At the Xia family residence, it was already half past ten in the evening.
Youxue shifted her gaze away from the TV screen and glanced at her phone.
It was now ten forty, and her older brother still hadn’t returned home.
She lay down on the couch, her back to the TV, hugging a pillow. The warmth radiating from the pillow drove away the chill of the night.
Inside the TV set, the host energetically performed a rap, his voice echoing through the empty house.
After a while, the phone suddenly rang, and Youxue sat up immediately and picked it up.
“Brother!… You won’t be coming tonight?… Staying at the teacher’s house?”
After ending the call, Youxue fell into deep thought.
Considering the perfume scent she had previously detected on his coat, her brother must have found another woman!
Youxue calmly thought and analyzed.
Oh my God, am I going to be in trouble?
If he doesn’t come home tonight, he might not return tomorrow either, and by the day after, he might not want me anymore!
Hugging the pillow, Youxue calmed herself down and began a new round of analysis.
Her brother wasn’t short on money, nor was he a weak pretty boy, so the possibility of him being supported by a rich older woman was extremely low.
After a minute of contemplation, Youxue picked up her phone and dialed a call.
“Hey, Lili, I remember you mentioned you had an older sister before?”
…
Meanwhile, Xia Yu was unaware that Youxue was already matchmaking for him. He returned to the villa together with Kong Hanyue and Zhong Yunze.
“Come on, let’s continue practicing the guzheng!” Kong Hanyue pulled his hand for a couple of steps, but then she stopped again.
“Wait, since you’re not going back home today, go take a shower first.” She pushed Xia Yu towards the bathroom.
After taking a shower, Xia Yu understood Kong Hanyue’s intentions.
The change of clothes she prepared for him was a set of cyan Hanfu.
After changing into the Hanfu, Xia Yu arrived at the guzheng room, where Kong Hanyue was already wearing Hanfu, waiting for him.
“My son looks really handsome in Hanfu,” Kong Hanyue happily admired Xia Yu.
Standing beside her, Zhong Yunze silently went to change into Hanfu as well and started hovering around Kong Hanyue.
“Yunze also looks great!”
After receiving praise from Kong Hanyue, Zhong Yunze obediently sat down on one side.
Are the younger generation all this childish nowadays? Xia Yu sighed.
However, this had nothing to do with him.
Under Kong Hanyue’s guidance, he began learning a new piece.
The piece was called “Three Styles,” a battlefield-themed composition. Listening to it felt as if one had returned to the ancient battlefield.
Since it was a new piece, Xia Yu’s playing wasn’t very smooth. After listening for half of it, Zhong Yunze stood up with a smile and left the guzheng room.
Earlier, when Zhong Yunze learned from Kong Hanyue that Xia Yu would also participate in the instrumental competition, he had panicked a bit. Now, after seeing Xia Yu’s actual skill level, he felt reassured.
Indeed, I am the most outstanding one in Mom’s eyes.
Feeling satisfied, Zhong Yunze changed back into casual clothes and rode his bicycle for a spin.
His bicycle wasn’t an ordinary one limited to riding on roads but was capable of off-road adventures, conquering hills and fording water with almost no challenge insurmountable.
However, there weren’t many wild areas nearby, limiting his ability to show off.
Riding alone was somewhat boring, so he planned to bring Xia Yu along next time.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t turned eighteen yet and couldn’t obtain a driver’s license. He had heard that driving an off-road car was even more thrilling.
After circling the neighborhood a few times and participating in a one-sided race with a taxi, Zhong Yunze returned home.
By then, Xia Yu had finished learning “Three Styles” and was already studying “Forty Styles.”
After listening for a while, Zhong Yunze confirmed that Xia Yu’s skill was indeed poor and nowhere near his own level.
“The guzheng is just too difficult. Don’t feel bad,” Zhong Yunze comforted Xia Yu. “I also studied for a while, but I couldn’t continue past ‘Tears of the Moon.'”
Kong Hanyue, out of Zhong Yunze’s sight, revealed a mischievous smile and winked at Xia Yu, signaling him not to explain.
Xia Yu hadn’t planned to explain anyway. He would save the surprise for Zhong Yunze until the competition.
“Alright, go to sleep now. It’s almost twelve o’clock.”
Prompted by Kong Hanyue, Xia Yu and Zhong Yunze went to their respective rooms to rest.
The next morning at eight o’clock, Xia Yu woke up, and Zhong Yunze had already gone out to race bikes with several friends.
After breakfast, he continued learning guzheng with Kong Hanyue for the entire morning and returned home only at three in the afternoon.
He had originally thought that after such a long time apart, Youxue would cling to him for a while. However, the girl was curled up on the sofa, chatting with someone, showing no intention of approaching him.
Has my little sister grown up too?
Xia Yu felt somewhat disappointed. He preferred Youxue to remain unchanged, like Kong Hanyue.
Today, he had already practiced guzheng for five hours, so there was no need to go to Kong Hanyue’s place in the evening.
The continuous practice from last night and this morning had left Xia Yu’s arms and fingers sore.
I’ve worked hard today. I should go to An Siyao’s place and have a good meal!
After a brief moment of darkness, the space in front of Xia Yu transformed.
He saw the Feng sisters, Yujia and Yumo, as well as pastries and black tea.
Are they having afternoon tea?
After glancing around, Xia Yu picked up a pastry.
His action caused the Feng sisters’ eyes to light up.
They exchanged glances, their hearts filled with excitement:
The An Siyao we like has appeared!
Picking up the pastries and black tea, the two sisters began feeding Xia Yu.
Taking a bite of the pastry offered by Feng Yujia, followed by a sip of black tea from Feng Yumo, Xia Yu wore a satisfied expression.
“Are you really not participating in this study tour?” Feng Yujia asked.
A study tour was an activity where a group of students traveled together to another place.
It was similar to a spring outing during Xia Yu’s kindergarten days in his previous life.
Different schools had different schedules for study tours. Xia Yu had already participated in one during his first year of high school, while Dongzhi Xiang Academy held theirs in the third year.
Inside his mind, An Siyao timidly explained her reason for not going to Xia Yu: “I have to take an airplane…”
The girl still remembered the story Xia Yu had told her, that she would die in a plane crash.
“If you want to go, I’ll go too,” she added.
However, her tone clearly indicated that she didn’t want to go.
Since the girl didn’t want to go, Xia Yu didn’t want to force her, although he was eager to see what delicacies could be found in the eleventh district.
“I won’t go,” Xia Yu replied.
“Then we won’t go either. Let’s find a place to hang out together during that time!” Feng Yujia and Feng Yumo looked at Xia Yu with anticipation.
They weren’t particularly interested in the eleventh district either; they just wanted to be with Xia Yu.
After An Siyao agreed, Xia Yu also accepted.
The two sisters then moved on to a new topic.
“That delinquent girl from the second grade really upset the principal,” Feng Yujia said.
“Yeah, I heard about it too. She beat someone up in the restroom and tore their clothes. The school still hasn’t found her,” Feng Yumo had also heard about the incident.
“It seems like they’ll have to call her parents,” Feng Yujia said gleefully.
As a prestigious all-girls school, Dongzhi Xiang Academy didn’t immediately involve parents like other schools might when minor issues arose. Only when teachers couldn’t resolve a situation would parents be notified.
Furthermore, notifying parents indicated that the matter had become extremely serious, and the next step would be expulsion.
Xia Yu didn’t take the matter to heart, assuming it was just casual conversation.
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