Ten minutes later,
the three of them arrived home together.
Their home was not far from the hot pot restaurant, only a little over ten minutes away on foot.
It was an old house of roughly one hundred square meters, with three bedrooms and two living rooms. The layout was fairly spacious.
Originally, their parents had occupied one room, the two younger sisters another, and Muyang had had a room of his own.
After their parents passed away, the master bedroom was given to Second Sister, Liushuning.
Liuxiaoxiao still lived in the smaller bedroom, just as she had before.
After changing into slippers, Muyang carried the ingredients toward the kitchen.
But he had barely taken two steps when two warm little hands simultaneously tugged at his arms.
“Big Brother! You’ve been working all day. Leave these to me. Go take a shower and get some rest.”
Liushuning’s voice was gentle but firm. As she spoke, she took back the bag Muyang had just picked up.
The two of them pushed Muyang toward his bedroom, leaving him both amused and exasperated.
“Shuning, can you really cook? How come I didn’t know?”
“I’ve been learning recently. I don’t even cook instant noodles for lunch at home anymore. When Big Brother isn’t home, I make the meals for Xiaoxiao and myself!”
“That’s right. Second Sister’s cooking is delicious. Big Brother, go rest for now.”
Liuxiaoxiao rarely agreed with her second sister, so it seemed the food really was quite good.
Seeing how determined both his younger sisters were, Muyang stopped insisting.
He had worked all day, and his whole body felt sore and heavy.
His sisters were being so sensible as well, filling him with indescribable comfort.
Muyang returned to his bedroom, took out a clean set of pajamas and a towel, and went to the bathroom.
He had always been a fast bather and never dawdled.
Ten minutes later, he was already finished.
Muyang changed into the light-gray short-sleeved shirt and shorts that made up his pajamas.
He always felt uncomfortable wearing long sleeves and long pants at home, as though they were constricting him.
Holding the towel, he wiped his hair as he walked toward the living room.
When he passed the kitchen, he turned his head slightly to look inside and almost burst out laughing.
Liuxiaoxiao was too short, making her look like an underage little loli.
Standing on tiptoe and holding a kitchen knife, she was cutting lotus-root slices on the chopping board.
Although she looked extremely comical, she was cutting them with complete seriousness.
Muyang smiled and walked into the living room.
Liuxiaoxiao suddenly turned her head. Once she saw that Muyang had gone far enough, she cast a wary look at Liushuning beside her.
“Today it’s my turn to wash Big Brother’s clothes! You’re not allowed to fight me for it!”
“Heh, go ahead. Just don’t let Big Brother find out. Otherwise, neither of us will be allowed to wash his clothes anymore.”
“I don’t need you to remind me!”
With that, Liuxiaoxiao removed her apron and placed the knife on the chopping board.
Muyang was watching television in the living room when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Liuxiaoxiao hurrying toward the bathroom.
Muyang quickly called out to her.
“Wait a second. I’ll wash my underwear myself. Don’t help me.”
“Oh, come on. We’re siblings. It’s only natural for me to wash Big Brother’s clothes. Underwear is nothing special. Unless Big Brother has some secret?”
Liuxiaoxiao’s expression was strange.
Muyang’s face flushed slightly. Once he realized what she was implying, he angrily walked toward Xiaoxiao.
“Oh, so you dare tease your big brother now, Xiaoxiao! Let’s see if I won’t smack you!”
Xiaoxiao immediately scampered away.
With his face red, Muyang thought that his younger sisters were always intentionally or unintentionally blurring the boundaries between themselves and him.
By now, Muyang was no longer entirely sure what the true boundaries between siblings were supposed to be.
Even so, he was still trying his best to maintain them and prevent their sibling affection from changing into something else.
Liuxiaoxiao slipped into the bathroom and locked the door.
When she saw that her brother had not followed her, she immediately went over to the laundry basket and looked at the clothes he had just changed out of.
Then she carefully reached out her hand.
Her brother had never realized just how charming he was…
Muyang leaned back against the sofa, casually found a television series, and started watching.
He had no idea how much time passed before Liushuning’s voice came from the kitchen.
“Big Brother, dinner’s ready!”
Only then did Muyang wake up. He hastily wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, then stood and walked toward the kitchen.
Before he even reached it, he smelled a spicy fragrance.
It smelled wonderful.
A large basin of malatang sat on the stovetop, its broth bright with red oil and covered with plenty of Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies.
Beneath them were slices of beef, crab sticks, meatballs, lotus-root slices, bean sprouts, and all kinds of other ingredients, filling the pot to the brim.
The two of them carried everything to the table in the living room together.
Only then did Muyang notice that Xiaoxiao was missing. He went to the bathroom, knocked on the door, and called out,
“Xiaoxiao, haven’t you finished washing the clothes? It’s time to eat.”
After a burst of flustered footsteps came from inside,
Liuxiaoxiao opened the door with a plastic basin in her hands. Inside were the clothes she had washed.
