CHAPTER 43: POLITE

Yun Jue glared, but that only made it funnier.

"I’m analyzing something," he said coolly.

’What, the texture of her handprint?’ they thought, not daring to speak out loud.

’Or the taste of the candy she gave you?’ another thought before he asked. "By the way, boss, did you actually... accept that candy?"

The group turned toward him in collective disbelief. Yun Jue’s silence confirmed their worst suspicions.

"He did!" Jia Rui groaned. "I saw you put it in your pocket! You— you actually took it!"

"...It was polite," Yun said at last.

Polite.

That was his excuse.

But his friends didn’t buy it for a second.

"Polite, huh?" Jia Rui drawled, raising an eyebrow. ’Since when do you care about politeness?’

"Yeah, I see," said another, snickering. ’Last week, you refused to shake hands with Director Li’s daughter because she had glitter nail polish.’

’Or what about that time you wouldn’t sit next to those girls at the academy banquet because they wore perfume,’ they thought in unison.

"Last but not least," Jia Rui made eye contact with his peers, leaning dramatically toward them as they communicated through their eyes, ’this is the guy who once made a maid cry because she gave him a slice of cake with frosting on his favorite plate! He’s now actually being so calm?! What’s gotten into him seriously?’

Everyone nodded in solemn agreement. Yun Jue’s intolerance for sugar-related messes was legendary.

And yet, here he was, keeping a piece of candy in his pocket like it was a priceless gem.

It was too much. Jia Rui collapsed on the nearby bench, clutching his stomach from laughter.

"Oh, this is priceless. I’ve lived to see the day. The almighty Young Master Yun, being tamed by a five-year-old!"

"She wasn’t five," Yun Jue said automatically, which only made the laughter worse.

"Oh ho!" Jia Rui gasped between wheezes. "So you noticed her age, too! Boss, this is bad. Next thing you know, you’ll be bringing candy to school and defending her honor at the playground."

The others erupted again, one of them dramatically shouting, "Our cold young master has fallen! The empire has fallen!"

Yun Jue’s ears turned faintly pink, a sight none of them had ever seen before.

"Enough," he said quietly, but the faint crack in his composure only fueled the teasing.

"Should we tell that little lass Liang Lingxi?" one of them whispered wickedly. "It seemed like she had a little crush on the Young Master. She’ll die if she hears that the great Yun Jue actually likes that tiny girl!"

"Oh, oh— and that the girl called him ’little brother’!" another cackled. "He didn’t even correct her! You should’ve seen his face, pure confusion and tenderness—"

That was when Yun Jue finally moved.

He didn’t shout. He didn’t argue. He simply reached into his pocket, pulled out the small candy, and looked at it for a long, silent moment.

The laughter died down.

The candy wrapper glimmered faintly pink under the sunlight. Strawberry flavor. The corner was slightly crumpled; her tiny hand must’ve held it tightly before pressing it into his palm.

"Thank you, little brother," she had said in that soft, milky voice.

Something about that moment, her unabashed gratitude, her fearlessness, had rooted itself in his memory.

She hadn’t been afraid of him. Not like everyone else was.

For someone so young, she’d looked straight at him, smiled, and said thank you. It was absurdly simple... and yet it lingered.

He pocketed the candy again.

"I’ll keep it," he said, almost to himself.

The boys fell silent for a moment. Then Jia Rui sighed dramatically, throwing his hands in the air.

"That’s it. He’s doomed."

"Gone," said another solemnly. "We’ve lost him."

"Completely whipped," added a third. "By a kindergartener."

Yun Jue ignored them and began walking toward the car.

As they followed behind, still whispering and laughing, Jia Rui leaned toward another boy.

"Hey, do you think he’s actually thinking about her?"

"Obviously. Look at his face. He’s in deep thought mode. That’s his ’calculating stocks’ face."

"But she’s just a kid!"

"Yeah, but did you see the way she kissed his cheek? I nearly died from the shock!"

"I thought he’d faint!"

"I thought he’d kill her!"

They all fell silent at that. Because truly, by all logic, that should’ve happened. Yun Jue didn’t tolerate uninvited touch from anyone, not adults, not kids, not even his own family sometimes. But with that girl, he hadn’t even flinched.

"Maybe she reminded him of someone," one muttered finally.

Jia Rui nodded slowly. "Maybe. Or maybe she’s just that good."

"Good?"

"You know... the kind of natural-born charmer who can tame lions."

Everyone nodded in grave agreement, as though discussing a serious political matter instead of a sticky-cheeked five-year-old.

When they reached the parking lot, Yun Jue paused, hand resting on the car door.

"Jia Rui."

His friend straightened immediately. "Yeah?"

"Don’t mention this to anyone."

"Not even Liang Lingxi?"

"Who is she? Do I need to tell her everything I do?"

His grandma indeed favored that adopted girl of the Liang family a bit that she acted as if she was already the young lady of the mansion, but that doesn’t mean he gave his consent to whatever plan they had in mind.

The finality in his tone left no room for argument. Jia Rui raised both hands in mock surrender. "Got it, got it. My lips are sealed."

Still, the mischievous gleam in his eyes betrayed him.

Yun Jue sighed quietly and leaned against the car, staring at the horizon. He didn’t know why he cared enough to say that. It wasn’t like this would happen again.

That little girl was probably some random stranger, a momentary blip in his otherwise monotonous life.

And yet, as he reached into his pocket and felt the small shape of the candy pressing against his fingertips, something inside him softened, an unfamiliar feeling he couldn’t quite name.

Back at home, the Yun mansion’s butler blinked in confusion when the young master walked straight to his room, expression unreadable, and closed the door.