Chapter 146: "Second Brother Wang's Cold Noodles"

Qin Xuan glanced at Lin'er, curiously tearing open the envelope and pulling out the slightly yellowed paper inside. The moment he unfolded it, the two bold characters at the very top caught his eye: *Love Letter*...

Qin Xuan was utterly dumbfounded. It was his first time encountering something so blatant. He felt a bit like laughing, but wasn't the atmosphere a bit inappropriate for that?

Suppressing his amusement, he continued reading, and by the end, any urge to laugh had completely vanished.

After reading it a second time, Qin Xuan finally raised his head and looked at Lin'er with a bizarre expression.

Lin'er stared straight back into Qin Xuan's eyes without backing down in the slightest.

Unable to handle her glare, Qin Xuan blinked involuntarily. "No wonder I felt something was off about you back in high school!"

A faint blush crept across Lin'er's face. Hearing Qin Xuan say this, she unconvincingly retorted, "What do you mean something was off! I was just crushing on you!"

"I honestly don't even know what to say to you," Qin Xuan reached out, pulling Lin'er onto his lap and taking her small hand in his. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Sitting on Qin Xuan's lap, Lin'er gave an awkward chuckle. "How could I possibly have dared... You're my older brother."

"And you dare now?" Qin Xuan teased, giving Lin'er a light pat on the rear.

"Don't hit me!" Lin'er gave Qin Xuan a puff-cheeked slap on the arm. "So what if I dare now?"

Qin Xuan pulled Lin'er into his embrace, catching the scent of shampoo lingering around her. "Thank you for liking me."

"Mhm..." Lin'er snuggled into Qin Xuan's arms, reaching out to wrap her arms around his back. "It's only right!"

Her reply left Qin Xuan torn between laughter and tears, and he tightened his grip around her slightly. "Alright, if Ruoxi and the others come back and see this, they're going to beat us up."

"I'm not scared!" Lin'er let go, resting her hands on Qin Xuan's shoulders for support. "Besides, Sister Xi wouldn't dare hit you! You'll protect me, right?"

Qin Xuan was momentarily stunned. Protect you? I'm afraid I'll be the one sleeping on the sofa tonight...

Seeing that Qin Xuan didn't reply, Lin'er cupped his face and planted a kiss right on his lips.

Half a minute later, Lin'er stretched comfortably while sitting on Qin Xuan's lap, pressing her entire body flush against his chest. Understanding the cue, Qin Xuan sensibly wrapped his arms around her slender waist, his heart stirring slightly.

"In broad daylight..." Lowering her gaze, Lin'er caught the altered look in Qin Xuan's eyes and instantly understood.

"I'll deal with you tonight!" Qin Xuan kissed Lin'er's flushed cheek, her skin so delicate that the fine peach fuzz on it was faintly visible.

After playing and bickering for a little while longer, the two of them walked arm-in-arm back to the living room. Qin Xuan tucked the love letter away in his own bedroom for safekeeping, since after all... it was the very first one he had ever "received."

Not long after lying down on the sofa, Liu Ruoxi and Nan Zhiyi returned carrying a mountain of shopping bags, though their mother was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Mom?" Qin Xuan asked curiously, looking at the two of them.

"Mom... went to play mahjong," Liu Ruoxi said with an amused smile. She had been fine just a moment ago, but suddenly bolted after receiving a message.

The four of them sat lazily on the sofa watching television, with Qin Xuan lying comfortably across Nan Zhiyi's lap, happily cracking melon seeds.

"We came back just to be bored here, huh," Liu Ruoxi sprawled out on the sofa, playing a mobile game with Lin'er and saying listlessly.

Feeling the softness beneath his head, Qin Xuan remarked, "It's almost lunchtime anyway, so let's go out and play this afternoon."

...

Despite having a rare holiday, the four of them ended up just casually stir-frying a few dishes at home for lunch.

A little past two in the afternoon, having rested sufficiently, they changed their clothes and headed out. Fortunately, the sun wasn't too harsh today, though the air felt somewhat muggy and stifling.

