"I really can't get close to you now; I'll become the public enemy of all the girls," Cheng Ying said.

Chi Wu immediately pressed right up against Cheng Ying, their bodies extremely close, before replying, "Too late. Everyone already knows we live together."

Cheng Ying thought that statement had endless implications, realizing one shouldn't dwell on it; the unlucky kid simply spoke without restraint. "Heh heh," she managed with a dry laugh.

Then, a vibrant girl called out from the classroom doorway, "Chi Wu!"

Cheng Ying followed the sound of the voice and looked over. The young girl was so full of vitality that it made Cheng Ying feel incredibly aged by comparison.

The girl, Qing Fang, seeing Cheng Ying pressed close to Chi Wu, sweetly called out, "Sister, I need to talk to Wuzi about something."

Cheng Ying's heart fluttered—Oh my heavens, the little girl is calling me so intimately for the first time! This is definitely going to be the brother's wife.

Her own brother wouldn't have to worry about remaining single. This felt as certain as an established relationship, especially since Cheng Ying was only half a year older than the girl opposite her. She responded in kind to Qing Fang, "Qing Fang, looking for Wuzi? Go on, go on."

Even though early romance isn't ideal, appropriate friendships are absolutely encouraged.

Her desk-mate was a girl. Good men always have many women vying for them. Cheng Ying mused that if this man were her Chi Wu, it would be a beautiful thing.

She heard her desk-mate say, "She called you 'Sister.' This person is in the third year of high school; she’s older than you."

Cheng Ying smiled sweetly. If you have the nerve, you should invite my Wuzi out openly too. Plotting behind my back won't work. Facing her desk-mate, Cheng Ying replied with deep meaning, "Wuzi is younger than me. Isn't he my brother?"

At that, everyone understood: Cheng Ying was Wuzi’s older sister. "But you don't share a surname," a nearby classmate asked.

Cheng Ying explained, "We have the same mother but different fathers." This explanation was perfectly clear and, more importantly, entirely truthful.

The girl who had come looking for Chi Wu to "advance together" stopped glaring at Cheng Ying with hostility.

Everyone started looking at the shameless girl outside the door; she was even older, yet she was calling Cheng Ying 'Sister.'

How utterly shameless. This was an ambition so obvious that even Sima Zhao would have understood it.

Chi Wu was growing impatient, dealing with the younger girl even more brusquely. "What is it?"

Classmate Qing Fang, acting the senior student, took charge. "Wuzi, I’m also going to the competition. Just wanted to say hello, so we can travel together later for mutual care."

Chi Wu retorted, "Is there anything else? Our classmates all travel together, and the teachers look after us."

This woman was annoying; Chi Wu didn't want to deal with her. If he weren't afraid she’d stand at the classroom door refusing to leave, Chi Wu wouldn't have even come out. Let her call if she wanted to.

Qing Fang smiled sweetly. Wuzi always spoke to Grandma this way at home; she was used to his tone. "It's nothing. I’ll head back now."

With that, her white dress swished gracefully as she departed.

Chi Wu let out a breath. "She's got issues." He then went inside.

The classmates started teasing, "Chi Wu, early romance is wrong! We must study hard and strive for progress every day!"

Chi Wu glanced at Cheng Ying, then waved his hand dismissively at the teasing classmates. "Scram."

Cheng Ying shook her head; it was rare for the unlucky kid to mix with classmates like this.

Then, Cheng Ying lost track of when it started, but most of the class began calling her 'Sister.'

When Cheng Ying snapped back to reality, she looked at Chi Wu. "Are you trying to build a harem? I’ve already become a Grand Princess."

Chi Wu pursed his lips. "Who told you to agree to everyone who calls you that? Why are you so easygoing? Am I such a low-standard person that anyone can catch my eye?"

This bottled-up resentment hadn't built up for just one day. Finally, an opportunity for eruption had arrived.

