An Unexpected Reunion and a Childhood Memory

“S-Siyi, so it’s you… Haha, what a delightful coincidence.”

Moments later, Su Xiao Yu waved a hand in our direction, offering a cheerful greeting.

Chen Si Yi, still clinging to me, paused for a beat. Regaining her composure, she offered a polite smile. “Oh, Xiao Yu-jie! What a coincidence. Are you working here?”

“Mhm,” Su Xiao Yu replied, a hint of bashfulness in her voice as she scratched her head. “This is my cousin’s shop. I just come to lend a hand whenever they get swamped on the weekends.”

Indeed, I had neglected to mention it earlier, but Chen Si Yi and Su Xiao Yu were, in fact, old acquaintances.

One could say their friendship blossomed on Chen Si Yi’s very first weekend at my house, when she was just seven. Su Xiao Yu had come over to play with me, and the two instantly clicked.

I still vaguely recall that young Chen Si Yi was quite the crybaby back then. One particular day, Su Xiao Yu and I were absorbed in building blocks in my room when her cries suddenly echoed from the living room. Startled, we dashed out, inadvertently knocking over the meticulously constructed block tower.

The reason, it turned out, was simple: Chen Si Yi, unable to reach the snacks atop the cabinet, had climbed onto a chair and accidentally tumbled off, scraping her knee. Denied her treats and now injured, she pursed her lips, her small face crumpling into a heartbroken cry.

Much like the present, our parents back then were perpetually occupied with work, rarely home during the day. As for me, I possessed no common sense regarding wound care, and it was my first time witnessing Chen Si Yi in such inconsolable tears. For a moment, I was utterly bewildered, simply standing frozen in place.

Fortunately, despite being roughly my age, Su Xiao Yu was significantly more mature than I was at that moment.

Spotting Chen Si Yi crouched on the floor, softly weeping, Su Xiao Yu immediately knelt beside her, a picture of a doting elder sister. She gently caressed Chen Si Yi’s head, and once the child’s sobs began to subside, she helped her onto the sofa. Leaning in, she tenderly wiped away the tears from Chen Si Yi’s eyes before setting to work on the scraped knee.

“This might sting a bit, so try to be brave, okay?”

Su Xiao Yu gently dabbed around Chen Si Yi’s knee with a tissue, then opened the medical kit. Dipping a cotton swab into iodine, she meticulously applied it to the broken skin, where a trickle of blood still seeped.

“Mmm…呜呜…”

Throughout the process, Chen Si Yi kept her eyes clamped shut, not daring to even lift her head. Her brow remained furrowed, and faint, pained whimpers occasionally escaped her lips.

Only after Su Xiao Yu had finished disinfecting and affixed a small, cat-patterned bandage to her knee did Chen Si Yi tentatively open her eyes. Her lips quivered as she spoke, a shy tremor in her voice. “Th-thank you, big sister.”

“Haha, no need to thank me, it’s nothing!” Hearing the grateful words, Su Xiao Yu set down the medical kit. She turned, a doting smile on her face, and gently ruffled Chen Si Yi’s hair.

“My name is Su Xiao Yu. What’s yours?”

“M-my name is Chen Si Yi…” Chen Si Yi, still curled protectively on the sofa, replied with a shy whisper. “I’m… I’m Lin Yan’s sis… sister.”

“Oh, I knew it! So you’re Lin Yan’s little sister!”

At these words, Su Xiao Yu’s eyes immediately sparkled with delight. Placing both hands on Chen Si Yi’s shoulders, she declared with a serious air, “Then, little Siyi, from this moment on, we’re the best of friends, alright? You can just call me Xiao Yu!”

Chen Si Yi, still displaying her reserved nature, took a moment, her lips twitching slightly, before she finally spoke again. “O-okay. Xiao Yu… big sister.”

From that day forward, Su Xiao Yu and Chen Si Yi became inseparable, the closest of sisters. Whenever Su Xiao Yu visited my home, Chen Si Yi would eagerly rush to her, showering her with cries of ‘Xiao Yu-jie!’ ‘Xiao Yu-jie!’ As they embraced, I was invariably left to the side, feeling quite neglected.

Recalling how close Siyi and Xiao Yu were back then, like true sisters, fills me with a touch of bittersweet nostalgia.

For reasons unknown, their relationship took a dramatic turn for the worse once my sister entered junior high. Though neither of them overtly displayed it, having watched them grow up, I knew there was an irreconcilable rift forming between them—a fissure that had developed entirely unnoticed by me.

‘Could it have been the onset of adolescence?’

I silently entertained this conjecture, then swiftly reined in my wandering thoughts.

For Chen Si Yi and Su Xiao Yu, having exhausted their awkward small talk and finding no new topics, had finally turned their attention—and their gaze—squarely upon me.

“Oh my, what an adorable little one…”

Su Xiao Yu cast a quick glance my way, then dramatically widened her eyes, covering her mouth with a hand as she feigned surprise. “Such an adorable little sister! Siyi, could she possibly be *your* sister?”

‘Honestly, Xiao Yu, your acting still leaves much to be desired. While my loli form is undeniably petite, it’s not *that* diminutive that you’d only just now be noticing!’

‘And more importantly, just like always, your earlobes flush an unmistakable crimson whenever you lie. It’s fortunate Chen Si Yi hasn’t caught on, or your deception would have been exposed ages ago!’

“Ha-haha, y-yes, that’s right.”

Su Xiao Yu’s abrupt shift in topic momentarily flustered Chen Si Yi. She awkwardly twitched the corner of her mouth. Under the collective gaze of everyone present, she quite naturally ruffled my hair, then her finger glided down my cheek, slowly coming to rest upon my lips.

‘Mmm… mmm mmm?’ A soft pressure on my lips finally jolted me back to awareness. I tried to speak, but it was already too late.

‘Wait, what? Chen Si Yi actually covered my mouth?’