Chapter 2: Seems I Saw Something Strange
Ugh… damn it, it hurts so much…
When I vaguely woke up, it was already pitch black all around, and even the streetlights were off. I took out my phone from my pocket, turned on the flashlight mode, and coincidentally checked the time.
What the hell! It’s already one in the morning!
I pressed my still throbbing side of my head and struggled to get up from the bench.
Tsk, my vision still feels like it’s shaking… So uncomfortable…
What terrible luck, which inconsiderate bastard threw something around to hit me!
I shone my phone around, but I didn’t find anything that could knock someone out. It seems the guy who hit my head had already disposed of the murder weapon.
Ah, whatever, I’ll just consider it bad luck. Fortunately, there wasn’t much bleeding, just a large bump.
Just as Teacher Yang said, it’s really dangerous at night. I shouldn’t wander around recklessly anymore and should just go straight home honestly.
Right, I need to put away the signed slip first. If I lose those slips, I won’t be able to skip evening study sessions openly anymore.
Huh?
I intended to put the signed slip back, but I discovered something: the Pentagram Array drawn on the back of the paper had disappeared!
Could it be that I was dreaming… No, no, then there would be no reason for me to be in the park.
How strange… Why did it disappear? Could Teacher Yang have used some kind of magic pen to draw it? Was it just to play a prank?
Ah, forget it, I can’t be bothered to think about it anymore. Thinking gives me a headache, so I choose to stop thinking for now.
Because of the headache, my mood also soured significantly. Shoving the signed slip into my pocket carelessly, I set off on the road home again.
Since it was already late into the night and the time was really too late, I sped up my pace as much as possible. It usually takes me half an hour to get home, but this time I only took about twenty minutes to reach my doorstep.
Entering through the front door, I took off my shoes but didn’t put on slippers. The stairs to the second floor were to my right. I walked up the stairs as quietly as possible, which is also why I wasn’t wearing slippers. No matter how careful I was with slippers, there would still be a slapping sound.
Although the noise of that degree shouldn’t be enough to wake them up, it’s better to be careful.
Judging by the shoes in the shoe cabinet, Dad and Mom seem to be out. Mom is an embalmer, and Dad is a surgeon. Due to the special nature of their professions, they often stay out overnight… I’m already used to it. Perhaps it’s this special family environment that has led to my indifferent personality.
But since my sisters are still here, I need to be quiet so as not to wake them.
As I reached the second floor, I was planning to continue up to the third floor to get to my room when I heard a cold voice.
“Who is it?”
Uh, what a coincidence… By the way, since you’re awake, why don’t you turn on the light?
“Ah, it’s me… You’re still awake, Xinran.”
Feeling a bit awkward, I spoke to my sister, whose location I couldn’t pinpoint. I went down to the second floor to find the switch for the second-floor hallway light. I remember it was right next to the staircase… Ah, I found it.
Pressing the switch upwards, the moment the light turned on, I couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Wow!”
As soon as the light turned on, I saw my sister standing right in front of me! And she was so close that she was almost touching my cheek!
I quickly took a step back, but Xinran stepped forward and pressed me: “Why did you come back so late?”
My face! Your face is too close! I can even feel your breath!
“Uh…”
As I spoke, I noticed something strange.
My sister’s face was as cute as ever… No, no, that’s not the point!
I frowned and looked above Xinran’s long hair, where a line of pink text was displayed.
[Coldly-Indifferent Tsundere Younger Sister (Fake)]
[An Xinran]
“…”
Suddenly, I could see strange things.
An Xinran is my sister’s name, that’s right. Then what is that above?
Coldly-Indifferent Younger Sister? And what’s with the word “fake” in parentheses!
I can understand the “coldly-indifferent” part somewhat, but… Tsundere? Huh? Does my sister have even a micro-liter of tsundere tendencies towards her brother?
Don’t make me laugh, that’s utterly absurd.
In my entire memory since birth, there hasn’t been a single incident to indicate that “An Xinran likes her brother”! Not at all! I checked photos, too! Our sibling relationship is far from harmonious; it’s not even considered normal, it’s practically hostile!
She never acted spoiled towards me, nor did she ever say things like “I’ll marry my brother when I grow up.”
I don’t even have many memories of playing together when we were young; she never had a reason to like me!
We never walked to school together, she never included me in conversations, and even when we were in the same space, she treated me like I was invisible and completely ignored me. She wouldn’t appear before me wrapped in a towel after a shower, nor would she dress provocatively at home, nor would she care about my life.
Even if we met by chance now, she definitely wasn’t waiting for me until this late on purpose. She probably just got up to use the restroom or get a drink, coincidentally heard footsteps, thought it was a thief, and became vigilant without turning on the light… Yes, it must be!
Ever since she recognized my existence as a brother, she has always treated me with cold indifference!
Let alone the ending of marriage between siblings and German orthopedics, it would be a tremendous favor if she would even invite me, her brother, to her wedding.
Look at her interrogating me now; how is that like a tsundere?
Ah, I get it. That “fake” in parentheses must mean that this title is completely nonsense.
Speaking of which, what is this? A hallucination? Could it be that being hit on the head caused some mental problems? Should I go to the hospital for a check-up… I remember Dad is quite familiar with Dr. Wu from the neurology department…
Xinran noticed my gaze, glared at me, and pressed: “What are you looking at?”
I quickly waved my hands and replied, “N-nothing… There was just a bug, I think… Um, aren’t you going to sleep this late?”
“I just got up to get a drink of water. Don’t change the subject, why did you come back so late?”
“It’s just that, well… I accidentally fell asleep in the park…”
I guess it’s not really a lie. I did fall asleep, it’s just that I didn’t fall asleep voluntarily. I was involuntarily knocked out by a strange attack…
Sigh, thinking about it makes me depressed. Who did I offend? Just sitting in the park to rest and putting together a slip of paper actually attracted an attack from an unknown object… Thinking about it, my side of my head started to hurt again, and I instinctively reached up to touch it.
Xinran scrutinized me for a while. Perhaps sensing I wasn’t lying, she moved away from my sight and walked down the stairs to the living room.
Phew… I secretly let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m going to boil some water, would you like anything to drink?”
“Oh, then make me a cup of coffee while you’re at it. I forgot to buy coffee today… Huh?”
My sister is actually being so kind to me… This is not scientific!
