"Brother, wash your hands."

BaiLu changed out of her school uniform and put on her usual home clothes. She wore an apron with a cartoon cat face printed on it and carried a steaming plate of bright red prawns to the dining table.

"I already did."

Looking at the delicious prawns and two other seasonal vegetables, I quickly left the sofa I had made an imprint on and rushed to the dining table, rubbing my hands together, ready to sit down.

"Let me see."

BaiLu took off her apron and set it aside, then sat down across the small square dining table. She looked at me with soft eyes.

Upon hearing her words, I pinched my hand and reluctantly extended it to BaiLu.

BaiLu examined my hand and furrowed her brows slightly. She said, "Really, brother is not a child. You can't eat without washing your hands."

I pursed my lips and glanced at the bathroom, which was more than ten steps away from the dining table. I dared not meet my sister's eyes as I spoke, discreetly stretching my hands towards the chopsticks.

"I've never understood why we have to wash our hands before eating. Even if our hands are dirty, they don't directly touch the food. The dirt on our hands can't just magically transfer to the rice, right? And even if it's unhygienic, tap water that we drink is also representative of uncleanliness. If our hands are dirty and the tap water is dirty too, wouldn't combining these two make it even dirtier? So why is it that after washing our hands, we can eat?"

My sister is the most outstanding student at The Prunus Junior High School. With her intelligence, she always ranks first in the class every year. So I thought she would agree with my point of view.

But to my surprise, my sister was a step ahead of me. She slowly extended her soft hand and held the chopsticks. "Then brother, just lick your hands and let's eat."

"I'm sorry."

I immediately admitted defeat, stood up, and quickly rushed to the sink. I earnestly washed my hands three times, considering whether my stomach would be tormented for the next three days by the celery and green pepper dish my sister cooked. After I finished washing my hands and showed them to BaiLu, she finally handed me the chopsticks.

But it was evident that my movement of just a few steps was wise. My sister's culinary skills were getting better each day. The taste, color, and fragrance of this plate of braised shelled prawns had far surpassed what my dumb mom could make.

I picked up the chopsticks and devoured the prawns like a starving dog. In no time, I finished the plate, even including the one my sister had squished.

It was truly pitiful that even after death, it would end up in my stomach. Mr. Braised Shelled Prawn, in your next life, you should become a lobster so we won't be able to afford you.

After finishing the meal, my sister tidied up the dining table, put on her apron again, and started washing the dishes in the kitchen.

With a sister like this, I suspect I've already used up the luck of my next life. I hope I won't have to work in a coal mine in Kenya in my next life. As I watched BaiLu humming a song in the kitchen, I couldn't help but worry about my future life.

Ding.

The sound of a message from my phone interrupted my thoughts. It was a text message. I, who had just finished eating and was lying on the sofa, reached for my phone on the table.

"[Stupid BaiQiao, why did you run away just now!]"

It was a message from Wu Yaoyao.

Of course, it was embarrassing, how could I not run away in such an awkward situation. Avoiding it is not shameful, and it's very effective. I chuckled at the message, didn't reply, and put the phone back where it was.

"Brother, who was that?" Fresh out of the shower, with wet hair and the scent of shower gel, BaiLu approached me holding two cups of lemonade.

"Um... a classmate." I sat up from the sofa and made room for my sister, replied vaguely.

Usually, after dinner, the two of us would sit on the sofa and watch TV together.

"Oh..." BaiLu sat down beside me, wearing pajamas with a cat pattern, her graceful dancing figure slightly visible. With her damp face and the lingering scent of water vapor, her voice had no fluctuations, but her words carried a subtle alertness as I listened. It felt like a cat holding a fish snack, watching pedestrians passing by.

"Yeah, just an ordinary classmate." I nodded, unintentionally explaining.

"Well, that's good." BaiLu also nodded, and her smooth black hair moved gently.

Wait a minute, why am I feeling relieved?

"By the way, BaiLu... I've been meaning to ask, isn't there a place for practicing dancing at The Prunus Junior High? Why have you been at the theater these past few days?" I quickly changed the subject, remembering that I was going to watch my sister's performance tomorrow."The city youth dance competition starts tomorrow, and we're representing the school. The organizers have arranged for participants to familiarize themselves with the environment over there and also have a rehearsal." BaiLu said, taking out a ticket from his pocket. "Brother is coming tomorrow."

"Mmm." I smiled and patted BaiLu's head, taking the ticket from him.

Tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock, the timing is not bad, no need to wake up early.

"Brother, your nails are long again..." My sister lightly said, grabbing my hand and placing it on her thigh. She picked up a nail clipper from the table and lowered her head, attentively helping me trim them.

BaiLu is very thoughtful, always taking care of everything at home, including me.

Ding.

My phone rang.

It couldn't be that idiot Wu Yaoyao again, right? Taking a look at my sister's serious manner of helping me trim my nails, I thought for a moment and picked up the phone from the table.

[My dear Vice-Chairman, have you had your meal?]

It wasn't Wu Yaoyao, it was that woman Tang Xin.

That means I don't have to pay attention to it. Ready to put the phone back in its original place, it rang again.

[On my end, it shows as read. Vice-Chairman's phone shouldn't have forgotten to charge or be too busy to see, right?]

She said all the excuses I had prepared in my mind. This immediately made me panic. Has she already thought so far?!

[Haha, Chairman was just joking. Is there something you need?]

I weakly typed the message back. This woman Tang Xin is too terrifying. If she's unhappy with me, she can play tricks on me once a day, for a whole year without repetition.

But when did the social app "Juxin" have the function to show that the message has been read? Did I forget to update to the latest version? I glanced at my "Juxin" interface and felt a little strange.

"BaiLu..."

"Mhmm?"

"When did 'Juxin' have the function to show that messages have been read?"

"...Mine doesn't have it." My sister didn't look up, like a small animal, continuing to diligently trim my nails.

Dammit, that smelly woman Tang Xin is playing tricks on me again.