Li Lequan gave him a thumbs-up. “That’s a textbook example of a forced smile.” 

The two changed into slippers and walked towards the living room, just as Tao Xin came down from upstairs with a pair of scissors. Seeing Tao Xin head to the second floor, Zhou Nian almost lost his composure; the angry “You” was already at the tip of his tongue. Remembering Li Lequan’s earnest advice, he swallowed it back, forcing himself to say calmly, “What are you doing upstairs?” 

“Getting scissors from the study,” Tao Xin replied naturally, as if she had lived in this house her whole life. “The flowers I ordered arrived, so I’m going to arrange them.” Her gaze fell on Li Lequan. 

Zhou Nian followed her gaze, seeing Li Lequan staring intently at Tao Xin, looking mesmerized. Thinking he was captivated by her beauty, Zhou Nian felt ashamed and wanted to beat him up. 

Elbowing Li Lequan, Zhou Nian suppressed his anger, saying, “I brought a friend home, you shouldn’t go upstairs, it’s not convenient.” 

“OK.” Tao Xin smiled. “Have fun.” 

Zhou Nian forcefully dragged Li Lequan back to the room, closing the door and about to attack him. 

“Wait, wait,” Li Lequan finally snapped out of it, looking surprised. “I think I’ve seen her somewhere before.” 

Li Lequan wasn’t given to making things up. Zhou Nian retracted his hand, which was about to touch Li Lequan’s head. “Really? My dad said she grew up abroad and just returned to China recently. Their house is under renovation, so she’s temporarily staying at our house.” 

“Really, really. As soon as I saw her, I felt she was familiar. I must have seen her somewhere… where was it…?” Li Lequan thought for a long time but couldn’t remember, but he couldn’t have felt someone was familiar for no reason. He made a deduction: “Isn’t that woman an internet celebrity? Maybe I saw her online. Oh my god, could she be a student from some socialite training program!” 

Zhou Nian’s face turned pale. It was already outrageous enough that Zhou Tingzhi had a girlfriend so much younger than him, but if it turned out she was an internet celebrity, his reputation would be ruined! 

Li Lequan continued to analyze, finding his theory more and more plausible. “Grew up abroad, just returned to China, and arranges flowers at home… Yeah… it fits my stereotype of a socialite training program.” 

“No!” Zhou Nian instantly made a decision. “If that’s the case, I have to get her out of here!” 

Li Lequan put an arm around him. “Calm down, that’s just our speculation. We should have faith in Uncle Zhou. If he had such low taste, how could he have stayed single for over ten years?” 

Zhou Nian pushed Li Lequan’s arm off his shoulder, his eyes filled with a world-weary sadness. “You’re right, all men are the same, they all like beautiful women, and my dad is no exception.” 

Seeing his friend’s naive heartbreak, Li Lequan felt sorry for him, fearing he might become despondent and want to become a monk. He thought for a moment, “How about this, let’s test ‘the beautiful woman’.” 

“How do we test her?” 

“Instead of testing her, let’s understand her. Does your dad like her because of her personality, or is he seduced by her charm? Let’s get to know her, and we’ll know.” 

Zhou Nian nodded, finding Li Lequan’s suggestion reasonable. 

Seeing him nod, Li Lequan added, “Let’s agree beforehand, since we’re aiming to understand her, we should be as pleasant as possible. Don’t move unless she moves. The more we know, the better our chances.” 

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” 

“Alright, follow my lead.” 

The two prepared themselves and went downstairs. Tao Xin was arranging flowers in the living room, bouquets scattered on the floor, various vases. She knelt on the thick, soft carpet, humming a song as she arranged the flowers, looking happy. 

Putting aside his surprise at her familiar face, Li Lequan carefully examined Tao Xin from head to toe. She was tall, probably over 1.7 meters, with a slender build but a graceful posture. Even with her hair in a bun and wearing sportswear, she had an elegance and gentleness unique to dancers. 

“Ahem.” Li Lequan coughed lightly, attracting Tao Xin’s attention. Tao Xin turned her head, and upon seeing them, she paused slightly. 

Li Lequan naturally started a conversation, “We want to play games on the downstairs TV, the big screen is better. You continue what you’re doing, don’t worry about us.” 

Tao Xin glanced at Zhou Nian, who was silently setting up the equipment, and asked, “What kind of game console is that?” 

“PS4, haven’t you played it before?” 

“No, I play… mobile games.” 

Li Lequan was indeed eloquent, quickly finding common ground. “What mobile games do you play? Zhou Nian and I mostly play King of Glory, and sometimes Peace Elite.” 

Tao Xin had played King of Glory with the observers at the Bureau for a few days. It was part of her socialization training to familiarize her with the game so she wouldn’t be caught off guard in conversations. 

“I play King of Glory too, but I only play Daji and Xiao Qiao.” 

