Chapter 40 Pinky Promise: Brother will never abandon his sister, and neither will she...

Jin Shiyu's long eyelashes trembled slightly as she wondered how to get her younger sister to speak first.

Jin Suiqing was still thinking about how to deal with Jin Shiyu, but Jin Shiyu slowly let go of her hand, straightened up, took a step back, and distanced herself from her.

Jin Suiqing looked at him with suspicion, and when she saw Jin Shiyu smile, she said, "Sister, don't you want to talk about it?"

Jin Suiqing cried out in alarm, for Jin Shiyu was about to unleash that move again.

She anxiously reached out to grab his hand.

Jin Shiyu subtly dodged the question: "It's alright. As I've grown up, I naturally have my own thoughts and ideas. If I don't tell my brother, he shouldn't have any complaints."

Jin Suiqing quickly called out to him, "Brother, it's not that I don't want to talk about it."

Jin Shiyu lowered his head, glancing at her with a nonchalant look. Jin Suiqing was very familiar with this look; it was Jin Shiyu using the tactic of feigning retreat to manipulate her again.

Knowing it was a trap, Jin Suiqing had no choice but to jump in: "Brother, I lost a contest with my new classmate to assemble magical weapons. The magical dog exploded and covered my face in dust."

Jin Shiyu took out a handkerchief and placed it in her hand: "Are you hurt?"

Jin Suiqing quickly shook his head.

Jin Shiyu smiled gently and said, "Alright, wipe it off. If it's alright, then brother will go back to class."

Jin Shiyu turned around without looking back, and Jin Suiqing stared at his broad back, stunned for a moment.

Is this still the father, Kim Si-ok?

Why didn't they immediately pester her with questions, or force her to go home to check her injuries? Instead, they just gave her a handkerchief and told her to wipe it herself.

Jin Suiqing sensed something was amiss; he seemed not to believe her, and blurted out in a panic, "Brother? Don't go."

Kim Shi-ok continued walking forward, just as resolutely as when he left that morning.

Feeling even more threatened, Jin Suiqing took off running and caught up with Jin Shiyu in a few strides. He hugged him tightly around the waist and clenched his hands around his abdomen, shouting, "Brother!"

Jin Shiyu was using this method to pressure her again. Jin Suiqing couldn't talk nonsense now, so she could only tell the truth: "Yes, I provoked the new classmate, and..."

Kim Shi-ok turned his head: "Again?"

Jin Suiqing buried her face in his back. Jin Shiyu's waistline was beautiful; Jin Suiqing had seen it many times before. The muscles on both sides of his waist formed deep ravines, so beautiful they could hold wine. Jin Suiqing pressed her face against that ravine and took a deep breath. The bitter fragrance emanating from Jin Shiyu made her dizzy, as if she had drunk wine hidden there. Taking advantage of her dizziness, Jin Suiqing spoke the truth.

She said in a low voice, "I used this incident to open a betting platform and made some money."

"Did you lose on purpose?"

Jin Suiqing rubbed his soft cheek against his lower back. He felt a little itchy and knew that Jin Suiqing was admitting it.

Kim Shi-ok lowered his eyelashes; for him, this was not difficult to guess.

My younger sister is assertive but not domineering; she won't provoke anyone for no reason. If she's not injured, she'll cling to him, using her charm and pitifulness to appease him, instead of just staring blankly at him like she did earlier, answering his questions without asking.

Jin Shiyu didn't know what level the newcomer Huang Tufeng was at, or how Jin Suiqing deliberately lost the competition, but she inexplicably thought of discovering that Jin Suiqing had sleepwalked as a child and frantically wiped away the lines on the ground after seeing him.

He knew his sister was faking her sleepwalking, but he couldn't understand what she was drawing on the ground when she was squatting down.

At 1 p.m. today, it seems that Jin Shiyu has made some progress.

It appears to be some kind of mechanical structure.

As his blood rushed to his head, Jin Shiyu felt a little dizzy. He looked down at the arm wrapped around his waist and said in a frosty tone, "Let go."

Jin Suiqing couldn't figure out what Jin Shiyu was thinking. She only wanted to make sure that the goodwill she had worked so hard to cultivate wouldn't just fly away like that. Jin Suiqing tried even harder: "I won't let go. If you let go, brother will leave."

Jin Shiyu grabbed her wrist and pulled it away forcefully, trying to continue walking forward. Jin Suiqing panicked, took big strides to Jin Shiyu, opened her arms, and cried with tears in her eyes: "Brother, you can't go."

Jin Suiqing cried, "Brother said I did something wrong, and I'll change it, but brother won't say anything. He always turns around and leaves without saying a word. It was like this in the morning, and it's like this now. Brother is always like this!"

