Chapter 3

After Xiao Yao washed down all the soup dumplings lodged in his throat with the bottle of water I handed him, the two of us sat together and sank into contemplation.

He looked embarrassed. The corners of his fair-skinned face were red, and so was the tip of his nose.

On the verge of tears, he asked, “Sis, are you going to be disgusted with me…?”

Before he could finish, I pressed one finger to his lips. “Shh. Call me big sis.”

Even his ears turned red as he shyly looked away.

His lips tightened. For once, he refused to play along.

That only made him look cuter.

I couldn’t resist leaning closer.

I shrugged, narrowed my eyes, curled my tongue, and breathed softly at him. “You little thing. Are you playing hard to get with me?”

At that moment, smoky eye makeup automatically materialized over my flawless European-style double eyelids.

“What kind of psycho blocks the middle of the road?” a passerby, whom we had forced to go around us, suddenly cursed from behind.

Xiao Yao snapped back to reality and quickly pushed me away, albeit gently.

His cool fingertips grazed my palm. The silky sensation lingered in my mind.

Then I looked at his flushed face, and suddenly I understood his hint!

He had feelings for me too!

I decided to be brave. After pulling him to one side, I gazed deep into his eyes and said tenderly, “Yao, big sis has a little money…”

Just then, a familiar figure approached from behind him.

The moment she spotted us, she stopped.

After sizing us up with interest, she strode over and wiped the blush off Xiao Yao’s face.

No wonder the kid had looked so red.

“Interesting taste,” Xu Ying said, casting Xiao Yao a wicked smile. With her delicate, innocent, white-lotus looks, the contrast between her face and her behavior was startling.

That was what genuinely made Xiao Yao blush.

In an instant, he became utterly flustered.

Even after Xu Ying had walked past, his eyes stayed glued to her.

Another man struck stupid by the sight of Xu Ying.

No taste whatsoever!

My face fell. I picked up where I had left off. “Big sis has a little money—and wants to keep it for herself.”

Then I turned decisively away, leaving pride and carefree confidence at my back while keeping the helplessness and sorrow to myself.

That was how we heiresses from wealthy families lived.

We were always our own queens.

Xu Ying, that hateful pest, excepted.

I planned to drown my sorrows in drink and mourn a love that had died before it could begin.

Right then, Qi Pei messaged to ask what I was doing.

What a familiar opening. In the past, I had always been the only one sending it to him.

The sun must have risen in the west today.

Before I could finish marveling, a second, awkward message from him arrived. “Why haven’t you been simping for me lately?”

The words stabbed straight into my heart. They reminded me of my recently failed second romance, and grief overwhelmed me.

I took a picture of the Excel sheet on my laptop and sent it to him, then began typing at lightning speed.

Me: “Soz. Business has been hectic lately, and I accidentally left you off the list.”

Me: “Tell you what, I’ll give you a number. You’re seventh in line. Once I finish simping through the first two rounds, you’re up.”

Me: “Don’t worry, I’m very efficient, Ziyue.”

Qi Pei replied at once. “My name is Qi Pei!”

Ignoring that, I shut my laptop and burst into loud sobs, drawing looks from everyone nearby.

A server at the shop finally couldn’t take it anymore. He approached, handed me a tissue, and lowered his voice. “Miss, we still have a business to run. Would you mind crying in the restroom?”

“Sorry. I’ve had too much to drink.” I took the tissue and dabbed at my face between sobs.

“But miss, you ordered an Oreo milk tea. It doesn’t contain alcohol.”

“I ate the bitterness of love and drank the wine of memory. Is there any problem with my getting drunk on that? No, there is not.” I spread my hands. From the corner of my eye, I saw the server’s fists clench.

He seemed to be desperately holding something back.

Only after taking another long moment to steady his breathing did he speak again. “Of course, miss. It’s just that your session with Duoduo has ended. Unless you’d like to renew it, please release him. He has another guest to entertain.”

Duoduo was the Samoyed in my arms.

The first time I passed the shop, he had pressed himself to the window, grinning and panting at me.

I came inside, booked a session with him, gathered him into my arms, and wailed.

He continued grinning.

Now he had taken my money and was preparing to grin at someone else.

Dogs were all brutally practical creatures.

And I—I couldn’t even make a dog stay.

The thought sent another wave of grief crashing over me.

I seized the server by the collar, buried my face against him, and started bawling.

“What a dog! Such a dog!”

“What dog?” the server asked gloomily from above me.

“Men! Men are such dogs!”

“…” He had nothing to say to that.

“Bro, is she still not done crying?” another familiar voice cut in from the side.

I jerked up my head and, sure enough, found myself staring at a familiar face.

It was Qin You, the tan athlete whose WeChat I had demanded that day.

Wait. Bro?

I looked up, shakily wiped my face, and blinked the tears from my eyes.

At that exact moment, the server combed down the gelled fringe over his forehead, retrieved a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and put them on.

In an instant, he transformed into Qin You’s aloof, reserved, academically brilliant older brother—Qin Chu.

Now the brothers watched at their leisure as I cried like a dog, both my hands still stuffed into the pockets on either side of Qin Chu’s jacket.

For one fleeting moment, even I experienced an emotion known as embarrassment.

Boo-hoo… Such dogs… Men were such dogs!