Cheng Ying felt the unlucky kid's temper flared up inexplicably. He had finally transitioned from the rebellious phase to the adolescent, silly phase.

Cheng Ying frowned, looking at Chi Wu, then turned back to her studies. You couldn't afford to engage with teenagers; why was he being so idiotic?

Chi Wu picked up smoking from his classmates. Cheng Ying felt the kid was growing up. He had to try everything; she decided to pretend not to know. He’d get bored of smoking eventually and stop on his own. Cheng Ying was preparing to adopt a hands-off approach.

Boys couldn't be kept tethered at home like girls; they needed friends.

Chi Wu played the brooding type with his classmates, somehow procuring a guitar and sitting on his desk, strumming aimlessly.

Cheng Ying felt this kid was worrying; he was even disrupting the study atmosphere. But growth required experiencing every mood.

However, if he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, it would look much more appealing. He still didn't know how to dress himself properly.

Cheng Ying felt Chi Wu was holding back; his attempt at melancholy was neither mature nor young.

To think he could play the guitar, yet you couldn't even hear it—this kid was exasperating.

Cheng Ying shook her head, filtering out the sound of the aimless strumming, and began rote memorizing politics and classical texts.

Mathematics was something Cheng Ying didn't need to exert much effort on, but things requiring pure memorization, she had to tackle again.

Ah, studying—the road ahead is long and arduous.

It wasn't until a drizzly autumn day that Cheng Ying saw Chi Wu leaning against their car at a seventy-five-degree angle by the school gate, a cigarette butt dangling from his lips, striking a dashing figure.

Cheng Ying glanced at the people beside her; the onlookers were quite numerous, and they were all rather unimpressive.

Finally getting into the car, she couldn't hold back and spoke sharply to Chi Wu. "Pencils behind the ear mean you’re working; grass sticks on the head mean you’re selling yourself; toothpicks in the hand mean you just finished eating meat; a cigarette between the lips means you’re trying too hard to look cool. Can you try a different look?"

Chi Wu's hand trembled, trembled violently, and then he fiercely tossed the cigarette out the window.

In fact, even if he hadn't tossed it, the cigarette would have fallen anyway from his shaking hand.

Cheng Ying thought perhaps what she said was a bit harsh, a big blow to the kid. It was puberty, after all; everyone acts silly.

Seeing Chi Wu wasn't driving, clearly angry, she softened her voice. "Well... it's not bad. Better than having a bone hanging out of your mouth."

Chi Wu turned back, his single eyelid lifting slightly, his brows raised—he was waiting for Cheng Ying to explain why. His expression was one of seeking instruction.

Cheng Ying thought, adolescence itself isn't the problem, but you can't just go silent during your adolescence! Even if Sister possesses subtle refinement, she can’t rely entirely on guesswork! "Dogs are the ones with bones hanging out of their mouths."

She still provided an explanation. No matter what he was asking, if Sister didn't spell it out, she wouldn't feel satisfied.

Chi Wu’s face turned pale with suppressed anger. He finally spoke, "If you don't talk, no one will think you're mute."

Cheng Ying could hear the sound of Chi Wu grinding his teeth.

Just then, the car window was tapped. She rolled down the glass to see the delicate and pretty Classmate Qing Fang standing openly in the drizzle. "Wuzi, drive me home?"

Cheng Ying's eyes lit up. How much charisma did this girl have? Even the disdain she felt towards herself, she attributed to the girl having a strong personality.

It seemed she had become annoying. No wonder the unlucky kid was trying to look cool here; he was trying to pick up girls.

The girls nowadays actually fall for this sort of thing—they are quite superficial. However, if her own brother was using it to woo a girl, Cheng Ying thought it wasn't bad.

She quickly opened the car door. "Qing Fang, hurry and get in! Oh dear, you're soaked. Wuzi, do you have a handkerchief?"

The young girl Qing Fang put away the small floral umbrella in her hand. Her hand was just a little wet, after all. This woman’s rustic accent was irritating; why was it so provincial? But she was Chi Wu's sister, so she endured it.

