Naughty little brother, you can't escape from me~

At the same time, the man was also sizing up Su Bai, muttering to himself.

What’s this kid’s deal?

Of course, he could tell Su Bai carried an air of nobility, but the thing was, "family background" was practically a baseline requirement among Xia Lin’s suitors—hardly an advantage at this point.

Anyone without serious wealth wouldn’t dare set their sights on Xia Lin.

Sure, some sheltered rich girls, raised as delicate flowers in a greenhouse, might occasionally fall for a street-smart guy, but Xia Lin wasn’t like that. She had brains.

And financial status alone couldn’t explain Su Bai’s infuriatingly calm, smug, and sarcastic yet oddly polite way of speaking. Ugh, so aggravating!

And yet, there was no good way to clap back.

"Oh, by the way, uncle, do you still have business here? If so, I can relay it to Sister Lin for you. If not, you should probably head back. She specifically invited me out today and doesn’t like unrelated people hanging around."

"I’m not some ‘unrelated person’!" The man’s expression twisted between irritation and amusement. "I’m a potential match introduced to Xia Lin by her family. I’m currently an assistant researcher at the School of Life Sciences at our university—part of Academician Hu’s research group, actually..."

As the man rambled on about his credentials, Xia Lin returned with a tray of spicy hot pot.

She paused briefly at the scene, then sighed with a wry smile.

Great, the sticky nuisance is back…

Officially, he was a suitor arranged by her family, but truthfully, Xia Lin’s parents weren’t particularly fond of him. How to put it?

Her family had always respected her opinions. If she wasn’t interested, they wouldn’t force anything.

In that regard, Xia Lin enjoyed far more freedom and leniency than Yangyang.

The problem was, this guy’s family had some influence in Shanghai. Since he’d expressed interest, Xia Lin figured she’d humor him with polite, formulaic socializing.

Pure courtesy, nothing more.

But now that this courtesy had dragged Su Bai into the mix, Xia Lin suddenly felt uneasy. Her first thought was: Will Su Bai find this annoying? Will he be upset?

A second later, she dismissed the worry. Su Bai was too mature to get flustered or irritated over something like this.

She was just overthinking because she liked him so much.

When a girl truly likes someone, the mental gymnastics she performs to gauge his mood far surpass the effort spent cracking exam problems.

Still, after a quick glance at Su Bai’s expression, Xia Lin relaxed.

He was handling it effortlessly—even toying with the guy.

Meanwhile, the man beside him looked utterly deflated.

"Bai Feili, what a coincidence! You’re here for morning exercise too? How’s your father doing these days?"

Xia Lin cheerfully took a seat across from Su Bai, making small talk.

Bai Feili—the (self-proclaimed) rising-star assistant researcher—stiffened, his smile strained.

"Xia Lin, why haven’t you replied to my messages? I was planning to invite you hiking over the break, but it seems you didn’t see them."

"Oh, really? Thanks, but I’m not interested. I’ve already made plans to work out with Su Bai here."

"..."

Damn.

"Su Bai" and "little brother"? So intimate.

Bai Feili burned with jealousy. Xia Lin was the dream wife for countless young elites in Shanghai—the optimal marriage candidate. (Of course, "optimal" included calculations about her family’s status.)

All these years, no one had ever seen her get close to any guy.

So Bai Feili had assumed that sharing a workplace at Jiangcheng University gave him an unbeatable advantage—strike while the iron’s hot, right?

Yet in reality, Xia Lin remained as aloof and distant as ever.

Meanwhile, this so-called "little brother" who’d appeared out of nowhere…

"Uh, so… you’re a first-year grad student?" Bai Feili had meant to ask which year of his PhD he was in, but on second thought, Su Bai didn’t look the part. Most PhD students weren’t this good-looking.

"I’m a freshman."

"...Huh?"

"That’s why she calls me ‘little brother.’ If I were her age, I’d be the ‘big brother.’"

"Stop being cheeky. Here, try this crab stick—the spicy hot pot stall uses legit ones, and the sauce is just right."

Xia Lin picked up a crab stick with her own chopsticks and placed it in Su Bai’s bowl.

A simple, casual gesture—yet Bai Feili’s eyes nearly bulged out.

Forget the envy-inducing fact that Xia Lin was feeding Su Bai like it was nothing…

"Why are you two sharing one serving of spicy hot pot?!"

"Is that weird? It’s just easier than ordering separately. We’re both on a fitness diet anyway, so we got a big portion to share." Xia Lin tilted her head, radiating unshakable confidence.

You could tell someone had been doted on since childhood by how brazenly they could lie without blinking.

Those who grew up starved for affection would falter even when they were right.

Xia Lin, on the other hand, looked utterly convinced that she and Su Bai were nothing more than platonic "siblings."

Totally normal!

What she actually thought was another matter entirely.

Sharing a meal like this with Su Bai gave her the giddy thrill of college sweethearts being all lovey-dovey. Back in her undergrad days, she’d never dated—how could she? Su Bai was so much younger. She hadn’t even met him back then, and even if she had, it wouldn’t have mattered.

So now, she was low-key making up for lost time, chasing that youthful romance vibe.

And, admittedly, the subtle excitement of this charade thrilled her. Deep down, Director Xia was kind of a gremlin—probably the result of repressed desires.

But faced with Bai Feili, she wore an expression of pure innocence.

Bai Feili was at a loss.

"I… you… Ugh, whatever."

"Little brother, eat up~"

"...I’ll leave you to it."

Watching Xia Lin about to hand-feed Su Bai again, Bai Feili couldn’t take it. Face dark, he stood and stormed off.

"Sis, you’re so mean. He finally worked up the courage to confront you, and you obliterated him in one move."

"Not my fault. I only entertained him out of respect for his family. I’ve been subtly rejecting him, but he just won’t take the hint. That’s just poor manners."

"Fair."

"Anyway, I’m not into any of the matches my family sets up. My stance is simple: no dating or marriage for the next four years."

"Why four?"

"Because I’ll be busy taking care of you, you little rascal~"

"..."

Under Xia Lin’s tender gaze, Su Bai squirmed. "Sis, uh… that’s moving a bit fast, don’t you think? I mean—"

"Not at all. I’m an excellent judge of character. Now that I’ve set my sights on you, there’s no escape~"