Nah

"Thanks to you, thanks to you," Le Yu said, clasping his hands. "The thought of my little sister at home, who needs me to commit arson and murder just to support her, instantly made me, her older brother, sit bolt upright from my deathbed. How could I die so easily?"

Ever since Qian Yuya learned that her brother was a big, bad villain guilty of all sorts of atrocities, she completely abandoned her quiet, literary girl persona and tried every possible way to annoy Le Yu. However, Le Yu spent less than an hour with her each day, most of which was during meals, so she didn't know where to begin to annoy him. She could only pick on minor issues like "not picking up his bowl when eating," "shaking his leg," or "bad posture" to insult him.

Hearing his sister's familiar greetings, Le Yu's mood immediately brightened. It wasn't that Le Yu was perverse; it was just that compared to the hateful and disgusted stares from others, Qian Yuya's harmless insults were as sweet and adorable as a cat's meow.

He relied on these playful bickering sessions with Qian Yuya to get by each day, especially after the people from the Statistics Department realized they couldn't beat him at cards. Le Yu found little joy in this world.

Qian Yuya snorted, carrying a basket with both hands as she walked in. She looked at the chandelier on the ceiling. "It's much brighter than the light in our room."

"Ample light is good for patients. Besides, the Medical Officer Department is also a government agency, so the Radiant Stone power supply it uses is naturally military-grade. What's more, staying one night at the Medical Officer Department costs one Gold Coin, so how could they skimp on lighting?" Le Yu chuckled.

Huiyao only had two currencies: cash and Gold Coins. Cash was the lowest value general equivalent. Qian Yuliu and Qian Yuya's daily living expenses were about sixteen cash, and one thousand cash could be exchanged for one Gold Coin—or so they said, but in reality, no one would make such an exchange.

Ordinary people didn't need large units of currency like Gold Coins for their daily needs. Only businesses or organizations conducting large-scale trade would use Gold Coins for settlement. Le Yu had a quick understanding that the world's gold reserves seemed particularly low, and the Radiant People were unusually fanatical about stable minerals like gold. Le Yu also had a few Gold Coins; they felt incredibly satisfying to touch, though he didn't know why.

Qian Yuya couldn't help but click her tongue. "That's too expensive."

Le Yu humbly replied, "It's alright, it's alright. Don't forget, I'm the captain of the Statistics Department, so I don't have to pay."

Qian Yuya must have imagined many scenarios of "the Statistics Department exploiting the Medical Officer Department," because her face immediately soured. She unceremoniously placed the basket heavily on the nightstand and took out the covered rice bowl from inside. The rich aroma of food wafted out uncontrollably. Le Yu, who had been hungry for several hours after surgery and had only eaten an apple, immediately felt his stomach protesting.

Le Yu was overjoyed. "I can't believe you came to bring me food! Your older brother is truly touched!"

Qian Yuya retorted, "Someone only came to tell me you were dying after I finished cooking. I made too much food, and I didn't want to waste it overnight, so I just brought you some leftovers."

Look at that, what a refined person. Back in the day, when Le Yu brought food to his roommates, it was always, "My sons, call me Dad or no food for you." Qian Yuya, despite her best efforts to be mean, could only manage to call it "leftovers." It showed how little Qian Yuliu usually cared for his sister; she couldn't even swear properly. She'd definitely get a beating when she entered society later.

Le Yu sighed inwardly, happily picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat. He took a couple of bites and noticed Qian Yuya wasn't eating. He asked, surprised, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I already ate."

Le Yu pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it. "We usually eat at this time. Plus, with the time it takes for you to finish school, buy groceries, cook, and rush here to the Medical Officer Department, you wouldn't have had time to eat."

"I really did eat."

"It's not that I don't believe you, but unless you ate while walking, there's no way you would have had enough time…"

"Can't I just run here right after eating?!"

"Wuwuwu, I can't believe my little sister cares about her older brother so much, risking a stomachache to run here and bring him food. Your older brother must work hard to earn you a generous dowry…"

"You!" Qian Yuya turned her face away in anger, refusing to look at Le Yu. "Hurry up and eat. I'm going home when you're done!"

