Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

Before this day, Zixiao had never dressed so beautifully, just like a little princess.

She was very happy and arrived at the familiar gate of the welfare home with great anticipation.

There, the couple was waiting for her.

The man was dressed in a sharp suit, and the woman had long, silver hair like a shooting star; she was unbelievably beautiful.

Behind them, there seemed to be two children, about the same age as Zixiao.

The two children look very alike, both having long, silver hair.

One of the children, dressed in a gorgeous princess dress, grabbed another child's sleeve and looked at Zixiao with great vigilance.

The other child, dressed in a shirt and trousers, stared straight ahead with an indifferent, ethereal, and profound gaze, as if he could see through everything in this world.

But there also seems to be complete indifference.

Zixiao had never seen such a look in the eyes of children her age.

Moreover, even though Zixiao had been praised as a beauty since childhood, she felt inexplicably inferior when facing these two children.

Seeing Zixiao, who had been running out happily, suddenly freeze in place, the silver-haired woman in the couple quickly stepped forward and held Zixiao's small hands in her own.

He spoke gently, in the most tender way possible: "Little Zixiao... we've come to pick you up today. From now on, I'm your mother, this is your father, and those two little ones behind you will be your older brother and sister. We're all family now, so we must all get along well. Um... from now on, your surname is Su, so your name will be Su Zixiao!"

Her voice was very pleasant, but what Zixiao heard more clearly were two words.

"family…"

Zixiao, who is usually very sensible, forgot to respond properly today and just kept muttering the word "family".

Everything happened so suddenly; even with preparation, it came far too suddenly.

But the woman in front of her didn't blame her at all. She waved to the back and said, "Yu Zhe, Yu Che, come here quickly! Come and see your little sister. From now on, Xiao Zixiao will be your little sister. As her older brother and sister, you must take good care of her!"

Huh? Zixiao just realized that she thought the two children were both girls. It turns out one of them was a boy. She really couldn't tell.

Young Su Yuzhe reluctantly walked up to Zixiao, looked her up and down, and then said in a very indifferent tone, "My name is Su Yuzhe. I know you had a hard time in the past. Although my parents said they wanted to adopt you, I don't object, but it has nothing to do with me. I hope we can bother each other less in the future. That's all."

"..."

His concise yet indifferent tone, though light and clear, created a sense of pressure, leaving Su Zixiao momentarily speechless.

Even so... Zixiao really wants to get along well with her family...

"Yuzhe!"

The silver-haired woman, Yang Qiuyun, who is also the mother of Yu Zhe and Yu Che, addressed Su Yu Zhe in a reproachful tone.

Then, turning her gaze to Su Yuche behind Yu Zhe, who was clutching Yu Zhe's clothes, she said, "Yuche! Tell your brother what he's doing, how is he talking to his sister like that!"

Unexpectedly, Yu Che replied with some dissatisfaction: "I will think whatever my brother says. I will never say that my brother is wrong. Besides, I am my brother's sister. I am enough!"

"You two!" Yang Qiuyun was speechless. These two kids are so smart, how come they're so stubborn?

"You two go back to the car and stop causing trouble." Their father, Su Zhenfeng, couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to send them back home.

This time, Su Yuzhe was obedient and took Su Yuche's hand to go back to the car to wait. He wouldn't have gotten out if his mother hadn't called him earlier.

As they walked towards the car, young Yu Che glanced worriedly at Zi Xiao, who was standing there blankly behind him.

She said to Yu Zhe with some unease, "Brother... isn't that a bit much... even though we already agreed on this..."

But... I have a feeling that the child seems disappointed...

Don't worry.

Su Yuzhe's tone was completely different from before, now gentle and devoid of coldness. It seemed that all his emotions were now focused on Yu Che.

He held Yu Che's hand and continued, "What happens to her is none of my business. It's impossible for me to acknowledge a child as my sister just because my parents found her. I'm not doing charity work. Besides, I have you, and that's enough for me."

"Yes, yes, Yu Che will listen to brother. Brother has Yu Che, that's enough!"

Watching Yu Zhe and Yu Che get back into the car, Yang Qiuyun wiped away a cold sweat and said to Su Zixiao with some worry, "Little Zixiao... don't be afraid. They're a little... different from normal children. They're saying this now, but they'll be fine after spending some time together. Do you think you can forgive them?"

Yang Qiuyun felt that this would definitely make Su Zixiao feel very bad.

But to my surprise, Zixiao simply nodded: "Hmm... I understand. I've seen it on TV... Nobody likes a stranger suddenly appearing in their home, right? I know, I'll try my best to win over my older brother and sister so they can accept me sooner..."

Seeing her determined expression, Yang Qiuyun's eyes flashed with light, and her face was full of surprise: "Xiao Zixiao, you are so sensible! It was definitely the right decision to bring you to the Su family. You should teach your brother a lesson about his bad temper. Oh, and that's not all."

As she spoke, she said, word by word, "The most important thing is that you find happiness in the Su family, happiness that belongs to you."

Are you happy...?

This sentence resonated for a long time and lingered thereafter.

Even after many years, it is still etched in Zixiao's mind.

Su Yuzhe's cold gaze at that time did not deter Su Zixiao; instead, it planted a seed in her heart, and her longing for family continued to grow and sprout from that seed.

