Outside, a wild wind howled, battering the doors and windows with loud bangs. A faint glow of snow reflected against the window lattice.
Another heavy snowfall had begun.
"Speak!"
Xiao Jian gritted his teeth and shouted.
Since he could remember, this was the first time he had yelled at the elder sister who had depended on him for survival, his face especially dark and twisted.
As though she did not dare meet Xiao Jian's eyes, Xiao Rong lowered her head and tightly clenched the hem of her clothes with both hands. Softly, she said, "Let Elder Sister brew your medicine first. Once you're well, Elder Sister will give you an explanation."
She turned and left the room.
Xiao Jian angrily tried to rise and stop her, yet he lacked the strength to do so. In the end, he could only collapse uselessly on the bed, his chest feeling so stifled it was about to burst as he gasped for breath.
Why?
Why had it come to this?
His sister was such a kind and strong person. Why...
The vicious, mocking voices of his classmates seemed to ring out in his mind again. Xiao Jian's vision went black, and he fainted once more.
He did not know how much time passed.
When he woke again, Xiao Jian saw his sister asleep with her head resting against the side of the bed. Her thin frame wore only a single layer of clothing, and even in her sleep, she shivered violently from the cold.
It was already bitterly cold in the depths of winter. This cramped, dim room had also fallen into disrepair over the years, with cracks across the roof and walls. Strands of freezing wind poured through those cracks, making the room unbearably cold.
Xiao Rong wore only a coarse single-layer