Jin Ran remained stubbornly defiant. “Don’t get the wrong idea about her. There’s nothing going on between us. I know how to keep a proper distance.”

“I’ve always just seen Lu Linlin as a little sister.” He sounded uneasy as he said it.

If he’d said this before, he would have sounded completely confident. But things were different now.

It seemed he had truly fallen for her now.

Jin Ran continued, “Stop spouting nonsense. You’re slandering your sister and her future marriage prospects.”

“Heh.” Lu Shijing paid him no mind.

“How does someone like you have the nerve to get involved with her?”

“You can’t blame me for that!” Jin Ran said with a look of pure innocence. “It was late at night, and I was just planning to take her home. Who could have known things would get out of control!”

“I really regretted it afterward.”

Lu Shijing slapped him again. “What right do you have to regret it?”

“My sister is the one who should be kicking your ass.”

“I misspoke!” Jin Ran said immediately. “But I’m not… dirty! I’m a virgin, too. It’s true. I never lie. In any case, I’m planning to settle down now.”

“I came abroad to get my head straight. Then I was going to pursue her, but it seems like she doesn’t like me. She’s been avoiding me lately. It’s tearing me up inside.”

Not long ago, Jin Ran had mocked Lu Shijing for being so tormented by love, saying he was acting completely out of character.

Like he’d become a different person.

Only now did he realize that he wasn’t faring any better now that it was his turn. He’d been secretly observing Lu Linlin this whole time, analyzing the situation from every angle, but he still couldn’t figure out where things had gone wrong.

He had no idea what her type was.

He tried to talk to Lu Linlin, but she would just avoid him outright.

This feeling of having lost something he’d never even possessed was agonizing.

Seeing Jin Ran on the verge of a breakdown, rambling and crying as he spoke, “You’re Lu Linlin’s brother. Linnin… I practically watched that girl grow up. How does she have such a hold on me?”

“Right now, I’d be happy just to get one more look at her! But she’s been staying home, and your grandmother has been giving me the weirdest looks lately, like she wants to murder me. She’s been saying some pretty harsh things, too.”

“Did you really think my grandmother is some kind of pushover?”

“Linnin is naive. All Grandma has to do is play dumb and act sweet, and after a few casual questions, she’ll know the gist of the whole story.”

“And you think you’ve hidden it all so well? You think you’re some tragic romantic hero? Let me tell you, even if you genuinely like my sister, you’ll never get past our family.”

Jin Ran was a blubbering mess.

“But you’re my bro! You’ll have my back, right?”

“Heh, you’re lucky I haven’t killed you already. It’s a good thing I know you just put on a show of being a player but are actually… clean. Otherwise, I’d make you regret you were ever born.”

“So… are we still having dinner together today?” Jin Ran asked nervously, unsure if he was even welcome to join them anymore.

‘It’s not like the dinner itself is anything special, but at least I’ll get to see Lu Linlin!’

‘At least I can ask her how she feels. I have to find out if she likes me or not, don’t I?’

‘If she likes me, we can start planning for marriage. If she doesn’t, then I’ll just have to keep trying harder.’

Lu Shijing saw his eager expression. “I’m going. You’re not.”

“It’s a family dinner. What would you be doing there?”

Just as Lu Shijing was about to leave, Jin Ran said, still not giving up, “You guys go in and eat. It’s fine if I just watch from outside!”

Just then, Gu Shengsheng, with Lu Linlin in tow, knocked on the door.

Lu Shijing opened the door, and his voice instantly softened. “Shengsheng.”

Lu Linlin tried to peek inside, but Lu Shijing blocked her view. He glared at her. “Looking for something?”

“N-No… I wasn’t, Bro.” The person Lu Linlin feared most was her own brother. She cowered behind Gu Shengsheng, her eyes filled with fear and anxiety.

Gu Shengsheng pulled her forward. “It’s okay. Let’s go eat. Go get Jin Ran.”

Lu Shijing glanced at Lu Linlin. “Jin Ran has diarrhea. He can’t make it.”

Then a desperate roar came from inside the room. “Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, I can go!”

“I can go!”

“Don’t listen to Lu Shijing!”

Lu Shijing was speechless. ‘Heh, he changes his tune faster than you can flip a page.’

‘And just a while ago, Jin Ran was always going on about how if he, Lu Shijing, the “big brother” of the group, said go east, Jin Ran would never dare go west.’

‘The moment Gu Shengsheng shows up, he immediately defects. What kind of person is he?’

In any case, Lu Shijing was not impressed.

He just let out a cold laugh and said, “Linnin, I know what happened.”

“We can eat, I suppose.”

Lu Linlin tugged on Gu Shengsheng’s sleeve. “We… we don’t have to eat…”

Gu Shengsheng said, “It’s better to meet and clear the air.”

What was supposed to be a simple meal between friends in a foreign land had become an event where, unexpectedly, no one could utter a single word.

Despite the table laden with dishes, not a single person ate. Everyone was silent.

Jin Ran, however, was staring intently at Lu Linlin. Lu Linlin, who was normally an extrovert and enjoyed a drink…

…was now staring at the floor, completely at a loss, not daring to meet her brother’s gaze, let alone Jin Ran’s.

Instead, she took out her phone and sent a message to Gu Shengsheng, who was sitting beside her:

“Shengsheng, maybe I should just go! I feel like my brother is going to eat me alive.”

“You have to protect me, Shengsheng! My brother definitely won’t go easy on me just because I’m a girl.”

“Boo hoo hoo, I’m so scared I’m going to die.”

“…”

Gu Shengsheng patted her on the back. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

“Lu Shijing, it’s time to eat.”

“Oh.” Lu Shijing obediently started to eat. The stark contrast in his behavior was almost comical.

Sure enough, Jin Ran laughed. “Lu Shijing, I never thought I’d see the day! You’re completely wrapped around my sis-in-law’s little finger.”

“It’s good to be whipped,” Lu Shijing retorted. “A man who’s whipped is a fortunate man. Shengsheng, let’s find some time to go get our marriage license.”

“Or we could just get one here in Eagle Country,” he added, looking quite worried. He had noticed that Gu Shengsheng’s recent livestreams had been attracting a lot of new male fans.

His sense of insecurity was palpable.

Jin Ran took the opportunity to look at Lu Linlin and placed a piece of food on her plate.

Lu Linlin disdainfully removed the piece of food from her plate.

Jin Ran was speechless.

“You don’t like me, do you?” Jin Ran asked with a sigh.

Lu Linlin was astonished that he would dare to ask such a question in front of her brother.

She looked to Gu Shengsheng, who said, “It’s fine. Just be direct.”

“Ever since that incident, neither of you has said a word to the other. You spend all day ‘communicating’ by reading each other’s expressions, making each other miserable or happy in turns. I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“One’s the queen of the club scene, the other’s the king. You’re both normally so outgoing. How is it that when it comes to dating, you act like you’re in some innocent high school romance novel?”

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