When Liu Zihan opened the door, Liu Zihao had been knocking for more than two minutes. Suspecting that his older sister had deliberately made him wait that long, his expression was far from friendly.
"Sister, why did it take you so long to answer?" he asked in an accusing tone. He had grown accustomed lately to everyone around him flattering him; how could he stomach being treated with such a lack of respect?
"I was sleeping..." Liu Zihan replied flatly, showing no trace of remorse. On the contrary, her gaze seemed to say that she was the only one with a right to be outraged for being disturbed.
".....", Liu Zihao's eye twitched. With her hair perfectly styled and her clothes not wrinkled in the slightest, did his sister look like someone who had just rolled out of bed? It was obvious she had just come up with a random excuse.
"And your phone... why didn't you answer our mother or me?" Liu Zihao had no intention of backing down so easily. Everyone else was fascinated by her saint-like calm, seemingly unaffected by worldly troubles, but he was certain her indifference was merely a mask; in reality, she surpassed even him in stubbornness.
"It was on silent, of course. Who can sleep when notifications come in every minute?" Liu Zihan replied in the same tone, entirely unfazed by her brother's accusation. The only difference now was that she looked at him as if he were someone of rather limited intelligence.
"Well, yeah, you're right..." Liu Zihao deflated a little, embarrassed to be called out for his lack of perceptiveness. "But—"
But Liu Zihan interrupted him before he could say another word.
"Do you want to become my personal assistant? If not, why are you suddenly so interested in my schedule?" she said coldly. Being in a foul mood, she truly lacked the patience to accommodate her brother's "young master" airs.
"....Gulp...." Intimidated by his sister's outburst, Liu Zihao didn't just swallow his words—he forgot what he wanted to say entirely.
This left him feeling conflicted. He had often tried to make his sister drop her mask of indifference, yet when it finally happened, instead of being happy, his first instinct was to try to calm her down.
"....It's nothing like that, Sis. It's just that there's an emergency and we didn't know where to find you..." he finally said. If someone who hadn't witnessed the start of their conversation saw his hurt expression, they would likely think he had been truly worried about his sister.
Liu Zihan was unimpressed by his innocent look. After all, what innocence could someone like her brother possess? He was simply the type of person who is bold with the weak and weak in the face of the bold.
"Well, I don't think it was that much of an emergency. If it were, you probably would have mentioned it by now..." she said, taking a step back. It looked as though she was about to slam the door in Liu Zihao's face at any second.
"Wait, Sister. It really is urgent..." Liu Zihao panicked at the thought of being left to knock on the door again. Moreover, judging by Liu Zihan's expression, she likely wouldn't answer even if he knocked for an hour.
"It's about that wretch, Fengying. What's the deal with her? Are the rumors about her true?"
Liu Zihan frowned when she heard how her brother referred to Liu Fengying, but she refrained from scolding him. She knew from experience that it would be no different from talking to a wall. Furthermore, not only would she fail to correct his thinking, but he would go and complain to their mother that she wasn't taking his side, which would result in her having to endure hours of "brainwashing" again.
However, even though she tried to ignore her brother's words—treating them as the reaction of someone not entirely sound of mind—her attitude toward him involuntarily became even frostier.
"Why come to ask me? If you were so curious, couldn't you have gone to check for yourself?"
Hearing his sister's question, Liu Zihao suddenly grew much calmer.
"Well, it's quite a distance from my classroom building... Plus, end-of-year exams are coming up; naturally, I spend my breaks reviewing the material..." he stammered, trying to manufacture an explanation.
The truth, however, was that he hadn't even been at school; he had spent the day at a gaming arcade with some of his friends—so how could he have gone to see Liu Fengying? Furthermore, to ensure no one interrupted his fun, he had kept his phone off, so he had only seen the posts about his half-sister on his way home.
If that came to light, it wouldn't end well for him. His mother might indulge his every whim and hesitate to punish him for his usual antics, but regarding school, she was very strict, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she cut off his pocket money for the next few days. In that case, how could he show his face in front of his friends?
