After getting home, Cheng Lele had a long phone chat with Chen Xiaomei. Upon learning that the siblings had quarreled, Chen Xiaomei actually comforted her: “You two are finally acting normal. What siblings don’t quarrel? It’s nothing. A few bumps along the way, and it’ll be fine in a couple days.”

“What do you mean bumps along the way? I’m going to fight a protracted war!” Cheng Lele declared.

Chen Xiaomei said: “That also requires Chen An to be willing to fight a protracted war with you. Some people want to fight but don’t even get the chance.”

“Your words are so sour. Do you still have lingering feelings for my little brother? Take this opportunity to make your position clear.”

Chen Xiaomei ignored her and asked: “Let me interview you—how does today’s cold war feel?”

“Absolutely great!”

“Tell the truth. Was it hard or not?”

“What hard? Nonsense!”

“Nobody peeled eggs for you—did the princess shed tears?”

Cheng Lele said one thing while meaning another: “How is that possible? Without little brother, can I not survive or something?”

“Fine, perfect. Then be independent for a while. Maybe in a couple days, the little princess will be more diligent than a servant girl.”

After hanging up, Cheng Lele lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. The bold declarations from just now were diluted by the air until not even a shadow remained.

Upstairs, Chen An also received concerned regards from his good brother Quan Zirong.

“Your behavior was off today. Tell your brother, what happened?”

“Are you a microexpression expert?”

“Deflecting the important with the trivial—there’s definitely something. Let your brother guess. Something that can make you perform abnormally must be related to that person downstairs from you. What happened? Did she run off with another man?”

“…”

Quan Zirong had been joking, but in that tiny moment of Chen An’s silence, he immediately realized he’d struck a nerve: “Holy crap, who’s that capable?”

“What kind of talk is that?”

“No, haven’t you always been raising her with the spirit that girls should be raised richly? With such a handsome guy protecting her every day, who could she possibly be attracted to? Who in this world could be more handsome than you or treat her better than you do?”

“Thanks for praising me in such a roundabout way.”

Quan Zirong probed: “Did you two quarrel?”

Chen An was silent.

Quan Zirong: “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. I’ve lived to see this day! Have mountains lost their peaks? Have heaven and earth merged?”

Chen An was about to hang up: “Not in the mood to hear you mock me. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Chen An, let me say something fair. You usually watch too closely. Her bottoming out and rebounding is, is also understandable, right? Listen to me—leave Lele alone for two days. Maybe when you go to winter camp, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and you two will make up?”

“We’ll take it one step at a time.”

Chen An pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache. He truly lacked experience in making up. Moreover, he felt that if the crux between them wasn’t resolved, a superficial reconciliation would be meaningless. But where the crux was, he didn’t have time to think about it. The competition would start next week. This was a major matter concerning both their futures—he had to prioritize that first.