Ye Qing spent almost the entire summer tormenting Ye Qiu. She always wanted this or that, and whenever something didn’t go her way, Ye Peilin and Han Hui would blame Ye Qiu, as if he had been picked up from the street.

Perhaps because his expression grew colder by the day, Han Hui came to talk to him one day. With a gentle smile, she held Ye Qiu’s hand and invited him to sit down. Feeling uneasy, Ye Qiu stood up and moved to a chair nearby.

Han Hui sighed, "Are you resentful towards Dad, Mom, and your sister?"

"No," Ye Qiu replied stiffly.

"Even if you don’t say it, Mom can feel it. I know you’re upset about Dad and Mom favoring your sister, but she’s your real sister. Do you realize that if she hadn’t agreed back then, you might not have been born?"

It’s the same old line, and Ye Qiu was no longer interested in arguing.

"Your sister is a girl, and you’re a boy. Girls are generally more delicate and emotional than boys, so your dad and I care a little more about your sister. Besides, your sister will eventually get married, and life is tough for women. We just want to cherish her more while she’s still living with us."

Seeing Ye Qiu lowered his head without speaking, Han Hui thought her words were having an effect and continued to persuade, "Xiaoqiu, Dad and Mom love you too. You’re both our children, how could we be biased? This home will eventually be yours, and you’ll spend more time by our side. You’ll understand when you grow up, siblings with blood relations are the closest. Your sister is the one who can accompany you the longest in this world."

Ye Qiu thought, perhaps siblings are indeed the closest in some families, but definitely not in theirs.

Besides, nothing in this family was ever his, and he was not greedy for these things. He just didn’t want to be morally bound by these excuses. Clearly, in his past life, Ye Qing gained the most from this family. He gave a lot, yet it somehow turned into Ye Qing being pitied, just because she was a woman who married out?

"I don’t want it."

"What?" Han Hui asked, puzzled by her son’s words.

"I’m saying I don’t want anything from this house. I have hands and feet, I will forge my own path," Ye Qiu said very seriously, word by word.

But Han Hui didn’t take it seriously, laughing: "You’re still young, what do you know? Nowadays it’s hard to find a good job in society, some graduates can’t even afford to rent a room after they come out!"

"Anyway, it’s okay if you all wish to give everything to your sister, I won’t take it."

"Hearing you say that I know you still care about your sister. Why do you show such a face usually? Your sister cares about you, you have no idea how sad she’s been the past few days because you haven’t been talking to her."

Ye Qiu suddenly realized why Mom would suddenly come to talk to him. It turns out Ye Qing had complained again. He hadn’t been talking to her? How was he supposed to talk to her? By being a servant, fulfilling all her unreasonable demands, to prove he was her brother?

"Your sister is going back to school next week. Spend some good time with her these days. She said she’s going out with friends tomorrow, don’t make her upset."

Ye Qiu rolled his eyes internally, Ye Qing’s school was in the city, she was back almost every week, why make it seem like she’s traveling far away?

At least he’d only have to see her once a week. Ye Qiu thought to himself he’d endure until he finished his entrance exams, then spread his wings and fly freely, never listening to her commands again.

"Your brother is so handsome!"

"And obedient, carrying your stuff all the way without complaint."

"Exactly, not like my brother, he always has excuses when asked to do anything."

"So jealous of you, Ye Qing!"

Listening to the classmates discuss Ye Qiu and then envy her, Ye Qing humbly smiled, "It’s nothing, we’re close siblings, isn’t it only natural for him to help me with things?"

"Before marriage it is, but wait till your brother gets married, then he’ll only listen to his wife."

"Exactly, men are like that. Before marriage, sisters are treasures, after marriage, they’re nothing. You not only can’t be jealous but also have to spend money to buy stuff for your sister-in-law and nephews."

Hearing this, Ye Qing frowned deeply, "I’m his sister, he dares not listen to me."

"It’s not like that, they say a man forgets his mom after marrying his wife, let alone a sister."

"Exactly, didn’t my brother give me pocket money before he got married, and after marriage, I have to ask my sister-in-law before he pays my phone bill?"

"You should thoroughly enjoy these years before your brother gets married!"

"No, no, it should be before he starts dating; once he has a girlfriend, he’ll only carry her bag."

The classmates laughed as they discussed, leaving Ye Qing feeling uncomfortable. Her brother was here in the world because of her, her parents also said they were the closest people on earth. How could Ye Qiu ignore her because of an outsider?

She would never allow such a thing to happen. In the future, Ye Qiu’s choice of girlfriend must be approved by her, she must keenly observe the person’s character. If that person created a rift between Ye Qiu and herself, she would absolutely reject them.

Yet Ye Qing also felt her brother wasn’t very close to her anymore, how could she manage things in the future? Perhaps to vent her frustration, she intensified her commands to Ye Qiu.

"I want some water," she called to Ye Qiu in dissatisfaction.

"Here," Ye Qiu handed her the cup.

"I don’t want hot water, it’s so hot now, go buy me ice water."

Ye Qiu frowned, "Before we went out, you said your stomach wasn’t feeling well and you wanted warm water."

"I feel even hotter now and want ice water."

Ye Qiu gritted his teeth, "We’re halfway up the mountain, water is either sold at the top or at the bottom. Where should I go to get it?"

"Go down the mountain to buy it for me, I’ll wait here."

The companions seemed to be unable to stand it any longer and started advising: "Ye Qing, why don’t you just drink a bit for now, until we reach the top?"

"Yeah! We walked close to an hour to get up here, how tiring it’d be for your brother to go down now!"

"He’s a boy, he’s physically fit, jogging is fine, it’s also a workout," Ye Qing said, and the others didn’t have a reason to persuade further, exchanging glances among themselves. After all, it was their family matter.

Ye Qiu saw Ye Qing wouldn’t let the matter rest and feared she’d cause more trouble. After all, she cared about dignity. If he didn’t give her face today, who knew what he’d face when they returned, so he took a deep breath and said, "You wait here for me."

Seeing him obediently going down the mountain to buy water, Ye Qing showed a bit of pride. She knew he’d never refuse any of her requests.

The other companions saw they were fine and didn’t mind anymore, even praised him. "Your brother really listens to you."

"Yeah, if it’s my brother, he would definitely tell me to put up with it, probably even scold me a lot."

Ye Qing laughed contentedly, naturally saying, "He’s my brother!"