They are still close to me today despite their negative feelings

"It's a mix of gratitude and anger from a younger sister."

she said softly.

This is too outrageous! ?

I sighed, pushed her off me, and tapped her on the head.

"Nonsense, don't do that again next time."

"Okay, I understand." Realizing she had indeed gone too far, the younger sister said obediently, "I'll choose a different place next time."

...You're not reflecting on your own actions at all!

"Dong dong dong."

Just as I was speechless, a knock came at the door at the perfect moment.

Thank goodness. My sister looks so strange. Whoever is outside, I'm truly grateful to you.

"I'll open the door."

"Ah, brother, wait a minute." Ning Ruoxin quickly stood up and then naturally turned up my collar.

"It would be best to cover up the teeth marks. Although I didn't bite very hard."

“…I’ll deal with you when I get back!” I glared at her.

As I walked into the entryway, before I could even fully open the door, a lively and energetic voice rang out.

"Brother Ning!!!"

At the same time, a little boy bumped into my arms with a thud—no, actually, I should say onto my leg.

The little boy hugged my leg tightly, then looked up and chuckled.

"Qiqi?!"

I was indeed somewhat surprised.

"How did you come?"

"I came with Sister Qiu!!"

I think I can guess. After all, behind Su Qiqi, Qiu Luxi was looking at me with an air of self-righteousness and smugness, as if to say, "Praise me, praise me!"

"Uh, why are you so late?"

I have a bad feeling.

"Because Qiu-jie and I are going to live next door to Ning-gege's house starting today!! I'm here to say hello to Ning-gege as a neighbor!"

Wait, what about that college couple?! And what about the Qiu family?! Old Master Qiu, please save them!

"It seems the room next to yours was emptied because the previous tenants broke up and moved out, so Qiqi and I moved in," Qiu Luxi explained to me.

"My grandparents said they felt very guilty towards me and asked what I wanted to achieve, saying they could make it up to me. I told them I didn't want to live with them anymore, and I wanted to live with Qiqi at your house. But in the end, they only agreed to let me live next door..."

"what?"

"Oh, by the way, this is a letter from Grandpa and the others to you. Please take care of me in the future, senior~"

Qiu Luxi handed me the letter and smiled sweetly at me.

I silently opened the envelope.

[To Brother Ning: I'll skip the formalities... If you could help us repair our relationship with Xiao Xi during this time, especially by putting in a good word for us with her, we would be extremely grateful.]

You're useless! I was hoping you'd save me, but you're the ones waiting for me to save you.

I'm incredibly disappointed in the old man and his family. Can you even call yourselves a family involved in the gray market?

"Brother Ning, we'll be neighbors from now on, so you have to come visit Qiqi and Sister Qiu often!" Little Carrot Head continued to plead, "But you can't be unfaithful!"

“…You can’t teach kids this stuff all day long, Miss Cat.” I glared at Qiu Luxi, who turned her face away haughtily.

"That's clearly the truth."

"Brother, why did you chat outside for so long?"

Ning Ruoxin, who was standing behind me, seemed to have lost her good mood. She looked at me with a half-smile, as if she had suddenly discovered something.

"Oh dear, why didn't you turn your collar down properly when you left the house?"

She lowered my collar and then looked at Qiu Luxi with a polite smile.

"Senior Qiu, is there anything I can help you with for my brother at this hour?"

Qiu Luxi didn't reply, but looked at the faint red mark on my neck with a thoughtful expression.

……

The bustling market jumped.

[Next chapter preview: "No such analogy! No!"]

This statement was so terrifying that Ning Ruoyu's eyes widened in shock.

"...Are junior high school students still considered immature kids?"

"That sounds like utter nonsense."

"Is it almost time?"

Interlude: The World is an Intersecting Line

"Hey, little sister."

That night, perhaps influenced by Ning Ruoxin's emotions, Ning Ruoyu suddenly asked a strange question.

"What if I'm not actually your brother?"

In an instant, Ning Ruoxin, who had been listening with a smile, suddenly had a look of fear in her eyes, as if something had shattered.

"Why, why are you saying such things...? Was it me? What did I do wrong, brother, brother, that made you..."

She seemed to be gripped by a strange panic, and her whole being began to tremble.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I won't play those pranks again. If you hate it that much, brother, I won't do it again! I can even tolerate physical contact if you don't like it..."

"No, no, no, that was just an example. You didn't do anything wrong."

"No such analogy! No!"

