Chapter 3

"Ouch..." My brother got burned, and a tiny drop of oil splattered on his face. Oh no, will it leave a scar? Although I'd say a scar would be a bonus for my brother, no way, Mom'd beat me up if I said that.

But I don't want him to get hurt.

"Wet wipes! Wet wipes!" I shouted hurriedly as I pulled out wet wipes.

I smeared a wet wipe on my brother's left cheek, and he grabbed my hand and moved it to his right side.

We ordered a two-person set meal, but I ate most of the meat. I'm such a glutton; the meat was practically in my mouth the moment it was placed down. My brother likes to wrap it in lettuce and dip it in some barbecue sauce.

My brother asked the auntie at the barbecue stall to put some meat on my plate several times, and then I shared it with him. He didn't mind at all; he just picked up his chopsticks and ate it.

What if we feed him?

I picked out a good-looking piece of meat, picked it up and let it sit for a while. Su Yu watched me like I was watching a play, not knowing what I was being coy about.

I carefully placed the meat near my brother's mouth, trying to appear casual.

Open your mouth and eat!

I ate it without even looking up!

During the rest of the meal, I felt a little lightheaded, while my brother remained as composed as ever.

In the end, I finished what my brother had left. When I picked up the fatty piece of meat that he had bitten off and put aside, my brother gave me a suspicious look.

I was puzzled and looked at him with the same questioning gaze, chewing the meat in my mouth as if asking him what was wrong.

It was the first time the two of us went out alone without my mom, and it felt really new. Usually, my mom gets impatient and tells us to leave after only five minutes in those boutiques. But today, with my brother, he told me to shop to my heart's content.

It smells so good! The fragrance in the boutique is making me dizzy. My brother went in before me, and it seems like he's become one with the scent.

As soon as I entered, I saw the hair ties and headbands that the girl was wearing. I have to say, they were really pretty. I picked up a heart-shaped crystal hair clip and looked at it from left to right.

The light shone on it, making it twinkle like a real gemstone.

My brother leaned over and said if I liked it, I should just take it. I'm a guy, okay? How can I wear this?!

I gently placed the hair clip under his bangs, my palms sweating slightly as I moved it. Su Yu was looking down at something else and didn't notice my little action.

When he looked up, the hair clip was just above his ear, at the position of his bangs.

Wow, if I were a guy, I would definitely fall in love with my brother.

?

I'm a man.

That's even stranger.

In the end, Su Yu bought us a lot of daily necessities. He has a good eye, and I followed him around choosing. Originally, the shopping basket was in his hands, but as more and more things piled up, I grabbed it and carried it. He even patted my head and said I was sensible.

The mall is huge! My brother led me around the first floor, and I looked up at the seemingly endless rooftop. Eight floors is so tall! I feel like I could shop with my brother for a lifetime and never get tired of it.

I came across the cream puffs I'd been craving for ages, and they were 24 yuan each? Are the creams made of gold? But the aroma of butter was irresistible, and I couldn't help but swallow hard.

Su Yu bought it for me, but at the time I didn't know he only had 15 yuan left in his wallet. The first bite I got had to be given to my good brother, but now that I think about it, that's not right, because my brother didn't get any cream. I should have sucked the cream out first before giving it to him.

Then my brother probably won't... eat it.

But I didn't get to eat much; my clothes ate it all.

I dragged my brother to the bathroom, and when we came out and looked in the mirror, the front of my clothes was covered in oozing filling.

Pistachio green liquid trickled down my collar without my noticing, and neither did my brother. I walked ostentatiously through the crowded shopping mall like that.

When in doubt, call for your brother first. My yelling brought Su Yu out to find me before she had even finished pulling up her pants. Then, half-laughing and half-crying, she dragged me into a cubicle to change my clothes.

Whoever is going shopping should bring clothes. Su Yu took off his jacket and gave it to me to wear, putting the dirty ones in the shopping bag. He then went out wearing just a short-sleeved shirt.

I remember that holiday was incredibly hot; the air conditioning in the mall was really blasting.

So Su Yu developed a fever and felt dizzy for about a week.

It all started when I was sleeping one night and dreamt I was in a tropical rainforest one minute and in the Arctic the next. A gentle breeze would blow every now and then, and in just five minutes I experienced all four seasons. When I opened my eyes, I saw my brother huffing and puffing next to me.

I thought it was just a normal little movement while sleeping, so I didn't pay much attention. But the frequency kept increasing, and I felt a little uncomfortable listening to his voice.

When Su Yu turned on the nightlight, her face turned as red as a monkey's bottom.

I patted the monkey's butt: "Brother...brother?"

Su Yu's breathing became heavier a few times.

"Brother! Brother! Ahhhhh!" I held his head and shook it left and right like a rattle, as if my brother would never wake up again.

I shook Su Yu's hair so much it was a mess; if I were a bird, I would have nested right there.

The child pushed up his glasses without even opening his eyes, but who sleeps with glasses on? Realizing something was wrong, he chuckled.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night?" Su Yu slapped me across the face, then turned and went back to sleep. Leaving me bewildered in the darkness, he had no idea I almost experienced the pain of losing a loved one… Heartless…

The next day, my mother took my brother to a small clinic. I was still sleepy and stretched out my arm but couldn't reach anything. When I sat up, I saw my mother and Su Yu packing things in the living room. After arranging my brother's IV drip, they went home to cook.

