“Ultimately, it still falls to you, doesn’t it? Well, now do you understand just how important you are?” Xia Luohua asked, a wide smile gracing her lips as she clapped Luo Tianchen’s shoulder with considerable force.
“You’re simply trying to shift all the blame onto me, aren’t you? I get it, I was about to say—”
“I refuse.” His sister, Luo Tianlian, forcefully interjected, cutting off his words.
“Oh? This is hardly the moment for childish antics. Without his assistance, this entire city could face utter destruction. Are you truly prepared to accept that?” Xia Luohua inquired, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow arching upwards.
“And what of it?” Luo Tianlian shrieked, her voice rising to a hysterical pitch. “If this city falls, we’ll simply move to the next. If this nation crumbles, we’ll find another. Ultimately, my brother was merely dragged into this mess by all of you. What right do you have to demand his help? Why must every single one of you constantly depend on him alone?”
“Actually, I’m quite alright…” Luo Tianchen attempted to interject, trying to soothe the escalating tension.
“Brother, just shut up!” Luo Tianlian exploded, a rare fury blazing in her eyes. Usually, her demeanor towards him ranged from bossy to mildly tsundere, making the intensity of her current anger startlingly clear. “It’s precisely because you’re always so kind and gentle that those women take advantage of you! Do you not understand? These people only draw close to you because they want to exploit you! In the end, they’ll simply drain you dry and then cast you aside! This time, the last time, the time before that—it’s been the same, every single time! Do you even possess a working brain? How many times must you be deceived before you finally learn your lesson?”
“That’s enough! They haven’t done anything wrong; I acted purely because I wished to!” Luo Tianchen retorted, his own temper beginning to fray. It was one thing for her to be demanding at home, but to put on airs like this when they were out? Did she even have any respect for him as her older brother?
Luo Tianlian gazed at him, stunned, as if she couldn’t quite believe he had actually raised his voice at her.
“Oh dear, both of you, please try to calm down a little…” Bingying interjected, flustered, attempting to mediate the heated exchange.
“Bingying, you keep quiet too. This girl has been utterly spoiled by me; she no longer knows her place or who’s older. If I don’t properly educate her, my dignity as an elder brother will vanish entirely!” Luo Tianchen declared, leaping from the bed.
He stalked menacingly towards his sister. Luo Tianlian instinctively recoiled a step, a flicker of fear in her eyes, yet her defiance remained. “W-what are you trying to do?” she stammered.
“Heh heh, you’ll discover soon enough!” Luo Tianchen sneered, his steps deliberate as he advanced closer to her.
“I-I’m your sister, you know!” Luo Tianlian protested, a hint of desperation in her voice.
“And what does being my sister have to do with anything? Before the law, everyone is equal; if you commit a wrong, you must face the consequences!”
“N-no, don’t!” She spun around, attempting to flee, but Luo Tianchen’s hand shot out, seizing her by the back of her collar.
“It’s too late for regrets now! Prepare to face the judgment of justice!” Luo Tianchen declared dramatically.
He pulled her into a tight embrace, then his hands darted towards her… armpits, and began to tickle her mercilessly.
“Nooooooo! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
“Heh heh, I know your greatest weakness—you’re incredibly ticklish! How about it? Are you scared now?”
“T-t-this k-k-kind of l-l-level, I’m n-n-not s-s-scared at all!” she stammered, her voice breathless with laughter.
“Your voice is trembling like that, yet you still dare to be so stubborn. Very well, allow me to demonstrate my ultimate skill, a secret technique long lost to the martial world—the Divine Tickle Art!”
“What in the world is that ridiculous name, hahahaha!”
“It really should just be playful sibling banter…” Xia Luohua murmured.
“Yet, for some reason, it appears…” Bingying added, trailing off.
“It looks…” Lili chimed in, completing the thought.
“Quite… erotic, actually,” the three women declared in perfect unison.
‘What are you three perverted individuals even thinking? This is merely an older brother disciplining his disobedient younger sister; it truly is nothing more than that, alright?’
In less than a moment, Luo Tianlian was flushed, her limbs utterly devoid of strength, and she had collapsed in a heap on the floor. Luo Tianchen chose to disregard the somewhat questionable optics of the situation.
