I Became an All-round Artist

The next morning, Lin Yuan took his sister downstairs for breakfast.
After they finished, his sister was about to pay the bill, but the cashier quickly waved her off.
"No need, no need," the cashier said.
"Huh?" Lin Xuan was confused.
What has been happening to me lately? Have I become so famous that I don’t even have to pay for breakfast anymore?
Is this proof that I'm the protagonist of this world? And Su City is the land where my rise will be witnessed?
But then, the cashier looked at Lin Yuan and shattered Lin Xuan’s delusions with a single sentence:
"May I ask, what’s your relationship with that young man?"
Lin Xuan was caught off guard. "He’s my brother."
The cashier smiled warmly. "Biological siblings? I thought so, you two look so alike. You’ve got some good genes in your family. No need to pay for breakfast, it's on us."
Lin Xuan: "???"
Lin Yuan thanked the cashier and led his sister out of the shop.
Lin Xuan, still baffled, asked, "Did you pay for a year’s worth of breakfast or something?"
Lin Yuan shook his head. "The owner of the breakfast shop is my friend."
Lin Xuan, surprised, replied, "What a coincidence! Your friend’s breakfast shop just happens to be near your place."
"Yes," Lin Yuan nodded. "And for lunch, we’re having ribs. My friend will treat us again."
"Ribs for real? Fine, I’ll come along and meet this new friend of yours. Let’s invite Jianyi and the others too; we haven’t seen them in a while."
"Sure," Lin Yuan agreed.

As his sister prepared to call a cab to work, Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Why don’t you buy a car? You’ve got a license, right?"
Lin Xuan sighed. "You don’t really get it, do you? Buying a car isn’t as economical as taking a cab."
"It’s more convenient," Lin Yuan replied.
Lin Xuan mulled it over. With both her brother and sister moving to Su City, owning a car would indeed be handy.
"Alright, I’ll go check out some cars later. Any preferences?"
Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment. "Are you short on cash?"
He wasn’t familiar with cars, but he figured they must cost a lot.
Lin Xuan: "..."
Why does that sound so familiar? Is this how my brother shows affection?
Without waiting for a response, Lin Yuan transferred 500,000 yuan to her. In moments like this, he was surprisingly generous.
"Five hundred thousand?"
Lin Xuan stared at the notification on her phone, feeling like her brother was overwhelming her with money. If he weren’t her sibling, she'd feel like she owed him her life!
I wonder which sly woman will end up with him in the future. If anyone tries to take advantage of him, I’ll take them down, one by one!
No one can escape my watchful eye!

…
Later that day, Lin Yuan walked to school, feeling a little uncertain.
He was contemplating whether he should go to Qi Province next year as an exchange student.
Now that his sister had moved to Su City, and his younger sister might be coming soon, did he still want to leave next year?
I’ll think about it some more.
On his way to class, he texted Jianyi and Xia Fan, letting them know his sister had moved to Su City and inviting them to lunch.
They eagerly agreed.

Jianyi and Xia Fan both liked Lin Yuan’s sister. She used to take them to the arcade when they were kids.
Back then, they were kings of the arcade—until their parents caught them.

…
Around noon, Sun Yaohuo’s car appeared at the gate of Qin Art School.
Lin Yuan introduced him to Jianyi: "This is Senior Sun Yaohuo."
Jianyi greeted him, "Hello, Senior. I’m Jianyi, one of Lin Yuan’s good friends."
Sun Yaohuo smiled, "Nice to meet you. Hop in."
As soon as Xia Fan got in, she teased, "Senior Sun, I didn’t expect you to keep it from us that Lin Yuan is Xianyu!"
Xia Fan didn’t need an introduction; she already knew Sun Yaohuo.
Sun Yaohuo glanced at Lin Yuan, who seemed calm, then awkwardly changed the subject: "I was just trying to stay low-key. So, are we having ribs today? I found a place with the best ribs in town!"
"Yum!" Xia Fan’s attention was successfully diverted.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the restaurant, where Lin Yuan saw his sister already waiting and waved to her from afar.
"Long time no see," Lin Xuan greeted both Jianyi and Xia Fan.
Xia Fan immediately hugged Lin Xuan, while Jianyi, despite wanting to, held back—
Lin Xuan had bullied him when they were kids.
Still, he couldn’t resist joking, "Sister Xuan, you’re getting more and more beautiful."
Lin Xuan quipped back, "Smooth talker. Don’t corrupt my brother."
Jianyi fell silent.

Lin Yuan introduced Sun Yaohuo to his sister, and after the introductions, they all sat down.
Xia Fan, who was quite close to Lin Xuan, chatted enthusiastically: "Sister, are you going to be working in Su City from now on?"
Lin Xuan smiled, "Yes, I’ll be around more often."
"Let’s go for hot pot next time. I remember your childhood dream was to eat hot pot every day!" Xia Fan teased.
Lin Yuan cleared his throat. "Let’s not bring that up. I haven’t even mentioned how you get so nervous that you…"
Xia Fan quickly surrendered.
Lin Yuan and Jianyi pretended not to hear, while Sun Yaohuo discreetly took out his phone and began typing into his memo app.

This memo was his treasured "Yao Huo’s Notes":
"32. Xianyu’s sister will be working in Su City. Madam likes hot pot. (Consider opening a hot pot restaurant in the future)."
The notes contained a wealth of information.
"1. Xianyu likes braised pork (not too sweet)."
"2. Xianyu has no classes on Wednesday mornings (good time for lunch invites)."
"3. Xianyu prefers strawberry and orange juice. He doesn’t like boba in his milk tea (a special menu might be needed)."
"4. Xianyu doesn’t eat much for breakfast. He always orders a bun and soy milk (sometimes he switches the soy milk for savory tofu pudding, so I’ve decided to switch sides from the sweet-tofu camp)."
"5. Pick Xianyu up after school when it rains."
"6. Xianyu likes the car temperature at 25 degrees in summer."
"7…"
So far, he had written thirty-two points.
After a moment of thought, Sun Yaohuo added another:
"33. Xia Fan and Jianyi are Xianyu’s good friends. She gets nervous when she… (?)."
He paused, then deleted the words "and Jianyi."

…
Just then, the waiters started bringing out the dishes.
Everyone’s expressions grew more and more amazed as the plates of ribs piled up.
Sun Yaohuo cheerfully introduced each dish: "This is winter melon rib soup, this is potato-braised ribs, this one is steamed ribs, here’s sweet and sour ribs, I don’t know if you’ll like them, and over here are braised ribs, salt and pepper ribs, and these flashy ones are cheese ribs—some girls seem to really like them…"
Real ribs feast?!
Sun Yaohuo looked at Lin Yuan, "Satisfied, Lin Yuan? If you want more, we can always order more."
Lin Yuan shook his head. "This is enough."
Jianyi asked, "Can I pack up the leftovers? The guys at our dorm love ribs. Senior, is that okay?"
Sun Yaohuo waved grandly, "Why pack? Just order another round for them!"
Jianyi: "…"
Is this what it means to be truly generous?
Xia Fan, meanwhile, clenched her fists and declared, "Senior, you’ve strengthened my resolve to become a singer!"
"Good luck!" Sun Yaohuo encouraged her, smiling at Lin Xuan, "What about you, sister? What do you like? This restaurant has plenty of other dishes too, but their ribs are the specialty. Feel free to order whatever you want!"
Lin Xuan: "…"
Why does something about this scene feel off?
Why do I have this strong sense of déjà vu?
As she gnawed on a large rib, Lin Xuan pondered the mystery.

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