6:30 p.m.
Pei Yu parked his bicycle in its spot and reached forward to pick up Shen Lishu’s backpack from the front basket.
“Let’s go.”
After walking over to Shen Lishu, Pei Yu naturally wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
Years earlier, Father Pei had already arranged for the wall between the two villas to be knocked down. The villa under Shen Lishu’s name was then renovated.
The biggest change was on the floor where her original bedroom had been.
The entire floor’s walls were removed and divided into three new spaces. The middle space was slightly smaller, serving as a small living area, while the left and right spaces became Shen Lishu’s and Pei Yu’s bedrooms, respectively.
Dinner was already prepared.
“Will Auntie and Uncle not be back for dinner tonight either?” Shen Lishu asked the butler.
The butler nodded.
In recent years, Father Pei and Yu Qingqing’s work had grown increasingly busy, and they were often not at home.
After dinner, while Pei Yu was on a phone call, Shen Lishu tried to sneak upstairs with her backpack.
As soon as she lifted it, she noticed the weight felt off.
Why was it so light?
Shen Lishu unzipped her backpack to look inside and found that most of her books had vanished.
Suddenly, Pei Yu’s amused voice came from behind her: “Looking for something?”
Feeling guilty, Shen Lishu said, “I just wanted to take out my water bottle.”
Pei Yu reached out and pinched Shen Lishu’s cheek, warning her, “No more studying.”
All day long, it was either reading or doing practice problems—what if she ruined her health from overstudying?
Seeing that her plan was exposed, Shen Lishu didn’t bother hiding it anymore and asked directly, “Where are the books from my backpack?”
“Who knows,” Pei Yu pretended not to know.
Fuming, Shen Lishu widened her eyes and glared at him angrily.
The stern and impartial Pei Yu led her upstairs and urged Shen Lishu to go take a shower.
Hearing the sound of Shen Lishu finishing her shower, Pei Yu, sitting on the small living room sofa, called out without looking up, “Come here.”
Shen Lishu obediently walked over and sat down beside Pei Yu, neither too close nor too far.
Pei Yu glanced at the gap between them—wide enough for another person to sit—and bossily shifted closer to Shen Lishu.
At this moment, Shen Lishu was still angry about Pei Yu hiding her books.
As soon as he moved closer, Shen Lishu scooted away.
Then Pei Yu moved closer again, and Shen Lishu shifted even farther.
Pei Yu lazily looked up, giving Shen Lishu a half-smiling glance.
Shen Lishu’s heart sank, and she quickly stood up, trying to run to her room.
She only managed one step before Pei Yu wrapped his arms around her waist, lifted her up, and firmly sat her down on his lap.
On the coffee table lay a row of nail care products.
“Give me your hand.”
Every summer, Pei Yu’s body felt like a furnace. As soon as she got close, Shen Lishu felt uncomfortably warm.
Reluctantly, Shen Lishu extended her hand, like a mischievous kitten whose owner holds its pink paw pad to trim its sharp claws.
Her nails were thin and brittle, prone to breaking when they hit something hard.
Ever since one of Shen Lishu’s nails once broke right at the flesh, Pei Yu had paid extra attention to her nail care, even taking a week-long course at a nail salon.
The nail care process was long and tedious. After a day of high mental activity, Shen Lishu soon leaned back against Pei Yu’s chest and fell into a deep sleep.
Completely dependent on and trusting of Pei Yu.
After finishing the maintenance of Shen Lishu’s ten fingernails, forty minutes had already passed.
Pei Yu steadily picked up the sleeping girl in his arms and walked toward the bedroom.
The entire room was decorated in bright shades of white and pink.
The floor was covered with a white plush carpet, and the bed was placed near the window, with layers of bed curtains hanging down to the floor.
The window was half-open, and a gentle night breeze slowly drifted into the room.
As he placed her on the bed, Shen Lishu woke up for a moment, murmuring drowsily, “Pei Yu…”
Pei Yu replied softly, “What’s wrong?”
“You’re so good to me.”
Pei Yu carefully tucked the blanket around her and brought over the small floral-patterned quilt Shen Lishu had grown up with, placing it in her arms.
“Sleep now.”
Shen Lishu closed her eyes peacefully.
Before leaving, Pei Yu secretly turned the ugly rabbit plush toy with lily-of-the-valley embroidered on its ear by the bedside in another direction.
The rabbit plush now faced the wall, looking as if it were reflecting on its mistakes.
Only then did Pei Yu leave, slightly satisfied.
.
The next morning, at 5:40, the alarm clock rang on time.
Hearing the alarm, Shen Lishu immediately sat up, rubbed her still sleepy eyes, and prepared to change clothes and wash up.
Pei Yu next door was also enduring the torment of his alarm.
An explosive level of morning grumpiness spread through the bedroom as Pei Yu glared fiercely at the alarm clock persistently ringing by his bedside.
The whimsical little frog alarm clock clashed with the room’s overall decor.
This was a gift Shen Lishu had given Pei Yu in fifth grade, purchased with the prize money she won from a math competition. Pei Yu treasured it dearly.
By the time Pei Yu grumpily changed his clothes and stepped out of his room, he happened to run into Shen Lishu, who was on her way to wash up.
“Pei Yu, your class’s morning self-study starts at 7:30. You could sleep a bit longer.”
The top-tier class was different—their first morning self-study began at 6:30.
Pei Yu’s black hair was tousled from sleep, and his handsome face now wore a sharp, intimidating expression.
A large mirror hung on the wall above the sink.
At that moment, in front of the mirror, Shen Lishu and Pei Yu stood side by side, each holding an electric toothbrush.
She brushed her teeth with one hand while the other was tightly gripped by Pei Yu.
Breakfast was already prepared.
Sipping milk, Shen Lishu slowly finished a bowl of wontons.
As usual, half a glass of milk remained.
Pei Yu reached out to take it, but today, Shen Lishu held it back.
“I can finish it,” Shen Lishu insisted.
Pei Yu raised an eyebrow. “Come on, when have you ever finished a full glass of milk?”
The milk every morning was freshly delivered from the Pei family’s private farm.
It had a strong, pungent smell.
If Shen Lishu were forced to hold her nose and drink the remaining half-glass, Pei Yu worried she might feel nauseous.
When it came to strength, Shen Lishu was no match for Pei Yu. He firmly “snatched” the glass and drank it all in one go.
Mornings were rushed, so most of the time, the Pei family driver took them to school.
The bicycle was loaded onto the rack at the back of the car.
Every morning, Pei Yu would escort Shen Lishu to her classroom before leaving.
There was still some time before the morning self-study bell rang, but most of the top-tier class students had already arrived.
Pei Yu skillfully took out the thermal lunchbox and thermos from his backpack.
“Remember to eat when you’re hungry. The kitchen prepared your favorite shrimp and vegetable shumai and berry tarts for you today.”
“No matter if you’re thirsty or not, you must drink water. Don’t think going to the bathroom is a waste of time and hold back from drinking.”
“I’ll check when I pick you up for lunch.”
Shen Lishu agreed to each point.
After Pei Yu left, Shen Lishu’s deskmate immediately leaned over, looking envious as she said, “Shen Lishu, your brother is really good to you.”