Yu Nuo gently pushed the door open and peeked inside, “I made a pot of cold-brewed tea, it helps with cooling. Do you guys want some?”

Will took off his headphones and glanced at her, calling out, “Sure, come on in.”

As soon as Yu Nuo stepped into the training room, the cold air made her shiver.

She set the tea on the table and asked worriedly, “What temperature do you have the AC set to? Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

“Big guys like us aren’t that delicate.”

Yu Nuo disagreed, “You still shouldn’t set it too low.”

Seeing that everyone was busy, she found some cups and poured tea for each of them.

She wasn’t wearing makeup, her long black hair cascading down her back, her delicate features somewhat resembling Yu Ge’s, exuding a gentle and obedient aura.

That face would look stunning whether male or female.

Awen sighed with emotion, “No wonder everyone says having a daughter is nice. Who wouldn’t want a considerate little sweetheart? Little sis, why don’t you just stay here?”

“I only have a few days off. I have to go back the day after tomorrow.”

Will asked with concern, “How’s everything going over at TG? No one’s giving you a hard time, right? If it’s no good, you can always come work with us.”

Yu Nuo smiled wryly, “How could they? They’re really nice and treat me well.”

“That’s good then.”

Little C found it ridiculous, “Cut it out with the palace dramas, Will. Everyone knows Xiao Nuo is Fish’s sister—who would dare bully her?”

Awen happened to be watching the Eastern Division matches, “Hey, TG is about to play WR in the semifinals, right?”

Yu Nuo nodded, “Yeah.”

This summer’s tournament was divided into Eastern and Western Divisions, and the playoffs were nearing their end.

The Eastern Division was a chaotic free-for-all, while the Western Division was dominated by OG, who had already secured their spot in the quarterfinals with their overwhelming lead.

As a result, the team had been relatively relaxed for the past half-month, with only fixed evening training sessions and occasional streams to make up for their broadcast hours.

During match weeks, their schedules weren’t as brutal.

They usually woke up in the afternoon.

Yu Nuo changed the subject, “Where’s my brother?”

“No idea,” Awen also found it strange.

“He said he had something to take care of and left earlier. Still not back.”

Little C: “Could he have been—”

Awen shot him a warning look, and Little C swallowed the rest of his words.

Yu Nuo seemed to sense something and quickly asked, “Did my dad come looking for him again?”

Awen mumbled vaguely, “Yeah.”

“When was this? Why didn’t anyone tell me…” Yu Nuo grew worried. “Is he okay?”

Awen turned to her, “Your brother’s a grown man. He’s fine, don’t worry. I think he just came to get him to sign something? Not sure about the details.”

“Oh,” Yu Nuo said, understanding.

“What was it about?”

Yu Nuo hesitated but didn’t hide it, “After our grandma passed away, there was an old house in the countryside left to me and my brother in her will. My second aunt has a friend working in the housing bureau who said the old house might be up for demolition. My dad drew up some agreement trying to get us to transfer it to Xiao Jiang.”

Roy was disgusted, “Seriously? What gives him the right? He really has no shame, huh?”

“Alright, enough about that,” Awen stood up.

“Xiao Nuo, come with me for a sec. There’s something I need to talk to you about privately.”

“What is it?”

Yu Nuo followed Awen out.

Seeing his serious expression, she grew uneasy, “What’s wrong?”

Awen paused, “Your brother’s been in a pretty bad mood lately.”

“Yeah… because of family stuff?”

Awen: “Probably because of you.”

Yu Nuo pointed at herself, confused, “Me?”

“Don’t blame me for prying, you know I see you as my own little sister,” Awen hesitated.

“Fish didn’t tell us about you liking Conquer. I only found out because I caught him looking at Conquer’s Weibo once and asked a few questions. That’s how I learned you…”

“Ah!” Yu Nuo’s face visibly flushed red.

“During the intercontinental tournament, I even saw you taking a walk alone with that kid. I thought something was off back then.”

Yu Nuo stayed silent, not denying it.

Though he found the situation absurd, Awen tried to be supportive, “Conquer is… well, he’s got a bit of a pretty-boy thing going on. You’re young—it’s normal to like handsome guys.”

Knowing she was sensitive and thoughtful, he chose his words carefully, “But here’s the thing. Forget that Conquer and your brother don’t get along. The main issue is that guy just seems unreliable, probably the flirty type in relationships. You’re such a sweet, honest girl with no experience—I’m just worried you’ll get taken advantage of. Your brother would be so worried.”

