The little boy hugged his stuffed bear, his gap-toothed smile as bright as the winter sun.
She couldn’t help but reach out and pinch his chubby cheek—soft, smooth, like a piece of freshly steamed rice cake.
Gu Shian didn’t shy away from having his cheek pinched. Instead, he giggled, revealing his pink gums and that empty gap, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons.
“Your Highness Sui seems different from before.”
Gu Shiyan’s voice came from above, neither loud nor soft, as if stating a fact he had observed for a long time and finally confirmed.
Sikong Sui’s fingers paused on Gu Shian’s face, the hand pinching the little boy’s cheek stiffening for half a second.
Then she continued rubbing it as if nothing had happened.
Her heart tightened.
Different.
He noticed.
Of course, what kind of person was Gu Shiyan? He was the character in the original book widely acknowledged as having the most cunning mind.
She had transformed from a spoiled, willful little princess of the Sikong family, obsessed with becoming the heir, into someone who would pound the table to speak up for others, shield her brother from danger, and buy toys to cheer up a child.
The change was too drastic.
But Sikong Sui had no intention of admitting it.
She planned to muddle through.
She stood up, brushed the dust off her knees, turned to face Gu Shiyan, raised her head to meet his eyes, and slowly curved her lips into a smile.
She took a step closer to him.
The distance between them shrank from one meter to half a meter, then from half a meter to ten centimeters.
She could smell his scent—not the usual notes of white tea and sandalwood, but the smell of mud, grass, and sunshine.
His shirt was covered in mud, his cuffs were damp, and his collar was open, revealing a well-defined collarbone.
Fine grains of sand clung to his hair, glistening in the sunlight.
“Of course I’m different,” Sikong Sui said.
Gu Shiyan tilted his head slightly, a flicker of light swirling in his light amber eyes, as if waiting for her to continue.
The smile still lingered on his lips, tinged with curiosity and inquiry, as if he were studying an interesting puzzle. “Oh?”
Sikong Sui took a deep breath.
She had spent the entire night thinking, tossing and turning, analyzing Gu Shiyan from head to toe.
His smile was fake, his gentleness was an act, and every word he spoke carried three layers of meaning.
Most importantly: he was untargetable.
She couldn’t find his weakness.
So she decided to change her strategy.
“Because,” Sikong Sui looked into Gu Shiyan’s eyes, “the me now likes you.”
A gentle breeze stirred.
The wind in the kindergarten yard was sweet, carrying the fragrance of grass warmed by the sun.
The breeze passed between them, and Gu Shiyan froze.
Countless countermeasures were likely running through his mind simultaneously.
But he couldn’t find a strategy to respond.
Because her “I like you” didn’t fit into any of the scripts he had prepared.
Sikong Sui watched Gu Shiyan’s stunned expression, feeling smug inside.
She mentally gave herself a thumbs-up, barely suppressing the urge to let her lips curl into a triumphant smile.
She waited a few seconds, anticipating the System’s notification for an increase in favorability.
Sure enough…
[System Notification: Gu Shiyan’s favorability +1. Current favorability: 10.]
Sikong Sui: “…”
As expected, he wasn’t easy to fool…
Sikong Sui sighed inwardly while maintaining her earnest expression on the surface.
She decided to play this act to the end.
Gu Shiyan’s lips curved upward once more. “Your Highness Suisui is the empire’s most elite Alpha.”
“But I am not the Omega Your Highness likes, nor am I an A-same.”
He paused, looking into Sikong Sui’s eyes, her face reflected in those light amber irises.
“I am also an SSS-level Alpha.”
He tilted his head slightly, the curve of his lips widening a bit more. “Your Highness has mistaken the wrong person.”
Sikong Sui stood in place, watching Gu Shiyan’s gently smiling face as her mind raced.
Another SSS-level Alpha.
Xie Ren was SSS-level, Sikong Nian was SSS-level, Pei Sichen was SSS-level, and now Gu Shiyan claimed to be SSS-level too.
Four top-tier Alphas, all SSS-level.
Had the world’s elite Alphas become inflated in value?
He still didn’t know she was an Omega. He still thought she was an Alpha.
Thought she was an Alpha confessing to another Alpha.
