Luo Chen sat down on the sofa, leaned back against it, and closed his eyes.

It seemed nothing had changed after all. Luo Xi had still left, saying she never wanted to speak to him again.

If Luo Xi was a tsundere, then Luo Chen was a hopeless one.

Neither of them could swallow their pride and truly open up to the other. They were both clinging to their ridiculous self-respect.

On the other hand, it hadn’t really affected Luo Chen much.

He wasn’t a siscon. Siscons were trash.

He’d only said those strange things last night because he wanted to cheer Luo Xi up. The joy of being reborn was welling up inside him, with nowhere to go.

If he really were a siscon, how could he have confessed to Lin Yuqi?

But Luo Xi had been family to him for more than a decade, at least. No matter what, he wanted her to be happy and have a better life.

As he saw it, the first thing he had to do was get Luo Xi to accept that she’d have to live in this new environment and give up on him and the home they shared. That way, she’d be able to adjust more easily.

As for what came after that… Once he had enough money to support the two of them for the rest of their lives, he’d come back and get on his knees to see if she’d forgive him. Heh.

Still, it seemed An Jinchu couldn’t understand what he was thinking either. Well, the two of them probably just weren’t close enough.

At the apartment complex where Luo Chen lived.

Luo Xi stood beneath a tree in the complex, biting her lip and fighting back tears.

An Jinchu walked over to her. After a moment’s thought, she sighed softly and patted her on the head.

The gesture was so familiar and natural, as if she’d done it countless times before.

“Don’t blame him. He wants you to let go of the past and work hard to adjust to your new surroundings.”

Luo Xi froze.

“Your brother really is an idiot… Mom and Dad are both overseas right now. You can come live with me. It’s fine—I’ll take good care of you.”

“Mom and Dad will be back in the country at the end of the year. I’m sure they’ll be so happy then… We can get a DNA test this afternoon. Honestly, my gut tells me you’re my little sister. It’s just to put your mind at ease.”

An Jinchu’s voice was gentle and calm. After a while, she tilted her head and asked, “By the way, did you ask him how he found that phone number?”

“...I don’t know.” Luo Xi shook her head, bewildered. Her whole world was a mess right now.

A big sister she’d suddenly found, a new life waiting just around the corner, and… a brother who’d suddenly started to feel like a stranger.

The two of them were still standing beneath the tree. An Jinchu stood quietly, the hem of her black skirt swaying in the breeze and revealing her slender, black-stockinged thighs.

She was waiting for someone.

Sure enough, Luo Chen soon came out, dragging a suitcase. He walked slowly toward them, looking helpless and faintly annoyed.

“At least take your stuff with you when you leave, you idiot.”

He set the suitcase down there. Sunlight dappled his dark hair through the leaves as Luo Chen turned around and started to leave without looking back.

“Luo Chen.” An Jinchu suddenly called his name.

“Hm?” Luo Chen didn’t look back. He kept walking.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” An Jinchu smiled. Her delicate, adorable face held a distinctly mischievous look.

“Goodbye.” Luo Chen was already far away.

“Goodbye,” An Jinchu murmured too, then casually muttered, “We’ll meet again, Luo Chen.”

“This time, I got here first… Don’t play dumb with me again, you jerk!”

Her voice was very, very soft, carried away by the wind.

Luo Chen went back home and took out the laptop he’d been using for three years.

It could still mooch off the neighbor’s Wi-Fi, play a few adult videos, and handle some typing without much trouble.

Gaming was another story. In his previous life, the laptop stayed with him for five years in total, finally dying of old age when he got to college.

He hadn’t sold it secondhand or thrown it away. He’d kept it all this time.

By the way, his birthday present that year had been a brand-new laptop, which Lin Yuqi had tearfully insisted he accept.

Their college entrance exam scores had been too far apart, so they’d had no choice but to go their separate ways and begin a long-distance relationship.

Luo Chen had always been dirt-poor, but far too proud. In the end, he’d still accepted her gift.

And his eighteenth birthday present that year, besides the laptop from Lin Yuqi, was… Lin Yuqi herself.

The Luo Chen of today didn’t have time to think about that damn love story.

All he wanted now was to make money.

And this laptop was his first step toward doing that.