At dinner, Zixiao couldn’t shake an uncomfortable feeling.

For one thing, she wanted to ask her brother what he thought about going to school. But after lying to him earlier that day about not bringing her homework, she was too embarrassed to bring it up.

And although her brother had smiled at her just like always the whole time, Zixiao had felt throughout dinner that something was weighing on him. She couldn’t say why, but she could just tell—even though Yuzhe seemed completely normal.

So all they could do was talk about Yuche, who was coming over tomorrow, and Little Lychee, whom they’d met earlier that day.

Ugh... Why does this feel so frustrating...

Maybe I should just ask my brother about all of it tomorrow?

No... If I do that, I’ll probably spend all night worrying and won’t be able to sleep.

And so, right then, Zixiao quietly made up her mind.

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

After dinner, Yuzhe usually helped Zixiao with her homework, then they watched TV for a while before she went to shower and get ready for bed.

Mm... Usually, he let Zixiao shower first. He went to bed late, so he could shower whenever. When you’re a night owl, showering too early always leaves you with the weird feeling that you somehow haven’t showered before bed.

But today was different. Even though he’d slept all afternoon, Yuzhe still felt exhausted.

It wasn’t like he’d done much, either. He’d only gone to school.

But Yuzhe knew why. It was because of Qi Xinye. He’d spent a lot of time thinking about Sister Ye.

He’d more or less figured out how to handle the situation, too.

There was just one condition left. Once it was met, everything could get back on track.

So today, after watching TV for a while, he waited for Zixiao to finish showering, then went straight to the bathroom himself. He should get to bed early tonight. Tomorrow, he’d clear things up with Sister Ye.

A quick rinse was all it took to finish showering, and Yuzhe returned to his room.

For some reason, he’d never gone out of his way to care for his silver hair. Even in the shower, he’d just put shampoo on it, wait a little, and rinse it out. He didn’t even tie up his long hair. You could say his hair-washing routine was pretty rough.

Zixiao had scolded Yuzhe about it several times, telling him to take better care of his hair. Otherwise, she’d wash it for him herself.

Yuzhe, of course, refused.

And yet his hair was still so healthy that even Zixiao envied it.

Lying in bed, Yuzhe slowly planned out what he’d say tomorrow when he saw Yuche, and then when he saw Sister Ye.

But before long, he heard soft footsteps in the hallway outside. They were heading toward his room.

Hm? Yuzhe instinctively glanced at his phone. It was eleven at night.

That was still early for him, but Zixiao kept a very regular schedule. She’d usually be asleep by now.

Was something wrong?

As Yuzhe sat up, a steady, rhythmic knock came from the door.

Then Zixiao’s sweet, soft voice followed.

“Big Brother, are you asleep?”

“Not yet. You don’t have to knock—the door’s unlocked. Come on in, Zixiao.”

At that, Zixiao gently pushed the door open, poking just her adorable little head inside.

“Okay... Sorry to bother you.”

“Come on, Zixiao. You don’t have to be so cautious. You’re always like this. You’re making me wonder if you’re scared of me.”

Looking at Zixiao’s adorable little head, Yuzhe felt a mischievous urge come over him.

Hearing that, Zixiao stopped hesitating. She quickly slipped into the room and stood there, closing the door behind her.

“N-no! Why would I be scared of you, Big Brother? I just don’t want to barge in...”

Only after Zixiao came in did Yuzhe get a proper look at her. Her small, pale feet, and the beautiful legs stretching up to the hem of her pajama shorts, looked like something out of a work of art. She stood by the door, fidgeting a little, still wearing her adorable pink pajamas. This time, though, she was clutching a big, soft pink pillow. Her face was buried in it as she secretly peeked at Yuzhe.

Seeing how cute she looked, Yuzhe suddenly felt like teasing her.

“Zixiao, do you know what you’re not as good at as Yuche? And I definitely don’t mean looks or intelligence.”

At the mention of Yuche, Zixiao immediately seemed to go on high alert.

Then she asked uncertainly, “I... I’m not as good as her in lots of ways... What do you mean, Big Brother?”

“Aw!” Yuzhe put on a disappointed look. “Let me put it another way. If it were Yuche, and I said she could come into my room, what do you think she’d do?”

Zixiao knew the answer. She’d seen it countless times... The moment Yuche entered her brother’s room, she wouldn’t say a word. She’d just throw herself onto the bed, hug Yuzhe, and insist they sleep together.

