"Come on, explain yourself! Why do you always come home so late the moment I’m not around?"

The woman before me sat upright on the sofa, untouched by time—elegant, poised, breathtakingly beautiful. Yet right now, she fixed me with a stern glare, arms crossed.

"I can explain!"

Seriously, today wasn’t my fault. Just hear me out…

"Out with the truth!"

On the adjacent sofa, a girl sat cross-legged, crunching chips while eyeing me with mischievous delight. My current misery was clearly better entertainment than any movie. Worst of all? When I shot her a look, she blinked those big innocent eyes like she had no idea what she’d done.

Goddess material outside, chaos gremlin at home—that was her.

"What’s it to you? Adults are talking. Kids shouldn’t butt in."

Not only refusing to save me, but kicking me while I’m down? Disappointing.

Xiaoxi froze for a moment, chips forgotten. Her eyes slowly welled up.

*Playing me? Since when are you this fragile?*

"Mom!"

She tossed the chip bag onto the coffee table and flung herself into Mom’s lap, whining. "Look at him! Coming home late is bad enough, but his attitude? I was just helping you scold him, and he yelled at me!"

"I *said* I had a reason!"

*This brat just loves stirring trouble. If Mom weren’t here protecting you…*

"If I recall, you had tutoring today. What time is it now?"

"Six twenty-seven and sixteen seconds. Seventeen. Eighteen…"

I glanced at the wall clock, stalling. Had I known Mom would be back today, I’d never have dawdled. Or at least called ahead.

"Don’t play cute with me. Were you out playing again?"

*So much for the campus goddess from college. At home, she’s a dragon mom.*

"Confess and you’ll be treated leniently. Resist, and it’ll go hard on you!"

Xiaoxi’s grin widened as she watched me squirm. *Brat. Just wait till Mom leaves…*

"Hold on—I *can* explain—"

I hadn’t lied. In three minutes flat, I laid out the afternoon’s events, carefully skipping the part where I carried someone home and applied medicine. Less trouble that way.

"Doesn’t sound fake. Should I praise you, then?"

"Sure."

Praise was fine. But if she’d just skip the punishment…

"Absolutely not. Rules are rules. What’s the family penalty again?"

Mom patted Xiaoxi’s head—a masterful move of *letting the cat out of the bag*.

"Washing dishes for a week!"

"You heard her."

"Loud and clear."

Dad was rarely home anyway. I handled most chores. This wasn’t exactly punishment.

"Can we eat now? I’m starving."

After this interrogation, my legs felt like jelly.

"Fine. You cook or I cook?"

"No way! I’ll do it. Last time you ‘cooked,’ you nearly blew up the kitchen!"

I couldn’t resist teasing her about the soup incident—boiling an empty pot until it melted. Thank goodness I’d caught it in time…

"Xiaoxi! Come help!"

Finally free. Being grilled felt awful, especially after doing a good deed…

"Aww, but I haven’t finished my snacks!"

Xiaoxi wriggled on the sofa, suddenly reluctant. I pretended not to notice.

"Put the snacks away. Dinner’s ready."

*You tossed them aside fast enough earlier. What changed?*

"Mo-om—"

She clung to her last hope. Doomed to fail.

"Go help your brother. He can’t manage alone."

………………

………………

"What do you need?"

Xiaoxi sidled into the kitchen, pressing herself against the wall, arms crossed defensively.

I sighed, flicking her forehead. *Still can’t stay mad at her.*

"Waaah~"

"Practicing toad kung fu now? So eager to call me ‘Ge’ all of a sudden. Where was your ‘cover’ when Mom grilled me?"

*My so-called backup sold me out and made me count the cash.*

"Mom’s not stupid! What could I do?"

"Then why were you grinning like a fool earlier?"

*I’m mad about the betrayal. Got it?*

"I couldn’t help it!"

"*Hah!*"

I chopped her shoulder lightly. At least she didn’t lie.

"Don’t be mad! What do you need? I’m elegant in the hall and handy in the kitchen!"

"Skip the bragging. Just wash these veggies."

I pointed to the bag on the floor. *Don’t cause trouble—that’s all I ask.*

"Okay…"

………………

………………

"Mom, weren’t you coming back tomorrow? Why the early return?"

I finally asked during dinner.

"Oh, right. That’s actually why I rushed back!"

