Interesting kid.
Li Nianlong smirked, giving him a provocative look that made the kid's eyes flare up with anger.
Li Nianlong turned to Xiang Youyou, "Since your brother came to see you, I won't disturb your reunion. Let's catch up another time."
"Just a moment!" Xiang Youyou's brother stood up, towering over Li Nianlong with a hostile and disdainful gaze, extending his hand, "Nice to meet you, I'm Xiang Yu. Yu as in universe. Eighteen years old, freshman at Jingchu University."
Xiang Yu? Without explaining the literal meaning, Li Nianlong might have thought his father had too much time on his hands to give his son such a name reminiscent of the Hegemon of Western Chu.
Glancing at Xiang Yu's hand, which was large with thick, calloused fingers, Li Nianlong introduced himself, shaking hands with Xiang Yu.
"So, you're an unemployed bum!" Gripping Li Nianlong's "tender" hand, Xiang Yu's disdain intensified, adding pressure.
"Oh?" Feeling Xiang Yu's grip tightening, Li Nianlong's expression changed, increasing his own grip strength in response. Despite Xiang Yu exerting all his strength, Li Nianlong remained composed, even increasing his grip.
Xiang Yu's expression shifted completely. Feeling the pain in his hand, he increased his strength, but Li Nianlong's grip continued to match his, gradually making Xiang Yu grit his teeth, veins bulging, already exerting ten times his strength, yet Li Nianlong seemed relaxed, even strengthening his grip.
With Xiang Yu's expression completely changed, feeling the pain in his hand, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, his face turning red.
Seeing this scene, Xiang Youyou's eyes lit up with amusement, teasing, "Why are you two being so enthusiastic? Someone might think you have an abnormal relationship!"
As Xiang Youyou spoke, Li Nianlong immediately loosened his grip, releasing his hand, "Hehe, Xiang Teacher, your brother is quite spirited. He doesn't resemble you at all. Are you sure you're siblings?"
"Nonsense!" Xiang Yu rubbed his sore hand behind his back, completely swollen, still trembling, and said impatiently, "Of course, we're siblings."
Xiang Youyou looked helpless, "There's no way around it. Many families produce some genetically mutated products. In our family, my parents and my brother are good-looking, but I turned out ugly. When I was born, they must have messed up the settings."
"Ha!" Li Nianlong couldn't help but chuckle, giving a thumbs up, "It's admirable that Xiang Teacher has such a good attitude."
"What can I do? Make the best of a bad situation!" Xiang Youyou patted Xiang Yu's head, "Now you know better! Teacher Liu is a super expert. He once stomped on the asphalt concrete ground and left a deep footprint. The ground even cracked open. Your trivial skills are embarrassing to show off. You have no idea what's good for you."
Xiang Yu frowned, "Why didn't you say so earlier!"
"Young people are impulsive and competitive. If I didn't let you suffer a little, you wouldn't learn." Xiang Youyou patted the back of his head, "Practice hard when you get home, don't embarrass yourself in public."
Xiang Yu raised his head in frustration, then said defiantly, "He's only better than me because he's older. When I'm twenty-four, I'll definitely be stronger than him!"
"We'll see when you're twenty-four!" Xiang Youyou snorted, then turned to Li Nianlong with some apology, "Teacher Liu, I'm sorry about that just now. Let me treat you to dinner! There's a nice hot pot restaurant ahead."
"Don't worry about it, Xiang Teacher." Li Nianlong waved his hand with a smile, "It's nothing serious. Besides, my sister is waiting at home. I'll pass."
"Bring your sister along!" Xiang Youyou said, "The more the merrier. We're all young people. It would be nice to chat together."
"Well..."
"Don't hesitate. Go get your sister." Xiang Youyou turned and got on the electric scooter, saying, "I'll go save us a table. Make sure to come!" Then she kicked Xiang Yu, "Follow me."
Xiang Yu looked at Xiang Youyou's retreating figure with dismay, then turned to glare fiercely at Li Nianlong, "Listen, don't you dare make a move on my sister, or I'll make you regret it!" With that, he chased after her.
Interesting kid.
Li Nianlong smiled, drove back home, and told Nalan Ruyue about Xiang Youyou's treat. Nalan Ruyue nodded when she heard about going out to eat, gesturing with her hands: Should I change clothes?
Li Nianlong looked at Nalan Ruyue in her white sweater and black leggings, nodding, "This outfit is fine. Just add a jacket and a pair of high-top shoes."
Nalan Ruyue nodded lightly and went upstairs to put on a black jacket. She looked more mature now.
When Nalan Ruyue put on a pair of white high-top shoes, Li Nianlong looked at her with admiration, exclaiming, "Ruyue, you're so beautiful. You could captivate any man in the world."
Nalan Ruyue smiled shyly, gesturing with her hands: As long as you think I'm beautiful, I don't care how others see me.
Li Nianlong was delighted, extending his hand, "Let's go!"
With a smile, Nalan Ruyue handed him her hand, and they left the house.
At an ordinary hot pot restaurant, Li Nianlong held Nalan Ruyue's hand as they walked upstairs.
