Zhang Lu laughed heartily, “Then your dream will come true even faster!”

Cao Gaocong also knew they were just dreaming, but that didn’t stop him and the boys who came along from discussing various techniques in a frenzy.

Cao Gaocong knew that Cen Huai An had a good memory, so he asked him about some things he couldn’t quite recall.

Cen Huai An was able to recall each one.

Cao Gaocong and the others were shocked, exclaiming, “Wow! You remembered all that! But can you actually use it?”

Cen Huaian shook his head, “No, that’s gambling; it’s illegal.”

As a student, he certainly wouldn’t break the law.

Cao Gaocong and the others understood that they were just novices; even when playing simple poker, they would likely lose terribly.

Jiang Weixi mimicked the sound of dealing cards, “Brother, that card-dealing action looks so good!”

“I’ll teach you how to do it when we get home. But Xixi, you can’t learn to play cards; it’s not good,” Cen Huai An said, patting Jiang Weixi’s head.

She nodded vigorously, “Brother, I know! The teacher said so; I’m a good kid.”

Zhang Lu tugged on Jiang Weixi’s little braid, “Xixi is so well-behaved; she’s truly my sister!”

It was still early after watching the movie, so everyone casually wandered around Xidan, where a bustling commercial street had formed, selling all sorts of things.

Cen Huaian, Zhang Lu, and the others loved to eat, so they didn’t buy anything else but various snacks, all hot and freshly made, and delicious.

After strolling down a street, each of them felt stuffed, except for Cen Huai An, who was mindful of his and Jiang Weixi’s portions and didn’t overeat.

Zhang Lu rubbed her belly, saying, “It’s so happy to eat until you’re full after watching a movie! I wish we could come here every week.”

“Then your red envelope money will run out very quickly.”

Zhang Lu shot Cen Huai An a glare, “Let me be happy for a moment in my head! It’s not like it can come true.”

As they walked closer to Cen Huaian’s courtyard, a group of boys suddenly rushed out from the gate next door, with Dou Baishui leading the way.

“An An!” Dou Baishui exclaimed, looking up to see Cen Huai An, his face filled with unhidden joy as he ran over.

“I haven’t seen you at the courtyard for a long time! Why are you here now? Oh right, the persimmons in your courtyard are ripe again. I helped scare the birds away; you’ll be able to harvest more persimmons this year!”

Without waiting for Cen Huaian to speak, Dou Baishui rattled on and on, but Cen Huai An focused on the mention of persimmons.

“Thank you, Baishui. We’ll come pick the persimmons next week. You can pick some ripe ones to eat.”

Cen Huaian’s family couldn’t finish all the persimmons from the tree, even after giving them to relatives and friends, there would still be plenty left.

Ripe persimmons rot quickly; if not shared, they would go bad, so it was better to give them to others to avoid wasting the fruit.

Dou Baishui scratched his head and grinned, “We picked a few to eat; we were just about to tell you. But we didn’t do it on purpose; if we didn’t pick them, they would fall to the ground and spoil.”

Cen Huai An didn’t mind, “You can eat them.”

Jiang Weixi saw the persimmon tree towering over the courtyard, filled with clusters of red and yellow persimmons, looking very tempting.

She licked her lips and asked, “Brother, can I eat persimmons?”

“Sure.”

Cen Huaian opened the gate with his key to let everyone in to pick some.

Cao Gaocong and the others saw the tall persimmon trees and the bright red persimmons, gasping in amazement.

“So many persimmons!”

“They look so sweet!”

“Cen Huaian, can we really pick as many as we want?”

Cen Huai An replied, “As long as you don’t waste them.”

Zhang Lu watched as Cao Gaocong and the others started to climb the trees and quickly shouted, “Pick as many as you can eat!”

Cao Gaocong gave a clear gesture to indicate he understood.

Dou Baishui was still the fastest and climbed the highest, and when Zhang Lu saw his skills, her eyes brightened.

