"Ryan Cooper gege..." Taking advantage of the red light before it changed, Ethan Clark reached up and gently pulled out one of Ryan Cooper's earbuds, speaking in a coaxing tone, "Can you not tell Aunt Grace about what happened today? She'll definitely scold me."

The traffic light blinked on and off, making him look even more guilty.

"What happened?" Ryan Cooper suddenly asked.

Ethan Clark was a bit confused. "Huh?"

The bicycle wheels started turning again. Driven by inertia, Ethan Clark's body leaned back uncontrollably, the earbud cord becoming a fragile link between the two. In a panic, he instinctively hugged Ryan Cooper's waist tightly, and heard his voice, as if it was transmitted from the warmth of his body.

"You mean, the thing where you ate the wrong food and didn't bring your medicine, and almost passed out at the opening ceremony."

The September sun was still sharp.

"Or is it puppy love?"

Chapter 5 Best Before Date

Puppy love?

It was like a pot falling from the sky and hitting Ethan Clark on the head, leaving him dazed. "No..." He frowned, still obediently holding the earbud, muttering to himself, "I'm not in a relationship."

And he had righteously refused.

He tilted his head to look at Ryan Cooper in front, loudly retorting, "I'm not in a relationship!"

Ryan Cooper still said nothing. Ethan Clark had to figure it out himself. Thinking of what happened earlier in the corridor on the third floor of the infirmary, he finally understood. "Were you standing downstairs the whole time? You misunderstood, I was just returning a gift I received."

Skipping over the details about the confessor, Ethan Clark recounted the whole thing exactly as it happened, like a kindergartener dutifully reporting everything that happened at school, describing it vividly, afraid to miss any detail.

One reported the whole way, the other silently rode the bike, turning off the wide main road into winding alleys, drawing closer to their destination through the undulating waves of plane tree leaves.

"I didn't say yes to her. I only bought her a drink because I was afraid she'd feel bad after being rejected, so I said I'd treat her. And I bought her a Coke, I bought Jack Harris a Coke too, but I..."

At this point, he suddenly stopped. He didn't know why, but the more he talked, the more aggrieved Ethan Clark felt. He thought of the confession wall incident the girls had been discussing at the morning assembly.

"Weren't you confessed to as well? That confession wall on Peiya—I should go complain too." It was meant to be a threat, but it came out with no force at all, and he even unconsciously lowered his voice, sounding especially weak. After a pause, Ethan Clark added with exaggeration, "The girls in our class were talking about it all morning, maybe the whole school knows by now."

The bike braked suddenly, and Ethan Clark smacked right into Ryan Cooper's back, pressing tightly against him, his trailing words swallowed back.

"The confession isn't the only thing the whole school knows about."

Ryan Cooper finally spoke, and ordered Ethan Clark to get off the bike.

Of course Ethan Clark knew what he meant. "It's not like I did it on purpose, I just wasn't feeling well and accidentally shouted out..." He stuck to him like a little tail, "So what do we do now? Everyone heard it, probably no one doesn't know by now."

Ryan Cooper didn't offer a solution, just locked the bike and walked inside.

After all that explaining, his brother still wasn't happy, so it must not be because of those things.

The bike stopped in front of an old grayish-blue Western-style house, with a tall magnolia tree planted by the gate and a carefully tended little courtyard inside. The house was a European-style building from the Republican era, renovated with simple decor. At the entrance stood a huge stone about as tall as a person, with four characters carved into it—阳和启蛰.

This was a private restaurant run by Ryan Cooper's mother, Grace Miller, as a hobby.

Ryan Cooper lifted the door curtain, and Ethan Clark followed him in. Inside, a customer who had made a reservation was already seated—a regular since the restaurant opened, Grandpa Bolton, a retired university professor. As soon as he saw the two come in, he joked with a smile, "Little Grace, your handsome boys are back."

Grace Miller came out from the kitchen at the sound, still holding a small plate of honeyed spring snow peaches, which she set on the table, glancing with a smile at Ethan Clark and Ryan Cooper.

Ethan Clark was a likable kid. Before Grace Miller could say anything, he obediently greeted Grandpa Bolton. Ryan Cooper nodded slightly as a greeting.

"Liam Clark has grown taller again, but still not as tall as his brother."

Grace Miller took the schoolbag off Ethan Clark's shoulder. "There's a three-year age gap after all. Liam Clark is still young and not in the best health, but he's growing fast."

Ethan Clark emphasized a number no one really cared about. "I'm 176 now."

The tallest in the restaurant, Ryan Cooper, didn't join their height discussion, instead heading alone to the private room at the back. It was a lounge, specially prepared by Grace Miller for the two brothers.

Grace Miller took out a beautifully packed meal and handed it to Professor Bolton with both hands. "Be sure to eat it while it's hot."

"Thank you," Professor Bolton said happily. "My wife loves this, she's been craving it. I'll head home now."

"Goodbye, Grandpa Bolton." Ethan Clark took the initiative to see him to the door.