As Yuanyuan lay on her bed, the hood of her pajamas covering her head, she clumsily turned around to look toward the door. Her round, fluffy body made the motion even funnier, and she ended up looking a bit like a large white kitten.

Yingze stood in the doorway, watching her with a mix of amusement and guilt. He had been harsh earlier, and seeing her now made him realize how vulnerable she looked. For a moment, she reminded him of an oversized fluffy cat.

Why was Second Brother suddenly looking for her? Yuanyuan’s eyes flashed with fear as she remembered his earlier stern tone. Was he here to scold her again?

Her imagination began to run wild, and she started to scare herself.

Clearing his throat, Yingze asked, “Can I come in?”

“Y-yes, you can, meow,” she stammered, quickly flipping over and sitting up on the bed, her legs pulled close to her chest. Her wide, cautious eyes followed Yingze as he stepped into the room.

“Were you looking for me earlier?” Yingze asked casually as he found a small stool and sat down. “I was busy just now, but I’m free now.”

What was going on? Yuanyuan’s little brain was running at full speed, trying to process the situation.

“But… weren’t you mad at me earlier?” she asked timidly, her small voice barely audible.

Yingze felt a pang of guilt but kept his cool, pretending to be indifferent. “Why would I be mad at you?”

“I don’t know… Maybe I did something wrong, but I didn’t realize it?”

Hearing this, Yingze felt both amused and sorry for her. This little girl was so naive—she didn’t even know if she had done anything wrong, yet she was already blaming herself. She was just too easy to upset.

Not everyone, he realized, would feel guilty afterward like he did.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Yingze said earnestly. “If my tone was a bit harsh earlier… well, I apologize.”

“That’s okay! I’m not mad!” Yuanyuan instantly perked up, jumping up from her quiet spot on the bed. “Second Brother, can you help me with something?”

“What do you need help with?” Yingze asked, already anticipating one of her silly requests.

Yuanyuan scrambled over to her bed and carefully laid out three of her favorite dresses. Then, with a serious expression, she jumped down from the bed, crossed her hands in front of her tummy, and stood up straight. “I want Second Brother to help me choose which dress to wear.”

“Huh? That’s it?” Yingze was taken aback, completely puzzled by her request.

Yuanyuan started her usual routine of playful begging, tugging on his sleeve. “Please, please, help me choose!”

Well, okay.

Yingze thought the request was a bit random, but it wasn’t too much to ask. What could she possibly be planning at her age, anyway?

He figured it must be for something important, seeing as she was putting so much thought into picking out her outfit. She was still just a little kid, but it seemed like this was a big deal to her.

Though curious about the occasion, Yingze wasn’t the type to pry, so he held back his questions.

He looked over the three dresses, imagining how Yuanyuan would look in each of them. After some serious thought, he decided that if choosing a dress could make her happy, then he would take the task seriously.

“How about this one?” Yingze pointed to the pink dress. “I think this one will look especially cute on you. Everyone will like it.”

“I don’t care if everyone else likes it. I want to know which one you like,” Yuanyuan said with the innocent stubbornness that only a child could pull off.

Even though her reasoning was a bit nonsensical, Yingze couldn’t help but feel touched.

“I like the white one. It’s simple and fresh.”

“Okay, okay!” Yuanyuan happily scooped up the dresses and ran to put them away in her wardrobe.

Strangely enough, Yimze ended up staying with her for almost an hour after that. The whole time, he was itching to ask why she needed help picking out a dress, but every time he tried to speak, his pride stopped him from being too direct.

Instead, Yingze found himself waiting for Yuanyuan to let something slip.

After all, when he was her age, he had never been able to keep a secret for long. Surely, she would let something slip sooner or later.