Chapter 131: Idiot Brother!

“Jie!”

“Why are you following us again?!” Su Jin looked at him with a hint of annoyance.

“Mom and Dad are going home, and I don’t have anywhere to go today either. Are you guys going shopping? Take me with you.”

Su Hao was talking to Su Jin, but his eyes kept sneaking glances at Qin Sheng, finally lingering on the alluring curves of Qin Sheng’s figure.

If Shen Xiyan were here, she would know that just now, he wasn’t being “arrogant,” but that he had simply lost interest in Lin Ci from the start.

Would you care what an ugly girl thinks?

Of course Lin Ci wasn’t ugly, but that was the idea.

Qin Sheng’s looks hit him right in the heart—how could anyone be so good-looking?

“We’re all girls here, why are you tagging along?”

Su Hao pointed at Shen Xiyan and pouted. “Isn’t there a guy right there?”

“She’s got her little sister and her girlfriend here…”

“And aren’t you my sister?” Su Hao said. “I’ll just walk behind you guys, otherwise I have nowhere to go and I’ll be bored.”

Su Jin: “…”

So annoying!

But she couldn’t say anything. She even had a change of clothes in her bag, thinking that when the time was right, she’d find an excuse to leave and then go do her own thing.

Just now, Qin Sheng was her perfect excuse—not even the heavens would strike her for it. Who would have thought her little brother would be so thick-skinned… What a miscalculation!

Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting!

Su Jin’s gaze drifted back and forth between her brother and Qin Sheng, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to her. Her eyes brightened instantly.

Right at that moment, Su Hao, ignoring all objections, walked over to say hello.

“Hi, my name’s Su Hao.”

Qin Sheng didn’t even spare him a glance, not even giving him a perfunctory “hmm,” nor did she offer any extra smiles just because he was Su Jin’s brother.

Or rather—

With that kind of look, plus being Su Jin’s brother, the fact she hadn’t already kicked him to ensure he’d never have children was already being very polite.

Su Hao didn’t mind—he’d heard she always treated boys with cold indifference.

But girls like this were all the sweeter once you got to know them. When they horsed around in front of others, it felt especially satisfying.

“Alright, alright! You can tag along behind, just don’t eavesdrop on our conversations,” Su Jin chased Su Hao off one moment, and the next, Qin Sheng sneered, her expression as cold as eternal ice:

“This kind of little brother… Should I just have him neutered? Together with Qin Ge… Do you really think too highly of yourself? How close are we, that you’d act so familiar?”

“Su Jin! I’m not helping you for nothing!”

“What do you want?”

Su Jin sighed and asked, “You don’t want me to trouble you or Shen Xiyan? Then you’ll have to go through Song Wan. I’m just a fence-sitter, swaying with the wind…”

“No need! I’ll handle Song Wan myself.”

Qin Sheng jerked her chin toward Shen Xiyan. “Help me settle Xiyan’s novel.”

“Huh?” Su Jin was stunned.

“He said you’re teaching him?”

…Yes, but are you sure?

This wasn’t something that needed hiding, so Su Jin was honest.

“I’m sure! If you can get him to go full-time, that’d be even better.”

If she succeeded, under the table she’d hem and haw.

If she didn’t succeed, it’d still take him years, and when he finally woke up, realized he was no longer a fresh graduate, and no company would hire him, she could just support him for life—the two of them leeching off their parents together.

In any case, it was a win-win. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about getting hit by a car again.

Su Jin thought: Qin Sheng has really changed.

If this were before, she’d have to promise countless benefits, bleed herself dry, just to get Qin Sheng to agree.

No helping it; when you ask someone for a favor and act first and report later, the price you pay will always be higher than if you negotiated up front. That’s just how people are.

But now Qin Sheng had reined herself in. For a woman, the best way to win her favor was to please the person she liked.

“I thought you’d tell me not to trouble you or Shen Xiyan again.”

“Trouble? Who, you?” Qin Sheng’s tone was full of contempt. “Song Wan’s motives are hard to guess? Isn’t it just sending you, a seductive minx, to hook up with Xiyan?”

