Chapter 2: My Brother's Brain Was Eaten by a Zombie

It tasted so good, perhaps it was because I was hungry, but it somehow seemed tastier than the Western food I had in my previous life. In the white porridge rested a boiled egg, alongside smashed cucumbers and tomatoes mixed with sugar, and a few scattered pieces of meat from the spinach stir-fry represented the only meat dish, which was placed right in front of Luo Qianqian's bowl. Luo Qianqian's nose tingled, and her eyes reddened. Even if there weren't any delicacies, even if her brother was only ten, he always put the best in front of her first.

"Brother, let's tidy up the house and wash the clothes later, Mom worked all day and must be tired," Luo Qianqian said as she picked out the meat for Luo Shufan. "Then you can teach me to read, recite poetry, and do arithmetic, so that you can review as well and not worry about me running around."

Luo Shufan raised an eyebrow but didn't respond, eating the piece of meat in his bowl and casually picking another for his sister's bowl.

"I like tomato and egg stir-fry, not meat." And spinach, she silently added in her mind but dared not say out loud. Luo Qianqian frowned tightly as she looked at the piece of spinach on the meat, ranking vegetables she disliked, with spinach firmly in the top ten. Yet, spinach was nutritious and good for the body. There was also bitter gourd, celery, cilantro, and fish mint, but fortunately, except for spinach, the others rarely appeared on the family's dining table.

"I'll make it for you this weekend, but you have to be good and listen, or I won't make it," he said, noting his sister's aversion. He could only indulge her, as it wouldn't do if she developed a nutritional deficiency from not eating vegetables. However, it was quite surprising for Luo Shufan to see his sister, who usually couldn't even finish half a bowl of rice, obediently eat up the rice and egg. It wasn't until he saw her reluctantly mixing and eating the yolk that he lowered his head to continue eating.

Luo Qianqian struggled to finish the egg yolk, looking forward to tomorrow's tomato and egg stir-fry. Her brother had already been taking care of her when he was so young; no wonder. All the delicious dishes he made in her previous life were without exception her favorites.

Luo Shufan put the school uniforms and Luo Qianqian's clothes, soiled from a fall, in a basin, and watched his sister - who was shorter than a broom - sweep seriously: "Be careful, don't hurt or rush yourself, I'll help you sweep after washing the clothes."

Luo Qianqian, looking at her solemn-faced brother carrying the basin, felt a wave of sourness in her heart. Her brother had always indulged her, not wanting her to suffer and allowing her to study without having to do any housework. Feeling that she didn't deserve such kindness from him, she wiped away the tears streaking down her face and began to clean with determination.

"Brother, brother."

Upon hearing her call, Luo Shufan hurriedly dropped the clothes and came out to see his sister crying with tears streaming down her face, hugging his waist tightly: "What's wrong, did you hurt yourself, are you unwell, tell your brother, I'll take you to the hospital, stop crying, what happened?" He couldn't care less that his hands were still wet, hugging his sister and gently comforting her.

"There's a cockroach under the cabinet, woowoo, a cockroach, a big one, and it can run," Luo Qianqian buried her face into her brother's chest, pretending to be an ostrich, what's unseen doesn't exist.

Relieved that she wasn't hurt, Luo Shufan carried his sister to the desk and picked up the broom: "Don't cry, brother will chase them away, Qianqian don't be afraid, we'll tell Mom to buy cockroach medicine tomorrow."

"Then I'll go wash the clothes, I'm afraid if I keep sweeping I'll find a whole family of cockroaches," Luo Qianqian said, her face flushed with embarrassment over her twenty-something self being scared of bugs.

Luo Qianqian took Luo's Mom's T-shirt and nightgown hanging on the stool to wash along with the other clothes, while Luo Shufan lay on the ground searching for the family of cockroaches under the cabinet.

After Luo Shufan cleaned out all the clutter under the cabinet and confirmed there were no cockroaches, he planned to deal with the mess left from his sister's attempt to wash clothes. He didn't believe a kid who never did chores could clean the clothes properly. However, all he saw were the clothes in the basin and the ones his sister was wringing out, still dripping with water.

"You finished washing? Are the clothes free of laundry detergent? Here, let me help you wring them," Luo Shufan said, surprised as he did so, finding the cuffs and collars clean with no soap suds in the water.

"I'll go hang the clothes downstairs, you coming with me, Qianqian?" Luo Shufan, carrying the basin and looking at the setting sun, felt a pang of distress seeing his sister showing signs of fatigue, and tucked away fifty cents, planning to buy her something tasty as a little reward.

Who would have thought that Luo Qianqian would gently shake her head, "I'm waiting at home for big brother, hurry back."

Luo Shufan looked at his sister's reddened hands and nodded before heading downstairs.

Luo Qianqian then rubbed her sore arms and slowly made her way to the bed and lay down. It seemed that behaving well might ease the burden on Mom and brother, as well as earn their trust, laying the foundation for making money in the future.

She fell asleep in a daze.

"Mom, you're back, huh? Qianqian helped with chores today and fell asleep from exhaustion. Keep your voice down so you don't wake her," Luo Shufan's voice said.

"Really? What on earth did our little tyrant do? I hope you're not going to tell me she helped you eat your meals," Luo's Mom whispered.

"Not at all, she washed all the clothes downstairs, and I hung them up. She also swept the floor, but she got scared by a cockroach."

"Scared by a cockroach?" Mrs. Luo frowned, "I'll buy some pest control tomorrow."

Upon hearing the voices, Luo Qianqian got off the bed, pushed open the half-closed door, and, seeing her young mother looking tired but with a rosy complexion, tears streamed down her face. She threw herself onto her mother's lap, sitting on the stool, "Mom, you're back! I missed you so much, Qianqian."

Just as Luo's Mom was about to praise her daughter, the sudden tears took her by surprise, and she hugged Luo Qianqian with a heart full of pain, "Why are you so upset? Did big brother bully you? Don't cry, don't cry, look what Mom brought for you, it's milk candies."

"Mom, actually..." Luo Shufan looked at his sniffling sister, feeling a twinge of guilt, since he was the one who caused her to fall from the tree.

However, he was interrupted by Luo Qianqian before he could even speak, "Mom, I'll tell you a secret. Today, while I was sleeping, I fell off the bed and got a big bump on my head. In return for being so well-behaved today, you and brother can't laugh at me in the future."

Luo Shufan opened his mouth and then closed it without saying anything.

"Just now, big brother definitely wanted to tell Mom and then laugh at me together. Mom, you mustn't laugh, hmph hmph, the first candy is for Mom and not for big brother. Mom won't follow bad brother and make fun of Qianqian. If Mom laughs at Qianqian, then Qianqian will just, just," she trailed off, waving a small fist that held no threat, holding the milk candies, and subtly winked at Luo's Mom and Luo Shufan behind their backs.

"Qianqian, did you get sand in your eyes? Why are you winking so much?"

"Luo Shufan, your brain must have been eaten by a zombie," Qianqian retorted.