Le Yu chuckled, deliberately eating noisily, chewing very slowly, and constantly saying "It's so delicious," "This fish is so smooth," "This vegetable is so sweet." He occasionally burped, making Qian Yuya's shoulders tremble slightly, and she even involuntarily swallowed.

Qian Yuya said fiercely, "Can you eat a little quieter?! Didn't you learn in primary school that polite people eat quietly so as not to bother others?"

"I'm sorry, as you know, operatives of the Statistics Department have no manners."

Qian Yuya was so angry she almost couldn't catch her breath.

Just then, Le Yu patted his stomach. "Oh, I'm full, I'm full. But there's still a lot of food left. Why don't you eat it, Yuya?"

"I ate—"

"You can use this end of the chopsticks; I haven't touched it, it's clean." Le Yu took out a handkerchief and wiped the grease from the thin end of the chopsticks, then turned them around and offered them to Qian Yuya. "Do you know that martial artists with high Combat Arts can hear subtle sounds from the human body around them, like the rumbling of a stomach?"

Qian Yuya silently watched Le Yu, took the chopsticks, and asked with difficulty, "Really?"

"No, it's fake. You actually believed that? Your older brother is really worried you'll be deceived by bad men in the future."

Qian Yuya fiercely stabbed the thick end of the chopsticks into the fish meat. "I will never believe anything you say again."

"Actually, I've decided to resign from the Statistics Department."

"Really?!"

Qian Yuya's face immediately cleared, but when she saw Le Yu's mischievous expression, she instantly became angry. "Are you tricking me?"

"You instinctively believe sweet talk from men. Yuya, you've really seen too few people. You need to remember, there's no love without reason in this world, only hatred without reason. If someone suddenly wants to give up everything for you, it's either because they want a physical relationship with you or they're related to you by blood—for example, I'm your dad… no, I'm your older brother." Le Yu almost instinctively called himself her dad.

"For me?" Qian Yuya gave a hollow laugh, a teasing skill she learned from Le Yu. "You've just been subjected to Revenge Severance on the street, severely injured and sent to the Medical Officer Department, almost losing your life. Haven't you learned your lesson? If you leave the Statistics Department, who would truly benefit?"

Le Yu said, "That would definitely be Chen Fu. That kid has coveted my captain position for a long time. If I leave, he'll surely set off firecrackers to celebrate. But don't worry, the 'Fu' character in his name says it all. My position as the proper captain is as steady as a mountain."

Qian Yuya sighed and shook her head. "There's nothing to say to someone as power-hungry as you. The next time I come to the Medical Officer Department, it might be to claim a family member's body."

Although Qian Yuya's every word was an insult, her every subtext was a hope that Qian Yuliu could leave the Statistics Department sooner, so he wouldn't be entangled in grievances like Revenge Severance duels. Le Yu almost couldn't help but call Qian Yuliu brother-in-law.

However, everything Le Yu said was actually just to get Qian Yuya to eat something.

He glanced at the system panel and saw that the progress of "Qian Yuliu's Calamity" had increased by 1. It seemed that this counted as him and Qian Yuya having dinner together.

There weren't many more times left before Transcending Calamity. Le Yu was really looking forward to it. What changes would happen to his Mental Power after he passed this "having dinner with my sister 12 times" Calamity? Would it take on his sister's form?

"Oh, right, didn't you take your graduation exam today? How did it go?" Le Yu asked, concerned.

"None of your business."

"That's true, it's none of my business. But I heard that those who do well on the graduation exam get recommendation letters from the school to take the entrance exam for the Royal Academy in Yan Capital… but I'm sure my dear sister wouldn't leave Star Engraving Prefecture, wouldn't leave her dear older brother, would she, hmm?" Le Yu said in a particularly annoying tone, drawing out the last word.

Qian Yuya finished her last piece of fish, gently wiped her mouth with a pink handkerchief, met Le Yu's expectant gaze, and nodded firmly:

"Yes, I won't leave Star Engraving Prefecture."

Le Yu blinked.

"Huh?"