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

When Su Xiao pushed open the door, the living room lights were on, and a variety show was playing on the TV, with scattered laughter from the audience.

Su Wan Ning sat cross-legged on the sofa, hugging a cushion, her eyes fixed on the TV screen, without even lifting her eyelids.

Su Xiao changed into slippers and came in, explaining, "I had some things to do outside, so I'm a little late."

"Um."

Just one word.

She didn't ask where he was going, didn't coldly tell him "heat up your own food if it's cold," and didn't sit on the sofa with her arms crossed, judging him with her eyes.

You didn't even scold me?

Su Xiao stood in the center of the living room, feeling a little uncomfortable.

Why am I being treated like someone else's younger sister today?

However, he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He quickly went into the kitchen to wash his hands and lifted the food cover off the table.

Two dishes and a soup: garlic broccoli, stir-fried green peppers with pork, and a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup, with wisps of steam rising from the rim of the bowl.

He paused for a moment, then touched the rim of the bowl with the back of his hand. It was warm, clearly having been heated recently.

He turned his head and glanced towards the living room. Su Wan Ning's back was facing him, sitting upright with her eyes fixed on the TV, as if that variety show was the most interesting thing in the world.

Even though she said she would be home late and wouldn't heat up her food, she still did.

Su Xiao grinned, filled a large bowl with rice, and sat down to eat it with slurping.

On the sofa, Su Wan Ning's gaze subtly shifted half an inch from the TV screen and landed on his back as he buried himself in his rice.

Seeing that he was eating with relish, she narrowed her eyes slightly, then looked away and changed her posture to continue hugging her pillow.

After finishing their meal, Su Xiao also slumped onto the sofa, with the siblings separated by a seat.

The TV presenter was playing a preview for the next episode when Su Wanning suddenly asked, "Do you want an apple?"

Su Xiao was changing the channel with the remote when she casually asked, "When did you buy Apple products?"

Su Wan Ning's voice suddenly sounded a little flustered, and she spoke a beat faster than usual, saying, "I bought it on the way back."

Su Xiao didn't think too much about it, patted her stomach and said, "No need, I just ate."

Su Wanning didn't speak, and the only sound in the living room was the background music from the weather forecast on the TV.

After about three minutes, Su Wan Ning spoke again: "Are you still full?"

Su Xiao was engrossed in watching the program and casually replied.

"well enough."

Su Wanning fell silent again.

A few minutes later, Su Xiao felt a little thirsty and stood up to get some water.

Su Wan Ning turned her head, her voice rising half an octave: "How about you eat an apple?"

Su Xiaona was puzzled and turned to look at her.

Is this a clash with Apple today?

Su Wan Ning turned her face to one side, burying her chin behind the cushion, only revealing half of her slightly reddened ear.

"If you don't eat it... it'll spoil tomorrow."

Su Xiao stood beside the coffee table, looking at her restless appearance, and suddenly understood something.

It's as if Wu Mengmeng is telling herself, "Tomorrow is Christmas?"

Su Wanning gave herself an apple, probably because it was Christmas Eve.

Su Xiao sat down again, leaning against the sofa armrest, her voice tinged with a helpless smile: "Okay, okay, then go get me one."

Su Wan Ning immediately jumped up from the sofa, threw the cushion aside, and ran into the kitchen in her slippers.

The tap gushed for a while, and when she came back, she was holding a big, red apple in her hands. It was clean, and water droplets were still hanging on the peel, glistening under the light.

Su Xiao took it and took a big bite. It was crisp and juicy, bursting with flavor in her mouth, and just the right amount of sweetness.

Su Wan Ning was so insistent on him eating an apple, probably because she wanted to celebrate Christmas.

He never remembers these holidays, such as Christmas and New Year's Day; to him, they are just different numbers on the calendar.

Besides, who cares about Western holidays like Christmas, except for young couples?

But as he munched on the apple, looking at Su Wanning who had sat cross-legged again beside him, pretending to be engrossed in watching TV, he still said, "Thanks, little sister."

"Um."

This time, Su Wan Ning's "hmm" was noticeably softer than before.

In addition to the sound of the television, the living room was filled with the crisp sound of apples being eaten.

On TV, the host was pointing to a weather map explaining that temperatures would drop the day after tomorrow, reminding citizens to keep warm and avoid catching a cold during flu season.

