When Zixiao got home, she found the apartment quiet.

The golden light of dusk spilled across the living room. The dishes from breakfast were still on the table, not yet cleared away. Usually, Yuzhe would wash them and put them away after Zixiao left for school.

Is Big Brother asleep...?

He must really be exhausted today.

So Zixiao set her schoolbag down by the door, straightened the shoes on the rack, slipped into her fluffy pink bunny slippers, and quickly cleared the dishes from the table.

Then a pang of guilt crept over her.

It was already past six in the evening, and Big Brother still hadn’t woken up.

She’d only wanted Big Brother to take the initiative and experience school life, but... had she been selfish? She’d woken him up early that morning, and she’d created that physics workbook without discussing it with him or getting his permission.

Had her selfishness just made things harder for him?

She knew how much Big Brother hated running around... and suddenly, Zixiao regretted it.

With that feeling weighing on her, she quietly pushed open the door to Yuzhe’s room.

She saw Yuzhe lying on his side in bed, completely unguarded.

He hadn’t even changed out of his clothes, except for his coat.

His silver hair lay loose and tousled across the bed, and his impossibly beautiful face was half-buried in it.

His steady breathing and the faint rise and fall of his chest showed that he was fast asleep.

For a moment, Zixiao could barely breathe. She wanted to take in the sight with all her heart. Even though she saw him every day, no matter how many times she looked, she always got lost in a world where there was only Big Brother.

After standing in the doorway for quite a while, she finally moved.

Trying not to make a sound, Zixiao slowly walked over to Yuzhe’s bed and crouched beside it.

Her heart was beating so fast. As she gazed at her brother’s sleeping face, her breathing grew shallow, too.

With only a few centimeters between them, Zixiao leaned close to Yuzhe’s face. So she wouldn’t wake him, she used her right hand to tuck the smooth black hair that fell over her chest behind her ear.

Then... she gently kissed his cheek and hurriedly pulled away, her face burning red.

It was as fleeting as a dragonfly skimming the water.

Mmm... just one little kiss shouldn’t be too much, right...? Thank goodness Big Brother didn’t wake up.

But that did nothing to slow Zixiao’s racing heart. If anything, it only made it worse.

A sheen of sweat even appeared on her delicate little face, and her quickened breathing made her small chest rise and fall.

Her hazy gaze seemed unsatisfied. She didn’t want to wake Big Brother, yet at the same time, she wished he would wake up right then.

Then he could respond to her...

But unfortunately, Yuzhe continued sleeping peacefully.

Fighting to clear the dreamy look from her eyes, Zixiao reluctantly pulled her face away from Yuzhe’s.

But her gaze lingered on him, unable to look away.

A long while later, still crouching in front of Yuzhe, she finally spoke in a soft voice.

“Zixiao doesn’t deserve anything more yet. Just like you told me before, Big Brother—‘If you want to be recognized, work hard and make me acknowledge your worth.’”

“So...”

Zixiao seemed to be talking to herself, but there was a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

“I know I still have a long way to go, but sometimes I wish Big Brother would praise me a little...”

The girl stood up, gently brushed the silver hair away from the corner of Yuzhe’s mouth, and left the room at an unhurried pace.

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

Only after quite some time had passed, and he was sure her footsteps had faded out of the room, did Su Yuzhe cautiously open his eyes.

He’d woken up when Zixiao suddenly started talking to herself. As for what she’d done before that...

He had no idea. She’d probably just come to see if he was awake.

But he’d heard every word she’d just said.

“Who works hard in ten-year increments...? I was the one who told her to prove herself back then, but Zixiao really does try too hard.”

Yuzhe sighed to himself and got out of bed.

She wants me to praise her once in a while...? Come to think of it, I hardly ever praise either of my younger sisters.

When he walked into the kitchen, Zixiao was cooking in her little pink apron.

She hummed a little tune, and the ahoge on her head bobbed along.

Yuzhe leaned against the doorframe, admiring how cute Zixiao looked as she cooked.

She only noticed Yuzhe standing at the entrance with a big grin when she turned around to grab a seasoning.

“Waaah! Big Brother, what are you doing there?! You scared me!”

“Nothing. I was just admiring my adorable little sister cooking. And I have to say, my Zixiao is so capable! I said I’d make dinner tonight, but you went and quietly did everything yourself again.”

At the sight of Yuzhe’s breathtaking smile, Zixiao was at first too flustered to answer.

Then his praise made her blush.

Finally, she suddenly realized—wait, something wasn’t right!

“Ah, Big Brother, you were awake just now, weren’t you?!”

As she spoke, her face turned even redder, and her voice grew agitated.

“When did you wake up? How much did you hear?!”

“Uh...”

Seeing Zixiao all ruffled up, Yuzhe could only tell her the truth.

“From when you said you had to work harder... I think you’re already working hard enough.”

“O-oh, is that so? So you didn’t hear anything before that... That’s a relief.”

But for some reason, she also felt a little disappointed......

“What? Did you do something before that?”

“N-no! Nothing at all!”

Zixiao suddenly turned back to the stove and went on cooking distractedly. Yuzhe found himself getting curious.

“By the way, my adorable little sister, why do you keep saying you need to work harder? I thought you’d already done what I asked of you all those years ago.”

After a pause, Yuzhe added, “And no matter what things were like ten years ago, we’re a real family now. You don’t need to prove yourself to me anymore. I’ve already accepted you as my little sister.”

“Mm... thank you, Big Brother. I know.”

“Then why...”

“This time, I’m not working hard to get you to accept me like I was back then... I have a different reason.”

“A different reason?” Yuzhe really had no idea what she meant this time, so he pressed her for an answer.

“Mm... I’m a little annoyed about saying it out loud, but since you asked...”

Zixiao gripped the hem of her apron tightly with both hands. She really did look a little reluctant.

“Look, Big Brother... I’m not as pretty or cute as Yuche, and I’m not as gifted or smart as she is, either. She learns everything so quickly. So I just hope... I can get you to pay a little more attention to me, even if it’s only a tiny bit...”

It was true that Yuche was astonishingly beautiful and intelligent, but Zixiao was wonderful too!

Seeing how aggrieved Zixiao looked, Yuzhe could only reply helplessly, “Silly girl, I don’t know why you doubt yourself like that, but why are you comparing yourself to Yuche?”

“Because we’re both your little sisters...” Zixiao answered without hesitation. “You act like you treat us equally, but I know you actually care about Yuche much more than you care about me. I’m not asking you to treat me just like Yuche, but I’d at least like you to pay a little more attention to me! I’ll do my best to earn it!”

“I don’t, though???”

No, Yuzhe really did feel wronged. He’d always thought both his younger sisters were the cutest girls in the world. He’d never once thought he was neglecting Zixiao because Yuche was his biological sister. Where had she even gotten that idea?

Before Zixiao could reply, Yuzhe’s phone rang.

It was a message from Yuche, the very person they’d been talking about.

It contained just one sentence.

“Big Brother! I’ll come over really early tomorrow morning. Don’t set an alarm—I’ll wake you up this time. And tell Zixiao to stay at least ten meters away from your bedroom tomorrow morning!”