However, Xiaoxiao’s face was slightly flushed, as though she had a fever.
“Are you all right, Xiaoxiao?”
A little worried, Muyang placed his hand on Xiaoxiao’s forehead.
“I’m fine, Big Brother. Let’s go eat.”
Xiaoxiao did not let Muyang take her temperature. Instead, she set down the plastic basin and pulled Muyang into the living room for dinner.
Seeing this, Muyang felt somewhat reassured.
The two of them came to the table in the living room, and the three of them began to eat.
Xiaoxiao was as capable of eating as ever.
She ate nearly half a basin of malatang by herself,
then finished two bowls of rice. It was clear that Second Sister Liushuning’s cooking really was delicious.
Liushuning frowned as she watched Xiaoxiao’s pig-like appetite.
“Could you eat a little less meat and leave some for Big Brother? I really can’t with you.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t scold her. If Xiaoxiao likes meat, let her eat more.”
Su Xiaoxiao was eating enthusiastically. She subconsciously glanced at the meat in the basin and then at the meat in her brother’s bowl.
She picked up quite a few slices of beef from her own bowl and placed them in Muyang’s.
But Muyang ate only a few pieces before stopping.
He had never eaten much to begin with. Being able to finish more than half a bowl of rice today already meant he had a good appetite.
The rest all ended up in Liuxiaoxiao’s stomach. She was like a hamster, eating until her cheeks bulged.
After they finished eating and washing the dishes, it was already ten-thirty at night.
Since the hot pot restaurant’s workday began at ten in the morning and he did not need to arrive early, Muyang could stay up late.
Thinking of an AI short drama he had found the previous night, Muyang planned to watch the entire thing that evening.
But the short drama was somewhat frightening, and he did not dare watch it alone.
So he planned to ask whether anyone wanted to watch it with him and bring one of his sisters along to give him courage.
“Shuning, Xiaoxiao, does either of you have time to watch a short drama with Big Brother?”
As soon as he finished speaking, two voices came from the same time.
“I’ll watch it with Big Brother!”
The two of them scampered out of their rooms. Once they saw each other, their gazes gradually sharpened.
Muyang hurriedly interrupted their silent confrontation.
“Both of you can come. Don’t fight.”
Only then did the two sisters stop their silent battle and enter the bedroom together with Muyang in their arms.
Once they were on the bed,
Muyang sat back with his legs spread, picked up the remote, turned on the television, and began searching for the short drama he had found the previous day.
Liuxiaoxiao was the fastest.
She jumped straight onto the bed and burrowed into Muyang’s arms like a kitten.
Liushuning was a step slower.
Although she could not lean against her brother’s chest, since that would block his view of the television,
that did not stop Shuning from feeling unhappy.
She climbed onto the bed on his left, rested her head against his, and hugged his left arm tightly with both hands.
Both of them were wearing nightgowns.
Moreover, girls in the matriarchal world were generally more open.
If Muyang had not insisted, the two sisters would not even have wanted to wear underwear when going outside.
But at home, no matter how much Muyang insisted, the two little rascals simply refused to listen, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Although he still was not entirely used to it, he had already grown accustomed to it.
After all, in the matriarchal world, such intimate contact between siblings was perfectly normal.
After searching for a while, he finally found the short drama.
It was about a special virus that had broken out across the world. It could cause its hosts to evolve, but the evolution might also fail, turning them into monsters.
The overall visual style was highly realistic, and the plot was very engaging as well.
What stood out most was the terrifying, despairing atmosphere.
It was very good, but it was also frightening.
Muyang was the sort of person who was both cowardly and addicted to scary things.
Even with his two younger sisters beside him, he was still somewhat afraid.
After another monster suddenly lunged into view, Liuxiaoxiao, who was in Muyang’s arms, began to fidget restlessly.
Muyang’s hand, which had originally been resting beside her waist, tightened slightly from nervousness. Then, because Liuxiaoxiao was moving around,
his palm happened to press against…
He froze for a moment, then his face instantly reddened.
He abruptly pulled his hand away, even the tips of his ears turning red.
“Xiaoxiao, stop moving around!”
Liuxiaoxiao secretly rejoiced inwardly. Although she had done it deliberately, she could not let her brother find out.
Otherwise, if she wanted to do this again in the future, she would have no chance to pretend that such intimate contact with her brother had happened by accident.
She immediately pretended to feel embarrassed, blushing as she burrowed into Muyang’s arms.
When Muyang felt the sensation pressing against his chest, his entire body stiffened.
Liuxiaoxiao was wearing a nightgown. The fabric was short and thin, and it was the only thing she had on.
If she kept rubbing against him like this, something really would go wrong.
Muyang immediately held Liuxiaoxiao by the shoulders and ordered,
“Liuxiaoxiao, stop moving around, or I’ll really get angry!”