On my birthday, my younger brother gave me a 50-gram gold bracelet. That very night, his girlfriend added me on social media and lashed out: "Shameless old hag! If you want a gold bracelet, find yourself a boyfriend! Hurry up and return the bracelet my boyfriend bought for me!" I couldn't help but let out an angry laugh, then slapped my brother across the face. "Look at the trash you've found! Break up with her, now!" 1 On my thirtieth birthday, my younger brother suddenly had a rare moment of conscience. He spent over forty thousand dollars to give me a glittering, massive gold bracelet. That evening, as I was showing it off to my best friend, a social media request instantly doused my high spirits. "Does a gold bracelet from someone else's boyfriend smell sweet?" ? I paused, stunned. Today was my birthday. The only one who gave me a gold bracelet was my brother, who's five years younger than me. My hand, quicker than my brain, clicked "accept." The other side immediately barraged me with a frantic stream of messages. "Shameless old hag! If you want a gold bracelet, find yourself a boyfriend! Hurry up and return the bracelet my boyfriend bought for me!" My breath hitched, and fury surged to my brain. The last vestiges of my sanity made me send back a single question mark after some thought. "Can't you understand human language? I'm Liam's girlfriend. I'm giving you until tomorrow to return the bracelet, or don't blame me for being rude." I rolled my eyes. Ugh, what a tone. Did she think I was some mistress Liam had found? I tentatively replied, "I'm Liam's sister. Full-blooded, same parents." Clearly, I had overthought it. "So what if you're his sister? Liam is my boyfriend. Don't tell me you're his sister—you could be his mother and he still shouldn't buy you a bracelet. You dared to accept a forty-thousand-dollar bracelet? Aren't you afraid it'll burn you?" So, she knew who I was after all. If it wasn't a mistaken attack, then it was a direct one. I retorted without hesitation: "Do you know who you are? You're just my brother's girlfriend, not his wife. And I certainly won't allow Liam to have such an ill-mannered wife. Otherwise, I'll break his legs." She probably blew up, immediately firing back a voice message. The moment I answered, the receiver was filled with a long string of expletives, heavily punctuated by mother-related insults. I tossed my phone onto the sofa, unfurled a face mask, and meticulously smoothed it onto my face. When she tired of yelling, she started threatening me: "Hear me? Return the bracelet tomorrow, or I'll call you every day and curse you out." "Tsk," I scoffed. "Are you done cussing? It's my turn. My vocabulary is far more extensive than yours..." Beep. She actually hung up. These young people really had no sense of decorum. I dialed back. The message: "The other party has not added you as a friend and cannot be voice called." She blocked me? Truly, no decorum whatsoever. I was furious! I roared at my brother, who was gaming in his bedroom: "LIAM! I'm giving you three seconds to get over here!" Liam stumbled out, one slipper on, the other hand still clutching his mouse. His face was a mask of terror. "Sis, what's up? I'm about to take down the enemy's core." I tore off my face mask and flung it at him. "Take down your ass! You'd better explain what this is all about!" 2 My brother mumbled, "I wish I had a sister. If I had a sister, I'd never pick on her." He begrudgingly took the phone I handed him, looked at it for three seconds, and then all the hairs on his body stood on end. He quickly stammered, "Sis, sis, this is definitely a misunderstanding." I watched him with a mocking smirk. "Oh? How so?" He hemmed and hawed for a long time, then carefully placed the phone on the coffee table, forcing a chuckle. "Sis, sis, don't get mad first. I'll ask Savannah what's going on." I rotated my wrist. "You'd better get to the bottom of it fast. You know I don't have much patience." My brother nodded, then bolted as if fleeing for his life. I curled up on the sofa, growing angrier the more I thought about it. Both my parents were workaholics. Liam, you could say, I raised him from childhood. He was a difficult child, causing endless trouble from a young age. Every time, I was the one cleaning up his messes. During his rebellious phase, he defied them in every way. My parents tried to rein him in but found they couldn't. Finally, left with no choice, I, a fresh college student, took three months off. With sheer sibling dominance, I disciplined him until he was