By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 170 Brother, it's delicious! [First update!]

After hearing Liu Yu's words, Li Younan silently drove on without responding immediately.

After rounding a bend, he slowly asked, "Why are you suddenly asking this question?"

Liu Yu also fell silent for a moment.

The story begins a few days ago.

His younger sister, Liu Li, has not officially left her home for a very long time due to agoraphobia.

Although the brother and sister gradually adapted to this life for a long time, it couldn't go on forever.

Naturally, I consulted many excellent doctors and tried various treatment methods.

Medication is ultimately an auxiliary treatment.

More importantly, we need to gradually expose my younger sister to the outside world so that her instinctive fear of it can be gradually dispelled.

This is not an easy task.

It's not as simple as just going out today and going downstairs tomorrow to level up and defeat monsters.

For a long time before that, my sister's fear of the outside world gradually evolved into a fear of all people and things outside.

This fear is not something rationally perceived—"I think that's scary"—it's not like that. It's a fear that arises directly from the instincts of the central nervous system, bypassing rational thinking.

When a person is in a state of extreme panic, adrenaline is released, the heart rate increases, and in some cases, the legs go weak and the person faints.

However, ordinary people's fear requires a thought process, such as seeing something terrible or experiencing something terrible, from cognition to physiological reaction.

People with agoraphobia bypass this process. Whenever they come into contact with the outside world, even though they know they shouldn't be afraid and there's nothing scary about it, their bodies still release adrenaline, causing their heart to race and making it difficult to breathe.

That day, the doctor gave another suggestion: perhaps she could make a breakthrough little by little in other aspects. If starting with space was ineffective, then perhaps she could first interact with people in the outside world, allowing her to undergo a physiological adaptation process, forming subconscious cognition, and without excessive physical reactions, before gradually adjusting to space.

After much thought, Liu Yu could only think of Li Younan to play this role.

On the one hand, Li Younan and his sister have been dealing with each other for so long, and on the other hand, he can be considered an outsider.

Liu Yu said earnestly, "I told you about my sister's situation last time. You don't want her to stay like this forever, right?"

Li Younan nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. What can I do?"

Liu Yu thought for a moment and shook her head. "I don't know what you can do, but subconsciously I feel that if you could appear in front of her, it might be good for her condition."

"Should we tell her in advance?"

Liu Yu thought for a moment, "Let's find an irresistible reason."

Li Younan's expression was somewhat strange as he asked, "What kind of reason is irresistible?"

The car had already left the highway and was now traveling at a moderate speed on the national road.

Liu Yu looked out the window and said, "Besides me, the only people my sister interacts with now are the nanny and me. The nanny is responsible for washing clothes and cooking for her, but most of the time my sister doesn't have direct contact with the nanny. Usually, the nanny finishes cooking and then leaves. My sister will just tell me what she needs." He turned to look at Li Younan, "That's possible..."

Li Younan's expression turned somewhat strange after hearing this, and he asked, "Is this really okay?"

Liu Yu sighed softly, "This is the only way I can think of. I think this way, I can establish a concept in her subconscious that... see, things in the outside world are not so scary."

Li Younan thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Then I'll give it a try."

Liu Yu's expression turned serious as she said, "This matter is very important to me. I only have one younger sister. So even though this will trouble you, I will still do it."

Li Younan said with a hint of amusement, "You're saying that because you don't consider me a friend."

Liu Yu leaned back in her chair and said calmly, "These are two different things." Then her expression turned serious, and she said, "This is only the first step. If there is progress, there will be many more areas where I will need your help."

Seeing Liu Yu's hesitant manner, Li Younan paused for a moment, then said earnestly, "Liu Yu, do you know that I, like you, also hope that your sister can get better?"

Liu Yu raised an eyebrow.

Li Younan added, "I don't know if your sister has told you about my initial contact with her... At that time, I had just filmed a few videos, and not many people were paying attention. They were the earliest videos on my homepage timeline. Your sister anonymously complained, acting like a grumpy older brother, saying that my video editing was terrible."

"Later they said they could help me with the editing, and that's how our collaboration officially started."

Li Younan spoke calmly, and Liu Yu remained silent.

"To be honest, I didn't think that much about it at first, and I didn't have any expectations."

"But every video your sister sends me surprises me."

Li Younan continued, "Every video your sister edited was made with care."

"You should know what happened next."

"This cooperative relationship lasted for a long time."

"I was quite surprised when I first found out that she was a young girl."

"She gives me a very reassuring and trustworthy feeling, even though she's still so young..."

“In this cooperative relationship, I am actually the real beneficiary.”

“Your sister is a very stubborn person at heart. Several times I felt indignant because she was taken advantage of, and I wanted to give her more on my own initiative... but she looked down on me fiercely.”

Li Younan gently gripped the steering wheel, his gaze becoming serious as he said, "Although I haven't officially met her yet, in my heart, she's already a very important friend."

Looking at the road ahead, Liu Yu suddenly said out of the blue, "Li Younan."

