"Sister, we’ve been standing here for half an hour already. When can we go eat that big meal?"

Luo Xiaotang rested her chin on the lakeside railing, pouting as she asked.

Meanwhile, Luo Xiaolu gazed distantly at the willow trees, lost in thought.

"Sister?"

"Xiaotang… do you want to go to school?"

As if struck by a sudden thought, Luo Xiaolu turned and asked her.

"N-no… I don’t!"

Luo Xiaotang froze for a moment, pouted her lips, and averted her gaze.

"Xiaotang is perfectly comfy at home. I never wanted to go out anyway—Sister, don’t push your luck!"

Luo Xiaolu watched her and let out a long, soft sigh.

Due to enduring domestic abuse from childhood and rarely leaving home, Luo Xiaotang’s mental age lagged far behind her peers. Blending into a classroom full of same-age kids would be incredibly hard.

And what was school, really? A microcosm of society.

Especially among girls—daily dramas straight out of palace intrigue series and domestic soap operas played out constantly.

Add social anxiety and their tight finances, and school was simply out of the question.

Since moving in with Luo Xiaolu, Luo Xiaotang hadn’t set foot in a classroom.

"Time for that big meal!"

Luo Xiaotang wrapped her arms around Luo Xiaolu’s waist.

"Just one last stop. After we take a quick look, Sister’ll treat you to steak," Luo Xiaolu said.

Reluctant as she was, Luo Xiaotang had no choice but to follow.

This time, Luo Xiaolu hailed a taxi instead of walking.

Luo Xiaotang blinked in confusion. Ever since her sister "retired" from delinquency, her world had shrunk to home and the park downstairs.

At their destination, Luo Xiaolu opened the door. Luo Xiaotang froze.

Before them stood Sakuya Middle School.

*A school??*

Realizing she’d been tricked, Luo Xiaotang tried to slam the door shut—but Luo Xiaolu gently blocked it, smiling.

Outmaneuvered by her sister’s calm insistence, Luo Xiaotang reluctantly stepped out.

"This is Chiba’s top private middle school. Just take a stroll!"

"Clear warning: I. Am. Not. Going. To. School!" Luo Xiaotang declared firmly.

"It’s okay. Sister isn’t rushing you."

Luo Xiaolu knew expecting overnight change was unrealistic. At least let Xiaotang glimpse school’s charm.

It was 5 p.m.—dinner rush. Students flooded the gates.

"S-so… so many people…"

Luo Xiaotang gripped Luo Xiaolu’s hand tighter, pressing her whole body against her sister and burying her face under Luo Xiaolu’s arm.

"Shhh… Sister’s here. Look up. No one’s staring. You’re safe," Luo Xiaolu murmured, word by gentle word.

Slowly, Luo Xiaotang lifted her head—but didn’t loosen her hold.

As a day school, Sakuya let them slip in easily during dinner hour.

*Ah… this is what "how things change" feels like.*

Luo Xiaolu’s mind drifted to her own school days. Truth was, she hadn’t hated school—even as a delinquent. But after her parents left, she dropped out to care for her sister.

On the field: basketballs swished, badminton shuttles flew, friends laughed in clusters.

*This… is youth.*

"How about it? Doesn’t it feel nice?"

"All people… Xiaotang doesn’t wanna look!"

"…"

*Whoa. Her anxiety’s worse than I thought.*

"Hold tight to Sister. Just peek."

Cautiously, Luo Xiaotang widened her eyes.

"You failed *this* test?! Copy every key point ten times—due tomorrow!" A teacher’s shout echoed from a classroom; a boy sobbed, head in hands.

"Hey! You! Pay up today or wanna get hit?!" Under a parasol tree, boys pinned another against the trunk, faces twisted.

"Please… don’t leave me. Can’t we go back?" A boy clutched a girl’s hand—she yanked free and walked away without looking back. A painful lesson: desperate clinging never ends well.

*…Is this school?*

"WAAAAH! SCHOOL IS SCARY!! XIAOTANG WILL NEVER GO!!"

"…"

Luo Xiaolu had no rebuttal.

*Forget it. Not happening today.*

"Then… steak time."

She’d pause this plan. Healing wouldn’t happen overnight.

At those words, Luo Xiaotang looked up—then fell silent.

"Let’s go."

Hand in hand, Luo Xiaolu led her out, hailed a taxi.

She opened the door. Luo Xiaotang stood frozen, back turned.

"Xiaotang?"

As Luo Xiaolu reached for her, Luo Xiaotang spun around and buried herself in her sister’s arms.

"Sister… I… I *want* to go to school. I want to be like them… They look so happy… Will Xiaotang… never get to?"

Her face pressed into Luo Xiaolu’s chest, tears streaming freely.

Around them, students in crisp blazer uniforms strolled in pairs—laughing, teasing, glowing with easy joy. A tapestry of youth she’d never dared to witness.

Not because she didn’t want to. But because she was too afraid.

"As long as Xiaotang wishes it," Luo Xiaolu whispered, wiping her tears with firm tenderness, "Sister *will* make it happen."

…

The taxi dropped them at Chiba’s most upscale Western restaurant.

Gleaming marble floors, waitstaff radiating quiet luxury—Luo Xiaolu, self-proclaimed "artsy girl on a budget," felt a flicker of awe.

After feasting heartily, Luo Xiaotang, too full to walk, was carried home on her sister’s back.

Total bill: 2,000 yen.

*Before? That was a whole month’s living expenses—food, clothes, rent, everything.*

But after copyright fees, once manuscript payments arrived… they could splurge again.

They’d truly stepped into comfortable living.

Back home, Luo Xiaolu searched online for downtown apartments.

*Me, Luo Xiaolu… feeling ambitious now.*

Starting today, she’d rebuild their life.

And from this new life, she’d guide her sister gently out of the shadows.