Classmate Qing Fang said, "No need, Sister. I'm fine. Wuzi, have you been waiting long?"

The question was delivered with such nonchalance, as if it were perfectly natural that Chi Wu had come specifically to pick her up.

Cheng Ying thought, so they had made plans after all. She was being redundant. Why didn't she ask before getting into the car?

Later, she needed to buy another car so she wouldn't delay the kid who was finding a girlfriend.

Chi Wu was privately furious, thinking of the shameless girl—how could she say something like that? A girl who chased a man so aggressively, he wouldn't want her even if she were offered to him for free! "I was waiting for Yingzi."

Qing Fang’s face flushed as she glanced at Chi Wu, then at Cheng Ying, murmuring softly, "I see." That shy demeanor seemed like a deliberate attempt to hide something, as if Chi Wu were the one embarrassed. At least, that was the impression Cheng Ying got. Cheng Ying saw no embarrassment in Qing Fang, only coquettish shyness.

Cheng Ying understood: Chi Wu was embarrassed. "Just drop me off at the library first."

Chi Wu slammed the accelerator, and the car shot forward. Cheng Ying felt a bit carsick; the speed was hard to accept. "Wuzi, you're not street racing with people, are you? That sport is dangerous!"

Chi Wu didn't quite understand what "street racing" meant; he hadn't watched enough Hong Kong and Taiwan movies.

He didn't speak to anyone the entire way. Forget dropping Cheng Ying at the library; he drove the car all the way to the compound, not even entering their own door, taking Cheng Ying back home instead.

Cheng Ying felt she hadn't provoked the unlucky kid at all. At worst, next time she'd confirm the destination before getting in the car—no more being a third wheel. Did he really need to throw such a tantrum? The life she was living—she couldn't even casually use her own car anymore.

Ah, the kid was growing up; he was going to form a new family. Cheng Ying looked at this Qing Fang and guessed that she and her brother would become distant; this child certainly had ambitions.

However, for someone who protects her own, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing if her future family members had some cunning; it was better than being a naive fool.

As Cheng Ying got out of the car, she complained, "It's all your fault. I have Uncle’s new house keys on me. I have to go over there again tomorrow."

Chi Wu spoke sharply to Cheng Ying, "Go yourself!" Then he went inside.

Cheng Ying rolled her eyes. Who was he trying to make things difficult for? Sister’s license was issued, and her driving skills were up to par—hmpf, she wouldn't bother with him.

Chi Wu skipped dinner. Nanny had to bring it to the west room and coax him gently to eat.

Cheng Ying thought, Spoiled. Spoiled by kindness.

Fortunately, the weather was nice the next day. Cheng Ying drove herself, not bothering Chi Wu, to deliver the keys to Chi Yong.

Hearing that Cheng Ying had spent several months securing the apartment for Chi Yong, she decided to bring the elder Mr. and Mrs. Chi, along with the whole family, to view the new house.

Old Mrs. Chi was very pleased with the housing complex; it wasn't far from where she lived, making visits convenient in the future.

When the door to Chi Yong's unit opened, Yang Zhi couldn't keep her eyes open.

If this were a few years ago, Yang Zhi would surely have said that even the Imperial Palace couldn't compare. But now, Yang Zhi only felt internal joy and didn't voice it.

Yang Zhi was now a woman slightly smoothed around the edges by life.

Chi Ye was much more direct in his expression. "Sister, it's so beautiful! Will my room be like this too? Hurry and show me!"

Cheng Ying’s eyes shone with radiance. The effort and worry she put into this house finally yielded some reward. Seeing her own mother's expression confirmed her immense satisfaction.

She told Chi Ye decisively, "It’s even prettier than this, absolutely!"

Chi Yong said, "You child, you really like to stir things up. What were you thinking with this room's design?"

PS: There is one more chapter today. RP