What did my brother eat for lunch?

"Look how worried you are. Your brother didn't have an appetite at noon. I'll see if I can cook some porridge for him tonight."

In the afternoon, I bought fresh pork wontons and grilled sausages to treat my brother. On the way, I felt like a food deliveryman.

"Oh my... a sickly beauty..." The clinic was as cold as an icebox. I don't know if my brother was referring to her as a sickly beauty or an ice beauty when I opened the door.

Su Yu glanced at me with her eyes open, then tilted her head and fell asleep again.

Hey, hey, hey, the water's almost gone! How dare you sleep like this!

I put the delicacies on the small table next to my brother, then turned around and went to find the nurse to change his water.

It turns out this is the last bottle. Su Yu is still not awake. Well, there's nothing I can do but press on the injection site for him.

The young master woke up, and the wontons were no longer too hot. I put on my butler's act and served my brother his meal. There was still half a bowl of soup left, and I was just about to bite off pieces of the grilled sausage to make it easier for my brother to eat.

He saw it and said he was full.

I can eat it myself.

The teeth marks are a bit disgusting...

I forgot that my mom was going to cook porridge. By this time, my brother had already eaten the wontons, so I bought a steamed bun and urged him to at least eat some.

When I got home, I saw my mother busy in the kitchen. There was a bowl of hot, thick white porridge on the table. I couldn't refuse her hospitality, so my brother gave me another bowl.

When I had only one sip left, I caught a glimpse of him looking at me resentfully out of the corner of my eye.

He kicked me awake in the middle of the night and made me rub his stomach to help him digest.

Yes, Master, I'm coming right away.

My mom used to touch her nose to my brother's nose when taking his temperature, so I started touching my brother's nose to imitate her.

After rubbing his stomach, I wanted to take my brother's temperature, so I went around the blanket and lifted up the front of his hair.

The first touch landed on my brother's forehead; it was hot.

The second time, the stick was placed in my brother's eye, and he slapped me.

The third time I pressed my nose against my brother's, his breath went into my nose.

A drop of water in my heart exploded into ripples that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"What are you doing, Yu Yu... I'm really sleepy..."

Su Yu turned her head to the side and fell asleep, leaving me alone in the night.

I thought again of the fragrance I smelled while shopping and my brother's silhouette.

After filling out my college application, my brother and I went to the same high school.

Yay! (*I`*)

He's in the class next to mine, so-so.

My father carried the bedding and bundles, my mother carried the pots and pans, and I pulled the suitcase.

Of course, it's mine and my brother's. My brother's hands are only good for writing, drawing, and hitting me; the red mark left by his hands is a testament to my incompetence.

We're in the same dorm! What a coincidence! ^^

High school is sooooo painful! It starts off so serious, like the college entrance exam is tomorrow. I can't take it anymore. I'm going to find my brother after class.

School had just started, and nobody knew anyone. There weren't many people in the hallway, so I sneaked over to the window of my brother's classroom. Su Yu spotted me immediately and quietly came out. Most people were asleep, but my brother was full of energy.

"Hey, it's all my fault for not checking things out for you in high school first. Why don't you repeat a year? I'll see how it goes first."

I glanced at my brother sideways; he shrugged.

High school life is too boring, so I can only make the most of my first year.

So I learned to smoke from my deskmate. I didn't dare let my brother know, partly because I felt it wasn't right, otherwise why would Cowen always make me poop in the bathroom every time I smoked?

A very strange smell...

On the other hand, there's Su Yu's authority as my eldest brother. An elder brother is like a father, and my fat old man is even slightly inferior to my dear older brother.

That was the first time I "ate the forbidden fruit." When Cowen passed that cigarette from between his fingers to mine, I felt like we were making some kind of forbidden deal.

The smoke gradually spread, and I choked on it. Cowen just patted me on the shoulder.

From that moment on, I went further and further down the path of "not following the right path".

"Su Yu, run over here."

I must have thought for three seconds before saying "run," or "get lost."

It's too vulgar for him to say.

As I jogged to his side, Su Yu grabbed my wrist, pulling me a step. He then flipped my palm over, squeezed my hand, pried open my fingers, and brought it to his nose to smell.

"That's good, Su Yu can smoke now."

Holy crap.

"Did you learn it on your own or was someone else teaching you?"

He shook my hand off.

"I was just curious, just smoking for fun, bro."

I rubbed my fingers together, revealing a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Take care of yourself, Su Yu." My brother left, the setting sun casting a long shadow over his back.

Hey, I'm standing on my brother's head.

In the following days, my brother barely spoke to me, which made the problem seem very serious.

Or perhaps he saw me, but only gave me a glance before going off to chat and laugh with his classmates.

Between smoking and my brother, the choice is obvious.

I started to intentionally or unintentionally run into him, figuring out where he would suddenly appear and then waiting there.

Then another handsome guy appeared, either with a book in his hand or walking with a seemingly upright student. But he still ignored me, as if it were the biggest mistake of his life.

I only took a puff of smoke. I wasn't the only one who smoked in high school. Others smoked in more varied ways and were more proficient than me.

I mustn't have this thought. If I do, I'll no longer be a faithful follower of my brother. I can't betray my master!

...

This idea seems even more serious.