CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33: MASTER OF TRICKING SISTERS

"What caused you to end up like this?" Han Youliang asked while twisting the iodine bottle.

Before the two could answer, Mr. Han said to Han Mingyue, "Cotton swabs, gauze, medical tape."

"I got like this learning to ride a bike," Han Mingyue replied before turning to get the items.

"No need to wrap it up, Uncle Han~" Zhen Yu quickly interjected.

"Wrap it for the afternoon, otherwise the white medicine powder will fall off."

"Oh~ alright then." Zhen Yu compromised.

"Why didn’t you wear long pants to learn to ride the bicycle?" Mr. Han lectured while tending to Zhen Yu, who bore the discomfort of her wounds in silence.

Biting her lip, Han Mingyue thought to herself, maybe I shouldn’t let her learn anymore.

In the future... I can ride the bike and take her wherever she wants to go.

Zhen Yu didn’t really seem to have the desire to learn anymore. Who even rides bicycles in the future?

Whether it’s taking the bus or a taxi, now that I’ve been reborn, can’t I afford even a car?

When I come of age, I’m definitely getting a driver’s license! I’ll own my own car before I graduate from college.

Mr. Han finished dressing Zhen Yu’s wounds and then returned behind the counter to his tasks.

"Are you going to stop learning?" asked Han Mingyue.

"Yep. What should we do now?"

"Read books?"

Just as Zhen Yu was about to agree, three boys rushed into the clinic.

"Xiao Yu~ Why did you just leave your bikes at the door and come in?" Zhen Yan was the first to reach the bedside. Right after asking, he noticed his sister’s leg wrapped up.

"What happened here, bro?" Han Jiayang teased Han Mingyue with winking eyes, "Why did you let Xiao Yu fall?"

Fu Yu also came over, reaching out to touch, "Did you fall hard? Does it hurt?"

Zhen Yu retracted her leg, not letting him touch, her tone calm, "It doesn’t hurt."

Hearing it didn’t hurt, Zhen Yan immediately pulled his sister up, "Come on! Let’s go play! I’ll ride the bike and take you along."

Zhen Yu didn’t want to go, but helpless against her brother’s insistence, she was eventually dragged out of the clinic.

Han Mingyue didn’t follow, standing at the clinic entrance watching them leave, then he turned and went back inside.

-

Until a commotion filtered through Han Mingyue’s room door to his ears, he faintly heard Zhen Yu’s voice and put down his book to go to the living room.

"..." What did I just see?

Han Mingyue’s mouth twitched, wanting to laugh, but held back from laughing aloud.

These siblings...

Zhen Yu was still quarrelling with Zhen Yan, oblivious to the childhood friend who had seen her in her embarrassing state.

Zhen Yan’s hair was a mess and he was covered in dirt, Zhen Yu’s back was no better.

Zhen Yan was furiously scolding his sister, "Zhen Yu! What were you twisting around for in the back seat?!"

Zhen Yu’s expression was icy, her tone indifferent, "I wasn’t twisting! Do you have Parkinson’s with your hands shaking all the time?"

Zhen Yan’s rebuttal was just as fierce as his sister’s, shouting, "I wasn’t shaking!"

Zhen Yu glanced at her brother, "Not only your hands shake! Your gaze is off too!"

"My gaze is fine!" Zhen Yan argued back, laughing in frustration: "I just couldn’t grip and failed to brake!"

"Right! Clumsy hands and poor sight," Zhen Yu used different words to describe her brother.

Zhen Yan emphasized while hopping madly, "It was a downhill! Downhill! It would be difficult for anyone!"

"Anyone would see the ditch from afar and know to avoid it," after a pause, Zhen Yu added another jab, "Except you."

Zhen Yan trembled with anger, "... You! You! I’ll never ride the bike with you again!"

Zhen Yu immediately retorted, "Thanks for sparing my life, Your Majesty."

Han Jiayang and Fu Yu sat aside laughing like a pair of fools.

