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

Su Xiao returned home carrying two bags.

One is for matching couple hoodies.

The other was pork ribs from Qiaotou, wrapped in tin foil, still warm, which I brought for Su Wan Ning.

Su Wan Ning had just come out of her room to get some water. Her gaze first swept over the Qiaotou Spare Ribs, then lingered on another bag.

"What is it?"

"clothing."

Su Xiao hid the bag behind her back, speaking casually.

I bought it on the street because I didn't have many clothes left.

Su Wan Ning said "Oh," and took her water glass back to her room, her expression unreadable.

After the door closed, she leaned against it, looked down at the water glass in her hand, and pursed her lips slightly.

He has no clothes to wear?

……

The next morning, around 10 a.m., Su Xiao was still enjoying a rare weekend nap when there was a knock on her door.

After being knocked on several times, Su Xiao finally woke up from her sleep.

"Coming, coming! What's up?"

Su Xiao groggily got up and opened the door. Su Wan Ning was standing at the door, holding a large bag in her hands.

She shoved the bag into his arms, her expression icy, but the tips of her ears were a little red.

"The weather forecast says it will get colder next month, so I bought you some winter clothes."

Su Xiao was stunned.

He bent down and opened the paper bag, inside which were several pieces of clothing folded.

A dark blue down jacket, two thick sweatshirts, and a gray scarf.

He recognized the brand; it wasn't expensive, but it was definitely not cheap either.

He unfolded the down jacket and looked at it, then felt the thickness of the scarf, and his fingers slowly stopped.

He looked up and saw that Su Wan Ning had already moved to the other side, her head turned away, her ponytail neatly tied, and her expression still cold and indifferent.

But her fingers were intertwined behind her back.

"Where did you get the money?"

"Prize money from previous competitions."

Su Wan Ning turned her face away. "And there's what I save from other times."

Su Xiao looked down at the clothes in her arms, then looked up at her.

Then he smiled, the corners of his mouth slowly curving upwards.

"Thank you, little lemon."

Su Wan Ning's body trembled violently.

She hadn't heard those three words in a very, very long time.

That was the name my brother gave me when he was very, very young.

Her eyes suddenly stung a little, but she quickly suppressed the feeling.

"Don't call me that."

She turned and walked towards the living room, her voice stiff, "That's so cheesy."

But her ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

Su Xiao leaned against the door frame, clutching the bag, and watched her retreating figure as she walked away, her smile widening.

……

At night, Su Wanning lay in bed and turned off the light.

She closed her eyes, but couldn't fall asleep.

The words "Little Lemon" have been swirling in my head all day.

She turned over, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and closed her eyes.

She had a dream.

In her dream, she stood in front of a very large door, and a noisy commotion could be heard coming from inside.

She pushed open the door, and there were her uncles, her second uncle, and many other relatives sitting in the living room.

Her uncle held a piece of paper in his hand, looking at her with a cold smile.

"You're not a member of the Su family; you're adopted. This family doesn't welcome you. Leave."

Her feet seemed to be nailed to the ground; she couldn't move.

I wanted to shout, but no sound came out of my throat.

I want to run, but my legs won't obey me.

Her second uncle came over, grabbed her arm, and tried to push her out the door.

Su Wan Ning was terrified, and large tears fell one by one.

"Don't touch her!"

A hand reached out from behind and pulled her over.

Su Xiao stood in front of her, pushing all the relatives aside.

"She's my sister, no one can touch her." He stood like a wall in front of her.

After saying that, Su Xiao turned around, squatted down, and gently wiped away the tears on her face with her fingers.

"Don't cry, Little Lemon." His fingers were warm, and his movements were gentle. "Brother's here."

In her dream, Su Wan Ning grabbed his clothes, her voice trembling violently: "Brother... will you abandon me in the future?"

Su Xiao smiled and reached out to hug her.

"How could that be? You'll always be my sister, always."

Su Wan Ning buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

But the ice in my heart seems to be melting little by little.

