The unapproachable brother

On Wednesday evening, Uncle Sang arranged for a swimming coach to come to the house, as he usually did.

Xiao Yan changed into her swimsuit and swam a few laps, discovering that she really had inherited all the original owner's athletic abilities.

She no longer worried about the other training she would have to do later.

After all that physical exertion, she was so hungry her stomach felt stuck to her backbone.

After showering, she went to the dining room to eat and checked her phone.

During the day, she had eaten doughnuts and had coffee with Jiang Miao, then posted photos on her Moments. Xavier and Zayne had both liked and commented on them.

Xavier: [The strawberry one looks delicious. How did it actually taste?]

Xiao Yan ate with her chopsticks in her right hand while tapping the phone beside her with her left. [I'll buy one on Friday and put it in the fridge. You can try it yourself when you get back on Saturday.]

Zayne: [The little sticker on your nail is very cute.]

Oh, that sticker. Jiang Miao had gotten bored during class, grabbed Xiao Yan's hand, and stuck it on her thumbnail.

It was a little sun-shaped flower with a smiling face, sold at the school stationery shop.

But after swimming and showering, she had long since peeled the sticker off her nail.

Xiao Yan: [I wonder if little stickers like these would be any use to you, Dr. Zayne?]

Xavier did not reply again.

Another reply from Zayne appeared. [They should stand out nicely on my work schedule, beside entries with surgeries scheduled.]

Oh, so he wanted some little stickers~

Xiao Yan: [Then I'll get some extra for you. PS: There are little sheep and snowman designs too~]

Zayne abandoned the Moments exchange and messaged Xiao Yan directly. [Then let me thank you in advance for the little gifts you're preparing for me.]

Xiao Yan: [You don't have to be so formal~]

Perhaps unwilling to let the conversation end with Xiao Yan, Zayne followed up with a sticker of a little snowman spinning happily.

Very cute~ But Xiao Yan did not reply again.

Not long after dinner, Xiao Yan finally received Rafayel's friend request!

His profile picture was a chubby chibi whale.

The attached message read: [You still haven't told me the bank card's PIN.]

Xiao Yan rolled from her back onto her stomach on the bed and accepted.

Rafayel immediately sent a message. [Can you video chat?]

Xiao Yan called him.

Rafayel answered instantly. He had just showered and was raking his fingers through his hair in a bathrobe.

The phone camera shook quite badly. Only after Rafayel walked over to the bed and sat down did he hold it steady, facing his face.

His expression was still decidedly unfriendly. He tilted his head and frowned. "You really don't want anything? Are these assets of mine beneath you?"

"Do you like coming at me with accusations that much?" Xiao Yan said helplessly. "Can't you try looking on the bright side?"

Rafayel pouted slightly and fell silent for a few seconds, then sighed. "Fine. Actually, I did consider that you might be a relatively open-minded wife."

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you try your birthday as the bank card's PIN?"

"Of course I did," he blurted out.

Xiao Yan laughed. "Then why ask when you already knew?"

"But it really is strange. You actually remembered my birthday? And even made it the PIN..." Rafayel eyed Xiao Yan warily. "Are you catering to my tastes like this because you have some ulterior motive?"

"There you go again." Xiao Yan tossed her phone onto the bed and lay on her stomach beside it. "If you want to argue, just say so."

"Hey, why is the camera pointing at the chandelier? Where are you?"

"I'm so sleepy I keep yawning." Xiao Yan promptly gave a huge yawn. "Mm... I don't want you seeing all the way down my throat when I open my mouth."

"...You care quite a bit about your image."

"What else?"

"Oh." Rafayel paused. "Send me a selfie you think looks really good. I want to use it as my profile picture."

Xiao Yan understood. Rafayel also had a social circle to deal with, and needed to announce that he already had a wife and that their relationship was quite good.

She got up, tapped away on her phone, found a selfie of herself making a funny face, and sent it to Rafayel.

"Isn't this an ugly photo?" Rafayel frowned again.

Xiao Yan pursed her lips. "What's ugly about it? I look good no matter what."

Rafayel changed his profile picture sulkily. "Next time we meet, we'll take a nice one together. Then I'll change it again."

"Oh, right. Jiang Miao, the Jiang Family's eldest daughter, is my best friend. She's holding a husband-selection banquet in mid-October and invited us both," Xiao Yan took the opportunity to say.

Rafayel did not agonize over it at all. "Sure. I need the outside world to see me with you more often anyway. I'll free up an evening to go with you."

"Well, then." Xiao Yan faced her phone drowsily. "Good night, bye?"

"Hey!" Rafayel looked at Xiao Yan, conflicted. "Um, thank you."

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and hung up without responding to his thanks.

Rafayel's message followed immediately. [Who taught you to hang up so abruptly? Where are your manners?]

Xiao Yan ignored him.

Still... she hugged her phone and rolled happily around the bed a few times!

Wonderful. She had made some new progress with Rafayel too.

Although they were still on the adversarial route, trading barbs whenever they opened their mouths.

But among the men, Rafayel was one of the rare ones who had not deliberately drawn such firm boundaries~

Just like Little Fish in the game, even their mutual fault-finding came so naturally.

Only Caleb was left. How should she find an opening?

In the game, Caleb was her older brother, someone who naturally felt a strong desire to control and protect her.

But outside the game, the current Caleb certainly would not have those preconceived feelings. Instead, he had become the hardest one to deal with.

Ugh, she kept feeling that, of the five, her brother would be the hardest man to establish an initial bond with.

Over the past few days, Xiao Yan had also learned some new information from her conversations with Jiang Miao.

Although beastmen had no particularly direct connection to the animals of their original beast forms.

Their personalities were still influenced by their beast forms.

For example, Xavier was a white fox beastman, so he was bound to have an alert, cunning side.

Zayne was a white sheep beastman, so he would also possess gentle and kind traits.

Sylus was a dragon beastman: wild, domineering, and difficult to tame.

Rafayel was a merman beastman: free, romantic, and attentive to spiritual resonance.

As for Caleb's black wolf beastman traits, they were famously territorial, and it was very hard to be counted among his own kind.

What was she supposed to do about Caleb?

Another two days passed. On Friday afternoon, Xiao Yan finished her classes a little after three and could go home.

As soon as the bodyguard drove into the courtyard, Xiao Yan spotted a black sports car that resembled a Lamborghini.

Xavier did not like driving himself.

Zayne's car looked more like an Audi RS7. Xiao Yan had seen it.

Although she had yet to see Rafayel's car, in theory it should have been something resembling a red Ferrari.

Sylus would have either a motorcycle or an old-money-style vintage sedan.

This kind of futuristic Lamborghini concept model...

Xiao Yan hurried out of the car and ran inside. Sure enough, a man in a black fleet commander's uniform was sitting on the living room sofa!

"Caleb!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You've already become a fleet commander?!"

Caleb calmly turned to glance at Xiao Yan. "Yes. I received the appointment two days ago, so I brought the promotion confirmation document. I need your signature."

Xiao Yan stared at Caleb and actually felt a little shy.

She did not know what Caleb would be like without his identity as her older brother.

She only felt that this man had built invisible walls around himself, carrying an aloofness that warned strangers to keep their distance.