Many people didn’t know that for a long time, Si Chu thought Ye Feiran liked his brother, Si Di. One reason for this misunderstanding was that those around him assumed that Ye Feiran was Si Di’s childhood sweetheart, a match made in heaven with an uncommonly high compatibility rate.
Another reason was Si Chu himself. He believed that if he were Ye Feiran, he would definitely fall for Si Di. Who would reject an S-grade sentinel with a dazzling background, gentle personality, and handsome appearance?
But Ye Feiran did. He insisted that he had brotherly affection for Si Di, just that, brotherly, nothing more.
When Si Chu, who had just been adopted at the age of twelve, heard these words, he was quite upset. He thought it was an ‘insult’ to his brother, who was the best in the world! His brother was so good to him, even though they had no blood relation, he still took care of him, loved him, and even cooked lamb milk cake for him. How dare that guide not like Brother Di? Every guide in the world should like Brother Di!
But Si Chu soon stopped thinking that way. He was sure Ye Feiran was just shy, clearly liking Si Di but too scared to admit it.
Then Si Chu, full of excitement, went to ask Si Di about his feelings for Ye Feiran. His brother, who was busy aiming to be first in both academic and physical courses for the year, just smiled and patted his head. Surprisingly, he also denied it, saying that he only felt a brotherly affection for Xiao Fei—familial love, friendship, anything but romantic love. Whenever he was with Ye Feiran, he could only remember the time when this guy was still in swaddling clothes and peed all over him.
Si Chu: “…”
His brother must be shy too.
The single-minded little puppy firmly believed this.
So, he whimpered alone in the cold wind on the rooftop, mourning the end of his first love before it even really began.
After crying, he pulled himself together and decided to help his world’s best brother. He would play matchmaker between Si Di and Ye Feiran, ending their miserable, mutual, secret crushes.
…But one thing led to another, and he ended up getting together with Ye Feiran instead.
At first, Ye Feiran vehemently denied having any feelings for Si Di. But later, after exchanging flirty glances and mutual affection with Si Chu, he started to admit that he did like Si Di… which infuriated the little dog to no end!
But there was still a question lingering in his mind. If Si Di wasn’t interested in Ye Feiran, an S-rank beauty with an almost 80% compatibility rate, then who was he interested in?
And then, Si Chu had the answer.
A C-grade guide, devilishly handsome, with a compatibility rate of 97%—
“Little Uncle!” Si Chu waved frantically from afar, his black and yellow tail wagging so fast it was almost a blur, spinning like a propeller, left three circles, right three circles, spinning around.
As they approached, Ye Feiran nodded politely to everyone, and Si Di handed each of them a soft egg waffle. Ye Feiran got the chocolate-flavored one because…
“Brother, if you keep playing the ‘dogs can’t eat chocolate’ joke, I’m gonna get mad,” Si Chu grumbled, with no real threat in his voice.
Xiao Zhenyun sipped the coconut milk sago and asked, “So, what are we planning to do next?”
“I thought we’d row a two-person boat on the lake first,” Si Chu said enthusiastically, “and then ride the Ferris wheel.”
“And kiss when the Ferris wheel reaches the top?” Si Di chuckled, causing Si Chu and Ye Feiran to blush simultaneously. Xiao Jiali added fuel to the fire: “They say couples who do that will be together forever! Super romantic.”
“…” The little dog turned into a hotdog on a grill.
Xiao Nian sneered from behind Xiao Zhenyun, “Now that’s what normal couples do. As for you two… tsk.”
“Watch it,” Xiao Zhenyun teased, “Vice-captain Han won’t like that.”
Hedgehog: “Huh?”
Xiao Zhenyun imitated Xiao Nian’s cool tone, “Xiao Nian thinks haunted houses aren’t suitable for couples, he’s questioning your choice.”
“Isn’t a haunted house a must for couples?” Hedgehog retorted seriously.
“It is,” Xiao Zhenyun egged on.
“Admin, what’s the matter? Am I wrong?” Hedgehog, who had given the administrator a ‘charming’ nickname, pressed on.
Xiao Nian: “…”
Xiao Nian: “I didn’t mean that. I was pointing out that among us here…”
He raised his eyebrows pointedly.
Hedgehog rolled up his sleeves, ready for action, but was held back by Xiao Jiali, who hugged him around the waist, pleading, “Brother Hedgehog, please! It’s not worth it!”
Hedgehog wasn’t that angry initially, but Xiao Jiali’s soothing only made him more fired up, “Call me ‘uncle’! Otherwise, I’ll be a generation younger than the black wolf and the deer for no reason.”
Xiao Jiali: “…”
Meanwhile, Xiao Zhenyun suddenly thought of something and walked leisurely over to Si Chu and Ye Feiran, “Why don’t you guys check out the haunted house? It’s pretty fun, I recommend it.”
“The haunted house,” Si Chu’s tone had a noticeable hint of fear, though he didn’t say it outright.
Xiao Zhenyun exchanged a knowing look with Si Di.
In their spiritual link, Xiao Zhenyun: Is Xiao Chu afraid of ghosts?…It’s kind of cute.
Si Di, very alert: …Is this what they call ‘contrast charm’?
Xiao Zhenyun: Have you learned it?
Si Di: No, no, I can’t learn it. I’m giving up.