Yu Nuo’s gaze drifted away, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t, “Actually, I…”

Awen offered his advice, “Just take your time and observe him more. There’s no rush. Let’s keep this crush under wraps for now, okay?”

Yu Nuo looked conflicted.

Just then, Yu Ge appeared in the first-floor lobby.

The two fell silent.

Yu Nuo fled as if escaping, “I’ll go pour some tea.”

…

Seeing Yu Ge walk in, Will asked curiously, “Where’d you go?”

Yu Ge ignored him and walked over to Yu Nuo, handing her a cup of milk tea he’d brought.

Yu Nuo was surprised, “You bought this for me?”

Yu Ge grunted in acknowledgment.

Seeing his short hair damp with sweat and recalling Awen’s earlier words, guilt welled up inside her, “It’s so hot outside. Why’d you suddenly go buy me milk tea?”

Yu Ge replied, “I was passing by.”

Will sighed dramatically, “With you spoiling her like this, how’s she ever gonna get married?”

Yu Ge sounded lazy, “With all the money I make, can’t I afford to keep her?”

His tone…

Awen glanced at Yu Ge, sensing something微妙—he seemed to be in a good mood?

Will grumbled, “Damn, showing off your wealth now?”

Yu Ge unscrewed a bottle of water, took a few sips, and leaned casually against the table to watch the match with Awen, “Who’s playing?”

“PRT and WR.”

The second round was about to start, and the camera cut to the female host on stage.

Awen suddenly realized, “You know, I haven’t seen Mi Yin in a while. What’s up with that? She used to always do our post-match interviews. Why’d they switch hosts?”

Roy: “You’d have to ask Fish about that.”

“Huh?” Little C was puzzled, “Fish and Mi Yin? They’ve got nothing going on. Isn’t that just some fan-made CP thing? What, do they need to avoid each other now?”

Awen smacked his forehead and asked Yu Ge, “Remember when Mi Yin asked me for your WeChat? Did you add her?”

“Who.”

Awen repeated, “Mi Yin.”

Yu Ge didn’t even lift his eyelids, “Don’t remember.”

Awen: “…”

He should’ve known.

Normally, no one dared to pry into Yu Ge’s personal life, but since he seemed to be in a decent mood now, Roy mustered the courage to tease him, “Seriously, bro, you’re not getting any younger. Isn’t it lonely being single for so long? Too much abstinence isn’t good for your health, you know.”

Yu Ge asked coldly, “Run out of things to say?”

Roy wisely shut up.

Yu Nuo giggled and joined in, “I actually wouldn’t mind if my brother found a sister-in-law for me.”

Roy: “Right? Preferably someone lively. You two are both so quiet—your place must feel like a morgue.”

An image suddenly popped into Yu Nuo’s head.

Awen: “It’ll happen when it happens. Love knocks when you least expect it. You might have a sister-in-law by tomorrow.”

The moment Awen finished speaking, her phone rang as if fate itself had intervened.

Yu Nuo was startled for a second.

Checking the caller ID, she quickly answered, “Hello? Sister Tongtong?”

Hearing that name, Yu Ge glanced at her.

Yu Nuo covered her phone and turned away.

After listening for a moment, she murmured a few affirmatives and lowered her voice, “Hold on, let me ask first.”

After hanging up, Yu Nuo sat back down and prepared to message Chen Yuzheng.

Yu Ge suddenly asked, “Who.”

Yu Nuo looked up blankly, “Huh?”

After a few seconds, Yu Ge repeated coolly, “Who called you.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Yu Nuo reflexively turned off her phone screen and answered cautiously, “…Chen Yuzheng’s cousin.”

His expression didn’t change, “What did she want.”

Having just confessed her “crush” on Chen Yuzheng to Yu Ge not long ago, Yu Nuo was afraid of upsetting him.

She hesitated, her heart fluttering nervously, “She happened to be in the area today and… wanted to take me out for dinner.”

Yu Ge’s lips curled slightly, “Take you out?”

Awen couldn’t take it anymore, “Dude, enough already. Your sister’s been an adult for how long now? Rein in the control issues, okay? Okay.”

Roy agreed, “Exactly.”

Yu Nuo had been worried Yu Ge might find it odd—how did Xu Yitong even know she was at the OG base?

