Chapter 17

After a few days of getting along, my relationship with my mother improved significantly. But the good times didn’t last long. After receiving a call from my mother, my father quickly flew over from China. With my father’s company and care, I naturally had to return home.

Although I tried to find various reasons to stay, my mother was unmoved and insisted that I go back. Besides, my senior year was about to start, and Barbara was alone at home, which made me feel uneasy. In order not to make my mother angry, I had no choice but to do as she said and flew back to China that night.

Before leaving, my mother specifically told me to take good care of my sister, but there was a clear warning in her eyes when she looked at me. I always felt that my mother might be more afraid that I would do something bad to Barbara than to outsiders.

However, I felt that their worries were completely unnecessary. When I returned home, I saw that the coffee table in the living room was a mess, filled with all kinds of snacks, the TV was on, and the little girl was lying on the sofa in loose light blue pajamas, snoring with her phone in her hand.

It seems that she is living a comfortable life at home alone.

I walked over and patted her face gently, but she didn’t respond. The girl’s face was pink and tender, with some baby fat, very cute, I couldn’t help but pat her twice more, she waved her hands, grumbled, turned her body, put her hands between her legs, and curled up into a ball.

I smiled, picked her up, put her back on the bed, and pinched her cheeks before leaving. I don’t know if she felt something in her dream, but she stretched out her feet and kicked me twice.

After leaving Barbara’s room, I stood in front of the door and thought for a moment, then somehow came to my parents’ bedroom, turned on the light, and stared blankly at the wedding photo on the wall. Thinking about the accidental relationship with my mother, the breakdown of the relationship, the accidental being trapped on the island with my mother, and the easing of the relationship, what happened in the past month was just like a dream, making me dizzy.

On the surface, my mother and I were able to communicate normally, but I knew in my heart that it would take a long time to completely eliminate the gap. One year? Two years? Three years? Ten years? Even a lifetime. I don’t know.

But then again, my mother had sternly warned me not to pay attention to Barbara, and now she asked me to come back alone to take care of Barbara, unless it was absolutely necessary, which showed that she still had a little trust in me, and at least she didn’t treat me as a complete beast.

Thinking of this, I felt a burst of joy in my heart. In order not to disappoint my mother’s trust, all I can do now is to study hard and get the best grades possible to win my mother’s favor.

After returning to the room, I called Elizabeth, but her phone was still turned off. I felt guilty and uneasy, so I searched the local forums to see if there were any news about girls having accidents or committing suicide. Fortunately, everything was fine recently, and my family was peaceful, so I felt relieved.

The next day, I went to Elizabeth’s house early to look for her. I knocked on the door but no one answered. Her phone was still turned off. I waited downstairs for a long time but no one showed up. I asked the neighbors but no one knew anything. I had no choice but to leave a note under her door and go back for the time being.

When I passed the Longhe Bridge, the scene of that day came to my mind. Elizabeth was sitting alone on the outside of the bridge, folding paper cranes in her hands and humming a song. When she turned her head, her bruised little face was covered with a sweet smile, and she gently called me brother.

My mind was filled with sympathy, love, heartache, and guilt. I didn’t know what I thought of her as. Was she a sister? Not exactly.

In the next few days, I kept trying to find Elizabeth, but there was no news. It was as if this person had disappeared from the face of the earth. School started again, so I had to temporarily stop looking for her and focus on studying again.

But that’s how it is, when you look for it deliberately, you can’t find it; when you stop looking for it, it appears by itself.

In the evening, I was on my way home from school when something suddenly hit my head. I looked down and found it was a dried peanut in its shell. I looked around in confusion and finally looked up. Under the light of the street lamp, I could vaguely see a girl in a high school uniform sitting on a sycamore tree beside the road. She was peeling peanuts in her hands, her feet stumbling and swaying. She looked so cute that I knew who she was without having to guess.

I was surprised and delighted. I looked up and asked anxiously, “I’ve been looking for you for several days. Where did you go?”

Elizabeth looked down at me without saying anything. She chewed some peanuts and threw the shells down. I asked anxiously, “Why are you climbing so high? Aren’t you afraid of falling?”

