The Stolen Little Sister

"Good morning, Xiao Ai," Li Yaochen greeted her, his own smile widening, seemingly infected by the radiance of hers.

"Did you two have breakfast?" Si Qian'ai asked, glancing at Li Yaochen and Li Yaonan.

Li Yaonan quickly replied, "We did, we did! Let's go!"

The group headed to school together by car.

Upon arriving, they went to their respective classes. However, Li Yaochen, as always, escorted Si Qian'ai to the entrance of her class before returning to his own.

As he dropped her off, he handed her two textbooks—Chinese and Math from his senior class—so she could read them whenever she felt bored.

During class, the teacher was, as expected, teaching the students how to recognize characters and practice addition and subtraction within ten…

But Si Qian'ai had mastered all of this when the teacher first taught it yesterday. In fact, she had already learned to extrapolate; she could do addition and subtraction within a hundred.

While the Chinese teacher was lecturing, Si Qian'ai quietly took out the Chinese textbook Li Yaochen had given her and began to read it instead.

Sitting next to her, Ling Wei, noticing that Si Qian'ai wasn't paying attention to the blackboard but was engrossed in a book, leaned over curiously. She saw that it wasn't their class textbook—it was full of many unfamiliar characters.

Seeing how focused Si Qian'ai was, she whispered, "What book is that?"

"It's a Chinese textbook from the senior class," Si Qian'ai replied softly.

"You can understand it?" Ling Wei exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth, afraid her surprise would reach the teacher.

"Yes, of course," Si Qian'ai responded, a bit puzzled by her reaction. She had seen these characters before—once you've seen them, it's not hard to remember them, right?

Ling Wei, impressed, whispered in admiration, "You're amazing! I can't understand any of it!"

She resigned herself to listening to the lesson, still trying to grasp what was taught yesterday.

…

By the end of the morning, Si Qian'ai had finished reading both books. She found the Chinese textbook quite interesting—some of the stories were enjoyable—but the math book was dull, filled with nothing but numbers and simple calculations.

She decided she would ask her "Brother Chen" for a few more books at lunchtime.

Thankfully, today's lunch didn't include tomato scrambled eggs, so Si Qian'ai managed to eat a small bowl of rice.

Not that it mattered much even if she hadn't eaten enough—Li Yaochen now brought her a little cake every day, and it was always mango-flavored.

When he first mentioned bringing cakes to school, Yu Tiantian was surprised. "Don't you dislike cake?"

"I like it now!"

"Why does it have to be mango-flavored? Wouldn't other flavors do?" Yu Tiantian found it odd, as she hadn't noticed him being particularly fond of mangoes before.

"No, it has to be mango-flavored. That's the only one I want!" Li Yaochen insisted firmly.

"Alright, alright," Yu Tiantian relented, not wanting to argue over something so trivial, letting him have his way.

After lunch, Si Qian'ai went back to the classroom to retrieve the books she'd borrowed, intending to return them to Li Yaochen. She figured he'd probably be in the nap room at this time.

Thanks to her familiarity with many characters, she easily found the sign that said "Middle Class Restroom," meaning the senior class should be just a little further down.

Sure enough, after walking a bit farther, she saw the large sign for the "Senior Class Restroom." Just as she was about to peer through the window to see if Li Yaochen was inside, he emerged from the room.

Excited, Si Qian'ai ran over, tugging at his sleeve. "Brother Chen, where are you going?"

In truth, Li Yaochen had been planning to find her too. He hadn't expected to see her standing there waiting for him as soon as he stepped out.

Before he could answer, Si Qian'ai noticed the small cake in his hand, topped with slices of mango.

Her eyes lit up immediately, and without waiting for his reply, she asked eagerly, "Brother Chen, is that cake for me?"

Li Yaochen thought to himself, "So all she cares about is the cake, huh?"

With a resigned nod, he handed the cake to her.

Seeing her eyes sparkle with delight, he couldn't help but ask, "Did you not eat enough at lunch?"

"I did!" she replied.

Li Yaochen thought, "Then why do you look like you're drooling over the cake?"

Si Qian'ai glanced at the cake again, her voice filled with anticipation. "I just really want to eat the mango—it looks so delicious!"

Ah, so it's the mango she likes.

Si Qian'ai was about to unwrap the cake when she suddenly remembered the books she came to return.

"Oh right, Brother Chen, here are the books," she said.

Li Yaochen was surprised. "You've already finished them?"

"Yes! Do you have any more? Maybe a math book that's a little harder?"

So she thought the senior class math was too easy, huh?

"I do. Wait here, I'll get them for you," he said, heading back into the room to fetch a few more books.

