Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

Yu Zhe continued to observe Zi Xiao's condition. She was walking two-thirds slower than usual, and she was not concentrating. Even the hand holding the cup was trembling slightly.

Why don't you tell me when you're sick and feeling unwell?

Yu Zhe sighed heavily.

"Brother... what's wrong? Is something on your mind? Can you tell me? I'll help you."

Can you please not use this kind of status and then say you're helping me?

However, it wasn't time to explain clearly yet: "It's getting late, let's go to school."

Yes, we'll go to the hospital halfway there.

But to everyone's surprise, Zixiao made another excuse: "School... Oh right, I still have homework to pack up. Brother, you go first, I can go by myself later, otherwise I'll be late..."

Actually, she probably wanted to take leave and recuperate at home after I left, right?

"You've really gone too far..."

Yu Zhe gently put down his chopsticks, feeling a nameless frustration in his heart.

"Huh? Brother, what...did you just say?"

"Zixiao, you've really gone too far."

Zixiao's already pale face turned even paler after confirming those words, almost losing all color.

In a trembling voice, she asked, "Zixiao...did you do something wrong?"

"There are many mistakes."

Yu Zhe stopped eating and rested his hand on his chin: "You were clearly not feeling well, but you didn't tell me. That's your first mistake."

"Pretending to be fine when you're clearly sick, and even preparing breakfast as usual, that's the second mistake."

“When I asked you if you were alright, you lied to me and said you were fine. That was a huge mistake and it really hurt me.”

Being sick is nothing, but Yu Zhe's words are like sharp swords, making her feel breathless.

"I...I just don't want to cause trouble for my brother...I know my own situation very well, I'll be fine after resting at home for a day."

Yu Zhe countered, "But have you ever thought about how I would feel if I were at school thinking about my sick younger sister at home, and feeling miserable all by myself?"

"I was wrong…"

"What did you do wrong? Explain it properly."

Otherwise, with my short temper, I would really feel suffocated.

"I shouldn't have kept my discomfort a secret from my brother. I should have told him everything... And..."

"Alright, alright, stop talking now, let's take your temperature."

"Is it serious? Should we go to the hospital?"

Hearing her admit her mistake in a weak, barely audible voice, Yu Zhe truly couldn't bear it.

But she must understand that her brother is someone she can rely on.

Zixiao's pale face suddenly flushed slightly: "No need...it's not an illness..."

"Not an illness? Then why are you feeling so uncomfortable?"

"Um...it's not an illness, do you really want to say it? It's that...that thing girls get every now and then..."

Oh, this? Yu Zhe knows!

"Relatives are coming to visit! What's there to be embarrassed about!"

"Brother, could you be a little more tactful? That's called menstruation!"

The reserved Zixiao seemed too shy to discuss this topic.

After realizing it wasn't an illness, Yu Zhe was visibly relieved and also noted the date down in his mind.

Back when we lived in the villa, Yu Zhe was so busy that he didn't know the exact timing of Zi Xiao's cycle.

Their father basically didn't care about them, and their mother had passed away long ago, so he, as the older brother, should have paid more attention to Zixiao's affairs.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel guilty: "I'm sorry... Zixiao, I feel like I've really failed as your brother, I didn't even know about something like this."

"Brother, you did nothing wrong. This... I was just a little embarrassed to say it. Now that you know I'm alright, you should hurry up and go to school, you're really going to be late."

"I'm not going to school today."

"Huh? Why?"

"Why do you keep asking why... you silly child, why do you always exclude yourself from the reasons for my actions? Of course, it's because I want to take care of you. How could I feel at ease if I went to school today?"

I don't want to argue...

In fact, Zixiao knew that this would cause trouble for her brother and go against her principles, but for some reason, when she heard her brother's caring words, she felt a strong urge to keep him here and didn't want him to leave.

Is this considered being willful?

It didn't matter anymore; Zixiao simply nodded in the end.

Good, she is finally able to face her inner thoughts for the first time.

After stretching his wrists and arms, Yu Zhe bypassed the dining table and, without warning, wrapped his arms around Zi Xiao's legs and back, lifting her up in a simple princess carry.

Zixiao's black hair cascaded down at a vertical angle: "Hey? Brother, what are you doing? I can walk by myself!"

"No way, look at how you wobble when you walk. And you're telling me to lie down properly."

"Brother, that's a really domineering thing to say..."

Don't you like it?

"like…"

Yu Zhe thought she was a little delirious from the pain, so her way of speaking was a little different from usual.

Actually, Zixiao is perfectly clear-headed!

Put Zixiao on her bed in her own room.

Yu Zhe was troubled.

No, what do girls usually need to relieve their discomfort at this time?

After pondering for a while, Yu Zhe's eyes lit up.

"Would you like some hot water?"

46. Methods of Relief

"Drink more hot water... Brother, you won't find a girlfriend like this. Oh, of course you don't need to look, since I'm right here."

Drinking hot water seems like saying it is pointless, but Zixiao thinks it's a good idea; she's willing to listen to whatever Yuzhe says.

Yu Zhe covered Zi Xiao with the blanket. Actually, he was just joking. After all, he saw some silly comments online saying that when girls hear this, they can get really angry even if they're not upset.

"You rest first, I'll look for a solution. We need to find at least one way."

So I just opened my phone and searched for ways to relieve menstrual cramps, and the results were all sorts of strange things.

The first thing I saw was a sentence: Drinking more hot water really does help!

Alright, alright, let's not talk about hot water anymore. We'll die from drinking so much.

There's also advice to eat more vegetables and get enough sleep. Okay, I can make more vegetarian dishes for lunch. But I can't exactly bring a cabbage to feed the rabbit, oh no, I mean to feed Zixiao.

Okay, I scrolled down a bit more, and this brown sugar water seems to be a good idea, it's mentioned in the encyclopedia too.

"Do you have any brown sugar at home? Drinking some brown sugar water should help, right?"

Zixiao pointed to the cup on the table: "The brown sugar water is ready..."

"..."

Damn it, Yu Zhe suddenly felt like he was useless at this moment.

“Brother doesn’t need to do anything special… It’s not an illness to begin with, and we’re used to it.”

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Hmm... I feel a little worse than usual, but it's nothing serious."

It's still painful, but Yu Zhe has absolutely no idea what to do.

Because it's not an illness, there's no way to start treating it.

Just as I was thinking about what other options there were, I received a message on my phone.

It was sent by Luo Xiaomeng.

"Yu Zhe should be in class, why isn't he at school? What happened?"

Oh right! I forgot to ask for leave.

Well... actually, asking for leave is just a formality, and the teachers won't ask any questions if I don't go.

But he first called his homeroom teacher, Fang Lan, to say that something had come up at home and he wouldn't be going today.

Then I got Zixiao's homeroom teacher's phone number and asked for leave for the same reason.

She also replied to Luo Xiaomeng: "Oh, it's nothing, just some small things to take care of. If there's anything important at school today, could you please write it down for me? Thanks!"

The reply came quickly: "Okay, at least you're not sick, I understand!"

You said Luo Xiaomeng is the class monitor and a good friend, so it's perfectly reasonable to ask her about it.

To Yu Zhe's surprise, Qin Ruoke also sent a message.

The message was extremely brief: "What's wrong?"

Oh? That's interesting. She spends all day worrying about herself.

How could someone who lives only for themselves actually care about others?

I replied to her with the same reason.

Classes must have started by now, because her reply came a little late: "Okay, good luck."

He doesn't talk much.

This time, he didn't reply after reading the message, not because he had finished speaking, but because Zixiao grabbed Yuzhe's wrist.