perfectly obedient. Until he cried, begging me, "Sis, please go back to school. I really know I was wrong." My mom sometimes brings up those days, shaking her head. "To see you, such a small person, with such incredible strength. You literally beat six-foot-tall Liam until he cried for mercy." Liam would chime in, "You guys just talk about it, but she really hit, hit to kill, like she didn't care if she killed me." From then on, I discovered that reasoning with Liam was useless; only brute force worked. In the entire family, this kid feared nothing and no one, except me. Whenever he acted like a jerk, if my parents just said, "I'll tell your sister," he'd instantly turn into a sweet little angel. I hit him, but I was also truly good to him. I made sure he had all the gaming equipment, sports gear, and electronics a boy could want. When he graduated college and said he wasn't ready to enter society, I defied my parents' pressure and paid for him to travel for a year. His job was too far from home, so I gave him my brand-new, tens-of-thousands-of-dollars car to drive, taking the subway to work myself. Finally, this kid grew up, wised up. He proactively used his bonus to buy me a gold bracelet. I felt like a diligent old farmer, toiling for decades, finally seeing the fruits of my harvest. And now, I was being cursed at, called a shameless old hag? Forget Liam giving me a gold bracelet; given all I've done for him over the years, I'd deserve a whole apartment if he gave it to me. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I grabbed my phone and called my childhood friend: "Help me look someone up. Savannah Jenkins, Liam's girlfriend..." 3 The next morning, I woke with dark circles under my eyes. A glance at the clock showed it was already 7:30 AM. After getting ready, I walked to the door and saw my car keys hanging by the entrance. The anger that had somewhat subsided overnight flared up again. I heard Liam picks up Savannah for work every morning, right? I bought the car, and I take the subway, while they drive my car, shielded from wind and sun. And then they complain about the bracelet I gave him? Am I some kind of big-time chump? Let them take the subway. I slipped on my shoes, tossed the car keys into my bag, and humming a little tune, I got into the elevator. When I reached the basement and opened the car door, I couldn't help but frown. The entire car was stuffed with all sorts of plush toys. The passenger seat was decked out in pink, with a tacky pink bow tied to the headrest. Even more ridiculous, the passenger sun visor had a note stuck to it: "Savannah's Seat. No Sluts Allowed." Hmph! She really thinks she's something. I leaned in, ripped off the note, then found a bag and stuffed all the fluffy toys into it, tossing them into the trunk. Only when all that was done did I look at my car's original interior, finally satisfied, and nodded. Just as I arrived at the office, Liam's custom ringtone blared. "Sis, where are my car keys? Did you drive the car away?" I sat down, opened my computer, and said coldly, "What? Isn't it my car? Can't I drive it whenever I want? Do I need to report to you?" Liam paused, then switched to a more flattering tone. "Sis, dearest sis, are you still mad? I asked Savannah yesterday. She just loves me too much, so she's a bit possessive. You, being someone who hasn't been in love, wouldn't understand this feeling, so don't be so hard on Savannah." Look at him, is he even speaking sense? My fists instinctively tightened. "Someone who hasn't been in love wouldn't understand this feeling," he said. When I was dating guys with six-packs and sweet, innocent smiles, this kid was still immersed in angsty teenage fiction. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I had a very important meeting this morning; I couldn't afford to get angry. Anger affected clear thinking. I softened my tone. "Go to hell, you idiot. I'll deal with you when I get home." 4 After hanging up, I began preparing materials for the morning meeting. Savannah Jenkins, who had unblocked me, messaged: "You tramp, it's all because of you that I lost my perfect attendance bonus! You owe me! We don't even care about driving your crappy car. I order you to immediately buy Liam and me a new car, or don't blame me for being rude!" I took three deep breaths, but the more I thought, the angrier I got. I dialed her directly for a voice call. She answered and immediately launched into a passionate tirade. "Was your mother just a placenta when she gave birth to you? Are your brain and large