A Brother’s Predicament: Sharing a Bed with My Sister

I am Lin Yan, and at this moment, I am utterly flustered.

As for the reason, it all began after I finished showering, when Chen Si Yi forcibly carried me into her bedroom.

—Whir, whir, whir—

The hairdryer’s incessant hum filled the room. I sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing my hands together, feeling quite abashed as I waited for Chen Si Yi to dry my hair.

“I’m so envious, Lin Yan, your hair is wonderfully smooth and soft~”

Chen Si Yi, her fingers gently stroking my hair, couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

“If only I could have a head of silver hair like this…”

‘No, no. If you like it so much, why not just ask Serena to transform you into a little girl? I, your older brother, would even make the sacrifice and let you have this body!’

Naturally, such thoughts could only remain unspoken, churning within me.

If I were to voice them, the ever-vigilant Chen Si Yi would undoubtedly suspect me of dishonesty, convinced I was plotting an escape.

At that point, not only would she restrict my freedom to move about the house, but I genuinely feared she might fetch a rope and bind me in the *kikkou-shibari* style, leaving me utterly immobile in the room all day, save for meals and bathroom breaks…

“Alright, your hair is dry. Let’s head to bed, Lin Yan.”

After nearly five more minutes, with one hand still holding the hairdryer and the other gently caressing my hair, Chen Si Yi finally ceased her ministrations. She stretched out her arm, extinguished the light, and plunged the entire room into immediate darkness.

In the ethereal gloom, I perceived only a slender, dark silhouette glide past me, followed by a distinct dip in the entire mattress.

‘Ah, it seems Chen Si Yi has already settled into bed. In that case, I should also…’

I found myself swallowing hard, yet the tension and anxiety remained, refusing to be quelled by a mere gulp.

How could I describe it? Though the darkness obscured my vision, a delicate fragrance permeated my nostrils, ceaselessly intruding upon my thoughts.

Indeed, the current circumstances were, by any measure, not conducive to maintaining composure or feigning indifference.

To have a beautiful girl sleeping beside me—and that beautiful girl being my own sister—it would be truly baffling if my mind weren’t in utter disarray.

While it was true we often slept close together as children, those were, after all, distant memories of childhood.

Moreover, in our childhood, it was always my sister who, out of fear, would seek refuge in my room. To be sleeping together in *her* room, however, was an entirely novel experience, and it was little wonder I felt so tense my face was almost paralyzed.

“Lin Yan, are you not asleep yet…?”

As I pondered this, Chen Si Yi’s voice suddenly emerged from behind me, startling me into a forward lurch that nearly sent me tumbling from the bed’s edge.

Thankfully, the room remained shrouded in dim light, and Chen Si Yi, having only registered my sudden movement, seemed oblivious to my sheer panic. After a soft rustle as she shifted her body, she reiterated her reminder.

“Go to sleep soon, you know, staying up late isn’t good for your health.”

“Oh, right, I understand. I’ll get into bed immediately.”

I murmured a reply, then gently smoothed my rapidly rising and falling chest a few times. Finally, with a resolute grit of my teeth, I rolled over and climbed onto the bed.

—*Thwack*.

As the season edged towards summer, Chen Si Yi’s bed was covered with a cooling mat. Despite my currently diminutive form, my weight still pressed against the hard bed frame, producing a surprisingly loud thud that resonated with peculiar clarity in the profound stillness of the night.

“Mmm…”

From my sister, who lay barely a body’s length away, came a startled murmur. Through the hazy moonlight filtering through the curtain’s gap, as my eyes gradually adjusted to the gloom, I finally discerned her exquisitely flushed face. Quite by chance, our gazes locked in that very instant…

…………

A profound silence descended, enveloping the room in an absolute hush, broken only by the occasional, ill-timed chirps of magpies from outside.

I finally understood the adage, ‘so quiet you could hear a pin drop.’ In moments of extreme tension, the senses do indeed sharpen exponentially.

*Thump, thump,*

I couldn’t tell if Chen Si Yi beside me shared my turmoil, but for my part, my heart was hammering furiously, and my mind had become an utter blank.

This awkward atmosphere persisted for well over ten minutes. Then, after clearing her throat a few times, a deeply flushed Chen Si Yi finally turned her body away, breaking our wordless, intense gaze.

With my sister’s indistinct face no longer visible, I instantly exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Raising a hand, I discovered my entire forehead was slick with beads of perspiration.

It wasn’t that I possessed a thick skin; rather, when locked in a staring contest with Chen Si Yi, I, as her older brother, felt a compelling need to maintain my composure, come what may. Thus, despite my profound inner turmoil, I forced myself to suppress the agitation and endure.

Mercifully, just as I felt myself nearing my breaking point, my breath almost catching in my throat, Chen Si Yi turned away a moment before I did. Had she witnessed the blush creeping onto my face, my dignity as an older brother would have been utterly annihilated that night.

Ah, finally, I could perhaps get some proper sleep.

With a sigh, the inexplicable unrest in my heart greatly subsided. I promptly closed my eyes, intent on swiftly journeying to the land of dreams and escaping this vexing mortal coil.

Yet, at that precise moment, a crisp sound echoed once more, and the tremor of the bed jolted my eyes open again.

‘What… what exactly is happening?’

After rubbing my somewhat dry eye corners and confirming that my vision wasn’t playing tricks on me, I froze instantly on the bed.

Beside me, Chen Si Yi had, at some indeterminate point, risen to a half-kneeling position on the bed. In her pristine white hands, she held a thin, cooling blanket, and her expression distinctly displeased, she extended it towards me.

‘Hold on, what in the world is this? My expression stiffened. Could it be that, having lost our silent staring contest, she was so incensed she intended to smother me with the blanket?’

I couldn’t help but recall how, ever since entering high school, the once timid Chen Si Yi had inexplicably transformed into someone fiercely competitive, even insisting on precedence when it came to showering.

“Hmph, I absolutely refuse to shower after you, Lin Yan.”

“By then, the bathtub would be permeated with your disgusting scent, and the very thought of it makes me want to gag, *blech*!”

‘Ah, come to think of it, that was the very first time I’d witnessed Chen Si Yi in such a petulant, spoiled state. With her hands on her hips and a pout on her lips, she was undeniably adorable, almost…’

‘Wait, what am I even thinking? This is absolutely not the moment to be reminiscing about my sister’s adorable tsundere moments!’

Swiftly, I mentally doused myself with a bucket of cold water, yanking my thoughts back to reality. My expression, in turn, grew increasingly solemn.

Before my vigilant gaze, Chen Si Yi slowly drew closer, clutching the thin blanket. She then unfurled the blanket, leaned down, and with deliberate movements, began constructing a makeshift wall of bedding between herself and me.

“Phew~ All done. Lin Yan, listen closely: you absolutely cannot cross this line.” Having completed her task, Chen Si Yi raised an eyebrow at me playfully. “If you dare to cross over, you’re dead by tomorrow morning!”

‘Hold on, hold on. So she’s treating the blanket like a childish boundary line? Chen Si Yi, aren’t you being incredibly immature? You always claim you’re not a child anymore, yet isn’t this precisely the kind of stunt only elementary schoolers with undeveloped minds pull?’

I couldn’t help but cast a glance at the blanket wall beside me, which offered absolutely no practical obstruction. Then, I lifted my gaze to Chen Si Yi’s face, still distinctly flushed, and found myself utterly speechless.

‘Good heavens, little sister, if you’re going to be so bashful, then don’t forcibly drag me into your room in the first place! You’re making *me* incredibly flustered!’