Aside from Chen Yuzheng, no one else would’ve told her.

Thankfully, Yu Ge didn’t seem to notice.

Yu Nuo felt a little relieved, “I’ll head out in a bit?”

Yu Ge didn’t respond. Roy asked, “Dinner with Xu Yitong? Just the two of you?”

“Yeah.”

Roy: “Didn’t you say you were making soup?”

“Oh, right.” Reminded, Yu Nuo suddenly remembered, “The soup’s not done yet.”

Awen said offhandedly, “Then just invite her to eat here with us. No big deal.”

Yu Nuo hesitated but decided to seek Yu Ge’s opinion. Her voice was barely audible, “Bro, is that okay?”

As if uninterested in the topic, Yu Ge kept his eyes on the computer screen, watching the match. He replied absentmindedly, “Up to you.”

Yu Nuo relaxed, “Okay, I’ll ask her then.”

*

When Xu Yitong received Yu Nuo’s message, she was naturally happy.

She had invited Yu Nuo out to eat with the original intention of checking in on her younger brother and sister’s recent romantic developments.

Of course, she also had a small ulterior motive—if she could incidentally gather some information about Yu Ge, that would be even better.

But Xu Yitong didn’t expect Yu Nuo to directly invite her to OG to have dinner with them.

Only an hour had passed since parting with Yu Ge, yet the words “already am” had been swirling in her mind for 59 minutes.

It was a perfectly normal phrase, one that for adults didn’t cross any lines or carry the slightest hint of ambiguity.

But after those words were spoken, the atmosphere between them seemed… Xu Yitong didn’t even know how to describe it—just, a little strange.

Xu Yitong tried to recall uncertainly.

Had she said they were friends, and not something else, right?

However, compared to shyness, her desire to see Yu Ge still took the upper hand.

Xu Yitong happily agreed to Yu Nuo’s dinner invitation.

When she arrived at the OG base carrying two large watermelons, she was even recognized by the security guard on duty.

“Young lady, here again?”

“Yes, yes!” Xu Yitong greeted him cheerfully.

Yu Nuo was waiting at the door and couldn’t help but ask curiously, “You’ve been here before?”

No need to bring up sad past events.

Xu Yitong responded vaguely.

Yu Nuo: “You even went out of your way to buy watermelons?”

“Summer is the time for eating watermelon!”

Yu Nuo hesitated for a moment.

She wasn’t sure whether to tell Xu Yitong that Yu Ge didn’t like eating this particular fruit.

He was a bit of a neat freak and generally avoided things that could splash juice.

But saying so might seem like she was dismissing Xu Yitong’s kind gesture.

Then again, Xu Yitong hadn’t specifically said the watermelons were for Yu Ge, so maybe there was no need to mention it?

Yu Nuo: “Let me help you carry one.”

“Okay, it’s a bit heavy—be careful.”

Xu Yitong turned her head and enthusiastically said to the security guard, “Uncle, would you like some watermelon? I’ll bring you a piece later after cutting it. Thank you for last time!”

The villa looked impressive from the outside, and the inside was no different.

There was a spacious front yard filled with lush trees.

Following Yu Nuo into the kitchen, the base’s cook helped them cut the watermelons into several plates.

Peeking around, the main hall outside was empty, with hardly anyone in sight. Xu Yitong asked, “They’re not up yet?”

“Aside from my brother, everyone’s on the second floor.”

“What about your brother?”

Yu Nuo thought for a moment: “Not sure. I think he went back to his room.”

“Oh.”

After the watermelons were cut, Xu Yitong went out to find the security guard.

The guard said he couldn’t finish so much by himself and only took half.

After chatting for a while, Xu Yitong carried the remaining half plate of watermelon back inside.

Just as she stepped through the door, she immediately spotted the figure standing on the stairs.

Yu Ge seemed to have just taken a shower, changed into a white short-sleeved shirt, his damp black hair still dripping.

His eyes turned toward her, and the motion of drying his hair paused.

The two locked eyes across the distance.

Xu Yitong smiled, suddenly feeling inexplicably shy.

Still, she took the initiative to jog over, holding out the plate with both hands, and asked, “Would you like some watermelon? Just cut—it’s really sweet.”

Yu Nuo came out just in time to witness this scene.

Her heart tightened, and she quickly prepared to step in and smooth things over.

As she hurried closer, she heard her brother say softly, “I’ll have some later.”