Fortunately for him, the school administration was quite lenient toward the young masters of wealthy families; as long as they only missed 2-3 days a month, they didn't call the parents to inform them. So, the only way his mother could find out he skipped was if Liu Zihan snitched, so he had to make sure she didn't suspect he hadn't been at school.
"Yeah, sure..." Liu Zihan smiled ironically, her expression saying, "Couldn't you find a better excuse?"
Naturally, she had expected such a reaction from her brother because she was well aware he hadn't been to school. They went to school in the same car in the morning, and when he got out before entering the school gate on the pretext of buying a hamburger, she was already almost certain he wouldn't set foot in the school that day. However, she found it comical that he used "studying" as a pretext for his lack of time.
Still, Liu Zihan believed there was little chance her brother would have gone to see Liu Fengying even if he had been in class, as he wouldn't have wanted to risk a public confrontation. At home, with their parents on his side, he was fearless; but in other settings, he could barely utter a word when Liu Fengying looked at him with a murderous gaze—like a zoo tiger that would tear apart anyone walking past if the bars holding it captive ever fell. He was also aware that it only took a few words from Liu Fengying for witnesses to remember his own sordid origins.
So, even though Liu Zihao had been "on a roll" since Liu Fengying left home, he hadn't once tried to take the opportunity to humiliate her in public—he avoided her instead. Of course, this sense of inferiority inevitably irritated him, so he continued to attack her from a distance, sending others to make her life difficult and, lately, spreading all sorts of rumors about her.
Liu Zihan's reaction made Liu Zihao nervous; he began to wonder if she already knew he had skipped. But seeing that she didn't seem to have any intention of questioning him on the subject, he breathed a sigh of relief; even if she knew, she probably wouldn't snitch to their mother.
What reason could Liu Zihan possibly have to cover for him, in his opinion? The fact that he was their father's primary heir, obviously. With her future destined to be in his hands, it was only to be expected that she would try to curry favor with him.
"....Anyway, you must know, right? After all, your classes are in the same building..." Liu Zihao continued, wanting both to divert the conversation from himself and to find out what he was interested in.
"Well, I have no way of knowing how much of what is being said online is real, but it's true that she no longer limps, nor does she have any scars on her face..." Liu Zihan said, considering that now that everyone knew Liu Fengying had healed, it no longer mattered whether she spoke about it or not.
"So, if you still had any remorse, you can sleep soundly from now on..." she continued, unable to fully hide the contempt she felt for her brother. After all, the moment Liu Zihao pushed Liu Fengying down the stairs was what had completely shattered the illusion of a happy family she had been living, so she couldn't help but hate him for it.
"Yeah, I was full of remorse..." Liu Zihao said sarcastically, not being sensitive enough to notice the emotions behind his sister's words.
As for remorse, not only did he have none, but he was proud of what he had done. Well, perhaps he did regret one thing: that Liu Fengying hadn't broken her neck in the fall he caused, as in that case, he would have been permanently rid of the only factor threatening his bright future.
Liu Zihao didn't start speculating on how Liu Fengying's near-overnight healing had occurred; aside from the fact that he knew nothing about surgery or plastic operations, he didn't even care. The only thing that concerned him was the end result.
"Sister, did you meet her face to face? Is she really as beautiful now as everyone at school is claiming?"
Liu Zihan was taken aback by the first thing her brother focused on. She expected him to ask if she had any suspicion about who might have supported Liu Fengying, so she could have access to such a revolutionary treatment. Well, it could be said she had expected too much from his simple mind.
"Ummm, yes. She looks truly very good...." Liu Zihan replied, with a bit of hesitation in her voice. It wasn't that she didn't think Liu Fengying was beautiful now; honestly, she thought she was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen in person. But it felt a bit strange to comment on someone else's appearance, especially since it was her half-sister.