Jiang Yuanxi woke up excitedly.

Chun Zhi helped her get dressed, while she put on her shoes by herself.

She hadn’t forgotten what she had planned for today.

In the freezing cold weather, the black snake, which was supposed to be hibernating, was constantly disturbed by Jiang Yuanxi and couldn’t get any sleep.

No sooner had it settled back into its nest than it was dragged out again.

The black snake looked lifeless but didn’t dare to protest.

It knew it was no match for her.

Resigned, it crawled into its owner’s sleeve with practiced ease.

Chun Zhi draped a fluffy cloak over Jiang Yuanxi, and the little one swayed out the door.

“Fourth Brother!” Jiang Yuanxi knocked on the door loudly.

Before long, Jiang Yuancheng opened the door, still half-asleep.

[Fourth Brother wouldn’t have forgotten that we have to go to school today, right?]

Jiang Yuancheng’s eyes shot open, instantly wide awake.

“Oh no!” He had completely forgotten about school.

Lately, his reputation as “Jiang Fourth the Useless” had spread far and wide.

Their mother, Madam Chen, had worked hard to get him enrolled in an academy.

Today was the day of enrollment.

Jiang Yuancheng hurriedly washed up, then threw Jiang Yuanxi over his shoulder and ran toward the academy.

[Brother, stop! I’m not going!]

All Jiang Yuanxi could hear was the sound of the wind whistling past her ears.

Time was running out, and Jiang Yuancheng was too focused on running to care about anything else.

At Linjiang Academy—

Jiang Yuancheng barely managed to sit down before the teacher arrived.

Reaching into his bag to take out his textbooks, he suddenly found a small round head peeking out from inside.

He and Jiang Yuanxi stared at each other.

Jiang Yuanxi pouted angrily.

[Fourth Brother, are you blind? I’m a person, not a textbook.]

Jiang Yuancheng rubbed his eyes. Once he confirmed it was indeed his sister inside his bag, realization dawned on him.

No wonder his schoolbag felt so heavy today.

Wait a minute… If his sister was in the bag, where were his textbooks?

There weren’t many students in the beginner’s class—only twelve in total.

Jiang Yuancheng quickly zipped up his bag, but someone had already noticed.

Chen Jin, sitting behind him, caught sight of the new student bringing his little sister to school.

He leaned forward and whispered, “Hey, I’m Chen Jin. Is that your sister?”

He had just seen a cute little girl pop out of Jiang Yuancheng’s bag.

Dressed in pink, fair and chubby, she looked absolutely adorable.

“You saw wrong. I’m Jiang Yuancheng,” he replied impatiently.

Chen Jin wanted to say more, but the class bell rang.

He had no choice but to drop the matter.

During class, Jiang Yuanxi slept soundly inside the bag.

After class—

Chen Jin approached Jiang Yuancheng.

“Jiang Yuancheng, I want to see your sister.”

Jiang Yuancheng stared at him. “I don’t have a sister.”

Chen Jin poked at the bag in his arms.

The “thing” inside moved slightly, instantly drawing the attention of the other students.

Jiang Yuanxi groggily opened her eyes.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up.

Jiang Yuancheng shooed the onlookers away. “What are you all looking at?”

The students crowded around, curiously observing.

Such an adorable little dumpling! Chen Jin’s eyes sparkled.

Why did Jiang Yuancheng get to have such a cute sister?

Still half-asleep, Jiang Yuanxi thought she was still at home.

Her stomach grumbled, and she instinctively muttered two words:

“Milk.”

The students exchanged glances.

Milk?

Where would they find milk?

Half an hour later, Jiang Yuanxi was sitting in the center of the group, surrounded by students.

“Little sister, this is a pastry from Su Ji Bakery. Try it.”

Jiang Yuanxi accepted it and took a bite.

Her eyes lit up. “Yummy!”

Seeing this, Chen Jin quickly handed over a meat bun he had brought that morning.

Embarrassed, he said, “Yuanxi, I only have a meat bun.”

His mother hadn’t packed pastries for him because he didn’t like sweets.

If he had known, he would have asked her to pack more.

Noticing his slightly disappointed expression, Jiang Yuanxi reached out and took the bun.

“Thank you, Big Brother.” Her cheeks were already stuffed full.

[Wow! So many big brothers! I need to make more big brothers. That way, I’ll have endless snacks!]

Chen Jin’s face lit up. He turned to Jiang Yuancheng and slung an arm around his shoulders.

“Brother, from now on, we’re best friends. So…”

“So?”

“So, can you lend me your sister to play with for two days?”

“Get lost!” Jiang Yuancheng’s furious roar echoed through the academy.

Just then, the departing teacher hurried back.

“Who is Jiang Yuancheng?”

Jiang Yuancheng jumped off his stool.

“I am.”

The teacher gave him a deep look, then glanced at the little figure surrounded by students.

“Your mother is at the academy gate.”

After a pause, the teacher added, “You… come back tomorrow.”

It was as if he already anticipated the outcome.

Jiang Yuancheng’s legs went weak. Chen Jin quickly supported him.

“Don’t worry, brother. We always stand by our friends.”

Jiang Yuancheng’s face lit up.

But in the next second, Chen Jin added, “So, we’ll help escort your sister to the gate.”

Jiang Yuancheng: What a fake friendship.

Upon learning that her mother had arrived, Jiang Yuanxi hurriedly packed up all the snacks her academy brothers had given her.

“Big brothers, don’t worry! I’ll be back!”

[I’ll definitely come again. School is amazing! There’s food, playmates, and I can sleep in class.]

Jiang Yuancheng carried his sister out with his head hanging low.

As soon as Jiang Yuanxi touched the ground, she grabbed her little bundle and ran toward Madam Chen.

Seeing her daughter safe, Madam Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When she realized Yuanxi was missing earlier, she and the general nearly turned the entire Duke’s residence upside down.

After all, the last time they had been careless, Liu Ruqing had almost succeeded in her schemes.

Jiang Yuancheng hung his head, fiddling with his fingers, when General Jiang Fengyuan grabbed his ear and dragged him onto the carriage.

The students peeking from behind the academy gate all felt a phantom pain in their ears.

Good thing they never considered bringing their little sisters to school.

But why did the teacher let Jiang Yuancheng take the day off and not them?

On the carriage—

Jiang Yuancheng knelt on the floor.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuanxi excitedly told her parents about her day.

She took out a lotus-shaped pastry.

“This is from Brother Ting.”

Then, she picked up another. “This one is from Brother An.”

…

Finally, her gaze fell on a greasy meat bun.

“Brother Chen Jin. Like.”

[Ah, meat bun! If only I could eat more, I wouldn’t let you go to waste.]

General Jiang looked at his wife in surprise.

“Yuanxi, you remember all their names?”

Jiang Yuanxi blinked, then nodded.

[What’s so hard about that? I only need to look once to remember.]

Madam Chen seemed to realize something.

She looked at her son.

“Yuancheng, recite the Three Character Classic. If you do it well, we’ll drop the matter.”

“Really?” Jiang Yuancheng’s head shot up.

Madam Chen nodded.

Jiang Yuancheng stood up immediately.

“…Uh, The beginning of man, nature is kind…”

It took him a full fifteen minutes to stutter through a few lines.

His father frowned.

Ten years old, and he still couldn’t recite it properly?

Clearly, they had neglected his education.

Jiang Yuanxi, meanwhile, gave her brother a thumbs-up.

[Yep. The most useless brother in the capital.]