Ning Ruoxin suddenly grabbed Ning Ruoyu's arm, the movement so large that her originally neat, black hair was instantly disheveled, and the gray in her eyes became increasingly murky, until it turned into pitch black with some strange emotions churning within.

"No matter what, you'll always be my brother! Regardless of what anyone says or does, I've made up my mind. It's only you, I only want you!!"

"For example, if it weren't for you, brother, I... I wouldn't have accepted anyone else." Ning Ruoxin's tone was somewhat frightening, as if she were talking in her sleep, or perhaps murmuring to herself. There was a kind of unwavering persistence that could not be awakened by anyone.

It could even be described as an obsession.

"Don't leave me alone, brother... If you don't want me, I really don't know what I'll do."

She spoke softly. Usually, she was mostly obedient with a touch of cunning, but now, the way she looked at Ning Ruoyu made the boy feel a little scared.

There's a kind of madness in them that they'd chase even to hell.

How did I raise my quiet, well-behaved, and polite younger sister into this kind of person?!

The boy sighed and patted her head.

"Oh, don't be so sensitive, I was just joking."

"...This kind of joke about you, brother, is not funny at all."

Ning Ruoxin leaned close to Ning Ruoyu's ear and whispered something.

"Me? If... I definitely would..."

This statement was so terrifying that Ning Ruoyu's eyes widened in shock.

……

"Hey, buddy. I've got some leads on some of the things you asked me to investigate."

"..."

The distracted boy numbly raised his head and glanced at the man in the gray coat in front of him.

"Wow, buddy, you look terrible! Well, that makes sense. I heard you just had a little battle with some big shots in the industry. It must have been exhausting, right?"

"...Do you have family?"

"?" The man in the gray coat gave a wry smile. "Even if I'm being rude, you don't have to greet me like that, do you?"

"Oh, I wasn't clear. What I meant was, do you have family members like siblings?"

"Ah, now that you mention it, you do have a younger brother."

What's your relationship with him like?

"What can the relationship between brothers be like? They used to be somewhat close, but now they're all living their own lives."

"Are all brothers like this? What about siblings?"

The man in the gray coat twitched his eye. Although the young man opposite him looked young, many people had already warned him that this was a person not to be underestimated.

This strange situation seems more like a family survey—could this boy be connected to the human resources department?!

"I don't know, but from what the people around me are saying, it seems pretty much the same."

"A friend of mine wants to ask, in a normal family relationship, would a younger sister say to her older brother that if she weren't the younger sister, she would hurt him?"

The man in gray sat up straight.

"The kind of 'assault' you're talking about—no, the kind your friend is talking about—is it the kind of 'assault' I understand? To kill?"

The man in gray thought to himself, "Your family background is really complicated. Is it a gangster family?"

"..." The boy remained expressionless.

"The exact words were, 'If I can't be your younger sister, I will definitely do everything I can to become your partner. No one can take her away from me.'"

The boy perfectly imitated the tone, including the resolute tone that seemed to carry a murderous intent at the end.

It gives one a sense of suffocating heaviness.

The man in gray thought to himself, "What the hell did I just hear?!"

"Your, oh no, your friend's sister is really something else, hahaha."

The man wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Actually, there's no need to worry. When children are young and immature, it's perfectly normal for them to say strange things occasionally. Just put your friend at ease."

The boy nodded. Just as the man breathed a sigh of relief, he asked a serious question.

"...Are junior high school students still considered immature kids?"

"How about we talk about the matter you entrusted to us first?"

The man in gray was on the verge of collapse.

Even if I'm an intelligence broker, what use is this kind of news that will shorten my lifespan?!

The boy finally let him go, sighed, and propped himself up on his arms.

"That works. Do you have any information on this?"

Seeing that the other party had finally returned to normal, the man in gray quickly switched back to his serious business mode.

"The cases of disappearances and vanishing that you asked me to investigate haven't happened much in Lucheng recently."

The boy frowned slightly, crossed his arms, and looked at the man in gray.

"However, I did find some of the local legends and strange tales that you asked me to investigate, which actually met your requirements."

"The most famous of these is an ancient legend from the nearby Yun Shen Temple. According to the old monks in the temple, this is just nonsense that has been circulating around the temple for a long time. It has no academic value and mainly serves to educate and admonish people."

"What about the content?"

How much do you know about Zhou Chu's elimination of the three evils?

The young man was slightly startled.

"Is it almost time?"

"Ah, no, that one. It's the one recorded in 'A New Account of Tales of the World'." The gray-clad man lowered his voice in the corner of the used bookstore where the two were talking.