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Chapter 62: Damn, my idiot brother has fallen for a girl.

Wei Kun picked up a jewelry box and looked at Lu Li and Lu Yao with guarded eyes.

“Let me say this first, I’m only letting you see it; I’m not giving it back.”

Lu Li nodded over and over. “Uncle Wei, relax. Until I scrape together 50,000 yuan I won’t take it back.”

Only then did Wei Kun reluctantly push the jewelry box toward them.

“Yaoyao.” Lu Li beckoned Lu Yao to his side.

Lu Yao’s gaze burned; she could not hide her excitement, and even her voice trembled. “Brother…”

Lu Li nodded and had Lu Yao open the jewelry box.

Inside lay two finely carved golden locks, along with a jade bangle and a silver ring.

Brother and sister each picked up a golden lock. The heavy weight seemed to call up equally heavy memories, and for an instant they were back in their carefree childhood, hearing their mother’s gentle voice at their ears.

“Lili, you’re the older brother; from now on you must protect your sister.”

Lu Li turned the golden lock over, and on the back were two lines of verse.

“Boundless grasses over the plain, each year they wither and bloom.”

Mother had hoped he would grow into a strong boy.

Before he knew it, Lu Li was gripping the lock tight, his eyes rimmed red.

On the other side, Lu Yao’s shoulders were already shaking as she wiped away her little pearls of tears.

The verse on her lock read, “Had I not met you atop Jade Mountain, I would have awaited you under the moon on Jade Terrace.”

Lu Li still remembered Father holding the tiny lock, shaking it in front of the swaddled Lu Yao and laughing, “My daughter must be the cutest little fairy; I’m going to spoil this sweetheart from my past life to death.”

Mother, jealous to the core, had pouted and grumbled for quite a while.

Anyway, Lu Li remembered that after Father said those words, Mother ignored him for several days, muttering to the three- or four-year-old Lu Li that the scoundrel had found new love and forgotten the old.

In the end, Father bought Mother’s favorite strawberries, washed them, sliced off the bland ends with a small knife, and humbly asked “My Lady” to taste them; only then did Mother forgive him with ill grace.

Their shared love of strawberries probably came from that childish-tempered mother.

Thinking of those warm scenes with their parents, Lu Li took a deep breath and forced away the sourness in his nose.

He slowly put the lock back into the box and smiled slightly. “Yaoyao, let’s go home.”

Lu Yao was reluctant, yet she still carefully placed the lock back.

Lu Li gently patted her little head and said softly, “Don’t worry, Brother will bring them home very soon.”

Lu Yao nodded vigorously.

Off to the side, Wei Kun rolled his eyes again; this little treasure worth nearly 100,000 yuan was not something he would return easily.

He could not understand why the teenagers were on the verge of tears over two chunks of gold, just as he could not understand why three wives had all left him.

…

“Idiot brother, there’s something I don’t quite get.” On the way home, Lu Yao questioned Lu Li.

“What don’t you get?”

Lu Yao counted on her fingers. “After all that work, didn’t you end up getting the key only because you paid the rent? Why not just pay it in the first place?”

Lu Li chuckled. “If I had paid straight away, how much do you think Old Wei would have charged me?”

Lu Yao froze and ventured, “Five thousand five hundred?”

Lu Li laughed. “Probably more. If he turned around and said the new tenant was willing to pay 6,000, what would you do? Bump ours up another 1,000? If we stayed less than two months and he shamelessly raised it again, what then? Given that he literally changed the lock, I wouldn’t put it past him. So it’s better to settle everything at once now, leaving Old Wei too embarrassed to pull any more tricks.”

Lu Yao suddenly understood. “So that’s it. There was so much to it; I’ve really learned something. Idiot brother, you’re so smart. If that dummy Lulu marries you one day, she’ll probably thank you even as you sell her! Oh, I almost forgot the main thing.”

As she spoke, Lu Yao pulled a piece of chocolate from her backpack. “Idiot brother, this is Lulu’s return gift for lunch. She said your cooking is delicious and asked me whether you have a girlfriend. In my opinion, that silly girl is totally into you; if you put in a little more effort, you can definitely trick her into the house to be my sister-in-law!”

Lu Li laughed and cried at the same time; worthy of being his good sister… she had no scruples about selling her best friend for her brother.

“Why are you so keen on having Lulu marry into the family?” After snapping the chocolate in two and sharing it with his foolish sister, Lu Li asked curiously.

Lu Yao ate the chocolate, hands on hips, and said as if it were only natural, “Because Lulu is a dummy who won’t compete for affection. Compared with me she falls far short, so after she moves in, I’ll still be your favorite!”

If the sister-in-law were smart instead, even an invincible, energetic beauty like me might not beat the pillow-talk at your bedside… Lu Yao added silently.

“You really do think long-term.” Lu Li gave a dry laugh.

Seeing that Lu Li didn’t take it seriously, Lu Yao frowned slightly and grew suspicious. “Idiot brother, don’t you like Lulu? Or do you already like someone else?”

Lu Li pressed his lips together and said nothing.

“No way!” Knowing Lu Li best, Lu Yao took his silence as confirmation and jumped up. “You actually like a girl? Something this big and you didn’t tell me?”

Lu Li retorted at once, “No, it doesn’t even count as liking yet.”

“‘Doesn’t count as liking’…” Lu Yao weighed every word, her sharp almond eyes narrowing. “Which means there really is a girl you care about?”

“No…”

“Impossible!”

The corner of Lu Li’s mouth twitched; he held his head in regret.

Growing anxious, Lu Yao shook his arm. “Is she dumb? Is she dumb? Is she really dumb? Come on, idiot brother, confess already!”

Lu Yao’s relentless chatter was so tight it almost drilled a hole in Lu Li’s skull.

“Grown-up business. Kids shouldn’t meddle.”

Fed up, Lu Li chopped her lightly on the neck, strode home, unlocked the door with the new key, and barred himself inside.

Lu Yao asked outside for a long time, but Lu Li never opened up, so she had to give up in dejection.

She went back to her room, pulled out her diary, and with a stern little face wrote silently:

“February 24, sunny day, gloomy mood. Today I learned that my idiot brother likes a girl. Damn! Damn! Damn! Sigh, if the dog in his mouth were really me, where would those flashy vixens get a chance? (Strike that, strike that.) Ahem, I’ve decided to investigate that girl at the first opportunity. If she’s an even bigger idiot than Lulu, I’ll help my idiot brother win her. Lulu? We barely know each other. (Strike.) If she’s smarter than Lulu, humph, then don’t blame me for barging in! Lulu, you’ll forever be my dearest friend and sworn sister!!!”

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