Everything had been taken care of, and Eldest Brother and Second Brother were going back. Yuan Luoyi had breakfast as usual and went to class.
While Eldest Brother Yuan Ao was away, Second Brother Yuan Fa took the chance to vigorously ruffle Yuan Luoyi's little head.
Yuan Fa was extremely happy: "Haha, it feels just as nice as before."
Yuan Luoyi struggled angrily: "I'm going to tattle on you to Eldest Brother!"
Yuan Fa said: "Ah...since when have you two been so close? You used to always avoid him, didn't you? You were clearly more attached to me when you were little. Don't you remember? Whenever you cried, you'd look everywhere for me and couldn't shake me off."
Yuan Luoyi yelled: "That's because back then you were the only one at home!"
Yuan Fa pretended to sigh sadly: "How heartless, to just use someone up and then abandon them. I'm not a disposable tissue for you to think of only when you need to wipe your tears. I'd get angry if that happened, you know."
He poked Yuan Luoyi's cheek with his forefinger: "As you should know, when Second Brother gets angry, you'll have bad luck."
Of course Yuan Luoyi knew what kind of bad luck that entailed. The snacks she hid would disappear, and her favorite toys would get snatched away.
In more serious cases, she would suddenly find that there was not a soul around her, while Yuan Fa observed her from the shadows. When Yuan Luoyi started crying, Yuan Fa would come out again to gently comfort her in his arms.
After all these years together, Yuan Luoyi was certain Second Brother was not normal.
Sometimes he would be so cold it was terrifying, watching Yuan Luoyi sob without batting an eye, as frigid as a machine.
Other times he would reveal some tenderness, doing little magic tricks to cheer Yuan Luoyi up, but she wasn't sure if the humanity he displayed was real or fake.
Yuan Luoyi struggled free of Yuan Fa's demonic claws: "If you give me bad luck, I can do the same to you."
Yuan Fa grinned evilly: "How interesting, already hitting puberty at 11?"
"It really is bizarre. You keep abandoning me, yet I can still be so tolerant of you. If it were anyone else treating me like this, I would have gotten rid of them long ago."
"Also..."
Yuan Fa snapped his fingers, and a chocolate bar magically appeared between them before gently landing in Yuan Luoyi's hand.
"I did leave one for you after all. Osmanthus flavored, I remember that's your favorite."
Yuan Luoyi said: "My favorite is the liquor-filled kind."
Yuan Fa said: "Oh my dear little sister, that's my favorite flavor too! Of course I'd keep it for myself instead of leaving it for you to eat."
He placed a hand over his chest, face the picture of sympathy: "Despite being so selfish, I'm even willing to let you have a bite. It's a miracle!"
"I must have met you in my past life. There's no other way to explain why in this life, I'm filled with so much tenderness when I face you."
"Therefore, since Second Brother has been so exceptionally kind and generous today, and even helped you solve so many problems, I'll be taking all the snacks you hid as payment for legal fees."
"What?!" Yuan Luoyi stared at Second Brother Yuan Fa, her heart and lungs nearly stopping.
She reached out to grab Yuan Fa, but he just laughed and strode away. With those long legs he disappeared into the distance in no time.
Even though he was already a grown adult, Yuan Fa would still do very childish things at times.
After catching her breath for a good while, Yuan Luoyi's heart finally resumed beating normally.
No matter, she could just stockpile again. Second Brother wasn't home every day!
This time she had to find a safe place to hide the snacks!
On her way to Class D, Yuan Luoyi saw Sen Junxuan leaning against the wall in the hallway she had to pass through, as if waiting for her.
They were elementary school classmates. During breaks, when the girls would gather in giggling groups that excluded Yuan Luoyi, she felt too lonely and would go to Class B next door to chat with Sen Junxuan.
Master Sen was an old friend of the Yuan family, so Sen Junxuan didn't fear Yuan Luoyi and was willing to talk to her.
When they met again in middle school, Yuan Luoyi went to chat with Sen Junxuan, but this time, he shoved her down and made her fall flat on her face in front of everyone.
Now, the mixed-blood blonde boy was standing by the wall, bathed in sunlight that made him shine brilliantly. With his devastating good looks, campus heartthrob Sen Junxuan really did have an exceptionally high appearance score. High enough that people might ignore what a terrible liar he was.
But Yuan Luoyi didn't want anything to do with him anymore. She detoured around Sen Junxuan and turned towards another small path that led to Class D.
Seeing her enter, Yu Hua excitedly stood up, face full of worry: "Are you alright?"
Yuan Luoyi was confused for a second before she remembered:
Ah, a normal girl would feel very sad being falsely accused like that.
Yu Hua assumed she had been deeply hurt, but actually, she didn't feel anything.
Everything seemed insignificant in the face of life and death. And as someone who frequently viewed memory fragments, she frequently experienced death as well, so her personality had calmed down a lot too.
Yuan Luoyi breezily said: "I'm fine."
Yu Hua carefully sat down next to Yuan Luoyi: "If there's anything you need, just say the word. I will definitely do it!"
Yuan Luoyi was somewhat moved. So this was what it felt like to be cared for by a friend.
"I really am fine. The false accusation was done by Ma Mei from Class C. She'll be posting an apology video online tonight, so the matter is settled."
"Also, thank you for caring about me."
Yu Hua's originally fair cheeks were tinged with red. He waved his hands awkwardly: "It's nothing..."
His voice grew smaller and smaller while his face grew redder and redder: "You must be hungry! I'll go buy some snacks!"
He turned and ran from the classroom. Clumsy as he was, he almost tripped over himself.
Having run to the cafeteria, Yu Hua breathed a sigh of relief. The Yu household had no girls, only boys, so talking to a cute girl like Yuan Luoyi made Yu Hua very nervous.
After buying snacks, Yu Hua headed back and saw Sen Junxuan pacing back and forth outside Class D's window.
Yu Hua tapped him on the shoulder: "What are you doing?"
Sen Junxuan jumped in fright: "None of your business!"
Yu Hua said: "If you want to apologize, you should have a more sincere attitude instead of plotting away. You were definitely thinking that Yuan Luoyi was just falsely accused, so her heart must be fragile right now. By coaxing her a bit you could get her to forgive you so easily."
Having his plans seen through, Sen Junxuan shook Yu Hua's hand off roughly: "How long have you even known her? What gives you the right to lecture me?"
Yu Hua said: "That's true. But still..."
He smiled gently: "You don't know what you have until it's gone. It really is too late."
Sen Junxuan felt irrationally irritated. This Yu Hua always managed to precisely poke at his sore spots. Compared to his peers, Yu Hua was clearly smarter.
Carrying the snacks, Yu Hua walked towards the classroom: "You should head back soon too. Class is starting in less than a minute. Unlike our Class D, being late would be pretty embarrassing for the illustrious Class A, no?"
Sen Junxuan glanced at his watch: "Damn it!"
He dashed off in a panic.
Same as yesterday, Yuan Luoyi and Yu Hua watched the online lesson while snacking, learning utterly stress-free. For Yuan Luoyi, with the memories spanning 99 lifetimes, this wasn't gaining new knowledge so much as reviewing what she already knew.
As a gifted genius, Yu Hua also found the course content far too simple, zoning out after listening for a bit.
