It had started snowing.

Vivian had suggested eating mutton to ward off the cold.

“It’s good for Noah’s health,” she added.

The three of them went to a hotpot restaurant for mutton. After finishing a large bowl of rich mutton broth, they were sweating from the heat.

Vivian wasn’t drinking since she was driving, so she didn’t order alcohol. But the owner, a friend of her mother, still sent over a bottle of bitter buckwheat liquor.

The owner, who knew Vivian had gone to the capital a couple of years ago but was unaware that she had returned, looked at the two boys curiously.

“How did these two kids end up with you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Vivian’s expression softened, but she didn’t speak, only gesturing toward the sky.

The owner immediately understood.

“Ah, it’s a hard life, isn’t it? You’re still so young.”

“Right now, we’re fine,” Vivian said as she paid the bill, “But poverty is the real problem. People around here, you know, everything’s good except for the fact that we’re poor.”

“Poor disease,” the owner chuckled in agreement.

“Don’t worry about it,” he continued, “I’ll treat you today.”

Vivian hesitated but still paid.

Back home, Vivian directed Ethan to carry the new blankets and pillows upstairs while Noah was tasked with mopping the floor in the bedroom.

Vivian, on the other hand, lounged back in a chair, feet up, scrolling through short videos with a grin on her face. It wasn’t until Ethan walked over and told her the floor was done that she snapped out of it.

“Put your blankets on the floor,” she instructed him, pointing to the foot of the bed. “That area’s bigger.”

“That’s where Noah sleeps!” Ethan protested.

“Exactly. Noah sleeps in the bed.” Vivian responded as if it were obvious.

“What? You’re letting him sleep in the bed?”

“Well, of course, I’m sleeping there too!” Vivian shot back.

Ethan stared at her, incredulous. “So Noah’s going to sleep with you?”

Vivian’s temper flared immediately. “Your brother has issues! He wakes up two or three times a night to pee! And he kicks the blanket off constantly! Do you think I want to share a bed with him? It’s that old Chinese doctor who told him not to sleep on the floor. He said it’s bad for his digestion. I told him to sleep on the couch, but he complained it was too cold. Then I said I’d sleep on the couch instead, but he didn’t want that either. Can you believe how difficult he is?”

Ethan was taken aback. “You even took him to see a Chinese doctor?”

Vivian rolled her eyes. “What else? If I hadn’t, your brother would’ve frozen like a dried-up flower. The doctor just checked his pulse, and gave him some herbs. The medicine’s almost gone now. Oh, and I’ve been charging it to your benefits.”

Ethan had no objections. “Thanks for taking him to the doctor. He never used to want to take medicine, but he’s been better about it since then.”

Vivian, knowing how Noah had been stubborn in the past, grinned. “Look at the coat rack. Come on, tell me how many spots are chipped on it?”

Ethan picked up the coat rack, noticing the marks where it had been straightened. Vivian’s grin widened. “I was going to show you—”

At that moment, Noah, who had just emerged from the bedroom, thought Vivian was about to hit Ethan. He panicked and rushed to protect him.

“Don’t hit my brother! Don’t hit him!” He shouted, trembling. Despite his fear, he stood his ground. “Hit me instead!”

Vivian burst into laughter, clapping her hands.

She tossed the coat rack back to Ethan, who caught it with a complicated expression. He set it down, silent for a long time.

Noah, noticing that nothing was happening, finally relaxed. “See, I knew it. You’re too nice to get hit.”

Vivian smirked. “You think I’m too soft? I don’t care if he’s your brother. I’ll hit him if I feel like it.” She crossed her arms. “What’s with you? You’re all protective of him now. Do you want to go live with him instead?”

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“No, no, I’m staying here.” Noah laughed nervously and went over to massage Vivian’s shoulders.

Ethan watched, feeling like an outsider as he saw how easily Vivian connected with Noah.

Despite Vivian’s tough exterior and sharp tongue, she was soft at her core, and Noah had come to see her as someone more than just a guardian. For him, she wasn’t just a strict figure but someone who had shown him care in a way no one else had.

Vivian might act tough, but her words often held a surprising amount of truth.

To Noah, Vivian had always been a figure of authority—someone who seemed to know everything. But now, as he entered adolescence and began forming his own views, that belief was slowly beginning to fade.

It was getting late, so Vivian told Noah to go to bed.

“But Ethan hasn’t gone to bed yet,” Noah protested.

Vivian immediately reached for the coat rack again, and Noah reluctantly headed back to his room.

She glanced at Ethan with a knowing smile. “Look at how your brother acts.”

Ethan chuckled weakly, his dark lashes fluttering.

Vivian sighed and said, “You really take after your father, especially when you smile.”

Ethan nodded. “Everyone says that. Noah, though, takes after Mom more.”

Vivian thought for a moment before changing the subject. “Your dad… he must have had high hopes for both of you, right?”

