“Why didn’t you tell me when this happened?” Liu Anran frowned, her rarely heard tone tinged with annoyance.
Liu Xie suddenly noticed that her brother actually seemed a bit angry.
Just because she hadn’t told him about her recent menstrual period?
She thought it shouldn’t be a big deal. If she started crying and whining over small things, it would seem rather girlish and lacking in manly spirit.
But her brother didn’t seem to think that way.
Liu Anran looked at Liu Xie with a puzzled expression: “Didn’t I tell you to tell me if anything happened?”
“I think I’m still capable of taking care of myself,” Liu Xie murmured weakly.
Right now, she felt her good brother’s aura was almost terrifying—like the parents catching their child red-handed and interrogating them after they’d made a mistake.
“You still don’t get what I mean.” Liu Anran softened her tone as she watched Liu Xie shrink back, no longer as strict as before.
“What I mean is that I need to have the right to know. I won’t stop you from doing anything you want to do, but I need to be prepared, to have insurance in place when you do it.”
There was sincerity shining in Liu Anran’s eyes.
Of course, he could accept his savior doing whatever she wanted, even if it meant charging at windmills.
He wasn’t going to take control, dominate her life, or force Liu Xie to obey him and live according to his plan—he wasn’t that evil.
He just didn’t feel at ease with Liu Xie’s recklessness and her lifestyle so far. The best he could do was prepare in advance once he knew the situation, so that even if her adventures failed, it wouldn’t be a complete defeat.
Even if the insurance ended up useless later, it was fine.
Of course, he wouldn’t always go along with Liu Xie. He still knew right from wrong, so, as he said, he needed to have the right to know.
“Honestly, when you just came to touch my belly, and I asked if the baby kicked you, and then you started talking about insurance and all that, don’t you think what we’re talking about is kind of weird?”
Liu Xie was still a little embarrassed—she wouldn’t normally behave like this in public.
“Isn’t it enough that we know what we’re talking about?” Liu Anran countered, a hint of displeasure in his eyes for Liu Xie trying to change the subject. “Did you really listen?”
“All right, all right, I get it. Next time something like this happens, I’ll tell you.”
Liu Xie felt a bit cornered.
This kind of promise was like a child pledging never to break dishes again, except now it was the older sister making the promise to her younger brother.
How strange.
“It’s not after it happens, but before,” Liu Anran emphasized once more. “Except for unpredictable situations, you need to tell me before doing anything major. Like when you went to the beach earlier without telling me.”
“Huh?” Liu Xie was stunned. “How did you know…?”
Then she suddenly remembered—her credit cards were all linked to Liu Anran’s. It was normal for him to know where she booked the hotel.
Then, she recalled that overly sweet dream, where she had her head resting on Liu Anran’s back and hung a strawberry-shaped necklace on his neck.
If her good brother knew she had traveled to that place, it was possible he came to find her.
Maybe he even came then, but she hadn’t realized.
Feeling a chill at the thought, Liu Xie grabbed Liu Anran’s tie and pulled him close.
Then, she stared intently at his neck.
Fortunately, there was no ring of red marks on her brother’s neck, and her anxiety eased.
Thank goodness she hadn’t really been biting her good brother; otherwise, she’d have no face to talk to Liu Anran now.
“What are you looking at?” Liu Anran’s eyes were fixed on the flustered Liu Xie at such close range. “Or do you think this distance is better for chatting than before?”
“No, no, of course not.” Liu Xie averted her eyes nervously and released the tie she had been holding.
Liu Anran, of course, knew what she was looking at.
He was also troubled that the marks still hadn’t completely faded after a few days, so he used a little trick to cover the ring.
A concealer cream could hide it, and it was easier to manage than he expected.
He certainly wouldn’t let Liu Xie see it on his neck. He knew his good sister cared about her face and would easily be embarrassed by such things.
But Liu Xie wasn’t ready to give up: “You said you knew I went on a trip, so you…”
“I had something else going on at the time, otherwise I would have definitely gone with you to straighten you out.” Liu Anran’s stern expression didn’t pressure Liu Xie, but made her relax.
“Yes, sir.” Liu Xie playfully saluted Liu Anran. “I’ll definitely report to you next time.”
Even Liu Xie knew this behavior was like the check-ins between a young couple.
But the difference was, couples do it to give each other security, while Liu Xie’s check-ins were so Liu Anran would give her security.
“Good.” Liu Anran nodded slightly. “Now you should tell me, why did you rush to pull me out of the office?”
After this reminder, Liu Xie finally remembered the real reason she called Liu Anran today.
She glanced at Zhu Niao beside her, only to find her squatting on the ground playing ‘Cat Senior’ with Yang Shuli. Since Liu Anran started touching her belly, she hadn’t heard a word between the two.
Zhu Niao felt that Liu Xie and Liu Anran were being a little lovey-dovey. If she and Gou Yu had come instead, it wouldn’t be so sappy.
“Well, here’s the thing. We have a basketball game, and we’re short on players. You get it?” Liu Xie scratched her head, looking everywhere but daring not to meet Liu Anran’s expression.
“You mean you want me to play basketball?” Liu Anran said flatly. “You know I’m not even from your school, right?”
“Exactly, that’s why I’m saying…”
“You want me to come?” Liu Anran interrupted.
He stared at Liu Xie for a while, as if he understood something. Then he picked up his phone and dialed a number.
“I’ll be there.” He said this to Liu Xie.
“Huh? But you’re not from our school…”
“I said I’ll sponsor the team, provide prize money, awards, exposure, and cover the team uniforms.”
Zhu Niao suddenly turned her head sharply and glared fiercely at the two.
“I hate rich people.”
Bruh, he didn’t have to go to that extend