Seeing Jin Suiqing's tearful eyes, Jin Shiyu closed his eyes, hiding his anger, sighed, bent down and squatted in front of Jin Suiqing, raising his hand to wipe her tears.

He realized it.

His younger sister was hiding many things from him, a great many things, from childhood to adulthood, countless things.

But seeing Jin Suiqing's tears, Jin Shiyu's heart softened. He sighed, cupped Jin Suiqing's face, and said, "Am I always like this?"

Jin Suiqing nodded.

Jin Shiyu raised her eyes: "Does my sister want to know why I am like this?"

Jin Suiqing was stunned by his question.

She seemed to have never thought about this question.

Intuition told Jin Suiqing that the answer to this question was unsafe. Jin Suiqing's hair stood on end. She avoided Jin Shiyu's gaze and carefully shook her head: "No... I don't want to know. I just don't want my brother to continue doing this."

He couldn't help but sneer inwardly; his sister had actually said it like that.

Jin Shiyu forcefully held her face, forcing Jin Suiqing to look him in the eye, and guided her to say, "You don't want to know why I'm angry, and you don't want me to do this either. You're so domineering, little sister."

Jin Suiqing realized that Jin Shiyu still wanted to hear the truth from her, but mistakenly thought that the previous truth had not satisfied him. Afraid that he would turn around and leave if she told him, Jin Suiqing quickly wrapped her arms around Jin Shiyu's neck and locked him in place to prevent him from leaving.

After hesitating for a moment, Jin Suiqing whispered, "I deliberately lost to my classmate because I wanted money."

This is not the truth that Kim Shi-ok wants to hear.

But he knew that today was enough; pushing his sister too far would not do any good.

Delicious food should be savored slowly, and fine wine should be enjoyed gradually.

Following Jin Suiqing's movements, Jin Shiyu pulled her into his arms. Jin Suiqing knew that this meant Jin Shiyu would not pursue the matter further, so she hugged Jin Shiyu even tighter and said coquettishly, "Brother, I was wrong."

Jin Shiyu snorted contentedly, "What's wrong with that?"

Jin Suiqing racked her brains: "Should I have lost on purpose?"

Jin Shiyu smiled, and his posture caused his breath to tickle Jin Suiqing's neck. She shrank her neck, and her cheek brushed against Jin Shiyu's nose, feeling cool. Jin Suiqing tried to dodge, but he held the back of her head, letting Jin Shiyu rub against her to his heart's content.

Jin Suiqing was stunned and dared not move. When did Jin Shiyu take the initiative to be intimate with her?

Jin Shiyu said, "Tell me if you need money, and I'll give it to you."

Jin Suiqing stared blankly: "Give me whatever you want?"

“I’ll give you whatever it takes,” Jin Shiyu said firmly. “I raised my sister, so I will naturally take care of her in the future.”

Jin Suiqing thought in a daze, forget about the money, does Jin Shiyu's words mean that his favorability has increased even further?

Taking advantage of the situation, Jin Suiqing pondered for a moment, made up her mind, and leaned back to avoid Jin Shiyu. Jin Shiyu wouldn't let go, so she could only lean against his shoulder. Looking into Jin Shiyu's eyes, Jin Suiqing made one last tentative question: "Brother, if I weren't your sister, would you still take care of me?"

Jin Suiqing wanted to know if Jin Shiyu's words would still hold true if her identity were exposed at a future plot point.

Jin Shiyu felt a sinking feeling in his heart, a mixture of pain and soreness.

Not the younger sister?

What could that be?

If she weren't his sister, what would his relationship with Jin Suiqing be? How would he have met Jin Suiqing? How would he have raised her? And how would he have used blood ties to bind Jin Suiqing to him?

no.

Jin Shiyu suppressed the turmoil in her heart, gritted her teeth, and pretended to be relaxed, saying, "Sister is joking. If you are not my sister, then who is? Probably not."

Jin Suiqing blinked.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't sad, but Jin Suiqing didn't ask for anything more. In fact, maintaining the current relationship was safer for her.

The resentment is not deep, the concern is somewhat shallow, and there will be no lingering attachment when things end.

That's perfect.

Thinking this way, Jin Suiqing felt a little more at ease.

In front of her, Kim Shi-ok extended his little finger and pointed it at her: "Pinky promise."

Jin Suiqing's heart jumped again, and she hesitated, "Pinky promise?"

“Yes,” Jin Shiyu said, losing patience as she waited for Jin Suiqing to reach out. He grabbed her hand and made a hook with her little finger, shaking it as he said with a smile, “Brother will never abandon sister, and sister cannot leave brother.”

