The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

"You really are—" Bai Jiheng's Adam's apple bobbed. He swallowed the rest of his words, using an impatient tone to mask his panic, "Alright, stop crying. It's nothing, just changing a window, it's not like it's anything valuable."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because once he said, "It's not anything valuable," Bai Ci's tears fell even harder.

Bai Jiheng was completely at a loss. He raised his hand to rub Bai Ci's hair, but after rubbing it a couple of times, he felt that his technique was too rough, so he changed to patting her back. After patting her back a couple of times, he felt that it was too much like coaxing a child, so he simply withdrew his hand, turned his head and called out towards the door.

"Big brother."

Bai Yanzhi had already walked in through the door.

He walked up to Bai Ci, took a handkerchief out of his pocket, and stuffed it into Bai Ci's hand.

"Why are you crying?" he said, his tone no different from usual, offering no comfort, no advice, no questions.

Bai Ci clutched the handkerchief, his fingers tightening so that his fingertips dug into his palm through the fabric. He looked up at Bai Yanzhi, his eyes red, tears still clinging to his eyelashes, his nose red, his whole face a mess from crying, looking utterly wretched.

He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and weak: "Big brother...yes..."

"Don't apologize," Bai Yanzhi interrupted him.

Bai Ci was stunned, staring at him through teary eyes.

Bai Yanzhi raised his hand, gently brushing aside the stray hairs on Bai Ci's forehead that were covered by tears, tucking them behind her ears to reveal her red, tear-filled eyes.

"You don't need to apologize for crying at home."

Bai Ci stared blankly at him, tears streaming down her face again without warning. A very soft sob escaped his throat, like a wounded little animal finally loosening its clenched teeth.

Bai Yanzhi reached out and gently pulled Bai Ci's head back, pressing him against his shoulder.

The boy buried his face in Bai Yanzhi's shoulder, his shoulders trembling, his fingers gripping his older brother's clothes tightly at the back, his knuckles turning white. His sobs were muffled in the back of Bai Yanzhi's shoulder, intermittent, as if he had been holding back for far too long and had finally found an outlet where he could let loose.

Bai Yanzhi remained silent. He steadily supported Bai Ci's nape with one hand, while the other hand rested on his thin back. His palm was warm, and he could feel the slight trembling beneath the fabric. His chin gently rested on the top of the boy's head.

Bai Jiheng stood to the side watching, his Adam's apple bobbing again.

After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice much lower and raspy than usual.

"...Alright, Bai Ci. If you get your brother's clothes wet from crying, he won't be able to go to his study to handle official business. When Uncle Chen comes up to deliver the documents later, he'll see a wet patch on your brother's suit and think I dried it."

Bai Ci's shoulders trembled slightly. He was still breathing heavily, his breath coming in short gasps, as he leaned against Bai Yanzhi's shoulder. He lifted his face from Bai Yanzhi's shoulder, his eyes still red.

She glanced at the crumpled handkerchief in her hand, then looked up at Bai Yanzhi.

"...Brother, the handkerchief is wrinkled."

"Um."

I'll pay you back tomorrow.

Bai Yanzhi looked down at him, a slight smile playing on his lips: "No need to pay. You can keep it."

The heavy heartache from before was gradually washed away by the warmth, and the oppressive atmosphere in the air also eased considerably.

Bai Jiheng walked over from the wardrobe at the right moment and pushed the tissue box on the bedside table toward Bai Ci.

"Wipe your face. Your eyes are as red as a rabbit's; anyone who didn't know better would think I was bullying you."

He turned his head to look at Bai Yanzhi, his tone carrying his usual nitpicking manner, "Big brother, you're too biased. When I was fourteen, I fell off the wall and scraped my knee, and you stood by and watched me apply medicine, but you didn't get this treatment."

"You brought that on yourself," Bai Yanzhi said.

"Yeah, he brought this on himself," Bai Ci chimed in, her voice thick with a nasal tone.

Bai Jiheng choked.

He stared wide-eyed, first at Bai Yanzhi, who was expressionless and self-righteous. Then he looked at Bai Ci, whose eyes and nose were red, and whose eyelashes still had wet tears. Yet, in those usually soft eyes, there was a very faint hint of smugness, a trait born of being spoiled by his older brother.

"Alright." Bai Jiheng pointed at Bai Ci, then at Bai Yanzhi, waving his finger back and forth between the two heads. "Okay, you two—"

He kept saying "you two" for a long time, but couldn't find the right words.

"One of you is responsible for spoiling, and the other is responsible for being spoiled. So I'm the only bad guy, huh?" He shoved his hands into his pockets, took a half-step back, and slammed the back of his head against the wardrobe door with a thud. "I've been keeping watch, carrying bags, and wiping away people's tears, and in the end, no one even stood up for me. Bai Ci, when you were crying just now, I was the first to react before my brother did." He said the last sentence through gritted teeth.

Bai Ci wiped the tears from her face with a tissue, her voice hoarse: "Thank you, Third Brother."

"It's too late to say thank you now." Bai Jiheng turned his head away, his lips twitching downwards, but he couldn't suppress the barely concealed curve. He looked away, staring at the newly replaced screen on the window, his tone deliberately indifferent, "I won't buy you candy tomorrow."

"I didn't ask you to buy it," Bai Ci said.

Bai Jiheng turned to look at him.

Bai Ci added, "But you'll still buy it."

Bai Jiheng opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found he couldn't. He wanted to retort, but was afraid of making the person who had just finished crying redden their eyes again.

Finally, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, swiped the screen a couple of times, and said in a tone that suggested he was "too lazy to argue with you guys," "I'll have Uncle Chen bring over another thick blanket. It's windy at night, and even with the windows locked, he might still kick off the blanket."

After saying that, he walked out without looking up, his steps much faster than usual.

Bai Ci watched his hurriedly walking figure disappear into the distance and muttered to herself, "Third Brother's walking posture has become inconsistent."

Bai Yanzhi didn't reply. When Bai Ci looked up, she happened to meet the gentle and restrained smile in his eyes.

Bai Ci held the crumpled handkerchief and looked down at her fingers.

These hands were gripping the older brother's wrist tightly a moment ago, but now they've made his handkerchief all wrinkled from crying.

He thought about it and decided that he would still have to pay one yuan tomorrow.

Although my older brother said it wasn't necessary.