He ceased his relentless tickling, a triumphant grin spreading across his face. “How about it? Do you finally know who’s in charge now?”
“…Hmph!” Luo Tianlian huffed, turning her head away in utter humiliation.
“Now, apologize to them at once.”
“Never!”
“Still so defiant? Do you want me to start over again?”
“Go on, do it! I dare you, do it!” Luo Tianlian challenged, craning her neck defiantly. “I clearly said nothing wrong! Why do you constantly take the side of those strange women? I’m your actual family!”
Luo Tianchen paused, taken aback by her outburst. “I don’t care what antics you pull at home, but out here, you need to behave yourself. Stop acting like the world revolves around you, as if everyone owes you something. You need to consider the feelings of others…”
“And what about you?” Her voice suddenly dropped to a near whisper. “Did you ever consider *my* feelings? Tell me, do you still remember what happened six years ago?”
Luo Tianchen fell silent. To be frank, he remembered absolutely nothing from that time. He only had a faint, lingering sensation of having been involved in some kind of investigation.
According to the doctors, he had been struck head-on by a large truck, and it was a miracle he hadn’t ended up in a vegetative state, let alone merely suffering amnesia. Yet, he personally harbored deep skepticism about this official narrative.
He had meticulously investigated the day of his accident. A heavy snowfall had occurred, and a passerby had fortuitously discovered him, covered in blood.
Crucially, there were no tracks of any other people or vehicles in his vicinity. Given that he was still visible, the snow couldn’t have been so heavy as to completely obscure a car or footprints.
His severe injuries, he concluded, were highly likely caused by an entirely different, undisclosed reason. This persistent question had plagued him, only now beginning to find an answer.
If Xia Luohua’s information proved accurate, he had been ensnared in another ‘Witch’s Game’ six years prior, leading to his amnesia. Subsequently, he had traveled abroad for treatment, where he encountered Yue and resolved to live as an ordinary person, leaving his past behind.
Was it fate, then? Six years later, he found himself once again entangled in a ‘Witch’s Game.’ While a large part of his motivation was to save Bingying, a smaller, more personal reason was the rare chance to finally uncover the truth of what happened six years ago.
Naturally, he couldn’t confess this private motive to anyone. From his sister’s perspective, he must appear utterly naive, completely duped by other women.
“I remember it, oh, I’ll probably never forget it for my entire life,” Luo Tianlian whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “That day, Mom and Dad were at home, preparing dinner, planning to wait for you, Big Brother, so we could celebrate Christmas together. The phone rang, and I happily went to answer it, only to find it was a critical condition notice for you… Mom and Dad panicked; they ran through several red lights on the way, and the car got scratched in multiple places. When we finally rushed to the hospital, we found you, Big Brother, lying on the bed, covered in blood, your face terrifyingly pale, your breathing ragged and intermittent, your heart having even stopped once. Do you know? I was so incredibly scared then, terrified of suddenly losing you. At night, I didn’t dare to close my eyes, afraid that if I fell asleep, I would never see you again…”
A warm, wet sensation, drop by drop, landed on Luo Tianchen’s hand. He instinctively understood. Gently, he turned her face towards him, only to discover that his sister was openly weeping.
“It went on like that for over half a month; Mom and Dad even stopped going to work. It took you so long to finally wake up, and the first thing you asked was, ‘Where am I? Who are you?’ The doctors explained it was a sequela of the car accident. After that, your health never fully recovered. We went to America for your treatment, and then *that* kind of thing happened again…” Luo Tianlian continued, wiping away her tears as she spoke.
“I’m truly sorry, I genuinely don’t remember any of it…” Luo Tianchen confessed, his voice laced with regret.
“No, that’s not right,” Luo Tianlian immediately corrected him. “It’s not your fault, Big Brother; it’s entirely the fault of those who try to exploit you!”
She then turned her gaze towards Bingying and the others, her expression suddenly transforming into something truly terrifying. “So, what about all of you? Are you merely like those other women, only intending to use my brother? If that’s the case, then even if it pains him, I will kill every single one of you, do you understand?”
