Chapter 3 To Avoid Disturbing Her, He Consciously Closed…

Chapter 3: So As Not To Disturb Her

Ningcheng Experimental Primary School.

It was time for school to let out, and the school gate was crowded with parents picking up their children.

Gao Youhe was the class monitor and also the tallest in her class. The teacher had her hold the class sign and lead her classmates out of the classroom in an orderly line.

The school always let the younger kids out first. This semester, the first graders had just started school and might not have fully adjusted to primary school life yet. The line that had been moving fine suddenly became wobbly. With twelve classes in total, the path to the school gate was instantly blocked.

The teachers hurried to straighten out the first graders' lines.

The older students behind them had to stand still to avoid making the congestion even worse.

Without the teachers' supervision, the older students began whispering to each other. Some complained that the first graders were too dumb to even line up properly, others grumbled about having too much homework today, leaving no time to play... Although everyone kept their voices low, with so many people talking, it still sounded quite noisy.

In Gao Youhe's class, many students were also chatting.

If they were inside the classroom, she would definitely tell them to be quiet. But now they were outside, and it was dismissal time, so Gao Youhe focused only on the path ahead.

Her back was suddenly lightly poked.

Turning around, she saw it was the classmate standing behind her. The girl asked Gao Youhe, "Monitor, can you check if my mom is here to pick me up? There are too many people blocking the view, I can't see."

Gao Youhe agreed, scanning the school gate area before replying, "She's here, sitting on her electric scooter."

Hearing this, the girl's shoulders instantly slumped. "She came again. I've told her so many times not to come, but she still does."

Gao Youhe was puzzled. "Isn't it good that your mom comes to pick you up?"

The classmate said, "It's not that it's bad... but I'm in third grade now, I can take the bus home by myself. She just never listens to me, coming every single day. I feel a bit... suffocated."

Gao Youhe said, "Suffocated? That serious?"

Gao Youhe, who was only ever picked up by the driver, couldn't relate at all.

Her brother was too busy. He only made time to drop her off on the very first day of each semester.

He felt that if not even a single family member saw her off on the first day, it would seem like she had no one at home. The rest of the time, he would pick her up whenever he could, but he was just so, so busy. In an entire semester, the number of times he picked her up wouldn't even fill one hand.

Gao Youhe also felt sorry for Gao Yan.

Besides when she first started kindergarten and strongly demanded that her brother make time to pick her up, ever since starting primary school, she had been urging him to rest more whenever he had time, assuring him that Uncle Wang would bring her home safely.

The classmate nodded emphatically. "It really is that serious! I had it all planned out. If my mom didn't come, I could go with my friend to the snack shop across the street to buy grilled pork tenderloin skewers. But with my mom here, I can't buy them. She never lets me buy them, always saying street food isn't clean. But I think it's quite clean, and really tasty too!"

Gao Youhe was intrigued. "Is this grilled pork tenderloin really that good?"

The classmate said eagerly, "Super delicious! Especially the one right across from the school gate. The flavor is amazing!"

Gao Youhe said, "Then I'll go buy some later."

Her brother at home, Uncle Zhan, Auntie Liu, Uncle Wang... none of them had ever tried the grilled pork tenderloin from the school gate.

After they all tried it, if they thought it was good, then she'd give some to her sister-in-law. If her sister-in-law also liked it, she'd say her brother bought it.

For the sake of delicious food, maybe her sister-in-law's fear of her brother would lessen a bit.

That's how it was with her kindergarten classmates. When they first met her brother, they were all terrified. Later, she gave them their favorite candies and said they were from her brother. After that, when they saw him again, although they still didn't dare get close, at least they weren't scared to the point of crying anymore.

Having planned what to do later, Gao Youhe exited the school, placed the class sign on the rack by the gate, and headed straight for the car that picked her up.

Usually, when Lao Wang came to pick up Gao Youhe, he would park the car and then stand beside it, waiting for her to arrive.

But today was different.

