A Brother’s Love and a Sister’s Plea

“Brother, do you like Su Xiao Yu?”

I was sitting on the sofa, engrossed in a comic book, when Chen Si Yi, her twin pigtails bouncing, leaned beside me. She swung her pale, slender legs idly as she posed the question.

“What? Why the sudden question?”

I paused, startled, and instinctively ruffled Chen Si Yi’s soft hair. “Of course I like her,” I replied with a smile. “After all, Su Xiao Yu is my good friend.”

“Oh, I see…” Chen Si Yi’s eyes narrowed contentedly under my touch, and she let out a soft, comfortable purr, much like a small kitten.

“Then, that…” Suddenly, her eyes snapped open wide, her dark pupils fixed on me with a hint of panic.

“What is it, Si Yi? Is there something else?” I closed my comic book and tilted my head, meeting my sister’s gaze as she lay beside me.

Under my scrutiny, Chen Si Yi’s face gradually flushed crimson. After a long moment, her lips trembled, and she stammered out, “Then, Brother… do you like me?”

“Silly girl, of course I like you too.” I reached out again, gently stroking the ends of her hair. “You’re my sister. If I don’t like you, then who would I like?”

“Is it the same kind of ‘like’ as for Su Xiao Yu?”

“Uh… no. It’s the kind of ‘like’ a brother has for his sister.”

“Mm…”

For some reason, the moment I uttered those words, Chen Si Yi’s cheeks puffed out in clear displeasure.

“Then, Brother, do you… want to marry Su Xiao Yu?!”

“Eh? How did we get to marriage now?” Blushing slightly from her abrupt interrogation, I scratched my cheek awkwardly. “I suppose… I might.”

“Hmph!”

Chen Si Yi pursed her lips in annoyance, leaving me utterly bewildered.

“Brother, then do you want to marry me?!”

“Ah, no, certainly not!” Startled by her question, I quickly waved my hands. “You’re my sister, I’m your brother. We definitely can’t get married!”

Indeed, even without any blood relation, we had grown up together as siblings. Not to mention getting past Mom and Dad, I personally only ever wanted to be a diligent and responsible older brother. I had never entertained any thoughts of anything more.

However, as if a nerve had been struck, the moment I finished speaking, Chen Si Yi slapped my hand away. She struggled to her feet from the sofa, gritting her teeth as she angrily yelled at me,

“Then I don’t want to be your sister!”

With that, she wiped away a tear, raised her small foot, clad in white stockings, and savagely kicked me in the lower abdomen. Then, she turned and rushed into her bedroom, locking the door behind her and refusing to come out.

Eh? What… what just happened?

Clutching my stomach, I was still reeling from the fleeting glimpse beneath her skirt as she kicked. For a moment, I couldn’t grasp the situation, my entire face a mask of disbelief.

My usually obedient sister… she actually kicked me?

I was too stunned to speak. Then, remembering that my sister was currently in adolescence, I finally caught my breath and picked up my comic book again.

‘Hmm, it seems young girls in their rebellious phase can become unusually irritable. Perhaps Chen Si Yi is having her period today?’

With that thought, I relaxed. I didn’t knock on Chen Si Yi’s door but remained quietly seated on the sofa. It wasn’t until the sun had set and a light rain began to fall outside that I started to worry.

– Has Chen Si Yi been in her room for too long?

*Knock, knock*

I gently tapped on Chen Si Yi’s bedroom door, but received no reply. A profound silence hung in the air.

“Si Yi, are you in there?”

Concerned for my sister’s safety, I knocked harder, yet still, only silence answered me.

“Si Yi, what’s wrong?”

Disregarding whether rushing in might further enrage my already upset sister, I pulled the key from my pocket, twisted the lock, and burst inside. The sight that met my eyes instantly froze me in place.

Everything in the room appeared normal and undisturbed. The bedding was neatly folded at the edge of the bed, books were stacked orderly on the desk, and even the plush bear that had previously lay in the corner was tucked back into its plastic bin. Yet, one person was missing—my sister, Chen Si Yi.

“Si Yi? Where are you? Don’t scare your brother, are you playing hide-and-seek with me?”

I scanned the room, but Chen Si Yi was nowhere to be found. Turning my head towards the bed, I noticed a small note lying on the exceptionally neat bedding.

“What’s this?”

Confused, I walked to the bed. As I slowly picked up the note, an inexplicable sense of foreboding spread through my heart.

Sure enough, the note contained Chen Si Yi’s farewell words.

– ‘Lin Yan, I’m leaving. Don’t come looking for me.’

‘How could I not look for you?!’

What was happening? Had Chen Si Yi run away from home?!

Reading the note, my brows furrowed. I rushed out of the house, out of the complex, and began searching for Chen Si Yi’s whereabouts on the streets.

I didn’t know how much time passed as I pushed through the crowded streets, repeatedly traversing unfamiliar alleys. Yet, that familiar figure never reappeared before my eyes.

“Si Yi! Where are you?!”

I screamed hoarsely. Looking down, I felt the wetness beneath my feet; sticky mud and sand had stained my thighs a murky yellow. Without realizing it, I had arrived at an unfamiliar seashore. It was deserted, with only the salty sea breeze caressing my weary face, stirring a faint flicker of energy in my heavy eyelids.

Near the shore, the seawater was murky, with various debris like plastic bottles and discarded fishing nets floating by. I stood in the knee-deep water, my eyes darting around, seemingly searching for something.

Then, with the incoming tide, that something, as if hearing my call, drifted to my feet. It was a red silk ribbon, a birthday gift I had given my sister.

I bent down to pick up the ribbon, but the moment my fingers touched it, the red silk instantly unraveled in my palm, dissolving into the sea and transforming into a tide of blood. As the waves churned, the crimson began to take shape until it coalesced into a human figure…

“Si… Si Yi? – Aaaahhh!”

****

*Bang!*

In a daze, with a loud thud, I suddenly opened my eyes, clutching my chest and gasping for air.

“Hah, hah, hah… What… what was that? Was it… a dream?”

Looking at the familiar ceiling and confirming I was lying in my sister’s room, I wiped away a cold sweat. Clutching the pillow, I laboriously pushed myself up from the cold floor.