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“Eh, why hasn’t Shang Jin come back when it’s so late?”
Ye Zhou looked up and said to Liu Yutian in the upper bunk, “He went home today.”
Shang Jin’s home was local, but how often he went home was similar to students who lived in other parts of the country.
This was the first time that Shang Jin returned home during a short vacation.
“Went home?” Lying on the bed and tapping his fingers on the mobile phone screen, Liu Yutian inquisitively said, “He didn’t go back during the Qingming three-day holiday. Why did he go back today?”
Wen Renxu said, “Yeah, and tomorrow’s the sports competition. He’s not competing?”
Besides from knowing Shang Jin’s whereabouts, Ye Zhou also wasn’t very clear about his motives for returning home. “I also don’t know why. He said he’ll come over tomorrow morning.” In any case, Shang Jin was an adult, so he also didn’t need to report to his roommates on what he was doing outside.
On the other side, Shang Jin was sitting in the living room. Shang Youyou was affixed to his side, stretching out her little fork to the fruit plate on the coffee table and forking a strawberry to totteringly send it to Shang Jin’s mouth. “Big brother, eat.”
Shang Jin opened his mouth to eat, smiling at Shang Youyou. Shang Youyou immediately hugged Shang Jin’s arm and shyly lowered her head.
“Let Youyou go to school with you tomorrow?” Shang Qingping muttered irresolutely to himself, “Youyou is too young. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient?”
Shang Youyou feared that her dad wouldn’t agree, and couldn’t help but shyly urge, “I want to go with big brother!”
Shang Jin picked up a strawberry as a reward and sent it to Shang Youyou’s mouth. But the strawberry was too big and Shang Youyou’s mouth was too small. Because she was fed by Shang Jin, she wanted to eat it all in one go. As a result, the strawberry juice dripped and covered everything.
“Sorry.” Shang Jin pulled out a napkin and helped Shang Youyou wipe dry the stains. When he fed Shang Youyou another strawberry, he lifted it up to let her little mouth take a bite.
“Shang Jin is a steady person and can definitely take good care of Youyou,” Qin Fei persuaded, “Just let them go together.” Shang Jin being good to Shang Youyou was a good thing that one could only wish for. When Qin Fei had come into the family, because Shang Jin’s age wasn’t considered young and was opinionated, her heart knew that she couldn’t coax him. Having tried to please him all along, now that Shang Jin was taking the initiative to accept them, she was much more comfortable at home now.
Shang Qingping nodded and said, “That’s fine, but remember to send her back home at night.”
Early the next morning, Shang Youyou changed her habit of sleeping in. After waking up, she opened wide her eyes and obediently let Qin Fei dress her.
At eight o’clock, Shang Jin yawning, went out with Shang Youyou. He sat Shang Youyou in the safety seat and sat in the driver’s seat himself.
They arrived at school close to nine o’clock.
When it comes to Shang Jin, he was originally a school celebrity, so carrying Shang Youyou who was dressed like a princess attracted many people’s attention.
Although the crowd of onlookers anxiously wanted to know who the child carried by Shang Jin was, no one had the courage to ask.
Until he joined up with Ye Zhou on the sports field.
“Aiya, who’s this beautiful little princess?” The moment Ye Zhou saw the young girl in Shang Jin’s arms, he immediately knew the other’s identity. He ran over in a few steps. Originally, he was very approachable, not to mention now when he was striving to spread his kindness outward.
Shang Youyou was originally hanging onto Shang Jin’s neck. After hearing the voice, she looked towards the person that had come. With this glance, she was directly dumbfounded.
After waiting for a long time, he still didn’t received the Shang family little princess’s reply. The other side just stared blankly at him without any intention of opening her mouth. Ye Zhou was unable to maintain the smile on his face. He looked at Shang Jin as if asking for his help.
Shang Jin called out, “Youyou?”
Shang Youyou, as if not hearing it, still foolishly stared at Ye Zhou.
Ye Zhou unobtrusively moved over to Shang Jin’s side, and leaned in to Shang Jin’s ear and tactfully asked, “Your little sister didn’t sleep well?” In fact, he even wanted to ask, ‘why is your sister a bit foolish’. Clearly the last time she’d seemed very clever.
Shang Jin was also bewildered. He whispered, “No, she was still high-spirited in the car just now.” Saying this, Shang Jin shook his arms. Shang Youyou immediately came back to her senses. She looked at Ye Zhou again, and then directly buried her face in Shang Jin’s shoulder, and wouldn’t come out no matter how she was coaxed.