Originally, they had just planned to stroll around aimlessly, but Lin'er suddenly announced she wanted to visit her old school. All three of them had attended the same middle and high school; the high school campus was only a few streets away from home, while the middle school was a bit further. Wandering leisurely, they headed in the direction of the high school.

When they reached the street outside the school gates, Lin'er came to a complete halt at the sight of the row of snack stalls.

"Qin Xuan~ I want to eat cold noodles," Lin'er tugged at Qin Xuan's hand, licking her lips.

Qin Xuan looked at the "Brother Wang's Cold Noodles" stall ahead. They had frequented this shop back in high school. According to Lin'er's summary of her three high school years, this was the absolute best-tasting place in the vicinity, especially the cold noodles! Available year-round, Lin'er particularly loved getting a bowl in the summer—the spicy flavor with a hint of sweetness was simply heavenly!

Dragging Qin Xuan along, Lin'er went inside and found a table to sit down.

"Brother Wang, four bowls of cold noodles, small portions!" Even though she didn't see anyone right away, Lin'er guessed that Brother Wang must be lying somewhere playing video games, so she shouted out as soon as she sat down.

"Coming!" Brother Wang hadn't expected any customers in the middle of the afternoon. He put down his phone, stood up, and his eyes lit up the moment he saw them.

"Oh, Lin'er is here! Aren't you in college now? You still have time to come eat my cold noodles?" Although called Brother Wang, he already looked like a middle-aged uncle in his forties, completely unkempt. Yet, he refused to let the students who came to eat call him "uncle," insisting he was still young, thank you very much! That was why the shop was simply named "Brother Wang."

Since the three of them were regular customers, Brother Wang greeted them warmly.

"I just missed the cold noodles you make, so I came to have a taste!" Lin'er said with a cheeky smile.

"Aiyo, come eat whenever you want from now on, all you can eat!" Skillfully tossing the cold noodles, Brother Wang glanced over at Nan Zhiyi. "Is this a friend of yours? I don't think I've ever seen her before, is this her first time here?"

"She's my older brother's girlfriend. Put extra spice in hers," Lin'er piped up.

Brother Wang was momentarily puzzled. Qin Xuan's girlfriend? Then what about Liu Ruoxi? If his eyes weren't deceiving him, shouldn't those two be together by now? What a pity...

Before long, Brother Wang brought the bowls of cold noodles over and placed them on their table. "Here you go, enjoy."

After serving the food, Brother Wang picked up his phone again to resume his game, immediately starting to yell at his teammates—all because he had been AFK for a moment just now...

Nan Zhiyi watched the others pick up their chopsticks and start eating the cold noodles, then curiously picked up a bite from her own bowl.

Indeed... it tasted completely different from what she usually had, yet it suited her palate surprisingly well!

After finishing her bowl of cold noodles with great satisfaction, Lin'er cast her eyes toward Qin Xuan's bowl. Being very sensible, Qin Xuan had intentionally left half a bowl for her, pushing it across the table as a silent cue.

Lin'er flashed Qin Xuan a happy smile, picked up her chopsticks, and dug right in.

Brother Wang was long used to this sight. He remembered being slightly bewildered the very first time he saw them do this—it was his first time ever seeing a girl snatch cold noodles straight out of a guy's bowl...

But after learning about their relationship later on, he took it in stride.

After finishing the cold noodles and paying the bill, Qin Xuan led the others out of Brother Wang's shop.

Watching them leave, Brother Wang suddenly noticed that both girls on either side of Qin Xuan were holding his arms, while the actual girlfriend was left walking slightly off to the side.

*What the hell?* Brother Wang was left with a head full of question marks. *Is flexing like this even allowed?* Thinking of his own bachelor lifestyle...

He silently pulled out his phone and dialed his mother's number.

"Mom! Is that blind date you mentioned to me yesterday still on?"

After hanging up the phone, Brother Wang simply pulled down the shutters of his shop to head home and get ready for tonight's blind date!