She still didn’t say anything, so I shouted, “Did you hear me? Come down quickly.”

Elizabeth acted as if she didn’t hear anything and was leisurely peeling peanuts. The most annoying thing was that she was looking at me while stuffing peanuts into her mouth.

I really couldn’t do anything about her, so I gritted my teeth and climbed up the tree trunk.

This sycamore tree is very thick. It doesn’t seem so big when you look at it from below, but it is really scary when you look at it from above. I guess it is about two meters high. Fortunately, I was naughty when I was a child, so climbing trees is a piece of cake for me, but how did this little girl get up there?

I carefully sat down next to Elizabeth and asked in a slightly reproachful tone: “You are a little girl, why are you climbing so high? Aren’t you afraid of falling down?”

Elizabeth shook her little head gently and ate peanuts comfortably.

I touched her shoulder with my hand: “Hey, did you hear me? I’m talking to you.”

She turned her head and handed me a peeled peanut. I hesitated for a moment, then took it and put it in my mouth. It tasted dry and salty.

“I’m sorry, I really had something to do on the night of the 30th, so I couldn’t keep the appointment.”

Elizabeth looked at me sideways with no expression on her face. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but it was that innocent look that made me feel even more guilty.

“Okay, I ... I admit that I did forget.” I gritted my teeth and admitted my mistake, but then explained: “After you sent me a message, I wanted to look for you, but ... I really had something to do and couldn’t go.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Unexpectedly, Elizabeth was not angry, but smiled sweetly.

I was stunned: “You ... are not angry?”

“Hey! This kind of thing happens all the time. It’s not the first time I’ve been stood up.” Elizabeth said as she handed me another peanut. I reached out to take it, but she dodged it and put it directly next to my mouth. I looked at her, hesitated for a moment, opened my mouth and ate it, and almost bit her crystal pink finger, but fortunately she pulled it back in time.

Her attitude is really weird, could she be up to something again?

“Where have you been these days? I’ve been looking for you for days, but your phone wasn’t turned on when I called you.”

“What do you want from me?” Elizabeth looked at me, blinking her eyes, as if she really couldn’t figure it out. If I didn’t understand her character, I would have been deceived by her appearance.

“I’m looking for you ... because I’m worried about you.” I hesitated and couldn’t tell the truth.

“Are you afraid that I will be depressed? Are you afraid that I will jump into the river and commit suicide?” Elizabeth asked with a smile.

“Well ... a little.”

“I jumped into the river after you stood me up. Am I that fragile?” Elizabeth smiled and explained, “I went on a trip with my classmates a few days ago and was not at home. My phone was broken, so I couldn’t answer the call.”

I don’t know whether what she said was true or not, but when I think about it, I did worry too much. She grew up in such a bad environment, how could she be so upset just because I broke an appointment?

“Where did you and your classmates go to play?” I made small talk.

“Latia Island.”

I staggered and nearly fell from the tree.

“I’m kidding. I don’t have the money to go abroad. We just went to the provincial capital to play for a few days.”

I saw her looking at me with a half-smile and a playful expression. Could it be that she knew about our family’s overseas trip? But she didn’t say it clearly, which really made me unpredictable.

After all, she is also her father’s daughter. If it were me, I would also be angry when we went abroad for vacation and left her alone in China. Although this matter cannot be blamed on me, I still feel a little guilty.

“When I have money in the future, I will take you abroad to travel.”

“Forget it! You stood me up once, and now you have lost your credibility with me.”

“Yes, yes, it’s my fault. I apologize and I’ll try to make up for it.” I hesitated for a moment and said, “How about this, I’ll treat you to a movie.”

“I’m not going.” Elizabeth lowered her head, looking uninterested.

“So what do you want to do? Tell me.”

“I want to go home.”

Without thinking, I immediately said, “Okay, I’ll take you home.”

She looked at me without any reaction. I hesitated for a moment, frowned and asked, “You ... mean, go back to our home? No, no, no, no! You mean ... go back to our father’s home?”

She still looked at me without saying anything, which was considered as her agreement.

“No ... this ... I’m not against it, don’t get me wrong. But my name is not on the property deed, and I’m not the head of the household on the household registration book, so I can’t make the decision.”

