A Secret Encounter: Sister’s Sickness and a Mysterious Past

Sister closed her eyes, pursing her small lips as if expecting something. Sister’s thin, red lips were so inviting, just looking at them made one want to take a bite.

“Sister won’t be thinking, I want to kiss…”

Slap!

I slapped my own face hard, and Sister opened her eyes wide, looking at me in confusion. “What’s wrong, why did you hit yourself?”

I pulled away from Sister’s arms and turned my head towards the living room. “Nothing, just a mosquito.”

I didn’t want to dwell on that question, so before Sister could speak, I changed the subject. “Sister, try the ginger tea I made. It won’t be effective if it gets cold.”

Xia Yinuo pursed her lips in a soft smile, unsure if she was laughing at Jiu’s clumsy acting or the soup he specially made for her.

“Ah…”

Sister pouted like a little child, squinting her eyes and opening her mouth. A soft, fragrant scent like orchids wafted out, very pleasant. This must be the natural scent of a girl! I scooped up a spoonful of ginger tea, blew on it, and slowly fed it to Sister’s mouth.

Slurp, slurp!

Sister playfully swallowed the spoon with the tea, and if I hadn’t been holding the other end, I’d have thought she was going to eat the spoon too. “Take it slow, Sister! The spoon can’t be eaten.” This time, I was more careful, placing the spoon at Sister’s mouth. Sister sensed the spoon’s position and stuck out her pink little tongue, licking the broth like a dog drinking water.

Sister was indeed my sister, even taking medicine was so cute. It made me worry deeply. Which girl could ever defeat such a cute creature as Sister!

Perhaps the ginger tea had worked, as Sister’s pained expression was gone, and her pale complexion had regained some color. Apart from squinting her eyes, there was nothing unusual. Sister not crying or making a fuss was, for me, a blessing. I could finally take care of Sister.

“Sister, you should get some good sleep! It’s best for a cold to go to bed on an empty stomach. Don’t worry about me, I can cook enough to eat.” I placed Sister back on the bed, my hands resting on her stomach, and covered her with a blanket. I left the room with the empty bowl.

“Empty stomach…” Xia Yinuo watched as Jiu’s back disappeared, her face twitching, unsure if she should laugh or cry. How could she sleep without dinner? Xia Yinuo leaned against the bed, looking towards the living room, waiting for Jiu to finish cooking so she could sneak out and eat.

After a few minutes, Xia Yinuo saw Jiu carrying a large bowl of noodles from the kitchen and sitting at the dining table, murmuring something under his breath.

Xia Yinuo put on her shoes, wrapped a coat around her waist, and joined Jiu at the table, saying weakly, “I, I’m hungry.”

“Sister, you shouldn’t be up! You’re still sick!” I heard the voice behind me and lifted my head, only to see Sister already sitting in front of me. Sister was dressed lightly, which wasn’t good for a cold. I went back to her room and brought out a blanket, placing it in her lap.

“I, I’m hungry.” Xia Yinuo said weakly, seeming a bit shy. After all, it did sound like a girlfriend cooing to her boyfriend. Clearly, she wanted Jiu to feed her, and in this situation, it was feeding her.

“This…” I hesitated, knowing that if a girl’s stomach got cold, eating that day would give her diarrhea, but she’d be fine the next day on an empty stomach.

“I’m hungry!” Sister suddenly grabbed my arm and pouted. Her weak voice and her cute face made my heart race. Sister’s pouty face was so adorable. How could there be such a beautiful girl in the world, so beautiful that it made me feel pity even when she was sick.

“You can only have one bite, too much isn’t good for you.”

“Mhm, mhm, mhm!” Sister’s head bobbed like a chicken pecking at grain.

I brought the bowl over, stirring the noodles with chopsticks, picking up a strand, and blowing on it before bringing it to Sister’s mouth.

“Don’t worry, it’s not hot.” Sister seemed hesitant, looking up at me, then down, then up again, repeating this three times before finally opening her small mouth, the size of a cherry, and approaching the chopsticks.

Sister’s little tongue, moist and red, licked the noodles and chopsticks, as if testing the temperature. After finding nothing wrong, Sister took the chopsticks and noodle strand into her mouth.

Gulp, gulp!

Like a whale drinking water, in one gulp, the noodles in my bowl rushed into Sister’s mouth.

With a flick of her head, the noodle finally broke. Sister, satisfied, let out a burp and hugged the blanket in her arms as she walked into her room. With a bang, Sister’s door was firmly shut.

I looked down at the nearly empty bowl, staring at Sister’s door for a full five minutes. “One bite, really is a billion bites!” I sighed, carrying the almost empty bowl back to the kitchen to cook my own noodles.

After eating, I turned off the living room light and went to my small room. Outside the window, people could still be seen coming and going, and a light drizzle had started, with raindrops sliding down the glass.

Looking at my phone, it was already 10 PM. I turned off the light and closed my eyes. The next morning, I woke up feeling pressed down on, as if something was on me, but when I opened my eyes, there was nothing.

“Sleep paralysis?” I moved my hands, everything was normal, but my wrists had several scratches, like from fingernails. I sat up and examined my body, not knowing when my underwear had disappeared. I was completely naked, and I couldn’t help but wonder, was the ghost in my dream gay?

Thinking of this, I shivered and quickly got dressed, going to the kitchen. Looking at the scratches on my wrist, I repeated to myself, “Believe in science, believe in science!”

After breakfast with Sister, we went to school together. I didn’t head to the classroom, but to the convenience store.

I hadn’t forgotten what happened yesterday on the playground, and I didn’t know what had happened between me and Shahu Wu before I lost my memory. With her cold nature, it was impossible for me to have any interaction with her. But the situation seemed to be different from what I expected, she didn’t seem like a liar. So what was with the spicy strips? Why did I give her spicy strips? Even if she was a school bully, she should have been extorting money from me.

It might be better to ask her in person, I rushed to the convenience store, bought a bottle of water and a pack of spicy strips, and hurried back to the classroom. Because today, Sister and I woke up very late, and we were almost at eight o’clock when we arrived at school. If it weren’t for Shahu Wu, I wouldn’t have risked being scolded by the teacher.

When I reached the classroom, Teacher Cang was already at the podium, opening the lesson plan. I called out, “Report!”