Chapter Thirteen
The reason why Lu Nan was adopted as her god-sister was actually quite inexplicable.
Given Lu Nan's absent-minded personality, it would be very difficult for her to take the initiative to get to know someone, let alone a girl, especially one who is quite well-known throughout the school.
Lu Nan wasn't famous among the first-year students. Although he was known as "Master Lu" among his peers, his absent-minded and carefree nature meant he had no interest in hanging around the first-year students' territory. The one who left an impression on him among the first-years was Cheng Xiangbei. Lu Nan was an unknown, but Cheng Xiangbei was different. His tall and athletic physique, handsome appearance, basketball captain, student council president… and a series of other titles combined were enough to make the first-year students look up to him.
Of course, it also captivated many young girls who were just beginning to experience romantic feelings.
Guan Yijia was one of them. But she had a slight advantage over the others. Because she was pretty, humble, and the cutest girl in the first grade. Her shoulder-length hair, delicate oval face, and a small strawberry hair clip on her forehead earned her the nickname "Little Strawberry".
Guan Yijia secretly admired Cheng Xiangbei. One was cute and well-behaved, the other tall and handsome; one was the cutest girl, the other the school's idol—it seemed like the beginning of a comic book story. However, the reality was far from that. Although a ninth grader, Cheng Xiangbei's enthusiasm for sports hadn't diminished at all. He still went to the playground to jog and play basketball every day after school. Occasionally, he would play friendly matches with other classes, attracting a huge crowd of onlookers. Guan Yijia was among these spectators. Seeing Cheng Xiangbei's stylish dribbling and baskets, her infatuation deepened. She tried to shyly hide her feelings, but found her friends were even more obvious. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief, following Cheng Xiangbei with even more adoring eyes. How could she possibly get close to such a dazzling boy?
Guan Yijia tried several times, such as bumping into him by chance at the stairwell, deliberately queuing behind him in the cafeteria, and making an excuse to look for someone in the third grade... Even once, she deliberately tripped in front of Cheng Xiangbei, but none of these attempts could attract his attention. Her disappointment grew heavier and heavier because she realized that no matter what little actions she took in front of Cheng Xiangbei, he would only slowly realize that there was a girl in front of him after everyone else had reacted.
After careful observation, Guan Yijia finally discovered that this senior, who seemed rather aloof towards girls, was only special to one person: Lu Nan, Cheng's childhood friend. It was said that Cheng treated Lu Nan like a son, taking care of everything, big and small. She didn't believe it at first, until one day, while she was eating in the cafeteria, someone knocked on the table opposite her. "Um, is someone sitting here?"
She looked up and saw a very handsome boy. He had large, bright eyes, rosy lips, and a shy, gentle demeanor. Looking around, she saw that there were indeed only two empty seats. Her companion's eyes widened when she saw the boy. She found it a little amusing, then nodded and said, "No, there aren't any."
The boy sat down, tapping his fingers idly on the table. She noticed her companion slowing down, eating rice grain by grain. She wondered to herself, was this boy really that attractive? Just then, a tall figure approached. "Nannan, were you getting impatient?" he said, placing a plate in each hand.
The voice was somewhat urgent, but she couldn't mistake its deep, powerful tone. She met her companion's gaze in disbelief, then simultaneously looked up. Good heavens! It was Cheng Xiangbei! She lowered her head shyly, her face burning red, her hands trembling. She silently considered how to strike up a conversation with Cheng Xiangbei. However, before she could even think of anything, a voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Why are they all green peppers?" Lu Nan frowned, picking up a piece of green pepper and comparing it to others.
"Today's dish is stir-fried beef with green peppers. Here, give me the green peppers, and you can have these ribs." Cheng Xiangbei took the ribs from his plate and then picked all the green peppers from Lu Nan's plate.
Guan Yijia watched silently, realizing that the handsome boy was Lu Nan. The two boys continued eating, Cheng Xiangbei not even glancing at the person opposite him. He was only focused on urging Lu Nan to eat more. Lu Nan bit into a rib and said it was salty, so Cheng Xiangbei immediately got up to buy soup. The two girls exchanged glances. "Wow, Senior Cheng is so considerate!" Looking at Lu Nan, he showed no politeness whatsoever, leisurely eating his meal and occasionally taking food from Cheng Xiangbei's plate.
When Cheng Xiangbei returned with the soup, the first thing he did was pick out the cilantro from it. The two of them glanced at each other furtively. Oh, so Cheng, the senior, doesn't eat cilantro. Before they could even process this, Lu Nan said, "Tiger, I'm thirsty..." After picking out the last sprig of cilantro, Cheng Xiangbei pushed the soup bowl towards them, saying, "Here, it's all cleaned up, drink it!"
The two girls lingered until the two people opposite them finished eating, then watched with wide eyes as Lu Xuechang let out a burp and stretched. Then, Cheng Xuechang went to wash the dishes. "Lu...Lu Xuechang..." Guan Yijia mustered her courage and said.
"Huh?" Lu Nan, who was about to hiccup, choked and asked in surprise, "Are you calling me?"
Guan Yijia nodded. Lu Nan scratched his head and asked, "I don't know you, how do you know me?"
"Uh..." Guan Yijia paused. Did she have to ask why someone recognized her? Luckily, Lu Nan just asked out of habit, and he didn't particularly want to know the reason. The girl next to her came to her rescue. The little girl gossiped, "Senior, do you and Senior Cheng take turns washing the dishes?" How lucky she would be to have Senior Cheng wash her dishes! (Starry-eyed...)