When he returned, Si Qian'ai had already finished eating all the mango slices from the cake.

"Will these do?" he asked, holding out a first-grade and second-grade math textbook.

But Si Qian'ai, still focused on her cake, absentmindedly nodded without looking up.

Li Yaochen thought, "Is that cake really that good?"

After she finished, Li Yaochen walked her back to her classroom, then returned to his own for a nap.

…

In the afternoon, the junior class had drawing and crafts lessons.

During the drawing class, the teacher taught them how to draw colorful balloons. Si Qian'ai even designed a few of her own—cat-shaped balloons, cabbage-shaped balloons—and added a blue sky in the background.

It looked like all sorts of brightly colored, uniquely shaped balloons floating under the clear sky.

The teacher praised Si Qian'ai for her creativity.

However, things didn't go as smoothly during the crafts lesson. The teacher was showing them how to shape various animals out of clay, but no matter what animal Si Qian'ai tried to mold, it always turned out looking like a strange mix of creatures…

In the end, she gave up, enviously watching her deskmate Ling Wei shape a cute little panda out of clay.

During the drawing class, it was Ling Wei who had been envious of Si Qian'ai's balloon artwork. Now it was Si Qian'ai's turn to envy Ling Wei's adorable panda. Ling Wei finally felt a bit more confident.

…

After class, as always, Li Yaochen and Li Yaonan came to pick her up at the classroom door.

Seeing them, Si Qian'ai excitedly shared her afternoon drawing with them.

"Do you think my drawing is pretty?" she asked, eyes full of anticipation.

"Wow! Those balloons look amazing!" Li Yaonan exclaimed.

Noticing that Li Yaochen hadn't said anything yet, Si Qian'ai turned to him and asked, "Brother Chen, what do you think?"

Li Yaochen hadn't had the chance to respond before Li Yaonan chimed in.

"It's beautiful," he said, smiling warmly.

The smile on Si Qian'ai's face grew even brighter than when the teacher had praised her.

"Then I'll give it to Brother Chen!" she declared.

No sooner had she spoken than Li Yaonan protested, "Why don't you give it to me?"

"Because Brother Chen gave me cake!" Si Qian'ai replied matter-of-factly, her tone full of conviction. After all, she was a child who knew how to be grateful.

Cake? Ah, so the mango cake was for the little princess, then!

Li Yaonan glanced at Li Yaochen in surprise, about to say something, but Li Yaochen shot him a sharp look, silencing him instantly.

Nobody would treat him like a mute just because he didn't speak!

Li Yaonan, after being glared at, dared not say a word.

Si Qian'ai thought the two of them were acting strange, especially Li Yaonan, who seemed to want to say something but suddenly fell silent.

"Brother Chen, I'll give you the painting," Si Qian'ai said again when no one spoke.

"Alright, thank you."

After waiting for Si Mohan and Si Moxuan to finish school, everyone got into their respective cars to head home.

The moment Li Yaonan got in the car, he turned to Li Yaochen, "Brother, you've been giving all your cakes to the little princess, haven't you?" He had always suspected, after all, his brother never liked cakes.

"Don't tell Sweetie Jie, and I'll buy you an ice cream later."

"Deal! Oh, and make it two—counting yesterday's."

Li Yaochen: ... Normally, he has such a terrible memory, but when it comes to food, he never forgets a thing!

All Li Yaochen could do was nod helplessly, "Alright."

...

In the car, Si Mohan noticed how happy his sister was and asked, "Xiao Ai, what did you learn today?"

Si Qian'ai excitedly told them about how the teacher had praised her during art class, completely skipping over what had happened during craft class.

"Can I keep the balloon drawing you made?" Si Moxuan thought her first drawing was quite meaningful and wanted to keep it as a memento.

Si Qian'ai hesitated, her face showing slight distress, "But... I just gave it to Brother Chen." She hadn't expected her big brother would want it too.

Si Moxuan felt a pang in his heart. His little sister used to save all her best things for him, but now, it felt like she was being stolen away...

"How about this: I'll draw a special one for both you and Big Brother," Si Qian'ai suggested, thinking it was the best solution.

Si Moxuan: But it wouldn't be the first one anymore...

Seeing the disheartened expression on Si Moxuan's face, Si Mohan quickly intervened, "Thank you, Xiao Ai!"

"You're welcome."

...

In the following days, Si Moxuan felt even more convinced that Li Yaochen was stealing away his beloved little sister.

Even after school, she was constantly riding in the Li family car, often visiting their house. It got to the point where he barely saw her at all.

One evening after dinner, he went to her room, looking at her with a mournful expression.

Si Qian'ai felt a chill down her spine, "Second Brother, what's wrong?"

