Carefully accompanied

  Liu Youyou's anger burst out just before, in a daze, she suddenly came to.

  If she hadn't misheard, the whispering voice in her ear was indeed a girl's voice, soft and pleasant to listen to, more delicate than Ye Cai's usual gentle tone that carried a hint of dizziness, with an added sweetness that made one feel ticklish.

  Immediately afterwards, the scene of Ye Cai handing over the transforming cigarette with a shy expression appeared in his mind again.

  She narrowed her eyes, with a hint of suspicion and speculation, then turned back to gaze at the warm and gentle web god Su Xiaoqiu, who was embracing her waist, with a skeptical and serious look in his eyes.

  Facing her serious attitude, Su Xiaoqiu pouted and curved her waist slightly, with a hint of playfulness in her eyes. She pressed her still-full chest against Liu Youyou's shoulder, gently rubbing it, as if silently explaining something, under the latter's astonished gaze.

  The shoulder felt the soft and tender touch of being rubbed back and forth, Liu Youyou couldn't help but slightly open her small mouth in disbelief, her eyes cast downward, only to see Su Xiaoqiu's suit being squeezed and rubbed, subtly outlining the unique curves of a woman's body.

  "You, you, you are..." Liu Youyou's eyes widened as she stared at Su Xiaoqiu, seeking confirmation.

  Pursed her lips and held back a silly smile, Su Xiaoqiu slightly closed her eyes and nodded lightly.

  She sat in contemplation with her head bowed, holding her breath slightly as if uneasy. After a moment, Liu Youyou lifted her face to glance around and finally stood up. She gave Su Xiaoqiu, who looked surprised and puzzled, a "follow me" look, then walked out of the classroom quickly with her head down.

  Staring at the slightly tense and cramped back of Youyou, Su Xiaqiu pouted and shrugged, noticing the prying eyes around her. She thought for a moment and then casually followed in Youyou's footsteps, walking slowly with her arms wrapped around her chest.

  With her feet planted firmly in a relatively safe corner of the corridor, Liu Yuanyuan turned around with a gentle swaying motion, and with a serious expression, she clasped her arms across her chest, her face stern, her eyes fixed intently, exuding an air of solemn gravity, as if she had appointed herself leader, and was about to instruct that slow-walking, naive-looking new transformée, Su Xiaqiu, in the most severe and demanding manner.

  With a tense and cramped expression, Su Xiaoqiu opened her eyes wide, pursed her lips, and put her hands behind her back, trying her best to maintain an innocent and pure demeanor, like a blank sheet of paper. However, in her heart, she was secretly laughing, having already prepared herself to thoroughly tease the proud white swan in front of her.

  As she walked closer, she lowered her head and puffed out her cheeks slightly, striking a pose of a child who knew they had done something wrong but refused to admit it. This made Liu Youyou even more brazen as she looked her up and down with an air of superiority, tilting her chin upwards in a haughty manner.

  Gu Zili nodded slightly, and from the perspective of being relatively clean and well-dressed to avoid revealing too much, Liu Youyou's initial impression of Su Xiaochun, this transformed woman, was still quite good. Of course, the fundamental reason why she initially accepted Su Xiaochun was that Su Xiaochun's demeanor was sufficiently obedient and humble, just like a lost little kitten seeking guidance and help from a great sage in its confusion. This made Liu Youyou feel greatly superior in terms of the transformed woman adapting to her new identity and displaying her charm and talent.

  Having acknowledged Su Xiaoqiu's identity, it was time to get down to business. However, Liu Youyou suddenly discovered that she had no idea where to start because she didn't know anything about the situation between Su Xiaoqiu and Ye Cai.

  "Cough, what do you think now? Do you have any plans?" Liu Youyou was very clever and turned the awkward atmosphere around in time.

  "What's wrong with me?"

  Su Xiaoqiu hesitantly raised her face, with a gentle curve of her mouth and pursed lips, her eyes wide open as if to show off how innocent and naive she was. She pretended to think for a moment, tilted her head, blinked, and said: "I don't know... anyway, I feel like now, I can only be with you guys..."

  Liu Youyou's eyes flickered, and she looked a bit flustered because she hadn't grasped the topic at all and didn't know how to respond to the other person's sudden heartfelt words. She raised her gaze, licked her lips several times, and adjusted her posture, pretending to be calm and composed. She thought about guiding the other person to face the issue head-on, cleared her throat, and said: "You remember you're a boarder, right? What do you plan to do when you sleep at night? It's not convenient, is it?"

