Lu Baiyuan emerged from behind Xu Gui and sat down in the chair opposite Jiang Qu. She then said earnestly to Jiang Qu,
"Brother [Just Eat Dirt], you heard me right, your destined lover [Fairy Miaoyue] is me… As for this person, this is Sister Xu Gui. Because I'm too young, it's too dangerous for me to come out alone, so Sister Xu Gui accompanied me!"
She was a smart child; she knew that when meeting an online friend, it was safe to have an adult accompany you.
Lu Baiyuan was proud.
"…"
Jiang Qu took a breath, looked up at Xu Gui, and said, "[Miaoyue], this joke is really not funny at all."
Xu Gui looked at him with pity and said, "You shouldn't struggle anymore. Just accept the fact that your destined lover is a kindergarten student… Actually, it's not that shameful. Human life is short anyway, it will pass quickly."
Jiang Qu: "…"
Jiang Qu's soul had left his body. He really didn't want to, and dared not, admit that his beloved destined lover was a kindergarten student.
"...Aloof and quiet?"
"I can only play on my phone for an hour a day, but I read every single message you send, [Just Eating Dirt] brother."
"Then you max out your appearance every time. Where do you, a kindergarten student, get so much money?"
"My family is rich. I get 500,000 yuan in pocket money every month, but my brother doesn't allow me to spend it recklessly!" But spending on games isn't considered reckless spending; it's just a necessary expense to bring emotional value.
"..."
After confirming several times, even if Jiang Qu didn't want to admit it, he had to accept the fact that his "aloof" girlfriend was actually a kindergarten student.
Oh, the so-called aloof personality was just because she could only play on her phone for an hour a day, so she couldn't see his messages every moment and couldn't reply to every message.
Jiang Qu didn't speak, mainly because he didn't know what to say anymore.
At this moment, the screen of his phone on the table kept lighting up, and he could see messages popping up in the dormitory. Jiang Qu glanced at it and vaguely saw his roommates asking:
[Third brother, how is it? Did you see the person?] [What does Fairy Miaoyue look like?]
[Haha, Third Brother hasn't replied yet. I bet Fairy Miaoyue is really beautiful. He's so happy he's practically
rolling on the floor.] [Damn it, Third Brother is about to find a girlfriend, and I'm still single! Heaven is so unfair!]
[Third Brother, you have to tell us about your meetup when you get back...]
Jiang Qu, watching the messages pop up one after another, thought: Haha, good news, Qingyuanyuan is indeed a "rich and beautiful" girl; bad news, Qingyuanyuan is a kindergarten student. Is this reasonable? Is this reasonable?!
Jiang Qu cried out silently, feeling completely broken.
"You, why didn't you tell me sooner that you're a kindergarten student..." he asked in despair.
Lu Baiyuan blinked, looking aggrieved, "But Brother didn't ask me."
Jiang Qu: "..." Haha, he had always thought that Fairy Miaoyue was aloof yet sweet because she always called him "Brother, Brother," but now he realized that she only called him that because he was old enough to be her brother.
Oh, no, if he were two years older, he could be her father.
"Ah, Dad..." Jiang Qu buried his head in his arms.
"Brother, are you crying?" Lu Baiyuan asked softly.
Jiang Qu mumbled, "I'm not crying." "
...Sister, brother is definitely crying, isn't he?"
"Uh, no, he probably just feels a bit socially dead."
"Socially dead?"
"Yeah, you mean social death..." Xu Gui sighed, uttering a sentence that even he thought was particularly cultured: "There's a saying that goes, some people are still alive, but they're already dead."
Jiang Qu in front of him was in that situation now.
Lu Baiyuan: "...I don't understand."
Jiang Qu: "..."
*
It took a while for Jiang Qu's emotions to finally calm down a bit. He lifted his head from his arms and tried to focus his attention on Lu Baiyuan—he was too embarrassed to look at Xu Gui and the others, because it was really shameful.
"You, you asked me to meet you just to tell me that you're a kindergarten student?" he asked Lu Baiyuan.
Lu Baiyuan: "No, I called you out because I have something to say to you."
Jiang Qu: "Something to say to me?"
"Yes!" Lu Baiyuan nodded, looking at Jiang Qu, and said seriously, "I want to say, [Just Eat Dirt] brother, we're really not a good match, so let's just end our relationship!"
Lu Baiyuan's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the people around to hear.
In that instant, Jiang Qu felt the way the people around him were looking at him was different.
Jiang Qu: ...Don't look at me like that, I'm wronged too!!
"You're right, we really aren't a good match, no matter how you look at it..." Jiang Qu tried to be strong.
Lu Baiyuan sighed, "Actually, I still quite like you, [Loves to Eat Dirt] brother. You have a good personality and good grades, only slightly worse than my brother! But you like McDonald's, while I like KFC. I don't like people who like McDonald's."
