After they finished their breakfast, Li Chunhua didn't waste another second and left for school first. That never happened before unless something urgent came up.
Li Caiyi sighed, thinking that this would be a problem later.
Li Chunhua wasn't someone to be provoked. No one could tell what she would do next if they crossed her.
"Mother, thank you for the food. I'm also finished." Li Caiyi smiled gratefully before picking up her bag to follow Li Chunhua.
"O-Oh yeah. Be careful on your way," Su Suyin glanced at Li Junjie, who calmly sipped his morning coffee unhurriedly. He looked as disinterested as always, so Su Suyin could only sigh in worry. "I hope they can make up soon. This is disheartening, especially when we finally gathered together."
Meanwhile, Li Caiyi tried hard to catch up with her sister, who could actually walk fast despite her weak physique. "Xiaohua, wait for me!"
Instead of stopping or answering, she hastened her steps, almost breaking into a run. Li Caiyi was worried something would happen, so she quickly added, "Wait, I get it! I won't chase after you, so don't run anymore!"
Only then did Li Chunhua slow down. Li Caiyi could neither stop nor talk to her, so she only walked behind her sister, watching over her.
"Xiaohua, I'm sorry for breaking my promise. If you give me another chance, I promise I will make it up to you."
Li Chunhua: "...."
Apologizing directly wouldn't work. What else to say?
Li Caiyi racked her brain before speaking up again, "I was really looking forward to it too, but there was no way I could have fun after hearing what happened to Dai Zhiqiang's father. Though, I know you must have been very disappointed. The party was amazing, it was a shame I couldn't spend it with you this year. Let's have another party next year! This time, I'll help you with the preparation too!"
Li Chunhua's steps halted, which automatically made Li Caiyi stop on her track. She could feel something was off with her.
"Xiaohua?"
"Next year? Are you sure we really have another opportunity for that?" Li Chunhua said without turning around. Perhaps it was because of the wind, but her voice sounded shaky. "We don't even know if I can make it through another year."
"What are you saying!" Li Caiyi rebutted in a hurry. "The doctor also said your condition has been stable lately. You will be fine, Xiaohua!"
'I'll make sure we have another birthday party even if I have to risk my life for it!'
Or so she wanted to say, but she swallowed them back again. Instead, she spoke gloomily, "Please don't say sad things like that. I hate it."
"Well, you did a good job making me feel like that! You always said you would stay by my side, but whenever I thought we could finally get closer again, you either pushed me away or left me behind!"
Li Chunhua sniffed, "I understand that you find it difficult to accept me again after everything I did to you, so I tried to keep my distance. Am I asking too much for wanting to celebrate our birthday together?"
Li Caiyi didn't know what to say.
What she heard must be the accumulation of grievance that she suffered. Thinking back, no matter how much she tried to keep Li Chunhua away, she always bounced back to her like it was the most natural thing to do.
But it seemed Li Caiyi really hurt her deeply this time. To the point her obsessive sister refused to look her in the eyes.
"What are you two doing arguing in the middle of the street?"
The twins didn't have to turn back to recognize who was the owner of that flat and disinterested voice. From behind them, Li Junjie approached with both hands in his pocket.
"You guys are going to be late for school. Save this argument for later."
"Brother Jie, I envy you sometimes," Li Chunhua said in a sarcastic tone. "Nothing could faze you, not even when you see your family members are in dispute."
"I certainly am worthy of being an object of envy, but are you sure you want to act like this where people can see you?"
As he said, their argument seemed to attract passerby's attention. It wasn't every day you could see twins with identical faces fighting, after all. Li Chunhua harrumphed before stomping her way to the school again, leaving her siblings behind.
"What a bad temper she had," Li Junjie sighed before turning to Li Caiyi. "And I can see you are in a bad mood after failing to coax her."
"Can you please not state the obvious?" Li Caiyi massaged her throbbing temple with a troubled expression on her face. "Brother Jie, I messed up a big time this time."
"Let's talk while walking. We can't be late for school."
At this point, Li Caiyi couldn't care less about the school, but she still dragged her feet into following him. While walking, she gradually noticed something important. Her brother would deliberately slow down his steps to walk side by side. Usually, he wouldn't care and followed his own pace.
