Zou Yameng had changed into a plain beige short-sleeved shirt and a pair of washed-out straight-leg jeans. Her short hair hung neatly by her ears. Her brows were thick and straight, giving her a look that was both spirited and delicate. Her aura was very close to Lu Li's. If Lu Li was like a clean, ethereal white dove, then she was a snow sculpture without a speck of dust.

The two sat outside a shabby breakfast shop, eating dry tossed noodles and chatting casually. Like an old mom, Zou Yameng kept asking whether he had prepared the books he'd need for school, whether he had enough money, and if not, he could ask her for some. She nagged on and on, until she noticed the half-smiling look on Lu Li's face. Only then did she stop and say irritably,

"Do you think your sister is too naggy?"

"I think I'm really happy right now."

He didn't explain why. He just pulled out two napkins for her and folded them together by her hand. He used to do this for An Baili too, preparing tissues for her to wipe her mouth like he was taking care of a baby.

A flush flashed across Zou Yameng's face.

"So you've finally wised up today? You finally know how good your sister is to you? Hmph. At least you've got a bit of conscience. So how are you going to repay me from now on?"

There's no way I could ever repay you.

Lu Li remembered getting into a fight with a classmate when he was little. A newly arrived teacher, who didn't know the situation, had demanded he call his parents. He'd been too ashamed to admit he had no parents, so he'd begged the fast-growing Zou Yameng back then to pretend to be his guardian. It had turned into a huge joke.

Thinking of that, a satisfied smile appeared on Lu Li's face. Only then did he notice Zou Yameng staring at him blankly.

He had never dared look Sister Yameng straight in the face before. That had been a boy's shyness, mixed with the embarrassment of spring dreams. But now he could look at her calmly, and naturally, he noticed more of her subtle expressions.

"Sis, what's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Zou Yameng quickly lowered her head and ate her noodles.

"No."

As if changing the subject, she asked, "Are you going to buy reference books today? I'll go with you. I don't have training today."

Lu Li hurriedly said, "Then don't pay today. I've saved some money. It's enough for books."

Every time he went out with Sister Yameng, she rushed to pay. But she wasn't well-off either. Her money all came from the bonuses issued by the team, saved up little by little. Every time, she said she had nowhere to spend money anyway. She didn't wear makeup, and she had to control her diet. Since the money would just sit there, she might as well let Lu Li use it.

"You're the smart one. Studying gives you a future." Zou Yameng lowered her head and ate as she spoke vaguely. "You'll definitely make something of yourself later. If I help buy your books, at least it'll make me feel involved. Let me experience what studying feels like too."

"You'll definitely make something of yourself too, Sis. Maybe you'll even get into the national team."

Lu Li wasn't about to say that his own grades were actually pretty average.

"If I can get into the provincial team, I'll already be thanking the heavens." She smiled. "Athletes like us get dropped once our golden years pass and our stamina declines. When that day comes, it'll be miserable if I end up unemployed. Investing in you now is so that when you make it big later, you can support me. Don't let me starve to death under some overpass."

She said it on purpose, making it sound exaggerated, and Lu Li couldn't help laughing.

Seeing his smile, Zou Yameng drifted off again.

"Sis?"

Flustered, Zou Yameng put down her chopsticks.

"I'm full. Let's go."

"Is there really something on my face?"

"No. It's just... you hardly ever smile anymore. Seeing you smile this relaxed today surprised me."

She turned her head away and pretended to look at a giggling young couple nearby.

Lu Li wiped his mouth and walked side by side with Zou Yameng toward the bus stop.

"I could support you for the rest of my life, Sis," he said softly.

The words came out so suddenly that even he was startled. Zou Yameng's heart trembled even more.

"What are you saying so seriously? Do you really think your sister would starve to death?" She punched him once with no restraint at all, making Lu Li bare his teeth in pain. "Support me for life? Aren't you embarrassed? Save lines like that for your girlfriend. Oh, right, your class got split this year, didn't it? You're in the liberal arts class, right? I heard there are lots of girls there. Is there any girl you like?"

When she asked that last question, Zou Yameng looked straight ahead, as if she were only asking casually.

A girl he liked?

After the class split this year, he really had entered the liberal arts class. And it was in that new class that he met An Baili.

Of course, the current An Baili was probably still a total slob. She didn't know how to dress up, wasn't popular, and was even isolated by her classmates. She was obviously a very pretty girl, yet she insisted on wearing black-rimmed glasses, tying her hair into an ugly braid, and keeping thick bangs that almost covered her eyes completely. What was she even thinking?