Su Wanning stared at the TV screen and suddenly said, "It's getting cold, remember to wear the coat I bought you before."

Su Xiao took a big bite of apple and mumbled a reply, "Okay, you're just like our mom."

Su Wanning didn't say anything, but hugged the pillow tighter to her chest, though a small smile curved her lips.

……

During the long break the next day, Su Xiao was lying on the table pretending to be doing a chemistry test, but her eyes kept glancing to the side.

Xu Niannian sat there with her hands on her knees, took a deep breath, opened her mouth a crack, and then closed it again.

He took another deep breath, tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table twice, and moved his lips, but still no sound came out.

He took another deep breath, and then, like a punctured balloon, his shoulders slumped, his head lowered, and he looked at the hand he had placed under the table, seemingly preparing something.

"Do you have so much trouble breathing? Air is free." Su Xiao, who had been observing silently from the side, finally couldn't help but speak up.

Xu Niannian was so startled that she jumped up and shoved her hand into the table, her face turning bright red instantly.

Su Xiao threw the pen on the table, turned to look at her, and said, "Do you know what it means to have your best effort, but then it will wane and eventually be exhausted? If you have something to say, say it quickly, don't keep it bottled up and make yourself sick."

As he spoke, he reached out and pinched her cheek; it still felt so good.

Xu Niannian's eyes welled up with tears from being pinched, but this time she didn't dodge or stammer "it's nothing." Instead, she took a deep breath and pulled out the hand that had been hidden under the table.

She held a red, caterpillar-like object in both hands and presented it to Su Xiao.

Su Xiao released her face, took the thing, and examined it from all angles.

The stitches were crooked and uneven, with several stitches missing in one section. A white ball of yarn was attached to the top, and its size was not quite uniform.

"What is this?"

Xu Niannian lowered her head and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "Santa hat."

Su Xiao stared wide-eyed, held the "Christmas hat" up to her eyes and examined it carefully again, then slapped herself on the forehead.

"Is this a Santa hat? Who knitted it? It's so ugly! If Americans see it, they'll laugh at me for being too ugly to handle."

He poked the crooked white ball of fur with his finger.

Xu Niannian blinked her big eyes, then blinked again, looking at the hat that Su Xiao was waving around in her hand. She pouted slightly and whispered in defense, "No, what's ugly about it... I think it looks pretty good..."

The voice grew softer and softer, the last few words almost muffled by his mouth.

Her eyelashes drooped, and her fingers gently rubbed against her knees.

She didn't know what a Santa hat looked like, so every time she came home from school she would take a detour to stand in front of the nearby KFC for a while, because every Christmas there they would put up a standee of Santa Claus wearing a red hat and white pom-poms.

She didn't dare go in, so she stood outside and looked through the glass, watching a little bit each day, memorizing the shape of the hat, and then knitting it little by little when she got home at night. She unraveled it three times and knitted it four times, still thinking that he would be very happy.

Su Xiao turned and looked at her suspiciously: "You didn't knit this, did you?"

Xu Niannian nodded gently.

He turned the hat over and looked at it again, clicked his tongue, and said, "Uh...it's not that ugly, actually."

Xu Niannian still looked dejected, her shoulders slumped, her eyelashes drooping, like a little white flower that had been stepped on.

Looking at her silly and aggrieved expression, Su Xiao was wondering how to coax her when she suddenly felt something poking her in her pocket.

He reached in and pulled out a few brightly colored candies, which Wu Mengmeng had given him yesterday; the wrappers glistened in the sunlight.

His eyes lit up, and he grabbed a candy and slammed it onto Xu Niannian's desk.

"Alright, look at you, you silly thing. Have some candy, Merry Christmas."

Xu Niannian paused, then looked down at the colorful candies on the table.

Her eyelashes fluttered twice, then she carefully extended a finger and gently touched the wrapper of one of the candies, as if she were touching something particularly precious.

"Is this...is this a Christmas present for me?"

Her voice carried a hint of probing, and a touch of barely concealed excitement.

Without batting an eye, Su Xiao brazenly said, "Of course, this is the sweetest Christmas present in the world. Do you like it?"

Xu Niannian held the candies in her hands, cupping them together to form a small bowl, protecting the candies in the middle. She looked down at them and then slowly curved her lips into a smile.

That smile was very light, but brighter than the sunlight reflected off a candy wrapper.

She nodded vigorously.

"like."