Siblings

"Thump, thump, thump..."

The knocking woke Qin Ze from his slumber. Sunlight streamed in through the sheer curtains, accompanied by the roar of vehicles speeding past outside. Qin Ze opened his eyes, one hand pressing against his throbbing head while the other propped up his body. His hangover made his head feel as if it were splitting open, the world spinning in a dizzying blur.

The knocking persisted, annoying as a soul-reaping ghost.

"If you have a memorial to present, speak; if not, retire from court," Qin Ze said in an irritable voice.

"Your Majesty, this concubine is hungry..." A soft, charming, and slightly raspy voice drifted from outside the door.

"Got it, got it," Qin Ze replied listlessly, his eyes half-closed as he fumbled for his clothes at the foot of the bed.

"Hurry up," the voice outside sounded equally lethargic.

Qin Ze groggily put on his clothes. Losing his balance, he bumped his head against the bed frame. For a split second, his mind went blank, and in his daze, he heard a voice ring out:

"Matching time: June 19, 2017."

"Matching space: Unknown!"

"Matching host: Compatible for inhabitation."

"Iris locked!"

"DNA locked!"

"System updating automatically..."

What was that sound?

Qin Ze stood up, grimacing, though his mind felt significantly clearer. He walked to the window and pulled back the curtains; the warm, piercing sunlight surged in like a tidal wave. He squinted, watching the endless stream of traffic below. This was a semi-old residential complex, completed in 2004. In the distance, skyscrapers stood row upon row—the city's CBD district.

The time was June 2017, midsummer, in Shanghai City.

Qin Ze faced the sun, his unfocused pupils reflecting the passing cars. It took a long moment for him to remember that today was Monday.

The living room was a disaster. Half a pizza remained on the dining table, and only an empty box was left of the 12-inch Margherita Strawberry Cake—not because it had been eaten, but because it had been wasted as a weapon. Besides the leftovers, the table was littered with various bottles: cocktails, beer, foreign wine, champagne, and even a few bottles of baijiu... enough to line a wall. The floor was scattered with gold foil confetti. It was the quintessential scene of a wild party.

Qin Ze sighed softly, found a large trash bag, and placed the empty bottles inside one by one, followed by the leftovers. He dragged the bag out and tossed it into the large bin in the hallway. He walked into the bathroom, looking exhausted, and after a thorough wash, he finally felt like he had come back to life.

He entered the kitchen with a calm, steady demeanor. He took skim milk from the fridge, poured it into a glass, and placed it in the microwave on low for two minutes. Then, he began to fry eggs and bacon, blanching two lettuce leaves in boiling water. In less than ten minutes, a simple breakfast was ready. He set the food on the living room table, two portions—exactly enough for two people. He turned back to the kitchen; there was half a bag of toast left in the fridge, which tasted great with peanut butter.

Qin Ze finished preparing breakfast and walked back to the rooms—not his bedroom, but the other one. This apartment was about eighty square meters, with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a balcony with excellent lighting. The apartment was a school district property his family had bought the year Qin Ze started elementary school. It wasn't far from the CBD, and the subway station was right at the entrance of the complex, just two stops away from the University Town. The elementary school Qin Ze attended had been demolished years ago, and over the past decade, the value of this apartment had increased more than tenfold.

The university Qin Ze attended was in the University Town two stops away. Originally, he had wanted to experience dorm life. On the day of freshman registration, his lazy sister had, for the first time in her life, patted her ample chest and taken full responsibility, claiming she would take her little brother to register. As it turned out, at an intersection two traffic lights away from the university, she made a casual turn and kidnapped Qin Ze, along with his luggage, to this apartment.

"Hey, hey, hey, this isn't the way to school."

"Mm," the beautiful sister smoothed her hair. "Drop off your luggage first, then go register."

Qin Ze said loudly, "I knew you weren't that kind, taking me to school for no reason."

"What's so good about living in a dorm? A bunch of people crammed into a messy room. It's clearly more worth it to live with a great beauty like me," his sister said righteously.