My phone alarm went off at 6 a.m.

Su Wan Ning opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

There was a small damp stain on the pillow.

She reached up and touched her face; there were still traces of tears.

The sky outside the window was just beginning to lighten, and there were faint sounds of pots and pans clattering in the kitchen.

Su Xiao got up even earlier than her today.

Su Wan Ning slowly sat up, flipped the pillow over, got out of bed, stepped barefoot on the floor, and gently opened the bedroom door.

The kitchen door was open, and warm yellow light shone through, casting a gentle glow on the hallway floor.

She walked over, stood sideways at the doorway, and didn't go in.

Su Xiao stood in front of the stove with her back to her, sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

The water in the pot was bubbling and steaming, and white steam rose up, blurring his outline.

He stirred the noodles in the pot with chopsticks in one hand, and picked up the sugar jar from the side with the other hand, sprinkling a small amount into the pot.

The movements were very practiced.

A bowl was already placed next to the stove, with a poached egg lying in it.

The egg whites were fried until slightly golden brown, while the yolks remained intact, round, and resembled a small sun.

There was also a glass of milk next to it.

Su Wanning leaned against the door frame, quietly watching his back.

Su Xiao didn't notice her. She was focused on scooping the cooked noodles into a bowl. Her hand was burned by the steam, so she blew on it and continued scooping.

Clumsy...

Su Wanning muttered something to herself and looked away.

It wasn't that she didn't want to watch; it was that if she continued watching, she was afraid her eyes would involuntarily redden.

The fear from her dream still lingered in her heart.

But when she woke up, she saw Su Xiao standing in the kitchen, making breakfast for her.

Su Wanning felt inexplicably at ease, an unprecedented sense of peace.

At this moment, Su Xiao suddenly turned around, saw her standing at the door, paused for a moment, and then smiled.

Su Xiao's eyes sparkled, overlapping with the image of the brother in her dream who knelt down to wipe away her tears.

"You're awake? Perfect timing, the noodles are ready."

He brought two bowls of noodles to the dining table, placing one in her usual spot with a poached egg in it and two slices of ham next to it.

Su Wanning walked over and sat down, looking down at the poached egg in her bowl without saying a word.

Su Xiao sat down opposite her, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat noisily.

He always eats very quickly, as if he's in a hurry or afraid that someone will steal his food if he eats too slowly.

Su Wanning did not touch her chopsticks.

She stared at the fried egg for several seconds.

Then she suddenly spoke, her voice not loud, slightly hoarse from just waking up, with a hint of nasal tone that was carefully concealed.

"...What time did you get up?"

With noodles still dangling from her mouth, Su Xiao mumbled, "It's about 5:30, I can't sleep anymore."

5:30.

It's only 6:10 now.

He had been standing in the kitchen for forty minutes.

Su Wan Ning's fingers tightened slightly over the chopsticks.

She picked up her chopsticks, lowered her head, picked up the fried egg, and took a bite.

good to eat.

She chewed without expression, neither saying it was delicious nor that it was bad.

But she ate the whole fried egg, leaving not a single bite.

Su Xiao had already finished eating and was drinking soup from her bowl, slurping it loudly without any regard for her image.

Su Wan Ning glanced at him, her lips twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything.

She lowered her head and continued eating her noodles.

Halfway through her meal, she suddenly stopped, picked up the remaining slice of ham from her bowl with her chopsticks, and threw it directly into Su Xiao's bowl without even looking at it.

Su Xiao paused for a moment, looked up at the extra slice of ham in the bowl, and then looked up at her.

Su Wan Ning had already lowered her head and continued eating her noodles, her expression as cold as ice, her voice indifferent.

"I can't eat anymore."

Su Xiao looked at the ham in the bowl.

Can't eat anymore? You're kidding me.

He smiled, didn't expose him, picked up the slice of ham, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and mumbled something indistinctly.

"Mmm, the one my sister gave me still smells the best."