Chapter 19: Dead mouth, hurry up and find a topic

"Brother?"

"I'm not your brother Lu Xiu Bai. My name is Jiang Ye, and I'm your brother's best friend. Your brother is injured, so he asked me to come pick you up."

"Huh?"

Shen Man's pupils shook, and her face showed shock.

She had already hugged him, and called him brother, and at this point, she had even gotten into the jeep with him, and only now was he telling her he wasn't her biological brother?

"Then, Brother Jiang Ye, is my brother's injury serious?"

Shen Man's face turned bright red; how embarrassing, the one she had thrown herself at wasn't her biological brother, but her biological brother's best friend!

Jiang Ye's hands tightened on the steering wheel, and his body stiffened for a moment, but he quickly adjusted and responded calmly:

"The snake venom hasn't been cleared yet, so he needs to be hospitalized for observation for a while. During this period, I will be responsible for your food and lodging."

"I see. Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Jiang Ye."

Upon hearing this, Shen Man let out a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, her biological brother wasn't in life-threatening danger, otherwise, her coming to rely on him this time would have turned into attending a funeral...

"It's no trouble."

Jiang Ye stiffly squeezed out these three words, and then stopped talking.

He was anxious inside: *Dead mouth, hurry up and find a topic. *

On the surface, however, he remained cold and indifferent, looking every bit like a high-mountain flower that was hard to approach.

"Meow, meow, meow."

*Master, I've found a Child of Destiny. Get closer to him so I can absorb more of his luck. *

Tangyuan crawled out of the bag, rubbed against its master's fingers, and meowed coquettishly. The whole cat looked as if it had discovered a dried fish, staring crazily at the man driving the car!

Child of Destiny?

Jiang Ye?

"Meow."

*Yes, it's him. Such rich purple qi! *

*No way, he's not my brother Lu Xiu Bai. How, how can I have physical contact with him? *

"Meow, meow."

*Master, look at him. Isn't he noble-looking, with a refined and outstanding temperament? Plus, he has broad shoulders and a narrow waist, strong waist and long legs. Doesn't he feel like he's bursting with hormones even while sitting? *

*Uh, are you a little perverted cat? *

"Meow, meow, meow."

*Master, Tangyuan is doing this for your sake. Aren't you going to go on blind dates on the Sea Island to find a military officer husband? *

*I think this one is quite suitable! *

*Shh~*

*Stop talking. A man with such good external conditions might already be taken. We can't be the '2+1'. *

Tangyuan's ears visibly drooped, and it lay listlessly on its master's lap, kneading.

*Child of Destiny, I really want to absorb his luck! *

"Do you like cats?"

Perhaps feeling that the air in the car was very quiet, Jiang Ye finally found a topic to break the ice.

"Yes, its name is Tangyuan. It hasn't been weaned for long. Isn't it cute?"

Shen Man picked up Tangyuan and showed it to him.

Jiang Ye braked gently and, answering a different question, chimed in, "Yes, very cute."

Having been single for two lifetimes, this was the first time he had tasted the feeling of love at first sight.

He seriously suspected that Lu Xiu Bai had planned this all along, deliberately letting him come to pick her up?

"We're here. Let's fill our stomachs first. At 1:30 PM, the customs ferry will dock. I'll buy the tickets then and take you to the Sea Island to get settled."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Jiang Ye."

Shen Man nodded. For now, it seemed that the way this man looked at her was normal, without any evil thoughts.

His conduct was quite upright; he was worthy of being her brother's best friend!

Jiang Ye turned off the engine with an expressionless face and pulled out the car keys.

Even though he keenly noticed the gaze the girl had cast upon him, he didn't dare turn back, fearing his sharp eyes would frighten her.

If he remembered correctly, Lu Xiu Bai was the same age as him, and Lu Xiu Bai had said he had a sister six years younger than him.

Six years younger—she was so delicate, so young. Would she think he was too old?

If Shen Man were to be stationed on the Sea Island and choose a husband through blind dates, could he, perhaps, also compete?

"Meow."

*Master, why don't you test whether Jiang Ye has a partner or not? *

"Meow, meow."