Cen Huaian went inside to find a wicker basket, which Chuxia had left there just in case.

After they finished eating persimmons last time, Chuxia had also sent over some baskets to ensure they had something to collect them in when it was time to harvest.

Seeing the wicker basket Cen Huaian brought out, Zhang Lu looked puzzled, “Didn’t you say we’d pick them next week?”

Cen Huai An looked up at the persimmon tree, saying, “My mom miscalculated how ripe the persimmons were. If we don’t pick them today and it rains or gets windy, they’ll fall to the ground.”

Since many people were here today, they could work together to pick the ripe persimmons.

Cao Gaocong and Dou Baishui started a competition to see who could pick more persimmons.

Eventually, Zhang Lu joined in the climbing, and soon the tree was filled with the sounds of joyful laughter from both above and below.

After picking two full wicker baskets of persimmons, Cen Huaiwn also gave each person who helped them some persimmons.

Cen Huaiqn and Zhang Lu each carried a basket, while Jiang Weixian and Jiang Weixi followed behind, each holding a persimmon and munching on it.

Jiang Weixian was able to manage himself, but Jiang Weixi got so into eating that she didn’t care about anything else.

Persimmon juice was smeared all over her little face, and she accidentally got some on her clothes as well.

When Cen Huaiwn finally had a free hand, Jiang Weixi’s little face was already a mess.

Zhang Lu wanted to laugh at her face and, along with Cen Huaian, wiped one side, saying, “How did you manage to get your face so messy while eating a persimmon?”

Jiang Weixi tilted her head and thought seriously before saying, “Because there’s too much persimmon juice.”

The courtyard wasn’t far from Yunmengze, and Zhang Lu and Cen Huaian didn’t feel tired at all carrying the persimmons there.

When they reached the entrance, the security guard helped them take the persimmons.

As soon as Cen Huai An and the others entered Yunmengze, a few dogs that had been sitting in the guard station rushed out, surrounding Cen Huai An and Jiang Weixi as they spun around them.

Dou Baishui skated on the ice at Yunmengze but had no idea that it was owned by Cen Huai’an’s relatives.

“Now you know; it’s not a big deal,” Cen Huai’an said casually upon hearing his astonishment.

Zhang Lu held onto Huangzi’s dog head, while Huangzi rubbed against her face. She giggled and said, “Did you know? You’ll come here to skate in the future too!”

Dou Baishui nodded in agreement with their words.

At that moment, Jiang Zhida and some shareholders from Yunmengze arrived.

Upon seeing the dog covered in stickers, they couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Shen Chuan looked at Jiang Weixi and asked with a broad smile, “Is that your little niece who created those masterpieces with the dogs? She’s so cute!”

Jiang Zhida pushed him back protectively. “That’s my niece; keep your distance.”

Shen Chuan laughed, “Your niece is also my niece! You must be called Xixi, right? Come and call me Uncle.”

Jiang Weixi looked at his face but quickly ran back behind Cen Huai’an, peeking out cautiously.

“Brother, he looks so fierce!”

Shen Chuan did have a somewhat fierce appearance, and his casual, carefree demeanor meant that every time his mother set him up on a blind date, he would manage to ruin it.

Cen Huai’an patted her head. “Don’t be scared, Xixi; this is Uncle Shen Chuan, a friend of your little uncle.”

Jiang Weixi knew that friends of her little uncle weren’t bad people, but looking at Shen Chuan’s face still made her afraid.

Children often fear those who appear too strong or have a fierce aura; they always think of them as monsters that could swallow them whole.

While Jiang Weixi called everyone “Uncle,” she deliberately avoided calling Shen Chuan, which made him feel particularly sad.

“Isn’t Tu Hongxiao even bigger than I look? Why does Xixi like him so much?”

Jiang Zhida replied, “Because Hongxiao looks more reliable than you.”