When Zou Yameng noticed the thoughtful look on Lu Li's face, as if he really were thinking of someone, her heart tightened for no reason.

"You do have a girl you like? Who is it? Do I know her?"

But her tone was no longer gentle. It had gained a bit of sharpness and severity.

Suddenly, she was afraid of hearing his answer.

What if he really did have someone he liked? Was she supposed to watch her beloved little brother nod shyly? Or encourage him to get all lovey-dovey with some wild girl? She couldn't do either. Instead, her chest felt stifled, like something that belonged to her was being stolen away.

Then she suddenly realized, What's wrong with me? Isn't it a good thing if my little brother likes someone? Why am I angry? Haven't I been working this hard so both Lu Li and I can live better lives...?

Just as Zou Yameng was doing some self-reflection, Lu Li finished his recollection.

"Of course not. I'm in my second year of high school now. Next year is the college entrance exam. Studies are strict enough already. How would I dare date anyone?"

Zou Yameng didn't want to continue the topic either.

"Mhm, studies come first, studies come first. Weren't you planning to make an indie game recently? How's it going?"

If she hadn't brought it up, Lu Li would have forgotten.

At this point in time, he really had been preparing to make an indie game. He often ran to the school computer room and asked that young computer teacher, who was already balding, about programming issues. That was how the idea of making games had started to grow in his heart. But once he actually began, he ran into several huge problems.

He lacked people.

To make the game he envisioned, he needed an artist and a music producer. He couldn't afford to hire anyone or buy rights. He didn't even have distribution channels. But if he just threw something together for practice, that wouldn't satisfy him either. If he wasn't going to do it, fine. But if he did, then he wanted it to be the best of its time.

As for art, he did have some talent for character drawing. But game art wasn't just character portraits. There was UI design, environment concepts, and more. He really couldn't handle it all alone. As for music, Lu Li was even more lost. Liking songs didn't mean he could write them.

Right. An Baili was amazing at music... In his previous life, she had also made his first game with him.

No. Stop it, Lu Li. Don't think about An Baili anymore. In this life, don't get involved with her again. Let her live her own life. Don't disturb her.

Wen Amber was incredible at art. In his previous life, she had even held exhibitions. But back then, their relationship had fallen apart. They hadn't contacted each other for years, and every now and then, she even mailed him a blank letter just to mock him.

Of course, the current Lu Li didn't know Wen Amber yet. He didn't even know whether Wen Amber was in America now or in the Divine Realm.

"The progress is really slow. Doing it alone is just too much."

"Can I help with anything?"

Zou Yameng's training was already exhausting enough. Lu Li had seen the women's table tennis team train when he brought her clothes before. Even though it was just table tennis, they didn't skip a single bit of physical training. That female coach with the thin lips had even made a guest appearance as a villain in his game.

"No need. This can take its time," he said to reassure her.

By the time they reached the bookstore, the sun had grown a little harsh. Lu Li hadn't seen much sunlight in a long time, and under the sun, his skin looked almost dazzlingly pale. Zou Yameng couldn't help feeling envious.

"How are you fairer and softer than a girl? You're like a piece of Tang Monk meat."

Lu Li rubbed his arm. He really was still fair and soft right now. After he started working, he stayed up late often and drank a lot, so naturally that youthful air had disappeared.

Actually, Zou Yameng wasn't dark at all. Her skin was a healthy pale tone, different from Lu Li's bloodless pallor.

The two entered the bookstore together, only to find it packed with students buying reference books. The staff kept bringing out box after box of new books from the storeroom, but supply still couldn't keep up with demand. Lu Li was slow by nature, so he wasn't in a hurry to fight for books. But Zou Yameng anxiously dragged him forward.

"We want one! Here, here!"

As he got shoved around, Lu Li ended up rubbing against Zou Yameng's chest, and his mind started to wander a little. He had thought that with his life experience, he wouldn't be so easily shaken by female charm anymore. But this body's hormones were a little too active. His old face reddened, and he couldn't help bending slightly.

Too embarrassing. He wasn't some little boy anymore, so how could he react this easily?

Thanks to Zou Yameng, Lu Li managed to get most of the hot-selling books. Only the last English reader was missing. The clerk said it was a niche title, so the store hadn't stocked much. There should still be a final copy left on the back shelf. So he and Zou Yameng finally broke free from the noisy crowd and went to a quiet corner of the bookstore.

