“Dear Big Brother, you’re absurdly handsome—like steel rinsed in sunrise!”

“To wake and see such a handsome Big Brother feels like opening my eyes into spring light—I’m so happy…”

Heat climbed my cheeks like a shy dawn. Lingxiao and Lingsaki clung to my arms like ivy, their eyes fixed on me like moonlit lakes. I felt shy, and a ripple of worry stirred—would they be even clingier than before, or was it just mist in my head?

With all that rustling, Hill stirred in my arms like a kitten in warm straw. “Mmm, slept so full. Boss, what’s going on? Are we playing a hugging game? I wanna play too!”

She misunderstood, but her joy was sweet as honey. Hill hugged me tight, her small head nuzzling my chest like a warm sparrow. I couldn’t move at all, like a tree wrapped in vines.

“You’re Hill? Thank you for bringing us to the Dragon Realm.” Their voices were soft as rain on bamboo.

“Yeah. Without you, we really might not have made it back.” Their gratitude moved like a gentle tide.

Unlike me, Lingxiao and Lingsaki remembered clearly that Hill carried us to the Dragon Realm.

“No need to thank me. Seeing Boss makes me happy! So, who are you to Boss?” Hill tilted her head, puzzled, eyes bright as glass beads.

“I’m Mizumi Lingxiao, dear Big Brother’s little sister. As for the one sleeping next to me, who hasn’t woken yet, that’s Tianyu Lixue. We’re dear Big Brother’s friends.” Her tone flowed like clear streamwater.

“Mizumi Lingsaki. Same.” Her words were a crisp bell.

“Oooh, I’m Hill Ya Victor, and I really like Boss!” She lit up like a lantern.

“Clearly. Hill clings to dear Big Brother as much as our little sis does—two magnets in one pocket.”

“Mm-hmm. Same feeling.” Their smiles flickered like candle flames.

The three of them warmed to each other like coals sharing a brazier. And me? I wanted to say it straight—your clinginess is all the same. Arms always rushing in like waves; not that I mind, truth be told, it’s a cozy storm.

“Emperor, you wake and it’s instantly harem mode,” Lixue yawned, stretching like a cat under sunlight, teasing with a lazy curl to her lips.

“Hm? Emperor, you cut your hair. You look way sharper now—no, more like, less of a girl than before.” Her gaze was a cool breeze, playful.

“Lixue, is that praise or shade?” A wry itch crossed my heart like wind over grass.

Was I really that girlish with long hair?

“It’s praise. Also, let me in.” Her voice was a soft silk.

Warmth bloomed behind me. Lixue climbed up and hugged me from the back, her chest pressing tight to my spine like two clouds settling. Front, back, left, right—held on all sides. To be honest, I felt tired like a bow drawn too long.

“Lixue, you’re awake~ How’s your body doing?” Lingxiao asked, her concern light as willow leaves.

“Better than ever. And you two?”

“Same!” They answered in harmony, like paired jade chimes.

Then Lingxiao introduced Hill and Lixue to each other, and in a short while their friendship budded like spring shoots.

“Still, I think long hair suits Boss more, since Boss is so pretty!” Hill’s words twinkled like morning frost.

“True, dear Big Brother with long hair was very pretty. But I love his look now—so handsome, like a blade honed.” Lingxiao’s eyes were stars.

“Mm-hmm. The instant I woke and saw dear Big Brother, my heart lurched like a sparrow taking flight.” Lingsaki’s smile glowed like dawn.

“Agreed. For boys, short hair is better. Emperor now is very handsome.” Lixue’s tone was clear as mountain spring.

Before I knew it, they were all discussing me. A warmth rolled through my chest like sun through clouds—finally, their verdict on me had shifted from “pretty” to “handsome.”

I did feel a twinge for the long hair that had followed me for years, like an old pine cut down. But short hair seems better now—less time spent combing, and less chance of being mistaken for a girl—like swapping heavy robes for travel cloth.

Just as I was basking, the door eased open, and in came Celia Maya again, steam and aroma drifting like a morning mist. She held a big tray stacked with foods and drinks. “Mizumi, Hill, you must be hungry after waking. Wash up and come eat a little… Mizumi, you’re really popular.”

Seeing me wrapped up by Lingxiao and the others, Celia sighed again, amused, like wind over reeds.

“Ahaha… I am getting a bit hungry. Lingxiao, you two, let me go. Wash up, then we’ll eat.” The laugh was awkward, a clinking teacup; the request, helpless as a leaf in current.

“But right now, dear Big Brother’s charm beats food—like a moon outshining lanterns. I haven’t looked enough.” Lingxiao’s gaze held me like silk.

“Same. Let me hug a little longer.” Lingsaki’s arms tightened like a warm shawl.

Unlike the clingy sisters, Hill saw food and hopped off the bed like a sparrow, but Celia caught her by the collar with a practiced hand and steered her to the washroom like a shepherd. Lixue slid out of bed, slipped on her shoes, stretched her body like a willow, told us a word, and headed to wash as well.

Soon, only Lingxiao, Lingsaki, and I were left. Quiet pooled in the room like still water.

“Lingxiao, Lingsaki, after we fill our stomachs, you can hug all you want. But right now, go wash. We’ve been in bed for days.” A small headache throbbed like a drum in fog—what if they always stayed this clingy? I love being loved by my cute sisters, that’s a warmth like a hearth. But imagine being hugged wherever I go—arms like straps, everywhere—that would be a thorny path. The thought pricked my temples.

“Since dear Big Brother says so, fine. We’ll wash first and then eat.” Lingxiao’s tone softened like light rain.

“Mm-hmm. We won’t let Big Brother go hungry.” Lingsaki nodded, gentle as moss.

At last, the two reluctantly let me go, like waves receding from shore. I could move again, stiffness in my shoulders like cold iron easing.

…

About half an hour later, we sat around a big table in the room, enjoying delicious food—flavors unfurled like smoke and spice. It was really good.

Luckily, maids in crisp dresses kept bringing fresh dishes like a flowing river. Otherwise we couldn’t keep up with Hill’s eating speed—she was the same as always, loving food like a little glutton-moon. I have no idea how that tiny belly holds so much—like a pouch with hidden space.

Curiosity tingled, and I reached out to pinch her round, slightly puffed belly—soft as steamed buns, satisfyingly plush.

“Mmm?” Hill glanced at me, cheeks puffed with food like persimmons, then kept eating the new dish at hand. So cute, so healing—an adorable creature if there ever was one.

“Stare…”

“Stare…”

When I came back to myself, I noticed Lingxiao and Lingsaki watching Hill and me with envy, their eyes green as summer fields. Maybe because Hill was sitting on my lap like a perched bird?

Forget it. Answering their gaze would be a tangled thread. Let it slide. Also, we haven’t seen Lanxia since waking, and that tugged at me like a line in water. I looked to Celia Maya sitting across. “By the way, where’s Lanxia? She should’ve come with us. Why haven’t we seen her?”

“For that kid, she woke yesterday and got dragged off by Dilosdo for closed-door training,” Celia said, a smile like sunlight remembering mischief.

“Dilosdo?” The name fell like a stone in a pond.

“Mm. The current patriarch of the Dragon Kin, Lanxia’s grandfather. When he hauled her away, he grumbled, ‘To be Dragon Kin and still fail to protect the Mizumi Clan—what a disgrace carved into the clan’s bones. From today, you’re not allowed to run around. Train properly!’ Poor kid. Lanxia hates training—she finds it dry and tasteless, like chewing paper.”

“…” The sigh sat in my chest like mist.

I could imagine her face while being dragged—a funeral cloud, eyes drooping like wilted petals.

…