"I was scheduled for tomorrow, but that cursed editor—"

"Insisted I write a serial article about chefs. What’s there to write about?"

Asking someone who barely knows a stove from a sink to write this? Ridiculous.

"Heh… yeah."

I nodded carefully, avoiding her glare.

"So I’m flying out to your dad tomorrow afternoon!"

"This trip’ll last about a month. Might as well vacation there too…"

"Oh."

Nothing new. I’d handled Xiaoxi alone plenty of times. My parents? Never reliable. Who vacations without their kids?

"Xiaoxi, lift your head."

I wondered why—until I saw her shoulders shaking.

She looked up, food still in her mouth. The news had stunned her, but she was desperately holding back a grin. Pathetically cute.

"No laughing. While I’m gone, you answer to your brother. No tricks."

Her smile vanished. Mine didn’t. *Power at last. You’re in my hands now.*

"Laugh it up! Laugh! Choke on your rice already."

Xiaoxi stabbed her bowl with chopsticks, glaring. Her boss was untouchable.

………………

………………

*Thud. Thud. Thud.*

*Thud. Thud. Thud.*

Just as I’d crawled into bed post-shower, impatient knocking sliced through the quiet. I groaned, pulling my head from under the covers. Only one person knocked like that.

"Ge!"

Xiaoxi kicked off her shoes and bounced onto my bed. I caught her before she hit the headboard. Her icy feet jolted me fully awake.

She wore an oversized white tee. Through the neckline, pink bra straps peeked out. Below?

…Yeah. Shorts.

My hand rested near her thigh. Smoothly, I withdrew it, face perfectly calm. *Nothing happened.*

"Girl, dress properly. What’s this sloppy look?"

*Hypocrite. That’s me.*

"No outsiders here. Tomorrow—shopping trip! I need so many things."

"No."

I yanked the blanket over my head. One day off. I’d die in this bed before leaving it.

"Nope. Not going. Rather die."

"Hmm… fine. One question then?"

*Suspicious. Since when do you give up easily? Did you finally grow up?*

"Ask!"

Relief washed over me. No shopping meant paradise.

"How did it feel… touching my thigh earlier?"

"Pretty nice…"

*Damn it. Spoke too soon. Got played.*

The blanket ripped open. Xiaoxi thrust her phone at me. Her voice echoed from the speaker:

*"How did it feel… touching my thigh earlier?"*

*"Pretty nice."*

……

I shot upright. Xiaoxi grinned, fangs flashing. A demon in pajamas.

"Mom won’t believe it. But what if she *accidentally* hears it?"

Her threat hung in the air.

"What time tomorrow?"

"Ten."

"Fine. If you can even wake up by then…"

*I admit it. I folded.*

Xiaoxi hopped off the bed, snapped to attention, heels together.

"Yes, sir!"

*Sigh. This kid…*

………………

………………

Next day, 9:20 AM. I dragged myself up, head pounding. Mid-brushing my teeth, Xiaoxi appeared, holding two outfits.

"Ge, which one’s cuter?"

I eyed them through toothpaste foam: a red pleated skirt, a white floral dress.

"Wear pants. And a plain tee."

*Learned that the hard way last time.*

Every time she dressed nicely and went out, she drew most people's gazes. Ninety percent were on her, and the remaining ten percent probably wondered who was lucky enough to walk beside such a beautiful girl.

In short, whenever Xiaoxi dressed up nicely, it was pure torture for me.

“Sigh… Why? The dress is really pretty!”

Xiaoxi was a bit unhappy, but she didn’t ask why. She obediently walked back to her room.

Here’s the advantage of being a guy: from waking up to heading out takes only five minutes. Girls might need fifty. By the time I finished washing up, Xiaoxi still hadn’t come out.

“Are you coming or not? If not, I’m leaving!”

Why didn’t this girl ever hurry? The sooner we go, the sooner we return!

“Coming, coming!”

“Well? Do I look good?”

Xiaoxi came to me with a shoulder bag. She wore a plain white T-shirt and jeans—simple, yet her beauty still shone through.

“Why are your pants still so short?”

Is this even considered pants?

“This is already long! Look, look—it’s only a tiny bit above the knee!”

“I’m a girl, you know. On such a hot day, do you expect me to wear long pants?”

“Forget it. Let’s go and come back early.”

Too lazy to argue further, I pushed the door open and stepped out.

“No way!”

The girl watched the boy’s retreating back and muttered softly.