*Even if it's not for the luck, consider your own lifelong event. Being close to the water gets the moon first. Jiang Ye is your brother's best friend. Since he can be your brother's best friend, his character is undoubtedly good, isn't it? *

"Meow, meow, meow."

*Master, please think it over! *

Shen Man was still wearing Jiang Ye's military coat. Perhaps because the difference in their heights was so stark, the coat that reached his knees reached her ankles.

If it weren't for the wrong color, her clumsy, moving figure would look just like an indigenous person from Antarctica...

State-run Restaurant—

Under a dilapidated plaque was an ordinary restaurant.

Walking inside, the view dimmed a bit.

The tables, chairs, benches, and decor inside all seemed to be in the style of the Republic of China era.

If it weren't for the big-character posters on the wall and the slogans full of the era's flavor, Shen Man would have mistaken it for the set of some Republic-era short drama.

"Brother Zhou, I've brought a friend's sister. Make two dishes that a young girl would like."

"Hmm? That's rare. You bringing a girl here to eat? Brother will definitely fix you two good dishes."

Jiang Ye used his body to block the man's gaze as he tried to peek at the young girl through the window, took a few tickets from his pocket, and passed them into the window:

"Make it fast; the little girl is hungry."

The middle-aged man in the window wearing an apron clicked his tongue a few times, took the tickets, and got busy.

It was rare for Jiang Ye to bring a girl to their restaurant to eat, and he even showed a possessive attitude. This girl might be his future sister-in-law, so he, as the big brother, had to perform well.

"Drink some hot water; the food is being cooked."

Jiang Ye brought back a thermos, first scalded the cups with hot water, poured a fresh cup of hot water, and placed it by the little girl's hand.

Then he took two sets of bowls and chopsticks, poured hot water into them, scalded them, and only then placed them in front of the little girl.

"Thank you, Brother Jiang Ye."

Although Shen Man didn't respond to Tangyuan, she had been observing Jiang Ye secretly since getting off the car.

In terms of appearance, he was estimated to be 1.9 meters tall. In front of him, her own height only reached his chest!

From his behavior of pouring water and scalding the bowls and chopsticks just now, it could be seen that he paid attention to hygiene and knew how to take care of people.

Especially those hands, with distinct knuckles and full of power—a treat for hand-fetishists—

*I want to play with them. *

"Listening to your accent, is your hometown Suzhou?"

After Jiang Ye finished everything, he sat upright. To avoid appearing too serious, he casually brought up a topic, though in reality, he wanted to know a little more about the little girl.

Shen Man stroked Tangyuan's head while explaining with a light laugh:

"Yes, that's right. My maternal grandfather is from Suzhou. Ever since my parents divorced, I took my mother's surname, and my mother took me back to her hometown in Suzhou to live, so my accent is more inclined toward the Suzhou dialect."

Whether in her previous life or this life after transmigrating into the book, she was a Suzhou person. Her accent was that kind of soft, melodious Wu dialect, and her voice was soft, sweet, and delicate.

To put it bluntly, she sounded like she was acting coquettish when she spoke, and she couldn't start a fight at all.

Actually, according to her hometown dialect, she should call her brother "A-ge~".

She had stayed in the Capital for a few days and felt that calling him "Brother" would be more formal.

Therefore, when she first got off the train and out of the station, seeing the sign with her name on it, she had mistaken Jiang Ye for her brother... ===== CHAPTER 20 =====

Shen Man can be a candidate, but she still needs to see more of the "world" and be more selective; there is no rush.

"Mm."

The ambiguous atmosphere between the two instantly dissipated. Jiang Ye realized belatedly that he had fallen too quickly and was completely unprepared.

This feeling of being out of control made him feel somewhat unfamiliar and wary.

Thus, he followed the other's lead, temporarily casting aside the amorous thoughts in his mind, remaining restrained and clear-headed.

Tangyuan watched the expressions of its master and the Child of Destiny, its tiny head filled with a giant question mark.

Just a moment ago, it felt like the master and the Child of Destiny were on the verge of piercing through the window paper, so why did the conversation shift, and the pink bubbles between them burst?

If Tangyuan had ever read a romance novel, it would know this was just the emotional tug-of-war and mutual testing between a man and a woman...