Memories (Part 4)

From that day on, Mo Xuan would come here after school every day to do homework with Luo Muqi. At first, Mo Xuan didn't tell his grandmother about it, but since he came home with all his homework completed, she didn't press him for details. From his grandmother's perspective, she just assumed he had become friends with a classmate. As long as it didn't affect his grades or his normal development, she didn't ask too many questions.

"Brother, I don't know how to do this problem..."

After two or three days of interaction, Luo Muqi had become much more open. Since Mo Xuan was a year older than her, she called him "brother." Mo Xuan was very patient; whenever Luo Muqi asked for help, he would turn his head and explain how to solve the problem. Luo Shiya sometimes couldn't help but want to expose Luo Muqi's little act—it wasn't that she didn't know how to do the problems, she was just deliberately trying to get Mo Xuan to talk to her more.

Luo Shiya watched as the two of them leaned close together, with Mo Xuan patiently pointing at Luo Muqi's paper with his pen, explaining how to solve the problem. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sense of irritation.

Over the past two days, whenever the two of them did homework together, Luo Shiya would join them under the guise of tutoring. However, not only was Luo Muqi already good at her studies, but Mo Xuan's grades were even better than her sister's. As a result, Luo Shiya found herself with little to contribute. Even when her sister had questions, she would only ask Mo Xuan, who was sitting right beside her.

Hmm, it seemed like she was the one who was out of place here.

Still, she was surprised. Growing up, Luo Muqi had always been like her—surrounded by boys who wanted to get close to them, but the Luo sisters had always felt that talking to them was a waste of time. Yet, with Mo Xuan, Luo Muqi's attitude had done a complete 180.

"Brother, why don't you stay and have dinner with us today?" Luo Muqi said shyly. "Sister, what do you think?"

"Thank you, but I have to go back," Mo Xuan politely declined. "My grandmother is waiting for me at home. I'm sorry."

"Mu... Xiao Xue, let's invite Mo Xuan to stay for dinner on the weekend, okay?" Luo Shiya closed the book in her hands. "After you finish your homework, I'll walk him out."

Luo Muqi pouted unhappily but didn't say anything more.

After finishing their homework, Mo Xuan packed up his things and politely said goodbye to Luo Muqi. When he ran into Uncle Zheng and the maids, he also greeted them politely.

"I have to say, Mo Xuan and our second miss seem quite well-matched..."

Uncle Zheng muttered under his breath, but then he felt a chill run down his spine. He turned around and saw Luo Shiya glaring at him with a displeased expression.

What did I do to offend the young miss? Uncle Zheng was puzzled. Luo Shiya had never looked at him like that before. What was going on today?

Luo Shiya herself couldn't explain it. When she heard Uncle Zheng's comment, the sense of discomfort in her heart grew stronger. To some extent, even though Mo Xuan and Luo Muqi were still young, they did look good together. But for some reason, hearing someone else say it made Luo Shiya feel uneasy. Looking at Mo Xuan, who was still shorter than her, Luo Shiya coldly said, "Let's go. I'll walk you out."

"You don't have to, Sister Shiya, I can—"

Before Mo Xuan could finish, Luo Shiya walked past him and out of the house. Mo Xuan and Uncle Zheng exchanged a glance, both clearly confused.

When they reached the gate, Mo Xuan was about to say goodbye, but Luo Shiya reached out and pressed the door handle, turning to look at him with a strange expression.

"Sister Shiya, are you okay?" Mo Xuan asked cautiously. "Did I do something to upset you?"

Luo Shiya didn't answer. She just silently looked at him for a while before finally opening the gate and softly saying, "See you tomorrow."

Mo Xuan was left bewildered, feeling that the older sister had been acting strangely all day.

Over the next two days, Luo Shiya no longer appeared when he was with Luo Muqi. In fact, Mo Xuan didn't see her at all.

"Uh, Xiao Xue..."

When Mo Xuan called her "Xiao Xue," Luo Muqi was momentarily stunned. After he called her again, she remembered that she had told Mo Xuan her name was Luo Xiao Xue.

"What is it, brother?"

Feeling a bit guilty, Luo Muqi lowered her head. Mo Xuan didn't notice her reaction and thought she was just deep in thought about her homework. He asked softly, "Did I make your sister mad?"

