"Feiya, be careful," I shouted without thinking twice, not caring if I would trip over something while running. I ran as fast as I could to Feiya's side, and just as the lion was about to attack her, I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me at lightning speed. Although there was a slight collision, I was not one of those people who were all skin and bones. The thick layer of fat reduced the impact of the collision to a minimum. I was fine, but I wondered how Feiya was.
So, still catching my breath, I asked her, "Are you okay, Feiya?" Feiya lifted her head from my embrace, still a bit dazed from the collision. After she regained her composure, she looked at me with a puzzled expression and asked, "Is everything okay... what happened?"
"That lion was about to attack you..."
"Attack me? It looked so gentle..." Feiya and I both looked back at the lion, who had just yawned and lazily turned around before returning to the shade. This unexpected reaction left me speechless. I was certain that it was about to attack Feiya, but now it seemed like I was mistaken.
"Looks like I was wrong. I thought the lion was going to attack you," I said, feeling embarrassed.
The people around us seemed to have witnessed my actions, as they covered their mouths and laughed. Some said, "That lion is still some distance from the fence. You were too nervous."
"What a courageous young man! You really startled me earlier."
"This scene has a romantic feel, like a prince and princess finally coming together."
"Could they be a couple? But the girl seems too young."
The comments from others embarrassed me. How did it escalate to this? I was just a bit nervous and tried to save my sister. Although it became a bit of a joke, the conversation seemed to take a weird turn. She's my sister, I reminded myself. However, the more I wanted to explain to these people, the more I felt like I was just trying to cover up. It would be best to leave this place quickly.
"Feiya... although there are still many animals we haven't seen, I think we should leave here. What do you think?"
Feiya blushed and nodded. I hurriedly led her out of the zoo, stopping only when we were no longer in sight of those people.
"Sorry, Feiya. I brought you to the zoo hoping you could see some animals you wouldn't normally see. I didn't expect such an embarrassing incident to happen. I'm sorry I disappointed you."
"It's... it's okay. Feiya was already satisfied after seeing the lion," Feiya replied with a smile.
"Really? I was worried you would regret not seeing the elephants," I said, feeling slightly less guilty.
"Although I wanted to see them a little bit, it doesn't matter. After all, it wouldn't be good if we were attacked by an elephant. I don't want Youjie brother to worry," Feiya said with a cute smile.
Feiya was quite considerate, which brought me some joy.
"Then, let's go sit there, Feiya," I pointed to a small park across the road.
"Um..." Feiya nodded.
We went to the small park across the street. There were many children playing there, some in the sand, some on swings, and some playing tag. Of course, there were adults watching over them.
I found a place to sit and rest, and there happened to be a stone table where we could buy some food.
I asked Feiya to sit here while I went to a nearby convenience store to buy some food and drinks. I told her, "Just sit here and wait for me to come back."
"Can't Feiya accompany Youjie brother?" Feiya hesitated but finally agreed to wait here.
"I'll be right back," I said and immediately ran across the street. To be honest, I was a bit worried leaving my sister alone there, but it was dangerous to cross the road with her, considering the traffic. So I had no choice. I tried to get to the convenience store as quickly as possible, but I had to wait a bit for a bus. Although there was a zebra crossing, there were no traffic lights. The drivers were reckless, and the cars would zoom past you. It was really dangerous, so I didn't dare rush across the road. This caused me to waste quite a bit of time.
When I arrived at the resting spot, I saw Feya sitting there. I was relieved that there were no strangers talking to her.
"F... Feya," I said, still catching my breath.
"Youjie Gege, why are you all sweaty?" she asked.
"I bought some snacks for us to eat and chat," I said, lifting up the plastic bag in my hand.
"Ah," Feya replied, seeming a little surprised.
I placed the plastic bag on the stone table and opened it, taking out everything inside - tomato juice, durian biscuits, spicy strips, sour plums, and herbal tea. As each item was revealed, my heart sank. There were even things that were not meant to be eaten, but I had mistakenly included them. I felt embarrassed.
