“Xue’er, are you sure you want to wear that?”

Saturday dawn lay like pale silk over the house as, after breakfast, Xiao Qianxue slipped into a light-blue hoodie and gradient-blue jeans. The hoodie hugged her like a soft cloud, sketching a petite silhouette, while the jeans showed legs long and clean as river reeds. Those legs pulled eyes like magnets, and Luke’s gaze was one of them.

“Hey, hey, bro,” she tucked all her hair into the hood, arms crossed like a small shield across her chest, her voice chiming like a bell in the morning air. “When I’m in a nightgown, you barely look. But jeans, and your eyes won’t budge.”

“Also, bro, you want everyone to see your sister?” Her words danced like sparrows, then dipped with a sly breeze. “Oh—so bro is that kind of person… No wonder some books in the bedroom are all about sisters…”

The blond girl tossed the teasing like flower petals, calm as still water, and at the end let a sharper petal fall that felt dangerous.

“Hey… I’m not that kind of guy!” Luke swung up his casual backpack like a shield, hands spread like open sky to insist on innocence.

“Then why does your computer have stuff like a ‘sister training diary’?” She turned her back, voice sweet and lifted like rising steam, while inside the hood her face shone polished as jade, the corners of her lips curving like a fox’s crescent.

“Wha—” His heart dropped like a pebble into a well. He left his PC at home with no lock, dust on the shelves and games he’d installed out of summer boredom clinging like vines. He’d forgotten to clear them—what a mess.

“Ha—” The Little Loli’s tone settled like falling snow. One toe tipped like a bird on a twig; her body turned, then dipped, and her golden eyes met Luke’s with sunlight’s warmth. On that exquisite face bloomed a teasing smile, and Xiao Qianxue set loose her most familiar trick like a silk fan opening.

“You see your sister in a nightgown every night and still aren’t satisfied,” she breathed, words trailing like mist. “Don’t tell me you want your sister dressed like that in public…” The rest tangled like a blush behind a fan; the shame was a red plum she couldn’t bite.

“Thud.” Luke knelt with no resistance, head and hands flat to the floor like a felled sapling after rain. For all his experience, this was the wisest path.

“Xue’er, spare your brother!” He lay there and pleaded, voice thin as a reed in wind.

“Okay, bro, up you go. I was teasing you for fun this morning,” she said, posture smoothing like silk returned to a hanger, the lifted mouth-corner bright as a sunbeam showing her delight.

“Whew, scared me half to death.” He’d pictured a bad end like storm clouds gathering, then let it go like a warm gust. He took the car key from the table, one hand settling on the girl’s back like a light push from spring. “Let’s move. If we’re late, those places will flood with people.” He nudged her forward like guiding water down a gentle slope.

They drove, wheels humming like bees, and reached IKEA in no time. After parking, the blond girl dropped her hood like a petal, hopped out, and strolled toward the entrance with lazy riverside ease. Luke followed at her heel like a shadow.

“Let’s go.” He offered his hand like a bridge.

“Mm…” Her soft, cool hand slipped into his palm like a spring stream, and his mood lifted like a kite.

They stood before a pink cabinet like a row of cherry blossoms. Luke reached out, palm skimming the surface like a breeze.

“Looks great,” she said, practical as clear rain. “But buying this means getting lots of plushies and other stuff to dress it up. Sounds like a hassle.”

“That’s all small stuff,” Luke said, voice warm as tea. “Your brother will make your room pretty as a garden.” His gaze drifted toward a corner like a bird catching motion.

“Oh, crap!” The words broke like thunder.

“Huh?” The Little Loli followed his line of sight like a cat, but before her view landed, a hand swept her behind the cabinet like a fish into shadow.

“Bro… what’s happening?” Xue’er tilted her head up; Luke was hiding too, their bodies pressed close like bamboo in a tight grove. Her whisper was a thread of smoke.

“I think I just saw my parents,” Luke muttered, pulling out his phone like a talisman. “Mom’s got a habit—wherever she goes, she posts a photo. If today she posted about the home store, then it’s them.”

The screen flickered like minnows. “Looks like… yeah,” he breathed, lowering the phone like a cooling ember.

“Hey, honey! How about this cabinet?” Speak of the devil—the middle-aged woman’s voice came warm as summer sunlight nearby. “You’re too old for this girly style,” the man answered, scolding soft as a smile and full of happiness.

“For heaven’s sake…” Luke shrank deeper behind the cabinet like a quail, pulling the blond girl tight in his arms like holding a bundle of reeds.

It was like sneaking out to a karaoke box, stepping to the restroom, and the moment you exit, your dad walks in. You slam the door like a shutter, and he knocks, asking if someone’s inside.

“Honey, those blue and red flowerpots look nice!” After a few idle lines, the two drifted away like leaves caught by a light current.

“Whew—finally.” Luke peeked from the edge like a cautious fox, and when he saw them gone, his whole body eased like a slackened bowstring.

“Bro, you were holding me so tight!” The Little Loli wriggled free like a cat, golden eyes shining with a hint of tears like dew. Her cute face held a small grievance like a puffed cheek.

“Sorry, Xue’er. Total curveball,” Luke said, standing fast and pulling her up like a willow branch rising. “Lunch is on me—something delicious.” A thought drifted through him like jasmine in a courtyard: girls are soft, and she smelled of blossoms.

“Then, bro, hurry up and buy this cabinet!”

“Okay, okay. Clerk, ring this one up!”