“Ding-a-ling... Ding-a-ling...”

The abrupt ring of an alarm clock shattered the play of light and shadow in the chilly winter sunshine.

The alarm clock rang out of place in the peaceful morning. Su Yuzhe reluctantly and slowly opened his eyes, still half-asleep.

Ugh... Getting up really is the worst, no matter what season it is...

Maybe I’ll sleep a little longer? No, better not. My little sister will yell at me again in a minute...

Thinking this, Su Yuzhe squinted and reached toward the phone he remembered leaving on the bedside table last night, carefully feeling around the dazzling silver hair scattered across his pillow.

But he didn’t seem to find his phone. Instead, he felt something... soft?

It can move?!

???

The ringing stopped abruptly. Su Yuzhe’s eyes flew open, and he sat bolt upright—but his hand stayed on the soft object.

Looking closely, he saw that his own small hand was covering another hand, just as dainty as a work of art. Its owner seemed to have been reaching to turn off the alarm, only for him to pin her hand down.

And the owner of that hand was none other than Su Zixiao, the little sister Su Yuzhe had just been worried might catch him sleeping in.

“Big brother... um...”

Her light, sweet voice made the morning feel a little more wonderful to Su Yuzhe.

“Sorry, Big Brother... Did I wake you?”

Su Zixiao made no move to pull out the hand he was pinning down. Still groggy, Su Yuzhe didn’t move either. He just studied the girl in front of him.

She was wearing a pink nightgown, bent over beside the bed with her bare feet lightly touching the floor. Her long, ink-black hair fell to her waist, and a hint of surprise showed in her ruby-red eyes. A faint blush mingled with the drowsiness unique to early mornings. Her sleep-tousled hair hadn’t been brushed yet, and her figure was beginning to develop. Everything about her showed just how cute and pretty she was. Yes, she was at that age between cute and pretty—though her chest was still a little lacking.

But there was no sign of the famously beautiful school idol everyone talked about in this sleepy version of her... Heh. Only Su Yuzhe got to enjoy this sight!

But it was only her hand after all... It felt so nice!

“Big Brother...” Su Zixiao seemed a little embarrassed to have her hand pinned down, but she still made no move to pull it free. “Big Brother, why couldn’t you sleep for just five more minutes?”

“Huh?” Now fully awake, Su Yuzhe quickly pulled his hand back, then stared at her in confusion. “Wait, Zixiao. Isn’t ‘five more minutes’ supposed to be my line?”

“You just don’t get it, Big Brother...” Su Zixiao pulled her hand back too, seeming a little reluctant. She gently stroked it with her other hand.

“You’re so... pretty? I don’t get many chances to admire you while you’re asleep.”

As she spoke, Su Zixiao deftly straightened out his rumpled bedding.

“Besides, we finally managed to convince the main family to let us live on our own. Of course I’m going to make the most of my own ‘opportunities’ too. If we were still at the main house, Yuche would’ve picked a fight with me for showing up in your room this early.”

“Yuche wouldn’t go that far... And how many times have I told you? ‘Pretty’ isn’t a word you use for a boy. If you have to say something, call me handsome!”

Su Yuzhe’s hair had already been sticking up from sleep, but hearing the word “pretty” made him bristle even more!

“But I’m just stating a fact...”

His little sister pouting in wounded protest was adorable too!

That’s right. The girl in front of him was his little sister, but not by blood. His parents had adopted her when she was six, and they’d grown up together ever since. After all, Zixiao was seventeen, only a few months younger than Su Yuzhe.

As for Su Yuche, whom Su Zixiao had just mentioned, even thinking about her gave Su Yuzhe a headache. She was his biological little sister. She’d been clingy with him since they were kids, and she loved arguing with Su Zixiao. He could never stop them. They even called each other their “lifelong nemesis.”

Sigh!

Thinking of that, Yuzhe let out a long sigh. He really didn’t understand why the two of them got along so badly. It had been over ten years—couldn’t they just get along?

Well, this was the lament of someone completely oblivious to the situation. It was strange, really. After living together for so many years, Yuzhe still couldn’t understand why his two little sisters sometimes seemed so close, and sometimes acted like enemies.

As Su Zixiao rambled on about the benefits of leaving the main house, with the soft rustle of her tidying things in the background, Su Yuzhe slipped on his slippers and walked to the huge full-length mirror in the corner of the room. He straightened his clothes and fixed his hair.

No wonder his little sister called him pretty... No matter how many times he looked, he still didn’t look like a boy!

He was small-framed to begin with, and even though he was almost eighteen, he barely stood five foot seven. He’d inherited long, flowing silver hair as brilliant as a galaxy, deep azure eyes like the ocean, skin so smooth it looked flawless, and a delicate face without a single imperfection. He was practically a gift from heaven. Add to that the faintly otherworldly air he’d had since birth, and he really was out of this world.

And his voice was soft and androgynous—he was basically the perfect silver-haired beauty! But Su Yuzhe hated his looks. They didn’t match the tough guy he was on the inside!

People would stare wherever he went, but no one ever thought he was a boy at first glance. Some jerk even started a rumor that he was the “eldest young lady of the Su Family.” It was a huge blow to Su Yuzhe’s tough-guy pride. Still, after nearly eighteen years, that pride had only grown tougher with every setback!

And in these loose pajamas, even he was starting to blush—never mind Zixiao.

