Xie Shen: “…”
Great. His sweet, well-behaved little sister had already graduated from Xie Tangning’s school of comebacks. She now had absolutely no mercy when roasting her own brother.
The first thing out of her mouth was to twist the facts and spread rumors about her own brother!
She really was something!
He could practically foresee that, for a very long time to come, he might end up taking Lu Huaiyu’s place.
Becoming the second person in the brotherhood to lose all dignity!
Guo Wenli couldn’t hold back her laughter and began giving Xie Wanwan some terrible advice. “Wanwan, why don’t you check whether there are any cameras in the kitchen?”
“These precious images of early humans taming Little Pearl to suppress their emotions would be such a shame not to preserve!”
Xie Shen glared at the two of them. “Mom! You two are going too far!”
“With eyes like yours, you actually have the nerve to talk about me? Your eyes are swollen, your makeup is smudged, and your hair is a mess. The two of you could cosplay ghosts right here and now!”
“My slightly red eyes are only because I found it funny watching you two cry your eyes out just now!”
Xie Wanwan refused to back down. “Hmph! You’re obviously just talking tough because there aren’t any cameras in the kitchen!”
“Mom, believe me, he definitely shed some manly tears in secret! Sometimes he even gets a couple of Little Pearls in his eyes when he watches a touching video!”
“He was totally crying just now!”
Exposed by his little sister in front of their mother, Xie Shen was both embarrassed and furious. He gritted his teeth as he spoke.
“Xie Wanwan, if you dare keep spouting nonsense in front of Mom—”
“Don’t even think about eating the fried egg in your bowl!”
He then reached out to take the fried egg from her bowl.
Xie Wanwan immediately began whining and protecting her food, while Guo Wenli watched the two siblings play-fight with a warm, affectionate smile in her eyes.
This was good. This was exactly how things should be. Let it continue like this forever!
…
The Xie Family Estate
Early in the morning, Xie Changyu headed out dressed far more extravagantly than usual. The moment he opened his door, he ran into Xie Tangning, who was equally dolled up and ready to leave.
“An oatmeal-colored faux-layered shirt, hair gel, and cologne? Second Brother, are you heading out to set the streets on fire?”
Xie Tangning stroked her chin and circled him twice. Her second brother rarely dressed up so formally when going out.
She was beginning to suspect that this sneaky idiot was planning to go out and cause trouble!
Xie Changyu likewise stroked his chin and sized her up. “You’re not looking too shabby yourself! It’s only nine in the morning, and you’ve got an elaborate bun, plus a youthful, light-green miniskirt.”
“This clearly came courtesy of the stylist at home! Come on, tell me—who are you meeting today? Don’t tell me it’s those little brats from the show again?”
“I’m warning you, don’t meet Su Xiaoye privately these next few days. Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t be good for either of you.”
His sister usually looked just as polished as she did now, but when she went out with her group of fellow troublemakers, she would never dress up this carefully.
After all, that bunch went completely wild whenever they hung out. No matter how refined the styling was, it would be ruined in no time!
So Xie Tangning wouldn’t specially ask the stylist to do her hair before going out. She usually just tidied herself up a little.
That meant she definitely had something important to do today!
Xie Tangning headed downstairs with light steps. “I’m not meeting her. What, do you think my brain’s been eaten by zombies? Can’t I tell what’s urgent and what isn’t?”
Xie Changyu followed behind her, muttering, “How am I supposed to know whether you’ll suddenly get a fever and do something stupid?”
“Don’t you have plenty of history when it comes to pulling stupid stunts after your brain short-circuits?”
Xie Tangning shot him an indignant look. “Stop spreading rumors about me! You’re obviously the one who does stupid things more often!”
If he hadn’t taken the trouble to coordinate such a carefully styled outfit, she probably would have jumped up and given him the affectionate little smack he loved so much.
Xie Changyu received another eye-roll from his biological sister. He reached out, intending to give the child one of the playful knocks on the head she adored.
