No Tardiness for You

Although the shop was quite busy, Taozi still refused Ye Shuang's help—after all, her younger sisters were all here, so there was definitely no shortage of hands. In the end, Taozi even gave Bai Yuyou and the others a bag of sunflower seeds.

"Taozi works so hard," Tang Keke couldn't help but sigh. Moreover, it seemed Taozi had given them a half-price discount on everything Ye Shuang just bought. She was a truly genuine person. And this was only because Ye Shuang insisted on paying; otherwise, Taozi fully intended to give them the food for free.

"Alright, let's go stroll over there." Seeing that Taozi didn't want their help, Ye Shuang and the others didn't want to block the way and hinder her business. After speaking to the girls beside him, Ye Shuang and his group left the stall.

"Sis, is that uncle the one we met last time?" one of the younger sisters asked Taozi.

"Yes, that's Big Brother Ye. Next time you see him, don't call him uncle, understand?" Taozi instructed her sister. "He's our mother's good bro, and a good person who helped me."

"Mother's good bro? If we call him big brother, doesn't that mess up the generations?" another little girl asked.

Taozi: "..."

It's fine, everyone just calls him whatever they want. I do the same.

...

This area was full of food stalls. Ye Shuang took Bai Yuyou around for a while longer and bought some snacks for her stash. After all, Bai Yuyou's little treasure trove of snacks always depleted quickly, so they needed to stock up a bit. Otherwise, the girl would always complain that her little stash was empty.

"Hmm..." Ye Shuang's gaze swept around, seemingly searching for a specific target among the bustling crowds.

Noticing Ye Shuang's expression, Bai Yuyou stood beside him and asked,

"What are you looking at, Ye Shuang?"

"Well... the novel said that An Shiyu is omnipresent, always spawning right next to me..." Ye Shuang muttered. Then, hearing Bai Yuyou's voice, he turned his head and chuckled.

"It's nothing, I'm just looking around."

After wandering around outside for a bit, Ye Shuang took the two girls out for a meal before heading home.

"Meow." As soon as the door opened, Yi Wan jumped down from the cat tree, stretched lazily, and trotted over happily.

Ye Shuang changed his shoes, walked over to the cat tree, and examined it carefully.

"Meow?" Yi Wan looked up, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

Such a big house, and you can't even spare this little spot for me?!

Then, Yi Wan walked away from Ye Shuang and started looking for Chen Qin, as if searching for a savior.

But Ye Shuang just took a look and then carried the flower pots upstairs.

"Yuyou, is your brother planning to put those flowers on the second floor?"

"Yeah, on the balcony," Bai Yuyou replied, then followed Ye Shuang upstairs.

...

"Setting up a little garden here wouldn't be a bad idea." Looking at the spacious rooftop, Ye Shuang pinched his chin in thought. Since he had some time off right now, he might as well plant some flowers and plants.

Maybe grow some vegetables too?

Just as Ye Shuang was pondering this, Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke arrived on the rooftop and noticed him spacing out.

"Ye Shuang, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking of creating a little garden here, and maybe growing some vegetables and stuff," Ye Shuang said with a smile.

"Growing vegetables..." Bai Yuyou looked at the empty space, seemingly not understanding why Ye Shuang wanted to grow vegetables. Wasn't it convenient enough to buy them downstairs?

"Food is the most important thing for the people," Ye Shuang said. "It's a very crucial matter. If it weren't for the dedication of many great scientists, there would probably still be a lot of people going hungry today. Besides, don't you think it's nice to have a little spot to grow things?"

Bai Yuyou didn't quite grasp the concept of food being the most important thing, but she understood going hungry, so she nodded.

"I'm very good at farming," Tang Keke chimed in from the side.

"Oh?" Ye Shuang was a bit surprised that Tang Keke would say that.

"I grow vegetables all the time in Stardew Valley." Before Tang Keke could finish, Ye Shuang lightly chopped her on the head with the side of his hand.

"Don't bring up your cyber farming."

Ye Shuang took out his phone and ordered a batch of potted seeds and soil online. After doing all this, he put his phone down and continued tending to Bai Yuyou's money tree and other potted plants.

"Actually, watching these plants slowly grow up is quite an interesting thing," Ye Shuang said, holding out a finger. "For some plants, a seed the size of a finger can grow into a tree over ten meters tall."

"Ye Shuang."

"Hmm?"

"I'm like a plant too," Bai Yuyou said. "Raised and grown by Ye Shuang."

Ye Shuang froze for a few seconds, then chuckled at her phrasing. "Maybe so."

But the next second, he found Bai Yuyou hugging him.

"What's wrong?"

"I am now a vine, currently growing." Saying this, Bai Yuyou leaned against Ye Shuang and even tried to climb him a little. If it weren't for the fact that Bai Yuyou's figure wasn't exactly petite, she might have actually tried to hang off him.

"There's no vine as cute as you, though."

After staying on the rooftop for a while, Ye Shuang and the others went back inside.

Tang Keke was, as always, lounging on the sofa cracking sunflower seeds, as if getting moldy from staying indoors could be cured simply by getting a bit of sun before returning to rot at home.

However, Ye Shuang didn't mind it too much. After all, everyone had the right to choose their own lifestyle, whether it was Keke or Bai Yuyou.

"Ding." At that moment, his phone vibrated.

Ye Shuang picked up his phone and glanced at it, surprised to find that it was a message from Alice. Ever since he was stood up last time, Ye Shuang hadn't heard from Alice for a while, and she hadn't even replied to the Spring Festival greeting he sent her over the New Year.

Alice: Are you free? Are you free? Are you free? Come out and carry bags for this lady.

Seeing this message, Ye Shuang let out a laugh. This little girl really wasn't polite at all.

Ye Shuang originally wanted to ask Bobo about the previous situation, but because something seemed to have happened on her end, it was temporarily postponed.

Seeing Alice's reply, Ye Shuang figured she had probably finished dealing with whatever it was.

Thinking of this, Ye Shuang tapped his fingers and sent a reply.

Ye Shuang: I'm free, on holiday right now.

Alice: Then come over tomorrow. Remember, you're not allowed to be late.

Alice sent an address along with the message. Seeing this, Ye Shuang thought for a moment and then asked a question.

Ye Shuang: Bobo should be coming along too, right?

Alice: ...

Alice: Am I not cute enough?

Ye Shuang: You're quite cute.

Alice: You're not allowed to have any ideas about Bobo, hmph!

Alice: grimace.jpg

Ye Shuang: "..."

Did this kid misunderstand something?