"Silly girl," Pei Zongzhi said, crouching down in front of Jiang Juyou.
His fingertips brushed the outline of the flower, causing its petals to tremble. His voice was low and resonant, carrying a magnetic, seductive quality. "How could a man not be interested in a woman?"
Jiang Juyou thought of the male secretaries in his office and couldn't help but ask, "But I've never seen any women around you, Brother. Didn't you have anyone you liked when you were in school?"
Pei Zongzhi relaxed his posture, stretching his long legs out across the floor. He sat at Jiang Juyou’s feet, propping his elbows on the tatami mat, and gave a slight nod.
Jiang Juyou was surprised. "You have someone you like, Brother? Someone you liked back in your school days? In college?"
"Earlier than that."
"High school?"
"Earlier."
"Middle school!?" Jiang Juyou was shocked that she had uncovered such a big secret.
"Keep going."
The warmth in Jiang Juyou's head suddenly vanished. "Earlier than that would be elementary school! How could that even be possible?"
"You're lying to me!" She began hitting Pei Zongzhi with the stuffed toy she was holding.
"When have I ever lied to you?"
"You're lying to me right now!"
Jiang Juyou grew tired after a few hits, her cheeks flushed red. A thin layer of perspiration had broken out on her forehead.
Pei Zongzhi took the stuffed toy from her, stood up, and used his free hand to brush the messy hair from her forehead. "You're too physically weak; you need to exercise."
"I don't want to exercise..." Jiang Juyou thought of something and looked up at him. "Brother, will you teach me how to ride a bicycle?"
"Why the sudden interest in cycling?"
"I just want to learn. I wanted to ride today, but I don't know how."
Pei Zongzhi caught onto something, his eyes narrowing as he peered at her. "Is this for Shang Muye again?"
"No!" Jiang Juyou stared at him, her doe-like eyes wide and round.
Pei Zongzhi watched her flushed, angry face. "All right, all right, it's not."
His tone was clearly dismissive and compromising. Jiang Juyou stood up and held up three fingers. "Brother, I swear, if I ever like him agai—"
Pei Zongzhi covered her mouth before she could finish. "No need."
His voice was laced with a chill, leaving Jiang Juyou to make only muffled sounds.
"If you want to learn to ride a bike, I'll teach you."
Jiang Juyou wrapped her arms around his arm. "Mmph..."
Pei Zongzhi let go.
"Can we go learn now?" Jiang Juyou finally asked.
Within a few moments, they were downstairs. Surprisingly, the Jiang family didn't own a single bicycle, despite having every other kind of luxury vehicle. Even the nanny drove a BMW to go grocery shopping.
"I'll have someone send one over."
"Let’s go buy one ourselves, Brother. We can head straight to the plaza. I passed by earlier and saw so many people learning to ride there at night."
"Done." Pei Zongzhi drove Jiang Juyou to the shopping mall to pick out a bicycle. They chose an orange-and-black model that suited her perfectly.
Both changed into sportswear. Pei Zongzhi rode the new bike with Jiang Juyou sitting on the back, heading toward the plaza. Along the way, many people turned to look, and some even pulled out their phones to record them.
Jiang Juyou wore a pale green form-fitting athletic suit with matching yoga pants, a cream-colored sports skirt, and matching sneakers. Though Pei Zongzhi was dressed entirely in black, he was far from low-key. His long legs were enviable, and as the wind caught his sportswear, it accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist.
"So handsome."
Someone reached for their phone to take a picture, but Pei Zongzhi accelerated, vanishing from sight in an instant.
He brought her to the plaza. "You're amazing, Brother! You can ride so fast even with me on the back, and it's so steady!"
Pei Zongzhi, however, was looking behind Jiang Juyou. She blinked and turned to look. Not far away, Shang Muye was teaching Zhou Die how to skateboard, surrounded by a crowd.
Pei Zongzhi’s mood plummeted. He kept his expression neutral, but his voice was hoarse. "You brought me to the plaza... just to see him?"
Jiang Juyou opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words. In her past life, she had been confined to her room with a high fever at this time, so she had no idea that Shang Muye would be teaching Zhou Die to skateboard here.
It was a total coincidence. "It’s not—"
She reached out to grab Pei Zongzhi’s hand. "It's just a coincidence."
Pei Zongzhi didn't move. The hand Jiang Juyou held was icy cold. She held on tightly. "Shall we go back and practice?"
Pei Zongzhi let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Do you think I dare go back? Your beloved is right here; if I go back, you'll just run over to him, won't you?"
*Help*, she thought, *why is my brother so hard to coax?*
Jiang Juyou sighed. "I’m going back with you!"
"Juyou, how did you know we were here?" Zhou Die skated over.
"Why would I know you’re here? I didn't," Jiang Juyou replied, feeling stifled.
Shang Muye followed behind Zhou Die. Seeing Jiang Juyou, he smiled. "Little tail."
Pei Zongzhi stared at him coldly. If Jiang Juyou weren't there, he would have jumped him. Seeing the remnants of the bruise on Shang Muye’s face from their last encounter made his hands itch.
Jiang Juyou felt her frustration boil over. "This plaza isn't your territory. I came here to play; I could just as easily say you were following me."
"We're following you?" Zhou Die looked at Shang Muye with a smile. "Did you two have an argument?"
Zhou Die pulled Shang Muye in front of Jiang Juyou with an indifferent expression. "Well, let him apologize to you. Don't take out your temper on me just because you guys had a spat. I'm just Shang Muye’s friend—you aren't jealous that we're skateboarding together, are you? There's no need for that."
Jiang Juyou looked at Shang Muye, who had been pushed in front of her. "You’re really that obedient to your friend? She pushes you, so you come over? Are you her friend or her dog?"
Not just Shang Muye and Zhou Die, but even Pei Zongzhi was stunned. The old Jiang Juyou would never have said such things to Shang Muye.
Shang Muye kept his nonchalant smile. "So, Little Sister Juyou, do you want me to be your dog, or someone else's?"
Jiang Juyou gritted her teeth. This was how Shang Muye was—even if it wasn't someone he liked, if they came near him, he would tease and flirt. It was pathetic.
"You're so eager to play the dog, but unfortunately, I'm not interested."
She pulled Pei Zongzhi along. "Let’s practice right here. This is a public space, after all."
She pulled Pei Zongzhi a bit further away. Zhou Die watched his back and poked Shang Muye’s elbow. "Look at that. Jiang Juyou is never short of men around her."
Shang Muye’s gaze turned cold. "That’s her brother."
Zhou Die opened her mouth. "That's her brother? They don't look anything alike."
Zhou Die wasn't a local to Jing City; she was just attending university there, which is how she had ended up in the same circle as Shang Muye and Jiang Juyou.