When Xiaoman isn't being silly, she's actually quite clever.

"Ximan..."

Gu Luo wore a complicated expression, hesitating as if he wanted to say something but held back.

Should he take Gu Ximan to get her IQ tested?

Of course, that was just a joke.

After all, when she wasn’t acting silly, Ximan was actually quite sharp.

"No... I... Ugh!" Seeing the look of pity in Gu Luo’s eyes, Gu Ximan immediately flew into a rage. She smacked the bed hard and shouted, "Stupid big bro, what’s with that attitude?!"

???

Here we go again, classic Ximan.

After self-destructing, she immediately pivoted 360 degrees to make it about his "attitude."

Gu Luo’s expression grew even more complicated. After a moment of hesitation, he couldn’t help but ask, "Did Shu He teach you that line?"

"No! Absolutely not!" The moment Shu He’s name was mentioned, Gu Ximan exploded like a firecracker, her anger flaring even hotter. She smacked the bed again, harder this time.

After apologizing to Shu He following their last argument, she had carefully replayed the whole thing in her head.

And she realized—something was off. Very off.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Shu He had completely outplayed her.

But how could she admit something so embarrassing?

She’d have to get her revenge someday.

Seeing Gu Ximan’s furious reaction, Gu Luo had already pieced most of it together in his mind.

That blunt way of speaking was textbook Shu He, the little devil.

Combined with Ximan’s current tantrum…

Most likely, the little tsundere had been quietly dominated by the little devil behind the scenes.

Not that it was surprising.

If this were a game, Shu He would be the top-tier Grandmaster, while Gu Ximan, the little tsundere, would barely be scraping the bottom as a Bronze player.

The two weren’t even on the same level.

As far as he could tell, the only one who could rival the little devil was Shu Ning, the little angel.

Gu Ximan, still fuming, pressed on, "Stupid big bro, who were you thinking about just now?! Who’s that woman?!"

Hearing this, Gu Luo opened his mouth but didn’t know how to respond.

The irony was, this silly girl had actually stumbled onto the truth by accident.

It was like getting randomly headshotted by the worst player in the game.

Hard to describe the feeling.

Also, to an outsider, this whole scene probably looked like she was interrogating him about an affair.

If he admitted he had been thinking about her, she’d never believe him anyway.

Better to stick to his guns.

Gu Luo scrambled for an excuse. "I was just... uh... suddenly feeling a little embarrassed..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gu Ximan’s curiosity was piqued.

"Well, think about it, Ximan. The last time we slept together was back in elementary school. Now, with a super-duper, universe-level beauty like you right next to me, of course I’d feel a little awkward... haha..." Gu Luo lied without batting an eye.

Embarrassed around Gu Ximan?

Impossible.

He’d literally wiped her butt when she was a baby.

There was no such thing as "awkwardness" between them.

Hearing this answer, Gu Ximan’s face still showed skepticism, but her heart swelled with joy, as if she’d just eaten honey.

Did this mean her stupid big bro was finally starting to see her as a grown woman, not just a kid?

The thought made her grin uncontrollably, a silly smile spreading across her face.

Seeing this, Gu Luo sighed in relief.

Yep, his little airhead was still easy to placate.

Though he had no idea what she was giggling about.

After laughing to herself for a while, Gu Ximan suddenly mumbled under her breath, "I thought you were thinking about Xuexue..."

"Huh? Who?"

Gu Luo had been puzzling over her weird reaction when he caught that whisper. He didn’t quite catch the name, only a faint "Xue."

Xue?

Lu Xuexue?

Why would Ximan suddenly bring her up now?

"Ah, I didn’t say anything!" Gu Ximan panicked, realizing she’d slipped up.

Right now, the last thing she wanted was for Lu Xuexue and her stupid big bro to get tangled up.

And she definitely didn’t dare confront Xuexue about it.

She was terrified her best friend would ask her to play wingman.

If it came to that, she’d be the ultimate clown—stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Help? She’d feel awful.

Don’t help? She’d feel guilty toward her friend.

Whatever. There was still time.

After turning it over in her head, Gu Ximan decided to keep watching from the shadows. She absolutely wouldn’t be the one to bring it up.

The thought made her inexplicably gloomy.

She treated Xuexue like a sister, and yet Xuexue wanted to be her sister-in-law?

She didn’t even know how to face Xuexue anymore.

Deciding to take out her frustration on Gu Luo, she barked, "Stupid big bro, come here."

"What now?"

The second he sat down, Gu Ximan yanked his ear.

"Ow! Easy! This is domestic abuse!"

"Hmph."

Gu Ximan pouted, her tsundere pride on full display.

Still holding his ear, she grabbed her phone with her other hand and snapped a photo of his pitiful expression.

Then, grinning, she posted it in her fan group.

Thanks to being Gu Luo’s little sister, she was now a mod there.

[Gu Ximan: [Photo] (dog emoji.jpg)]

The moment the photo went up, the previously calm group exploded like a bomb had been dropped.

............

............