How come you're also my ex-girlfriend?

I didn't run into Wen Xueyu at the school cafeteria at noon, but I did bump into Jiang Yiyao and another girl on the second floor.

The girl wasn't as strikingly beautiful as Jiang Yiyao, nor did she possess such an aggressive quality.

She has a slender and cute appearance, with her hair tied in pigtails and a red hair clip with white spots.

Although she couldn't compare to Jiang Yiyao, who was standing next to her, she was still considered one of the top girls Xu Yan had ever seen at the affiliated high school.

Why do pretty girls always hang out with other pretty girls? Doesn't anyone ever want to hang out with a handsome guy like me?

Xu Yan made eye contact with Jiang Yiyao as he passed by, but instead of heading straight for where they were sitting, he simply walked past them.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yiyao looked up and shouted, "Why are you running? Did you go steal a dog? Come here."

Xu Yan: ?

Didn't you just use the "dog theft" meme this morning? Stealing again! This is your first time stealing, buddy, you'll be prosecuted if you steal again!

The girl next to Jiang Yiyao also looked over curiously, blinked her watery eyes, and watched as Xu Yan walked over with a tray and sat down opposite the two of them.

"Huh? Yao Yao, is this your friend?"

The girl immediately asked.

Jiang Yiyao shrugged. "A good-for-nothing little brother who lives next door to me."

Xu Yan rolled her eyes at Jiang Yiyao. "You called me here just to humiliate me, didn't you?"

"Otherwise, would I be introducing you to a girlfriend?"

"Oh dear, what did you say?"

The girl next to Jiang Yiyao immediately blushed and patted her on the shoulder, acting coquettishly.

Jiang Yiyao looked at her with a puzzled expression. "I didn't say I was introducing you. You seem to be in a hurry..."

"No way!"

"But don't even think about it, you can't talk to him at all."

Although Xu Yan didn't have any plans to be in a relationship at the moment, hearing Jiang Yiyao's confident tone, he couldn't help but ask, "Wait, why does it seem like you're the one making all the decisions about me?"

The sunlight outside the window stubbornly penetrated the glass and fell on the girl's delicate, fair face. When she smiled, she looked like a wicked fox.

"I'm your mother, of course I have a say in matters concerning the children."

Xu Yan: ...

You've been attacking WoW a lot lately, haven't you? WoW's reputation is ruined by people like you!

"It's only twenty yuan for this meal, otherwise I would have thrown it all over your head, you ordinary woman."

The boy rolled his eyes, then looked at the girl who was curious about their relationship, "My name is Xu Yan, and I'm in Class 1 of the Parallel Class."

For some reason, ever since letting go of his 'obsession' with Lin Jia, Xu Yan felt he no longer had that restraint when looking at girls. It was like he was letting himself go, letting others see him however they wanted, he was just like that.

The girl with pigtails nodded, her smile slightly shy. "Hello, my name is Xiao Lili, the 'Li' in 'pear'."

It has a sweet-sounding name, but it's still not quite as good as the cod burger.

Xu Yan nodded and then looked at Jiang Yiyao, "Is this your new friend?"

"You're using slang again, aren't you?" Jiang Yiyao blurted out.

Xu Yan was stunned for a moment before she reacted, "You've gone too far!"

Damn it, how could a guy like me stand being groped like this by Jiang Yiyao every day?

Xiao Lili, standing nearby, didn't understand at all and looked at the two of them strangely, asking, "What are you two talking about?"

Xu Yan quickly shook his head, "It's nothing, it's nothing, kids shouldn't listen to that."

"Oh." Xiao Lili nodded as if she understood, then looked at the two of them for a moment before saying, "You two have a really good relationship."

Xu Yan and Jiang Yiyao turned to look at Xiao Lili at the same time, their question marks almost turning into mission prompts.

"How did you figure that out?" Xu Yan asked politely.

Jiang Yiyao retorted sharply, "Has no one mentioned in all these years that there might be something wrong with your eyes?"

"Huh? What happened to my eyes?"

"With eyesight like that, you probably lose every time you play 'spot the difference' with a blind person, otherwise how did you come to the conclusion that we have a good relationship?"

"???" She was confused, feeling that there was something strange about the two of them. "But... is there anything wrong with their relationship?"

Jiang Yiyao scoffed, "It hasn't come to the point where they're actually pulling knives at each other, has it?"

"You really want to kill me?"

"Who knows? You'll find out if you make me angry twice more."

"..." This is pointless; this woman is a sore loser.

Xu Yan ate his food in silence. It was alright; the knife hadn't reached his neck yet, and the food just had to stay warm.

Xiao Lili found the bickering between the two increasingly amusing. "How did you two meet?"

Jiang Yiyao ate her food in small bites, then mumbled, "Didn't I tell you? My neighbor has been clinging to me since we were kids."

I'm not some big pig clinging to you, am I?

Xu Yan retorted irritably, "I don't know who insisted on following me around when we were kids. When the family asked, they always blamed me and made me get scolded."

Hearing this, Jiang Yiyao instantly blushed. "Who's shifting the blame! Did I treat you to an ice cream afterwards? It was three rings!"

"Anyway, this thing happened."

"We're all adults now, let's not talk about the past, okay? Isn't that childish?"

"I'm still two months away from turning 18, thank you."

"Oh, then you have to call her 'older sister'."

Xiao Lili immediately raised her hand, "I'm still five months away from turning 18!"

As a result, Xu Yan and Jiang Yiyao both turned to look at her, revealing very similar smiles.

"Call me 'sister'."

"Call me brother."

"..." The girl with twin ponytails blushed and looked at the two of them, "You two are really...!"