Ethan nodded. “He always set goals for us, but if we didn’t meet them, he wasn’t overly harsh.”

“Yeah, usually he took it out on your mom,” Vivian muttered.

Ethan’s brow furrowed. “Really?”

Vivian shrugged. “You wouldn’t have known. Would they have told you if they were fighting?”

She leaned back and explained as though analyzing the situation.

“From your dad’s perspective, you two were supposed to inherit the family business, so you needed to work hard. Especially Noah. But from your mom’s side, she sacrificed her career to take care of the family, so that wasn’t easy either.”

Ethan hadn’t thought about it that way before.

“Back then…” Ethan started, “I just want to apologize. We were both pretty resentful of you. We didn’t understand why they treated you like their own daughter.”

Vivian paused before responding, her gaze softening. “They treated me well because I wasn’t important to them. When you’re not a part of someone’s plan, they can afford to be kind, and say whatever they want. But with your parents, it’s different. They can’t speak freely around you.”

Ethan was quiet, processing her words.

Vivian smiled a hint of bitterness in her voice. “I wasn’t part of their future plans. So I could be the one to hear everything, but I never mattered in the end.”

Ethan felt a pang in his chest at her words, the weight of her loneliness finally sinking in.

Vivian straightened up and gave him a nod. “Forget all that. It’s in the past. Let’s talk about practical things.”

She paused. “I spoke to a friend from college. She’s renting an apartment in XY city, and there’s an extra room available for you.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “A girl?”

Vivian’s expression was serious. “Yes. But be respectful. Don’t invade her privacy or touch her things. And don’t ask too many personal questions. Be mindful of your behavior.”

Ethan nodded, confused but agreeing.

“Also, no coming to the apartment late. The latest you can be back is 10:30 PM. Understood?”

“I get it.”

Vivian smiled at him, but there was a sharpness to it. “From now on, you won’t need to send me the four thousand a month. I have your benefits. And don’t forget about Noah’s school fees. You need to start looking into that.”

Ethan nodded again.

Vivian’s voice softened, almost teasing as she added, “And one more thing. I’ll get you a new phone card tomorrow. You’re not using that black market number anymore, okay? Do you have any idea what those are used for? Criminals, scams. Get it together.”

“I’ll get your ID card sorted out during this time too. It’ll make taking the high-speed train or the bus much easier for you… And no more hitchhiking with strangers, okay?”

Vivian’s tone was firm but caring, her words carrying a mix of practicality and protectiveness. Ethan nodded silently, accepting her instructions without protest. He knew she was looking out for him, even if her way of showing it was a little stern.

As Vivian finished speaking, she glanced at him, making sure her message had sunk in. Satisfied, she turned and headed toward the bedroom, leaving Ethan to follow behind, his mind already drifting to the tasks she’d given him.

Ethan endured the lecture, his head slightly bowed. Vivian mentally checked off her list—finally, she had covered everything. She stood up, heading to the bedroom to sleep, and Ethan followed quietly behind.

“Ugh, you’re filthy,” Vivian pinched her nose, wrinkling her face in disgust. “You smell like engine oil. What did you ride back on?”

“A truck,” Ethan mumbled, feeling unusually self-conscious. He wasn’t used to being called out like this. In the past, no one had ever cared enough to complain about his dirtiness.

“Go take a shower. Now,” Vivian ordered, shooing him toward the bathroom. Then, as an afterthought, she added, “Oh, and since you’re back, you’re on night duty with your brother. Don’t sleep too deeply, okay? Make sure he doesn’t kick off the blankets or catch a cold.”

Ethan nodded obediently, turning to grab his change of clothes before tiptoeing to the bathroom. He scrubbed himself thoroughly, the memory of Vivian’s disgusted expression lingering in his mind. Just to be safe, he washed himself a second time.

The small bathroom filled with steam as Ethan stood under the water, his thoughts drifting. He glanced down at his body—thin, bony, still very much a child’s frame. When will I grow up? he wondered, his dark eyes staring back at him in the foggy mirror.

After finishing, Ethan hesitated before reaching for the hairdryer. He decided against it, not wanting to risk waking Vivian. Instead, he dried his hair with a towel in the cold living room, shivering slightly before finally retreating to the warmth of the bedroom. Vivian slept on the left side of the bed, her face relaxed in a way he rarely saw. On the right side, Noah was cocooned in thick blankets, looking like a little caterpillar. Ethan couldn’t help but smile—it was so clearly Vivian’s doing.

He hadn’t meant to stare, but as he stood there, he found himself studying her. From the moment he had met her to now, relying on her, so much had changed. Vivian’s face, usually sharp with frowns or sarcastic smirks, looked almost delicate in sleep. Stripped of her usual cynicism, there was a fragile gentleness to her that Ethan hadn’t noticed before.

At that moment, he truly saw her as his older sister. Quietly, almost reverently, he whispered, “Sis.”