The two of them had just rounded a street corner when a burst of noisy and strange shouting suddenly erupted from a side alley.
Lin Lue paused. ‘What?’
“Brother, what is that sound?”
Lin Xue’er also stopped, looking over curiously with a few blinks of her pink eyes.
Her soft, pale little finger pointed toward the shadows of the alley, her eyes filled with clear, innocent curiosity.
Lin Lue followed the direction of her slender finger, and black lines of frustration appeared on his forehead.
The narrow, cramped alley was dimly lit, with peeling paint and scattered trash.
Several women were entangled with each other in a scene that was truly unsightly.
Small pieces of clothing were flying everywhere.
The Lower District was already a chaotic mess, a grey area where such things were practically an endless occurrence.
For it to happen so brazenly in broad daylight was… well, it happened often.
Lin Lue immediately used his warm palm to gently cover Lin Xue’er’s clear and curious eyes.
He gave a light cough.
“Xue’er, be good. Don’t look. It’s not something nice.”
With her eyes covered, Lin Xue’er found herself in total darkness.
Her small head nudged his palm restlessly, and her soft little hands instinctively grabbed Lin Lue’s large hand, trying to pull it down.
“Brother, I’ve already grown up. I understand a little bit…”
“No, you haven’t grown up yet.”
“Then when will I be grown up?”
“When you become a Witch.”
Lin Xue’er wished she could become a Witch and grow up immediately.
Another burst of hurried footsteps came from the alley.
Then came sharp, angry cries, followed by the sounds of hitting and scolding.
A woman wearing faded, washed-out clothes, her eyes red, grabbed one of the women by her collar and began to strike and berate her.
Her face was pale with an unnatural flush, and her voice was filled with despair and fury.
“How many times have I told you! You are not allowed to come out and do this! Why won’t you listen!”
The woman being beaten curled her body up, tears mixing with the dust on her face as they slid down.
Her voice was hoarse and aggrieved.
“I just wanted you to have a better life. You’re sick! You need money…”
“This is a betrayal! You promised me! You betrayed me!”
“I couldn’t just stand by and watch you die!”
They argued intensely, then suddenly embraced each other and began to wail.
The noise was so loud that it quickly attracted a large number of passersby.
A crowd of women stood at the mouth of the alley, pointing and whispering.
Some were sympathetic, others were disdainful, but most were simply numb, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.
In the Lower District, things like this happened every day.
They had long since become a trivial part of the status quo.
Lin Xue’er, still having her eyes covered by Lin Lue, listened to the chaotic sounds.
Her head tilted slightly.
When Lin Lue finally loosened his hand, she immediately turned her innocent face up to look at him seriously.
“Brother, they got caught being pleasure girls, didn’t they?”
“That is a bad thing.”
“Brother, you must never do that.”
Lin Lue’s heart skipped a beat.
Looking into his sister’s pure, untainted eyes, a drop of cold sweat slid down his temple, and a sense of guilt welled up inside him.
‘Could she have discovered something?’
‘No, how could she? I’m always careful to remove any scent from my body after every session.’
Lin Lue nodded somewhat stiffly.
“Yes, Xue’er is right. That is not the right thing to do.”
“Then Brother must promise me!”
Lin Xue’er immediately held out her pinky finger in front of him, her gaze earnest and persistent.
“No matter how difficult things get in the future, Brother cannot do those bad things, okay?”
Lin Lue looked at that slender, clean little finger.
He gave his word and hooked his finger with hers.
“Don’t worry. I promise you, I never will.”
‘I’m sorry, Xue’er.’
Lin Lue knew that telling one lie meant needing a thousand more to maintain it.
But fortunately, he was very good at lying.
Surviving in the Lower District was never about innocent principles.
Sometimes, a person couldn’t afford to keep their so-called dignity if it meant losing the money they needed to stay alive.
Dignity was worth nothing in the face of hunger and survival.
Of course, he would never let his innocent sister know this secret buried in the depths of his heart.
It was her job to remain pure.
He would stand in the mud, holding her up high, and send her to the Upper District.
—
The entrance to the largest supermarket in the Lower District.
Warm, golden sunlight spilled onto the pristine glass curtain wall, reflecting a piercing light.
The people entering this supermarket were mostly dressed decently, and their expressions weren’t as numb as the others.
They looked at the two simply dressed newcomers with curiosity and scrutiny.
Their gazes and whispers were like tiny needles, making Lin Xue’er feel uncomfortable.
She instinctively shrank toward Lin Lue’s side, looking at the grand and luxurious shopping mall before them.
The lights inside were bright, spilling through the display windows where exquisite goods were arranged in a dazzling fashion.
Lin Xue’er looked down at her faded old dress, and a wave of inferiority surged from her heart.
But strangely, besides the inferiority, there was a weird sense of resignation.
It was as if a voice in her heart was saying that a person like her shouldn’t step foot in such a glamorous place.
She reached out with her slender fingers and tugged at Lin Lue’s sleeve.
Her fingertips trembled slightly from nervousness, and her long eyelashes lowered to hide the unease in her eyes.
Lin Xue’er kept her head down, her cherry lips parting as she spoke in a soft, timid voice.
“Brother, we… we should probably not go in.”
Before her words could fully land, her chilly little hand was firmly enveloped by a warm, wide palm.
It was so warm…
She slowly looked up, her pink eyes misted with a thin layer of moisture as she gazed at Lin Lue.
“Brother?”
Thud!
With a dull sound, Lin Lue suddenly turned and dropped to one knee, startling Lin Xue’er so much that she jerked her feet back. She instinctively wanted to retreat.
However, her little hand was held firmly by him; she couldn’t break free at all.
Although the girl was thin and small, her skin was as white as snow, appearing almost transparent under the sunlight.
Her watery pink eyes widened slightly, her snowy eyelashes trembled, and her hair fluttered in the breeze.
“Brother, what’s wrong?”
Lin Xue’er’s voice was filled with confusion.
“Let’s go in, Xue’er.”
Lin Lue’s tone was firm.
“I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, I have money.”
Lin Lue felt that just saying it wasn’t enough.
After a moment of thought, his eyes filled with sincerity.
“I really want to see my sister in beautiful clothes!”
“Please, Xue’er, this is my request of a lifetime!”
‘A… a lifetime?!’
Lin Xue’er felt a bit dizzy. It felt so heavy.
But she knew.
She understood. Lin Lue was saying this on purpose.
Her nose felt stingy and her eyes grew red.
She couldn’t help but let out a soft whimper.
“But Brother, you’re usually so frugal… you never spend an extra penny on yourself.”
Lin Lue let out a light laugh and tapped her little nose with his finger.
“That’s not true. I spend money like crazy in places where you can’t see me.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Why would I lie to you?”
“Alright, don’t think too much about it.”
“Let’s go!”
Without waiting for Lin Xue’er to speak again, Lin Lue bent down and steadily scooped her up in a princess carry, supporting her small frame.
Lin Xue’er let out a startled cry.
As her small body fell into his warm and solid embrace, she instinctively wrapped her arms around Lin Lue’s neck.
Lin Lue ignored the surrounding stares and strode past the bright entrance of the supermarket.
Leaning against Lin Lue’s chest, a sense of peace and happiness flowed gently, wrapping around her and soaking into her very being.
Lin Xue’er buried her small face in the crook of his neck, unable to stop herself from curling her lips into a faint smile.
The stares from others that had made her feel inferior and uneasy were no longer frightening at all.
Because… because…
She faced every gaze openly, her heart filled with an unprecedented pride as she silently declared to everyone:
Because she had the best brother in the world.
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