Chapter 52: Then smile a little, Xia Yu.

Until the very end, neither of them would back down.

Even if each grabbed a bear, they would shove the other’s bear out just before reaching the hole.

They used up all their Game Tokens, but in the end, neither managed to snag a single stuffed bear, leaving with regret.

When it was time to tally the scores, the three of them each carried their baskets, looking at the counts inside.

Shangguan Xiawan: 5

Xia Yu: 4

Mo Yidong: 4

Mu Yiqiu: 8

Xia Yu glanced at the basket overflowing with dolls in Mu Yiqiu’s hands, raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and said:

“Wait, are you hacking or something?”

No one expected Mu Yiqiu to come out in such a short time with the dolls piled into a small mountain.

Seeing the satisfied smile on his face, everyone was stunned.

“My relatives’ kids sometimes go out to play on weekends. When they see a Wawaji, they always pester me to catch some for them.”

None of those present had anticipated that the ultimate winner of this match would be Mu Yiqiu.

As long as Mo Yidong didn’t win, Xia Yu thought, it was acceptable—he finally relaxed a bit.

“Ahem.”

Clearing his throat, Mu Yiqiu, as the biggest winner of the game, could make one request according to the rules set by Mo Yidong.

“I already know what I want to ask for.”

Mu Yiqiu looked at the two boys in front of him.

He wanted to enjoy every day at school comfortably and didn’t want to see Xia Yu constantly scowling. So, Mu Yiqiu said to them:

“My request is that you two shake hands, smile at each other, and look into each other’s eyes for thirty seconds.”

“Mu Yiqiu, you…!”

Xia Yu was stunned, staring at Mu Yiqiu.

He had never expected his good brother to make such a request.

No way, he couldn’t agree—he couldn’t do it!

“No way,”

Xia Yu refused decisively.

“Fine,”

Mo Yidong agreed and calmly said to Xia Yu,

“You have to accept the wager.”

“Mu Yiqiu, just you wait!”

Xia Yu’s glare was fierce enough to eat people alive.

But then Mo Yidong added one more sentence.

“You can’t go back on your word, and you certainly can’t bring it up later.”

Mo Yidong looked down at Xia Yu, raising his right hand waiting for Xia Yu’s response.

Seeing no answer after a long moment,

just a handshake, Xia Yu nervously reached out his hand to Mo Yidong’s firm, pale palm.

“Well then, smile, Xia Yu.”

Xia Yu forced a slight curl of his mouth, showing an awkward yet graceful smile.

He looked up at Mo Yidong’s gentle smile.

“Time’s up—!”

The long thirty seconds finally ended.

The moment it was over, Xia Yu quickly let go of the hand, spun around, his ears flushed, his face a little angry, his voice low and slightly trembling as he mumbled:

“I’m going home.”

Mu Yiqiu watched Xia Yu leave alone, leaving him behind.

Seeing that Xia Yu didn’t even look back, he guessed he was angry.

“Yu-ge, wait for me! Walk me out~”

Mu Yiqiu called to Xia Yu with a tone of slight grievance; he didn’t mean to cause trouble.

“I’m not walking you anywhere. If your legs work fine, walk by yourself.”

Xia Yu didn’t look back, truly not wanting to see either of them—at least not today.

He was really angry.

Mu Yiqiu sighed, then suddenly heard someone politely ask:

“Do you need me to walk you out?”

“Really?”

Mu Yiqiu turned to Mo Yidong’s calm expression, his voice filled with joy and excitement.

Having a ride was simply wonderful.

Mu Yiqiu decided to temporarily leave Xia Yu alone and try to coax him at school later.

“Mo Yidong, you’re too kind. From now on, I’ll call you Mo Ge—no, better call you Dongge!”

Since the three of them were basically family now, one could be Jiejie, the other Ge, both looking out for him. It was perfect.

“No need. That’s not good.”

Mu Yidong blinked, looking a bit embarrassed, so Mu Yiqiu asked curiously:

“Why not?”

Mo Yidong just explained the truth to him.

“Because I’m also Yu-ge’s Xiaoyidi.”

“What!?”

Mu Yiqiu was very surprised, staring at Mo Yidong’s complicated expression.

It was hard to explain on the spot.

He couldn’t imagine Xia Yu’s personality—he definitely wouldn’t willingly accept Mo Yidong as his Xiaoyidi.

So Mo Yidong must have made the move himself?

Now Xia Yu secretly liked Mo Yidong, and Mo Yidong was trying to become Xia Yu’s Xiaoyidi…

Were these two heading toward each other?

Wait, wait… hold on!

The main question was Mu Yiqiu didn’t know Mo Yidong’s real feelings—did he like Yu-ge?

Was Mo Yidong straight or not?

Their relationship was way too intriguing, and Mu Yiqiu was dying to gossip…

Suddenly inspired, Mu Yiqiu gave Mo Yidong a thumbs-up.

“Don’t worry, I’ll always be on your side!”

Not fully understanding what Mu Yiqiu meant, Mo Yidong simply felt the need to be fair.

“Actually, Xia Yu and I are just ordinary friends. I only became his Xiaoyidi recently.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Mu Yiqiu feigned calm and understanding but was already feeling sad for Xia Yu.

He hadn’t expected Yu-ge’s love to be one-sided, unrequited…

Just like he said, over-care made the child who lacked affection from an early age misunderstand their relationship.

“Let’s go to the parking lot.”

More than the information Mu Yiqiu dug up, Mo Yidong wanted to pry open Xia Yu’s stubborn mouth himself—it was more interesting that way.

“If you need help later, just find me. I won’t bother you anymore. Thanks for walking me home.”

After sending Mu Yiqiu off, Shangguan Xiawan and Mo Yidong sat in the back seat.

Mo Yidong noticed Shangguan Xiawan happily staring out the window, as if she had a great time today.

“Thanks for coming with me to pick out clothes.”

Shangguan Xiawan looked at the pile of her own clothes in the trunk, though Mo Yidong had only chosen one piece.

“You’re welcome. Trading one piece for a whole bunch? Worth it.”

Shangguan Xiawan looked happily at Mo Yidong’s calm expression.

Tomorrow was a day worth looking forward to.

Mo Yidong had purposely taken Shangguan Xiawan shopping to pick out a suitable outfit for his girlfriend to wear to the Family Banquet.

Not knowing what would be appropriate, he came to consult her opinion.

Based on Mo Yidong’s description of the girl—a shy girl who rarely wore skirts and got nervous in front of people—they finally picked out the perfect dress.

“Can’t wait. Tomorrow I’ll get to see her.”

After Shangguan Xiawan said this, she noticed Mo Yidong’s expression remained unchanged.

With the upcoming meeting with his girlfriend, some unpleasant rumors had started spreading.

“By the way, someone has already begun spreading stories at home.”

Shangguan Xiawan leaned close to Mo Yidong and whispered,

“They say your girlfriend is just someone you hired to play the part.”

As Shangguan Xiawan spoke, she saw no reaction on Mo Yidong’s face, as if he had long known that some people didn’t want him here.

“Let me tell you, a lot of older people these days don’t want to get married or just want to experience being loved. Now there’s a special Girlfriend Rental Service. If you need, I can ask a Xuezhang to recommend one to you…”

“So the Xuezhang you posted about in your Friend Circle—the one hooking up with you—is rented?”

Mo Yidong finally broke his long silence and shut Shangguan Xiawan’s mouth tightly.

Shocked, she obediently stayed quiet, not daring to say a word, quietly mumbling:

“Don’t ever tell my Mom about this…”