Liu Zixi grew increasingly aggrieved as she spoke, tears streaming down her face. But the person she was facing wasn't her, the sister he supposedly should care about. From the moment she arrived until now, Liu Zixi hadn't asked Xiang Wan what illness she had, when she fell ill, when she woke up, or what precautions she should take. She only knew to relentlessly blame her sister for not informing him. One wonders what kind of image Liu Zixi projected in Nangong Chen's eyes.

Nangong Chen's disapproval was interpreted as disgust by Liu Zixi, making her even more aggrieved and angry. She stomped her foot and ran out. Nangong Chen frowned and glanced at her, but remained standing still.

"Aren't we going to go after him? I'm worried something might happen to him."

Xiang Wan asked softly, a self-reproachful bitter smile on her face.

"He's not sick, so we don't need to worry about him."

As Nangong Chen spoke, he sat down on the chair by the bed.

"Oh, it's my fault, I spoiled Zixi."

"I'm about to graduate, and it's time to learn to grow up."

"I'm so reluctant to let him go! I'm worried that he won't be close to me when he grows up, but I'm also worried that he'll suffer when he's not grown up. Isn't that a dilemma?"

"…Won't."

“You know what? I used to envy people who had younger sisters. I thought if I had a younger sister, I would dress her up like a little princess. Later, when Zixi was born, I was very happy because this little brother is beautiful and well-behaved. I wanted to give him all the good things and couldn't bear to see him suffer any setbacks. But now it seems that I may have been a little too protective of him.”

Nangong Chen remained silent for a long time before looking into Xiang Wan's eyes and saying earnestly, "Being your younger brother must be very happy."

"Really? Zixi said something similar before, but..."

"You're a very responsible older sister."

"If I could, I would protect him forever, with my life!"

Nangong Chen had never heard Xiang Wan say such a thing before. His eyes welled up with emotion, but it took him a long time to calm down.