Li Junjie also intervened when the situation became unpleasant for both sisters. The past him wouldn't bat an eye, or he would walk past them while pretending not to see.
What kind of ghost was possessing him today? Was he trying to be considerate to her? Instead of feeling happy, Li Caiyi felt crept out instead. They said if a person did something out of their character, that person would die.
"Ehm, Brother Jie? You can go ahead if you want."
"I feel like taking my time to school today. Don't worry about it."
Wasn't he who kept repeating that they couldn't be late for school? She couldn't even say she wanted to go on ahead because it would feel more awkward.
Li Caiyi regretted not running after Li Chunhua earlier. Now she had to walk with her weird brother.
"You should talk to Xiaohua again once her mood is better."
"Ah? Oh," Li Caiyi fumbled with her words as she was caught off guard. Li Junjie actually took the initiative to give her advice? Would the sun rise from the west tomorrow?
Oblivious to her shock, he continued, "Did you prepare anything for her?"
"....I prepared a cute bracelet as her birthday present. But why did you ask?"
"Bring it out the next time you talk to her. She'll be easier to talk to after that."
Putting aside her surprise, Li Caiyi thought what he said was reasonable. She was so busy thinking about how to make up with her sister that she forgot she hadn't given her a present yet.
"You are right. I will try to follow your advice later. Thanks, Brother Jie." Li Caiyi thanked him sincerely with a bright face.
Her reaction was too optimistic. It made him stiffen in place. Li Junjie wasn't used to a situation like this, so he only gave a vague nod before hastening his steps.
Li Caiyi chuckled in amusement, seeing his confused back.
'What? So he can act like a decent human being. Well, at least he tried.'
She probably had gone insane thinking her brother's clumsy approach was cute. He used to have this unreachable aura around him. Still, he took the initiative to help her mend her relationship with Li Chunhua. That thought alone made her feel warm inside.
"Ah, wait for me, Brother!" She shouted as she rushed to his side again.
***
"I'm so stupid! Why? Why did I have to act stubbornly like that?!"
Shao Jingfei was at a loss for words. As soon as the bell for lunch break rang, Li Chunhua appeared out of nowhere and dragged him from his class to the backyard. Then she forced him to sit down and listen to her rants.
"Hey, not to break the mood or anything, but I haven't eaten anything, you know?"
"Ugh. You whine too much sometimes! Eat this," Li Chunhua threw him a plastic bag with various pieces of bread inside. Shao Jingfei giggled and accepted his 'tribute' gratefully.
"From your words, I take that your talk with Caiyi didn't work out?"
Li Chunhua frowned. "What's with that bored tone? Aren't you supposed to give me an idea on how to solve this mess?!"
Shao Jingfei blocked his ears, so he didn't have to hear her loud voice. He was tempted to just leave this troublesome princess behind, but she would yell again if he did that.
"Well, not every problem needs a complicated solution, my friend. And this one is an example from it."
"But…But I spoke so harshly to her earlier. I'm so bad with things like this. Now everything has turned very awkward between us!"
Shao Jingfei stared at her weirdly. "Say, I have been wondering, but why do you like Caiyi so much?"
"What kind of question is that? She is my sister, so of course, I like her!"
"But, I never see you behave like this toward your older brother."
Li Chunhua shook her head while saying in a mocking tone, "A human only likes fellow humans. How can I feel so strongly toward a machine?"
"You are so rude. Senior Li would cry if he heard that."
"Hahaha! If that happens, that will be a legendary moment worthy of being recorded in history."
Shao Jingfei scratched his cheek, slightly feeling sorry for Li Junjie.
"Well, putting that aside, I don't think you should do anything this time. Although Caiyi had her own reason, she wasn't completely blameless in this. You were working hard for that party, so you deserved an apology from her."
Li Chunhua played with her hair as she felt conflicted inside. "Do you think she will apologize again?"
"Yeah. Caiyi is a responsible person. I'm sure she feels bad for you after leaving the party like that."
"...If you said so, I'll forgive her next time."
Shao Jingfei chuckled. "You just want to use me as an excuse to let go of your silly pride. Just say you are upset that she chose to accompany her boyfriend over you on your important day."
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