"Ha ha... Ouch, I can’t take it anymore! Mercy, Your Majesty..." Han Jiayang rolled around laughing on the adjacent hospital bed.

Fu Yu also laughed until he cried, repeating, "Mercy, Your Majesty."

-

"What are you guys doing here? Xiao Yan, come over here!"

Mr. Han called Zhen Yan over to check his injury, his elbow had scraped off some skin.

Han Mingyue laughed a bit from behind, and when everyone gathered around her father, she stepped forward.

"Did you fall again? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Zhen Yu stiffened up as Han Mingyue approached, but now it was too late to walk away.

Now she definitely looked like she had just crawled out of a chicken coop, utterly unlucky.

That pitfall of a younger brother, Zhen Yan!

It was all his fault! Who rides a bike straight into a hole!

She said she wanted to go directly home, but no— he insisted on dragging her to the clinic!

He even claimed he got hurt protecting his sister and that if she didn’t accompany him to apply medicine, it would be heartless and cold.

Apply medicine, apply medicine... And now, Han Mingyue has seen it all!

Damn it! Has anyone ever seen a brother who pits his sister like this!

She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth in secret, and answered, "I’m not hurt, my brother protected me."

Han Mingyue’s eyes and brows were full of smiles, "Then why are you still mad at him?"

Hearing that, Zhen Yu also flashed a slight smile, which quickly faded, "He’s playful."

"..." Han Mingyue caught that brief smile, and couldn’t help but be a little distracted.

Thinking about it, it seemed like a long time since she last saw her smile... This summer, her most common expression has been this lack of expression.

Ah... This summer had been fraught with disasters for her family; perhaps it unavoidably affected her temperament...

-

Zhen Yu had no idea what Han Mingyue was thinking, otherwise, she would have thanked him, finding such a perfect excuse.

After all the commotion, it was almost dinner time.

Zhen siblings and Fu Yu bid farewell to the Han Family, and on their way, Zhen Yan asked his sister, "What will mom say if she sees your leg?"

Fu Yu, mystified, looked at them, "What’s the big deal if Aunt Zhen sees it? Who hasn’t fallen down before~"

Ignoring Fu Yu, Zhen Yu explained to his brother, "I’ll take it off when we get home."

"Can you remove it?"

"Yeah, Uncle Han said wrapping it for the afternoon would suffice."

Fu Yu, somewhat understanding yet confused, asked, "What’s the problem with the bandage?"

After glancing at his sister and seeing no response, Zhen Yan confided to Fu Yu, "Our mom doesn’t let us go to the Han Family’s place, you have to keep it a secret for us!"

"Why though? What did the Han Family do to your mom?"

Zhen Yan whispered a few words into Fu Yu’s ear, Fu Yu suddenly understood, "Ah~~~ Does Aunt Zhen really need to be like that? Besides, what does adult stuff have to do with us kids?"

Zhen Yan sighed, "My mom is being stubborn, and my sister and I can’t do anything about it~"

"Well, that’s also true." Fu Yu sighed, slapped his chest and said, "Don’t worry! I will definitely keep it a secret for you!"

Zhen Yu suddenly added, "Thank you."

"..." Zhen Yu suddenly being polite and formal made Fu Yu feel awkward, and he nervously adjusted his hair, not saying anything more.

They said their goodbyes at the gate of the Zhen’s house, Zhen Yan told Fu Yu about his plan to go to Qi City the next day, and then he and his sister went home.

After removing the bandage, Zhen Yu washed her hands and started cooking.

In her previous life, she had been a princess untouched by worldly affairs during her childhood.

Later, Zhen Yu fell to earth overnight; fetching water, washing clothes, and cooking, all within half a summer, that woman trained her into a household expert.

It was thanks to her that Zhen Yu’s start at boarding school in the first year of junior high went smoothly, learning submission and adapting to collective life by smoothing out her rough edges.

There’s a saying online that’s quite correct, people are really... forced into becoming who they are...