Zixiao didn't know what happiness was, but she understood very well that true hope was something you had to fight for to have a chance to grasp.

Others might not notice.

Ten years ago, Su Yuzhe gave that extremely cold glance.

What Zixiao saw was the faint light hidden deep within his emotionless eyes.

Oh, Xiao Zixiao really hopes she can get along well with her older brother and sister soon.

And there will always come a day like that.

Zixiao will become a sun in Yuzhe's heart, amidst the icy snow.

Let that glimmer of light transform into a radiant glow.

(PS: I'll update one more chapter of Xiao Zixiao's side story tomorrow, then I'll take a break and return to the main story, starting Volume 2!)

Extra: Su Zixiao (2)

During Su Zixiao's first year in the Su family, Su Yuzhe never gave her a kind look.

It wasn't that Yu Zhe wanted to make things difficult for her; it was just that he didn't want another younger sister. Adopting Zi Xiao was his parents' decision, and it really had nothing to do with him. Since it had nothing to do with him, there was no need for them to get along well.

Acting according to logic was Yu Zhe's style at the time.

This was six months after Zixiao came to the Su family.

A group of maids waited outside the restaurant, while Yu Zhe, Yu Che, and Zi Xiao sat at a large table and ate together.

Zixiao had been saying she could eat in her room, but Yang Qiuyun said it would be better for the three children to eat together so they could get to know each other better.

Zixiao also wanted to talk to her older brother and sister more, so she agreed.

However, this was not very effective. Young Yu Zhe kept serving food to Yu Che next to him, but ignored Zi Xiao.

Zixiao certainly didn't need such treatment; she was used to eating on her own.

I just felt that things couldn't go on like this.

So after thinking for a moment, she finally spoke up, "Brother Yuzhe... um..."

I never expected that these words would be spoken so soon.

Yu Che immediately interrupted her.

"You're not allowed to call me that! My brother is my brother! You can't take him away!"

Back then, Yu Che spoke softly, just like her gentle personality at the time.

But when it came to Yu Zhe, she never gave an inch.

Realizing she had misspoke, Zixiao quickly corrected herself, "I...I'm sorry, Young Master Yuzhe...Is it alright if I call you that?"

"Whatever you want." Su Yuzhe put down his chopsticks. "It's your business how you call me, but as I said, just don't bother me. I'm full. After you finish eating, have the maid clean up."

Seeing Yu Zhe get up and leave, Yu Che quickly jumped off her chair and followed him, grabbing a piece of bread from the table. It seemed she wasn't full, but usually, whenever Yu Zhe said he was done eating, she would follow him.

Of course, Zixiao also saw that when Yuzhe left, he instructed the maid to make some more food and send it to him and Yuche's room.

"She's not full yet..." Looking at the pile of uneaten food on the table, young Zixiao felt a little down... Was she deliberately avoiding her?

Even so, Zixiao still stood up politely and watched Yuzhe and Yuche walk out of the restaurant.

Just then, Yu Zhe, who was about to walk out the door, turned back and said to Zi Xiao, who was hanging her little head, "Oh right, there's a big banquet tonight. A lot of Su family relatives might come. You should get ready too. Since you're already here at the Su family and are a member of the Su family, you should learn some manners."

rare.

It's really rare for Young Master Yu Zhe to take the initiative to talk to me.

Although it wasn't a statement of concern, Zixiao could tell the deeper meaning behind Yuzhe's words: if he didn't care about her at all, there would be no need for him to say such things.

In fact, over the past six months, Yu Zhe has always shown some subtle concern from time to time.

At the time, however, this concern stemmed from his belief that Zixiao was always alone and he felt sorry for her.

It was just an occasional expression of concern.

Zixiao understood this very well.

Even though these concerns sounded harsh, they still made Zixiao feel very warm.

These words... even if harsh, are precious to Zixiao, who longs for family.

So she quickly bowed to Yu Zhe: "Thank you, Young Master Yu Zhe! I will prepare well! I won't let you and Miss Yu Che down!"

After that, Yu Zhe took Yu Che back to the room, and Zi Xiao began to temporarily learn some etiquette that might be useful.

I must perform well and try my best to gain my brother's approval!

........................... ..

But it wasn't until the banquet started that evening that Zixiao realized she had been naive. The Su family's banquet hall was ridiculously large and magnificent, with many high-society people holding wine glasses, taking the opportunity to finalize business cooperation.

The soothing and elegant music couldn't mask Zixiao's inner panic.

She was wearing the princess dress she had worn when she left the orphanage. She thought it was a very beautiful and gorgeous dress, but it looked too ordinary for a banquet of this scale.

Yang Qiuyun and Su Zhenfeng, as the heads of the main branch of the Su family, were both busy with their own affairs.

Zixiao couldn't find Yuzhe and Yuche either, so she could only stay in a corner of the banquet hall. She took this opportunity to learn the etiquette of a real big family, hoping that she could help Young Master Yuzhe and Miss Yuche in the future!

However, Zixiao couldn't help but sigh. No wonder Young Master Yuzhe didn't accept her so easily; they were from completely different worlds... She was too naive to think she could easily integrate into her older siblings' world...

As she was thinking, Zixiao became a little distracted.

Then, unexpectedly, he bumped into a slightly plump, wealthy woman.