Giving a gift

Lin Yu: "A pair of sevens."

Lin Yuyou: "Bomb! I've only got two cards left."

Lin Yu: "Pass."

Firefly: "Pass."

Lin Yu looked at Lin Yuyou, utterly speechless. They had gotten bored of video games, so the three of them had started playing Fight the Landlord.

But now, Lin Yu really wanted to punch her!

Lin Yu: "Seriously, we're on the same team! Why would you bomb me?!"

"Oh, come on~ I've only got two cards left anyway. Just bear with it, bro. I'm about to win this for us~"

"A two."

A triumphant smile curled Lin Yuyou's lips. She still had a three left. Unless her opponent had a bomb or both jokers, she would win, and both jokers had already been played. If Sister Firefly had a bomb, given her personality, she should have played it earlier. So the final victory is mine. Hahaha!

Firefly: "Bomb, then a five!"

While Lin Yuyou was still fantasizing, Firefly had already finished the game.

"I won!" Firefly jumped up happily.

Lin Yu covered his head, speechless, while Lin Yuyou looked completely baffled.

"Wait, why didn't it go the way I thought it would?"

Firefly happily flashed a peace sign. "I'm improving too, you know."

Lin Yu: "Sigh. That's what you get for being cocky. See? You lost."

Lin Yu picked up his phone to check the time. Seeing that it was getting late, he began putting away the cards on the table.

"I'll help too!" Seeing Lin Yu cleaning up, Firefly hurried over to help.

Seeing that the two had already started, Lin Yuyou reluctantly joined them. "Me too."

Lin Yu: "All right, it's getting late. Go wash up and get ready for bed." Once they had finished tidying up, Lin Yu gave the order for Lin Yuyou to get ready to go back to her room and sleep.

Lin Yuyou: "Aww~ It's still so early. Why go to bed now? My dear, sweet brother, let me play a little longer~"

Lin Yuyou tugged on Lin Yu's hand, trying to win him over by acting cute, but Lin Yu wasn't buying it.

Lin Yu: "No. Mom called me this afternoon and told me not to let you stay up late, so hurry up and go to bed!"

Her Majesty Mother's orders could not be refused!

"No, no! I want to play! I don't want to sleep!"

Seeing that acting cute wasn't working, Lin Yuyou flopped onto the sofa and began throwing a tantrum and rolling around. Firefly stood off to the side, flustered and unsure what to do, while Lin Yu folded his arms and watched without a word.

Seeing that this trick wasn't working, she stopped, got up, and ran behind Firefly.

Having escaped behind Firefly, Lin Yuyou stretched out her hands and waved them around menacingly. "No! I finally have a break, and I'm not wasting this precious time! Hah~!"

"All right, stop messing around. You have to go back to school tomorrow. If your teacher catches you dozing off in class, you'll be in for it."

At that, Lin Yuyou looked utterly dismissive. "Pfft~ Teachers? I've never been scared of them!"

"Oh? So good grades give you the right to be this cocky?"

"Of course! My grades are so good, there's no need for me to learn anything else anyway!" Lin Yuyou planted her hands on her hips, looking confident and very pleased with herself.

"Oh, please. Eternal runner-up."

"Ah! Don't bring that up-!" The moment Lin Yu mentioned it, Lin Yuyou jumped up, grabbed his collar, and shook him around wildly, not treating him like her older brother at all.

Though she was terrifying when she lost her temper, she had absolutely no intimidating effect on Lin Yu.

Just then, Firefly grew interested. "Lin Yu, what's this about an eternal runner-up?"

Firefly asked in a conspiratorial whisper, and Lin Yu made no attempt to hide it, telling her outright.

It wasn't his embarrassing story anyway, so there was no harm in telling it. The only one who suffered was Lin Yuyou, who was being publicly humiliated.

Lin Yu: "Eternal runner-up means she's always second in her entire year at school and has never come first in an exam, so some people at school use that nickname to describe her situation."

Firefly: "Always second in her entire year? Isn't that really impressive?" Firefly looked surprised and offered her own opinion.

She didn't really understand these things, so she didn't get the point, but she knew that students and parents in this world took grades very seriously. Grades represented strength!

