Autumn

"That's how it is—picked up a little sister. I'll introduce her to you guys when I have the chance~~~"

"Goodnight, Shuangshuang~~~"

"Wait, wait, what do you mean you picked up a little sister? And she’s from Yinshan Academy?!"

Late at night, Ye Shuang, sitting on the sofa in his apartment, grew increasingly puzzled as he listened to the phone call—his friend Aunt Li had suddenly called to say she’d picked up a young girl, even going so far as to adopt her as her goddaughter.

He spoke seriously, "Aunt Li, those businesses of yours… you’re not actually planning to have that girl learn the ropes, are you?"

"Ohohohoho, how rude~ I’ve always run legitimate businesses, you know." Aunt Li giggled on the other end of the line.

"Your security company, bathhouse, construction projects… only the hair salon seems halfway normal." Ye Shuang pinched the bridge of his nose, as if nursing a headache.

"Won’t her parents object?"

"I am her parents now."

"……" Ye Shuang sighed. "That girl…"

"I like her earnestness. I plan to observe her for a while, and if there are no issues, I’m thinking of grooming her as my successor." Aunt Li’s voice carried a hint of mischief.

"You know how it is—I can’t have kids of my own. What else am I supposed to do with all these businesses in the future?~~~"

Hearing this, Ye Shuang realized further questions were pointless. He merely added offhandedly, "What’s the girl’s name?"

"That’s a secret~ I’ll introduce you later."

"Goodnight~~~"

With that, Aunt Li hung up.

Ye Shuang: "……"

"Was that Aunt Li?" A soft voice came from beside him. Bai Yuyou, hugging her guitar, glanced over curiously.

"Yeah, that woman…" Ye Shuang thought for a moment, then chuckled.

"Never mind. Let’s practice a different type of song today, alright?"

"Mm… Ye Shuang, I want to sit on your lap while practicing."

"……"

……

The school sports festival ended without incident, and the closing ceremony soon arrived.

Having learned from their previous mistakes, this time their performance went flawlessly—even earning first place among music clubs, instantly putting the Light Music Club on the map. Strangely, though, Zhixia and the others refused to recruit new members.

As she put it—

"Our little group is enough."

Incidentally, thanks to An Shiyu’s presence in the club, the school allocated them funding comparable to clubs with dozens of members—even though the girl spent most of her time snacking on chips, wearing headphones, and binge-watching dramas in the clubroom. Zhixia and the others didn’t mind in the slightest.

Who wouldn’t love a lucky charm? Or in this case, a lucky fish.

Late October.

Perhaps due to the arrival of autumn, the air carried a slight chill.

The girls’ uniforms had shifted from short sleeves to long, and their stockings were replaced with thicker, warmer tights—though anyone living in Haizhu City knew the weather could swing back to 20 or 30 degrees Celsius at any moment.

"Can you hear me…?"

"Hello—?"

"Peach—!"

After school at Yinshan Academy, Peach, lost in thought, slowly snapped back to reality when she noticed the girl with the oversized backpack waving a hand in front of her face.

"What’s up, Keke?" Peach smiled faintly.

"Want to hit the dessert shop later?" Keke grinned.

Peach hesitated. "I… have a part-time job today."

"Come to think of it, you’ve been working a lot lately. Is the library job really that busy?" Keke tilted her head. "Skipping one day won’t hurt, right? Hang out with us."

Beside Keke, the long-haired girl nodded silently and pulled out a flyer—

[Giant Nine-Layer Ice Cream—Group of 3 for Half Price! Only 66 yuan!]

"See? Even Yuyou wants to go," Keke pressed.

"Sorry." Peach paused, then added, "How about this Saturday?"

"Sure! Then go do your thing." Keke smiled. "It’s a promise, okay?"

Peach’s smile brightened. "Yeah!"

"I’ll head off first."

"Bye~"

After Peach left, Keke watched her retreating figure before turning to Bai Yuyou. "Hey, Yuyou…"

"Mm?"

"Does Peach seem… different lately? Like she’s changed somehow."

Bai Yuyou thought for a moment. "She eats more now."

"Is that all you noticed…?"

"Mm."

"I feel like she’s matured a lot," Keke mused. "Is this what they mean by ‘people change after getting into university’?"

"I’m hungry."

"Listen to me properly, Yuyou!"

……

Peach waited at the bus stop.

Ding— Her phone chimed.

Pulling out her latest-model iPhone, she saw a voice message from Aunt Li.

Mother: Sweetie~ Don’t forget to come by after work tonight!~~~

Peach tapped out a reply: Got it.

Mother: So cold! From now on, add a heart to every message!

Peach: Got it ❤

Just then, the bus arrived. After scanning her pass, Peach took a seat.

Her reflection flickered in the window. It had been a while since that day—she’d grown accustomed to her new life. Or rather, Peach had adapted frighteningly fast.

Even Aunt Li had been surprised.

Peach didn’t know if she’d made the right choice, but there was no turning back now. And she didn’t want to return to her old life.

After getting off the bus, she walked into an alley.

"Hmm, it’s getting colder…" Peach murmured. "Maybe I should buy some clothes for the girls…"

Sigh.

She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. The lighter flickered, and after a single drag, she crushed the cigarette underfoot.

When she pushed open the bar’s door, the sound of an argument spilled out.

Inside, a drunkard was shouting, demanding money from the girl with the green ponytail.

"Ah, Peach! You’re here." Little Lv, visibly annoyed, brightened at the sight of her.

"Where are those idiots?" Peach strode in, barely sparing the drunk a glance.

"Out running errands."

"Tch… slacking off together." Peach massaged her temples. The drunk’s yelling grated on her nerves—so she grabbed a beer bottle from the floor and smashed it over his head.

CRACK! Glass shattered, followed by a howl of pain.

"Have those morons clean this up when they get back." Peach glanced at the man writhing on the ground, then turned and walked into the back room without another word.

"Sure thing~"