“My hair’s grown longer again. It’s almost down to my waist.”

Playing with a strand of silver hair in his hand, Su Yuzhe had considered cutting it short. Maybe then he’d look more like a boy. But there were more than a few reasons he couldn’t cut it—and every one of them left him with no choice but to keep it long.

Especially after that time when he was little and secretly snipped off just a tiny bit with a pair of scissors. His two little sisters—those “lifelong nemeses”—actually teamed up and cried all day.

“Don’t even think about cutting your hair, Big Brother. Zixiao and I may not get along, but when it comes to your hair, I agree with her one hundred percent.”

A chill ran down Su Yuzhe’s back. He immediately let go of his hair and turned to chat with Zixiao with a grin.

“I’m not cutting it. I only trim it a little each time. To be honest, even I’d feel bad cutting it after keeping it this long.”

After giving her a quick answer, Su Yuzhe smoothly changed the subject.

“Um... Zixiao, how long have we been living here now?”

Zixiao had finished making Yuzhe’s bed. At his question, she turned around, but her face immediately flushed, and she shifted her gaze ever so slightly, unable to look him in the eye.

She also mumbled something under her breath. She looked a little embarrassed, and... frustrated?

“Honestly... Big Brother was always cute, but lately he’s gotten prettier and prettier. As a girl, that makes things... difficult for me...”

Su Yuzhe couldn’t hear her quiet muttering.

“Zixiao?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Realizing she’d let her thoughts show, Zixiao quickly composed herself and walked steadily over to Yuzhe. Since they were about the same height, she looked him almost straight in the eye.

This girl had always been so proper... the complete opposite of Yuche, that troublemaker. She’d even made a point of walking over to answer a simple question, which somehow made Su Yuzhe feel a little awkward.

Noticing Yuzhe’s wavering gaze, Su Zixiao gave the faintest smile, then answered his question.

“We’ve been here for a month. Hm? You should remember, Big Brother. To be exact... today’s our thirty-second day.”

Su Zixiao rested her index finger against her chin and thought for a moment. That cute little gesture, combined with her cotton-pink nightgown and a strand of hair sticking up, was more than Su Yuzhe could handle.

“I-is that so? It’s already been a month...”

Su Yuzhe thought back to the biggest decision he’d made in his life, a month ago. He’d worked up the courage to ask his estranged father to let him live on his own. He never expected that the stubborn old man would actually agree.

His family situation was unusual. No one in Fenghai City could possibly not know about the Su Family. As the family behind the largest conglomerate in the city—and perhaps beyond—the main branch of the Su Family stood above the rest. But because of that, Su Yuzhe found life there incredibly dull. Day after day of studying business management, day after day of etiquette lessons—it had all worn him down.

That wasn’t the main reason, of course. The real reason was that his mother had died of an illness when he was young. After that, for certain reasons, his relationship with his father had grown terribly strained, and living in that house had become unbearable. That was why he’d asked to live on his own.

He remembered his father thinking for a while before agreeing, then laying down three conditions.

It went without saying that his father wouldn’t give him any money. The second condition was the important one.

His biological little sister, Su Yuche, was in her final year of high school. Like Su Yuzhe, she was a genius among geniuses, with grades already in a league of their own. On top of that, Yuche insisted on sticking by her big brother every day, staying in Yuzhe’s room and refusing to leave. Their father was worried—people couldn’t completely withdraw from society, after all—but he couldn’t find anything to criticize.

The siblings’ grades were just too good. What could he possibly criticize?

So the second condition was that Yuche had to attend school properly at the main family’s campus.

Yuche agreed, but she also demanded that she be allowed to stay at Yuzhe’s place every weekend.

Their father didn’t dare say no. He wouldn’t dare offend the Su Family’s little princess. When it came to anything involving Yuzhe, Yuche never gave an inch. Getting her to go to school was already a win!

As for the third condition, their father said he’d keep it in reserve and tell him when the time was right.

You could tell he was a businessman. He couldn’t even negotiate with his own son without holding something back.

Since none of the conditions involved Su Zixiao, she’d chosen to move out with Yuzhe.

The main house was in East City, Fenghai City, so the two of them rented a small apartment in West City. Of course, Su Yuzhe paid for it with the money he’d earned drawing manga online. Those art lessons he’d been taking since elementary school hadn’t been for nothing!

He’d achieved his original goal of gaining his freedom, but what was he supposed to do next? Could he really have a life of his own? Thinking about it, Su Yuzhe let out a heavy sigh. How frustrating!

Seeing Yuzhe sigh so suddenly, Su Zixiao hurried forward and wrapped both arms around his slender waist, hugging him gently. Mm... he still smelled as nice as ever... When she saw his brow relax, she whispered,

“It’s okay, Big Brother. Don’t worry. Whatever happens from now on, it’ll be okay. No matter where you are, I’ll always stay by your side.”

Su Yuzhe lowered his head slightly. He saw a faint glimmer in Zixiao’s eyes.

That glimmer in her eyes reflected only Yuzhe, standing right in front of her. Nothing else.

“Mm... Thank you, Zixiao...”

He buried his face in her dark hair, feeling completely at ease.

.............

Suddenly.

A burst of rapid phone notifications shattered the lovely moment. The two naturally let go of each other and looked toward the phone on the bedside table.

The sender’s name stood out clearly: Yuche.