“Teenage boys are always swaying, and if a girl just smiles at them, they start thinking maybe she likes them… Wait for Xiyan to ‘embarrass himself’ in front of you, and of course I’ll look down on him, am I right?”

“!!!” Su Jin was shocked.

Even though there was nothing especially roundabout about that scheme, Qin Sheng guessed it too accurately!

Was this what they called that mysterious connection between sisters?

After that, the shopping trip went pretty well.

The boys chatted among themselves, the girls with each other.

[Su Jin X Qin Sheng] walked at the front.

Then [Lin Ci X Wenwen].

And at the end, [Shen Xiyan X Su Hao].

Because she disliked Su Hao’s gaze, Qin Sheng didn’t even want to walk over and stick close to Shen Xiyan.

Shen Xiyan thought it was just as well—he could have some peace and quiet to himself.

Though Su Hao had this strange sense of superiority over him, as if a “man of society” looking down on a “bookworm,” there was still a hidden fear deep in his eyes.

That was the real root of a man’s sense of superiority.

A gentleman keeps his talents hidden, waiting for the right time.

Too bad Shen Xiyan wasn’t from the northeast, and it was hard to find those big bathhouses in S City.

Otherwise… hmm hmm!

Su Hao pointed at Lin Ci to start a topic: “Bro, is that your girlfriend?”

Su Jin said he had a girlfriend and a little sister, so Qin Sheng was out, and Lin Ci’s surname was Lin—other than girlfriend, what else could she be?

Shen Xiyan looked at him and thought: Since when did I become your bro?

And why do you think Lin Ci is my girlfriend?

“She’s pretty cute.”

Between men, you either talk about games, basketball, or compliment each other’s girlfriends—can’t go wrong with that.

Maybe he was also afraid Shen Xiyan would misunderstand, so Su Hao hurriedly asked, “Hey! Are you close with Qin Sheng?”

Shen Xiyan shot him a glance.

You little punk, after all this time together, what do you think?

“Sort of.”

Shen Xiyan easily brushed off the question, purposely leaving some ambiguity—just how close were they, really?

“Is she easy to get along with?”

“…I have a little sister. If she thinks Qin Sheng is easy to get along with, then that’s enough.”

As they spoke, Wenwen happened to come over, tearing open an ice cream wrapper. She had three more in her bag, and even the way she bounced along was full of sweet happiness.

Shen Xiyan frowned, lowering his voice to ask, “Isn’t your period today?”

“What’s it to you?”

Wenwen tore open the ice cream wrapper, and handed the first sweet, creamy bite to her lips. “Want some?”

“You’re really offering me the first bite?”

“Oh, if you hadn’t said anything, I would’ve forgotten.”

Wenwen bought the most common kind of ice cream—the kind they used to pool their money to buy as kids when they didn’t have much allowance.

So many years had passed, and the taste hadn’t changed a bit.

“Here! For you!”

“Then why didn’t you just buy me one?”

“To save money! Aren’t you a girl too?”

The ice cream she’d taken a bite out of now had a missing chunk. Shen Xiyan leaned in and, with a loud “chomp,” took a huge bite out of the spot where she’d bitten.

Secret Ultimate Move: One Bite, One Pig’s Head!!!

Wenwen stared at her ice cream, now missing a chunk after only one bite, and then at her “huff huff” brother, frozen silly by the cold. She looked utterly aggrieved. “Why’d you have to take such a big bite?!”

“Because I’m shameless!”

“Shen Xiyan!”

Shen Xiyan reached out and scraped a finger along her lips—they were soft and tender, and he accidentally got a little cream on his finger, which he then licked off right in front of her, smacking his lips.

“I’ll treat you in a few days. For now, don’t eat so many cold things. Every time you’re in pain, I have to take care of you—if you’re not sick of it, I am.”

“Auntie’s not here, so it’s your duty to take care of me!”

After saying that, Wenwen stomped hard on Shen Xiyan’s toes and stormed off in a huff.

But as she turned away, the corners of her mouth curled up in a little smile.

“Idiot brother!”