But Zixiao had always thought that was childish. And barging in like that would make her brother dislike her.

Wait... No, that wasn’t right. Yuzhe never seemed to mind when Yuche did it.

Then maybe... should she do that too...?

Mm... Never mind. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

It was too embarrassing! No matter how you looked at it, she had to get her brother’s permission first. Otherwise, he’d definitely dislike her! How did Yuche even manage it?

“I... Big Brother, I can’t do what Yuche does.”

Feeling like she’d lost to Yuche yet again left Zixiao feeling miserable.

Seeing how upset and conflicted she looked, Yuzhe felt satisfied.

“All right, all right. I was just teasing you. If you really acted like her, I’d be the one in trouble. One Yuche is already more than enough for me.”

As Zixiao’s expression slowly relaxed, Yuzhe continued, “What’s gotten into you today? You should be asleep. Even if school’s out tomorrow, I can’t stay up this late playing games with you.”

“I don’t want to play games.” Zixiao shot Yuzhe a reproachful look.

“It’s just... I was wondering... could I sleep with you tonight, Big Brother...?”

Her voice grew softer and softer, until Yuzhe could barely make out what she was saying. He’d only just managed to catch the gist of it.

That wasn’t the important part. What mattered was the shy glimmer in Zixiao’s ruby-red eyes. It made Yuzhe’s heart skip a beat.

Ahem. Stay calm!

The question crossed Yuzhe’s mind for only a moment before it vanished. He quickly got ahold of himself.

He decided not to tease Zixiao anymore. It seemed she had something on her mind today.

In truth, Zixiao wasn’t the only one who could tell the other had something on his mind. Yuzhe felt the same way about her.

“Sure. Sleeping together again after all this time? The last time you came to sleep with me like this, you were about ten, weren’t you...? How do I put it? This feels so new. You finally feel like a little kid again. I’m happy!”

“You’re so mean, Big Brother...”

At Yuzhe’s very obvious teasing, Zixiao blushed as red as an apple.

But... he’d said yes, hadn’t he?

So she went over and set her pillow beside Yuzhe’s. One blue, one pink. They looked so nice together.

Hehe...

Then Yuzhe got up, turned on the night-light, and switched off the bedroom light.

When he came back, he lay down beside Zixiao, who was already in bed.

Zixiao was on the inside of the bed, her reddening face partly hidden behind the corner of the blanket.

Yuzhe asked, “Where’s your blanket? I’ve only got this one.”

“I-if you don’t mind, we could share this one. We can both get under it. It’s... big enough for both of us anyway.”

“Okay.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yuzhe grabbed one corner of the blanket and slipped under it beside Zixiao.

You could say that when it came to someone he liked, Yuzhe never hesitated. He did what he wanted, just as his heart wished.

But he noticed that Zixiao had already claimed his blue pillow, so he had no choice but to rest his head on her big pink one.

It was soft and comfortable, and it smelled like Zixiao.

She was right there beside him, after all!

So Yuzhe rolled onto his side to face Zixiao, only to find that she was looking at him too.

Now that Yuzhe was under the blanket too, Zixiao couldn’t hide her face behind it anymore. The blush on her cheeks was obvious. Luckily for her, the night-light was so dim that Yuzhe didn’t notice.

He also didn’t see the sudden, dreamy softness in Zixiao’s eyes, or the faint tenderness in them as she watched him lying on her pillow.

The bed wasn’t very big, so even though they tried to leave each other as much room as possible, their legs still brushed now and then. At first, they both jerked away as if they’d been shocked. After a while, neither of them bothered to move. It didn’t matter if their legs touched.

After a long while, Yuzhe noticed that Zixiao was still sneaking glances at him, looking like she couldn’t make up her mind.

So he spoke first. “Go ahead, Zixiao. Is there something you want to ask me?”

His sudden voice broke the silence, and Zixiao seized the opening at once. “Mm-hm! Big Brother, is something bothering you?”

“Hm? Why do you ask?”

Yuzhe was a little surprised. He’d thought he was doing a pretty good job of hiding it. How had Zixiao noticed?

As they spoke, they faced each other, close enough that their warm breaths brushed against each other’s faces, tickling a little.

“I don’t know why. I just feel like you’re hiding something from me, Big Brother.”