Ye Zhou was greatly wounded. He’d always felt that he was very approachable. He didn’t expect that he’d bump into a wall with Shang Jin’s little sister.
Shang Jin awkwardly said, “She may not have slept well.”
Ye Zhou resentfully said, “Then let her sleep.”
Walking for a while, they met Zhou Wendao and Xu Yangjun.
The two of them looked at the little girl in Shang Jin’s arms and the two were petrified on the spot.
Based on his understanding from a year of living together, Ye Zhou saw the two men’s expressions and knew that they’d already visualized a scene of dog’s blood [melodramatic] family drama. Rushing before they could babble their nonsense, he introduced, “This is Shang Jin’s little sister.”
Zhou Wendao breathed out a huge sigh of relief and said, “Turns out it’s a sister.”
“Hello, little sister.” Xu Yangjun walked behind Shang Jin, wanting to chat with Shang Youyou.
Ye Zhou said, “She’s sleeping. Don’t disturb her.”
However, Ye Zhou’s words just fell, Shang Youyou raised her little face and responded to Xu Yangjun, “Hi, big brother.”
Ye Zhou simply didn’t dare to believe that he’d actually suffered defeat at Xu Yangjun’s hand.
“Aiya, she looks like a little angel, deserving to be Shang Jin’s little sister.”
Without looking, they could feel the ‘negative energy’ emitting from Ye Zhou’s entire body. Shang Jin also couldn’t understand it. It was because Ye Zhou had said he liked children that he’d brought Shang Youyou. He didn’t expect that Shang Youyou would be very good with others, but why was she so resistant to Ye Zhou?
Seeing Shang Youyou not only pay attention to Xu Yangjun, but even politely greeted Zhou Wendao, and only being so “indifferent” to him, he sourly said with a face without love, “You guys should happily and merrily play together. Let me, this broken-winged angel who’d been abandoned by the little princess, lick my wounds alone.”
Xu Yangjun and Zhou Wendao had finally found a sense of superiority with Ye Zhou, and insincerely comforted him, “Zhou, there’s nothing to be done. This is personal charm!”
“Right, in the children’s world, where’s the concept of beauty and ugliness? If you’re pleasing to the eye, then they’d talk to you. If you’re not pleasing to the eye, they’d be unwilling to respond.” Xu Yangjun “tut-tutted” twice and deliberately said, “Little children are so capricious!”
While the two people were deriding Ye Zhou, Shang Jin carrying Shang Youyou walked to one side and set Shang Youyou on the ground. He crouched down and whispered, “What do you think of the first brother you saw?”
Shang Youyou clutched at the corner of her clothes and, blushing with a timid look at Ye Zhou, said, “That big brother looks really nice.”
Looking at Shang Youyou’s expression, Shang Jin’s heart steadied a lot. He continued to ask, “Then do you like him?”
“Like…” Shang Youyou held Shang Jin’s neck and whispered in his ear, “I also want to talk to him, but I’m embarrassed.” Especially because she’d foolishly stared at him as soon as they’d met…
Shang Jin saw a bright yellow wildflower in the weeds and whispered a few words in Shang Youyou’s ear. Shang Youyou heard it and took a few small steps to the little wildflower. She carefully picked it and, under Shang Jin’s encouraging gaze, walked before Ye Zhou with her hands behind her back.
Upon seeing Shang Youyou come over, Xu Yangjun and Zhou Wendao solicitously asked, “Little treasure, are you looking for us brothers for something?”
Shang Youyou, under the two people’s expectant gazes, walked in front of Ye Zhou, took out the hands behind her back, stuck out the hand holding a small wildflower and said, “Brother Ye, for you.”
Ye Zhou unexpectedly said, “For me?”
Shang Youyou nodded.
“Thank you.” Ye Zhou knelt down and took the small flower. He placed it at the tip of his nose and sniffed. Then, he took the small flower and tucked it behind Shang Youyou’s ear, and said, “The flower matches the little princess, really beautiful.”
Shang Youyou squinted her eyes and bashfully smiled at Ye Zhou. Soon after, she took down the newly-bought cherry hairclip that she’d insisted on wearing this morning and reciprocated by putting on on Ye Zhou’s head. Only, because she was too young, her hand coordination wasn’t too good and she barely hung it on Ye Zhou’s hair.
Ye Zhou didn’t mind wearing a child’s hairclip, and still raised his head to ask Shang Jin, “Looks good?”