Lao Wang was accompanied by Lu Yingxiao.

Gao Youhe thought she was seeing things. She stopped and looked carefully, confirming she wasn't mistaken, then quickened her pace over, asking in delighted surprise, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing here?"

Lu Yingxiao said, "To pick you up from school."

Getting her answer, a brilliant smile spread across Gao Youhe's entire face. "Sister-in-law, are you hungry right now?"

"My classmate just told me the grilled pork tenderloin right across from our school gate is especially delicious. I was planning to buy some after school and bring it home for you to try. Since you're here, I'll take you to eat it now. The ones grilled fresh on the spot might taste even better."

Plans couldn't keep up with changes.

Gao Youhe hadn't expected Lu Yingxiao to come pick her up. She wasn't the rigid type, so she immediately formulated a new plan in her mind.

If she could win her sister-in-law's affection, love for her might extend to her brother, and perhaps her sister-in-law wouldn't be so averse to him then.

Faced with Gao Youhe's enthusiastic and expectant invitation, Lu Yingxiao thought to herself: if she were the vicious sister-in-law, she should now refuse Gao Youhe in the most sarcastic tone and with the most disdainful expression. But she didn't want to be led by the nose by the system, and she also wanted to know if deviating from the personality the system assigned her would land her in the white room.

So, Lu Yingxiao smiled and replied, "Sure, I am actually a bit hungry."

Gao Youhe immediately took Lu Yingxiao's hand and said to Lao Wang standing nearby, "Uncle Wang, Sister-in-law and I are going to the shop across the street to buy grilled pork tenderloin. Wait for us here."

Lao Wang said, "Okay."

Gao Youhe, full of excitement, was about to set off.

Lu Yingxiao helped Gao Youhe put her backpack into the car first, then let the girl lead her to the snack shop across from the school.

On the way, Gao Youhe chattered away, introducing her school to Lu Yingxiao.

Lu Yingxiao listened while also paying attention to her surroundings.

Everything was normal.

She hadn't entered the blank world.

"Sister-in-law, how many skewers of grilled pork tenderloin do you want?"

Arriving at the shop entrance, Gao Youhe asked Lu Yingxiao.

Lu Yingxiao said, "One is enough."

Gao Youhe said, "That few?"

Lu Yingxiao said, "My appetite is quite small. Don't you eat too much either, or you won't have room for dinner."

Gao Youhe said, "I'll just have two. The rest are for my brother and the others to try."

Calculating the number to buy, Gao Youhe called out loudly to the shop owner, "Boss, I want 20 skewers of grilled pork tenderloin!"

This shout immediately drew sidelong glances from the classmates nearby.

Although the grilled pork tenderloin wasn't expensive—just one yuan per piece—most students bought at most two pieces.

However, after a few glances, most students looked away. Only one short boy blurted out obnoxiously, "Gao Youhe the Giant, do you have a hollow leg? Buying so much!"

The comment was dripping with malice.

Lu Yingxiao's face darkened.

She was about to step forward and say something to the boy, but Gao Youhe had already walked up to him in a few strides, looking down to ask him, "Shorty Sun Yao, are you so short because your family doesn't have enough to eat?"

The students nearby heard this and roared with laughter.

Sun Yao, furious and humiliated, took a swing at Gao Youhe.

Gao Youhe grabbed Sun Yao by the collar and effortlessly threw him to the ground.

Sun Yao fell right on his butt.

The onlooking students thought it was even funnier, pointing and laughing at Sun Yao.

Sun Yao's face turned beet red with anger, but he could neither outtalk Gao Youhe nor overpower her. In the end, he only shot back a threat, "You just wait! I'll tell the teacher tomorrow!"

Gao Youhe wasn't scared in the slightest. "Don't wait until tomorrow; go now. The teacher is still at school."

Sun Yao didn't dare to actually go find the teacher and slunk away.

After dealing with Sun Yao, Gao Youhe turned back to find Lu Yingxiao, brimming with triumph.