“...” Yuzhe was suddenly impressed by Zixiao’s powers of observation. Sister Ye would be coming over tomorrow anyway, sooner or later, so he might as well tell Zixiao now.

“Yeah. There is something.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“Do you remember Sister Ye? Qi Xinye, from the Qi Family.”

At the name, Zixiao looked a little surprised. “Sister Ye? She hasn’t been in touch with us for years, has she?”

“That’s right.” Yuzhe continued, “She came to see me while you were at school today. It seems she’s still hung up on what happened five years ago, so I’ve been thinking about it.”

Seeing Zixiao fall silent, Yuzhe continued, “What do you think, Zixiao? Do you still feel like you can’t accept Sister Ye?”

At Yuzhe’s question, Zixiao gave a slight shake of her head against the pillow. “No. When you think about it, what happened wasn’t really her responsibility, and it’s not like it was so bad that we couldn’t forgive her. But she was the one who stopped keeping in touch with us back then, and she didn’t do anything to resolve it either. So I think both sides were at fault.”

Yuzhe reached out from under the blanket, slipped his hand around to Zixiao, and gently patted her head. “That’s a very levelheaded way to look at it. You’re right. It’ll still take a little time to sort things out.”

Like a happy little cat, Zixiao edged closer to Yuzhe.

Their legs were practically tangled together!

“So when will she come again? Have you arranged a time with her, Big Brother?”

“Tomorrow. Yuche’s coming over too, so we’ll have a chance to talk it all through.”

Zixiao immediately understood. “Yuche is the most complicated part of all this.”

“Exactly... Anyway, enough about that. What about you?”

“Huh?” The topic had changed so suddenly that Zixiao didn’t know what Yuzhe meant by that.

So Yuzhe explained, “Something’s bothering you too, isn’t it? I told you what was on my mind. Why don’t you tell me what’s on yours?”

Zixiao was even more surprised. Really, she couldn’t hide anything from her brother...

“It’s just... I left my physics workbook at home today without asking you first, so you’d have to bring it to me. I was worried... Were you angry, Big Brother?”

“No.” Hearing the worry in Zixiao’s voice, Yuzhe answered almost instantly. “Why would I be angry? Weren’t you trying to get me to visit your school?”

“That was the idea. I wanted you to go to school and experience a normal life. But... I think the way I went about it was a little too much...”

Before she could finish, Yuzhe pressed a finger to Zixiao’s lips.

They were soft, too.

Feeling the touch of a finger against her lips, Zixiao grew flustered and suddenly didn’t know what to do.

“Now, is there something you want to ask me?”

As Zixiao looked into Yuzhe’s eyes, softly glowing before her, she felt she was gazing at the most beautiful sight in the world. The gentle blue in them held a warmth nothing could ever replace.

Of course, she understood what Yuzhe meant.

So she smiled and asked the question she already knew the answer to: “Brother... starting next week... can you come to school?”

“Of course I can!” Yuzhe chuckled.

Then Yuzhe patted Zixiao on the head again and said gently, “It’s getting late. Go to sleep. Good night, Zixiao.”

“Mm! Good night, Brother...”

All her questions had been answered, and Zixiao felt she’d be able to sleep well. She closed her eyes and soon drifted off. Her brother’s scent was so reassuring...

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

As dawn broke, Yuzhe and Zixiao’s blankets had been kicked aside in Yuzhe’s room—the underfloor heating was simply too warm.

The two of them were still asleep.

Yuzhe’s arms were wrapped around Zixiao’s shoulders, holding her close against his chest.

Zixiao’s long, slender legs were wrapped around Yuzhe’s, tangled up with his.

If Yuzhe hadn’t dreamed he was hugging a giant body pillow, things wouldn’t have ended up like this!

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the villa, an unbelievably cute girl was searching her pocket for the spare key Yuzhe had given her.

She had silver hair much like Yuzhe’s and wore a cute black blouse with a plaid skirt, along with white thigh-high socks that suited her perfectly.

This was Su Yuche, Yuzhe’s biological younger sister.

She glanced at her phone. It was 6:10.

“Hehehe, Brother’s definitely still asleep. I haven’t seen him in a whole week—I feel like I’m going to die! I have to make up for everything I’ve missed this week by clinging to him today.”

Her face was full of anticipation. She was tiny, practically a little loli, but just like Yuzhe, when she smiled, she was so adorable she could topple kingdoms.

She found the spare key, slowly opened the apartment door, and went inside......