"Probably not... right?" Luo Muqi thought for a moment. "You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"

Mo Xuan adjusted his large glasses, still convinced that Luo Shiya had been angry that day. But he really couldn't think of anything he had done to upset her.

After finishing his homework with Luo Muqi, Mo Xuan instinctively looked up as he was leaving. The sky was already getting dark, and he saw a figure disappear from the balcony. Sighing, he left the courtyard of the old house.

Not long after he walked out, he heard Luo Shiya's voice behind him: "Mo Xuan, wait!"

Mo Xuan turned around in surprise to see Luo Shiya running up to him. She handed him a phone.

"There's only one number in it—mine. And there's a QQ account I set up for you. I'm the only one added on it." Luo Shiya avoided his gaze. "You're still young, so having this phone to contact me is enough. I'll message you. Oh, and don't let your grandmother know about it."

"I... I can't accept this..."

"Just take it!" Luo Shiya's tone suddenly became firm, and Mo Xuan instinctively shrank back. "Anyway, I'll contact you if I need anything!"

Without giving Mo Xuan a chance to refuse, Luo Shiya turned and ran back inside, leaving him staring at her retreating figure.

This older sister... she's really acting strange.

After having dinner at home and chatting with his grandmother for a while, Mo Xuan took a shower and went to his room. When he finally noticed, Luo Shiya had already sent him over a dozen messages.

"Are you there?"

"????? Where did you go?"

"Actually, I don't have anything important to say. I just wanted to make sure you got home safely."

"Where are you?"

Mo Xuan was speechless. The more he read, the more he felt that this older sister was acting weird.

And what kind of name was this? "XuanXuanXuanXuanXuan"? What was with the five "Xuans"?

Then he looked at her name: "WeiWeiWeiWeiWei"... Well, as long as she was happy.

XuanXuanXuanXuanXuan: "Sister Wei, I just finished dinner. Sorry, I didn't see your messages earlier."

WeiWeiWeiWeiWei: "That's fine. Get some rest early."

A little later, Luo Shiya sent another message: "Don't add anyone else. You're still young. Besides talking to me, don't let anyone distract you from your studies. Be good."

Mo Xuan scratched his head. Who else would I add? But then again, Sister Wei was just looking out for him. Mo Xuan said goodnight to her and put the phone away.

On the other side, Luo Shiya looked at the "goodnight" message from Mo Xuan, and a smile gradually appeared on her face. When she exited the chat, her QQ account was still empty except for this one friend...

From that day on, Mo Xuan had to juggle doing homework with Luo Muqi and chatting with Luo Shiya.

At first, the conversations were normal, with Luo Shiya asking about Mo Xuan's life and studies. But gradually, the tone started to shift.

For example, she began asking about his favorite color, favorite foods, and favorite anime.

Then, she started gently lecturing him about the dangers of early relationships, while Mo Xuan repeatedly reminded her that he was only 13 years old...

"Thirteen isn't that young. If any girls at school like you, you should tell them that you need to focus on your studies."

"Or you could tell them that you prefer older, more mature high school girls."

Mo Xuan read Luo Shiya's messages and couldn't help but scratch his head. "Sister Wei, you're the only high school girl I know..."

About a minute later, Luo Shiya sent another message:

"Then you can just say it's me."

Mo Xuan: "..."

What's going on with this older sister I accidentally met? Why is she getting weirder and weirder?

Luo Shiya, who had been smiling at her screen, was about to say something more when her door suddenly opened. Luo Muqi walked in, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and said groggily, "Sister, I don't know what's wrong... I was sleeping, but I suddenly felt a bit tight in my chest..."

Luo Shiya instinctively placed her phone face down on the bedside table and reached out to hold Luo Muqi's hand, asking, "Did you eat something that didn’t agree with you tonight, or are you feeling unwell?"

"I don’t know. I just feel like someone did something behind my back that upset me," Luo Muqi said with a hint of dissatisfaction. "Sister, do you think it’s true?"

"No, you’re overthinking it."

Luo Shiya calmly hugged her younger sister, though she couldn’t help feeling a little guilty inside.

This girl’s intuition is surprisingly sharp!