At night, Xu Lei knocked on his sisterās room door with the late-night snack designated by Mrs. Xu in hand. "Nana, are you in there?"
"Bro?" Xu Na opened the door, eagerly grabbed a piece of cake from Xu Leiās hand, and stuffed it into her mouth before stepping aside to let him in. "Have you finished your homework already? So fast... I still have a long section to memorize..."
The opening speech script for Xilena First Affiliated School was terrifyingly long. Even though Xu Na had an excellent memory, she couldnāt help but want to kneel before those tongue-twisting, hard-to-remember words! Usually, she would manage after spending some time, but today, perhaps because tomorrow was the start of school, she couldnāt get into the studying groove.
"Yeah, Iāve finished." Xu Lei placed the snack on her desk. On the floor lay two books and a stuffed toy, and he helplessly said, "If you canāt memorize it, donāt force yourself. Otherwise, youāll just get angry and upset, adding unnecessary frustration."
Xu Na had a rather short temper and wasnāt very patient. When she got too frustrated, she liked to throw whatever was within her reach to vent her anger. This habit started when she was young and still hadnāt been corrected.
Seeing that her embarrassing behavior was seen through by her brother, Xu Na sulkily sat cross-legged on the wide bed, hugging her pillow toy.
"Donāt get upset, take your time." Xu Lei amusingly ruffled Xu Naās hair with his hand until she slapped his hand away in anger, then he said, "Itās just about ten pages of speeches. If Nana approaches it calmly like usual, sheāll nail it in no time."
Xu Na grumbled discontentedly, "This thing is a complete nightmare. I donāt even know how the seniors got through it before. Just listening to it is enough to put me to sleep, and now I have to memorize it. A few times, I almost got lulled to sleep by my own voice!"
Xu Lei always had a good temper. Seeing his sister upset and angry, he could only comfort her by saying, "Nana, donāt be mad. If itās too hard, I can memorize it with you. How about a little competition? Surely, the clever you wonāt memorize slower than your brother, right?"
Xu Na knew he was trying to cheer her up, but she couldnāt help but fall for it. Any anger she had dissipated. She shyly buried herself under the blanket and muttered, "Okay, a competition it is. Iām sure Iāll win."
An hour later, Xu Na could recite all the speeches smoothly and without missing a word. She happily tossed the script aside and patted Xu Lei on the shoulder. "Since you helped me so much today, if you ever get stuck on something, your sister here will help you memorize it too."
Xu Lei twitched his mouth. He knew his sister well: when agitated, she was like a raging dinosaur, but when the storm passed, she was as mischievous as ever, leaving him helpless. But today, he had a question he wanted to consult his sister about. "Nana, what kind of guys do you think someone like Xiao Meng would like? Mature and steady or passionate and outgoing... why are you looking at me like that?"
"Bro... why are you asking this all of a sudden?" Xu Na winked at him teasingly, "Could it be you have some unseemly thoughts about Xiao Meng? Come clean, so your sister can help advise you."
Xu Lei knew she was joking, but he couldnāt help but have a mental sweatdrop. This joke shouldnāt be made lightly, "What are you talking about? Xiao Meng is like a sister to me, donāt overthink. If someone misunderstood, what then?"
"Then why are you asking this question?" Xu Na raised an eyebrow at him, "Itās only reasonable people would misunderstand, right?"
Xu Lei explained his thoughts and concluded, "Although it borders on being nosy, if Xiao Meng can be happier because of it, it feels pretty good. If thereās someone suitable, I think... it might be worth a try?"
Xu Naās forehead was full of black linesāshe hadnāt expected her seemingly mature and self-controlled brother to have such a... gossipy side. "I actually think itās not quite appropriate. Xiao Meng may seem young, but she has her own opinions and plans. And given the current situation, it doesnāt seem suitable, right? At least wait until Xiao Meng grows up a bit..."
Xu Lei thought about it and felt his sister was right, "Hmm, that sounds about right. Iāll keep an eye out for Xiao Meng in the future..."
Su Jiameng hadnāt a clue about this detail. After logging off, she cuddled with her two eggs and slept peacefully, waking up early the next morning. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, took a shower, and changed into a clean shirt and shorts, tidying herself up nicely. She then packed the clean clothes delivered by the housekeeping robot yesterday, wrapped them in a cloth, and carried them on her back.