But after taking a few steps, Gao Youhe seemed to remember something and stopped in her tracks, feeling regretful and uneasy, not daring to go any further.

She recalled that her sister-in-law was afraid of her brother mainly because he had such a scary look. Although her own face wasn't menacing, she had just truly lost her temper right in front of her sister-in-law.

Seeing Gao Youhe frozen in place, Lu Yingxiao took the initiative to approach her. "What's wrong? Why did you stop? Were you hurt just now?"

Lu Yingxiao carefully examined Gao Youhe's body.

Gao Youhe wanted to reach out and hold Lu Yingxiao's hands as she checked her over, but she was afraid her action might scare Lu Yingxiao, so she pulled her hand back.

Just as she was halfway through pulling back, Lu Yingxiao caught her hand firmly. "Why are you afraid to hold my hand? Did you hurt it?"

Gao Youhe shook her head repeatedly. "No, no, I'm not hurt anywhere. Even ten more Sun Yaos couldn't hurt me." Her eyes were fixed on her hand, clasped in Lu Yingxiao's. Reason told her she shouldn't ask, but she couldn't hold back. Carefully observing Lu Yingxiao's expression, she tentatively asked, "Sister-in-law, aren't you afraid of me?"

Lu Yingxiao chuckled. "Why should I be afraid of you?"

Gao Youhe: "I was really fierce just now."

Lu Yingxiao: "Were you? I only thought you were really impressive just now! You have the height and strength I always wanted when I was little."

Gao Youhe: "Really?"

Lu Yingxiao: "Cross my heart."

Gao Youhe: "Then you..."

She wanted to ask Lu Yingxiao why, if she admired her height and strength, she was still afraid of her brother.

The words were already on the tip of her tongue, but her subconscious told her that this question might touch on unpleasant memories for Lu Yingxiao. Gao Youhe bit them back.

To prevent Lu Yingxiao from guessing what she wanted to ask and thus recalling something unpleasant, Gao Youhe thought on her feet and said, "Then you should eat more. Eating more can help you grow taller and stronger."

Lu Yingxiao: "Alright, I'll listen to you."

The 20 slices of grilled pork tenderloin that Gao Youhe ordered were ready. Lu Yingxiao held her hand and went to pick them up.

The freshly grilled tenderloin was indeed tender and juicy, not dry at all.

The two of them walked and ate as they went.

Lu Yingxiao thought of the short classmate and asked Gao Youhe, "Does he often call you that?"

Gao Youhe: "He's just a jerk. It's not just me; he's picked on the whole class, including the teachers. But he can't beat me, and the teachers don't side with him either."

Lu Yingxiao: "If you ever feel wronged at school, you have to tell us at home."

Gao Youhe snuggled up to Lu Yingxiao. "Sister-in-law, don't worry. I won't let myself be wronged. And if I ever am, I won't hide it from you."

When they returned to their car and were about to get in, Gao Youhe suddenly caught sight of Gao Yan's car parked across the street, with Gao Yan inside.

Remembering Lu Yingxiao's fear of Gao Yan, Gao Youhe didn't greet him. She only glanced briefly before looking away, continuing to chat and laugh with Lu Yingxiao as if nothing had happened.

Gao Yan, sitting in the car not far away, thought: "..."

In the past, whenever he managed to find time to pick Gao Youhe up from school, she'd be so happy she'd jump for joy. Now that she had her sister-in-law, she acted like he was a stranger she couldn't be bothered to look at.

He looked again at Lu Yingxiao walking beside Gao Youhe.

Unlike the resistance and fear she had shown when she saw him last night, Lu Yingxiao now resembled a sensitive plant that had endured days of heavy rain and finally welcomed clear skies. Every leaf stretched out lazily, basking freely in the nourishing sunlight.

The scene was beautiful.

But Gao Yan didn't dare to watch for too long, afraid of startling the easily frightened "sensitive plant." He consciously closed the car window.