"If I said yes, would you go with me?"

"Why not? When we get married, I will have to go to your house. It's only a matter of going earlier or later." When she was done speaking without thinking, she blushed. What kind of words was she saying to a man? "Erm..."

Mu Zhichen chuckled. Has she always been this cute? "When should we film the commercial?" He tactfully changed the topic.

"Daddy hasn't told me yet but it's at least a few days before the engagement party. That means we should be prepared to shoot it at any moment."

In the end, Lu Meili really went over to Mu Zhichen's mansion to help out with washing the cat.

___

On the same day, in the Xu mansion.

Xu Tang was so angry from being kicked out of the Lu residence that he went to his bedroom as soon as he got home.

"Bro?" Small Xixi was curious about the red prints on his face. Had he fought with a bear?

"Xixi, I'm not in the mood. Go play on your own." He dismissed her.

Small Xixi left his room, looking worried. Were things alright? The last thing he did was take her invitation card and leave the house. He couldn't have gone to cause trouble, right?

Sighing, she took a photo of Kara Yang and hugged it. "Ma, I don't know what happened to brother. He is so strange and if you ask me, quite unreasonable too. He is too impulsive lately. Even I am getting scared of him..."

She put the photo aside. "This won't do. I have to speak to Sis Meili. I have a nagging feeling that he's done something regrettable."

She took her phone and rang Lu Meili. "Not answering? I'll just rush over to Southside."

...

At the same time, Xu Tang took out a stack of photos and started looking through them. The girl in the photos was the teenage Lu Meili while the boy was the teenage him.

Of course, the only reason why Small Xixi was missing from these photos was because she was the one who kept taking them with her camera. One had to know that Small Xixi was crazy about photograpy and the two of them always gave her inspiration.

They looked very happy walking from school, eating together, swimming, painting or doing their homework. There were even some from when Lu Meili was still just a small five year old girl, before she became concious of the fact that she was a girl and should play with other girls.

In fact, it seemed like she never did. That, or she did get concious but only avoided other boys. From these photos, she didn't look restrained towards him at all.

In the eyes of everyone else, they were simply a pair of students getting along, or even siblings. But those who shipped them would see just how perfect they looked together. They were obviously a match made in heaven.

"He caressed her face from one of the photos. The girl had her eyes welled up, looking like she would cry in the next moment. If he remembered correctly, that was the day she had had a fall out with Lu Aotian.

It was the only time he had seen her cry. Of course, those times she cried as a toddler or kindergarten student were not included.

He took yet another stack. This was from the later years, when Lu Meili was about to graduate from high school. As he looked at them, he realized something he had not seen before.

In the previous photos, her gaze seemed pure, like that of a sister hanging out with her brother.

In the second stack, however, she had a little flush on her face in every one of them. She also seemed to keep her distance a little, like a girl who had a crush would do.

Wait. So, Lu Meili had started liking him in the final year of senior high?

That was about six years ago...

Such a long time. How could he have messed it up?

No wonder she was so mad at him. After loving someone for at least six years and getting rejected by them, who wouldn't be upset?

"Tsk, perhaps I'l the only man who needs the help of photos to know that a woman loves me." He cursed.

That wasn't important, though. He would talk to Meili first.

The call went through but no one picked.

"She's still angry? I'll call again."

He had caused such a ruckus at the Lu residence today. It would be a surprise if she wasn't angry.

The third time he dialled, the call finally connected.

"Meili, I was wrong. I shouldn't have been so impolite today. Will you forgive me?" He rattled off before she could hang up.

"Heh." A cold voice chuckled. "It's great that young master Xu has realized his mistake but it's too late, don't you think?"

Xu Tang's eyes constricted from the unfamiliar voice. "Who are you? Why do you have Meili's phone?"

The young lad snickered. "You want to marry someone, but you don't know her family?"

Xu Tang was in disbelief. "Lu... Lu Xian Yu?" That boy had spoken and even so much at once?

Wasn't he a dull little boy who rarely said a word and was even once thought to be autistic?

Wait, that wasn't the main point. This was Lu Meili's most beloved person. If he got on his good side then...

He was still midway through his thought when he heard that unfriendly voice again.

The boy didn't want to waste his time. "How much?"

"How much what?"

"How much money do you want for you to stay away from my sister?"

"You!"

"What's wrong with me? You don't think I can afford it?"

"Lu Meili wouldn't be happy if she knew that her spoilt little brother is being rude to her man."

Lu Xian Yu chuckled. "Who would she believe, huh? Her adorable little brother who rarely speaks, or the man who keeps doing unreasonable things and apologizing?"

He hung up after that and deleted Xu Tang's call from the call log. He didn't like talking because he felt that it was a waste of his time. However, he wouldn't let people play with his sister's heart. It would be better if that Xu Tang never came back.

Tsk, and to think he had once thought of Xu Tang as an idol.

Speaking of his sister, just where was she? She had left her phone in her room. Had she gone far? He had to speak to her.

He was about to use Lu Meili's phone to call Mu Zhichen and ask him about it when he heard someone say that miss Xu was here.

He narrowed his eyes and went to take a look. Xu Lingxi?

Small Xixi looked like she had seen a ray of hope when she saw Lu Xian Yu. "Xian Yu, is sis Meili home? I would like to apologize to her on my brother's behalf."

Lu Xian Yu saw that she looked sincere and gave Lu Meili's phone to her.

Small Xixi took it curiously. "Sis Meili's phone? You want me to give it to her when I meet her?"

Lu Xian Yu nodded and left.

"Why is it so hard to find Sis Meili?" Small Xixi lamented.

___

A while later, in Mu Zhichen's villa.

As soon as Lu Meili got in and sat on the sofa, she felt something jump onto her.

"Oh, Whitey. Did you miss me too?"

"Meow... meow!" The cat jumped all around her cheerfully.

"You sure know your real owner."

Meow?

"Huh? There's another?" Lu Meili looked around when she heard a purr that wasn't from Whitey.

Sure enough, a cat about the same size as Whitey came out slowly, probably looking for its playmate.

Mu Zhichen picked it up and sat next to her. "If there's such a thing as friendship between cats, then this would be considered Whitey's friend. When I took Whitey for vaccination, he stuck together with her and refused to go home. So I just brought back both of them. I named her Brownie."

"Brownie..." Lu Meili was dazed.

"You don't like the name?"

"I do. My childhood pet was called Brownie, too."

Mu Zhichen could fill in the blanks. "Don't worry. In this house, you can keep a whole room of pets if you want to."

"Mmh. Let's give these guys a bath." She took the two cats in her arms with ease.

"You're so good with pets." Mu Zhichen had to admit when he saw that neither of them struggled while being bathed.

As for him...

Never mind. It was a traumatic experience. The scratches on his chest were solid proof.

...

Only after a long time did Lu Meili realize that she had not taken her phone with her.

"Mu Zhichen, I need to give my mother a call but I forgot to bring my phone. Can I use yours?"

"Alright."