Brother! This is the adoption certificate. I don't want your sister-in-law!

By the time the school bell rang, the sun was already setting.

Su Wanning walked out of the school gate with her schoolbag on her back.

She walked slowly along the tree-lined road outside the school.

At the end of this road is a small park, not very big, with a few rusty exercise machines, a faded slide, and two swings.

She slowed her pace as she passed by.

A little girl, about four or five years old, was sitting on the swing. She had two pigtails and was holding a rag doll in her arms.

Several little boys surrounded her, one of them reaching out to grab her doll, while another egged them on.

The little girl hugged the doll tightly to her chest, her lips trembling as she cried, until finally she burst into tears.

"Brother—Brother—"

The cries were sharp and bright, carrying far through the sparse shadows of the trees in the park.

A few seconds later, a boy of about seven or eight years old rushed over from the other end of the park, his schoolbag clattering behind him.

He rushed to the swing, spread his arms to shield his sister behind him, and yelled at the boys.

He couldn't quite make out what he was yelling, but the boys were intimidated by his aggressive manner, took a few steps back, and then scattered in a panic.

The little boy turned around and bent down to wipe his sister's tears.

His younger sister hugged his neck, buried her face in his shoulder, and sobbed uncontrollably.

He patted her back and wiped her face with his sleeve, saying something like, "Don't cry, don't cry."

Su Wanning stood outside the park, watching this scene through the row of low holly trees.

Her hands were gripping the backpack straps tightly without her noticing.

When I was little...

It's also this park.

It's also this swing.

She sat there crying, while several little boys laughed beside her.

She called him "brother".

Then Su Xiao arrived.

Back then, he was even willing to beat someone up until their nose bled for her sake.

"Wan Ning? Are you waiting for me?"

A voice suddenly came from behind.

Su Wan Ning was startled and turned her head sharply.

Su Xiao stood a few steps behind her.

His school uniform jacket was draped over his shoulders, his schoolbag was casually hanging on one shoulder, and his hair was wet with sweat, with a few strands sticking to his forehead.

The setting sun shone from behind him, gilding him with a golden edge.

Su Wanning glanced at him and frowned.

"Why are you taking so long to get out?"

Su Xiao laughed and stepped forward, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her clean hands.

"I was playing ball during PE class, which made me a little late."

He didn't say the whole thing.

You can't exactly say that he had Xu Niannian wipe her hands by the playground and then teased her in the classroom for a while before leaving.

You can't exactly say, "I'll find you a sister-in-law at school," can you?

Su Xiao chuckled inwardly, but kept a straight face.

However, he was indeed a little surprised that Su Wanning was actually waiting for him after school.

Although the wait was in a park by the roadside, rather than at the school gate, it was still quite unexpected for him.

This girl usually keeps at least ten meters away from him when they walk, but today she actually stood by the roadside waiting for him.

Su Wan Ning glanced at him, her gaze lingering on the sweat on his face for a second, probably believing the excuse about the PE class.

Then she looked away, turned around, and spoke in a neutral tone.

"My aunt invited us to her house for dinner."

"Auntie?"

Su Xiao paused for a moment, then searched through her memories, and a woman whose appearance resembled her mother emerged.

Round face, short hair, and a loud laugh.

However, unlike his mother's quiet personality, you can still see the resemblance between the two sisters in their eyes and brows.

"tonight."

"Tonight?" Su Xiao looked down at her school uniform, which was soaked with sweat. "Why are you in such a hurry? I'm covered in sweat."

Su Wanning didn't answer, and started walking forward.

……

My aunt's house isn't far; it's only a ten-minute walk away.

It was one of those old-fashioned staff housing buildings, five stories high, with light yellow paint on the exterior walls, and several bicycles piled up at the entrance of the building.

My aunt's house is on the second floor. The door was open, and I could smell the aroma of braised pork ribs even before I reached the door.

"Here it comes!"

My aunt, wearing an apron, poked half her body out of the kitchen, holding a spatula in her hand.

