Otherwise, Shen Nian really thinks he's a pushover

July's summer wasn't much cooler than June's.

Shen Nian carried his suitcase, squinting at the glaring sun overhead, regretting not putting on some sunscreen or something.

Today was the day of their trip.

Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun took an unlicensed cab from the town to get to the town entrance, ten yuan per person.

It wasn't really a "black cab" anymore, just a habit of calling it that. In the past, they were unlicensed and unregistered, skipped vehicle inspections, and packed a van full of kids from outer villages coming to town for school. Fitting over a dozen kids into one minivan was normal, but very dangerous.

Now things were standardized. At the very least, the vehicles were inspected, and the drivers had licenses, though they still often overloaded.

There were still many, many areas in the town that needed development.

Catching a ride at the town entrance was convenient. You could hop on passing buses and taxis, getting off once you reached Cinan City.

By the time they reached the residential complex, it was already 11:00 AM.

After a three-hour drive and waking up early, hunger struck early too. Shen Nian needed to eat immediately.

"I'm hungry." Shen Nian reached out and patted Xia Yanchun's flat stomach.

"Why are you touching my stomach if you're hungry?"

"Just keeping the feel of it."

"..." Xia Yanchun instantly slapped his hand away.

The breakfast stalls in the complex hadn't closed yet. Shen Nian bought some food to fill his stomach and packed an extra portion of soup dumplings to take upstairs for Shen Yue.

Having not been back here for a long time, Shen Nian felt a bit nostalgic.

Xia Yanchun went next door, while he entered his own home.

Though the house was a bit messy, thankfully it wasn't dirty. Shen Yue was already up, frantically packing clothes in her room. Her messy hair made it obvious she had just woken up.

"We're all waiting for you. It's your fault we missed a bus," Shen Nian said deadpan.

"Don't start selling indulgences right off the bat, okay? It's not even the agreed time yet!"

"Damn, you're right." Shen Nian grinned, showing his teeth. "I brought you some soup dumplings, put them on the coffee table. How many days off did you take?"

"Three days, today is the first!"

"Go today, play tomorrow, return the day after. Doesn't that mean we only get to play for one day?"

"Can't help it, I have to work."

"So miserable. Oh right, how did you know my top-scorer scholarship was 400,000 yuan?"

"I know! Mom told me everything!"

"It's fine, I'll say it again just to consolidate your memory."

Shen Yue almost coughed up blood.

God damn it.

Who could understand the feeling of having worked for two years and still having less savings than her younger brother who hadn't even started college yet?

Graduated from a top university, working at a state-owned enterprise, yet why did she feel so weak in front of Shen Nian?

She was trembling with anger. If she had known this would happen, she would have taken the opportunity to kick Shen Nian a couple of times when he fell down as a kid before helping him up.

"All that money and you don't even share some with me. Hurry up and pay back the money I gave you for your monthly gaming passes back then!"

"Stop making a fuss, I'll give you 50,000."

"Really?"

"Really. I already gave Mom and Dad 150,000, how could I leave out my dearest sister?"

"Yay!" Shen Yue and Xia Yanchun said in unison.

"?" Shen Nian turned his head to look at Xia Yanchun. "Are you a ghost? Do you not make any sound when you walk?"

Even with my Agility +5, I couldn't hear you. You totally stealth-walked over here, didn't you?

"Hehe, just quietly came over to check on you guys." Xia Yanchun's eyes curved into a smile as she held out her soft, white palm. "Where's my 50,000?"

"I never said I was giving you any."

"Wasn't it for your dearest sister?"

"...Awkward much?" Shen Nian's mouth twitched.

Naturally, he only transferred the money to Shen Yue.

Haji-Chun was pretty thick-skinned. She had 400,000 herself and still asked him for 50,000. Completely shameless.

Upon receiving the transfer, Shen Yue was so happy she could fly. Her packing speed increased, zipping up the suitcase in a flash, and quickly fixing her hair at lightspeed. Everything was ready.

"Sister Shen Yue, did you bring your swimsuit?"

"Brought it, brought it."