"Thanks a lot," Qin Ze curled his lip. "Please forgive me for having no interest in this, considering I've lived with you since I was a child."

"Don't be like that. It's so inconvenient living alone. I have to do all the cleaning myself, I don't have the strength to change the water cooler, and because I can't cook, the kitchen is covered in thick dust. I even get stalked by perverts when I come home at night, ying ying ying..." One moment she was an unapproachable, cold goddess, the next she was acting like a spoiled little girl.

"That makes me want to live with you even less. I don't want to be your nanny," Qin Ze said. "Besides, the school doesn't allow students to live off-campus. That's a strict rule."

"Don't worry, Little Brother. Old Dad has already handled it. The paperwork and procedures are all OK. Just be a good boy and live with your sister."

"I don't believe you." Qin Ze pulled out his phone and dialed. After a long moment, a mellow, serious voice came through: "A Ze, what is it?"

"Dad, I want to live in the dorms," Qin Ze said bluntly. At that moment, his sister reached out and pinched him hard.

"There's no need to live in the dorms. Don't we have an apartment in the University Town? Just live with your sister. She's a girl living alone, and your mother and I are worried. If you want to live in the dorms, you can always go back there occasionally," the head of the family said before hanging up.

His sister had been admitted to Fudan University with excellent grades, while Qin Ze, as the younger brother, paled in comparison. He had to hang his head from a beam and prick his thigh with an awl, putting in every ounce of effort just to barely scrape by the admission score for the Finance University next to Fudan. If their father hadn't been a professor at the Finance University, the school might not have even accepted him as a bottom-tier student.

Since they were children of faculty, it was no problem for a freshman to live off-campus, Qin Ze lamented.

Three years had passed in a flash. Qin Ze was now a junior. His sister was two years older than him and had graduated last year, working at a foreign-owned company as a secretary to the General Manager.

He pushed the door open. A faint scent of perfume mixed with the smell of alcohol hit his nose. The room was dim, the blackout curtains drawn tight, and the air conditioner was blowing cold air. The woman lay on the bed, covered by a thin blanket, her arms and legs splayed out. One look at her sleeping posture showed just how heartless this woman was.

Qin Ze turned off the air conditioner, pulled back the curtains, and opened the window. A breeze accompanied by sunlight flooded the room, dispersing the smell of alcohol.

"Breakfast is ready, get up!"

The woman's chestnut curls were disheveled, obscuring her face. She hummed like a lazy pig and continued to sleep soundly.

Qin Ze tried to recall the events. Yesterday was his sister's birthday, so she had invited her besties over for a party. The girls were all different shapes and sizes, looking refined and goddess-like. But once a few bottles were down, their true colors emerged—they were all heroines of the drinking table, drinking all night long. His clever sister had dragged her brother out of the kitchen to block the drinks for her, while she herself seemed to have only had a few beers.

I, who was drunk as a dog, am already up, what right do you have to sleep in!

Qin Ze lifted the thin blanket and said loudly, "Get up..."

The sound stuck in his throat. The figure on the bed was curvaceous. His sister had a great figure; she wasn't the kind of "delicate" girl who never left the house. She ran and danced occasionally and knew how to keep in shape.

Damn it, this woman wasn't wearing pajamas.

Qin Ze stared at her chest, dazed. It wasn't because she was well-endowed—he had known she was a 36D for a long time. He was dazed because she was wearing a set of black lace, semi-transparent lingerie. They had lived together for so many years, and she had never owned such provocative lingerie.

She must have been preparing to get up earlier, changed from her pajamas into her lingerie, and then, in the process of changing, rolled back into bed to sleep...

"You pervert, where are your eyes looking?" His sister kicked Qin Ze in the face, grabbed the blanket to wrap around her body, and put on a "shocked" expression that couldn't have been more fake. "I never thought you were this kind of Qin Ze."

Qin Ze rubbed his stinging cheek. "Oh, this is some sexy lingerie, isn't it? When did you get so trendy? Which man trained you?"

"What man? Your sister hasn't even dated since she grew up. My life is a failure."

"Keep pretending," Qin Ze rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.