SWNOVELXO Chapter 64: Memories of Siblings
Chapter 64: Memories of Siblings
“Alright, alright. I won’t tease you anymore. I’ll temporarily take this wedding photo for now. When you finally take a real wedding photo later, I’ll toss this fake one in the trash.”
Seeing Yake finally give up, Reina also paused. She placed the wedding photo into her pocket.
“Well, I don’t really have anywhere else I want to go now. Yake, you should hurry and find Xier. Aier, come with me shopping! It’s just the right time to get you some nice clothes. Yake, the clothes you bought are nothing special!”
“Sorry about that. The clothes I got are really lacking.”
Yake grumbled with a frown. He knew his taste in clothing was terrible. But could he be blamed? He’s an adventurer who spends his days on the edge, with no time to ponder over fashion!
“Yeah, okay. I’ll go with you. Yake, go find Xier!”
Aierjisi understood the true meaning behind Reina’s words. She wanted the siblings to have some time alone, and it would be best for her, the outsider, not to add trouble. After all, this might be the last time she could spend with family, so Aierjisi decided to fulfill Yake’s wish to be alone with his family.
“Then we’ll head off first. Xier is probably at the bookstore right now, so you should hurry and find her. Bye!”
Reina took Aierjisi and left the Fountain Park first. Yake, scratching his head, then hurried toward the bookstore to see if Xier was still there.
“Shopkeeper, is Xier here?”
Upon arriving at the bookstore, Yake saw the shopkeeper tidying up the books outside. He stepped up to ask if his sister was inside.
“Xier? She’s inside, reading. Ah, your sister is quite the scholar; she comes here almost every day to buy books to read.”
Ignoring the shopkeeper’s words, Yake walked straight into the store and quickly found Xier, who was engrossed in a book.
“Xier, what book are you reading?”
Yake approached her enthusiastically.
“This one. ‘As a Brave, I Accidentally Became a Phoenix Lady.’”
“Oh…”
Yake didn’t have much to say. Although they were siblings, their time together was far too short. They hardly knew each other well, especially after Yake became a qualified adventurer. He spent all his days exploring ruins and taking on quests, hardly spending any time at home. Because of this, the gap between him and Xier had only widened. He only knew that she loved to read.
“How’s Mom doing? Have you finished shopping with her?”
While flipping through the pages, Xier asked Yake about Reina.
“Yeah, Mom didn’t have anywhere else she wanted to go, so she sent me to find you. Um… Xier, do you want to go anywhere?”
After thinking for a moment, Yake could only manage that one sentence. It was tough; he really didn’t know his family well.
“Of course, I have somewhere I want to go.”
Xier continued to focus on her book as she replied to Yake.
“Where is it?”
“This place! The bookstore is where I want to be. I don’t want to go anywhere else.”
“Eh? But isn’t it a bit of a waste? I mean, I’m going to leave tomorrow. I want to spend this last time with you, and we end up here in such a small place?”
Yake looked around. Usually, if he had to accompany Xier in the bookstore, he wouldn’t mind. But this was his last chance before he left. He’d rather go somewhere meaningful with her, just like Reina’s Fountain Square. Xier must have some special place in mind, right?
“A small place? Big brother, do you know why none of those girls Mom introduced to you were interested in you?”
Hearing Yake call the bookstore a “small place,” Xier closed the book she was reading and turned to look at him.
“I know! It’s simply because I’m poor and weak. That’s why those women look down on me. If I had money or great strength, women would be within my grasp!”
“Indeed, you really are a dummy.”
After hearing Yake’s response, Xier shook her head. She knew her big brother’s emotional intelligence was lacking, but she didn’t expect it to be this bad.
“Huh? Wasn’t what I said correct? So what’s the reason?”
Realizing his answer seemed wrong, Yake frowned in confusion. What really made those women stay away from him?
“Let me tell you, big brother. The main reason those women left you is your pathetic emotional intelligence.”
Xier looked at her big brother with pity. If he had even a normal level of emotional intelligence, he would have won someone over by now, rather than being forced into a servant relationship with a blood clan little princess. Although, in a way, her foolish big brother seemed to have gained something after all.
“My emotional intelligence? Is it really that low?”
“Of course! Big brother, do you know? That ‘small place’ remark you made was already a sign of low emotional intelligence. To me, this place is incredibly important.”
“Is that so? I’m really sorry then.”
Yake quickly admitted his mistake. He had mistakenly called this important bookstore a “small place”. What a blunder!
“Do you remember when you first brought me to this bookstore?”
Xier suddenly changed the subject, asking Yake if he recalled that moment.
“Um… let me think. Wasn’t it when you were six? You had just gotten better and could finally get out of bed, so I snuck you out to play with me and this was one of the places we visited.”
Yake recalled, if his memory served him right, it should have been that time.
“Yeah. Looks like my silly big brother still has a decent memory. That’s right! You brought me here and bought a lot of fairy tale books that I loved back then.”
“Ah, it’s a pity I sneaked you out, because when we got home, I got a good beating from Mom who was waiting in the living room. You had just recovered!”
Thinking back to that time made Yake feel quite embarrassed.
“Pfft! I still remember your crying was so loud, people within fifty miles probably needed hearing aids to get through life!”
“No way! It wasn’t that loud!”
Yake quickly corrected her — his crying couldn’t have been that extreme!
“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Do you remember when I was sick and could only stay in bed? You sat by my bedside reading fairy tales to help me fall asleep?”
Xier placed the book on the table, looking at Yake.
“Um… I don’t remember it too clearly, but I do have a vague impression of it. What book were you reading to me?”
“It was ‘Peter Pan.’”
Although Yake didn’t clearly remember, Xier could still vividly recall how her big brother read her those fairy tale books back then.