At a glance, he spotted a blue-covered English reader in the corner.

English had always been his weak point. The Divine Realm had long been the world's leading superpower, and naturally, a great power had the luxury of being less receptive to foreign languages. He wanted to learn English, of course, not for school, but for his dream.

That was probably the only copy of the English reader left in the whole bookstore. The author was Hanmoding King, a niche writer especially skilled at horror stories.

His hand had only reached halfway when he saw a pale, delicate hand stretch out first and snatch up the horror novel.

Lu Li blinked a few times and looked at the owner of that hand.

It was the class monitor.

Calling her "class monitor" was a bit rude, but Lu Li genuinely couldn't remember her name for the moment. The girl wore a baseball cap to block the sun, had a high ponytail, and was quite tall. Her features were strikingly proper, always making Lu Li think of the classical beauties printed on old coins. She had always been his class monitor. Before the class split, yes. After the split, she would be again. But Lu Li was a wild, unruly student, so his impression of her had always stayed at "the snitch."

Lu Li was someone who hated being restrained, so they had never gotten along.

"Class monitor."

"Lu Li?"

To his surprise, this class monitor actually remembered his name.

"You want this book too?"

Her pretty brows drew together, as if she had run into a difficult problem.

Zou Yameng's brows rarely furrowed. They usually just shot up without courtesy.

"We saw that book first!"

Lu Li had originally wanted to stop Zou Yameng, but then he felt that contradicting his sister in front of outsiders would hurt her pride. So he gave the class monitor an apologetic smile.

"Yes. I do want it."

He had come here for this book in the first place. He wanted to copy out some of its classic lines for the script of his own game—a horror game.

He wanted this book, so naturally he wasn't going to be polite. This class monitor wasn't family or friend. There was no need to yield.

This class monitor, whom he had never thought well of, actually nodded seriously and handed the book to Lu Li.

"Then you can have it. An ebook works for me. You don't have a tablet or phone, so a physical book matters more to you."

The words were a little damaging to his pride, but hearing her say them so seriously made Lu Li want to laugh a little.

He'd heard this class monitor was always a bit rigid. A stubborn person, and kind of slow.

Then he suddenly remembered how she ended up in his previous life.

She died in a plane crash during a family trip after high school graduation.

No wonder his memory of her was so faint.

After taking the horror novel, Lu Li thanked her. They exchanged no extra words and went their separate ways. He and this class monitor had always belonged to two different worlds. There had never been any overlap between them.

Only after the class monitor had gone far away did Zou Yameng say unhappily,

"Who was that? Your classmate? She talks so rudely. What does she mean, you don't have a phone or tablet? Hmph. Looking down on the poor and chasing the rich."

"Heh, she's not that kind of person. She's just blunt. A little slow."

"Are you close with her?"

"We barely talk."

Sister Yameng suddenly grabbed his hand and started pulling him outside.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on. I'm buying you a phone and a tablet. If we grit our teeth, we can still afford it! I can't let my little brother get looked down on by some woman."

Zou Yameng was grinding her teeth in anger. She hated seeing anyone bully Lu Li.

Lu Li felt both touched and amused.

"Sis, I don't need that stuff. If a woman looks down on me because of material things, is there any need to make her see me differently? As long as you don't dislike me, isn't that enough?"

Color rushed across Zou Yameng's cheeks.

"Why are you talking so sweetly today? What use is it if I don't dislike you? You'll have to find a wife sooner or later. You can't let other women look down on you. I can't exactly..."

By the end, her words had turned into a muddle, impossible to make out.

There were some thoughts Zou Yameng didn't even dare touch.

Lu Li took his sister's hand and stood still where he was, smiling with easy openness.

"What are you smiling at..." she said weakly.

“I really think I’m insanely lucky. Like I’ve hit the jackpot.”

Getting to see Sister Yameng again, hearing her worry about him again... that was simply the happiest thing in the world. His first regret was that, in his previous life, he hadn’t managed to save Zou Yameng in time.

Zou Yameng suddenly felt her body go weak. “Y-You... stop talking nonsense...”

The happiness and affection overflowing in Lu Li’s eyes made her not dare meet his gaze. Even though she knew Lu Li only saw her as family, and that affection was only familial, her heart still pounded wildly.

Seriously, Lu Li... did he not know words like that could so easily make a woman misunderstand? Her thoughts were a complete mess. How could he say something like that?

On the way back, Zou Yameng was lost in her own thoughts and didn’t say a single word.