Dawn broke.
Lu Xun had a strange dream.
He dreamt he became Sun Wukong, crushed under the Five Elements Mountain, with nowhere to escape to heaven or earth.
The weight of the mountain made it hard for him to breathe.
Upon slowly waking up, he realized that what was pressing on him wasn't some Five Elements Mountain, but rather a living person!
The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself staring into a pair of beautiful eyes.
A little girl with twin ponytails, carrying a small backpack, lay in bed with her arms crossed, resting her chin on her arms, tilting her head to gaze at Lu Xun.
"Brother, you're awake?"
"What do you think!"
"Brother, you're really good-looking," she giggled, her eyes squinting into lovely crescents. "But you sleep in an ugly way, even worse than how you eat."
"Xie Manyu, what's gotten into you?"
Lu Xun yawned groggily, pushing her face away in disdain, muttering:
"Get lost, are you looking for a beating early in the morning?"
"You actually want to hit me?" She turned her head back in disbelief, "You could actually lay a hand on such a cute sister? No wonder you don't have a girlfriend!"
"You're disturbing my sleep, who else would I hit? Move over, I'm going back to sleep for a bit, I still have to go out later."
"You're really quite the busy person. I can't see you during the day, nor at night. I was afraid you'd miss me too much, so I came by to show myself to you."
Xie Manyu pouted discontentedly: "I'm going to school now, if you want to see your sister, you better cherish the time! Soon you won't be able to see me, don't regret it."
Isn't it you who wants to see me?
Lu Xun indicated he didn't want to deal with her and turned his head to the right.
She immediately brought her face to the same direction, insisting he looks.
He turned to the left, and Xie Manyu followed again.
Lu Xun sneered coldly and used his ultimate move: lying face down, he tucked his head under the pillow.
"Ahhhh!"
Xie Manyu was red with anger, gritting her teeth, she straddled over him, pounding her fists: "Stupid Xiao Lu, dumb Xiao Lu, what's wrong with looking at me? Am I not pretty? Look… ah!"
She screamed as she was suddenly bucked off by the wild horse underneath.
Lu Xun sprang up, successfully catching the wild Manyu in a blanket, wrapping her like a mummy.
"Act arrogant again!"
Lu Xun grinned menacingly, pulling her cheeks outward into a pig face: "Do you realize your mistake now?"
"I was wrong," Xie Manyu conceded.
"Will you do it again?"
She thought for a moment, very earnestly: "Yes."
So stubborn and unruly!
Lu Xun's eyes widened, and he administered the ultimate punishment—tickling her feet!
Screams echoed, begging for mercy.
He put his bratty sister in her place.
Until the aunt intervened to stop the fight, she was finally saved.
"Sob sob~ Mom, brother bullied me again."
Xie Manyu complained first, her pretty face feigning grievance: "He pulled my face and tickled my feet, it's too much!"
"You knew Xiao Lu has a bad morning temper, and yet you dared to provoke him, you brought it on yourself." The aunt glared at her, then looked up at her nephew, speaking softly: "Rest a bit more, I'll take Xiao Yu to school."
"Alright, be careful on the road," Lu Xun waved.
"Hmph! Bye, stinky brother," Xie Manyu made a face.
The mother and daughter left, closing the door behind them.
Lu Xun couldn't help but shake his head.
He opened the covers once more, got in, and prepared to go back to sleep.
Xie Manyu was two years younger, fifteen this year, now in her first year of high school.
But she studied at Jinghai Ninth Middle School in the Outer City District, not a prestigious school.
In nearly ten years, the top school seemed to have only admitted one civilian student as an exception.
And that was Lu Xun.
When he first transmigrated, he was only 4 years old. By that time, his parents were gone, and his uncle's family adopted him.
So he and Xie Manyu grew up together.
She was very clingy, especially to her brother.
But in recent years, Lu Xun's been quite busy, often leaving early and returning late, not even showing up on weekends.
Causing the siblings to live under the same roof but seldom see each other.
Xie Manyu also knew it wasn't good to disturb her brother's sleep, but she really wanted to talk to Lu Xun.
If she hadn't come this morning, it would have been another day without seeing her brother.
"Stubborn girl, hurry up and grow up... so you won't be so clingy." Lu Xun mumbled with closed eyes.
He changed his sleeping position, and soon drifted back to sleep.
...
Meanwhile.
Just after Xie Manyu left her brother's room, she stepped into her dad's hospital room.
"Dad, good morning, I'm heading to school," she smiled at the camera.
Text appeared on the screen:
[Be safe on the road. Where's your brother Xiao Lu?]
"That lazy pig is still sleeping; he just bullied his cute sister. Dad, don't you think he's too much?"
She put her hands on her hips, complaining angrily.
[How is that not too much? It's indeed too much! I'll help you teach him a lesson next time!]
"Mm, mm," she nodded repeatedly, agreeing, "Dad, you're so righteous!"
Just then, her mom's voice called from outside, urging: "Xie Manyu, you're going to be late for school!"
Xie Manyu immediately pouted.
[Haha, you go ahead.]
"Dad," she cautiously peeked at the door, lowered her voice and whispered, "Your idol Kong Zihan released a new album, it just came out yesterday, and it's said to be awesome!"
[Whoa?!]
"I saved some pocket money secretly from mom, since you've been so righteous, I'll be kind enough to buy you one,"
Xie Manyu boasted proudly: "I'll bring it after school."
Upon hearing this, Xie Zhenhai suddenly grew silent.
No text appeared on the display screen.
"Give me some reaction!" Xie Manyu widened her eyes.
[No need to buy it, Kong Zihan is out of trend. I've already moved on, I don't listen to her music anymore.]
"Huh?" She was stunned, "Didn't we agree that once you recover, we'd go to her concert together?"
[Let your brother Lu Xun accompany you, I'm not a fan anymore. <(￣︶￣)>]
"Dad, how could you betray Celestial Empress Kong, that's so ruthless!" Xie Manyu looked disdainfully, "Fine, I won't buy it. The new album isn't cheap, I'm reluctant to spend the money anyway. Hmph!"
"I'm off to school, bye-bye."
[Bye-bye.]
Xie Manyu walked out of the hospital room, closing the door gently.
"Dad already agreed to help teach that stinky brother a lesson." She boasted to her mom outside the door, "You favor brother, but dad favors me. Didn't expect that, did you? Hehe."
Jiang Jingfei smiled, gently stroking her daughter's cheek with affection: "You go downstairs first, Xiao Yu, wait for me in the parking lot. I'll be right there."
Xie Manyu didn't think much about it, nodded, and left home with her backpack.
After watching her daughter leave, the smile faded from Jiang Jingfei's face.
Creek—
She opened the door, entering Xie Zhenhai's hospital room.
The couple remained silent.
After a few seconds of eye contact with the camera, she finally saw two words appear on the display—
[Pull it.]