  Su Xiaoqiu heard this and slightly shrugged her shoulders, saying indifferently: "No, I don't sleep at night."

  "Huh?"

  Liu Youyou was taken aback, and it wasn't until she thought about it for a moment that she realized the other person was the famous "Internet God" from Second Middle School, who climbed over the wall every night. This made her feel a bit defeated and embarrassed. To cover this up, she slightly bent down to apply pressure, with a serious and stern expression staring at Su Xiaoxiao's innocent face, and continued to delve into the topic: "What can you do if you don't sleep? You still have to lie in bed, right? You still have to stay in the dormitory with boys?"

  Su Xiaoqiu smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "That's okay, they almost never pay attention to me..."

  The willow tree swayed gently, blinking its eyes, and suddenly saw a few hints of bitterness and desolation in Su Xiaoqiu's dry smile. This inexplicably moved her heart, and she slightly pursed her lips, furrowed her brow, and asked: "Why? You, you... Is the relationship between you and your roommates so distant?"

  Contrary to Liu Youyou's expectations, Su Xiaoqiu did not lower her head in sorrow and dejection. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and smiled mischievously, saying: "Nope, if they were really willing to come, I'd consider treating them well..."

  Liu Youyou was dazed, and Su Xiaoqiu's words were too obscure and ambiguous. She was confused and had a few bad guesses, so she asked: "Entertainment? Speak clearly."

  Su Xiaoqiu pursed her lips and smiled slyly, looking extremely ambiguous and evil. In the end, she lowered her head, seemingly unable to speak, shook her head and said: "No, just kidding..."

  "Hey! You're really..."

  She suddenly became evasive and shy, Liu Youyou's eyes widened in surprise, and that bad guess seemed to be confirmed from another angle. She crossed her arms, looked around with a look of annoyance, furrowed her brow, and coldly commanded: "Listen to me, move out of the dormitory, huh?"

  Lowering her face, Su Xiaoqiu slightly curled up the corners of her mouth in distaste, raised her eyes and gave a weak and awkward smile, pulling at the corners of her mouth as she said embarrassedly: "It's not necessary, you're thinking too badly of them..."

  Liu Youyou sneered and shook her head in disappointment, walking two steps to her side and saying, "Forget it then, I'll just wait online to see the video of you entertaining them." After speaking, she turned around with a parting glance and was about to leave.

  Su Xiaoqiu suddenly turned around, staring at Liu Youyou's back as she quickly walked away with a look of shock and despair. She opened her mouth and shouted: "Hey! Wait, wait..."

  Liu Youyou turned back calmly and said, "Just say what's on your mind."

  Su Xiaoqiu nervously followed, her shoulders rising and falling together, tense and cramped as she pursed her lips to hold back her breath. She lifted her face, and under Liu Youyou's calm gaze, a hint of pleading and sincerity appeared from the bottom of her heart. Looking up at Liu Youyou, who was over 1.7 meters tall, she said: "I... I think... I want to be friends with you..."

  The two words "it seems" have an extremely strong spiritual impact, Liu Youyou's expression changed suddenly, and she quickly took a deep breath, then continued to walk hastily, turning back to give a disdainful and contemptuous glance, saying: "Sick."

  Su Xiao was dazed and absent-minded, until Liu's cold and indifferent figure disappeared from the classroom door. Her eyes dimmed, she slowly lowered her head, then curled up a self-mocking smile, shrugged her shoulders, took a deep breath of the cool autumn wind, and exhaled a mouthful of scorching hope and longing.

  She raised her hand to cover her forehead and rubbed her eyes, let out a lazy sigh, slumped down her shoulders, and once again assumed the usual languid and decadent posture. She no longer made an effort to protect the subtle rise and fall of her chest, her hands tucked into her pockets as she slightly hunched over, just like an ordinary high school boy who was listless and waiting for death. With a hollow and slow pace, she walked towards the classroom.

  She stood still in front of the classroom door, looking around at the spacious room, feeling a sense of strangeness and suffocating atmosphere. She blinked vaguely, then smiled wryly to herself, closing off her naive heart that yearned for the outside world. Lowering her head, she ignored this feeling, subconsciously willing to place herself outside of her classmates' circle.

