The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

When I walked out of the TV tower after recording the program, the night was already very dark.

The evening breeze, carrying the warmth of early summer, gently caressed my face.

On the way home, the two were inseparable.

Xu Xi nestled in Xu Nian's arms, her head resting on his shoulder, her voice soft and sweet: "Hehe, brother, you're a celebrity now."

Xu Nian leaned back in the car seat, staring blankly at the golden trophy in her hand.

"What's wrong, brother?" Xu Xi noticed his absent-mindedness, reached out her small hand, and gently poked his chin. "Are you unhappy?"

Xu Nian snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. "No, it's just a bit sudden."

He paused, a hint of reproach in his voice, "Why didn't you tell me about something this important beforehand?"

Xu Xi shrank back, her ears turning slightly red, her eyes darting around, and she whispered in protest, "I...I forgot." She shrank back, trying to get away with it by being cute.

Xu Nian smiled helplessly and pinched her little cheek.

"Oh, right, brother, I have another gift for you."

"What gift?"

Xu Xi smiled and took a blue backpack from the trunk, slinging it over the man's shoulder.

"Backpack?" Xu Nian touched the shoulder strap, her eyes full of doubt.

"Yes, yes!"

Xu Xi held his hand, her voice full of excitement, and reached out to unzip his backpack, revealing a neat set of brand-new stationery and books inside.

"I enrolled my brother in a school. Starting tomorrow, he'll be going to school with his schoolbag."

"real?"

Xu Nian's eyes widened, both surprised and delighted.

He never dreamed that he would have the chance to pick up books again and go back to school.

"Are there any schools that will accept me at my age?"

"Of course there are."

Xu Xi replied without hesitation.

"The schools I built are entirely up to me; it's just a matter of who gets to attend."

"Little Creek, I love you to death!"

Xu Nian was overjoyed. He pulled Xu Xi into his arms and hugged her tightly, as if he wanted to meld her into his very bones.

"Ugh... Brother, you're hugging me too tight."

Xu Xi wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling, her cheek pressed against his chest, where she could clearly hear his strong heartbeat.

She knew in her heart that her brother now had money, status, and reputation, but he was always missing something in his heart—the confidence that knowledge brought him.

She knew that men were concerned about their image, and even with her protection, he would still feel inferior because he had never been to school.

She wanted him to have his own confidence.

"Hehe, brother, you have to study hard, okay?" Xu Xi whispered in the man's ear, her tone teasing and a little mischievous. "When I go to the parent-teacher conference at the end of the semester, if your grades aren't good, I'll spank you, hmph."

"You little rascal, you dare to act as my parent?" Xu Nian said, laughing and crying at the same time, and reached out to flick her little nose.

He thought about it and realized she was right.

In this world, they have no other relatives; they are each other's only concern.

When she was little, he acted as Xu Xi's parent, attending her parent-teacher conferences.

Now, she seems to have no problem being her own parent.

The car came to a smooth stop in front of the villa, and the two people got out of the car with their luggage.

As soon as they opened the door, an orange figure pounced over, rubbing against their legs and making pitiful meowing sounds.

It was Mai Mai. Its two chubby little paws kept pawing at Xu Xi's trouser legs, meowing and whimpering, its voice full of accusation, as if complaining that they had abandoned it for months and had not heard from it since.

"Meow! Meow!"

It was as if it was saying, "Human, you actually know how to come back? I think you've forgotten about this house."

Xu Nian paused and rubbed the orange cat's head, only to have it resentfully bite her sleeve.

"I'm sorry, MaiMai," Xu Nian said with some guilt.

After all, it was he who left without saying goodbye first, and Xu Xi followed him to the deep mountains, leaving Mai Mai alone at home, like an empty nest cat.

"Don't feel sorry for it, brother!"

Xu Xi pinched Mai Mai's soft little bottom and said in an annoyed tone.

"I've set up the automatic cat feeder at home. It dispenses cat food three times a day, which is enough for it."

"As a result, this greedy cat wasn't satisfied, so it emptied all the unopened cat food from the cupboard, dumped it on the floor, and started eating its own buffet!"

"If Yao Yao hadn't come to clean the poop the next day and discovered what it had done, it could have eaten half a year's worth of food in one sitting!"

"Look at how much it eats! It's gotten so fat it's like a ball!"

Xu Nian then took a closer look at Mai Mai. After not seeing it for several months, its belly had indeed grown much larger, round and soft to the touch, like a bulging little gas cylinder, and it walked rather clumsily.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Haha, you really have gained quite a bit of weight."

Mai Mai seemed to understand what they were talking about. It sprang up and curled up in Xu Xi's arms, making itself into a little ball of fur. It meowed plaintively, burying its head in its fur, looking both unconvinced and aggrieved, as if protesting against Xu Xi revealing its secrets.

Xu Xi didn't spoil it at all. She reached out and dug its little head out, making a fierce face at it, and said in a serious tone, "Listen up, you little glutton. Starting tomorrow, you'll run five kilometers with me every day until you lose weight and get back to your normal size. Otherwise, I'm never buying you cat treats again."

"Meow—" Mai Mai's fur stood on end, and she let out a wronged and resistant meow, struggling incessantly, clearly extremely opposed to running five kilometers.

It suddenly broke free from Xu Xi's embrace, pounced, and landed heavily in Xu Nian's arms with a dull thud.

Xu Nian groaned as it hit her, rubbed her aching chest, and gasped for breath.

Ignoring everything else, Mai Mai raised its head with a pitiful expression, rubbed its little head against his hand, and kept meowing. Its big, wet eyes were full of pleading, clearly wanting Xu Nian to intercede for it.

Xu Nian helplessly rubbed Mai Mai's head, feeling both annoyed and amused: "It's no use pleading with me, Mai Mai. I have to listen to your sister. In this family, she's the one who calls the shots."

"Meow!" Mai Mai let out an even more aggrieved cry, drooping her ears and burying her head in Xu Nian's arms, looking utterly hopeless.