To play the fool and outwit the tiger, one cannot truly be a fool.

“Are you giving up already, Chu Qingchan?”
“Huff… Huff… Chu Fengyi, you really do have stamina! But look, your dear sister has already won two rounds in a row. According to the best of three, I’ve already won.”
“No, let’s do best of five!”
“Why don’t you just make it best of ten and wear me out completely? Chu Fengyi, this isn’t exactly a fair way to win!”
Xu Lin watched the two sisters shouting and playing, feeling quite delighted inside. Doing things together like this really brought the sisters closer—it was a good way to help them bond. Maybe in the future, he could use this trick to help mediate as well.

Another round went by, and Chu Qingchan, just before her stamina ran out, managed to secure three consecutive victories, ending the match!
“Sis, you’re amazing!”
Peony cheered, waving her chubby little arms. Xu Lin lightly tapped her with his finger.
“Both your sisters are amazing! Come, have some water!”
Seeing how clever the little one was, Xu Lin couldn’t help but laugh. But when he looked up, he saw Chu Fengyi striding toward him with a fierce air.

Why are you looking at me? What does this have to do with me? Still, he had a feeling that training later would come with some serious lecturing.

“Qin Leng, don’t you like playing badminton too? I’ll play with you,” Zhang Qingzhen suggested, seeing everyone else had left the court. Though his skills weren’t exceptional, they were decent enough to show off a bit.
“No, I’ve been negotiating business all morning. I’m a bit tired. I’ll just watch you guys play.”

After a short rest, little Peony was brimming with energy again and glanced outside toward the main entrance, where many people were practicing archery. She was instantly intrigued.
“Brother, I want to try archery.”
“Jiang Li, archery is dangerous,” Ye Qin Leng warned. Zhang Qingzhen quickly nodded in agreement, then seemed to remember something, his eyes lighting up.
“You can’t play, Jiang Li, but you can watch us! Let’s go over there; you’ll get a better view.”
“Really? Brother, let’s go!”
“Alright.”
Xu Lin nodded and glanced at the traditional recurve archery range not far off, feeling some interest himself.

Back in college, he and his friends had dabbled in recurve archery and even thought of starting a club, though it never got approved. Still, with his system-certified archery level 1, while he wasn’t a prodigy, he was accurate enough.

As the group headed that way, Ye Qin Leng suddenly remembered that this Mr. Zhang was quite skilled with the recurve bow.
Could it be… This guy, at his age, still indulges in such boyish pastimes? No wonder Jiang Li didn’t take to him at first.

“Chu Qingchan, how about we have a match at this?” Chu Fengyi, still holding a grudge, wanted to win back some dignity elsewhere.
“I’ve told you, your elder sister is only bad at fighting. In everything else, I won’t lose to you.”
“Fine, let’s have a go!”
“Bring it on!”
“Peony, which sister do you think will shoot more accurately?”
“Hm… I think Sister Qingchan.”

“Qin Leng, want some water?” Zhang Qingzhen casually twisted open a bottle and handed it to Ye Qin Leng.
“No thanks. Xu Lin, you can have it.” She passed it on to Xu Lin.
“Thank you.”
Xu Lin reached for it, but the other person let go a bit too soon and it dropped. Xu Lin was quick and caught the bottle, but water without a cap spilled onto his pants!
“Brother, you’re leaking!”
“Sorry, sorry!”
Ye Qin Leng reacted immediately, grabbing a towel from the table and dabbing at his pants.
“I can do it myself!”
Xu Lin saw her hand reaching between his trouser legs, his face flushed, and he quickly took the towel from her.

In that instant, his fingers brushed her palm. Ye Qin Leng seemed jolted, recoiling sharply!
Zhang Qingzhen leaped up to catch her, but Xu Lin was a step faster, steadying her by the shoulder.
“Th-thank you…” she stammered. Xu Lin nodded, reached out, and took her wrist, helping her stand upright.

Zhang Qingzhen watched the two standing so close, his eyes burning red with envy. Why wasn’t it him? Why didn’t he move faster? Tch!
“Mom, did you get hurt?”
“I’m alright, sweetie.” She rubbed Peony’s head and gathered her into her arms.
“Both Mom and Uncle like to ruffle my hair.”
“Haha, when I was little, my grandma loved to rub my head too,” Xu Lin recalled his childhood, how his grandma would always tousle his hair.
“Brother, tell me about when you were little!”
“Alright.”

As another story began, Ye Qin Leng unconsciously touched the shoulder where Xu Lin had just brushed her. She didn’t feel any revulsion.
She wondered when it had started—perhaps from witnessing her father’s affair, or when her stepmother took a lover—that she’d developed a distaste for men.
It wasn’t like in novels, where the mere sight of a man made her nervous or frightened; she still had plenty of male friends.
What she hated was physical contact—if any male friend, no matter how close, touched her, she’d feel disgusted.
She often had to steel herself for handshakes, let alone hugs or other gestures.

She used to think she could live alone, but after her father died of illness, and then her beloved grandfather—the only one she could bear to be touched by—also passed away…
Now, another man—or rather, a boy—had appeared, and she felt no adverse reaction. When their fingers had touched, she’d felt a jolt, but the second time, nothing at all.
Why was that? She was curious.
She glanced sideways at Xu Lin’s face. Had he blushed just now? Definitely still a boy. Afterwards he’d carefully avoided touching any other part of her.
Could it be that as long as there was no impure intent in his heart, she wouldn’t feel disgusted? Maybe she should try shaking hands with a child next time. But if that didn’t work…
Would she really have to live like this forever? She really disliked the “cold” in her name—was she destined to be cold all her life?
A flood of indescribable images flashed through her mind, and Xu Lin sensed her strange gaze, glancing back at her.
“Director Ye, is there something on my face?”
“No, go on with your story. You’d just reached the part where you fell into a pit.”
“I’ll continue.”

Zhang Qingzhen, watching the three of them together like a happy little family, felt a flare of irritation and cleared his throat, but no one paid him any mind.
“Ahem! Xu Lin, have you ever tried archery?”
“When I was a kid.”
“There’s a spot open—want to give it a go together?”
He tossed a set of finger guards over and headed straight for a lane, clearly signaling, “I’m already going, you’d better save face and come along.”

Xu Lin could sense his hostility, though he was puzzled at first. Then, catching a whiff of perfume, he instantly understood.
Ah, the classic jealousy trope. Usually, the protagonist would play dumb and then show off, but the trouble was, he wasn’t exactly a pushover.
He had a feeling he might just get outclassed this time. Ye Qin Leng tugged at him gently and whispered,
“He’s had special training—no need to take it too seriously or get upset.”
“Alright.”
Xu Lin hadn’t expected her to say that. By all rights, he was the outsider here, but it showed Director Ye was quite thoughtful.
He stood and walked over. He’d just shoot as many rings as he could, but at that moment, a familiar voice sounded in his ear:
[Ye Qin Leng’s favorability has been unlocked. Current favorability: 19]
“She’s already accumulated so much favor even before unlocking, almost 20. We’ve barely met—what happened? Was it just that little bit of help I gave her just now?
Well then… I can’t just slack off here. Xu Lin, you’ve got to take these shots seriously!
Who cares about being lazy—if there’s favorability points to earn, I’m all in!”