The three little boys were hiding in the bushes, thinking they were perfectly concealed, sneaking glances in their direction. Yu Yingze, who had been lazily munching on an apple, suddenly realized—

Those guys were spying on Yuanyuan!

It was obvious they were up to something, lurking like that, clearly with bad intentions. While Yu Yingze caught on, the others hadn’t noticed, including the target of their attention, Yuanyuan herself. She was happily munching on cherries, devouring seven or eight in just a few seconds.

Yu Yingze, annoyed, put down his half-eaten apple and quietly circled behind the bushes, planning to catch them off guard.

The three boys were crouching low, their eyes peeking through the leaves, focused on Yuan Yuan. They were whispering to each other, plotting who knows what.

Heh, they’re definitely up to no good with those sneaky looks, Yu Yingze thought.

He was already standing behind them, but the boys were so engrossed in their spying that they didn’t notice. They were busy clearing away some branches to get a better view.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Yu Yingze suddenly demanded, his voice startling the boys so much they jumped in place, spinning around in panic.

When they saw it was Yu Yingze, their faces flushed red with embarrassment.

Arms crossed, Yu Yingze waited impatiently for an answer, his chin raised, looking as tough as possible. “I asked you—what are you doing here, sneaking around? Plotting something bad again?”

The boys, who had their wounds cleaned and bandaged earlier, now looked fine. Yu Yingze was irritated that they were already back to spying, especially after being caught once.

The three boys, still in shock, froze under his glare, saying nothing for a long time.

“Well, hurry up and say something, or I’ll call my dad,” Yu Yingze threatened.

Yu Jinxiao probably never imagined his presence would be used to intimidate little kids.

At the mention of calling his dad, Slit-Eyes lunged forward, grabbing Yu Yingze’s arm, shaking his head frantically. “We’re not trying to do anything bad! We just… um… well…”

“If you can’t explain, then I’ll…” Yu Yingze pretended to walk away, making a move to fetch his father, but all three boys grabbed his arms at once.

After another minute of awkward silence, Slit-Eyes, his face turning red, glanced shyly at Yuanyuan, who was still busy stuffing her face with snacks. “Um… is she… your sister?”

Yu Yingze frowned. “What’s it to you?”

Just as Slit-Eyes had gathered enough courage to ask, Yu Yingze’s blunt response cut him off, making him stutter all over again. He couldn’t string a sentence together.

Growing impatient, Yu Yingze sighed and turned to leave once more.

Slit-Eyes panicked and blurted out, “I-I-I… I just wanted to know her name!”

Yu Yingze raised an eyebrow, surprised. “Huh? That’s it?”

“If it’s too much trouble, never mind. I just wanted to try asking… Sorry to bother you.” Slit-Eyes, fearing Yu Yingze might really call his dad, lowered his head and turned to leave, looking dejected. His pitiful figure struck a chord with Yu Yingze, who suddenly felt a twinge of sympathy.

“Her name is Yuanyuan. Yu Yuanyuan,” Yu Yingze finally relented.

Slit-Eyes stopped in his tracks, turning around in surprise, his eyes brimming with gratitude. “Yuanyuan… Wow, her name is as cute as she is!”

Yu Yingze glanced over at Yuanyuan, who had crumbs of potato chips all over her mouth, and looked back at Slit-Eyes, puzzled. “Uh… cute?”

“She’s like a little angel,” Slit-Eyes said, smiling dreamily, his hands clasped together. “I really want to be her friend.”

“That’s not happening.” Yu Yingze immediately shut down his fantasy without a second thought.