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

Seven years later.

The morning sunlight on the weekend squeezed through the gaps in the curtains, casting some reflections on the bed.

Su Qing curled up in the blanket, her face buried in the hollow between the pillow and the blanket, her hair scattered all over the pillow, her breathing long and even.

The clock on the bedside table had just struck eight o'clock, which was a perfectly reasonable time for someone who had to get up at six o'clock every weekday to make breakfast.

But then the door was gently pushed open a crack.

Jiang Ran slipped in sideways and then silently closed the door behind her.

She was wearing a light gray cotton loungewear T-shirt and dark shorts, her hair loosely draped over her shoulders. Backlit by the corridor light, her silhouette was outlined with a layer of pale gold velvet.

Compared to the skinny little mushroom who huddled in the corner of the balcony seven years ago, Jiang Ran has now grown to the same height as Su Qing. She is slender with straight shoulders, and her forearms, exposed outside her short sleeves, have smooth lines. Standing there, she looks like a bamboo shoot that has been watered by spring rain, quietly growing and blossoming.

Her features have lost the childishness of her childhood; the contours of her eyebrows and eyes have become clear and aloof, her nose is straight, and her lips are distinct. When she is not smiling, she exudes a sense of detachment that keeps strangers at bay, but that is the version that outsiders see.

In front of Su Qing, the faint smile on her lips had never disappeared since she first received the strawberry milk in the hospital seven years ago.

She gently squatted down by the bed, looked at Su Qing's sleeping face half-buried in the pillow, and reached out to gently tuck the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear.

Su Qing didn't wake up. Instead, she pulled the blanket closer to her chest and made a muffled murmur, as if she was bargaining with someone in her dream.

Jiang Ran took her hand, which had just been soaked in cold water, out from behind her back and placed it discreetly above the part of Su Qing's neck that was exposed outside the blanket. She leaned down and whispered in Su Qing's ear, her voice as soft as the tip of a feather brushing against her earlobe: "Sister, wake up."

Su Qing turned over groggily, hugging the blanket and facing the ceiling. The neckline of her pajamas tilted to one side as she turned, revealing half of her fair shoulder and a patch of pinkish skin below her collarbone.

Her lips were slightly parted, her eyelashes casting two faint arcs in the morning light, and her voice was so soft and gentle that it didn't sound like the kind of person who would slap a thug: "Just a little longer... just a little longer..."

Jiang Ran looked at her sister, who appeared completely harmless, like a cat curled up in its den and unwilling to come out, and chuckled helplessly.

Then she gently placed her cold hand on Su Qing's exposed shoulder.

She could feel her sister shudder slightly, but she still didn't wake up. She just buried her face deeper into the pillow and mumbled "cold," still showing no intention of getting up.

Jiang Ran narrowed her eyes slightly, and the curve of her lips revealed a meaning that no one else could see, a meaning that she would only show when she was with Su Qing.

Her fingers slid down Su Qing's shoulder to the back of her pajamas' neckline, and then without hesitation, she slipped her whole hand inside.

Suddenly, Su Qing sprang up from the bed as if she'd been electrocuted, letting out a series of muffled screams: "So cold! So cold! So cold!"

She twisted her body, trying to shake the icy hand out of her clothes. The blanket slipped off her body and piled up at her waist. The hem of her pajamas rolled up, revealing a small patch of fair skin on her side.

When she finally managed to pull Jiang Ran's hand out from behind her collar, she was already awake. She sat on the bed in an extremely disheveled position, her hair a mess as if she had just fought with the pillow, a tuft of hair sticking up high on her forehead. She stared blankly at Jiang Ran, who was nonchalantly withdrawing her hand.

At this moment, Su Qing had no idea what she looked like in the morning light.

  

The neckline of her pajamas hung askew to one side, exposing a large area of ​​her fair and rounded shoulders. The faint curve below her collarbone was tinged with a pale pink from just waking up.

Beneath the shorts, a pair of slender, white legs knelt, her pink toes still slightly curled from the chill, her ankles as delicate as an arc drawn with a single stroke.

She exuded a freshly baked, steaming, dazed vibe from the inside out. Her hair was messy, her clothes were wrinkled, her eyes weren't fully open, and she was yawning with her lips slightly parted. She looked both soft and dazed.

Jiang Ran's gaze lingered on her for a moment.

From her disheveled hair to her slightly parted lips, from her crooked collar to her kneeling legs, her gaze seemed to have been accidentally tripped over something before she casually looked away.

Her heart beat a little faster, but her expression remained calm, the composure that belonged to Jiang Ran.

Su Qing rubbed her eyes, finally recognizing the person in front of her. She instantly relaxed, her voice still hoarse and soft from just waking up: "What's wrong, Xiao Ran... Isn't it the weekend? You're up so early..."

After saying that, Su Qing yawned again, a tear welling up in the corner of her eye, which she casually wiped away.

Her consciousness was clearly still stuck in the startup screen phase, staring blankly at Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran sat down on the edge of the bed and cupped Su Qing's face in her hands.

The face in my palm felt soft and tender, its skin warm from just waking up, with faint red marks from the pillow on its cheeks.

She looked directly into her sister's still unfocused eyes, tilted her head slightly, and said with a mischievous smile, "Sister, you haven't forgotten what you promised me yesterday, have you?"

Su Qing blinked, her brain struggling to start working.

Yesterday...the promise she made... She looked at Jiang Ran's face, so close to hers, her eyes patiently waiting for her, a hint of expectation in them that only she could read.

Then memory slowly caught up with reality... Oh right, yesterday at dinner, she promised to go to the mall with Xiaoran today to buy clothes for the changing season.

Xiao Ran has grown so fast in the past two years that the sleeves of her clothes from last year are too short.

Jiang Ran watched Su Qing's expression change from blank to enlightened, and chuckled softly to herself.

She knew it would take her sister time to boot up, but she suddenly wanted to tease her.

So she released her hands from Su Qing's cheeks, lowered her eyelashes, and hid the smile in her eyes completely. Her voice was very soft, so soft that it carried a hint of disappointment: "Never mind... Sister, you can continue sleeping. I can go by myself."

After saying that, he stood up and turned to leave.

Upon hearing this, Su Qing snapped to attention as if a switch had been flipped, grabbed Jiang Ran's wrist with such force that Jiang Ran was pulled back slightly.

"No, no, no! No! I remember! I bought clothes, right? I remember!"

She threw off the covers and got up, stepping barefoot onto the wooden floor, muttering, "Just give me ten minutes."

As she spoke, she stumbled into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Jiang Ran stood there, listening to the sound of running water from the bathroom tap and Su Qing frantically searching for her toothbrush. A sweet smile curved her lips.

She bent down, picked up the rabbit slipper that her sister had kicked to the foot of the bed, neatly stacked it beside the bed, and then lay down in her sister's bed.

The blanket was still warm, carrying my sister's familiar, fresh scent—not perfume, not laundry detergent, but her own fragrance.

Jiang Ran turned over, buried her face in the blanket, took a deep breath, then rolled over and lay on her back. She raised the hand that had just slipped inside Su Qing's clothes, looked at it for a moment, and then, as if possessed, gently brought her fingers close to her nose.

The lingering sensation on her fingertips hadn't completely faded; the warmth of the skin in her palm, the delicate and soft touch on the back of her neck, the slight trembling of her shoulder beneath her fingers.

She closed her eyes, and the curve of her lips deepened.

elder sister……