Chapter 303 - HOW DID THINGS END UP THIS WAY?

"BROTHER, that was awesome!" Luo Yan said, walking in front of his older brother and giving him a thumbs up.

Luo Ren gently ruffled his younger brother's soft hair. "Next time, when people like that stop you, kick them immediately in their family jewels."

Luo Yan laughed. "That's exactly what I was about to do. Great minds do think alike."

"Then why didn't you?" Luo Ren asked teasingly, greatly amused by what his brother said.

"I was about to. But my knight in shining armor came to the rescue," Luo Yan answered, circling his arm around Yu Jiao's. "This is my friend, Jiao Jiao."

Jiao Jiao? Wasn't that too feminine a name for a boy? – Luo Ren thought.

Yu Jiao's whole face suddenly heated up because of what Luo Yan said about her being his knight in shining armor. She couldn't help but feel flustered. "I- I'm not- I mean- I—sorry."

Luo Ren stared at the tall teenager in front of him whose face was now as red as a ripe tomato. He looked at the way 'he' was stuttering and fidgeting. This was obviously a very awkward teenager. He was bad at dealing with this type. Because the moment they stuttered, he immediately got annoyed and thus he would leave before they even finished speaking. His patience was simply reserved to a few select people.

But for some reason, he didn't find this kid annoying. It might be because he saw 'him' protecting his brother. 'He' stood in front of Luo Yan without hesitation even though he was scared 'himself'. 'He' was, without a doubt, a good kid. That's why probably he already subconsciously put 'him' together with the select people he reserved his patience with.

Meeting this kid, Luo Ren was finally relieved. The teenager was definitely a far cry from that guy Shen Ji Yun. For one, his radar was not going off like it did when he met Shen Ji Yun. He even thought that this kid was kind of, well, cute. Secondly, he could see that the two could be good influences to one another. Which was what a friend should be.

"No need to say sorry. You did nothing wrong. In fact, you did really well," he said to the awkward teenager.

"T-thank you. And thank you for- for stopping me from f-falling over earlier," Yu Jiao said embarrassingly. 

"Yes, Brother. You were really cool earlier," Luo Yan seconded.

Luo Ren raised his brows at Luo Yan. "So, I was only cool earlier?"

Luo Yan quickly hugged his brother's arm. "Of course not. Brother is always cool." 

Yu Jiao was slightly surprised seeing Luo Yan acting spoiled. This was the first time she saw him like this. He'd never seen him act like this with Luo Jin. Maybe he was only like this with older family members. And she could see that his family probably also loved to spoil him. 

Again, she felt a little bit envious. She could not even remember the last time she did the same. Even if she did that now, her mother might just think that she's acting weird. She shook her head. This was hardly the time to think about that or even to feel this way.

Luo Ren happened to look at Jiao Jiao. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but the other seemed to be suddenly in a low mood. But it was only for a moment, then she returned to normal. So, he didn't think too much about it.

He stretched out his hand. "I'm Luo Ren, by the way. Yan Yan's older brother."

Yu Jiao hesitatingly reached out to his hand. "H-hello."

"Nice to meet you, Jiao Jiao," Luo Ren said, he didn't even notice that he had already shown him one of his rare smiles.

Yu Jiao felt like her ears were tickled when Luo Ren called her nickname. She was even momentarily dazzled by his smile. She quickly let go of the other's hand. She wanted to say that he shouldn't call her that way. But no words came out from her mouth. 

"By the way, Brother, are you really going to look for the identity of those two and ask their principal to suspend them?" Luo Yan asked.

"Yes. It's not good to go back on one's word," Luo Ren said. "Or maybe I should let their principal expel them."

"Brother, there's no need for that. Suspension is more than enough to teach them a lesson."

Yes, they were problematic kids. But there's no need to destroy their future just because they stopped him on his tracks. Luo Yan was not some narrow-minded guy who would exact vengeance in the cruelest way possible just because someone stepped on his toes. If that someone hurt him or the people he cared about, then that's when he'd be really cruel. 

"Oh, I almost forgot. I'm going to buy Ah Jin donuts," he said.

He was about to continue walking towards the donut shop but Luo Ren stopped him. "No need. Since Dad is not at home, let's just have dinner out. I'll call Uncle Chu and tell him to take Xiao Jin straight to the restaurant."

"That's a good idea," Luo Yan agreed since they rarely ate out. He turned to Yu Jiao. "Jiao Jiao, how about going with us?" Then he looked at his older brother. "It's okay, right, Brother?"

"Sure," Luo Ren easily agreed before looking at the tall teenager. "Have dinner with us."

"I- I have curfew," was Yu Jiao's automatic response.

"Jiao Jiao stays at the school dormitory," Luo Yan explained to Luo Ren. Then as if a light bulb turned on inside his head, he added, "I know! How about staying at our house tonight? You can go back to the dorm tomorrow. It's the weekend anyway. You can just call the dorm manager and tell them that you'll go home today. We have a lot of spare rooms. You can have one all to yourself. If you're worried about clothes, Brother can just buy one for you later. What do you think? It's perfect, right?"

Yu Jiao wanted to say, 'no, it's definitely not'. Did Luo Yan actually forget that she was a girl? That it's not appropriate for her to sleepover in a house with three people of the opposite sex? Well, technically, it probably wouldn't be just the four of them there because of the maids and other people working there. The house would probably be so big it wouldn't matter anyway. And she's quite certain that the Luo brothers wouldn't do anything untoward. But still. 

"That's it then," Luo Ren said, agreeing with Luo Yan's proposal. "Where's Uncle Tan? I'll tell him to go back ahead of us."

"He's on the parking lot on the opposite side," Luo Yan answered.

"Then, you and Jiao Jiao wait inside my car. It's the one right there," Luo Ren said pointing at the car parked on the side of the road.

"Okay, Brother!"

And Luo Yan happily pulled Yu Jiao towards the car. His peach blossom eyes were filled with excitement, most probably thinking about Yu Jiao sleeping over.

Yu Jiao, on the other hand, up until they went inside the car, still had no idea how things ended up this way.