Chapter 19

Since the school had publicly praised it over the broadcast, Lu Qi naturally knew about what had happened between Lu Yao and Jiang Bai that morning.

That evening, Lu Yao had just left his room and was halfway down the stairs when he heard Lu Qi talking with Ms. Li in the first-floor living room.

Lu Qi leaned against the sofa, his eyes full of anticipation as he looked at Ms. Li, who sat on the sofa opposite him.

"Mom, I want to ride a bike to school too. Help me get one customized. As for the designer, I think the person who designed Lu Yao's bike is pretty good. It doesn't have to look exactly like his—just take some inspiration from it. Something similar will do."

Ideally, anyone who saw his bike would automatically think of Lu Yao's.

Ms. Li said, "That designer went traveling around the world. We can't reach them."

Lu Qi scratched his head and reluctantly settled for second best. "Then another designer from that brand will do. The important thing is that the design style has to be similar."

Ms. Li replied to work messages on her phone without even looking up. "No."

Lu Qi shouted indignantly, "Why? What's wrong with that?!"

Ms. Li glanced at him. "Because you can't ride a bike."

Lu Qi tried his hardest to persuade Ms. Li to change her mind.

With a determined expression, he vowed, "I can learn. Those were all accidents before."

Ms. Li said, "You failed to learn how to ride a bike after four attempts. Those accidents happened rather often. With your terrible biking skills, just let the driver take you to and from school. Stop thinking about pulling tricks."

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From kindergarten through middle school, Lu Qi had tried learning to ride a bike again and again. His athletic talent was clearly decent, yet he simply could never learn.

Lu Qi still wanted to keep struggling and plead his case when he caught sight of Lu Yao coming downstairs from the corner of his eye.

An idea struck him, and he looked toward Lu Yao. Perhaps...

Before Lu Qi could speak, Lu Yao had already guessed what he wanted to say and flatly refused, "Don't even think about it."

Lu Qi wanted to skip riding in the car and have him bike him to and from school every day. He could forget it.

Hearing Lu Yao's merciless refusal, Lu Qi pulled a face and snorted. "Don't flatter yourself! I wasn't even considering you."

Lu Yao said, "That's even better."

Watching Lu Yao talk with Ms. Li, Lu Qi pouted angrily.

Hmph. Jiang Bai and Chu Jiaojiao, two strangers, could both get rides, yet when it came to him, he got such different treatment!

Lu Qi had not even been angry for half a day before he got over it on his own.

That Saturday, Father Lu and Ms. Li attended a chamber of commerce event together, leaving only Lu Yao and Lu Qi at home.

They had been sitting in the living room, each busy with his own things.

Suddenly, Lu Qi heard a faint bark from outside.

He looked up and frowned in confusion. Where had a dog come from? He remembered that no one nearby kept dogs.

The little kitten Milk had been lazily sprawled across Lu Yao's lap.

When it heard the barking outside, it suddenly stood up and, in an equally kittenish voice, barked, "Woof."

A cat had made a dog sound?!

Lu Yao raised his head and exchanged a look with Lu Qi. Both saw their own shocked expressions reflected in the other's eyes.

Lu Qi pointed at the kitten with a trembling finger. "It can speak a foreign language?!!"

Lu Yao said, "..." Well, dog language did count as a foreign language to a cat.

The kitten seemed unaware of the two humans' surprise. It leaped down gracefully and ran toward the yard outside.

Lu Qi stormed after it, determined to see which little dog vixen dared seduce their family's little princess!

The moment Lu Qi opened the door, the kitten dashed into the yard and began playing with a white poodle that had somehow wandered in.

When Lu Qi looked up and saw the dog's owner, his expression changed. He said nastily, "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Bai's home was at the northernmost end of Jiajiang Garden, while the Lu family home stood in the south. One was in the north and the other in the south, far apart. Other than at school, Lu Qi had never once run into Jiang Bai here.

Jiang Bai did not care whether Lu Qi welcomed him or not. He had not come here for Lu Qi.

When he saw Lu Yao appear behind Lu Qi, Jiang Bai smiled and greeted him.

As Lu Yao and Jiang Bai chatted happily, Lu Qi stood to one side, unable to get a word in. He shot daggers at Jiang Bai, trying to make him take the hint and hurry off with his dog.

When Jiang Bai asked why Lu Yao and Lu Qi lived together, Lu Yao told him everything about their relationship as brothers.

Though Jiang Bai had long known about it, he still put on an expression of surprise.

"So you're brothers? This is the first time I've heard of it."

Lu Qi snarked, "Hah, there are things even a genius like you doesn't know?"

Jiang Bai's eyes curved slightly. "Yes. You don't really look alike."

At that, Lu Qi got agitated.

"What did you say? How don't we look alike?! Do you see these identical phoenix eyes of ours? These are the phoenix eyes passed down through the Lu family! With these eyes alone, how can you say we don't look alike?!"

Jiang Bai smiled calmly. "Your personalities aren't very alike."

Lu Yao glanced at Lu Qi, whose face had gone red with agitation. A hint of amusement surfaced in his eyes as he said vaguely, "That's true."

Just as Lu Qi wanted to continue listing examples to prove how alike he and Lu Yao were, the kitten suddenly ran over.

The kitten kept pawing at Lu Yao's casual pants, seemingly trying to climb up.

Lu Yao bent down, scooped it up with one long arm, and held it in his arms.

Jiang Bai asked, "What's this kitten called? My aunt said my Coffee has been playing with it quite often lately."

Hearing the name of Jiang Bai's dog, Lu Yao raised a brow. "Coffee?"

Jiang Bai nodded with a smile. "Yes, this little dog of mine is called Coffee."

Lu Yao said, "What a coincidence. This one's called Milk."

Milk coffee.

The corners of Jiang Bai's lips lifted slightly. "Then they really are fated."

Jiang Bai picked up the dog circling by his feet, gently raised one of its paws, and said softly, "Come on, Coffee. Say hello to your big brother."

"Woof~"

Lu Qi had planned that when Jiang Bai asked his dog to greet him, he would coldly and ruthlessly refuse, making Jiang Bai lose face for once.

But until Jiang Bai left carrying his dog, Lu Qi never heard that dog bark again.

Lu Yao had always had a sensitive sense of smell. After Jiang Bai left, Lu Yao caught a faint lingering fragrance in the air.

He assumed it was the scent of Jiang Bai's body wash or perfume and soon forgot about it.

When Jiang Bai carried the dog home, he ran into the family's housekeeper the moment he entered.

He casually greeted her, then carried Coffee back to his room.

Watching Jiang Bai's retreating back, the housekeeper muttered to herself in confusion, "Why has the young master been acting a little strange lately? First, he had me ask the Lu family's maid for the name of their cat, which was strange enough. And despite being such a germaphobe, he actually adopted a dog not long ago."

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