Jin Suiqing couldn't do it, so she was naturally a little unwilling and lightly pulled her little finger away.

Whether intentionally or by chance, Kim Shi-ok hooked her with force, his long, beautiful little finger pressing down on her, preventing her from escaping.

Jin Shiyu locked his gaze on Jin Suiqing with his hands and eyes: "One hundred years, no changes allowed."

Under his silent urging, Jin Suiqing had no choice but to speak: "Unchanged for a hundred years."

Jin Shiyu said ominously, "My sister wouldn't lie to me, would she?"

Taking the opportunity, Jin Suiqing shook off his little finger, which was hooked with hers, and swore to the heavens: "I swear in the name of my deceased mother, Princess Qingyang, that I will not lie to my brother."

To Jin Suiqing, this statement was tantamount to uttering a fart.

Her mother wasn't Princess Qingyang; she'd been deceiving Jin Shiyu for a long time, so one more time wouldn't make a difference. Before Jin Suiqing could even observe Jin Shiyu's expression, Jin Shiyu, holding her hand, stood up: "Let's go."

Jin Suiqing asked in confusion, "Isn't brother going back to class?"

Jin Shiyu: "Let's skip today. Let me take you home first, wash your face, and change your clothes."

The system crashed in one day, bombarding her with a barrage of plot missions. Jin Suiqing was desperate to stay far away from the female lead, and upon hearing that she could go home, she jumped for joy. Before leaving, she turned back to look for Gong Xiaoyang, but this heartless and excellent employee had already run away and disappeared without a trace.

*In the suburban studio, Jin Suiqing held an account book and used an abacus.

When she realized that she had almost no harvest this month, Jin Suiqing slammed her hand on the table and jumped up, startling Huihong, who was sweeping. Huihong quickly came over and asked, "What's wrong, Little Princess?"

Jin Suiqing said dejectedly, "Since the black market blueprint trading stopped, the studio hasn't made any money for two months. Looking at the unchanged figures, I'm anxious."

Gong Xiaoyang, who was helping Jin Suiqing with her homework, pushed the stool next to him to Huihong. After she sat down, he pulled the snacks that Jin Suiqing was holding to her side. Without looking at Jin Suiqing the whole time, he said, "What are you worried about? You won't starve to death."

Jin Suiqing said, "You don't understand the pain of saving money only to find the numbers don't change."

“Yes, yes, I don’t understand,” Gong Xiaoyang rolled her eyes, then turned and picked up a piece of jujube blossom pastry and handed it to Huihong, saying softly, “Since the little princess is so worried that she can’t eat, Huihong, you can have it.”

Huihong couldn't refuse, so she took the pastry and started nibbling on it. Gong Xiaoyang put down his pen and turned to pour tea for Huihong.

When Huihong heard that Gong Xiaoyang had lost his parents at a young age, she felt very sorry for him. Fearing that a rough man like Gong Dagou would not be able to take good care of Xiaoyang, she took care of him as if he were her own younger brother.

Gong Xiaoyang, the younger brother, was very considerate; he even served Huihong warm tea. Seeing this, Jin Suiqing instructed Gong Xiaoyang, "Pour me a cup too."

Gong Xiaoyang sat down, crossed his legs, picked up the brush and twirled it between his fingers: "I don't care, I'll pour it myself."

Jin Suiqing glared at him and sneered, "What a character."

Fearing the two would start arguing, Huihong changed the subject, saying, "Why don't you ask Big Dog how the black market is doing now, Little Princess?"

Jin Suiqing shook his head: "Regardless of the situation on the black market, the blueprints must be sold."

Gong Xiaoyang frowned: "I feel like you've become more impatient. Are you that short of money?"

Jin Suiqing wanted to cry but had no tears.

After entering the main storyline, Jin Suiqing's sense of crisis increased sharply. The story missions were like a knife hanging over her head, which could fall at any time.

Who knows when I'll be kicked out of the house? Jin Suiqing nodded worriedly: "I'm desperately short of money. If I don't make any more money, my life will be in danger."

Gong Xiaoyang teased, "Didn't your brother say he'd take care of you? What are you worried about?"

Jin Suiqing didn't speak, but waved his hand with a wry smile.

Kim Si-ok said he wanted to take care of his younger sister.

But she is not his sister.

Author's Note: 7000 words delivered. This week's dark crawl is over. See you next week, everyone!

Mini-theater:

Now, brother: I will take care of my sister.

Future Brother: I will support my wife.

God Bro: With Qingqing's money-making skills, she doesn't need me to support her at all. [Clown]