  ……

  ……

  One o'clock in the afternoon.

  Yunshan, Gui Xiangyuan community, Ye Changhu's family villa.

  The kitchen was filled with the sound of sizzling and crackling, occasionally bursting into a loud popping noise. He Xiao Yun stood in front of the stove, her eyes narrowed and teeth clenched, one hand on her hip and the other holding a spatula, staring warily at the golden-brown fish in the oil pot. She glanced over at Ye Xiang Xiang, who was gritting his teeth and slightly arching his back, both hands gripping his beloved kitchen knife as he chopped the chili peppers on the cutting board with a flurry of wild slashes, and asked: "Is the chili powder ready?"

  "Nothing!" Ye Xiao Xiao shouted in a fit of pique, biting her lower lip, and chopped even harder with her hands.

  Outside the tense and busy kitchen, in the living room filled with a solemn atmosphere, on the sofa sat a father and son pair across from each other at a table. On the table was an ongoing game of chess, the red side had suffered heavy casualties with bodies scattered all over, while the black side had only sacrificed a few nameless pawns.

  Ye Cai, who had been leading the red and black sides in a fierce battle, was now squatting motionless on the sofa, his slightly narrowed eyes fixed intently on the chessboard, his face a picture of deep contemplation, with his thumb still clenched between his teeth.

  Ye Changhu, who was invited by Hei Fang to deal with the mischievous daughter together, held a cup of tea and shook his head, blowing air, looking extremely calm and composed.

  He raised his eyes and revealed a hint of a smile, saying: "Alright, General Ye."

  A few hours ago, Ye Jia Changsheng, a fake title from Erzhong, challenged Lao Da's Ye Cai. Pretending to be old and steady, he raised his eyes and sneered: "Panicked?"

  Ye Changhu pursed his lips and nodded: "Yes, I'm afraid that your next move will put me to death."

  Hearing his own catchphrase from his father's mouth, Ye Cai couldn't help but cough awkwardly and said, "You're being too serious, your chess skills are indeed formidable, but it won't be enough to defeat me..."

  Hesitating, he stretched out his hand, gritted his teeth and made a difficult decision, picked up the cannon and jumped over the boundary river, directly aiming at the swaddled Mountain King, hesitated, put it down, and shouted: "General!"

  Dad gently blew away the hot air on the surface of the tea, took a light sip, and then under Ye Cai's complex gaze filled with anxiety, suspicion, and expectation, he casually adjusted the woolly mammoth and stepped on Ye Cai's big gun.

  "Ah? No, no, no, I made a mistake...!" Ye Cai Gan laughed and hastily asked for the corpse of the big gun from his father's hands.

  "No takebacks." Dad seemed oblivious, casually tossing the cannon's corpse into the graveyard.

  Lost a great general, Ye Cai couldn't help but feel suffocated and pouted, letting out a long sigh to put aside the grief and nostalgia, focusing his mind on dealing with the even more severe and adverse situation ahead, and couldn't help but bite his thumb again.

  "Hmm... this!"

  "Eat it."

  "What? That way, this way, which one is okay?"

  "Come on, I said no taking back moves."

  "Oh..."

  ……

  He let out a long sigh, holding his tea cup and standing up. Ye Changhu left behind a look of helplessness mixed with relief, as if he was about to leave.

  Ye Cai, who had just been severely scolded by his father, hastily lifted his face and said, "Where, where, where are you going?"

  "Alas, I couldn't bear it, facing my own daughter, I'm heartbroken."

  Ye Changhu slowly walked out of the sofa, refilled the tea water on a tea table, and sat down in a bamboo chair. He took out a folded newspaper from his inner pocket, unfolded it, picked up a cigarette, and leaned against the backrest.

  Ye Cai ran over hesitantly, pulled her father's arm and said: "Come on, you can't do this... it's not good."

  Ye Changhu raised his eyes, gazing quietly at Ye Cai's pleading face, and after a moment of contemplation, smiled: "Alright, alright, you go attend to your own matters, no need to accompany me."

  Ye Cai's expression weakened, and she lowered her head, glancing in the direction of the kitchen, as if seeing through the wall the busy woman's back, a hint of desolation rising in her heart.

  Perhaps she never liked playing Go in the first place, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't create the harmonious family portrait that her mother had always deeply longed for.

  （……）

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