As soon as he appeared, everyone’s eyes turned to him. Xu Yangxia’s face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly grabbed his backpack and ran over.
Qi Lan was standing there with Jiang Mingxi beside him. Two older students from the upper grades naturally carried more authority, and since this was such an upscale school, the families of the students who got in were usually well off.
The two of them had come to pick up Xu Yangxia. After taking him with them, they ignored everyone else’s stares. Qi Lan casually took his little brother’s backpack and carried it for him as they headed outside.
“Brother! You don’t have evening class today? You actually came to pick me up.”
Qi Lan nodded. “The teachers had a staff meeting today, so the last self-study period for the fifth and sixth graders was canceled. We were let out early, so I came to get you. Why were you so slow getting ready today?”
Just as Xu Yangxia was about to complain, Xia Die ran after them. Her eyes were fixed on Qi Lan’s back. “Hey! What’s your name?”
“Are you Xu Yangxia’s brother? His real brother?”
Qi Lan and Jiang Mingxi exchanged a glance, then both looked at Xu Yangxia. “New transfer students in your class?”
Xu Yangxia nodded helplessly. He did not feel like talking, and he certainly did not want to introduce them to his brother. Luckily, Qi Lan did not ask any more questions, and he had no intention of responding to Xia Die either. He simply turned and kept walking.
Xia Die, after being ignored over and over again, could not take it anymore. She called out to Xu Yangxia twice more. “The invitation I gave you! You have to come this weekend!”
“Bring your brother too!”
The moment she finished speaking, Qi Lan gave her a cold look. “Thanks for the invitation, but he won’t be going. He has riding lessons with me.”
Xia Die still refused to give up. Now that Qi Lan was speaking to her, her eyes lit up even more. “Then skip class this weekend~ Missing one lesson won’t matter. My house is huge, come over and play together~”
Xu Yangxia was speechless. He tugged at Qi Lan’s sleeve. “Brother, let’s go home. Don’t pay attention to her.”
Qi Lan had not planned to pay her any attention anyway. He put one arm around Xu Yangxia’s shoulder and left without looking back.
Xia Die was left standing there, still staring blankly at Qi Lan’s retreating figure.
When Gao Xinyuan came out after them and saw the scene, jealousy showed on his face. “Xia Die, what are you looking at? Xu Yangxia already rejected you. Why did you have to say it again?”
Xia Die pouted. “Did you see that just now? Xu Yangxia’s brother is so handsome~ What’s his name? Do you know?”
Gao Xinyuan looked completely baffled. “How would I know? I only transferred here not long ago.”
“Stop looking. He’s already gone…”
Xia Die said firmly, “I don’t care. Xu Yangxia’s brother is so good-looking. I want him to be my brother too!”
That sounded quite lovely, but if the little male lead had found out, he would probably have been furious.
Qi Du and 0617 still had no idea that the child had been running into all kinds of weird people at school all day. The two of them were still busy deciding where to go for summer break.
After finishing his homework and not finding Qi Du’s signature in the study, Xu Yangxia naturally ran to their bedroom.
After knocking and going inside, he saw 0617 leaning against Qi Du’s chest. The two of them were glued together, fiddling with a tablet, looking so affectionate that it could not get any better.
“Daddy~”
Qi Du scooped him up at once. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Did homework make you tired, so you’re sneaking over here to slack off with Daddy?”
Xu Yangxia shook his head. “I’m done~”
Qi Du was already very familiar with the child’s school routine. “Oh, so you need a signature, right?”
Xu Yangxia nodded, then leaned his little head in to look too. “Qiqi, what are you and Daddy looking at?”
“Choosing a few outfits. In a few days, we need to go to a banquet with your Daddy.”
When he heard that, Xu Yangxia pouted a little unhappily. “The two new transfer students in our class are so annoying~”
“I already said I wasn’t going, but she kept pestering me. Today, when she saw brother come to pick me up, she still wanted to invite brother too. Brother is my brother. I don’t want him to recognize another little brother or little sister~”
Qi Du raised an eyebrow. “Which transfer student?”
He still did not know that the female second lead had invited Little Treasure to the gathering before, so 0617 quickly spoke up. “Xia Die and Gao Xinyuan. Didn’t I mention them to you before?”
Qi Du understood at once. “Oh, those kids from the Xia family…”
“If you don’t want to go, then don’t go. What? Are they forcing you to go?”
Xu Yangxia looked a little unhappy. “I wouldn’t say they’re forcing me, but they kept asking. Even after I refused, they still wanted me to go, and they wanted me to bring brother along too.”
“I think they’re both really tactless. They’re pretty annoying.”
Qi Du patted his head. “If you don’t like a classmate, you don’t need to pay attention to them. There’s no need to become close to them later either. It’s not some necessary relationship. People who try to latch onto you like that from the very beginning are probably not sincere friends anyway.”
Xu Yangxia nodded. “That’s what I think too…”
“When I play with Brother Jiang and Sister Song, I never feel this uncomfortable.”
“Oh right, Daddy, after the final exams there’s a parent-teacher conference. Remember to keep the time open, you and Qiqi~”
0617 smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry. Your Daddy already arranged it. Just do a little better on your exams, and the two of us will ride on your coattails~”
Xu Yangxia beamed brightly. “Of course! I definitely won’t let you two down.”
“Then I’m going back to my room. Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Qiqi~”
Qi Du and 0617 both lowered their heads and kissed the little male lead on the cheek. “Goodnight sweetheart, sleep early.”
“Okay~”
He was becoming more and more lively in front of the two of them, and much more cheerful too. Watching him bounce in and out like a little bird, Qi Du and 0617 both felt pretty accomplished as parents.
To be fair, raising Xu Yangxia was actually quite easy. The little male lead had many wonderful qualities. He was disciplined, careful, and very driven.
Although his heart was a little sensitive, if he was raised well, he would become a confident, gentle little sun.
He only briefly mentioned what happened today when he got home, but Qi Du and 0617 still took it seriously. “How much can we get involved with these male second lead and female second lead types?”
0617 checked the background information. “Who cares how much we can get involved? I just won’t allow anyone to disrupt Little Treasure’s happy life.”
“Did the Xia family also send you an invitation? Are we going to run into them at the banquet in a couple of days?”
Qi Du thought about it and realized they probably had. “Their family, if I remember correctly, is in the cosmetics business. It’s a new brand, and with all the hype these past few years, it seems to have become pretty popular.”
0617 nodded. “Yeah, I see their ads all the time.”
“Their daughter… the one who debuted as a child star and became the nation’s little girl, Xia Die, right? She’s packaged pretty well, and has helped them sell a lot of products.”
Qi Du frowned. “She’s so young, and they’re dressing her up so precociously. And she always uses so much makeup… how is that okay?”
“How exactly are they raising their child? No wonder Little Treasure said she had her eye on Qi Lan. She’s only in third or fourth grade, and she’s already thinking this way?”
0617 did not even want to make an assessment. “Every family has its own educational methods. Anyway, our Lanlan definitely has good judgment and won’t pay her any attention. Don’t worry too much.”