“No, no, that’s not it at all! I keep telling you, it was all my own choice…” Luo Tianchen stammered, his words rushed. ‘How should I put this? My sister’s current demeanor is a little frightening… It would be wise not to anger her further.’
“Then, Big Brother, do you still recall the promise we made before coming to this city?”
“…To avoid trouble and focus solely on recovering from my injuries.”
“And have you upheld that promise?”
Luo Tianchen glanced down at the bandages covering his body, then slowly shook his head. “…No,” he admitted.
“Exactly. Therefore, I’ve made my decision. The day after tomorrow, we’re moving. We’ll leave this place and go to a new city. I already bought our tickets before we even arrived, secured a moving company, and arranged for our new residence. Our transfer applications will be submitted to the schools within the next few days, so there’s absolutely no need to worry,” Luo Tianlian declared, her tone utterly unequivocal.
“Eh? You’re joking, right? How could you possibly arrange all that so quickly?” Bingying exclaimed in astonishment.
‘No, no, you completely misunderstand my sister,’ Luo Tianchen thought to himself. ‘She’s the type of person who appears to do nothing on the surface, but in reality, she’s already meticulously prepared everything behind the scenes. It’s entirely possible she had already planned this move since the day I became a girl, merely deciding to accelerate the timeline after what happened yesterday.’
“By the way, your name is Bingying, correct? You like my brother, don’t you?” Luo Tianlian suddenly blurted out.
“Eh, eh, eh? L-l-like him? I haven’t… yet… But, a sister is family, isn’t she? So, does this mean Tianchen and I are meeting the family?” Bingying’s face instantly flushed a deep red.
‘Whoa, whoa, do you really have to be so obvious? Even I’m getting a little embarrassed here.’
“…It seems my guess was correct. Then, could I ask you to stop doing things that might trouble him? One must take responsibility for their own actions. Since this was your choice, you should have been prepared for the consequences, shouldn’t you? You wouldn’t want to see him get hurt again, would you? If you truly care for his well-being, you should understand that letting him leave here is the best option.”
“I…” Bingying started to speak, but no words escaped her lips.
“And you, Goldilocks.” Luo Tianlian’s gaze shifted to Xia Luohua. “Ultimately, all this mess was caused by that maid of yours, wasn’t it? And aren’t you supposed to be some kind of ‘Witch Hunter’? If you’re truly that powerful, then go complete that ridiculous test yourself, or do you only know how to rely on men like a parasite?”
“Hey, hey, you really dare to say that, you little runt?” A vein throbbed on Xia Luohua’s forehead.
“Ha? Try saying that again if you dare?” Luo Tianlian’s lips twitched with anger.
“Alright, alright, aren’t we discussing something else entirely right now? Let’s not quarrel over trivial names,” Luo Tianchen quickly interjected, seeing their conversation veering off topic.
“Without him, tens of millions of people in this city could die. Can you bear that responsibility?”
“So what? Aside from my brother, even if everyone else died, what concern is it of mine? I wouldn’t just stand by; if necessary, I would personally kill them.”
‘Whoa, whoa, young lady, your thoughts are a bit dangerous. And have you forgotten about Mom and Dad? Well, I might have forgotten a bit too… but that’s not the point. Can’t you two just take a break? I’m exhausted just watching.’
The two glared at each other for a long moment. Realizing neither could persuade the other, Xia Luohua proposed, “Since that’s the case, why don’t we let Luo Tianchen choose for himself? To ensure you accept your defeat gracefully, I’ll state upfront: no matter what he chooses, I will absolutely not take any action that harms him. Does that work for you? What do you think?”
“Eh?” Bingying jumped, stuttering nervously. “Well, I don’t have any objections either. Although I really want him to stay… I also don’t want him to get hurt because of me again… So, it’s probably best to let him choose for himself…”
“I have no objections either… So… what will you choose, Big Brother?” Luo Tianlian asked coldly.
“Tianchen?” Bingying said, her voice filled with worry.
“Luo Tianchen?” Xia Luohua said confidently.
The three women simultaneously looked at Luo Tianchen.
‘Eh?’
‘Why did things escalate to this point?’
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‘There’s no option to not choose, it seems.’
‘In that case, I choose…’