Chapter 16: A Sister's Affection

Watching Bai Youqing roll up her sleeves before him, Bai Yuze had already retreated three meters away.

He had been preparing for a long time to reclaim his dignity as an older brother, but Bai Youqing had never given him the opportunity.

Looking at her brother three meters away, Bai Youqing said fiercely, "I’ll give you one more chance. If I actually start, I won’t hold back."

"That’s fine. I’ve been training for two and a half years; I think it’s time to take back a brother’s dignity."

Bai Youqing took a hairband from her wrist and tied up her hair. Her entire demeanor changed instantly—the cute, gentle, and considerate younger sister in the living room vanished, replaced by a murderous little spitfire.

"Hmph, ridiculous."

The ponytail girl snorted coldly and suddenly sprinted, reaching Bai Yuze within two breaths. She threw a punch the size of a sandbag straight at his lower abdomen, aiming for a surprise attack.

Bai Yuze hurriedly retreated. The reaction speed he had honed over the years while fighting Calamity Beasts was no joke, but the girl’s speed was equally fast. In the end, he narrowly avoided his sister’s fist by a hair’s breadth.

"Not bad, brother. Your footwork has indeed improved."

As soon as the words fell, Bai Youqing followed up with a shoulder strike. Don’t let her slender arms and legs fool you; her strikes packed the force of an adult.

When they were children, their fights often ended with Bai Yuze hospitalized once a week because she couldn't control her strength, quickly turning him into a VIP client at the Ye Qiu City Hospital. He accounted for the majority of the hospital’s annual key performance indicators.

This was the advantage of striking first. Once his sister seized the initiative, Bai Yuze could only be dragged into a quagmire of defense. This was a habit and realization born from years of being beaten.

Bai Yuze had anticipated this; his right knee snapped upward, and the girl quickly parried with her elbow.

"Bang!"

The two separated.

Bai Youqing’s gaze toward her brother shifted slightly. She hadn’t expected him to be serious—he had actually been training. But so what? No matter what, he was definitely going to write that 10,000-word letter of apology today!

"Watch out, brother. I’m going to use my full strength."

In an instant, a black shadow descended. They traded blows for several rounds; every move the sister made was without reservation. If she said she was using her full strength, she truly was—she was never joking.

Throughout this, the girl’s breathing remained steady. Every strike was calculated, not wasting a shred of energy. Bai Yuze was different; he barely had time to gasp for air, let alone speak. He knew he had inevitably fallen into the rhythm of her attacks.

After several rounds, Bai Yuze gave a muffled groan, jumped backward, and stepped out of the fray, revealing a gradually swelling arm. The girl merely shook her delicate, boneless hand lightly. "Well? Do you want more? Brother, if we keep fighting, I really won’t be able to hold back."

"A man born between heaven and earth cannot dwell in such a lowly state for long. Today, I must reclaim my dignity as an older brother."

Moving aside the broken wooden chair, the girl shook her head, seemingly lamenting something, then moved her frame and pounced again.

The next moment, Bai Yuze was sent flying into the air.

His body was thrown heavily backward, a sharp, searing pain radiating from his left shoulder, followed by his back. That wasn't all; the girl sat right on his stomach and raised her fist, ready to strike his face.

"Stop, stop, stop! I surrender, I surrender!"

He who knows the times is a hero, and he who adapts is a master. Bai Yuze decisively admitted defeat.

"Too late," the ponytail girl said coldly.

*Bang!* A fist smashed heavily into Bai Yuze’s face.

Half an hour later, the victor, Bai Youqing, lay comfortably on the sofa, swinging her legs. She was sipping the coconut juice someone had carefully prepared while watching the latest episode of a Magical Girl anime.

It was rumored that for the recent episodes, the production team had listened to the opinions of citizens and anonymous magical girls, adding new villains to the Calamity Beast faction and trying to reference real-life battles against them. They no longer made the Calamity Beasts appear as foolish as they had in the past.