Shen Chuan felt as if his heart had been stabbed once again.

With friends around, Cen Huai’an and the others didn’t go to the private room but took everyone to the roller skating rink.

There were many people there, all dancing freely on the rink, which made Cao Gaochong and the others eager to change into their skates.

Cen Huai’an didn’t join in; he stayed by the side to teach Jiang Weixi.

Zhang Lu skated over after a lap, leaning against the rink’s railing. “Next, I’ll teach Xixi; you go skate a couple of laps and come back.”

“Sis, no need,” Cen Huai’an said, looking up at Zhang Lu. “I can handle it on my own.”

Besides, if they kept switching off teaching Jiang Weixi, their skating styles were different, which would make it harder for her to learn.

Zhang Lu tried to persuade him a few more times, but Cen Huai’an remained firm.

Jiang Weixi clung to Cen Huai’an, not wanting to let her go, so in the end, Zhang Lu gave up and returned to the rink.

Jiang Weixi learned to skate quickly; kids are naturally agile and pick up things fast.

Plus, she was attentive, so when Cen Huai’an let go of her, she could slowly glide forward on the ice by herself.

As she attempted to skate independently, Cen Huai’an kept a watchful eye on her, ready to protect her.

So, whenever Jiang Weixi lost control, Cen Huai’an would perfectly catch her to prevent her from falling.

A while later, Zhang Lu skated over again.

Seeing that Xixi had learned to skate but still needed protection, she urged Cen Huai’an to go join in.

Cen Huai’an still refused. “You go skate; I’m just here to make sure Xixi learns.”

Zhang Lu looked into his eyes. “Don’t you want to skate a couple of laps quickly?”

“Not really,” Cen Huai’an replied.

He skated often enough that a day off didn’t bother him; he didn’t have a strong desire to skate today.

Zhang Lu couldn’t persuade him and had to head back to the ice.

They didn’t play for long because it was already getting dark when they arrived. After an hour, they decided to head home.

At that moment, Cen Huai’an heard his beeper go off; it was his mother calling for him.

“Xixi, it’s time to go home. We’ll come back next time.”

Jiang Weixi had just begun to enjoy skating and was reluctant to leave, feeling quite unhappy about ending the fun.

Zhang Lu comforted her, “The skating rink isn’t going anywhere; we can come back next week or the week after.”

Jiang Weixi perked up again. “Brother and sister, take me with you! Take me!”

“Sure!” Zhang Lu led her to change her shoes while Cen Huai’an told Zhang Lu he would head upstairs to Jiang Zhida’s private room and called Chuxia.

“An’an?”

“Mom, it’s me. We’re at Yunmengze now.”

Chuxia was at Jiang Waigong’s place, worried that Cen Huai’an and the others would lose track of time while having fun.

“Your dad and I are coming to pick you up now; it’s time to go home.”

Cen Huai’an replied, “I’ll wait for you at the entrance.”

After hanging up, Cen Huai’an said goodbye to Jiang Zhida inside the room, and the parents of Jiang Weixi and the others had also arrived.

Chuxia and Jiang Zhizhu drove the Zhang family home and used their headlights to guide Cen Huai’an and Zhang Lu’s classmates back.

These kids didn’t want a ride, but it was completely dark by now, and Chuxia and the others didn’t feel safe letting them ride bikes home alone.

Moreover, these kids were all friends of Cen Huai’an, so helping them would also strengthen his relationships with his classmates.

The next day, as school began, Cao Gaochong turned excitedly to Cen Huai’an. “Your parents are really nice! You even have a car; your family is so rich!”

Cen Huai’an replied, “That car was bought by my mom. I don’t have money.”

Cao Gaochong said, “I know you don’t have money; I don’t have any either.”

Cen Huai’an responded with a simple “Mm” and lowered his head to continue calculating.

Yesterday, Jiang Zhida had given him and Zhang Lu the account books from the audiovisual shop.