Chapter 61: No, Bro

A glass of sweet milk went down, bringing with it a heavy, fresh wave of sleepiness.

Liu Xie managed to stay up until two in the morning, and only after suddenly remembering that she needed to watch her good little brother’s blind date tomorrow did she finally give in to the urge to sleep, pulling the covers over her head and lying down on the soft princess bed.

The more you want to sleep, the harder it is to fall asleep.

So after tossing and turning for an hour, Liu Xie hugged her fluffy pillow and finally drifted off.

Until dawn broke, until the house gradually became lively again.

Downstairs, the family was having breakfast. Liu Anran ate his sandwich unhurriedly.

Today’s bread was a bit burnt, which happened to suit Liu Xie’s taste perfectly.

But this breakfast, prepared especially to match Liu Xie’s preferences, was missing the person who should have been enjoying it.

“That brat… where’s that girl?” Mother Liu, who was about to scold, seemed to remember something, and her tone unconsciously softened a bit.

“She stayed up until after two last night. She should still be asleep now.” Liu Anran put down his sandwich, wiped his mouth and hands, and took a couple of sips of the iced Café beside him.

Facing his parents’ questioning gazes, he glanced toward Liu Xie’s bedroom door and offered a brief explanation.

“Yesterday, she connected the home wifi to my hotspot, and it only disconnected at two in the morning. I figure it’s because her phone ran out of battery.”

The dining table fell a little silent.

Mother Liu belatedly asked, “You just watched your sister stay up until two in the morning last night?”

Liu Anran said nothing.

Then Father Liu chimed in, “Aren’t you going out today? If she keeps lazing in bed, will you make it in time?”

“Then I’ll wait until she wakes up. I’ll head out after she does.” Liu Anran’s answer was simple, his words casual and matter-of-fact.

“You can’t just make the girl wait, can you?” Mother Liu tidied up the breakfast originally meant for Liu Xie, figuring her obedient daughter was unlikely to crawl out of bed during breakfast.

“It’s not me who wants to see her. She’s the one who wants to see me.” There was always a maturity and shrewdness in Liu Anran’s words that didn’t belong to someone his age.

But that last sentence clearly lacked it; it was filled with youthful arrogance.

Liu Anran rarely acted like this, and only did so when facing Liu Xie.

He didn’t consider the consequences, and there didn’t seem to be any to consider. Just as he said, she wanted to see him, not the other way around.

Mother Liu raised an eyebrow. She had almost never sensed that unreliable air she felt from Liu Xie on this adopted son.

She was about to speak, but Father Liu stopped her.

There was a depth in Father Liu’s eyes, as if he could see through every fiber of Liu Anran.

“The children are grown now, beyond our control.”

So Mother Liu was held back by Father Liu and stopped interfering in their affairs.

Liu Anran also put down his Café cup, feeling inexplicably more at ease.

Just now, facing his parents, he had felt a rare flutter of panic.

But at the same time, he had learned from a young age to keep his emotions hidden.

Father and Mother Liu still had things to do. For Liu Xie’s two days back home, they’d pushed aside most matters, but there were still some things that couldn’t be ignored.

So by the time Liu Anran finished his Café, the only sound left in the house, besides the routine cleaning by the servants, was silence.

Holding his Café cup, Liu Anran glanced at Liu Xie’s room for the umpteenth time, then froze.

Someone was leaning against the half-open door, dressed in a thin white nightgown that, in the morning light, made her look like a lazy angel.

Only missing a halo and wings.

Or perhaps, in someone’s eyes, this was the filter that always surrounded her.

Liu Xie stretched lazily, and even the loose, thin white nightgown couldn’t hide her impressive figure.

But after the stretch, Liu Xie hunched over again, looking listless and lacking energy.

Still, even in this state, she drew Liu Anran’s gaze.

She rubbed her eyes and yawned, her slippers shuffling across the floor, until she reached the dining room and sat down across from Liu Anran.

Then she stretched out her arms and rested her head in the crook of her elbow.

A muffled voice followed: “What time is it?”

Liu Anran set his Café cup on the table and glanced at the phone beside him.

“Eight-thirty.”

“Huh?!”

The blonde princess jerked up, fumbling for her phone with her messy hair sticking out everywhere. “I need to hurry and ask Third for their check-in code, or they’ll mark me absent again.”

“It’s a holiday today.” Liu Anran raised an eyebrow. “If I hadn’t checked your attendance record, I might have really believed you were studying hard.”

Liu Xie clearly only heard the first half of the sentence.

She collapsed onto the table.

To save time, Liu Anran simply packed up Liu Xie’s breakfast, telling her to go wash up and change, and that she could eat breakfast in the car on the way out.

He even reheated the milk and poured it into a thermos. The only difference between this thermos and a baby bottle now was the lack of a nipple.

With the servants’ help, Liu Xie looked a bit more refreshed, but her spirits were still low.

Her long dress was still the familiar blue and white—her favorite colors. Compared to her previous gown, it was less luxurious, more youthful.

Still like a blue plumbago.

The plumbago’s blonde princess, or the blonde princess’s plumbago.

“Eat your breakfast first. You can nap in the car later. Skipping breakfast will give you a stomachache.”

Liu Xie didn’t even listen. As soon as she settled into the comfortable seat, she started to sleep.

But she couldn’t really sleep for long, because the meeting place wasn’t far from home.

Before Liu Xie could doze off, Liu Anran had already parked the car.

A dazed Liu Xie sat up and looked out the window.

It was a Café.

“Trying to be all fancy.” Liu Xie curled her lips. “Who drinks Café in the morning, anyway?”

Liu Anran paused, then opened the car door and pulled Liu Xie out.

Inside the Café, a rich, elegant fragrance lingered in the air, making Liu Xie feel a little uncomfortable.

Inside, there was only a nervous girl tidying up her appearance.

Liu Xie and the girl locked eyes.

The girl was pretty by most standards, but it was like a firefly facing the bright moon.

Liu Xie saw the girl’s gaze dim instantly, but she still forced a smile at her good little brother.

Unfortunately, Liu Anran was busy stuffing the forgotten breakfast into his mouth.

Liu Xie quickly patted Liu Anran on the shoulder and pointed at the girl waiting not far away.

Then she skipped off to a corner to watch the show.

Liu Anran frowned and finally sat down across from the girl.

But his eyes kept drifting toward Liu Xie.

“Um, your relationship with her must be really good.” The girl nervously fiddled with her fingers.

Liu Anran glanced at her calmly.

“Yeah, she saved my life.”

Liu Xie watched as the girl across from her brother turned pale, bowed deeply to him, wiped her tears, and ran out.

“Hey, no, bro.”