Jun grabbed Ai's arm. "Let's run for our lives."
Suddenly, he felt a firm hand upon his shoulder who refused to let him with a wide grin on his face. "Juuun!"
Ai was surprised to see Xing Bi behind him. "Xing Bi."
"Ai!" She gave her a tight, cuddling hug. "Ah, it's such a relief to see my cute Ai here!"
Jun inwardly several deep breaths.
Okay, calm down. Things are still in control.
But he couldn't stop the distaste leaking from his face. "...What are you doing here?"
"It's my first date with Xing Bi!" He hopped to hug him. "The first stepping stone of my life to win her love."
Ai stared at him. "So you were telling the truth that day?"
Nian glared at her and harrumphed. "You didn't believe me! I told you I wasn't hallucinating. Xing Bi indeed agreed on a date with me!"
Jun grimaced. "First date at a carnival?"
Ai looked at Jun accusingly. "Carnival is not romantic?"
He glared at her. "The cat headband is definitely not."
"It's cute just like you."
Nian said, "Xing Bi wanted to go to a carnival, and I will diligently follow every word of hers! But look, we met you!"
"That just made things so bad, right?" Jun smiled. "But we can fix this. We will pretend we never met. You go your way and we go ours."
"Since two couples have met such good coincidence-"
"We are still not a couple," Xing Bi didn't hesitate to pop his balloon of illusion.
Nian lacked tears to shed, but he bravely went on. "Like I was saying, since we four have met anyway, we should totally go on a double date!"
Ai, Xing Bi and Nian himself were thrilled with the idea. Jun wasn't.
His gaze darkened. "Excuse me but I am on a date with Ai. This is not a picnic."
Ai pursed her lips. "You are not being romantic anyway. You can't even wear a cute headband for me."
"Tch," Nian clicked his tongue. "So harsh, Jun. We should be wife slaves."
"Sorry but I prefer to have a voice of my own," Jun grimaced.
Xing Bi chuckled. "It's just a headband. How bad can it get?"
"Yeah, so that Bro clicks my pictures, sends them to our family chat group and laughs at my expense? No thanks," he sneered.
Nian gasped. "How did you know my plan?"
"It's the only thing you have ever done since childhood! Bully me and nothing else!" His chest heaved with fury.
Seeing Ai's shoulders droop with disappointment, Jun gritted his teeth. He snatched the headband from her. "Give it to me!"
He grudgingly wore it on his head. "Happy now?"
Nian laughed. "You are totally a wife slave!"
Ai blossomed with delight. She wore a cat headband on her own head and hung her arm around his. They looked like an adorable cat couple right now.
Jun had to admit the arrow that shot right through his heart. Ai looked like a cute kitty and all his resentment melted away like butter. "You look cute."
"You too," Ai blushed.
"Hey don't give me dog food…" Xing Bi cried.
Nian said with utmost sincerity, "Then we should attack him with double the dog food!"
Jun pulled Nian away from the women and asked angrily, "Why are you ruining this for us!? Let me enjoy my date with Ai. You enjoy yours!"
Nian sneered. "You think I am dumb? I am including you so that I can shine in front of my Xing Bi."
Nian shamelessly shared his idea to him. "You see, little brother. We will participate in all sorts of activities here, and I will win every single one of them over you. Then she will see me how capable I am," his eyes glittered like gold. "The more I win, the more she will be impressed with me!"
"Aren't you a little too overconfident? What if I win all the competitions here?"
"Then obviously, you will gracefully lose on purpose to put your most favorite brother in the spotlight," he nodded.
"And degrade my reputation in front of Ai?"
Nian sighed helplessly and patted his shoulder. "Sacrifices are sometimes necessary."
"This is your great idea to move her heart?" He dryly asked.
"Then best of luck. I hope you lose miserably today."
The four, except for Jun's agreement, began their double date. The men were busy with winning the competitions, and the women preferred to invest their time into trying all sorts of food. It was a big carnival with a lot of processions and cars passing through the streets.
"Xing Bi, Xing Bi! Look! I won the shoot the fish eye game! Jun was so hopeless!" Nian furiously waved his hand to let her see his victory.
Xing Bi and Ai were at a food stall on the opposite side of the road, munching on some sweet and sour chicken. She craned her neck and saw the arrow wedged into the small eye of a wooden fish.
That is quite admirable indeed. Thɪs chapter is updated by NovelHub(.)net
She started to cross the road when a procession suddenly changed its way and almost crashed upon her.
It was almost because Nian's sharp eyes had immediately detected the danger, and he jumped in the way to push her back.
"Xing Bi!" Ai gasped with terror and she and Jun rushed to her side.
"S-sorry!" The rider of the procession profusely apologized. "I lost control somehow…Please forgive me!" He bowed deeply.
Nian wasn't in the mood to be so forgiving, considering the cold winds blowing in the area.
Xing Bi waved her hand. "It's okay."
"A-are you hurt anywhere-"
Nian icily cut him off. "How about you stand here and I charge the procession at you? You will surely understand then, won't you?"
He gulped hard. "Sorry…"
Xing Bi tugged his elbow. "It's okay. Let him go. He already apologized."
She smiled at the rider. "Be careful next time."
"Yes, Mam! Thank you so much!"
Nian held her hand and helped her stand on her feet.
Ai sighed in relief. "Thank God Nian came in time."
From their backs, they heard a certain elderly woman's voice, who had a small tent of her own as a part of the carnival.
"I see you have taken another path than what fate had laid for you in the past."