Shi Hai, finally free, could now get out of bed.
As he grabbed a tissue from the table to wipe his fingers, he spoke to his sister.
"It's the weekend, Mengmeng, you can sleep in a bit more."
Shi Meng also sat up, her body in a "duck sitting" position on the bed, still half-asleep as she answered.
"No… I can't be lazy. I have to help brother wash his face, brush his teeth, and change clothes... Then, I need to make breakfast for brother too..."
As she spoke, her mouth remained half-open, and a little bit of clear drool dripped from the corner.
How to describe it... she looked silly.
But also very cute.
Compared to the sister from yesterday—sometimes assertive, sometimes clever, always determined and never slacking off—it was as if she were a different person.
In a way, this version of her matched her young appearance better. Yesterday, she had seemed a little too mature.
So, this is what his sister looked like when she just woke up?
Shi Hai found it amusing and said,
"You don't need to go that far right now. I can handle it myself."
"Oh... Right, brother can move now... Hehe..."
Then Shi Meng giggled and stretched out her arms toward Shi Hai.
"Brother… I want a hug..."
Shi Hai had promised to dote on his sister, so of course, he wouldn't refuse.
But instead of hugging her by the shoulders like yesterday, he reached out with his left hand, gently pulling her head toward his stomach.
It wasn't an overly affectionate gesture, but it still conveyed a close familial bond.
Even such a small gesture was enough to make Shi Meng feel satisfied.
However, she thought it would be even better if brother patted her head.
Usually, she would just think about it and not say it out loud.
But when Shi Meng had just woken up, she became a bit more of a "clingy baby."
"Brother, I want a head pat too..."
Naturally, Shi Hai obliged, giving her a gentle pat on the head.
But since his right hand hadn't been cleaned yet, he could only use his left hand to pat her head.
Having experienced countless head pats, Shi Meng, whose body had memorized the feeling, immediately sensed something was off.
Her brother usually used his right hand, his dominant hand, to pat her head.
Why was he using his left hand now?
Curious, Shi Meng glanced at Shi Hai's right hand.
Shi Hai had only wiped it halfway, and the tissue was still sticking to his fingers.
As she looked at her brother's fingers, it seemed like something clicked in her mind. She smacked her lips and realized... there really was the taste of her brother in her mouth.
She thought it was just a dream... but it wasn't!
Shi Meng suddenly panicked.
"Ah! Did I... did I bite brother?"
"You didn't bite me... but I probably need to wash up a bit more."
Just wiping with a tissue wasn't going to cut it; there'd still be traces of her scent.
"I'll help you wash!"
Shi Meng immediately wanted to make up for it. If she made a mess, she should be the one to clean it up!
But Shi Hai just turned his head and pointed to her shoulder.
"Mengmeng, you should button your pajamas first. Isn't your shoulder cold?"
"…Ah!"
Shi Meng looked down and realized her pajamas were undone, her shoulder exposed. She quickly fixed her clothes and buttoned them up.
At this moment, more than feeling embarrassed about being seen, Shi Meng felt ashamed for causing trouble for her brother.
This is so unacceptable...!
As the perfect little sister, she should be taking better care of her brother...
She had even resolved before falling asleep that starting tomorrow, she would dedicate herself fully to looking after her brother!
But now, right after waking up, even while sleeping, she had caused trouble for him...
How embarrassing!
"I'll go wash up first, you can keep sleeping," Shi Hai said.
But Shi Meng, now fully awake, got up as well and said,
"Let me help you brush your teeth!"
"There's no need for that."
Feeling rejected, Shi Meng dejectedly said,
"But... I've always been the one helping brother brush his teeth..."
"That's in the future, right? I'm not a vegetable now, I can brush my own teeth."
Shi Hai noticed how utterly disappointed she looked, but no matter how much he wanted to spoil her, he couldn't agree to let her help him brush his teeth.
Because Shi Hai believed that as a normal, capable adult, he should do things for himself.
Their family followed a very hands-off approach. Shi Hai was barely supervised growing up, and with his father bedridden for most of his early years, and his mother focused on taking care of him, Shi Hai learned to be independent at a young age.
As a result, he wasn't used to being looked after by others.
Unless his mental state regressed to that of an infant, Shi Hai felt he just couldn't accept someone else brushing his teeth.
If anything, this wasn't him doting on his sister but rather his sister doting on him, right?
It seemed like his little sister really enjoyed taking care of others...
But actually, the only person Shi Meng wanted to care for was her brother.
She didn't just see "caring for her brother" as a routine but had come to rely on it as her source of emotional fulfillment.
It was like she had a "satisfaction meter" installed in her, one that filled up whenever she took care of her brother. Let's call it her "bro-con meter."
Whenever she successfully cared for her brother, the bro-con meter filled. But when she caused him trouble, or when her care was rejected, the meter drained.
In fact, ever since yesterday, when others took over the tasks of cooking and doing laundry for her brother, Shi Meng's bro-con meter had taken a huge hit.
And from last night to this morning, she felt like she had caused her brother so much trouble that her bro-con meter had almost run dry.
Then, just now, Shi Hai refused to let her help with brushing his teeth. While it seemed like a small thing to Shi Hai, for Shi Meng, it was the final straw.
Her bro-con meter hit zero.
At this point, Shi Meng's mental state would start to become unstable, possibly triggering a strong "withdrawal reaction."
This withdrawal mainly manifested as a loss of self-worth and purpose.
In other words, Shi Meng would begin to feel like a sister who was no longer needed by her brother had no reason to continue existing.
And having no reason to exist meant...
She could disappear (die).
Shi Meng stared blankly at her brother, her voice cold and devoid of warmth as she murmured,
"Brother… you don't need me anymore, do you…"
"Huh? Mengmeng, why would you think that? I didn't mean that at all, I just meant that I can handle it myself..."
Shi Hai's words trailed off.
He realized that his sister's eyes had completely lost their light.
He had seen those eyes once before...
In his father!
They were the eyes of someone ready to die!
This is bad! How did it come to this?!
Shi Hai knew that in the face of such eyes, explanations wouldn't help!
What he needed to do was compensate!
Think fast—what caused this?
Was it refusing to let her brush his teeth?
That's ridiculous! But... that's the only explanation!
Then—!
Shi Hai grabbed his sister's shoulders and said,
"Wait! Mengmeng! Hold on a second! How about this? When I brush my teeth later, you can help me by getting a cup of water and putting the toothpaste on the brush, okay?"
His sister had been asked for help.
Her bro-con meter refilled.
A bright smile returned to Shi Meng's face as she happily agreed.
"Mm! Leave it to me, brother!"
Phew…
Seeing her back to normal, Shi Hai let out a long sigh of relief.
But those eyes from before were no joke...
If he hadn't noticed and said the wrong thing, what would have happened to her?
Shi Hai felt a chill of fear.
It seems...
His little sister, besides being "reliable" and "cute," also had a hidden side that was "scary."
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