His voice reached them before they saw him.

Truly a gentleman.

Matthew blinked, mouthing silently: Her brother!

Matthew had learned from Tina that she had a brother who deeply cared for her.

But now that Tina’s brother opposed her apartment renovation, Matthew’s face fell into worry. Xia Xiaolan, unwilling to watch his pathetic expression, stepped forward to ring the doorbell.

The door was already ajar, and Tina opened it fully:

“Oh, you’re here! Welcome!”

“I heard your internship at GMP has ended. If my brother hadn’t suddenly come to New York yesterday, I would have loved to attend your party last night.”

Tina led Xia Xiaolan and Matthew inside, pointing to a young man on the sofa:

“This is my brother Farn. These are Matthew and Xia, the designers I’ve hired.”

Farn, Tina’s brother, was of medium build. Like Tina, he had a gentle appearance – clearly siblings who shared the same amiable demeanor, both bearing the unmistakable air of privileged upbringing.

Truly gentle people never make others uncomfortable. Even though Farn had opposed Tina’s renovation plans moments ago, he showed no hostility toward Xia Xiaolan and Matthew.

He stood up politely and shook hands with both:

“Pleased to meet you. We’ve spoiled Tina quite a bit, and her ideas can be rather fanciful. I hope she hasn’t caused you any trouble?”

Farn’s words carried the warmth of spring breeze.

His courtesy wasn’t artificial – he was genuinely amiable.

When Xia Xiaolan shook his hand, he maintained proper eye contact, everything perfectly appropriate.

This Farn had such a familiar face.

Tina gave Xia Xiaolan the same feeling, though it was stronger with Farn.

Fearing delays, Matthew exchanged brief pleasantries before presenting the commission agreement.

Tina held the pen, gazing pitifully at Farn, who clearly couldn’t resist his sister’s wishes and finally compromised:

“Alright, I agree to the renovation, but please store everything carefully, okay? I don’t want to see Mother heartbroken over this.”

“Yay~ I knew Big Brother loved me most!”

Tina joyfully hugged Farn.

Farn guided her back to her seat, “Tina, we have guests. Act like a proper lady.”

Once accepting his sister’s renovation decision, Farn became quite agreeable. He carefully reviewed Matthew’s agreement, likely concerned about his young sister being deceived and somewhat uncertain about two designers who appeared so young, asking numerous detailed questions.

Matthew came prepared and couldn’t be stumped by a layperson’s questions.

Finding no flaws in the responses, Farn signaled Tina could sign.

“Do you have enough savings? Let me cover this expense.”

Tina’s eyes gleamed, “I remember Daddy saying men should be self-reliant. You spent a year volunteering in Africa and have only worked for six months – where would you get the money? Have you finally agreed to take over Daddy’s business?”

Farn smiled and shook his head, “No, I quit my previous job and found a new one in New York. Anyway, I can afford your renovation costs. What do you say, will you let me pay?”

Tina considered briefly, “Let’s split it halfway. But you didn’t switch jobs to New York just because I’m starting university here, did you? I’ve grown up and don’t want such close supervision.”

Farn ruffled her hair, “Don’t be silly. I just happened to have an opportunity to switch jobs. My new position is on Wall Street, with better pay than before. Shouldn’t you be happy for me?”

The siblings’ relationship was genuinely close.

Farn’s doting on Tina was obvious – Xia Xiaolan almost envied her.

In the end, Farn wrote a check for the initial payment.

After writing the check, he checked his watch and stood to leave, “I have work this afternoon. Tina, remember you promised to take good care of everything in this apartment. It was nice meeting you both, goodbye.”

After escorting him to the door, Tina returned and moved next to Xia Xiaolan:

“So, are you interested in someone like Farn? He’s a true gentleman, gentle and considerate toward women!”

Xia Xiaolan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “Tina, you didn’t invite me here to introduce your brother, did you? Thank you for your kind intentions, but I already have a boyfriend in China, and we’re very happy together!”

Tina had made a big mistake.

“I saw you kept glancing at Farn and thought you were interested… Oh god, how embarrassing!”

“No, I should apologize. Was my looking at your brother that obvious? You misunderstood – I just felt his face was familiar, including yours. You both seem very familiar to me.”

Xia Xiaolan’s eyes swept over Tina’s full cheeks, glowing with youthful collagen.

Why did they seem so familiar?

One Tina was enough, but even her brother gave the same feeling.

The siblings weren’t strikingly beautiful, but they certainly weren’t common-looking either.

Tina seemed delighted by this, “Wow, then we’re destined to be friends!”

Xia Xiaolan’s train of thought was suddenly disrupted.

Tina discussed specifics with Matthew, deciding to first have someone pack away all the decorations, “You heard him – nothing here can be lost. My mommy personally selected and arranged everything.”

“That’s fine, we can incorporate some original pieces into the new design…”

The apartment was truly meticulously decorated.

All furnishings and decorations appeared expensive yet tasteful, without any nouveau riche vulgarity. Tina’s family wasn’t typical Chinese immigrants – they possessed both wealth and refined aesthetic sensibility. Having money to buy nice things doesn’t guarantee good taste – even that future U.S. president thirty years later, with all his wealth, couldn’t shed his gaudy gold aesthetic even after becoming president.

Not only did Xia Xiaolan find it beautiful, but Matthew felt nervous about making major changes.

How could they improve on such impeccable taste?

“Thankfully Tina is young, and I’m young too – we share the same aesthetic!”

Matthew encouraged himself.

By this time, they had left Tina’s place.

Xia Xiaolan gave him a side-eye, “You’d better be careful. Consider how removing three walls might affect structural safety. Never mind the house’s value – if Tina gets even slightly hurt, do you think her brother will remain so gentle and polite?”

Definitely not.

Matthew felt a chill down his spine. Farn was an ultimate sister complex who unconditionally doted on his sister. Despite all his pampering of Tina, he absolutely wouldn’t allow anyone to harm her, intentionally or not.

Xia Xiaolan agreed that Farn had a sister complex – a brother who would change jobs to New York just because his sister was attending university there was definitely not someone to be trifled with.