Room 201, the door was open. Li Nianlong and Nalan Ruyue walked in to see Xiang Youyou and Xiang Yu sitting at the table, drinking hot tea. The hot pot and ingredients were on the table, but nothing had been touched.
"Xiang Teacher, sorry to keep you waiting," Li Nianlong apologized as he walked in.
"No worries, just in time," Xiang Youyou chuckled, but Xiang Yu muttered, "How come you're not dead yet!"
"Teacher Liu, is this your sister?" Xiang Youyou's eyes lit up when she saw Nalan Ruyue, "Wow, she's so beautiful!"
Li Nianlong smiled and introduced, "This is my sister, Liu Ruyue. But my sister can't speak, so I'll speak for her."
Nalan Ruyue looked at Xiang Youyou and smiled, gesturing with her hands: Hello, sister.
"She says hello," Li Nianlong translated, smiling.
"Hello, hello," Xiang Youyou quickly replied, "Ruyue, you're really beautiful, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
Nalan Ruyue blushed slightly and gestured: Thank you, sister.
After listening to Li Nianlong's translation, Xiang Youyou expressed envy and jealousy, "Mr. Liu, you're really lucky! You're handsome yourself, and your sister is also a beauty. You've got all the good things in the world."
"Ms. Xiang is just kidding." Li Nianlong smiled and turned to look at Xiang Yu, who had been busy shelling peanuts without even bothering to look up since the beginning. He didn't pay any attention to anyone, not even to such a beautiful girl as Nalan Ruyue.
Sure enough, he was completely obsessed with his sister, considering no one else mattered besides her.
Seeing Li Nianlong's gaze on Xiang Yu, but Xiang Yu remained indifferent, Xiang Youyou got angry. She reached out and grabbed Xiang Yu's ear, scolding him, "You're always eating! Do you even know what manners are?"
"Ow ow! Sis, be gentle, you're going to rip my ear off!" Xiang Yu cried out in pain, but Xiang Youyou was still furious. "Say hello to your elder brother and Ruyue quickly."
"Hello to both of you, okay! Please let go, sis, my ear is really hurting." Xiang Yu's ear was being squeezed so hard that tears were welling up in his eyes.
"Hmph!" Xiang Youyou let go of his ear. "No more disrespect in the future, or I'll teach you a lesson."
Xiang Yu rubbed his ear, too preoccupied with the pain to pay attention to anything else.
Xiang Youyou looked apologetic. "Mr. Liu, Ruyue, I'm sorry for the embarrassment."
"It's okay." Li Nianlong waved his hand and sat down with Nalan Ruyue. It was a four-person rectangular table, and Li Nianlong sat directly across from Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu glared at him, showing his teeth in a threatening manner.
Li Nianlong responded with a challenging look, almost provoking Xiang Yu to grab a weapon.
Feeling the tension, Xiang Youyou stepped on Xiang Yu's foot under the table, pressing down hard.
Xiang Yu turned red from the pain, sweating profusely. Luckily, he was hygienic, so his feet didn't smell, sparing everyone from discomfort.
Looking at Nalan Ruyue, Xiang Youyou found her increasingly beautiful and genuinely innocent, unlike those pseudo-innocent women who appeared pure but were actually lascivious. Xiang Youyou asked, "Ruyue, how old are you this year?"
Nalan Ruyue glanced at Li Nianlong. Li Nianlong said, "Ruyue is eighteen this year."
"Oh, the same age as my brother." Xiang Youyou smiled and asked, "When is Ruyue's birthday?"
"She was born on Valentine's Day." Li Nianlong smiled faintly and gently stroked Nalan Ruyue's hair. "My Ruyue is everyone's sweetheart."
"What a great day." Xiang Youyou said, with a hint of envy. "You're so lucky! I was born on July 7th, but it's a solar calendar. If it were the lunar calendar, I would also be a popular sweetheart on the Chinese Valentine's Day, haha..."
Li Nianlong chuckled. "That's not bad either. At least you can deceive people on the surface."
Xiang Youyou shrugged, then grabbed Xiang Yu's ear again. "My brother's birthday is in March, Xiao Yu, why aren't you calling Ruyue sister?"
Xiang Yu felt completely humiliated in front of others. As a man, he couldn't bear it. He became angry and shouted at Nalan Ruyue, "Sister Ruyue..."
...
Though she felt that something was off, Nalan Ruyue still smiled and nodded as a response.
Xiang Yu felt utterly defeated: "It's over. I've lost all my face. I don't want to live anymore."
Xiang Youyou released Xiang Yu's ear and said with a smile, "Stop staring. Let's eat. What do you want to cook?"
They ordered a hotpot with two flavors: spicy and non-spicy. Xiang Youyou and Xiang Yu, being from Jingchu, could handle a bit of spiciness, but not as much as those from Sichuan. Therefore, they chose a hotpot with two flavors, leaving the spicy side to Li Nianlong and Nalan Ruyue. They couldn't handle too much spiciness.
Having lived in Sichuan for over three months, Nalan Ruyue had already adapted to the spiciness of Sichuan cuisine. She enjoyed the hotpot with Li Nianlong, her forehead sweating, and her lips tingling with numbness.