If Little Huajuan and Little Tangyuan were sesame-filled, then the most well-behaved of the trio was Little Pudding—always quiet and sweet. Every day, the three of them would huddle together for lunch.

Uncle Zhou usually brought their lunch to school, since Little Pudding had food allergies and couldn't eat the cafeteria food.

Since Aunt Whitney was already making lunch for Little Huajuan, she figured she might as well cook a few more dishes so all three kids could eat.

The girls would sit together in a corner of the cafeteria. Every afternoon, Uncle Zhou would wait at their usual spot before class ended, and only leave once they arrived.

"Uncle Zhou, thank you for all your hard work!"

Little Huajuan had the sweetest mouth—even when she misbehaved, no one in the family could stay angry at her.

"It's no trouble, as long as you enjoy your meal," Uncle Zhou said. "Now dig in! Madam made your favorite wasabi shrimp today. But Miss Yanshu can't have it, so there are also sweet and sour ribs."

Uncle Zhou always paid attention to what each child liked and made sure to deliver their favorite foods.

Jiang Yanshu was Little Pudding's formal name. She smiled with her lips pressed together. "Thank you, Uncle Zhou."

Once the girls started eating, Uncle Zhou left the cafeteria.

The cafeteria gradually filled up. At the table next to theirs, a group of boys sat down. Among them was one who was tall and handsome, impossible to overlook in a crowd. His smile was as radiant as the morning sun.

This boy kept glancing over at Little Pudding. He quickly finished his meal, and as he left, he placed a simply folded, pale blue note beside Little Pudding.

"Jiang Yanshu, this is for you. Basketball game on Friday afternoon—wait for me to see you there."

Little Pudding looked up, her beautiful eyes meeting his, but didn’t have time to reply.

The boy grinned, bright and cheerful, then turned and walked away.

Scenes like this happened all the time. All three girls were beautiful, but Little Pudding got the most attention. After all, she was the gentlest and didn’t scare people off like the other two!

"Tch, what does he want? No way! He can't look at you! Wah, Yanyan!"

Little Huajuan tossed down her chopsticks and hugged Little Pudding's arm. Little Tangyuan looked at her dramatic younger sister, shook her head, and kept eating.

Of the three, Geng Geng was the youngest, sweet-talking and affectionate. The others all doted on her.

Little Pudding smiled and patted her on the head. "Well then, why don’t you help me keep an eye on him?"

"Deal!"

Little Huajuan opened the blue letter.

Hmph! Who dares to come after my brother’s sweetheart? My brother’s love, I’ll protect it myself!

The contents of the letter were simple:

[Jiang Yanshu, I like you. Will you come watch my basketball game on Friday?]

"Heh, my brother’s great at basketball too, right, Yanyan?"

"Uh... yeah." Little Pudding’s cheeks flushed as she buried her head in her food.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Little Huajuan folded the note again and stuffed it in her pocket.

Ugh! I’ll tell my brother all about this when we get home tonight!

That evening, Little Huajuan added fuel to the fire as she tattled to her brother.

Fu Xingshu lounged in his chair, drumming his fingers on the table, his face growing darker and darker.

Hah—he’d waited for this little girl to grow up, so why were there always other people circling around her?

Friday came, and the weather was perfect, the summer sun shining bright. The basketball court buzzed with excitement.

Geng Geng pulled Tangyuan along, having already tracked down the boy’s class and name—Ding Chi.

There were no classes that afternoon because of the basketball tournament; everyone was rounded up to cheer at the courts.

The girls sat courtside. Ding Chi wore a blue jersey with a big number 11 on his back.

He spotted Little Pudding in the stands right away, raised his brow, and sank a three-pointer.

The crowd cheered, and the game was in full swing.

Soon, quiet murmurs rose at the entrance to the stands.

"Who’s that? So handsome!"

"He’s not from our school, is he? I’ve never seen him before."

"Probably an upperclassman from the neighboring school. They’re allowed to spectate, right...?"

Fu Xingshu walked in calmly, dark hair gently tousled by the breeze. He glanced at the court, then looked away, disinterested.

He walked over to the three girls and sat beside them, casual and unbothered.

"Is it fun to watch? Is he handsome?"

His voice was low and gentle in her ear. Little Pudding, still watching the game, nodded absentmindedly.

Only after nodding did she realize someone was next to her. Turning, she met Fu Xingshu’s slightly cool gaze and felt inexplicably guilty. "I... The teacher told us to come watch."

Fu Xingshu raised a brow at her flustered, deer-in-the-headlights expression, hiding a smile. "Mm. Go on and watch—I’ll watch with you."

He unscrewed the bottled water he’d brought and handed it to her.

"Brother! You’re here!"

Geng Geng turned around and, seeing her brother only had one water bottle, snorted, "Tch. Niannian, are we even his real sisters? Let's go buy water ourselves—we don’t need him." She stuck out her tongue and made a face.

Fu Xingshu pretended not to hear, his eyes fixed on the court, as Geng Geng dragged Tangyuan off to buy drinks.

On the court, Ding Chi sank yet another three-pointer. He looked toward the sidelines as usual, only to meet a pair of cool, intimidating eyes.

Those eyes were slightly narrowed, warning clear as day.

Then, Fu Xingshu reached over to fix the strands of hair the wind had blown across the girl’s face.

Every inch of his expression spelled it out: 'She’s mine. Don’t even think about it.'

(Author’s Note: My Weibo: Hei Ya Ya Ya. Anything that can’t be posted is there.)