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

Su Xiao turned on her phone's flashlight, and a beam of white light cut a path through the dark living room.

He held up his phone and pretended to walk to the door, shining it on the incoming electrical circuit. Then he looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling, muttering to himself, "Hmm... this wiring... it must be old... poor contact..."

Su Wan Ning sat on the sofa, hugging a cushion, her legs crossed in front of her, her gaze following the beam of his flashlight as it swept around the room.

Then Su Xiao turned around and said seriously, "No, the circuit is old and can't be fixed tonight. I'll find someone to take a look tomorrow, just make do for tonight."

Su Wanning believed it.

He nodded and hugged the pillow even tighter.

Su Xiao placed her phone's flashlight upwards on the coffee table, the light shining onto the white ceiling and then spilling down.

A dim light, but at least enough to make out the outlines, filled the living room.

He walked to the sofa, took out the exquisitely packaged little paper bag from his pocket, opened it, and took out the watch with the light blue dial.

The watch strap is a silver metal chain that gleams softly under the phone's light.

"Here, take this."

He handed him his watch, saying, "It'll be easier for you to check the time later. If it gets too late, just message me and let me know when I get home."

Su Wan Ning looked down at the watch, her expression not changing much, but her fingers gently gripped the edge of the cushion.

"Who wants to supervise you?"

The sound was still harsh, but the hand that took the watch was quick.

"I definitely need my little sister to keep an eye on me."

Su Xiao grinned and leaned closer, "There are so many bad women out there, and your brother is so handsome. What if someone kidnaps me? You have to keep an eye on me."

He took the watch from her hand, unfastened the clasp, pulled her left hand over, wrapped the watch strap around her slender wrist, and carefully fastened it.

His fingers touched the inside of her wrist, where the skin was so thin that you could see the bluish veins.

Su Wan Ning's fingers trembled slightly, as if she had been electrocuted. She instinctively tried to pull her arm back, but she held it down firmly.

She remained in that position, motionless, her expression still as cold as an ancient iceberg.

Su Xiao put the watch on her wrist, then held it up and looked at it from left to right, her tone filled with undisguised pride.

"It's true that good-looking people look good in anything. This watch is perfect for my sister."

She couldn't see the color of the watch face in the darkness, but she could see Su Xiao's face clearly.

The phone light shone up from below, illuminating his angular face with sharp angles.

A strange feeling welled up in Su Wanning's heart. She quickly pulled her hand back, turned her head away, and her voice returned to its usual coldness.

Have you eaten? Are you hungry?

Su Xiao raised an eyebrow.

coming.

This is Su Wanning's style of apology.

She won't say "I'm sorry" or "I shouldn't have given you the silent treatment." She'll only ask if you're hungry.

Once those words were spoken, the Cold War was effectively over.

He immediately sat up straight on the sofa, clutching his stomach and making an extremely exaggerated expression of pain: "I'm starving! I only ate a steamed bun this morning, and I've been busy all day..."

Before she could finish speaking, Su Wan Ning had already stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

She left her phone on the coffee table without taking it and groped her way into the kitchen in the dark.

A few seconds later, the sound of a fire being lit came from the kitchen, the flames flickering "tap tap tap tap tap".

With a "whoosh," the gas stove ignited, and a small patch of blue flame flickered out from the kitchen doorway.

Su Xiao leaned back on the sofa, looking at the silhouette illuminated by the firelight in the kitchen, and let out a long sigh.

It was a perfect performance.

Luckily, my brother was quick-witted. If this cold war had dragged on for a few more days, he might have frozen to death in Jingcheng.

Su Wanning brought out the heated dishes.

The garlic broccoli was heated a little too much; the edges were slightly charred.

The pork rib soup has come to a boil again, with a layer of glistening oil floating on the surface.

She walked to the coffee table, picked up her phone, turned on the flashlight, and held it up to illuminate his path.

The light shone from the side, illuminating the food on the table and Su Xiao's face buried in her bowl.

While shoveling rice into her mouth, Su Xiao mumbled praise, "These ribs are amazing, and this soup is delicious too. Little sister, whoever marries you will be so lucky."

Su Wanning sat opposite, holding up her phone.

At first, she sat very upright, with her back straight and her other hand on her knee, as if she were attending a school opening ceremony.

Later, probably because he got tired of lifting, he rested his elbows on the table and changed his angle.

Later, I probably relaxed after listening to him slurping his food.

She raised her other hand to support her chin, tilted her head, and watched him wolf down his food under the dim light of her phone.

The way he eats is not attractive at all.

His mouth was stuffed full, his cheeks were bulging, and his chopsticks were shoveling noisily in the bowl. Occasionally, he would wipe the oil from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

Su Wan Ning suddenly remembered the piglets in the pigsty in the countryside when she was a child. They snored and jostled around while eating, not at all well-behaved.

What a pig!

She couldn't help but laugh, then immediately pulled her lips back.

The smile on his face hadn't completely faded, but thankfully the light was dim, so he probably didn't see it.

Su Xiao saw it, of course.

But he didn't say anything, just chuckled twice, and handed over the bowl: "Another bowl, please."

……

When it was time to go to sleep, Su Wan Ning returned to her room and stood at the door looking at the pitch blackness inside.

She usually sleeps with a small nightlight on, which is plugged into the socket on the bedside table and is shaped like a pale yellow mushroom.

The light was soft, allowing her to see the outlines of the room.

But there's no electricity tonight, so the nightlight isn't working.

She closed the door, climbed into bed, and shrank under the covers, leaving only half her face exposed.

Close your eyes and tell yourself that your brother is next door, it's okay, nothing will happen.

Thinking like this makes my breathing a little more even.

Then there was a knock on the door.

Su Wan Ning opened her eyes and peeked out from under the covers.

The door was pushed open a crack, and Su Xiao's face peeked out from behind it, his smile looking particularly irritating in the darkness.

He carried a pillow and a blanket in one hand and a mat in the other, then used his back to push open the door and swaggered in.

"Aren't you scared to sleep alone at night? Do you want me to keep you company?"

Su Wan Ning's ears suddenly felt like they were on fire.

Fortunately, the room was dark, so he couldn't see.

She pulled the blanket tighter, her voice cold and hard: "Get out of here. Who needs you to stay with me?"

Su Xiao was not about to let go of this great opportunity that she had created herself.

He spread the mat on the ground, threw the quilt on top, and tossed the pillow up, then lay down on it like a corpse, his hands crossed over his chest.

He closed one eye, then opened the other.

The eye was wide open in the darkness, staring intently at the ceiling, then turning to look at Su Wan Ning, who was curled up in a ball on the bed.

The voice carried a hint of laughter, yet it also sounded somewhat genuine.

"You're not afraid, but I am."