“Okay, you don’t have to say it, I know what you mean.” Elizabeth smiled slightly: “You are afraid that your mother will not agree, right?”

“That’s about it.” I smiled innocently and said, “Don’t think I’m a coward. In the past, I could have mentioned it to my mom and helped you fight for it. But now I’ve pissed off my mom. I don’t even dare to breathe in front of her.”

“It’s okay. I don’t blame you.”

“No, no, no, just blame me. Even if you can just complain about me, it’s fine.” She said it calmly and nonchalantly, and the more I felt bad about it, the worse it was for me. I always felt sorry for her and wanted to help her do something, but I was just an ordinary high school student, not a Japanese high school student, and I didn’t have that much ability.

“Brother~!” Elizabeth suddenly turned her head and looked at me: “If Barbara gets sick or injured, will you take care of her?”

I didn’t know why she suddenly asked this question. After hesitating for a moment, I nodded and said, “Of course. Although she is annoying sometimes, I am still her brother after all.”

“What about me?”

“You too, you are my sister too.”

“If I sprain my ankle, will you carry me on your back like you carried Barbara?”

“Of course.”

“If I get hurt, you’ll take care of me.”

“Of course.” I frowned: “What do you want to say?”

Elizabeth didn’t answer, she looked down, then smiled at me, put her hands on the branch, jumped up, and jumped down. I was so scared that my hair stood up, and I shouted, “What are you doing?”

The branch was more than two meters above the ground. Elizabeth stood on her right foot. It hurt so much just thinking about it that she lay on the ground, gritting her teeth without making a sound.

I was really frightened by her behavior. I was stunned for a moment, then quickly climbed down from the tree. Seeing her frowning and clenching her teeth, I thought she must be in great pain. I complained with both heartache and anger: “You are sick, what do you want to do?”

Elizabeth’s forehead was covered with sweat, her face was pale, she opened her arms to me and forced a smile: “Carry me.”

I really couldn’t figure out what she was doing. But I couldn’t think too much about it now. I quickly helped her sit up, put her on my back, ran to the road, hailed a taxi, and sent her to a nearby hospital.

My smartphone was confiscated and I couldn’t pay the bill, but Elizabeth had money. I took an X-ray as ordered by the doctor, and fortunately it was just a sprained ankle and a slight fracture of the right calf bone. I didn’t need to be hospitalized, but I needed to wear a bandage splint and rest for a while.

Half an hour later, I carried Elizabeth out of the hospital and planned to hail a taxi, but she insisted that I carry her home. Fortunately, she was thin and light, so it was not difficult to carry her.

Elizabeth leaned her head on my shoulder and whispered, “So this is what it feels like to be carried by your brother.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at myself and said, “Brother is not Superman. I can’t fly to the sky with you on my back. How can it feel special?”

“I don’t know, but I just want to try it.” Elizabeth lay on my back, and as she spoke, I felt a warm breath on my neck, which made me feel itchy and numb.

After sending Elizabeth home, it was already very late. Fortunately, my parents were still abroad, otherwise they would have to worry about me. After settling down, I thought there was nothing to do, so I planned to go home. But Elizabeth grabbed the corner of my clothes, blinking her big watery eyes and looking at me aggrievedly.

“Anything else?”

“I need to pee.”

“You ... go ahead.”

Elizabeth pointed to her right foot, and I immediately understood. After hesitating for a moment, I squatted down, waited for her to lie down, carried her to the bathroom, and gently placed her on the toilet.

I turned around and tried to leave, but she grabbed me.

“Anything else?”

“It’s okay, I just want you to stay here.” Elizabeth said as she reached out and pulled her pants and underwear down to her knees.

Glancing over, I caught a glimpse of a pair of white, soft and tender thighs, and a plump, round little butt. In the past, I would have feasted my eyes on her without any scruples, but now that I know her identity, I feel a little awkward and instinctively turn away.

After a while, I heard the sound of water splashing by my ears. Although I tried hard not to associate it with anything, the image of urine spurting out from the tight slit of the girl’s vagina and hitting the toilet wall kept appearing in my mind. I felt my body getting hot and my crotch gradually bulged.