Si Moxuan: Can't I come see you for no reason? You really aren't the same sister anymore!

"Xiao Ai, don't you think it's a little inappropriate to be so close to someone else's brother when you already have your own?"

"Huh?" Si Qian'ai blinked, puzzled, but quickly realized he was talking about Brother Chen.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked, genuinely confused, her eyes searching his for answers.

Si Moxuan, adopting a serious tone, explained, "Of course it's not right! Imagine if I started calling another little girl 'sister' all the time—how would that make you feel?"

"I'd hate it!" Si Qian'ai answered immediately without hesitation. If her brother did that, she'd be heartbroken—after all, he was *her* brother, and no one else's.

"Exactly! So, when you do this, it hurts me and Big Brother too," Si Moxuan tried his best to reason with her, even dragging their older brother into it.

What should she do then? She felt so torn! Si Qian'ai lowered her head, deep in thought. Suddenly, an idea struck her. "Second Brother, I know what to do now."

Si Moxuan, feeling a surge of joy, thought his sister had finally come to her senses. She still cared about him, after all.

With a smug smile, he left Si Qian'ai's room, feeling victorious.

The next day at the Li house.

Si Qian'ai barged straight into Li Yaochen's room without knocking, as though it was her own home. She had always come and gone freely in his room.

Yu Tiantian would've been thrilled if she could come every day, and even more so if she could stay overnight.

Li Yaochen was reading when the door suddenly burst open. Without needing to look, he knew it was Si Qian'ai. She was the only one who ever entered his room without knocking.

She walked up to him, her face solemn. "Brother Chen, how about I stop calling you 'Brother Chen' from now on?" she said seriously.

Li Yaochen was taken aback by her sudden declaration, gazing at her in confusion.

"Because I already have brothers," she continued.

Li Yaochen: What does that have to do with you not calling me 'Brother Chen'?

"How about I just call you 'Chen' instead?" Si Qian'ai suggested.

"Do as you like," he replied, indifferent. It didn't matter to him what she called him, as long as she was happy.

Seeing him agree, her face brightened with its usual smile.

"Then, could you not call me 'Xiao Ai' anymore?"

Li Yaochen found her request odd. "Why not?"

"Because everyone else calls me 'Xiao Ai.' Can't you call me something no one else has used?" she explained, looking hopeful.

Li Yaochen understood her reasoning but was unsure what else to call her. "So, what should I call you?"

"That's for you to decide!" Si Qian'ai said, puffing her chest out in a show of pride.

Li Yaochen, amused by her haughty demeanor, decided to tease her. "How about I call you 'Little Fool,' 'Little Dummy,' or 'Little Glutton'?"

Si Qian'ai was stunned by his suggestions. What were those ridiculous names!

"You're such a meanie! I'm not talking to you anymore!" The little princess was furious, and the consequences were dire!

Where was she foolish, where was she clumsy, and how on earth was she a glutton? She hardly ate much! Sure, she liked mangoes, but that didn't make her a glutton in his eyes!

Seeing her genuinely upset, Li Yaochen quickly stopped teasing. "I'm sorry!"

Noticing she was still pouting, he hurriedly came up with a better name. "How about I call you 'Qianqian,' is that alright?"

Only then did Si Qian'ai feel satisfied, replying with a haughty, "That's better."

Of course, Si Qian'ai wasn't truly angry. She just liked to scare Li Yaochen—he was always teasing her!

...

Si Moxuan noticed that despite their conversation, his little sister was still constantly visiting the Li household. It struck him as odd—she had said she knew what to do, so what exactly was she doing?

That evening, after Si Hao brought Si Qian'ai home from the Li family, she entered her room only to find Si Moxuan sitting by her desk.

He had come to realize that seeing his little sister had become a rare occurrence, so he had to wait in her room just to catch her.

"Second Brother, what are you doing here?" she asked, wondering if he'd been waiting for her.

Si Moxuan, with his usual mournful expression, looked at her and asked, "Xiao Ai, what did you mean the other day when you said you knew what to do?" He regretted not asking her sooner—he had a bad feeling about this.

"Well, I stopped calling Li Yaochen 'Brother,' didn't I?"

Si Qian'ai wore a proud expression, as if to say, "Look how obedient I am!"—making Si Moxuan feel both amused and exasperated.

Inside, Si Moxuan was screaming, Heavens! That's not what I meant!

He was starting to seriously question whether Si Qian'ai had high intelligence but low emotional sensitivity.

Was that really what he meant? His whole point had been the word "close"! 

He replayed his words in his mind: Xiao Ai, don't you think it's a little inappropriate to be so close to someone else's brother when you already have your own?

He had even emphasized the word "close"!