My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

In the days that followed, Su Qing's life became very regular.

In the morning, I take Jiang Ran to school. During the day, I work at the Bantang Dessert Shop. Around four o'clock in the afternoon, I pack my things to pick her up. In the evening, I have dinner with the little one, watch her do her homework, and occasionally let her feel hurt by that math olympiad problem set. Then I wash up and go to bed.

Life is as uneventful as a glass of perfectly warm lemonade, without any major ups and downs, but it's very comforting to drink.

The only problem is, I don't know if it's because she's been watching too many parenting blogger videos lately.

The system probably pushed the information automatically based on her browsing history, from "How to help children adapt to primary school life quickly" to "Psychological development characteristics of seven-year-old children" and then to "Ten golden rules of parent-child communication," one after another, endlessly.

Su Qing wasn't opposed to it, after all, she did need to catch up on her studies. She had never raised a child before and relied entirely on intuition and systematic data analysis, so learning more couldn't hurt.

But that evening, the algorithm pushed a slightly different message to her.

The video's cover image shows a little girl in a school uniform crouching in a stairwell, hugging her knees, with the caption: "When your child suddenly doesn't want to go to school, please take it seriously."

Su Qing paused for a moment, then clicked on it.

The video presented several real-life cases of school bullying, including being cornered in the bathroom and forced to give pocket money, being ostracized by the entire class, and being given insulting nicknames for years.

The characteristics of the victims were listed one by one: introverted, quiet, few friends, afraid to tell adults, and feeling that they were not good enough when they were bullied.

Su Qing leaned back on the sofa, the light from her phone screen reflecting on her face, revealing an increasingly furrowed brow.

She read through the list one by one, and with each one, she couldn't help but try to apply it to Jiang Ran.

Introverted personality – Yes.

Not talkative—that's right.

I have few friends—Xiaoyu is one, but only one.

She didn't dare to complain—needless to say, she never asked anyone for help when she was abused by her adoptive parents.

  

The more Su Qing looked at it, the more alarmed she became, as if she had suddenly discovered a crack in the group photo inside her phone case.

She mentally called out to the system, "Do you think Xiao Ran might be bullied at school?"

The system's response remained in its usual emotionless electronic tone, but the wording was more cautious than usual: [Based on a comprehensive analysis of Jiang Ran's behavioral patterns, personality traits, and social skills, she does indeed belong to a high-risk group for bullying in her current age group.]

[Although her social withdrawal has significantly improved, she still exhibits relatively few proactive social behaviors and tends to avoid rather than express herself when faced with conflict. These traits are statistically positively correlated with a high rate of bullying.]

[However, a high probability does not equate to certainty. It is recommended that the host view risk data rationally, avoid excessive anxiety, and focus on the present.]

Su Qing turned off her phone screen, rolled over, and buried her face in the pillow.

The moonlight filtering through the curtains fell directly on the bedside table, illuminating Jiang Ran's smile in the group photo.

She mentally went over the system's statement, "Probability is not the same as certainty," several times, but still felt uneasy.

A high probability means a possibility, and the word "possible" might just be a number to others, but to her, it represents a family she had finally managed to have...

The next afternoon, Su Qing went to pick up Jiang Ran from school as usual.

The leaves of the old sycamore tree at the school gate have turned yellow again, and sunlight shines through the sparse canopy onto the ground, spreading out like scattered gold.

She stood under the tree waiting, not looking down at her phone as usual, but staring intently at the entrance of the teaching building.

When Jiang Ran came out, her steps were steady and her expression was normal. The moment she saw her, her eyes lit up, and she quickly walked over and took her hand.

Su Qing squatted down, handed her the cookies he had brought, and then subtly scanned her from head to toe.

His school uniform was neat, his hair was tidy, there were no unusual marks on his face, and his eyes were calm.

Everything was exactly the same as usual. There were no signs of crying, no evasive glances, the backpack zipper was working, and the water in the cup was warm.

"How was school today?" Su Qing stood up and took her hand, her tone casual as if she were talking about the weather.

Jiang Ran took a bite of the cookie, her cheek puffed out to one side, and she mumbled, "It's very good."

Her voice was light and cheerful, her expression natural, and the corners of her mouth were turned up when she looked up at Su Qing.

But Su Qing noticed that when she said "very good", her fingers unconsciously pinched the edge of the cookie box.

"System," she murmured to herself, "is there anything unusual about her voice data?"

[Compared to baseline data, the tone was 0.3 octaves higher, and there was a 0.4-second delay before the response. Based on this, the reliability is approximately 62%.]

Su Qing's heart sank.

The same thing happened last time. She asked Jiang Ran if she wanted to go to school, and the little girl said yes, but the system told her that the answer wasn't very reliable.

She later learned that the little guy had been secretly sighing.

Jiang Ran was unaware of what her sister was thinking.

She ate the biscuits one bite at a time, her steps as steady as ever, occasionally glancing at the sparrows hopping around in the ginkgo tree by the roadside.

And there was something she hadn't told Su Qing... The school wasn't bad, the classmates weren't bad, it was just that not seeing her sister for so many hours every day made her feel terrible.

But she didn't want her sister to worry. Her sister already worked so hard, going to work every day and picking her up. If she knew her sister was unhappy about something so small, she would definitely overthink it.

So she said "It's great!" very lightly and adjusted her expression to be very natural.

She has learned how to be a good child who doesn't cause her older sister any worry.

Jiang Ran felt that things were fine as they were, but Su Qing didn't think so.

Her mind is now filled with images of the little one being pulled by the hair, pinched on the arm, pushed down and injured, afraid to cry loudly, and afraid to tell her. She just silently processes it all by herself, becoming more and more negative and introverted, until finally...

[Host...] The system paused for a moment before continuing: [Analysis shows that the host's recent random thoughts dominated their thinking, hindering rational judgment.]

Su Qing ignored it and instead put a newly bought pink smartwatch on the little girl's wrist. The watch was small but exquisite and had all the necessary functions. Su Qing told her that she could use it to send her messages after class.

The little guy's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. Wouldn't that mean he could talk to his sister every other class?!

Seeing her happy expression, Su Qing helplessly ruffled her hair and told her again, "Xiao Ran, promise your sister that no matter who bullies you, you have to tell her, okay?"

Jiang Ran nodded upon hearing this.