The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Zhi Qiu was a little surprised to see the little flames burning in her younger brother Xiao Shu's eyes.

He was angry, not in a childish way, but genuinely angry. This was the first time Zhi Qiu had ever seen her younger brother, Xiao Shu, throw a tantrum.

No, it wasn't entirely a temper tantrum; it was more like he was about to explode when his bottom line was crossed.

Although Ye Shu was on the high-speed train and didn't lose control, and he spoke in a low voice, the feeling made Zhi Qiu unsure how to react and felt a little unfamiliar.

She wanted to ease the sudden tension, so she smiled again and said softly to Ye Shu:

"Little Shu, look, why are you throwing a tantrum?"

As she spoke, she gently pinched Ye Shu's nose, as if she were coaxing a child:

"I'm just discussing this with you. I just don't want to see you putting so much pressure on yourself, making it hard for you to breathe."

"There's no room for discussion on this."

Ye Shu knew that he had lost control a bit just now, but when he heard Sister Zhi Qiu's words, he did feel a surge of blood rushing to his head.

He loosened his grip on Zhi Qiu's hand, changing from a clench to a gentle squeeze, and while gently rubbing her fingers, which he might have hurt from his grip, he said:

"You suddenly tell me to treat you all like Xiaoxue, or something else... and ignore you? I can't do that."

He looked down at Zhi Qiu's hands. Her hands were still very pretty, but because Xiao Nuan and Xia Qing felt it was inconvenient, they had never had their nails done. However, their original nails were quite beautiful, the kind that were long and slender.

Although Ye Shu had calmed down, her attitude remained unchanged:

"For so long, ever since I met you, I have never considered you as part of anyone else; you are all complete individuals."

"Xiaoxue looks like Xiaoxue, and I have my love for her. Zhiqiu looks like Zhiqiu, and I have my love for you too. No matter who you are or what you are like, my feelings for each of you are individual, and they are for that person."

At this point, Ye Shu looked up at Zhi Qiu. Her gaze was different now; it had returned to its usual gentleness, yet remained earnest.

"I know this is difficult, and the pressure must be immense, but it's my own choice. Besides, even if we get married in the future, there will still be difficulties. Life isn't always smooth sailing. But if my first reaction to difficulties is to think about who to sacrifice to make things easier, how is that any different from drawing lots? And..."

As he said this, he turned to look at Zhi Qiu beside him:

"Moreover, it's unfair to the person who was sacrificed. This shouldn't be an option, at least not for me."

After speaking, Ye Shu saw that Zhi Qiu was just listening quietly without giving a response, so he continued:

"We can always think of another way. And... even if we really can't come up with a good idea, at worst... at worst I'll save up more money and we'll hold four events! Sister Zhiqiu, and Xiaoxue, Xiaonuan, and Sister Xiaqing, we'll each hold one! We can collect four sets of wedding gifts, so we'll still make a profit."

After he finished speaking, he found it a little funny himself.

Just as he finished speaking, the high-speed train emerged from the tunnel, and the view outside the window suddenly opened up, with sunlight streaming in and the distant scenery reappearing.

Seeing Ye Shu still looking stressed but trying to comfort herself, Zhi Qiu suddenly smiled, a very happy smile.

"What the hell?"

She laughed and shook her head, releasing her grip on Ye Shu's hand and gently cupping his face in her hands.

Sister Zhi Qiu's hands were also a little cold; this was due to their constitution, and it seemed there was no way to change it.

However, her touch was very light, and Ye Shu could still smell the hand cream.

Zhi Qiu leaned closer, meeting Ye Shu's gaze, and chuckled softly:

"So, all our little Shu managed to come up with after all that brainstorming was a stupid idea? Honestly... he's still just a kid, spouting nonsense."

Although Zhi Qiu said he was stupid and silly, her smiling eyes were full of tenderness.

She released Ye Shu's face and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Ye Shu also leaned closer to Zhi Qiu, smelling the shampoo in her hair. It smelled nice and calmed her down a lot.

Zhi Qiu closed her eyes, feeling a warm sensation all over her body. She couldn't tell whether it was from the sunlight outside the window or from the person beside her.

In fact, even her parents took quite a while to get used to their presence.

Back then, An Jianxing and Shen Jingwan often called them by the wrong names. They would still subconsciously call themselves Xiaoxue, and although they would correct themselves the next second, they were still very hurt.

Because every time they are called the wrong name, it reminds them of their true identities; they are merely personalities derived from Xiaoxue, not real beings.

But Ye Shu seems to have truly accepted each of them from the very beginning, giving them respect for their independent existence.

Perhaps that's why they became so quickly and irredeemably hopeless...

Zhi Qiu didn't think about it anymore; she just leaned closer to Ye Shu, feeling more comfortable.

Then, she sighed softly, not with worry, but with a sense of relief as if she had let go of her worries.

"Oh well."

Zhi Qiu closed her eyes and slowly began to speak:

"Anyway, I gave you the chance, but you didn't want it, little Shu. Once this opportunity is gone, it won't come again."

Ye Shu didn't move, and just hummed in agreement.

Upon hearing his response, Zhi Qiu's lips curled into a smile, and her tone became somewhat cheeky.

"Since little Shu is so insistent and greedy, refusing to let go of any of them... then I'll really give up everything. Trouble, difficulties, and headaches are all yours to deal with. I'll just wait patiently for our little Shu to give us an answer that we can't find fault with."

I tried my best.

Ye Shu didn't dare to make any boastful promises or give any unrealistic guarantees, but he would indeed do his best.

Zhi Qiu didn't seem to care about this seemingly uncertain answer; she chuckled softly on Ye Shu's shoulder.

She didn't need Ye Shu to pat his chest and say he'd take care of it; all she needed was his effort, and that was enough.

"Okay."

Zhi Qiu leaned on Ye Shu's shoulder, slightly raised her head, and looked at Ye Shu's profile as she said:

"Now, let's talk about something else."

She spoke in a gentle and pleasant tone, but a few hairs on the back of Ye Shu's neck stood on end.

"What is it?"

Ye Shu turned to look at Zhi Qiu's smiling face and had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Zhi Qiu's smile became even brighter, and she even raised a hand to gently smooth Ye Shu's hair.

Ye Shu didn't understand what she was going to do, so he just stared at her.

Zhi Qiu slowly lowered her hand, then slightly opened her narrowed eyes, staring intently into Ye Shu's eyes, and slowly spoke:

"Just now, little Shu threw a tantrum at his sister and squeezed her hand really hard."

"I……"

Ye Shu felt a chill run down her spine. Was it too late for her to run away?

Just now, he seemed to, definitely, possibly, probably, gripped Sister Zhi Qiu's hand very tightly, and even yelled at her a bit fiercely.

"I... um, Sister Zhi Qiu, I..."

"Um?"

Zhi Qiu leaned on Ye Shu's shoulder, still staring at him, her smile even more radiant. But Ye Shu seemed to be hallucinating again, with purple light emanating from Zhi Qiu's eyes.

Actually, there's nothing there when you look closely, but because of Sister Zhi Qiu's aura, Ye Shu always unconsciously adds a little special effect to her in his mind.

Zhi Qiu also very considerately comforted Ye Shu:

"It's okay, little brother, take your time. I'm not in a hurry. Anyway..."

She glanced out the window, then looked back at Ye Shu, and said slowly and deliberately:

"Anyway, it'll be quite a while before we get back to Nancheng."