I was born and listened to my neighbor's older sister talk about her family of origin.

A moment later, the three of them sat side by side on the sofa and started eating mung bean smoothies again.

The TV in front of me was playing the animated series "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf".

The scene was surprisingly harmonious.

Seeing this scene, Aunt Liu even doubted whether the confrontation just now was her imagination.

She shook her head, smiled, and went into the kitchen.

They're just kids, how could they have such deep-seated hatred?

After Grey Wolf shouted "I will definitely come back" once again, Xu Zhiyu put down the bowl in her hand.

The bottom of the bowl collided with the table, making a crisp sound.

As if receiving some signal, Song Zixuan immediately straightened his back, snorted coldly at the two of them, and said, "I've finished eating, and I still have homework to do, so don't bother me."

With that, he fled the living room as if escaping, ran upstairs, and closed the bedroom door.

The movements were quite swift.

Jiang Ye asked, somewhat puzzled, "They're just leaving like that?"

I thought this kid would be quite tough and argue back with him.

"Zixuan also has a lot of tutoring classes. If he doesn't finish them, Uncle Song will scold him."

Xu Zhiyu explained softly.

Then, looking at Jiang Ye, he smiled and said, "Shall we go? Shall I show you around?"

Jiang Ye nodded. "Okay."

Next, Xu Zhiyu took Jiang Ye on a tour.

Jiang Ye didn't really understand the meaning of the word "extravagant"; he just thought the landscaping was nice, the backyard was big enough, and the house was spacious enough.

Yes, it is indeed luxurious.

After walking around for a while, the two finally stopped in the backyard.

The backyard is well-maintained, with flowers blooming in a varied yet orderly fashion, and the air is filled with the fresh scent of soil and vegetation.

A rattan swing stands out prominently beneath the flower stand, swaying gently in the wind.

"Wait for me a moment."

Xu Zhiyu stood opposite Jiang Ye, her hands behind her back, her skirt swaying in the wind as she turned away from the flower bushes. She left those words in the wind and then turned and went back into the house.

Jiang Ye responded and sat down in front of the swing.

The rattan chair was a bit wobbly, so he simply pulled back his long legs, tapped his toes on the grass, and swung back and forth.

Looking at the colorful flowers in front of me, my mood improved a lot.

It seems that Xu Zhiyu hasn't been mistreated here, and Song Zixuan, that little brat, is just a bit sharp-tongued, but he's actually quite honest.

Xu Zhiyu is probably doing quite well here, except for being a bit busy.

That put his mind at ease.

A few minutes later, Xu Zhiyu ran out with a Polaroid camera and said to Jiang Ye:

"Ah Ye, come to think of it, we've known each other for so long, but we don't even have a single photo together."

As she fiddled with the camera, she looked up at Jiang Ye, her voice seemingly tinged with grievance.

Jiang Ye was taken aback upon hearing this.

He thought about it carefully.

The two spent a lot of time together, but if you really want to count a proper photo of them together, there isn't a single one.

"Shall we take a few more pictures now?" he said.

"Um."

Xu Zhiyu took the silver-gray Polaroid camera and ran to the white stone table not far from the swing.

There were several thick gardening magazines on the table. She placed the camera on top of the magazines, propped it up, and brought it closer to the viewfinder to adjust the angle. Her fingers flew across the buttons, setting a ten-second countdown.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

The red light began to flash, and Xu Zhiyu, lifting the hem of her white pleated skirt, ran quickly toward the swing.

The swing wasn't designed for two people; it was just right for Jiang Ye by himself, but with Xu Zhiyu, it felt a bit crowded. She ran over to Jiang Ye and sat down directly next to him.

Their shoulders touched.

Summer clothes are thin, and the temperature of the skin is transmitted through the cotton T-shirt.

Xu Zhiyu didn't move away; instead, she leaned closer to Jiang Ye, gripping the vines with both hands and staring at the camera lens in front of her.

