13. Over thinking

"How was school?"

"Did you make some friends?"

"Why are you wearing this?"

"Did something happen?"

"Were you bullied?"

"Are you hurt?"

...

The moment Li Zhilan stepped into the house, she was bombarded with questions without any time to answer any. Seeing that she wore a different set of clothes then that she wore in the morning, the questions just increased as well as Li Haoran's worries.

Looking at her worried brother, all the anger she felt at school vanished and her heart was filled with warmth.

"Nothing happened brotha. Don't worry." Li Zhilan said in a sing song voice as she hugged her brother's arm with both hands.

"What happened, Muffin? You don't have to hide, you know. Just tell me and I will take care of it for you. Hmm?" Li Haoran could tell that something was not right with Li Zhilan today so he tried to get her to talk. Knowing that his dear sister was not feeling happy, he felt like he could do anything to make her happy again and he would do just anything.

Knowing her brother's character, Li Zhilan knew she could no longer hide it or he will start overthinking to the point where he starts to doubt whether he was not good enough and start working hard in every way possible.

This was not something that she just thought of. It was something she experienced and learned about. Living with four super dotting brothers, she had her fair share to learn about sister complex.

There was a time when she was in a rush to go for a trip so she didn't respond to her second brother's question. When she came back after 3 days, she found her second brother in a very haggard shape. When asked about it to others, they said that for a whole day after she left, Neither did he leave his room, nor did he let others enter, not even for food. The next day, as if stimulated, he started to learn and do everything, starting from work out to reading to sports. There was nothing he didn't do it the next two days.

When asked he only said, "I want to be a brother with whom my sister can share everything." Just because she didn't reply to him, he had thought it was because he was not good enough to be her brother. So he tried to learn and do everything well just so he will be worthy of being her brother.

It was lucky that she came back earlier or by the time she returned, her brother would have been admitted in the hospital.

Learning from this experience, Li Zhilan never ever ignored any of her brother's question since then. No matter how rushed she was or how important the matters were, she would always answer them before leaving even if it's just a small okay.

...

"Nothing serious happened brotha, really. It's just I met an interesting person. I'm going to fix him up in my own way. Anyway I got three months, I got plenty of time for fixing him up. Speaking about fixing up, I think you should also go back. And take aunty and uncle with you as well."

"Why? I'm not going to leave you alone. No way."

"Brotha please... please... I came here on a school trip. I wanna live in the place the school arranged. please..." Li Zhilan made her eyes teary and pouted her lips looking extremely pitiful.

"Don't.." Li Haoran said as he turned his face away.

"Brotha..."

"Ah.. alright alright don't make that face." Li Haoran shouted as he agreed. As expected, even after all these years, all of them would still succumb to it despite knowing it's all an act.

"Yay... I love you brotha. You are the best." Li Zhilan said as she kissed the cheeks of Li Haoran.

"Let's move your things tomorrow okay?""

"Okay" Li Zhilan said making the sign with her hand.