Xiao Zhenyun lowered his head slightly to conceal his smile, then straightened up and continued to urge the two main leads, “Come on, give it a try. There are fewer people now, so no need to wait in line…and it’s only mildly scary.”
Perhaps it was the unreliable adjective ‘mild’ that gave Si Chu the courage, coupled with Little Uncle’s strong recommendation. He turned to Ye Feiran with a pure and innocent face and asked, “…Xiao Fei, shall we give it a try?”
Ye Feiran had no objections.
With that, the naive little dog led his guide step by step onto the perilous path laid out by the scheming elders.
The remaining onlookers, relishing the impending chaos, followed closely behind and waited by the haunted house entrance, particularly the three S-grade sentinels who were basically ready to listen to a live broadcast of the whole ordeal.
As they approached the door, Xiao Jiali, with a faint sense of conscience, tried to give Si Chu a warning. However, perhaps due to the influence of his surroundings—being close to both Hedgehog and Xiao Zhenyun over the years—he ultimately couldn’t maintain his pure, innocent nature. The slightly ‘darkened’ Xiao Jiali simply smiled at Si Chu and said, “No rush, take your time and enjoy.”
Si Chu felt a sense of warmth.
Not far away, Si Di recalled the layout of the haunted house and instinctively lowered his hearing sensitivity.
He intentionally didn’t warn Hedgehog, but the unconscious lowering of his wolf ears still revealed something. In an instant, Hedgehog, sensing something was off, quickly covered his ears. Xiao Jiali, though not quite understanding what was going on, followed along nonetheless.
Half a second later, a scream that could shatter the heavens resounded within a fifty-meter radius, startling the nearby ticket seller.
Xiao Zhenyun reminisced about the old, ghostly woman with a glowing white face they encountered at the entrance, laughing heartily. Si Di, while amused, tugged at his deer ears, “Look at what you’ve done. What if Xiao Chu gets seriously scared?”
“So what? He’s an A+ grade sentinel, a little scare won’t hurt him,” Xiao Zhenyun said nonchalantly, “it’s just building his courage.”
Halfway through, Ye Feiran and Si Chu sprinted out of the haunted house. Si Chu, looking like a drenched puppy, was covered in sweat as if he had just been fished out of the water, his hair plastered to his forehead. He sat dazedly on a soft bench outside, basking in the sunlight.
Ye Feiran, only slightly better off but also covered in sweat, drank the warm water handed to him by the staff, grumbling, “I wasn’t scared by the ghosts but by this stupid dog jumping around.”
Si Di squatted down, rubbing Si Chu’s droopy dog ears, and asked with concern, “Xiao Chu, are you okay?”
Si Chu… Si Chu was exceptionally dazed.
As they moved to the food truck to gnaw on turkey legs, Si Chu remained in a daze.
And as they paddled the boat to the center of the lake, Si Chu was still lost in thought.
Back on the shore, sipping on ice-cold lemonade and licking cotton candy, Si Chu remained dazed.
As they boarded the Ferris wheel and neared the top, Si Chu continued to be lost in thought.
Ye Feiran rubbed Si Chu’s face, trying to bring him back to reality. “Xiao Chu, do you remember who I am?”
Si Chu: “Macabaca.”
“Xiao Chu’s back!”
“Um sikidisiki.”
“…”
Ye Feiran couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Little Uncle, Brother Di, something’s wrong with Xiao Chu! He’s broken!”
Xiao Zhenyun, the culprit, stood before Si Chu, bending down with a guilty look on his face. “Xiao Chu, I lied. Actually, that haunted house had even your brother screaming… It was Little Uncle’s fault. I’m sorry.”
Beside him, Si Di was furiously pinching his deer tail to vent his anger, like kneading slime.
“…”
To soothe the little dog, Xiao Zhenyun endured it.
After a long time of persuasion, Si Chu finally regained some composure and asked with a hint of resentment, sniffling pitifully, “Little Uncle…how many times have you lied to me?”
Xiao Zhenyun: “…”
This question, didn’t it sound a bit sad? Xiao Zhenyun blinked his butterfly-blue eyes, his long lashes fluttering, trying to charm the little dog, “What do you mean? When have I ever lied?”
Si Chu didn’t respond, just glanced in Xiao Nian’s direction with a pitiful look, then continued staring at Xiao Zhenyun with those pure, round doggy eyes.
The meaning behind this seemingly casual gaze was too deep. Xiao Zhenyun narrowed his eyes slowly and said nothing.
In their spiritual link, Xiao Zhenyun: Oh no, has Xiao Chu finally grown a brain?
Si Di: … He’s a bit dumb, but don’t insult him like this, Little Uncle.
Xiao Zhenyun: ?
He immediately put on a supremely uncle-like expression. “Xiao Chu…?”
“You’ve lied to me countless times,” Si Chu fumed, “starting with the lie about dogs not being able to eat chocolate—I can eat chocolate!”
Xiao Zhenyun: …
In their spiritual link, Si Di: Xiao Chu’s brain has shrunk to normal, case closed.
Xiao Zhenyun: Even if the little dog is really dumb, you can’t slander him in front of his Little Uncle like this!
Si Di: ?
Xiao Zhenyun: Your brother’s IQ is actually wisdom disguised as foolishness…
Si Di: Are you saying he’s mentally challenged?
Xiao Zhenyun: …
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
