered if this counted as a "peace apple" she had given him.

Then he reached out and took it, saying, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Lu Chuqing smiled and handed the money to Lu Linqi. "Here, that's one hundred and six in total."

Lu Linqi took it, "Okay, I got 68 yuan via WeChat, that's quite a lot for this amount." He then gave 70 yuan to Xi Qingxu.

"Too much." Xi Qingxu didn't take it, and said in a low voice.

Lu Linqi knew that he often worked part-time and thought he was short of money, but he wasn't. He had given all the money from selling apples to Lu Chuqing. He figured he wasn't short of money anyway, and Xi Qingxu had a few more apples than him, so it wouldn't hurt to give him a little more.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with what he did, so he said, "Of course, there's also the hard work fee for carrying apples and attracting customers. Otherwise, would I just give you the money I earned from talking so much to sell apples for nothing?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Qingxu didn't hesitate any longer and took the money.