“Perfect! Next time we’ll play three-player matches. Zhou Nian is a national-level Li Bai, I’m a national-level Yu Ji, and with you, three damage dealers, we’ll rank up crazily.” 

After speaking, Li Lequan smiled, took out his phone, quickly opened his WeChat QR code, and handed it to Tao Xin. “Let’s add each other. I’ll take you to rank up another day.” 

Li Lequan’s excessive enthusiasm made Tao Xin suspicious, feeling he had ulterior motives. However, considering she shouldn’t be rude, she accepted his offer and added him on WeChat. 

“What’s your name, sister? I’ll save your contact.” 

“You call me sister?” 

“Ah… shouldn’t I?” 

This stumped Tao Xin. Considering their ages, Li Lequan calling her sister was fine, but she was a college sophomore when Li Lequan and Zhou Nian were born, so the term “sister” felt awkward. 

“I’m his dad’s girlfriend, calling me sister is inappropriate.” Tao Xin sent her name to Li Lequan, saying, “Just call me Tao Xin.” 

“I know you’re Uncle Zhou’s girlfriend, but he’s not here. You look like you’re only a year or two older than me?” Li Lequan began his first probe. It’s hard to tell a woman’s age just by her looks. Li Lequan boldly guessed that Tao Xin might spend all day at the beauty salon, looking twenty but actually being thirty. If she was thirty, Zhou Nian wouldn’t have to worry. 

Unfortunately, Tao Xin replied, “I’m twenty.” 

Li Lequan calmly pressed on, “So you were born in the year 2000. What animal sign is that?” 

Tao Xin had thought the Bureau’s socialization training was unnecessary, but it turned out someone actually asked her her zodiac sign. Like she was being interviewed, she stared at Li Lequan and said, “Dragon.” 

Such a quick answer? She really is twenty. 

Li Lequan did some mental calculations, admiring Zhou Tingzhi, thinking that when Zhou Tingzhi was in college, this woman hadn’t even been born yet. 

“Aren’t you in school now?” 

“Taking a year off.” 

“Oh, what’s your major?” 

“…” 

Looking at the handsome Li Lequan, then at Zhou Nian fiddling with the game console, Tao Xin suddenly had a bold idea, and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After a moment of silence, she couldn’t help but ask Li Lequan, “You’re trying so hard to get close to me, are you being sent by Zhou Nian to seduce me?” 

The living room fell silent for a moment. 

Li Lequan was about to deny it when he saw Zhou Nian suddenly stand up and say towards the back, “Dad, when did you get back?” 

Zhou Tingzhi: “A while ago.” 

Zhou Nian had texted Zhou Tingzhi before returning home. 

Seventeen or eighteen-year-old boys can be unpredictable. Zhou Nian’s concessions and attempts at reconciliation were difficult for Zhou Tingzhi, who hoped Zhou Nian and Tao Xin could get along. Fearing a conflict if they met, he finished work early and rushed home. 

Through the screen in the entrance hall, he witnessed Li Lequan “seducing” Tao Xin. 

When Li Lequan turned and saw Zhou Tingzhi, he blushed with embarrassment, quickly explaining, “Uncle Zhou, don’t misunderstand, nothing happened. We were just chatting.” 

Zhou Tingzhi picked up a fallen flower branch, his tone gentle, “I know, she was joking with you.” 

Li Lequan finally relaxed. 

He was somewhat intimidated by Zhou Tingzhi. The Li family was a large family with strong traditional values, outwardly aloof but inwardly worldly. Zhou Tingzhi was a frequent topic of conversation in the Li family, analyzing his actions and the pros and cons of his friendship with Zhou Nian. 

Li Lequan had heard so much that he knew Zhou Tingzhi better than Zhou Nian, and wouldn’t be fooled by his gentle demeanor. 

As for Zhou Nian, he was feeling guilty. Before Zhou Tingzhi even asked why he was unusually playing games in the living room, he gave a lame excuse: “Mr. Zhou, the TV connection upstairs seems broken, it keeps disconnecting.” 

Zhou Nian’s lie was written all over his face. Considering the boy’s fragile self-esteem, Zhou Tingzhi didn’t expose him, simply saying, “Have someone fix it. If it can’t be fixed, just replace it.” His gaze fell on Tao Xin, who was stifling a laugh. Zhou Tingzhi wanted to ask her what was so funny, but in front of the two younger ones, he felt a little shy about getting close to her. 

Tao Xin noticed Zhou Tingzhi’s hesitation and said, “Aren’t you going to take a shower?” 

Zhou Tingzhi followed her lead, “Mm, I’ll go now.” 

Tao Xin wanted to send Zhou Tingzhi away so she could go upstairs later, but to Zhou Nian and Li Lequan, it looked like she was completely obedient to him.