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

Luo Wanning sat gracefully, picked up the paintbrush on the table with one hand, twirled it, and looked down at the remaining paint on the tip of the brush.

"Youxun treasures every single one of her paintbrushes. This one was a gift from her teacher years ago. If she had really lost it yesterday, she would have been heartbroken for a long time."

"Thank you, Ono, for bringing this over."

Jiang Ye waved his hand: "It's no trouble at all, it was just a small favor."

After finishing the peach shortbread, Jiang Ye glanced at the digital watch on his wrist, stood up, and said, "Auntie, I should go back now."

"Aren't you going to wait for Youxun and Xinghe?"

"No, I was just here to return the paintbrushes."

Upon hearing this, Luo Wanning did not try to stop her.

She invited Jiang Ye in for some snacks, which was naturally a way of expressing her gratitude and being polite, not necessarily a way of letting her daughter interact with the child.

If this child truly has no ulterior motives, then in the end they will only be strangers with whom there will be little interaction in the future.

"Then Auntie will see you off."

Luo Wanning also stood up. Just as she finished speaking, a noise came from the second floor.

Jiang Ye looked in the direction of the sound.

The wooden stairs creaked twice, followed by barely audible footsteps descending step by step.

At the corner, the first thing to appear was a hand, resting on an old wooden railing, with slender fingers and thin knuckles.

Then it's about the whole person.

Lin Youxun was wearing a white floral nightgown, her hair was unkempt and fell loosely over her shoulders, and her eyes still looked a little sleepy.

She does not have a hearing aid in her ears.

So she didn't hear any noise downstairs; she just woke up and came down to get some water.

As she walked to the courtyard gate, she looked up and saw Jiang Ye sitting by the stone table, and she was stunned for a moment.

At first she was confused, then she raised her hand to rub her eyes, and after confirming that the person in front of her was the boy she had met yesterday, her big eyes were full of doubt.

"You... what are you doing here?"

Jiang Ye looked at her.

Twelve-year-old Lin Youxun, with messy hair and sleep marks on her face, stood in the morning light, looking more real and vibrant than yesterday.

Luo Wanning turned around and saw her daughter, her eyes crinkling with joy.

"Youxun, this child came all the way here to return the paintbrush you left behind yesterday."

Lin Youxun's lips moved, but no sound came out.

She wasn't wearing a hearing aid and couldn't hear what her mother was saying at all.

Luo Wanning realized that her daughter was not wearing a hearing aid. Just as she was about to use sign language, she saw that Jiang Ye had already made the gestures.

—I saw your paintbrush lying on the ground yesterday, so I came to return it to you.

Luo Wanning was stunned for a moment, then looked at Jiang Ye with a scrutinizing look in her eyes.

Neither Lin Youxun nor Jiang Ye noticed her unusual behavior.

Lin Youxun looked at Jiang Ye's sign language and knew why he had come. She immediately noticed the pen on the stone table.

With a look of surprise in her eyes, she quickly ran over in her slippers, took the paintbrush and examined it carefully before smiling shyly and gratefully at Jiang Ye.

"Thank you."

--You're welcome.

Jiang Ye smiled gently at Lin Youxun, then said to Luo Wanning, "Auntie, I really have to go now."

Without paying attention to Luo Wanning's hesitant expression, he turned and left.

The process has taken a big step forward; now it's up to Lin Youxun.

Jiang Ye deliberately slowed down, waiting for Lin Youxun to call him back.

It would be best to add a contact method.

Based on his understanding of Lin Youxun, there was an 80% chance that she would do the same thing to someone who had helped him yesterday and traveled a long way to bring him paintbrushes today, leaving without asking for anything in return.

In fact, Lin Youxun did want to do that.

I didn't want his contact information; I just wanted to give him a small oil painting card as a thank-you gift.

But just as she was about to call out to Jiang Ye, there was another noise coming from the stairs.

A girl wearing the same white floral nightgown came down and exclaimed "Yay!" to Jiang Ye.

"You're that...the person from yesterday, right?"

Lin Xinghe walked up to Jiang Ye in a few steps, put her hands behind her back, raised her chin slightly, and looked Jiang Ye up and down like a proud little peacock.

