"You shameless woman!" At the door stood a pouting little loli, hands on hips, chin tilted up.

No helping it—Shi Xia, nearly 170 cm barefoot, was simply beyond the eye level of the 150 cm Xiaoxian.

This tiny thing was usually adorable… just not right now. Shi Xia frowned slightly.

"Look what you're wearing! Disgusting! Disgusting!" Ye Xiaoxian accused, face flushed crimson.

*This shameless woman actually tried to seduce Brother with that… apron outfit…*

Ugh… I wanted to too, but the apron’s longer than I am… *sob*…

The pain of a loli? Ordinary folks’d never get it.

Especially not Shi Xia—radiating mature beauty in both aura and figure.

"Come in. Brother just woke up. I made breakfast—join us."

Shi Xia never wasted breath on pointless arguments. Besides, technically… Xiaoxian was practically her little sister.

*Ahem*… you know what I mean. Once she and Chang’an…

Xiaoxian kept glaring with wide eyes—until an embarrassing *gurgle* betrayed her stomach.

"D-Don’t think breakfast buys my forgiveness!"

Yet her tiny feet, slick as oil, slipped into the slippers Shi Xia left by the entrance and dashed straight for Shi Xia’s bedroom.

Because Brother was right there!

Her small frame carried years of longing. With every step, her heart hammered like it might burst.

Tears welled. She sniffled hard, blinking fast. *Can’t look weak in front of Brother!*

Five years later… she’d grown.

She could support Brother properly now. As clan head, she carried herself with grace, earning praise from uncles and elders alike…

So please… don’t leave Xiaoxian again… Brother!

Just then, Chang’an finished dressing and reached for the door—Xiaoxian arriving at the threshold.

The moment it opened, eyes locked. Her steps faltered; her slender body swayed. Chang’an instinctively caught her.

Gazes held. Vision blurred.

Like Shi Xia before her, no matter how hard she told herself to hold back, the tide of emotion broke through. Tears streamed freely.

Who cares if it’s embarrassing!

She did something utterly unladylike—lunged for Chang’an’s neck, clinging tight, sobbing into his shoulder while murmuring broken words.

She was the picture of a child once abandoned… now reunited with her most beloved.

A child’s heart stays pure—never truly believing abandonment.

Yet so tender, so fragile beneath that feigned strength.

At reunion, they surrender completely—weight, trust, sorrow—all forgotten.

Only one thought remained: a future together. With Brother. Happily.

Never parting again.

Just like now—arms locked tight, stubbornly refusing to let go.

"Brother… *hic*…" Her breath hitched between sobs, words stumbling into a cute, heart-tugging stutter.

"I… I missed you… so much…"

"Brother… *sob*… Brother…"

"P-Please… don’t leave… Xiaoxian again…"

Chang’an blinked back his own tears. *Good grief… moved before breakfast…* He chuckled softly, patting her back gently. "I’m not leaving. Never again."

Calm words. Unshakable promise.

Xiaoxian stayed nestled in his arms for ages, clinging like a child.

Only when she finally pulled away did her blush linger—and she shot a glare at Shi Xia, arms crossed and sulking by the door.

"Breakfast’s waiting," Chang’an said lightly, effortlessly easing the tension between these two friends bound by rivalry and care.

Ye Shixia and Ye Xiaoxian *were* friends—a fact many found surprising, yet undeniably true.

Shi Xia: the responsible big-sis figure. Xiaoxian: fiercely capable, mastering everything. The Ye Clan had groomed her to be Chang’an’s future right hand.

No one foresaw Chang’an’s sudden vanishing—nor the will leaving assets to orphanage kids and naming Xiaoxian clan head.

She rose to the role, earning widespread praise with sharp skill.

Once drowning in despair, it was Shi Xia who whispered: *"Hold the clan steady. Wait for his return."*

Slowly, she climbed out. Day after day.

Under Chang’an, clan head was leisurely. Under Xiaoxian? No one imagined a girl so young could shoulder such weight—and run everything with flawless precision.

Twelve to sixteen. Nearly five years.

Prodigy clan head Xiaoxian emerged.

A genius unlike Adelle’s—whose brilliance lit academia and frontier physics. Xiaoxian’s shone in clan affairs, finance, management, investments, diplomacy… you name it.

Five years honed. Crowned the clan’s revered "Princess."

Yet before Chang’an? Still that same little girl—clinging, spoiled, and endlessly dear.