Chapter 21: Did My Cheap Little Brother Hit His Head?
That night, as soon as Chaolu sneaked into the room, she immediately noticed that Chaoyang wasn’t in a good mood.
Although Chaoyang usually kept a straight face—like everyone in the world owed him money—today his expression was even darker than usual. It was obvious he was upset.
“What’s wrong?”
Munching on the rations that Chaoyang and Mibao had saved, Chaolu looked at him curiously. “What happened?”
Chaoyang opened his mouth but didn’t know how to put it into words.
Instead, Mibao cheerfully answered, “It’s because Uncle Old Wolf is taking me along tomorrow to gather supplies, so Brother Chaoyang isn’t happy.”
“Who’s Old Wolf?” Chaolu was baffled. “And wait… why would they take you along to gather supplies?”
What use was bringing a five-year-old child?
“Uncle Old Wolf doesn’t like me. He probably wants to teach me a lesson,” Mibao explained very seriously. “Brother Chaoyang is just too worried about me, that’s why he’s upset.”
Hearing that, Chaolu also grew angry. She even started cursing under her breath: “What’s wrong with this Old Wolf—or Dead Wolf, whatever he’s called! He’s a grown man, and he’s actually picking on a kid? His heart must be smaller than a sesame seed!”
“Shh!”
Chaoyang patted Chaolu on the shoulder, reminding her to keep her voice down.
Realizing she’d gotten a little loud, Chaolu quieted down, but she was still puffed up with anger—gnawing on her biscuit like a hamster.
The siblings Chaoyang and Chaolu were both fuming, yet the one directly involved, Mibao, didn’t seem to mind much at all.
It wasn’t that she was careless, but rather that…
“Brother Chaoyang, Sister Chaolu, don’t be upset. I’ll be fine!” Mibao’s eyes sparkled. “I believe my big brother will protect me!”
Chaolu didn’t understand who Mibao meant by “big brother,” and assumed she was talking about Chaoyang.
She couldn’t help but sigh. “Chaoyang may be smart, but sometimes problems have to be solved with fists!”
Chaoyang, who understood what Mibao actually meant: “…”
“Sister Chaolu, I wasn’t talking about Brother Chaoyang,” Mibao patiently corrected her. “I meant my big brother.”
Chaolu: …?
What?
There was a fourth person here?
Chaolu instinctively glanced left and right, but of course, saw nothing.
“Where’s your big brother then?” Chaolu asked, completely puzzled.
So Mibao earnestly explained, “My big brother is in my head. Only I can talk to him.”
Chaolu: “…”
She froze for three seconds, then looked at Mibao with the same expression one would give a mental patient.
But feeling that was impolite, she turned her head toward her cheap little brother instead.
Chaoyang: “…”
‘And how is looking at me any more polite?’
“Hey, little brother,” Chaolu leaned close to Chaoyang and whispered in a low voice, “do you think Mibao’s… not right in the head?”
Chaoyang looked at Chaolu expressionlessly. “No. She’s not sick. What she said is true.”
Chaoyang’s words shocked Chaolu even more than Mibao’s did.
She stared at him in disbelief, as if she were looking at some kind of monster.
No, if Mibao’s perception was off, that was at least understandable—she was still very young, after all.
But Chaoyang… what was going on with him?
Even though this cheap little brother was only eight years old, Chaolu had never regarded him as an ordinary child.
“You… you…” Chaolu stared at Chaoyang, stammering, “did you hit your head today?”
Otherwise, how could he also be spouting nonsense?
Chaoyang took a deep breath. After all, the first time he heard Mibao mention that so-called “big brother,” his reaction had been exactly the same.
Hmm…
But he had been much calmer about it than Chaolu was now.
Thinking about it that way, Chaoyang felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
His mood balanced out.
“This is complicated to explain,” Chaoyang said. “It may not sound very scientific, but it’s the truth. Mibao has an invisible brother who’s been traveling with us.”
Chaolu: “…”
Compared to that explanation, she would rather believe her little brother had hit his head.
At least that sounded more scientific.
“If you still don’t believe me, then try it with this key.”
Chaoyang took out the master key and placed it in Chaolu’s hand.
“This key was created by Mibao’s invisible brother.”
Hmm… so how do you make someone accept something that defies science?
By letting them witness it with their own eyes.