The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

When Xu Nian got home, it was almost eleven o'clock.

Although the evening rush hour had ended by 8 p.m., he wanted to earn more money, so he worked for two more hours.

Xu Nian thought that Xu Xi should already be asleep by this time, so she slowed down the opening of the door.

Upon entering, the restaurant lights were still on.

"Brother, you're back!"

Xu Xi threw herself into Xu Nian's arms.

"I thought you were already asleep."

Xu Nian walked into the house and saw the books on the chair by the door, knowing that the little guy had been waiting for her to come home.

"I can't sleep without my brother here~"

Xu Xi pouted and helped Xu Nian take off her yellow vest.

"Alright, alright, it's getting late, go to sleep, you have school tomorrow."

Xu Nian ruffled her hair, coaxing Xu Xi like a child.

Xu Xi nodded and walked towards her room.

As she passed Xu Nian's room, she turned her head and looked at Xu Nian pleadingly.

"You're a grown adult, sleep by yourself!"

Xu Nian said irritably.

Xu Xi made a pitiful expression, obediently returned to her room, and closed the door.

After taking a shower, Xu Nian patted her blanket to make sure no Xu Xi had appeared inside before lying down with peace of mind.

He opened his phone and found that Xu Hu had created a group chat for all the delivery drivers.

The Emperor Dons the Yellow Robe and Reigns Supreme (25)

Xu Hu: Brothers, you've worked hard today. All the work tonight was done by our people. We didn't let anyone from other areas interfere at all.

Xu Hu: (Red envelope)

Qi Yu has received Xu Hu's red envelope.

Qi Yu: Thank you, Brother Tiger!

Sun Yu has received Xu Hu's red envelope.

Zheng Tao has received Xu Hu's red envelope.

He Xin has received Xu Hu's red envelope.

......

Xu Hu: Today was too rushed and a bit chaotic. Starting tomorrow, we will work in shifts.

Xu Hu: We need two people who can be there consistently from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. tomorrow. Who can get up early to deliver meals?

Perhaps because it was so early, few people could get up, and no one spoke in the group.

Xu Nian opened the red envelope and grabbed fifty yuan.

He copied the words of thanks above and sent them to the group chat.

Great, I earned today what I usually earn in two or three days.

Xu Hu: @Xu Nian, no, I, the one who sent the red envelope, only received five yuan. Why can you receive fifty?

Xu Nian clicked on the details of the red envelope and was immediately left speechless, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He grabbed half of the 100-yuan red envelope by himself, and the remaining 50 yuan was divided equally among the other 20-odd people.

Xu Hu: In that case, you'll be only worth the early shift tomorrow since you got the most (evil laugh).

Xu Nian replied with a laughing-crying emoji.

Anyway, I have to take Xu Xi to school tomorrow morning, and I have to get up early too, so at worst I'll just have to start work a little earlier.

Qi Yu: I support this! Those who earn more should work harder. So, Tiger, since I only managed to grab 50 cents, could I work a little later tomorrow? (Poor thing)

Xu Hu: Get out of here! You've already taken the least amount of work, why don't you do more work and earn more? Tomorrow morning you'll be working the early shift with Xu Nian, that's settled.

Qi Yu: (Petrochemical)

Xu Nian burst out laughing.

You're so talkative.

Suddenly, he thought he heard a slight noise coming from outside his room.

"A stream?"

Xu Nian called out in that direction, but there was no response for a long time.

Did I mishear?

Xu Nian scratched her head, replied "received" in the group, then closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

After he fell asleep, the door was gently opened a crack.

Xu Xi peeked out with her little head and nervously peered inside for a while.

After confirming that her brother was asleep, she tiptoed into bed.

"Waaah... I'm just a little kid, what's wrong with sleeping with my brother?"

Xu Xi draped her arms and legs over Xu Nian, like a ragdoll cat hugging its salted fish.

She closed her eyes, murmured softly, and revealed a happy smile.

......

The next morning, Xu Nian was brushing her teeth in the bathroom as usual, while scolding Xu Xi.

"How many times have I told you? You're all grown up now, you need to sleep by yourself! Sleep by yourself!"

Xu Xi made gurgling sounds, as if she wanted to say something, but it seemed that the toothpaste blocked her from saying what she wanted to say.

Perhaps, she didn't want to explain anything in the first place, and just wanted to get away with being cute.

She blinked her big, bright eyes, tugged at Xu Nian's sleeve, and pointed to her toothbrush.

Xu Nian sighed, squatted down, and reluctantly took the toothbrush to brush Xu Xi's inner teeth.

"Alright, I need to leave early today. I'll take you to school first, and you can buy some breakfast at the school gate."

Xu Xi nodded obediently, snuggled into Xu Nian's arms, and rubbed against him affectionately.

"Ouch! You've got toothpaste all over my clothes! Get away from me!"

Xu Nian nudged Xu Xi with a look of disgust.

Xu Xi looked up, grinned, and pointed to Xu Nian's clothes, which were spotless, without a single bubble.

"Hehe, I wiped it clean a long time ago, so it didn't get on your clothes, brother~"

Xu Nian pinched her cheek, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Even Xu Nian herself didn't realize that since living with Xu Xi, she seemed to be smiling more often.

After changing their clothes, the two rode their electric bikes to the gate of a high school.

Xu Nian put Xu Xi down, and the little one stood on tiptoe and waved goodbye to her.

Following the example of other parents, Xu Nian told them to eat well and listen attentively in class before leaving the school gate.

It was still early, and there weren't many students at the school gate yet; it looked rather deserted.

But the nearby breakfast shops were already open, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.

Xu Xi swallowed hard but didn't go into the breakfast shop.

She crumpled the banknotes in her pocket and walked into the fruit shop next door.

......

Good morning, Xu Xi.

Wen Yao walked into the classroom, her ponytail swaying, and immediately spotted Xu Xi sitting next to her.

"morning."

Xu Xi smiled faintly, revealing a faint dimple on her cheek.

"I've brought you the book you requested."

Wen Yao took out a bag of packed books from her schoolbag. The bag contained textbooks for the first and second semesters of the first year of high school.

Nearly twenty books, it's quite heavy.

Xu Xi picked it up and weighed it in her hands, and even then, she felt it was a bit heavy.

"Thank you."

She handed the pears she had just bought to Wen Yao.

"Wow, how did you know I love pears the most!"

Upon seeing the plump, large pears, Wen Yao's eyes immediately lit up.

She picked one up, wiped it with her sleeve, and took a bite.

"I'm glad you like it~"

Xu Xi smiled shyly. She didn't know what fruits Wen Yao liked. She was just reluctant to buy expensive fruits like strawberries and cherries, so she bought pears, which looked the best and were relatively cheap, from the fruit shop.

Wen Yao took out a few bags of potato chips from her bag, tore open the packaging, and handed them to Xu Xi.

"Here, try some of the snacks I brought."

Xu Xi quickly waved her hand. In her memory, potato chips were a relatively expensive item, and a few bags like these would cost several tens of yuan.

"Never mind... never mind, these are too expensive, you keep them for yourself..."

"It's not expensive, not expensive at all."

Wen Yao chuckled and grabbed a handful, stuffing it into Xu Xi's mouth.

"I took these from home secretly, I bought them for free."