"Feya..."
"Youjie Gege, what's wrong?" she asked.
"Sorry, I bought a bunch of stuff that we can't really eat or drink," I apologized helplessly. I wished I had looked more carefully before buying them. It was a waste of money, and it might have damaged my image as a reliable older brother in Feya's eyes.
"These are... some unique things, but Feya doesn't dislike tomato juice," she said, opening the bottle and drinking it. I couldn't tell if she was forcing herself to like it or not.
I opened the package of durian biscuits and couldn't help but feel the urge to throw them away when I smelled the strong durian scent. But that would be a waste of money, and I didn't want to eat them either. So I reluctantly set them aside.
I looked at the spicy strips, sour plums, and other snacks. They were either bad for the stomach or the teeth, so I passed on them. It seemed that nothing was truly appetizing except for the tomato juice. There was also the herbal tea, which was too sweet and had a medicinal taste that I couldn't stomach. I felt like a bitter gourd. I worried about how to handle all these things.
"Youjie Gege?"
"Yes?" I looked at Feya with a troubled expression.
"Can Feya give these things to them?" she pointed to a group of children.
"Of course you can. Let them eat as much as they want," I said.
"Thank you, Youjie Gege," Feya said happily. She put all the snacks back into the plastic bag and ran over to the children. She said something to them and held up the bag. The children seemed to be ecstatic, grabbing at the bag like it was a treasure. Feya handed the bag to them, and they tore it apart in excitement. It was a bit scary to watch.
"They're very happy and grateful that you gave them food," Feya said as she ran back to me, smiling. I was so relieved that the snacks were able to be eaten instead of being thrown away. The children had really helped me out.
"It's nothing. I bought those things by mistake in the first place. It's great that they could be put to good use," I said.
"Earlier, Youjie Gege was worrying about this, right?" Feya asked.
I scratched my cheek. "Well... kind of."
"Then Feya helped Youjie Gege solve a problem," she said proudly.
"Well... thank you, Feya. I really didn't know how to handle those things without your idea," I said.
"No... need to thank me. After all, Youjie Gege has helped Feya so many times. And siblings should help each other, right? Feya is just happy that she could help Youjie Gege," Feya said genuinely. When did my little sister become so mature? Does turning one year older really make a difference?
"Youjie Gege?"
"Ah... I was lost in thought. So, should we continue sitting here or take a walk around the park?" I asked.
"Feya wants to take a walk," she replied.
"Alright then, let's take a walk around the park," I said.
The park was small, so after a few rounds, we reached the exit. We had to slow down our pace and take longer walks to prolong our time.
After a few rounds, I suddenly couldn't think of any topics to talk about. It was incredibly awkward not knowing what to say. Just as I was desperately searching for a topic, Feya suddenly called out, "Youjie Gege."
"Hmm?"
"How is Youjie gege getting along with Yuqian jiejie?" she asked, surprising me.
"It's alright..." I thought for a moment before answering.
"Will Youjie gege really marry Yuqian jiejie?"
"Ah..." I made a strange noise, surprised by Feya's question.
"What's wrong? Did Feya say something wrong?"
"It's not that she said something wrong, it's just why would Feya ask about this?" I asked in disbelief.
"Well... I kind of care," Feya replied.
"You care? Why would Feya care about this?" I asked, puzzled.
"...Well... After all, Feya might become a sister-in-law, so she wants to make sure," Feya suddenly sounded very mature. Is it because she watched too many TV dramas?
"I... I can't answer that," I felt a bit confused, not knowing why something in my heart was starting to waver.
"Is that so?"
"It's almost like that," I couldn't believe how indecisive I had become. I had pursued Su Yuqian with unwavering determination at first.
"In that case, Youjie you should really think about this seriously," Feya said lightly.
"Ah... I will think about it seriously."
"Feya wants to go to the next place," she said just as we reached the exit.
"Then let's go to the next place," I replied, and we left the small park. As we walked, I started to regret and blame myself for hesitating earlier. Why did I doubt? It was clearly a sign of disloyalty.