But they had no power to harm her. Instead, the two men moved closer and whispered to her as if tempted by some devil, "Say it, say those two words."

The girl could only clench her fists, her face flushed, and grit her teeth as she shouted two words, "Bad guy!"

Xu Yan and Jiang Yiyao immediately sat back down, feeling utterly bored.

"I thought she would say that the two of us were Chu Sheng."

"Yeah, at the very least, he should be stupid, right?"

"Being a bad guy is boring, it's like being a spoiled brat."

"He's just too thin-skinned; he can't bring himself to curse."

"Isn't it because you taught them poorly?"

"It's alright, there will be plenty of opportunities to be influenced by what you see and hear, and you can be properly nurtured."

Xiao Lili: ? ? ?

Are there still humans here? I'm going to report this to the United Nations: aliens are having a feast!

"I'm finished eating. You guys continue eating. I'll be going now."

Xu Yan quickly finished his lunch and left with his tray.

The two girls ate quite politely, unlike Xu Yan who wolfed down his food, so they hadn't finished eating yet.

However, now that Xu Yan is gone, Xiao Lili can boldly ask some questions.

"You two don't have a relationship that bad, do you?"

Jiang Yiyao paused for a moment, then calmly replied, "It's alright, there's no deep-seated hatred."

"Oh, I understand."

"What did you figure out? I've noticed you're a bit of a gossip. Are you that interested in relationships? Tell me what you've figured out."

Xiao Lili smiled slightly, "I've seen it in Japanese anime. Childhood sweethearts who used to be very close missed each other because of some small misunderstandings. When they finally grew up and understood their feelings, a beautiful girl who suddenly appeared would seize the opportunity, and then the childhood sweetheart would become the loser."

"..." Jiang Yiyao covered her face and sighed, "Now I know why you're so pretty, but you're not very popular in class."

Xiao Lili blinked. "Why? Because I like to tell the truth?"

"Let's eat, Lili."

"Aww."

"Just one more thing, your name sounds like a loser's name."

"How about I let you have this name?"

"Do you want me to feed you if you don't want to eat?" When she saw Jiang Yiyao's forced smile, Xiao Lili obediently lowered her head to eat and stopped talking.

Jiang Yiyao made much more noise with her chopsticks, as if she were using the plate as a drum set.

She didn't show much emotion; she even felt a little like laughing.

This is really chaotic!

When Xu Yan finished evening self-study tonight, he didn't encounter any class bullies or off-campus thugs blocking the gate. However, there was no ride-sharing service available tonight.

Jiang Yiyao said that she and Xiao Lili were going home on the same route, so they took the bus together.

Ugh, I kind of hate twin tails.

Once home, there was no need to greet anyone as I passed the third-floor entrance, so I went straight upstairs.

"You're back?"

Father Xu Jia'an was already dressed in his pajamas, watching "The Search for Love" with Mother Wang Hui.

Xu Yan really wanted to complain. This thing had been on since he could remember. How come it's still going on after all these years? He had no TV to watch at night and had to watch this thing with his mother. Sometimes his mother would even secretly wipe away her tears.

In hindsight, Xu Yan realized that everyone probably has some masochistic tendencies, knowing they will get hurt but still unable to resist getting involved... Yes, he was one of them.

"Yeah, you guys aren't asleep yet?"

"I'm waiting for you," Xu Jia'an said irritably. Then Wang Hui slowly stood up. "You've been eating quite a lot lately, even having a late-night snack yesterday. Are you hungry? I'll make you a late-night snack."

Xu Yan thought about it and realized that he had indeed been eating a lot lately. He didn't know if it was because he was getting older or because of the improved physique he had received as a system reward.

But as he watched his mother get up, he suddenly remembered something: hadn't he just been rewarded with the title of master of cooking?

So he threw his schoolbag on the sofa and then stopped Wang Hui.

"I can do it myself. Are you hungry? I'll make something for you."

Wang Hui stood there stunned. Xu Jia'an immediately cut off the Douyin app, and the once lively living room fell into an eerie silence.

The two exchanged a glance in silence, and Wang Hui finally spoke up, "Why don't we go back to our ancestral graves and burn some more? Something really isn't right."

Xu Jia'an sighed deeply, "I suggest you just create a new account."

Xu Yan: ?

Wait, how come you two are even more resourceful than me? How about I let you have the living room and we can start a game right away?

Xu Yan couldn't help but roll her eyes. "It's just making a late-night snack, do you guys have to react like this?"

"You've never cooked before, yet you're making midnight snacks? Tell me the truth, are you short of money? If you are, just say so. There's no need to make your parents risk their lives to test the waters."

Xu Yan rolled up his sleeves and headed straight for the kitchen.

"Looks like I can't prove it to you without showing off my skills. Do you have any leftovers? I'll start by making three bowls of fried rice."

Xu Jia'an said worriedly, "Why don't we just forget about it, Your Highness? Our family really doesn't have much inheritance for you, there's no need to rush."

"How can I not be anxious if you're even starting a new account? This has always been the case in the struggle for the crown prince position!"

"Hey, you little rascal!"

The moment Xu Yan stepped into the kitchen, that peculiar voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

[If you could go back to being seventeen, the thing you'd regret most is probably not spending enough time with your parents. At thirty-eight, still unmarried and without a family, you've caused them a lifetime of worry. Yet, you struggle to even provide basic companionship, indulging in a fabricated sense of freedom, completely forgetting that there's a beacon called 'home' in some direction.]

This time, you've decided to cherish all the important people in your life, most importantly your parents. Don't let future regrets replace the companionship and effort you can give now, and don't let those late-night concerns become an excuse for your impatience.

[Task: Make a late-night snack for your parents. Task Reward: Perfect Sleep.]

……