In the morning, the Xiao family sat together for breakfast.

At the long dining table, Madam Xiao and Master Xiao sat side by side at the head of the table.

On Madam Xiao’s left sat three beautiful women of varying ages, who were the family’s three concubines, while several young masters and misses were on Master Xiao’s right.

The Xiao family had two young masters and three young misses. The eldest young master was born of Madam Xiao, the second young master’s mother was the second concubine, and the three young misses were born of the third and fourth concubines.

Currently, the first seat on Master Xiao’s right was still empty, as Xiao Anlan had not come down for breakfast.

The youngest young miss, who was only four years old, looked like a little ball of pink, just slightly taller than the dining table. Sitting on her specially made chair, she held a spoon and took bites of the cake in front of her.

This cake was specially brought for her by Xiao Anlan last night. The little girl was eating and looked up to see who was in front of her, taking another bite and then looking again.

Seeing her adorable and silly appearance, Madam Xiao smiled before she even spoke, “Xiao Anqi, what are you looking at?”

Young miss Xiao Anqi opened her big eyes and asked, “Auntie, why isn’t gege here for breakfast? Is he still sleeping in?

Madam Xiao glanced at Xiao Anlan’s seat and laughed, “Isn’t that right? Your gege is quite the lazy one; Xiao Anqi, you must not learn from him.”

Xiao Anqi bit her spoon, looking quite distressed: “But Auntie, gege bought me a cake. He’s a good brother, so let’s not call him a lazy one. How about we call him a really good lazy one instead?”

“Ha!” Madam Xiao burst into laughter, hitting Master Xiao’s arm and playfully wiping away tears, “A really good lazy one! Hahaha… truly a big lazy one!”

Everyone else at the table laughed, while Master Xiao grinned through the pain.

Young Miss Xiao Anqi tilted her head in confusion, clearly not understanding what they were laughing about.

“Mother, your voice can be heard on the street,” Xiao Anlan’s helpless voice came from upstairs.

Everyone turned to look as Xiao Anlan, dressed in a suit and tie with a top hat in hand, stood on the stairs.

“Wow—gege, you look so handsome! Where are you going?!” Young Miss Xiao Anhui exclaimed.

Xiao Anlan walked down, “What do you mean ‘dressed up’? I wore this yesterday too.”

Xiao Anhui shook her head repeatedly, “It’s different! Your suit today is at least twice as expensive as yesterday’s, and the tie color is clearly chosen specially. The style of the top hat is also much more exquisite than yesterday’s. In short, you’ve put a lot of thought into today’s outfit!”

Just as Xiao Anlan was about to refute, Young Miss Xiao Anyan added lightly, “Ge came down twenty minutes later than yesterday.”

Young Miss Xiao Anhui chuckled, “You must have polished your shoes for a long time; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so shiny!”

Xiao Anlan opened his mouth, speechless, and could only shake his head and smile.

Second Young Master Xiao Anze glanced at him sympathetically.

The women in the household were too strong; when the eldest brother was away, he had been alone and could not handle everything by himself. Now that the eldest brother was shouldering much of the burden, he could finally take a break.

Xiao Anlan walked to the dining table and greeted everyone from Master Xiao down to Young Miss Anqi before pulling out a chair to sit down.

Servants brought out his breakfast: a cup of coffee, two sandwiches, and a large piece of steak with blood running out of it.

The breakfasts of the other family members varied; there were congee with pickles, soybean milk with fried dough, and cake with milk, each person eating their own without causing any fuss.

After breakfast, Master Xiao dived into his study, the second young master went out to work, and the concubines and misses went about their own business.

Madam Xiao called out to Xiao Anlan, “Are you going out?”

Xiao Anlan nodded, “Just going to the store to take a look.”

Madam Xiao shot him a sidelong glance, “Just going to the store?”

Xiao Anlan sighed, “Mother, if you have something to say, just say it.”

“It should be you who has something to say!” Madam Xiao responded, “I told you to think about it carefully last night. Have you thought it through? As you said, this is a big matter for a lifetime. If you really don’t want to, that’s fine; after all, there’s still Anze.”

Xiao Anlan stood still for a moment, looking her in the eyes seriously as he said, “I already made myself clear last night. As you said, the marriage between our family and the Yu family is settled. Since that’s the case, what should fall on my shoulders is my responsibility; why drag Anze into this?”

“Is it just because of this?” Madam Xiao stared at him, trying to read his expression. “Let me tell you honestly, if you absolutely cannot come to like Wanru, it would be better to match her with Anze now. Neither of them are the passionate type, but they can have a steady and enduring relationship.”

Xiao Anze turned his eyes away and muttered, “But I’m not passionate either…”

Upon hearing this, Madam Xiao understood what was on this boy’s mind. This contradictory nature of his, she didn’t know whom he took after.

She glared at her son and said, “Since you’ve changed your mind, think about how to apologize to the Yu family properly and make that girl change her mind. Don’t let it come to the point where you want to marry her, but she doesn’t want to marry you. Then I’ll have no way to help you.”

Xiao Anlan furrowed his brow, feeling troubled for a moment. He then glanced at his mother and asked tentatively, “Mother, when Father usually makes you angry, how do you forgive him?”

Madam Xiao scoffed, “Does your father dare to anger me? You think he has that kind of guts?”

That was true, and Xiao Anlan was at a loss for words.

Madam Xiao intentionally wanted him to suffer a bit, so she stood up, patting the hem of her cheongsam. “You figure it out yourself; I can’t go to the Yu family to speak for you.”

Xiao Anlan stepped out of the house.

The driver asked him, “Young master, are we going to Wanchang Restaurant?”

Xiao Anlan nodded.

There were not many cars like the Xiao family’s in Liucheng, maybe a handful, most of them rickshaws, with occasional electric cars and bicycles.

Nearby was a girls’ school, and many female students were walking in groups with books in hand.

As Xiao Anlan’s car drove past, many female students stepped aside, pointing and whispering to each other, laughing and giggling.

Xiao Anlan saw them but thought of another girl of similar age, one who was gentle and graceful.

He suddenly asked the driver, “Old Wang, what should I do if I need to apologize to a girl?”

Old Wang glanced at the youthful and vibrant female students outside and said, “For girls, you should definitely give them gifts.”

“What kind of gifts?” Xiao Anlan pressed for details.

“That depends on what they like.”

What does she like?

That posed another problem.

If it were his younger sisters, he could easily think of things to buy—a little dress for one, a bicycle for another, and a box of snacks for the smallest one, all sorted out.

But now, he had only exchanged a few words with this girl, and he only knew her name and age from his mother. How could he know what she liked?

Xiao Anlan furrowed his brow tightly.

Shops and signboards quickly receded outside the car window, creating a dizzying array of sights.

Xiao Anlan suddenly had an idea and said, “Old Wang, turn around.”