Jiang Ye moved half an inch to the side, giving her more space, and casually sat on the edge of the rattan.

"Click".

The shutter clicked.

Xu Zhiyu immediately jumped up from the swing, ran back to the stone table, picked up her camera, and watched the playback.

The screen lit up, and the girl in the picture smiled sweetly. The boy next to her was relaxed, with a faint smile on his lips and a lazy, casual look in his eyes under the sunlight.

"It's a bit over the top."

Xu Zhiyu looked at the screen and made a comment.

"One more."

She reset the countdown and ran back to the swing.

This time, instead of sitting properly, she held onto the rattan cane with one hand and made a somewhat childish peace sign above Jiang Ye's head with the other.

Jiang Ye caught a glimpse of her movement out of the corner of his eye. He didn't dodge, but just a second before the shutter was pressed, he raised his hand and pressed down on the wrist of the woman making the peace sign.

"Click".

The image freezes.

In the photo, Jiang Ye is holding Xu Zhiyu's wrist. The girl's eyes widen slightly in surprise, and her originally cool features become more lively and adorable.

Xu Zhiyu ran back with her camera, looked at the photo, and smiled.

For the next half hour, the backyard became their private territory.

Xu Zhiyu pulled Jiang Ye to change seats several times.

Under the flower trellis, beside the lawn, next to the fountain...

It's always good to take one picture in each place.

Jiang Ye cooperated throughout the entire process without showing the slightest impatience.

For him, it was only natural to give Xu Zhiyu this much patience.

But... she took too many photos.

There must be almost a hundred of these, right?

I always felt that Xu Zhiyu was taking his photos with some kind of strange, vengeful mentality.

Xu Zhiyu didn't stop until noon, still feeling unsatisfied.

"How much memory is left?"

Jiang Ye watched her fiddling with the camera, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and asked a question.

The implication is that he was tired of filming.

Can we stop filming?

"It's almost full."

Xu Zhiyu checked the remaining capacity and looked at Jiang Ye.

"Let's take one last picture."

Jiang Ye: "..."

She turned to look at Jiang Ye, her eyes shining: "Come on, let's go to my room."

Xu Zhiyu's room?

Jiang Ye was a little excited.

He has never been to a girl's room in his entire life, not even in his previous lives.

Jiang Ye stood up, patted a few bits of grass off his trousers, and followed Xu Zhiyu inside.

I walked through the living room and went up the spiral staircase to the second floor.

The second-floor corridor is covered with thick carpet, making no sound when you step on it.

At the end of the corridor is Xu Zhiyu's room.

She pressed the doorknob and pushed the door open.

Jiang Ye followed him inside, his gaze sweeping around the room.

The room was very large, even larger than the Jiang family's entire old house in Jiangcheng. It had a separate walk-in closet and bathroom, as well as a small terrace extending outwards.

But the decorations were rather deserted.

The walls are Morandi gray, the curtains are cool white, and even the bed sheets and duvet covers are light-colored without any patterns.

The bookshelf was neatly filled with many famous works from home and abroad, as well as foreign language textbooks.

This doesn't look like a teenage girl's room; it looks more like a showroom.

There are no plush toys, no brightly colored posters; it's hard to find any trace of Xu Zhiyu's personality in this room.

Except for the music box he gave me, which I keep on my bedside table.

"Your room is quite spacious, but it doesn't look like a place you live regularly."

Jiang Ye found a chair and sat down, speaking casually.

Xu Zhiyu walked to the bedside and sat down, putting her legs together.

"It was like this when we first arrived; Uncle Song had it set up."

She looked down and fiddled with the camera.

"I don't like touching other people's things without permission."

Other people's things.

Those few words clearly defined her sense of belonging to the Song family. Even though Cheng Jinglan was the mistress of the house, for Xu Zhiyu, this place was ultimately somewhere else.

"Okay, lie down now."

Xu Zhiyu finally looked up.

"Lie down? Where should I lie down?"

Jiang Ye was taken aback.

"On my bed."