She was a little fatter than Su Xiao remembered, and had a few more wrinkles around her eyes, but her laughter was still so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire hallway.

"Come in, come in, Lao Liu, get the kid some slippers!"

My uncle came out of the living room. He was of medium build, with a buzz cut and black-rimmed glasses. He looked like the kind of honest man who didn't talk much.

He placed two pairs of slippers at the door, nodded to Su Xiao, then nodded to Su Wan Ning, before turning back to continue setting the table.

My aunt's house is very clean.

The sofa covers were newly changed, there was a white crocheted cushion on the coffee table, and two potted green plants with shiny leaves were placed next to the TV.

The dining table wasn't big, but it was already laden with a whole table of dishes.

Braised pork ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cucumber salad, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and a big bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup.

A chubby little boy was sitting in the high chair next to them; that was Su Xiao's cousin.

Su Xiao didn't know his name, but she grabbed his chubby face and kept rubbing it until her little cousin was grimacing. In the end, Su Wan Ning couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in to help.

The aunt brought out the last dish, pulled up a chair and sat down next to Su Wan Ning, then picked up her chopsticks and started putting food into her bowl.

"Come on, this spare ribs is something your aunt made especially for you. It was your favorite when you were little. Eat more, you're so skinny."

Su Wan Ning held the bowl, whispered "Thank you, Auntie," and lowered her head to eat in small bites.

The aunt then turned to Su Xiao and looked him up and down.

"You're even more handsome than your dad was back in his day. How's schoolwork?"

"It's alright." Su Xiao stuffed a piece of pork rib into her mouth.

"What does 'not bad' mean? Does it mean you can improve for the final exam?"

"Absolutely." Su Xiao nodded between chews, saying vaguely, "It'll definitely be better than before."

His aunt was amused by his confident demeanor and gave him another piece of pork rib.

"Okay, your aunt believes you. You two, behave yourselves, don't let..."

She paused, swallowed the rest of her sentence, and instead made the gesture of picking up food.

Su Xiao knew what she wanted to say.

Don't let your parents down.

But my aunt didn't say it aloud; every word seemed to float in the air.

Mentioning the passing of one's parents inevitably creates a somewhat oppressive atmosphere of losing a loved one.

Su Xiao didn't seem to mind at all. She ate and drank as usual, and occasionally chimed in with her aunt, making her aunt laugh.

At the same time, the aunt was secretly puzzled.

This child has such a big heart?

You've gotten over it so quickly?

But then I thought about it again, and it was good this way. The more he acted like this, the more it showed that he could hold on and take good care of his sister.

Su Wan Ning sat quietly to the side, her chopsticks moving very gently as she picked up food. She ate only a little over half of the rice in her bowl before she couldn't eat anymore.

She listened to Su Xiao and her aunt chatting back and forth, and looked at the scene of laughter and conversation on the table, her gaze slightly lowered.

Halfway through the meal, my cousin climbed down from his high chair, grabbed my uncle's trouser leg, and started crying and screaming, insisting on going out to play.

My aunt's husband tried to coax him several times to no avail, so my aunt waved her hand at him. My aunt's husband then hoisted his son onto his shoulder and went out.

The living room suddenly became much quieter.

The aunt put down her chopsticks, looked at Su Xiao and Su Wan Ning, and remained silent for a few seconds.

Then she sighed softly.

"Su Xiao, Wan Ning," her voice was low, not as cheerful as before, "Are you... alright now?"

"It's fine." Su Xiao put down her chopsticks, took a tissue to wipe her mouth, and said, "We have everything we need at home, so eating is no problem."

Su Wanning didn't say anything, she just nodded.

The aunt nodded, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two people's faces.

"You must study hard, you know..."

At this point, her aunt sighed again, looking helplessly at Su Xiao: "You're not bad-looking, and you're not stupid, so why don't you study hard? What will you do in the future? You can't possibly end up like your father, working on a construction site, can you?"

Su Xiao took a bite of the rib and casually replied, "That's not necessarily true, Auntie. There are many ways to Rome. If all else fails, I can go out and work and I won't starve."