12 years later.
A middle-aged woman’s voice rang out in Tang residence’s living room.
“Yuanyuan, are you ready yet? Why are you taking so long to get changed? Please don’t tell me that you’re snacking again!”
“U-Uh, I’m not! I’m almost ready!”
Mrs. Tang couldn’t help but roll her eyes when she heard Tang Yuanyuan. She couldn’t believe that Tang Yuanyuan was secretly snacking again when she said she was going to change.
A moment later, Tang Yuanyuan’s figure finally appeared upstairs as she dashed down the stairs carrying a small backpack. There were biscuit crumbs on the left corner of her lips and a dash of cream on the right corner of her lips.
“Mom!”
Mrs. Tang shook her head helplessly when she saw Tang Yuanyuan. This gluttonous girl didn’t even bother to wipe her mouth clean.
“Did you snack secretly?”
When Tang Yuanyuan stood in front of Mrs. Tang, the latter asked again, “Did you eat anything secretly?”
“Of course not, Mommy. Why would I snack secretly?”
Right when she finished, Mrs. Tang reached out to pick on the biscuit crumbs on the left corner of Tang Yuanyuan’s lips. “What is this?”
Tang Yuanyuan looked around awkwardly when she saw the biscuit crumbs before she grinned and explained, “Fine. I just ate a tiny piece of biscuit, Mommy.”
“What about this?”
Mrs. Tang wiped the cream on Tang Yunayuan’s right cheek off.
Tang Yuanyuan pursed her lips before she bit her lower lip and apologized, “I’m sorry, Mommy! I was too greedy. I will pay attention next time!”
“Alright. You’ve already eaten them anyway.” Mrs. Tang cleaned the cream stain off her daughter’s face before tidying her hair. “You’re already 16 years old now; why can’t you still control your appetite? Look at those girls who are tall and slender. Don’t you want to be like them?”
“Um.” Tang Yuanyuan lowered her head and glanced at her own body. Then, she blinked and quipped, “But I can’t resist the temptation of food! To me, food is way more important.”
“You won’t think this way when you meet someone that you like in the future. Luckily, my daughter is a natural beauty. You still look adorable even though you’re chubby!”
Then, Mrs. Tang pinched Tang Yuanyuan’s cheeks. “Alright, I’ve already placed all of your luggage in the car. Mr. Zhang will be fetching you to school.”
Tang Yuanyuan suddenly thought of something. “By the way, did Yishu call me?”
“He did. Yishu said that he would come over to help you unpack later. That’s why I asked you not to be late. He’s actually taking his time out to help you, so stop troubling him.”
“It’s Yishu though! How could it be troubling?”
“Although he’s basically like an older brother to you, he is not actually your older brother, am I right? Yishu can only be counted as your childhood playmate because he grew up together with you. If you continue troubling him, what if his girlfriend gets angry at you?”
Tang Yuanyuan tilted and thought about it when she heard the word ‘girlfriend’. “Nah, Yishu doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
“Well, he’s going to have one sooner or later. Yishu is already a sophomore now, and you’re just in your first year of high school.”
“Um, let’s talk about it after he gets a girlfriend.”
Mr. Zhang sent Tang Yuanyuan to school after that.
On the way to school, Tang Yuanyuan took her phone and sent Yuchi Yishu a text.
‘Yishu, are you at school now?’
On the other side, Yuchi Yishu was on a call with his mother, Han Muzi. He wore a black baseball uniform as he waited next to the bus stop sign. The 20-year-old Yuchi Yushi was tall and lean; his facial features were sharp as he had already lost his childlike features a long time ago.
“Yes, I’m going over right now. Don’t be worried. I’ll only leave after I help Yuanyuan to unpack.”
“Do not bully her.”
“Pfft.” Yuchi Yishu chuckled lightly. His voice was raspy. “How is that possible? I’ve spoilt her since she was young until now. Why would I bully her? Alright. The bus is here, so I’m hanging up now.”
Then, Yuchi Yishu kept his phone as the gentleness in his eyes faded away.
There was another boy of a similar age and height standing next to him. The boy had a sunny disposition as canines peaked out when he grinned before he slung his arm onto Yuchi Yishu’s shoulder.
“Aunty Han really spoilt that little girl too much to the point that she had to call you to remind you again.”
Zhong Chufeng was Yuchi Yishu’s classmate. The two of them were very close because of an incident that happened when they first met back in the days.
Back then, Yuchi Yishu, who passed by coincidentally, saved Zhong Chufeng from an accident and became his lifesaver. Not knowing how to repay Yuchi Yishu, Zhong Chufeng could only stick together with Yuchi Yishu before they became best buddies.
“We should look after her since she’s still a little girl after all,” Yuchi Yishu’s face was emotionless as he commented nonchalantly.
“Hey, how is she a little girl? She’s already 16 years old now. Please don’t tell me that she’s still as chubby as she was before! I do have to say that Yuanyuan looks really cute despite her greedy habit.”
Before Zhong Chufeng could finish, he could feel Yuchi Yishu’s cold glare landing on him as he turned to him and stopped talking when he noticed that his best buddy looked upset.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Yishu! I shouldn’t call Yuanyuan chubby! She’s cute!”
Yuchi Yishu warned coldly, “Do not mention that word in front of her anymore. She had already grown up now.”
“Of course. How could I ignore your instruction?”
The public bus came shortly after as the two young men with tall and slender built entered the bus and immediately attracted the attention of many of the girls in the bus.
“They look so hot!”
“What school are those two guys from? Look at the one next to the window! He’s so handsome!”
Many of the people on the bus were students as school started today. All of them couldn’t help but want to take their phones and snap a few pictures of Yuchi Yishu and Zhong Chufeng when they saw them.
Yuchi Yishu frowned in the direction of the girls with their phones when he noticed what they were trying to do.
Zhong Chufeng grinned as he approached them. “Hello, girls. Although we look handsome, you can’t just simply snap pictures of us, okay?”
The girls immediately blushed and kept their phones when they heard what Zhong Chufeng said.
“We are sorry, senior. We won’t do it again.”
“That’s right.”
After making sure that those girls wouldn’t snap pictures of them anymore, Zhong Chufeng went back to Yuchi Yishu’s side and shook his head. “We’d garner so much attention every time I go out with you. Why don’t you just be an idol with that face of yours? Why would you want to go to the police academy?”
Then, Zhong Chufeng continued before Yuchi Yishu could say anything, “Sigh, I would have signed up to be an idol if I had your looks. Do you know that the society now is completely different from how it was last time? If you’re good looking, you can gain fans anywhere you go.”
“Are you done yet?” Yuchi Yishu gave him a look. “Why do you talk so much every day?”
“You’d listen to them willingly either way, though. Am I right?”
Ping!
Yuchi Yishu’s phone rang, indicating a new notification.
Zhong Chufeng became excited immediately. “Quick, Yuanyuan must have sent you a text! Open it and see what she said!”
“Is that any of your business?”
“Of course it is!”
Zhong Chufeng looked more excited than usual. “I’ve watched that little girl from the Tang family grow up as well!”