"Take turns?" Lu Nan frowned. "Why take turns?"
"That's fairer!" Student council president! In the eyes of first-year students, it's a very prestigious position!
"But...he's always the one washing them!" It's just washing dishes, what's this talk of fairness? Forget it!
To get closer to Cheng Xiangbei, you have to start with Senior Lu.
This was Guan Yijia's conclusion. But how to get close to Lu Nan was a big problem.
Guan Yijia noticed that wherever Lu Nan was, Cheng Xiangbei was usually there too. She even had a strange thought: Cheng Xiangbei's life revolved around Lu Nan. Were all boys who grew up together this close? Guan Yijia didn't know, and had no way of comparing. She continued to actively plan her encounter with Lu Nan—neither abrupt nor impulsive.
Gradually, the chances of the two running into each other increased, and the reason she was able to carry out her plan so smoothly was that Cheng Xiangbei and Lu Nan had become somewhat distant. At least they weren't always glued together anymore. Lu Nan liked reading comics, so she tried to find topics to talk about, going from nodding acquaintances to being able to exchange a few words—a process that wasn't easy. Because Lu Nan wasn't very good at recognizing people, she had to increase her exposure to him.
The two finally managed to chat for a bit, mostly about comics and Cheng Xiangbei. Then, Guan Yijia shyly suggested that she could have Lu Nan as her older brother. As the cutest girl in the first year, she often got harassed by boys, and having an older brother to protect her would make her feel safer. Besides, as an only child, she most wanted to experience what it felt like to have an older brother taking care of her. Lu Nan's expression was a little strange upon hearing her suggestion, but he didn't refuse, only saying he would think about it.
A week passed since then, and Guan Yijia was feeling very frustrated, knowing it was hopeless. But unexpectedly, Lu Nan suddenly found her one morning a week later and asked if her suggestion was still valid. She was overjoyed and nodded eagerly, saying it was still valid at any time!
The three of them began to interact in a strange way.
There wasn't much going on at school, except for the occasional exchange of notes between godbrothers and godsisters.
Lu Nan didn't react much to her cute note, replying with just a few concise words. Cheng Xiangbei, on the other hand, always had a cold look in his eyes whenever he saw her. It wasn't a matter of staring or judging, but every time those sharp eyes swept over her, she couldn't help but tremble. Yet, she couldn't resist using the excuse of looking for Lu Nan to steal glances at him.
On the holiday, she asked Lu Nan to go shopping. Lu Nan dawdled and didn't show up until almost noon, followed by Cheng Xiangbei, who looked quite neat. Her face flushed again, secretly pleased. She had only intended to get closer to Lu Nan, but she hadn't expected that the rumors about Senior Cheng working as a nanny were true; wherever Lu Nan was, he was there too.
The three of them walked down the street, with Lu Nan in the middle. She thought to herself, shouldn't the girl walk in the middle? But seeing Lu Nan's strange sense of direction, she realized that perhaps only by holding Lu Nan's hand would she prevent him from getting lost. Thinking this, she glanced over and saw that Cheng was indeed holding Lu Nan's hand. If… she took his hand too, wouldn't that count as indirectly holding hands? Guan Yijia mustered her courage and took Lu Nan's other hand.
Cheng Xiangbei's face immediately darkened. His gaze was so cold he wanted to chop off the cute girl's hand next door! Lu Nan found Guan Yijia's gesture of holding his hand a little strange. Looking up again, she realized it was a red light. Girls are indeed afraid to cross the street; well, that's how it's always depicted in comics. Having both hands held was quite amusing. Lu Nan unconsciously smiled, while Cheng Xiangbei's face darkened even more.
It's lunchtime, time for lunch.
Lu Nan had no idea what was going on; in fact, he hadn't made any arrangements for this kind of disguised dating.
According to the usual practice in male-female interactions, if the other person makes an invitation, it's best to make some corresponding arrangements; otherwise, it will be difficult to continue if there's an awkward silence. However, Lu Nan didn't think about any of this, and even felt that not sleeping at home on Sunday was a huge waste. Fortunately, Guan Yijia didn't place her hopes on Lu Nan either. Her real intention wasn't what she hoped for; if Cheng Xiangbei hadn't shown up, the two of them probably would have just strolled around for a bit and then gone home, instead of dragging it out until lunchtime.
Cheng Xiangbei had made it a habit to take care of Lu Nan. He knew exactly when Lu Nan would get hungry, what she liked to eat, and where she liked to go. The three of them went to a hotel for a meal, and the manager personally came over to greet them. Guan Yijia, sitting in a private room with a good view, said uneasily, "Um, isn't this place a bit too expensive?"
Lu Nan ate the fruit that had just been delivered and said, "It's alright, this is Tiger's family's business."
Guan Yijia was stunned, and murmured, "Isn't Senior Cheng's family farmers?"
"Huh?" Lu Nan asked blankly, forking a piece of fruit. "Who said that?"
“Many people say that!” Guan Yijia affirmed.
"Oh." Lu Nan nodded. "If you say so, then it is."
Just then, Cheng Xiangbei came in. "I've already ordered. There's only one mildly spicy dish, and the rest don't have any special ingredients. If you have any dietary restrictions, I'll tell them to change them."
"Oh, no, I can eat anything," Guan Yijia said, blushing.
Cheng Xiangbei was a little stunned when he saw her blush. Then he looked at Lu Nan, who was absentmindedly eating fruit. He suddenly remembered Zhou Pu's words, composed himself, and joined the conversation with a mixture of scrutiny, caution, and deliberation.
The longer I continued, the clearer that thought became in my mind.
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