Meanwhile, the defeated party sat on the sofa with a swollen left cheek, holding a ballpoint pen and writing something on the table, his mouth twitching with every stroke.

Perhaps the anime still hadn’t met the girl’s expectations, or perhaps the sight of someone’s suffering made her lose interest in watching. With a *click*, the television was turned off. The girl approached Bai Yuze, the corners of her mouth curved up, her eyes revealing a mix of heartache and schadenfreude as she placed a glass of cold coconut juice in front of her brother.

"Alright, alright, stop groaning. You’re ruining my desire to watch TV. Hurry up and use the ice water to apply a cold compress."

"At least you still have a conscience."

Bai Yuze changed his posture, holding the glass to his left cheek with one hand while writing the apology letter with the other. But as soon as he thought about the eight thousand words he still had to write, he felt his face ache even more.

"Haha~"

Seeing this, the girl laughed even more happily. Then, as nimble as a fish swimming into a pond, she rested her head on Bai Yuze’s lap, exposed her face slightly, and gave a gentle yawn.

She didn’t know what had gotten into her brother today, suddenly wanting to pick a fight. But it didn’t matter; they had spent their entire childhood fighting. Every time a fight ended, her previously gloomy mood would vanish without a trace.

Since their parents died, she hadn’t had such a satisfying fight with her brother in a long time. Perhaps other siblings’ happy memories involved playing games, watching movies, or going out together. But their childhood had only one theme: status through combat.

Her brother had been bullied by her since they were small, yet he never complained, acting just like a doormat. Ning Zixuan, on the other hand, would often look pained as she applied band-aids to his wounds... *Pah, pah, pah...* Why did she have to think of that wicked woman again?

Bad luck!

However, in other respects, Bai Yuze was exactly the kind of brother others spoke of; he would get her anything she liked.

It wasn't until she graduated from middle school that she learned girls should be gentle and cute. Slowly, she learned to suppress her nature and strive to be gentle.

In fact, she knew a little secret about her brother: her weakling brother could actually beat her when they were kids. He had just deliberately held back and surrendered every time to let her win. As they grew older, she no longer knew if he was still holding back or if he truly couldn't beat her anymore.

But it didn’t matter. From now on, she would be the one to protect her brother!

The moonlight was beautiful that night. A portrait of the siblings was captured, framed by the window with the bright, clear moonlight as the backdrop.

Regrettably, Bai Yuze didn't see this moment. At this very second, he was arguing with the foul-mouthed Abyss Sprite in his mind.

When they first started fighting, the Abyss Sprite had been shouting from the sidelines: "You beast, even hitting your own sister."

After he lost, the Abyss Sprite started mocking him again: "You can’t even beat your sister, you’re worse than a beast."

"So, no matter what I do, I’m a beast?"

"Isn't that true?"

"Then what are you? A beast among beasts, commonly known as a beast of beasts?"

"Shut your mouth. You can't expect ivory to come from a dog’s mouth. I’m saying, your sister can already become a magical girl; why are you testing her combat skills? Are you asking for a beating on purpose? Are you a closet masochist?"

"Human society isn't like the Abyss; you can't blindly trust your back to your companions. Sometimes, the deadliest stabs come from your own life-and-death teammates. I just hope Xiaoqing has more contingency plans and is better prepared."

"Saying so much, are you introducing yourself?"

Bai Yuze’s face turned dark, looking as ugly as it could possibly be.

"All these trivial things I’m doing now, isn't it because of your parasitism?"

"Yes, yes, yes. If I hadn't been unable to bear seeing this body get tainted and softened my heart to open the Abyss permissions for you, the once-noble Valkyrie Violet Magical Girl would have already sunk into the Abyss Hall countless times, let alone having the life of luxury you have now."

The Abyss Sprite didn't hold back either. Fortunately, Bai Yuze was already accustomed to the sprite’s sarcasm and its habit of reopening old wounds from time to time.