But out of consideration for Ruan Jianguo, she still called out in a soft voice, "Brother Lu Xian."
"Here, take this, it’s a gift from Uncle Lu for meeting you." Lu Zhiwei handed over the prepared gift to Ruan Jiaojiao—it was a jade pendant. Jiaojiao didn’t know much about it, but seeing how the jade looked translucent in the sunlight, she knew it must be of high quality.
Ruan Jianguo was startled and quickly tried to refuse, "How could we accept this? I haven’t prepared any gifts for Xiaoxuan, no, no, it’s too valuable."
"It’s not for you, so what does it have to do with you?" Lu Zhiwei glared at him annoyedly and stuffed the jade directly into Ruan Jiaojiao’s little hand.
Fearing she would also refuse, he joked on purpose, "Uncle only brought a gift for you, not for your two brothers, so you better take good care of it, lest your brothers snatch it away."
Ruan Jie, standing by Ruan Jianguo’s side, heard this and immediately retorted, "I would never snatch my little sister’s things."
"You child," Ruan Jianguo laughed, knowing that Lu Zhiwei meant he shouldn’t worry about repaying the gesture. After thinking it over, he stopped insisting and let Ruan Jiaojiao accept it, watching her wear it around her neck.
"Alright, go play now, but remember, when it’s time to set off fireworks, take your sister further away," Ruan Jianguo instructed Ruan Jie as he set Ruan Jiaojiao down.
Ruan Jie nodded and led Ruan Jiaojiao away toward another direction. Standing by Lu Zhiwei, Lu Xian hesitated for a moment before immediately following them, walking beside the two siblings.
"Is this the sister you’re always talking about?" Lu Xian asked Ruan Jie, his gaze fixed on Ruan Jiaojiao, appraising her attentively.
Ruan Jie glanced at him and said, "Yeah, what about it? Cute, isn’t she? Pretty, right?"
Lu Xian looked at the obedient and lovely Ruan Jiaojiao being led by Ruan Jie, then seriously nodded, "Beautiful, and cute too."
He didn’t have a sister of his own, but he had a bunch of female cousins who were all chatterboxes and so delicate, which he didn’t like at all. But Ruan Jie’s sister seemed quite well-behaved and didn’t bother anyone, making him want to give her candy.
With that thought in mind, he pulled out a few stick-shaped candies from his pocket and handed them to Ruan Jiaojiao, generously saying, "Here, Jiaojiao, Brother Xian is treating you to some candy. This is bubblegum. Remember to spit it out when it loses its sweetness."
"Shameless, already knighted yourself as her brother, huh?" Ruan Jie glanced at him with a mocking tone, but honestly reached out to take the bubblegum from Lu Xian’s hand, unwrapping and putting it into Ruan Jiaojiao’s mouth while instructing, "Jiaojiao, don’t swallow this candy, okay? Spit it out when it’s not sweet anymore, got it?"
"Mhm," Ruan Jiaojiao nodded and smiled softly at Lu Xian, "Thank you, Brother Xian." Considering his act of giving her candy, she became much more favorable towards him, especially since Ruan Jie didn’t seem to care about the incident with the hitting anymore, so she was even more willing to let go.
"Hey, it’s nothing. Next time Brother Xian will bring you chocolate, I have plenty of it at home," Lu Xian blurted out joyfully, encouraged by her gentle call of "brother."
At his words, Ruan Jiaojiao’s smile grew even more adorable and sweet, prompting Lu Xian to empty all the candy from his pockets, wanting to stuff them into her hands.
But Ruan Jiaojiao didn’t take them all; instead, she picked up one piece, planning to give it to the little antagonist. When she turned around, she found to her surprise that the little antagonist was still standing by Ruan Jianguo, staring over at her with a distant look in his eyes.