It was a ridiculous reason, but the serious expression on Lu Baiyuan's face made it seem exceptionally convincing.
Jiang Qu fell silent.
He realized that what was more devastating than having a crush on a kindergarten student was that he was being killed off by his own kindergarten student's crush because he liked McDonald's.
Jiang Qu thought with a detached expression: ...This world is truly insane.
But he didn't expect that the world could be even more insane, such as being mistaken for a pedophile, being handcuffed by the police, and spending two hours explaining at the police station before convincing the officers that he wasn't a pedophile.
Jiang Qu: He would never forget that day. As they left KFC, Lu Baiyuan was still remarking to Xu Gui, "I really like this older brother..."
Xu Gui glanced at her, "What do you like about him?" Lu Baiyuan thought hard for a few seconds, then came up with a reason: "He's obedient?" Xu Gui: "..." This girl looks so well-behaved and cute, but deep down she's a devil, isn't she? "Sister," Lu Baiyuan hugged her leg again, asking sweetly, "Where are we going next?" Xu Gui gave her an address, and then saw Lu Baiyuan's eyes widen. Lu Baiyuan said, "What a coincidence, sister, I live there too." Xu Gui looked at her in surprise.
Lu Baiyuan climbed into the car, her voice still sweet as she continued, "I watched your live stream with my brother before, you're so amazing... By the way, the Peony Garden neighborhood you visited last time, we also have a house there, so if you ever want to go to Peony Garden, just ask my brother. He'll definitely welcome you there!"
"As for that Sister Fu Xia," she smiled at Xu Gui, "it's not good for you to keep bothering her with other things! I've heard that it's good to maintain some distance between friends."
Lu Baiyuan spoke with great conviction and a very reasonable tone, and Xu Gui felt a strange unease.
"Your brother is also my friend," she glanced at Lu Baiyuan and said, "According to you, it's not good to bother your brother, and I should keep some distance from him."
"My brother is different!" Lu Baiyuan blurted out, "Sister, if you ask your brother to do anything for you, he'll be very happy!"
Xu Gui pondered, "So, it's not good to ask others for help, but it's okay to ask your older brother?"
Lu Baiyuan nodded vigorously, "That's right!"
Yuan Lu and Yang Haolin, standing to the side: Sister, haven't you realized you've already revealed your true intentions?
Xu Gui smiled but didn't say anything. Instead, Lu Baiyuan climbed into her arms, leaned on her shoulder, and whispered, "Sister, my brother really likes you. He watches your livestreams every day. The last time I saw him like something so much was when he was cooking."
She murmured, "My brother is so devoted and loyal. If he likes something, he'll like it for a lifetime. He's a good man..."
Xu Gui didn't speak, listening to the child's soft praise of her older brother until her voice grew softer and softer until only her even, quiet breathing remained.
Xu Gui looked down and saw that the child had fallen asleep in her arms, her round face pressed against Xu Gui's shoulder, her cheeks almost sunken.
Xu Gui glanced at her phone; it still showed a message from another member of the Lu family: "[...Yuanyuan woke up too early today. She might fall asleep later. Just have Uncle Wang take her home then!]" Xu
Gui picked up her phone and replied, "No need to trouble yourself. I'm just going to your neighborhood anyway, I can take her home."
At that moment, Lu Baiyi, already sitting in his office working, was stunned.
He abruptly stood up.
"...General Manager?" His secretary, who was reporting his day's schedule, looked at him blankly.
Lu Baiyi stared at his phone, confirming the message was real. His expression changed, and he suddenly looked up at his secretary, saying, "Postpone all of today's work unless it absolutely has to be done today!"
"For the rest, if it doesn't require my decision, talk to the Deputy General Manager..."
He quickly finished arranging the work, picked up his clothes, and hurriedly left, leaving his bewildered secretary behind.
After the secretary left, the staff in the secretarial department were whispering:
"Hey, why did the general manager leave early today?"
"That's rare. I've almost never seen him leave early even once a year. He's practically the most dedicated boss I've ever met. Why is he suddenly leaving early today? Is he sick?"
Although Lu Baiyuan was the general manager of Lu's Group, his father was the president, and his father had long since stopped participating in company decisions. So, while Lu Baiyuan was officially the general manager, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the president of Lu's Group.
Since taking over Lu's Group, he had always been very conscientious and responsible at work, and had almost never left early. But today, he made an exception. This inevitably led to discussion and speculation among the employees of Lu's Group.
They finally concluded: the general manager must be sick! As for Lu Baiyi's secretary, he thought about the tens of thousands of
magazines Lu Baiyi had asked him to buy (although he only managed to buy five hundred in the end), and thought to himself: That's not necessarily true.