"Then let's go quickly, my classmate is almost at the high-speed rail station." Xia Yanchun picked up her suitcase.

"Let's go."

The three of them set out in grand fashion.

Caught a cab in grand fashion.

And arrived at the high-speed rail station in grand fashion.

The holiday rush for freshmen and sophomores in high school had already passed. At this time, the high-speed rail station wouldn't be too crowded.

Xia Yanchun immediately spotted Li Shiyan, who was sitting obediently drinking sweet soup at the dessert shop, and ran right over. "Shiyan!"

"Wow, you guys are here!"

"Hehe, didn't wait too long, did you?"

"I just got here too. Do you want some sweet soup? My treat!"

"I'll pass. Do you two want some?" Xia Yanchun called out to the two behind her.

"Yes, get me the most expensive one." Shen Nian was completely unapologetic.

"Um... I'll just have a bowl of sophora flower jelly."

Li Shiyan nodded and asked the boss to pack two more portions.

Li Shiyan and Xia Yanchun hadn't seen each other for a while. As soon as they met, they had endless things to talk about, chattering away continuously.

A little skirt, a white shirt—Li Shiyan was dressed beautifully today. Xia Yanchun was in her everyday short sleeves and long pants. Shen Yue dressed similarly to Xia Yanchun, just missing the small crossbody bag at her waist.

The three of them formed a beautiful sight to behold.

Shen Nian acknowledged this, but he felt it was worth mentioning that, aside from these three girls, there was also a peerlessly handsome guy among the four of them—though he wouldn't say who it was.

Chattering away, they entered the station. They hadn't sat for long before ticket checking began.

The train tickets had been bought well in advance, and they had very smoothly managed to grab two pairs of adjacent seats.

According to the order the tickets were bought, Xia Yanchun was supposed to sit with Li Shiyan.

Li Shiyan happily followed behind Xia Yanchun, but before she could even sit down, Shen Nian poked her shoulder.

"My sister said she wants to talk to you. Let's swap seats."

"Ah, oh..."

Li Shiyan pouted slightly, then trotted over to Shen Yue's side with a little bounce in her step.

It wasn't that she didn't want to spend time with Shen Yue, but she had only met Shen Yue exactly twice in total. Hanging out with her still felt a little awkward. When they chatted later, she wouldn't even know what to talk about!

That despicable Shen Nian! He definitely just wanted to sit next to Xiaochun and made up an excuse to switch seats with her!

Li Shiyan held grudges the most. She was going to keep an eye out to see if Shen Nian would secretly hold Xiaochun's hand later. The moment she caught him, she would cough twice to scare him. Otherwise, Shen Nian would really treat her like a pushover!

"Hiya," Shen Yue waved at Li Shiyan.

"Hello..."

"You called me 'sister' last time, why aren't you calling me that now?"

"Sister Shen Yue..." Li Shiyan blinked and obediently sat down. She rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a piece of chocolate. "Do you want some, Sister Shen Yue?"

"Hehe, thanks. How old are you this year?"

"Eighteen too. Do you want more, Sister Shen Yue? I have more here." Li Shiyan placed a large handful of individually wrapped chocolates on the tray table.

Shen Yue couldn't be more pleased looking at her. She felt this girl was awfully cute; if she bullied her, she'd probably cry for a long time.

But she wasn't some wicked, bad woman. Why would she bully Xiaochun's classmate?

"Hey, are you Xiaochun's deskmate?"

"Mhm."

"Then do you know when those two got together?" Shen Yue asked in a hushed voice.

If they wouldn't tell her when asked to their faces, couldn't she just secretly ask around?

Whenever the topic of Shen Nian and Xiao Chun came up, Li Shiyan's big eyes lit up. "I don't know exactly when it started, but let me tell you, they are so lovey-dovey at school. They do this and that, blah blah blah..."

"Really? They kept that pretty well hidden!"

"I know, right? And get this..."

Li Shiyan figured that sitting over here actually wasn't a bad idea at all.

She was so engrossed in her gossip that she completely failed to notice what was happening in the seat right next to her: Shen Nian was holding Xia Yanchun's hand, gently rubbing and squeezing it.