Li Younan glanced at Liu Yu, "What's wrong?"

Liu Yu didn't look at Li Younan, but kept looking at the road ahead, and said slowly and deliberately, "No, you're not allowed to have any improper thoughts about my sister."

Li Younan blinked, slowly looked away, and said, "Oh, your sister is indeed not 150 pounds and 1.5 meters tall."

“Didn’t I say last time… she’s very cute?” Li Younan shook his head. “She’s too young.”

"It would be best if you thought of it that way."

……

They didn't plan to go too far today. Li Younan and Liu Yu drove to Pengshan, below Meishan, and followed the river downstream.

There are many places suitable for wild fishing here.

Li Younan showed no awareness of preparing for the fishing competition, while Liu Yu kept talking about the upcoming Fishing Masters Tournament.

Li Younan mocked him, saying that he was too obsessed with becoming famous.

Liu Yu snorted and said unconvinced, "Although I'm just doing it for fun, I have to do everything seriously to get results. Even if it's just for fun, I have to do it seriously."

Fish in the river are naturally not as easy to catch as fish in the reservoir.

However, after a whole afternoon of trying, the two still managed to catch some fish, each managing to catch a few crucian carp.

Liu Yu's idea was to throw these fish away, but Li Younan thought they could be kept and used to make soup.

Liu Yu knew Li Younan's cooking skills, so since Li Younan had said so, he naturally had no objections.

……

Today's brief fishing trip came to an abrupt end.

I arrived back in Chengdu in the afternoon.

Liu Li remained in the room, which was already the largest room in the house.

The nanny is busy outside most of the time, so Liu Li doesn't usually go out.

She would only move around in the living room and other places when her brother returned and confirmed that the nanny had also left.

Actually, she had met the nanny a few times, and the brief contact gave her a feeling of discomfort that was hard to describe, so she tried not to go out as much as possible after that.

Having eaten the nanny's cooking for so long, Liu Li subconsciously regarded the nanny as "one of the people inside," so she didn't feel any physiological fear.

She tidied up the room again; most of the time when she's bored, she'll tidy up the room.

A clean and tidy house makes her feel very comfortable.

Because her brother often reminds her to exercise, Liu Li's room has a treadmill and a small dumbbell rack next to it.

She exercises every day, so strictly speaking, she can't really be described as weak and sickly.

Sunlight streams in directly from the window, but she doesn't really sunbathe much, so her skin is pale and somewhat bloodless.

My brother has criticized me on this point several times.

So these past few days, when the sun is out, she'll move a rocking chair to the window and bask in the sun quietly. The sunlight on her back is warm and comforting.

Just then, she heard a noise outside. She knew it was her brother returning.

She called out, "Brother, are you back?"

Liu Yu's voice came from outside: "Yes, I'm back."

Liu Li returned to the rocking chair, leaned back comfortably, and swayed gently and rhythmically.

After a while, she said in a spoiled and carefree manner, "Brother, I'm hungry."

Liu Yu said, "I'm preparing food now. I'll call you when it's ready."

Liu Li nodded and said, "Okay, hurry up, don't keep your cute little sister waiting too long."

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Li stood up, walked to the door and said, "Brother, how about... I come out today?"

Liu Yu asked with some surprise, "What?"

Liu Li lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said seriously, "I don't think we can go on like this forever. Maybe I can gradually get used to it while Auntie is cooking outside the kitchen. I have to go out eventually."

Liu Yu, who was outside, was silent for a while before saying, "Let's call it a day."

Liu Li found it strange. Usually, her brother would encourage her to go out, so why didn't he want her to go out today?

She then thought that perhaps her brother was worried that if she really came into contact with her aunt, she would experience physical discomfort.
She smiled helplessly; what a conflicted brother he really was.

The sounds of cooking outside didn't last long.

This time, the aunt seemed to cook less and was much more efficient than before.

She sat back in the rocking chair and watched two episodes of anime. Zoro was so cool... Then Liu Yu called her to eat.

Liu Li pushed open the door and found the food already laid out on the dining table. The aunt was nowhere to be seen; she must have already gone home.

Liu Yu was already seated and had served her rice. He invited her to sit down.

As soon as Liu Li sat down, her eyes were drawn to the dishes on the table.

These are all rather complicated dishes; I've never seen my aunt cook them before.

She blinked, then sniffed carefully, a smile spreading across her face: "Oh, the dishes are different today. Did Auntie learn a new recipe?"

Liu Yu simply nodded and said, "I had her learn a few new dishes, so you can try them out."

Liu Li picked up the bowl, took two bites with her chopsticks, and put them in her mouth. The next moment, her eyes brightened and her eyebrows arched slightly: "Wow, brother, it's delicious!"

Liu Yu smiled, her eyes showing a hint of doting affection, but also a touch of doubt... Was it really that delicious?
He also picked up a piece with his chopsticks and took a bite. After a moment, his eyes flickered as he looked at the dishes on the table. Suddenly, he realized something, and his expression became somewhat complicated.

(End of this chapter)