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

After Xu Xi finished her self-introduction, Yang Jidong asked her to return to her seat.

"Class, now that we've met our new classmates, let's move on to the main lesson content."

Yang Jidong withdrew the playful smile from his face and wrote a passage from the Analects on the blackboard.

Confucius said: “The failure to cultivate virtue, the neglect of learning, the inability to follow righteousness when heard, and the inability to correct wrongdoing are my worries.”

"Wen Yao, can you translate this sentence?"

Confucius said, “I am most worried about things like not cultivating one’s character, hearing about morality but not being able to put it into practice, having shortcomings but not being able to correct them.”

Wen Yao stood up and recited the translation of the passage fluently.

Yang Jidong nodded, gesturing for her to sit down.

"Children, neglecting to learn and neglecting to cultivate virtue are equally important."

"I'm very happy that eight of the top ten students in the grade were from our class last year's final exams."

"Especially Song Jiayi, whose grades are very stable, consistently ranking first in the grade."

Upon hearing this, Song Jiayi straightened her back.

"At the same time, I am also very happy that our class is among the best in terms of moral character."

"During this week, class monitor Wen Yao has never reported anything bad that happened in the class to me."

At this point, Yang Jidong seemed to glance at Song Jiayi, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

"Remember, children, knowledge and action must be one. When you hear a correct principle, you must act on it immediately, and when you discover a mistake, you must resolutely correct it."

"Those who are talented but lack virtue, or whose virtue does not match their position, will eventually fall into the abyss and never recover, no matter how great their achievements."

"You can be a bad student, but you must be an upright person."

Song Jiayi sat there blankly, as if a silver needle had pierced her heart.

Yang Jidong's words were directed at himself.

......

"Xu Xi, you can cook? Are you kidding me?"

In the cafeteria, Wen Yao shook Xu Xi's arm and asked her curiously.

Xu Xi was chewing on the wood ear mushrooms on her plate when she nodded slightly.

"I can do some of them; my brother taught me."

Wow, you're like Superman!

Wen Yao gave a thumbs up, her face full of admiration.

"I envy you guys who can cook. When I cook, I either make a mess of oil all over the floor or almost set the stove on fire."

Xu Xi recalled how she made a mess of the house when she first tried cooking, and her cheeks involuntarily turned red.

Do you have any plans for this weekend?

Wen Yao blinked and grinned.

Xu Xi paused for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, what's wrong?"

"Waaah, my parents cruelly left me behind on a trip, and I'll be home alone this weekend. Can I come over for dinner?"

Wen Yao said with a pitiful expression, as if a few small pearls were about to fall from her eyes.

Xu Xi hesitated for a moment, but seeing Wen Yao's pitiful appearance, she nodded in agreement.

"Hehe, it's settled then!"

Wen Yao clapped her hands, and the grievance on her face vanished.

Afterwards, Xu Xi felt somewhat regretful.

She hasn't asked her brother's opinion yet.

I brought my classmate home without asking my brother. What if he doesn't agree?

......

At the dinner table that evening, Xu Xi nervously brought up the matter to Xu Nian.

"Oh, I understand."

Xu Nian replied calmly, glancing at the group chat content on his phone screen.

"However, I have to work tomorrow and the day after, so you'll have to handle the reception of Wen Yao all by yourself."

"Remember to cook more of your specialty dishes, so that the guests don't go hungry."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xi breathed a sigh of relief and gave Xu Nian a grateful look.

"Thank you, brother."

"Don't thank me, I didn't help you at all."

Xu Nian chuckled and ruffled her hair, speaking affectionately.

"This is our home, and you are the master of this place."

"I will never decide to bring a friend home; you can make your own decision."

Xu Xi felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing Xu Nian's words.

She hugged her brother tightly and snuggled into his arms as usual, acting coquettishly.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and eat, we have to go out afterwards."

"Going out? Where to?"

Xu Xi blinked her big, watery eyes and spoke softly.

"Of course we'll go out to buy groceries. There are only some green vegetables left at home. You don't want to cook a whole table of green vegetables for Wen Yao, do you?"

Xu Nian gently tapped the little guy's forehead.

"Okay, sure!"

Xu Xi sat back down in her seat and began shoveling rice into her bowl.

Xu Nian looked at the table full of vegetarian dishes, then at Xu Xi's slender figure, her eyes filled with heartache.

Meat dishes only appeared on the family's dinner table when guests came or on special occasions.

The little guy is two heads shorter than me, and when I pick him up, he doesn't even weigh as much as a bag of rice.

Otherwise, Xu Xi and I would have been mistaken for father and daughter at the police station that day.

He looks older than his mother, while Xu Xi looks much younger. When they walk down the street together, they really look like a father and daughter.

Now that my income has increased, I should be able to have meat on every meal.

After the two finished their meal, Xu Nian drove Xu Xi to a nearby supermarket.

Since it was already evening, the farmers' market was closed. If you still want to buy some ingredients, you can only do so in large supermarkets.

Xu Nian packed three pounds of pork ribs in the fresh food section and called the salesperson to take out two pounds of beef from the freezer.

According to Qi Yu, beef contains high-quality protein and various minerals that promote growth.

Although the price is high, more than 30 yuan per kilogram, it is still within my budget.

The important thing is that this is the little one's first time hosting a dinner party, so we can't let her lose face.

"Brother! You bought too much! This all costs over a hundred yuan!"

Xu Xi stopped Xu Nian anxiously and reached out to take the items out of the shopping cart.

Xu Nian stopped her and told her to go find some cumin, black pepper and other seasonings.

The little guy was extremely aggrieved, but he still obediently did as he was told, searching for the area where the condiments were placed.

When she followed the sales clerk's directions, found the seasoning her brother had requested, and returned to the checkout counter to meet him, she discovered that the shopping cart was already filled with all sorts of items.

Besides essential household items, vegetables, and meat, there were also two large boxes of milk.

"The total is 310.26 yuan. Please pay here."

After paying, Xu Nian needed many plastic bags to pack everything in.

It cost a little over 300 yuan, which was good, as I was able to get many ingredients at almost half price thanks to the evening fresh vegetable discounts.

With my current income level, I can earn that in a day and a half.

On the way home, Xu Xi remained sullen.

"Brother, I'm sorry, I won't bring anyone else home next time. You spent so much money..."

Xu Nian smiled, opened the rider's earnings details, and placed it in front of Xu Xi.

The record clearly shows today's income: 230.75.

"Xiaoxi, your brother has money now, we don't have to go back to the days when the two of us had to share a boxed lunch."

"From now on, our lives will get better and better. We'll have meat at every meal. We can eat whatever we want and buy whatever we want without having to compromise ourselves anymore."