But when he saw her perfectly styled bun, his hand changed course. He ran it through his own stray hair instead.
Then, with silky smoothness, he launched into a hair-flick, wink, and flying-kiss combo that nearly made Xie Tangning throw up her dinner from the night before.
It made her want to smear poison on her tongue first thing in the morning. In fact, that was exactly what she did.
“Did you forget to wash your face before leaving this morning? Did you collect all the oil from your freshly woken face and dump it here?”
Roasting her second brother was just like a daily quest. She had to check it off every day!
Today’s mission: complete!
Xie Changyu bared his teeth in displeasure. “You’re the oily one! If that smooth little routine of mine were seen by my rabid fans, wouldn’t they all be completely smitten?”
Daily narcissism was a compulsory subject for the Xie children. The moment they woke up, they had to affirm their own excellence!
“Your old self is doing great today too!”
Xie Tangning ignored his boastful declaration and turned her head to ask, “Now tell me where you’re going! Are we heading in the same direction?”
As he pushed her toward the stairs by the shoulder, Xie Changyu answered cheerfully, “You know how Sister He and Brother Wang just got back from their graduation trip?”
“That bunch hadn’t seen me in ages and missed me terribly. The moment they got back, they couldn’t wait to ask me out! Just look at this charisma of mine—not everyone has it!”
“Haunted-house adventure in the morning, an anime convention in the afternoon, and a party venue at night. It’s a flawless schedule!”
Xie Tangning nodded without arguing with his self-praise. Instead, she said excitedly, “I’m going to the anime convention this afternoon too!”
“It’s the same one! Want to go together?”
She had met most of her second brother’s friends before. They were all wonderful people, and it would be nice to explore the convention together if they happened to run into one another.
Of course, there were a few exceptions.
For example, that “good buddy” who had already been sent to prison by their eldest brother. The three siblings had all been blind in that regard, completely misjudging him.
After all, they weren’t gods, and no one could see through every carefully constructed disguise. Human nature had always been difficult to fathom.
It was just like Lu Huaiyu in business—he still lost money from time to time!
“Then message me when you get there. As it happens, that pack of idiots was still talking about you in the group chat last night!”
Xie Changyu’s voice was filled with pride as he said this.
His friends absolutely adored his little sister. With a little sister as charming as her, how could he not be proud as her brother?
Xie Tangning grinned. “The older brothers and sisters are so nice! Ah, this irresistible charm of mine~”
Xie Changyu gave a couple of mocking laughs before pouring cold water on her. “Please. They sent me an entire truckload of gifts and didn’t send you a thing!”
“That proves my charm is greater than yours!”
Xie Tangning puffed out her cheeks, speechless. “Are you sick? They’re your friends, of course they sent the gifts to you instead of me!”
“Why do you have to compare everything? Keep acting like this and driving a wedge between us siblings, and I’ll tell Big Brother!”
Xie Changyu gave an annoyed “hmph.” “Twist my words like that again, and I might not give you the few little gifts that belong to you!”
He didn’t even want to mention that when he had finally finished unpacking the truckload of gifts at nearly midnight, he had discovered that several of them were actually delicate little trinkets meant for Xie Tangning.
They had probably thought the items were cute and interesting and sent them over to amuse the child.
Because that group of people genuinely liked Xie Tangning, this delightfully fun little girl.
Xie Tangning looked up in surprise. “Really? I knew all my sisters and brothers were the best!”
“You really have a good eye, Second Brother. You made such a great group of friends—so socially savvy and discerning!”
The two siblings chatted and laughed as they made their way downstairs, where they saw Auntie Zhong and the head chef serving breakfast. They greeted them cheerfully.
“Good morning, Auntie Zhong~ Uncle Nie~”
“Good morning, everyone~”
Hearing their voices, Auntie Zhong and Uncle Nie turned around and returned the greeting.
With Lu Huaiyu away at work, it was just the two siblings at home. After enjoying a warm and harmonious breakfast together, they left the house.
