After finishing his meal, he reached out and patted her head, saying, “Come on.”

Just as Xu Zhilu was about to respond, he had already left.

Jian Anran looked at her suspiciously, then followed her gaze to watch Shen Siyan walk away.

After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, “Zhilu, I feel like Shen Siyan is really good to you. It’s not like what the rumors say at all.”

Xu Zhilu was stunned for a moment and looked at her sideways. “How can you tell?”

Jian Anran replied, “He was obviously very hungry, but he gave the rice noodles to you first and told you to cheer up…” She trailed off, unsure how to put it into words, but it seemed pretty nice.

After thinking for a while, Jian Anran quickly concluded, “It feels pretty good. Before, everyone said that you were clinging to Shen Siyan, but now it seems the situation has changed.”

Xu Zhilu paused and asked in a low voice, “Why do you think it’s changed now?”

“Because he’s clinging to you.”

Jian Anran said without hesitation, “It’s so obvious. Don’t you see it?”

Xu Zhilu was silent for a moment. “But it feels like we’ve always been this way.”

In truth, as long as it wasn’t about romance, her relationship with Shen Siyan had always been pretty good.

“How so?”

Jian Anran said, “Didn’t you always go to him before? Everyone said he was very impatient and wanted to get rid of you.”

Xu Zhilu: “…Yes, that did happen.”

Shen Siyan loved playing games and was quite addicted to them.

Whenever Xu Zhilu went to see him while he was playing games, he would look very unhappy and impatient. But Xu Zhilu was thick-skinned; the more annoyed he seemed, the more she wanted to stay by his side.

Looking back now, she realizes that her past behavior might have been excessive.

Even though she knew he didn’t like it, she still insisted on approaching him.

Jian Anran nodded. “Yeah, so I’m saying he’s treating you much better now.”

“Um,.”

Xu Zhilu didn’t deny it. “It’s fine. We’re just like ordinary classmates.”

Jian Anran choked and looked at her suspiciously. “Can ordinary classmates be this nice?”

Xu Zhilu: “…”

“Childhood friends should be closer than ordinary classmates,” Jian Anran said, blinking as she considered her own words.

“Well, you’re right,” Xu Zhilu nodded. “Come on, let’s go to the classroom and cram for the exam.”

Jian Anran laughed but didn’t refuse.

The two days of exams passed at a steady pace. Afterward, Xu Zhilu felt much more relaxed.

The other students were the same, ready to celebrate their not-so-long summer vacation.

After returning to the classroom, teachers came in one after another to assign summer homework.

Having just finished her exams, Xu Zhilu wasn’t focused on studying. Xin An’an was chatting with her, but she wasn’t really listening; her mind was elsewhere.

She wasn’t sure why, but during the two days of exams, whenever she had free time, she kept thinking about what Jian Anran had said.

She had a vague sense that Shen Siyan was treating her much better than he had in the past. She wasn’t sure if it was because she had changed or if Shen Siyan had changed.

Just as she was lost in thought, someone gently patted her shoulder.

Xu Zhilu snapped back to reality.

When she turned around, she found herself looking into Shen Siyan’s deep eyes.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

Xu Zhilu shook her head.

Shen Siyan looked at her, paused, and said, “Cheng Song suggested we all go out to eat together. Are you in a hurry to go back?”

Xu Zhilu nodded. “Not today, I need to pick up my luggage.”

“Do you have a lot of stuff?” Shen Siyan asked.

“It’s manageable.”

Shen Siyan nodded. “I’ll ask the driver to pick you up.”

“No need,” Xu Zhilu quickly said. “I can go back by myself.”

Shen Siyan didn’t look at her. He took out his phone and made a call while the teacher was out of the room.

He said a few brief words and hung up.

“How are you planning to get home—by bus or taxi?” Shen Siyan asked disapprovingly. “Is Uncle Liu going to pick up Xu Zhijia?”

Xu Zhilu nodded.

She had actually called Uncle Liu to ask, and he had told her that Xu’s mother had asked him to pick up Xu Zhijia and take her somewhere else.

Xu Zhilu didn’t want to inconvenience Uncle Liu and thought it would be just as easy to take a taxi home.

She might argue with Xu Zhijia, but she generally wouldn’t make things difficult for Uncle Liu.

Shen Siyan stared at her and said, “With your temper…”

“What about it?”

Shen Siyan curled his lip and said calmly, “If Xu Zhijia doesn’t bully you, who will she bully?”

Xu Zhilu: “…”

She understood the hidden meaning behind Shen Siyan’s words.

She rolled her eyes. “You don’t understand.”

“What don’t I understand?”

He continued, “Of course, there’s nothing wrong with Uncle Liu picking her up. But why don’t you call your dad’s assistant and tell him you can’t get back on your own? Ask him to arrange a driver to pick you up.”

Xu Zhilu: “…”

To be honest, she hadn’t even thought of that.

Shen Siyan offered some advice: “Even though your father is cold, he treats you and Xu Zhijia the same. Although there are some differences, he’s a man with pride. If you call his assistant, what do you think he’ll think?”

Xu Zhilu rolled her eyes and could guess what he meant.

Her father would probably think that Xu’s mother couldn’t even manage simple family matters. If Uncle Liu took Xu Zhijia somewhere else, why couldn’t she arrange for someone else to pick up Xu Zhilu?

Plus, Xu Zhilu’s mother could drive. If her mother had been thoughtful, she could have picked up Xu Zhijia herself and let Uncle Liu pick up Xu Zhilu. Or she could have arranged for her father’s full-time driver or assistant to take him to work.

In short, it would have been more appropriate for Xu’s mother to make the arrangements, showing her competence as the head of the family. But when it came to Xu Zhilu making the call, it carried a different implication.

If she called her father, it would imply that her mother couldn’t handle the situation, so she had to rely on her father.

For Xu’s father, this would be like letting others know that his wife was incompetent. If Xu Zhilu said too much, people might start gossiping about the Xu family’s internal conflicts.

Differences in how the twin daughters were treated.

Mistreatment of one daughter. A person like Xu’s father wouldn’t appreciate his subordinates gossiping about such things. Even if they didn’t talk about it, he would feel embarrassed.

Seeing the realization in Xu Zhilu’s eyes, Shen Siyan tapped her head and said, “You’re good at studying, but why don’t you understand basic cause and effect?”