Jiang Ye subconsciously took half a step back, creating some distance between them.

He looked at Lin Xinghe, who had the exact same face as Lin Youxun, yet wore this expression, and found it rather strange.

After all, in his previous life, he had hardly had any contact with Lin Xinghe.

I've only seen it a few times, and I don't have that feeling.

At that time, Lin Youxun had become extremely thin, while Lin Xinghe, even though she looked haggard, was still very healthy with a rosy complexion.

Jiang Ye adjusted his mood slightly.

"Um, the person you're talking about, you mean me, right?"

Lin Xinghe cut to the chase, without a trace of politeness: "So what are you here for?"

Jiang Ye pointed to the paintbrush in Lin Youxun's hand.

"I'm here to deliver some paintbrushes. Your sister lost one yesterday, but I found it and I'm returning it to her today."

Lin Xinghe's gaze swept over the paintbrush, then she let out a drawn-out "Oh—".

That sound, with its eighteen twists and turns, was full of both mockery and inquiry.

She suddenly took a step closer, her clear black and white eyes fixed on Jiang Ye, as if examining some suspicious item.

"You're such a kind person, you actually went out of your way to come all this way."

His words were barbed and undisguised.

Jiang Ye immediately realized that this girl must suspect him of having designs on Lin Youxun.

Although there was definitely ulterior motive involved...

But he had just acted so upright and kind, asking for nothing in return, and hadn't even shown any intention to seduce Lin Youxun, not even asking for her contact information.

She's being far too vigilant.

Lin Youxun couldn't help but step forward and tug at Lin Xinghe's sleeve, warning her younger sister with her eyes not to be so rude.

He then spoke to Jiang Ye in sign language.

—I'm sorry, my sister was just a bit blunt. You came all this way to give me your paintbrushes, so I wanted to give you a little something. Please wait a moment.

Jiang Ye was about to shake his head and refuse, but Lin Youxun immediately ran into the house, not giving him a chance to speak at all.

A short while later, she ran out again, holding a small stack of cards in one hand and a brown paper bag in the other.

The paper bag features a very cute cartoon design in the center—a light purple, anthropomorphic lavender plant with a sparkling star on its head.

The moment the pattern came into view, Lin Xinghe, who was standing next to her, froze.

That little face, which originally seemed to say "keep away," suddenly turned red as if something had ignited it, from the base of her neck all the way to the tips of her ears, followed by her hair standing on end.

"Sister! You...!" Her voice cracked.

Lin Youxun seemed not to hear. She put on her hearing aid, walked up to Jiang Ye, and handed him the things. Her voice sounded particularly sweet in the morning light.

"For you."

She first picked up the stack of cards, "These oil painting cards are all painted by me. They are all landscapes of Dali. They may not be painted very well, but consider them a token of my appreciation."

Jiang Ye reached out and took it.

The cards are strung together with two small metal rings, allowing them to be flipped through like a book.

He turned to the first page, which showed a corner of Cangshan Mountain, shrouded in mist, with delicate brushstrokes and rich colors, far more soulful than any postcard sold in a store.

This isn't a case of "not being drawn well enough"; it's clearly the result of putting a lot of effort into it.

It is absolutely unique in the world.

Jiang Ye felt a surge of warmth in his heart and wished he could immediately treasure this stack of oil painting cards.

Then, Lin Youxun stuffed the brown paper bag into his hand, her eyes crinkling with a mischievous wink.

"And this is milk tea made by Xinghe. She usually likes to make desserts and milk tea. She just made this last night."

"She said last night that if she ran into you again today, she would give you this as a thank you gift."

"Lin Youxun!"

Lin Xinghe, who was standing next to her, finally exploded. She stomped her feet in frustration and almost jumped up.

"When did I say that! Don't talk nonsense! I made that drink myself!"

Before she could finish speaking, she reached out to snatch it.

Jiang Ye instinctively raised his hand to dodge.

Looking at the little peacock in front of him, whose face was flushed and who was in a fit of anger, he suddenly understood something.

Lin Xinghe, who always presented a cold, arrogant, and prickly demeanor to him in his past life, turned out to be someone who secretly loved making milk tea and desserts and even used her own name as packaging design...

Tsundere?