Shang Jin disdainfully said, “Ugly to death.”
Shang Youyou hurriedly comforted Ye Zhou, “Not ugly, not ugly, it’s very beautiful!”
The children’s liking was often very straightforward. After the shy period in the beginning, Shang Youyou wasn’t reserved at all and let Ye Zhou lead her along by the hand, and moreover, from calling Ye Zhou “Brother Ye”, it was upgraded to “Brother Zhou Zhou”.
The two people’s event was in the afternoon. After eating lunch, Shang Jin had spoken with the dorm manager aunt and brought Shang Youyou back to the dormitory.
Shang Youyou slowly sucked on a small box of milk. Sucking a mouthful, she placed the straw in front of Shang Jin and said, “Big brother, drink.”
Shang Jin took a sip. Shang Youyou passed the straw again to Ye Zhou and said, “Brother Zhou Zhou, drink.”
Sharing a straw and whatnot was still a bit too intimate. Shang Jin and Shang Youyou were brother and sister so it didn’t matter, but he himself was an outsider, and no matter how he thought, it was still unsuitable. Ye Zhou tactfully declined, “I can’t drink anymore. I’m really full from eating lunch. If I drink, I’m afraid my belly would explode.”
Shang Youyou uttered a disappointed “oh” first, then giggled, “Brother Zhou Zhou’s belly is going to explode.”
Shang Jin brought Shang Youyou to the dorm and immediately attracted the onlookers from the two neighboring dorms. Afraid of scaring the other party, they only dared to look with their two eyes from afar.
At this time, the benefits of being roommates were reflected. Liu Yutian teased Shang Youyou with a lollipop. Shang Youyou took it but didn’t eat, handing it Shang Jin instead.
Shang Youyou yawned, and Shang Jin put the lollipop away and said, “Sleep for a while, and then eat again when you get up.”
“Okay.” Shang Youyou rubbed her eyes and Shang Jin carried her to the bed. In less than two minutes, her little chest rhythmically drifted up and down.
Ye Zhou came out of the bathroom and saw that Shang Youyou was lying on Shang Jin’s bed. “I didn’t expect your little sister to be so close with people, unlike a certain someone.”
Shang Jin bantered, “Forgetting so soon? Youyou didn’t care about you at first.”
“When we ate at noon, she told me that it was because she thought I was too handsome and felt embarrassed, so she was like that.” Ye Zhou looked sidelong at him and proudly said, “At that time, I asked her: your brother and me, who’s more handsome? Guess what she said?”
Shang Jin answered irrelevantly, “Youyou needs to improve her vision.”
Ye Zhou was blocked by him and couldn’t continue. He snorted and said, “Children would say one is one and two is two.”
Sleeping until 1:30, Shang Jin called Shang Youyou up. Shang Youyou wanted to dawdle a bit in bed, groaned twice, unwilling to get up.
Ye Zhou tore off the lollipop wrapper, put the lollipop in front of Shang Youyou and asked, “Baby, look what’s this?”
Shang Youyou opened her eyes and woke up. She opened her mouth, wanting to take it, but Ye Zhou quickly took it away. Shang Youyou acted spoiled and said, “Brother Zhou Zhou, I want to eat it.”
“Get up and I’ll give it to you to eat.”
Shang Youyou climbed down. After taking a nap, her two ponytails had become two braids turned up to heaven. Ye Zhou saw this and laughed for half a day, but soon, he couldn’t laugh anymore. “Brother Zhou Zhou, comb my hair for me.”
“Ah?” Ye Zhou had never done this kind of handiwork, and the horsetail looked simple, but tying it wasn’t simple. Ye Zhou knew himself well and said, “Let your big brother tie it up.”
Shang Youyou pulled on Ye Zhou’s finger and swung it while saying, “Brother Zhou Zhou and big brother tie it up together…”
Wen Renxu gloated to the side, “It’s not always good to be adored by children.”
“It shouldn’t be too hard.” Shang Jin let Shang Youyou sit on a stool, bent down and carefully undid the left braid. He said, “You comb the right side.”
At this moment, the two seemed to come back to the time they’d spray painted the little pedicab.
After the work was finished, looking at Shang Youyou’s two ponytails, Wen Renxu sighed, “No wonder why the Shang Ye number was defiled by you two to become like that.”
Ye Zhou: “……”
Shang Jin was undisturbed and said, “I think it looks pretty good.”