Night fell.
Along the distant horizon, only a faint remaining glow of the setting sun, like the last traces of diluted ink, still guided the boy’s path home.
He hurried along and finally managed to reach home before the sky completely darkened.
Looking at the familiar front door before him, Zhong Siji for some reason thought of the scene when he parted ways with Xu Runhui and Yan Yanyan.
At the fork in the road, everyone had smiled at each other and said “see you tomorrow.” It was only a very ordinary picture, yet for some reason Zhong Siji found it extremely warm.
Had there been no such moments in the past?
Although his memories were already a little blurred, he could still find such scenes within them. But back then, had he felt this way…?
Perhaps this is what they call losing something and then regaining it.
“I’m home, Xinya.”
“Welcome home, Onii-chan~~”
In the entryway, the young girl was still waiting for her older brother to return home just as she always did.
“Xinya, do you really need to wait in the entryway every single day?”
“Xinya hopes that the moment Onii-chan comes home he can see Xinya. What? Does Onii-chan not want to see Xinya?”
“Eh~~ You’re in a really good mood today. Did you pick up money on the way home?”
“Onii-chan, saying the same thing over and over again will make people get tired of it, you know? Or does Onii-chan want to eat bitter melon again tomorrow?”
“I’m sorry! I was wrong! ………Wait, I wasn’t wrong!” Zhong Siji seemed to suddenly think of something, and in the face of his beloved little sister’s threat, he actually stood firm.
Zhong Xinya looked at her older brother with some surprise.
She had ample reason to suspect that the older brother in front of her might be a fake.
Otherwise, how could he hardheadedly push back against the terrifying fact of eating bitter melon again tomorrow?
But then again, where else could you find a second high-school boy this dense?
In other words, had Onii-chan’s tongue mutated?
“Onii-chan, what kind of trick are you trying to pull this time?”
“My dear little sister, you can no longer threaten me! Because starting from tomorrow!”
Zhong Siji raised high the shopping bag in his hand.
“I’m going to start making bentos myself!”
Zhong Xinya of course already knew that Zhong Siji was going to start learning how to make bentos.
After all, how could she not understand her own older brother?
After getting scolded so hard by Grandpa that morning, it wouldn’t be like him if he didn’t think about changing.
Although she already knew in her heart that her older brother’s goal was to make bentos for her, this was still a rare chance to act spoiled…
“Eh~~ Then will Onii-chan’s bento have a share for Xinya too?”
Zhong Xinya latched onto her older brother’s arm like a little cat and acted spoiled.
Fortunately, her chest was the type that men in this changed world welcomed.
Otherwise Zhong Siji would at least have had to say a couple of words about how even siblings needed to mind their distance.
“Uh, no.”
“Ha?”
The gentle little cat instantly transformed into a fierce leopard.
“Just temporarily! Temporarily no!”
“Why?!”
“I can’t exactly make something completely disastrous and still give it to you to eat, right, Xinya?”
“Why not! Xinya doesn’t care! And it’s not like Xinya has never eaten the food Onii-chan made before.”
“Wait, you still remember that?”
“Xinya will never forget for the rest of her life those days when Onii-chan fed Xinya with that sticky liquid that smelled weird.”
“Wait! That was just me putting too much seasoning or something! Don’t describe it in such a weird way ahhhhhhh!!!”
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On the other side, the situation at Xu Runhui’s home.
“I’m home.”
Xu Runhui pushed open the door with a body full of exhaustion.
What entered her vision was a familiar figure standing in the entryway with both hands in her pockets.
“Yo, long time no see.”
The one waiting slowly raised her head and revealed a wicked, unrestrained smile toward Xu Runhui.
“For real? Ptooey ptooey ptooey ptooey ptooey ptooey! What the hell is this thing? Why couldn’t I stop myself from matching the line again?”
“This is the charm of the classic line, Onee-chan.”
Xu Runmin— that is, Xu’s little sister— shook her head, seeming to regret that she hadn’t managed to match the classic line with her older sister.
“So, how did it go?”
“How did what go?” Xu Runhui was a little confused.
“With that guy!” Xu Runmin was a little anxious. “You didn’t just do nothing, right?”
“Why do I feel like you’re even more anxious than I am?”
“Isn’t that obvious! Onee-chan, do you know why people are always so obsessed with climbing high peaks or exploring the abyss?”
“Hmm~~~~ Because people always want to challenge themselves?”
“Exactly! And for the entire human species, witnessing the realization of these self-challenges might be just as important as the challenges themselves!”
Xu Runmin tightly stared at her own clenched left fist.
“Because only then can we tell everyone that those so-called impossibilities can actually be overcome! It’s precisely because of those brave warriors who dare to challenge and those wise ones who record and witness that we humans have the achievements we have today. This is the immortal human soul that is passed down without end!”
“…….That makes a lot of sense, but what does that have to do with whether you’re anxious or not?”
“If Onee-chan can successfully win over that cool guy, wouldn’t I then become a witness who saw the impossible being overcome? In the future, if some classmate feels that she can’t chase after the boy she likes, wouldn’t I be able to use Onee-chan’s story to encourage her… Ah! What are you doing! Onee-chan, that hurts!”
Xu Runhui thoughtfully used her fist to give Xu Runmin a head massage. “Who told you to always use Onee-chan as a joke.”
“Onee-chan, you’re only this tough with me. And you don’t actually think you can really chase after that guy, do you?”
In Xu Runhui’s mind, everything that had happened today floated up: going to school together with Classmate Siji, eating bento together with Classmate Siji, the indirect kiss with Classmate Siji, going to the supermarket together with Classmate Siji, touching Classmate Siji’s abs, becoming friends with Classmate Siji… Thinking of this, Xu Runhui couldn’t help smiling. “Hehehehehehe~~”
“Wah! Onee-chan is fantasizing again! That smile is so perverted! So disgusting!”
“Xu!!! Run!!! Min!!!”
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Compared to the liveliness at Zhong Siji’s and Xu Runhui’s homes, Yan Yanyan’s side was much colder and quieter.
Although her family was quite well-off— they had even specially bought her a high-end apartment here so she could study in Tiancheng— many things could not simply be bought with money, or rather, could not be compensated for with money.
Since there was no one else at home anyway, Yan Yanyan casually tossed her schoolbag aside and collapsed onto the high-end sofa in complete boredom.
Back to this prison again, huh.
Yan Yanyan stared blankly at the ceiling with vacant eyes.
Everyone talked about going home, going home, but could this empty house with no one in it really be called a home?
What exactly did she want? If one spoke of material enjoyment, things that others desperately sought were within easy reach for her.
If one spoke of interpersonal relationships, in just a few short weeks there were already people calling her “Big Sister.”
But why did these things that others desperately pursued and that she herself could easily obtain make her feel so disgusted…?
I already knew the answer long ago, didn’t I?
Because none of these things are ‘real’… Except for him.
“Haha.”
In the empty room, she suddenly laughed out loud.
Tomorrow and all that— have I actually started looking forward to it as well?