The Return of the God Level Assassin

"I... I hope you'll like it," Yu Jiao said, finishing her sentence.

Luo Ren looked at the small paper bag. She prepared a gift for him? Although he already expected that she would, it didn't lessen his excitement. He accepted the paper bag, a smile automatically appearing on his face.

"Thank you, Jiao Jiao. I will definitely treasure it."

He looked at the small paper bag. A ribbon tied the opening, so he couldn't see what's inside. He really wanted to just pull the ribbon and open the gift, to see what Yu Jiao had given to him. But he forced himself to tone down his excitement. It wouldn't be right to suddenly do that here. Aside from the fact that he would appear too enthusiastic, Yu Jiao might think that he was acting weird.

As he calmed down, he didn't notice the softness in his gaze as he looked at the paper bag. As if he was truly holding a treasure in his hand. So when he raised his head, he was slightly surprised to see Yu Jiao looking at him in a daze.

"Jiao Jiao?" he called.

As if returning to her senses, Yu Jiao blinked, and then her whole face suddenly turned red before looking down at the ground. Before he could think, or even ask what was wrong, Aunt Xiuying suddenly spoke on the side.

"Xiao Ren, should we go inside?"

"Ah, yes. Please, come in."

Luo Ren led the mother and daughter inside the house. Then he helped them hang their coats. After doing that, he paused for a moment. Because he finally had a good look at Yu Jiao's dress without the coat hindering it.

The light blue dress looked simple, with no other decoration. But now that he could see it on Yu Jiao without the hindrance of the coat, he felt like there's a visual feast in front of him.

The light blue dress she wore fit her frame gracefully, accentuating her slender form. Its soft fabric draped gently, adding a touch of femininity to her appearance. Despite the dress's simplicity, it complemented her distinct features effortlessly. With each movement, she exuded a quiet confidence, captivating Luo Ren's gaze with her innate grace and subtle charm.

"How lovely..." he mumbled unintentionally.

Yu Jiao turned to him, as if hearing what he said.

This also surprised Luo Ren. He didn't expect that he would have so little control over his own frontal lobe that he would just blurt out whatever was on his mind like this. Well, granted that it only ever happened when he's around Yu Jiao. But still.

He was thinking how to explain what he just said without looking like a total weirdo, but before he could, Luo Yan unknowingly came to his rescue.

"Wow! Jiao Jiao, you look so pretty!" Luo Yan said as he walked in front of Yu Jiao. Then, belatedly greeted Aunt Xiuying. "Hello, Aunt Xiuying!"

Aunt Xiuying chuckled and also greeted Luo Yan back.

Because of Luo Yan's intervention, Yu Jiao's attention was transferred to him. With his brother's blatant compliment, her face changed into a beautiful shade of pink.

"If our classmates saw you today, not only our female classmates will fall for you, but also our male classmates," Luo Yan said like some professional flatterer.

What he said made Luo Ren furrow his brows, though. He already knew how popular Yu Jiao was among their female classmates. But the thought that she would also be popular among her male classmates made him feel very unwilling. He was already at a disadvantage because of their age gap. If someone of the same age took an interest in Yu Jiao and woo her at full force, what would he do then?

As he was thinking that, he heard Luo Yan add;

"Let me take a picture as a souvenir."

"Yan Yan...!" Yu Jiao said with a reddened face. Her voice was soft, but she was obviously complaining and trying to stop the other.

Luo Ren forgot his annoyance and gave his brother a big thumbs up in his heart. He also wanted to take a picture of Yu Jiao. But he couldn't do it like how Luo Yan did it without looking like a total creep. He should ask Luo Yan to send a copy of the picture to him later.

"This dress really suits Jiao Jiao," his father said after greeting Aunt Xiuying.

"T-Thank you, Uncle Wei Tian," Yu Jiao said, obviously feeling shy hearing the compliment.

After a few more greetings and conversation, they finally had dinner.

-----

Different dishes filled the long table. Braised abalone glistened in rich oyster sauce, and double-boiled bird's nest soup. Stir-fried lobster, adorned with ginger and scallions, and steamed whole crab bathed in aged Shaoxing wine. Peking duck, meticulously prepared and served with handmade pancakes and sweet bean sauce. There was also a steaming bowl of shark fin soup, accompanied by tender shredded chicken and bamboo shoots. Completing the feast, there was a whole fish, delicately steamed and adorned with soy sauce and scallions.

All the dishes were very traditional. Which was what Luo Ren requested. He preferred this to some complicated Western dishes. Not only that, it was because he wanted Yu Jiao and Aunt Xiuying to also enjoy the food. He didn't want to serve them food that they weren't familiar with. To make sure that they wouldn't feel awkward and they could just eat comfortably.

As they ate, conversation filled the dinner table.

"Time really does fly fast, Yan Yan and Jiao Jiao are already graduation high school in a few months," Luo Ren said. "Have you already decided which university you're going?"

This was his stealthy way of finding out which university Yu Jiao would go to. If she planned to go to some far off university, at least he would be able to prepare himself beforehand.

"Hmm... I think I've already said this before, but my first choice is T University," Luo Yan said.

Then Yu Jiao followed that. "I- If my score in the college entrance examination would allow it, I plan to apply to F University."