“My name is Lianying, Lian of Lianying, Ying of Lianying. I’m fifteen years old. Like everyone here, I officially became a high school student today. I live in Chunhui Community on the west side of Haizhu City. My good friends are Qinglan, who is both my classmate and neighbor, and Xicheng from another school. As for hobbies and interests, hmm… shopping, playing games, and—Protect the World.”
[Switching from Wuhua to Lianying’s perspective]
‘This happened a month before Xiaohua came to my house.’
‘On the first day of school, the homeroom teacher asked us to introduce ourselves on the podium.’
‘Thinking it was a once-in-high-school important moment, I wanted to leave a deep impression on my classmates, so I unconsciously blurted out something outrageous.’
“P-protect the world?”
“She’s talking about something from a game, right?”
“Lianying is not only good-looking, but also a lot of fun.”
“Next time, take me along to protect the world too.”
‘Luckily, my classmates didn’t take it seriously. They played along with the joke.’
‘The class atmosphere became lively. The teacher didn’t mind either.’
“You idiot…”
‘Of course, I still got scolded by Qinglan afterwards.’
‘After all, both of us knew that protecting the world wasn’t just a simple hobby.’
‘Then came the Q&A session.’
“Lianying, when did you and Qinglan meet?”
“Lianying, what kind of games do you like to play?”
“Lianying, you’re so pretty and have a great figure. Do you put effort into taking care of yourself?”
‘Many classmates asked ordinary questions, and I patiently answered them one by one.’
“Lianying, do you live with your parents? Do you have any siblings?”
‘Of course, sometimes I was stumped by simple questions.’
“I-I live alone,” the me in the memory answered.
“Ohh, you’re already independent. That’s amazing.”
“Ahh, living alone must be so happy.”
“I envy you for living alone. My parents are too strict.”
‘I vaguely remember that back then, I had a fake smile on my face and an uneasy heart.’
‘But all of that is in the past now.’
“…Mm.” Having formed the habit of waking up early, Lianying always beat the alarm clock.
She opened her clear, light-colored eyes to the familiar sight of her own room.
To avoid waking the girl sleeping beside her, she gently stood up from the bed and slid open the window.
“Mm. It’s a nice day today.” Unlike yesterday’s heavy rain, the sun was exceptionally bright with not a cloud in the sky. A gentle breeze carrying the fragrance of flowers blew toward her.
For some reason, last night Lianying dreamed about the past. A memory she once thought wasn’t too happy. But—
“…Now I’m no longer alone.” Saying this, Lianying turned to look at the little girl sleeping on the bed, close to the wall.
“I have a very cute, very important family member. My little sister, or my daughter.”
“But maybe that’s a bit greedy. Hehe.” Lianying smiled shyly and climbed back onto the bed.
“Xiaohua~” Lianying called out affectionately using Wuhua’s nickname, approaching and sliding her palm under her back, trying to pick her up.
But just as Lianying pressed close to Wuhua’s body—
“…Eh.”
It was like hugging a hot water bottle. An obviously abnormal temperature came through her skin. As someone who knew Wuhua inside out, she reached the following conclusion—
“M-My Xiaohua turned into a sunflower?!”
…
“38.5 degrees. No doubt about it, she has a fever,” Qinglan said, shaking the thermometer in her hand.
“W-What should I do? Boohoo… It’s all big sister’s fault, Xiaohua.” Lianying lay on the bed, looking at Wuhua as if she was giving last respects.
“So, what are you going to do? Even if you don’t take Xiaohua to the hospital, someone needs to take care of her,” Qinglan asked doubtfully.
“Mm! …I’ll just ask the teacher for leave directly. Leave Xiaohua to me.” Lianying puffed out her chest with confidence.
“Honestly, if she’s like this, I won’t be able to concentrate in class anyway.”
“What reason are you going to use? Personal leave?” Qinglan asked just in case.
“Of course, to take care of my sick daughter,” Lianying answered without thinking.
“…Please change that to little sister. Otherwise, when you and I go to school the next day, we’ll be interviewed by the whole class,” Qinglan corrected helplessly.
“Alright, then I’ll leave Wuhua to you. See you later.”
Qinglan, who had specially come over from next door to help, left after saying this.
“Hah, hah, hah…”
Lianying’s room was quiet enough to hear Wuhua’s slightly rapid breathing.
“Xiaohua…” Watching Wuhua, usually lively and cheerful, look so uncomfortable—
“N-No. Pull yourself together, Lianying.” Lianying shook her head and patted her cheeks.
“I have to take good care of her. Family is about supporting each other!”
After searching for “fever” and “patient” keywords on her phone, Lianying began her busy day.
…
“Since it’s a fever, the first step should be to lower her temperature,” Lianying said as she took ice from the fridge and put it in a bag.
“Xiaohua, big sister is going to put an ice pack on you now.” After getting Wuhua’s nod of approval, she placed it steadily on her forehead.
“Mm. That should do it.” With that done, Lianying went back to the kitchen.
“Eating something should help her recover faster. But Xiaohua probably doesn’t have much appetite.” Lianying crossed her arms and thought for a moment.
“I’ve got it—” Finally, Lianying decided to cook some congee that would be easy to digest.
She took out a dusty apron from the cabinet and put it on.
Then came washing the rice, draining the water, turning on the stove, boiling, and adding various ingredients and seasonings—steps that even a kitchen novice like her knew.
While the rice cooker was busy, Lianying went to the bathroom, filled a basin with water, grabbed a towel, and returned to the room.
“Li-Lianying… big sister,” Wuhua murmured on the bed, a little more awake now.
“Xiaohua? How are you feeling—” Lianying quickly put down her things and helped Wuhua sit up.
“Does anything hurt? Is your throat sore? Are you coughing? Do you have a headache? Do you remember who I am…”
Questions rained down on the drowsy Wuhua one after another. Sorting through the situation, she squeezed out her own answer.
“Does Lianying big sister think I look okay like this?”
“Th-That’s true. After all, she has a fever,” Lianying nodded belatedly. Then she used the towel to wipe the sweat off Wuhua’s forehead.
“You’re sweating a lot. It’s better to wipe down and lie down again, so your body won’t feel sticky. Big sister will help you.”
With that, Lianying reached out toward Wuhua, intending to remove her sweat-soaked clothes.
“—” Maybe due to being half-asleep or the fever, Wuhua didn’t resist. She quietly let Lianying help her.
But her shyness still made her grab the blanket beside her and cover herself, wearing only her underwear.
“No need to hide. Big sister hasn’t seen it before, hmph.” Finding it cute, Lianying signaled Wuhua to turn her back and gently wiped her skin with the wrung towel.
“Next is your chest,” Lianying whispered softly in Wuhua’s ear as she moved to her front.
Her fingertips, with the cotton towel, gently brushed over the undeveloped buds.
“…Mm, mmm?” The subtle sensation made Wuhua let out a soft moan.
“Eh~ So this spot is ticklish here.” Misunderstanding, Lianying became bolder, messing around and continuously attacking Wuhua’s waist and chest.
“Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle.”
“W-Wait, Lianying, big sister…” Already uncomfortable, Wuhua’s words were choked back.
Then, as expected, an accident happened. The towel slipped from Lianying’s hand.
“Ah.”
Lianying’s hand quite perfectly landed directly on Wuhua’s flat curve.
“…?!”
Feeling a sensation she had never even tried on herself, Wuhua blushed as she looked at Lianying.
“Eh.” Lianying quickly pulled her hand away as if nothing had happened.
The two girls sat on the bed, maintaining a moment of silence.
After all this fuss, Wuhua felt that her fever hadn’t gone down, but instead had gotten worse.