Chapter 53: Has Always Been Iii (1/2)

We're twins. I have a clingy sister.

We were entirely different, from looks to personalities.

Dad said that I take after Mom, and Sis took after him.

I was a naughty kid while Sis was always gentle and quiet.

Dad was a businessman who owned a small company. Mom was an art teacher.

When we turned four, Mom chose to teach us at home instead of enrolling us in kindergarten.

Her favorite subject was Art of course.

I had little interest in it, unlike Sis.

She progressed quickly. When I've just learned my own name, she was already able to recognize alphabets and even basic Chinese words.

Whenever she completed her writing exercises or drawings, she would show them to me.

I had no interest in motionless things, however. I enjoyed looking out the windows.

There was a group of children running about and I envied them.

There had been many times that I've asked Mom if I could play with those kids but she talked about how Sis would be lonely if I went out.

I could only look at them from afar, observing their every move.

There was a tan girl among them who caught my attention.

Sis would always hold her puppet up to my face, asking me to play with her. I would indulge her, albeit half-heartedly.

One day, Mom went out to get groceries and I found my chance.

I decided to drag Sis out of the house. The kids were playing badminton.

I had so much fun with that sport while Sis sat on the ground at a side, examining the ants having their meal.

She grabbed hold of one of the bigger-sized ants and shouted, ”Look what I've caught, Brother!”

Before I knew it, I smacked the shuttlec.o.c.k right on her forehead, leaving a red mark.

Blood flowed out slowly and my blood turned cold.

Sis started crying and held up the hand with the ant. ”Brother, Brother.”

At a loss, the rest of the kids packed their stuff and dispersed. I did not know what else to do so I just brought her home.

Immediately after we got back, I took a paper towel to wipe her forehead.

Panicking, I said, ”Tell Mom you got it yourself, alright? Tell her that and I'll play with you every day.”

She nodded even as tears continued to flow. I covered her head with the paper towel.

A few minutes later, Mom returned home and caught me all fl.u.s.tered.

She quickly noticed Sis' forehead and asked what was going on.

”Sh.. she... kn... knocked her head,” I stammered.

Mom brought her to the hospital immediately and I stood motionless and in shock.

Mom did not say much after the trip and I asked Sis if she'd said anything.

She shook her head. ”I got it myself.”

Even after she grew up, there was still a white scar on the highest part of her forehead.

Ever since she became aware of it, she started using fringe to cover it. Nevertheless, I would feel a tinge of regret every time I saw her scar.

After that incident, I stopped bringing her out and resigned myself to just admiring the kids outside.

I accompanied Sis as she played with her dolls and painted.

When Mom returned to school for work, she made use of her connections to get us both into the same cla.s.s.

Coincidentally, that tan girl got allocated to our cla.s.s as well.

Xiaowen, as I got to know after, had long black hair.

She sat two seats in front of me, Sis in between us.

I would always write notes and ask Sis to hand them to her.

She'd been caught by the teacher quite a few times but she would always take the blame.

Whenever the school contacted the parents, Mom would barge into the teacher's office from the next door art cla.s.s and give her a good scolding.

And I would always narrowly escape punishment.

Our elementary and junior high were affiliated so all three of us remained in the same school. However, I got transferred to another cla.s.s while Sis and Xiaowen became deskmates.

As usual, I wrote letters and Sis delivered them to her.

Heaven was fair and the guilty would not escape. On our third year in junior high, Mom found out about my puppy love and how Sis had been my scapegoat throughout the years.

She questioned Sis about it until she finally pointed at her forehead and revealed the truth.

I was reprimanded and grounded.

As my studies were affected by my being in love, Mom went to look for Xiaowen's parents, only to realize that they had moved.

I quickly became an insignificant member of the family.

Sis did well in middle school and was able to enter a reputable senior high school.

I, on the other hand, was faring consistently bad.

I lost contact with Xiaowen, but I was aware that Sis and Xiaowen hung out in the same clique in middle school.

Through her, I got to know Xiaowen's mobile number.

Things did not end there.

I found a part-time job during the first summer vacation of high school.

I spent half of my earnings on my first ever mobile phone.

Like typical parents, mine raised Sis generously and me conservatively.

She received a weekly allowance of 200 whereas I only had 20.

Unfortunately, the call charges cost more than the mobile itself.

20 a week simply wasn't enough for my expenses.

As they say, when there's a will there's a way. I borrowed money.

From Sis, of course.

We could only meet on Sundays, and whenever we met up, I would start putting up an act.

It was extremely effective and Sis had always been surprisingly obedient.

I borrowed 100 from her each time and she never ever asked for the money back.

After graduation, I joined Dad's small company while Sis moved on to a prestigious university.

She went on to get her master's and Ph.D.

On my side, I took over the company smoothly, but the situation did not improve much.

Xiaowen became my girlfriend and we got married before Sis' graduation.

There were three types of people in the world: Men, women, and female doctors.

I thought about employing Sis as a project manager c.u.m deputy director.