A mischievous thought suddenly surfaced in Sikong Sui’s mind.
If he knew she was an SSS-level Omega, how would he react?
Would he still reject her so gently?
“Shiyan gege~”
Sikong Sui tilted her head, her lips curving into a sickeningly sweet smile, her eyes sparkling like grapes freshly plucked from water. “My level is higher than yours.”
She took a step forward.
“I can top you.”
Her chin lifted slightly, her eyes meeting Gu Shiyan’s gaze directly, the smile on her lips carrying a naive, reckless boldness.
Gu Shiyan looked at her.
He watched her eyes and laughed.
It was an amused laugh, finding the little creature before him quite entertaining.
His gaze drifted down from her face as he lowered his head slightly, his lips brushing against her ear.
Warm breath brushed over her earlobe, carrying a tingling sensation that made her scalp tingle. “Then we’ll have to see if Your Highness…”
“…can handle it.”
Sikong Sui’s ears exploded with heat in that instant.
Red spread from the tips of her ears to the base, from the base to her neck.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around her skirt.
Damn it, it was that kind of voice—the kind that made one’s whole body go soft, low to the bone.
She swallowed and decided not to take the bait.
Not taking the bait was the best response.
Gu Shiyan straightened up, stepping back, watching her thoroughly reddened ears as the curve of his lips widened further.
He didn’t say anything more, simply turned around, crouched down, and picked up Gu Shian, who had already dozed off by the sandpit.
The little boy leaned against his shoulder, the plush bear sandwiched between them, his eyes already closed, his long eyelashes like two small fans.
“Let’s go, I’ll take him back.”
Sikong Sui nodded and followed behind him.
Gu Shian slept soundly in Gu Shiyan’s arms, his small body gently rising and falling with Gu Shiyan’s steps.
A strand of drool still hung at the corner of his mouth, glistening and sparkling in the sunlight.
Putting Gu Shian to sleep was easier than expected.
The little boy was already exhausted, carried back to the dormitory by Gu Shiyan and placed on his small bed.
The plush bear was tucked into the covers beside his face, and the blanket was pulled up to his chin.
He didn’t wake throughout the entire process, merely turned over and mumbled something.
Then hugged the plush bear even tighter.
Gu Shiyan stood by the bed, looking down at his younger brother’s sleeping face with a gentle expression.
He reached out, brushed the stray hairs away from Gu Shian’s forehead, and lightly stroked his smooth brow with his thumb.
Then he withdrew his hand and turned around.
“Let’s go,” he said softly, keeping his voice low so as not to wake his brother. “I’ll walk you back.”
The two of them left the kindergarten together and walked back along the path lined with plane trees.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, and Gu Shiyan’s shirt still bore traces of mud.
But he didn’t look disheveled at all—instead, he had a grounded, appealing charm.
Sikong Sui walked beside him, the distance between them neither too close nor too far, just enough to hear each other’s footsteps.
At the dormitory entrance.
Sikong Sui saw the door slightly ajar, warm yellow light spilling through the crack.
She could hear the clinking of bowls and chopsticks, the sound of water being poured.
She could hear two people speaking in low voices—one deep and restrained, the other lazy and casual.
Sikong Nian’s voice.
And Fu Yuan’s voice.
Sikong Sui’s footsteps halted.
Her feet felt as if they were filled with lead, unable to take another step.
Only one thought flashed frantically in her mind: she didn’t want to go in.
She didn’t want to linger in front of her brother and Fu Yuan anymore.
Last night, she had already caused Fu Yuan to lose ten points of favorability.
If she appeared in front of them again today, who knew how much that jealous man would lose?
She turned around, ready to slip away.
“Little Sui Sui.”
Gu Shiyan’s voice came from behind, neither too loud nor too soft.
He stood at the door, one hand pushing it open as he turned to look at her.
His light amber eyes reflected her face, which clearly spelled out the words “I want to run.”
“Didn’t you skip lunch too?”
He tilted his head slightly, a natural curve forming at the corner of his mouth. “Let’s eat together.”
Sikong Sui glanced back at him. “No need.”
“I’m on a diet.”
[System Notification: Fu Yuan’s favorability -10. Current favorability: 0.]
…
Damn!
Damn it!