Hearing Firefly praise her made Lin Yuyou incredibly happy.

"Sister Firefly is the best, unlike a certain older brother who does nothing but put me down all day!"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't go making baseless accusations. I'm not putting you down. I'm just stating the facts."

"I don't care! Bringing it up at all counts as putting me down! Bleh, bleh, bleh~" Lin Yuyou made a face at Lin Yu to express her displeasure.

"Come on, Sister Firefly, let's go take a bath. Ignore this heartless, stinky brother!"

"But..." Before Firefly could finish, Lin Yuyou dragged her into the bathroom and forcibly stripped off her clothes.

Outside, Lin Yu could do nothing about her either and could only sigh helplessly.

Then the sound of steadily falling water and girls laughing and playing came from the bathroom.

"Ah-! Yuyou, don't touch there!"

"Wow! Sister Firefly, you're so big there, and so soft~"

The voices kept coming, leaving Lin Yu somewhat unsettled.

Forget it. I'll go get some air.

With that thought, Lin Yu got up and went to the window. He opened it, and gentle breezes brushed his face. The cool evening wind cleared his slightly muddled head and soothed the heat within him.

Looking at the night scenery outside, he couldn't help feeling how quickly time had passed. It had already been more than a month since Firefly appeared in his home, and life over that month had changed a great deal because of her arrival.

Though it was more tiring than before...

"Lin Yu?"

Firefly's voice came from behind him. He turned to look, then immediately turned back, because Firefly had nothing but a towel draped around her. Water dripped from her damp hair onto the floor. The sight was simply too alluring. Anyone would have struggled to control themselves!

Lin Yu: "Wh-what's wrong? Why did you suddenly come out?"

At the mention of it, Firefly looked a little weary. "Yuyou is just too... too lively, so I finished washing early and ran out."

"I see. Thanks for putting up with her."

"Mm~ It's nothing. Also, you seemed pretty happy just now. Did something good happen?"

"Well, you could say that."

"I see. As long as you're happy. I'll go get dressed~" Firefly gave a faint smile, then ran into the room. Since his back was to her, Lin Yu didn't notice the little flicker of emotion she showed.

Only after hearing the door close did he turn around again. Seeing that Firefly was gone, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Looking toward the room, a smile unconsciously appeared on his face. Yes, there was something to be very happy about. Life now was much happier than before.

After a while, Lin Yuyou finished washing and came out of the bathroom too. She glanced at Lin Yu in the living room, angrily turned her head away, and ran into the room. "Hmph~!"

Lin Yu could only feel helpless about his younger sister. She had been so well-behaved when she was little and had always clung to him, but now that she was in school, she seemed like a completely different person.

He couldn't help lamenting that, in the end, a girl really did grow up and go her own way~

Just then, the bedroom door opened, and Firefly came out. She held her hands behind her back as though carrying something and walked toward him, one step at a time.

"Um, Lin Yu..." Firefly looked a little bashful and shy, and her voice carried a hint of nervousness.

"Well, this is for you!"

Seemingly unsure what else to say, Firefly shoved what she had hidden behind her back into his arms, then immediately ran back into the room.

She had run off before he could say anything. Looking at the paper bag in his arms, he opened it curiously and took out an exquisitely made gift box. With its blue wrapping and a bow tied from white silk ribbon, it was clearly something prepared with care.

There was also a small card on the back of the gift box, which he took out.

The card read:

"To Lin Yu,

Thank you for taking care of me for so long. This is just a small token of my appreciation.

Firefly

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Heh~ Thank you." Putting the card away, Lin Yu unwrapped the package bit by bit. Seeing what was inside, he couldn't help feeling surprised.

"This is hardly a small token, but thank you anyway."

At some point, the door to the nearby room had opened a crack, and a pair of eyes behind it had been watching everything over here. The door quietly closed, and Lin Yuyou gave Firefly behind her a thumbs-up.

"See? I told you my brother would love it!"

"Mm. Thank you, Yuyou."

Lin Yuyou proudly rubbed her nose. "Of course. Like I said, how could I not know my own brother?"