intestine switched? How else could your head be so full of crap? Read more books, stop daydreaming all day. Buy you a car? Why don't I buy a hammer and smash you? You should save the money you spend on game skins and invest in some brains. You act like a total idiot every day. Savannah Jenkins, right? Let me tell you, as long as I'm alive, if you ever step foot in my house, you can take my surname!" The moment I finished speaking, I slammed down the phone and promptly blocked her. My motto: get revenge, no internalizing. Three minutes later, Liam's phone rang again. I immediately blocked all his contact methods and forced a charming smile at my reflection. But before my smile even faded, my phone tiredly rang again. The moment I answered, Liam's voice came through the receiver: "Sis, why did you block..." Snap! I cut him off. The general manager's assistant emerged, announcing, "Ms. Lane, your department's been called to the meeting." I smiled, silencing my phone. This project was crucial, tied to our entire department's quarterly bonus. Absolutely no room for error. I picked up my laptop and walked confidently to the meeting room. There was a lot to report. It was two hours later when it was my turn to summarize. "Sis, sis! Don't stop me, I have something urgent to tell my sister!" A familiar voice suddenly blared from outside the meeting room. I frowned. Liam, refusing to back down, was making a racket at the door. The general manager's assistant whispered a few words to the general manager, who glared at me, displeased. I gave him an awkward smile. "Mr. Liu, give me two minutes." I grabbed a broom from the corner, then pulled open the meeting room door. "Sis, let me explain..." I smiled at him, then immediately swung the broom at him. "Ow, sis, sis, why are you hitting me again?" I said gently, "Go to hell. If this project falls apart, I'll skin you alive when I get home." Liam shivered, quickly explaining, "I didn't know you had an important meeting." I glared at him. "Now you know. Get lost." Liam nodded like a pecking chick. "Then I'll wait for you." 5 Returning to the conference room, I glanced at my watch. Exactly two minutes. "Mr. Liu, I can present now." Mr. Liu's gaze at me was a little uncomfortable. He took a sip of tea. "No, no need. The proposal is quite good. We'll leave it to your department. That's all for today." He finished speaking, stood up, and strode out. At the door, he turned back to me and said, "Oh, about young Liam, skinning someone is illegal, you know." I froze. After Mr. Liu left, my colleagues in the department gave me a thumbs-up. "Ms. Lane, I never knew you had such a fierce side." "Yeah, when you were hitting your brother, Mr. Liu said he was glad he never pushed you too hard before." Me: ... Great. My carefully maintained image as a graceful lady had just shattered into a million pieces. 6 At noon, when work ended, Liam was waiting for me in our company lobby. When he saw me, he stubbornly walked up, a hint of complaint in his voice. "Sis, I'm 25 this year. Aren't you being a bit too disrespectful?" I gave him an unamused glance. "Spit it out." Liam rolled his eyes at me. "Sis, no wonder you don't have a boyfriend. Why can't you be gentle like Savannah? And listen, it's fine if you hit me or yell at me—you're my sister. But you can't insult Savannah. She's a sensitive girl; you cursed her out so horribly, she cried. This afternoon, when you get off work, go apologize to Savannah and buy her a gold bracelet." My brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and I looked at him as if he were an utter idiot. I gave him a cold laugh. "I think you're itching for another beating, aren't you?" He paused, a hint of anger in his eyes. "Sis, don't be endless. Do you really think I can't beat you? I've always let you win before, but now I have a woman to protect. If you keep this up, I'll fight back." Now it was my turn to freeze. He was right. He was over six feet tall and weighed around 160 pounds. If it came down to a real fight, I truly wasn't his match. It just stung a little. My little brother, whom I had raised since childhood, was now saying such things to me for a woman he'd known for less than six months. I looked at him mockingly. "Liam, I suggest you get a specialist referral to a psychiatrist and have your head examined. Are you selectively forgetting what Savannah texted me yesterday? So I get cursed at, and I'm not allowed to curse back, is that it?" Liam grew impatient. "Sis, why are you so petty? I've already explained that Savannah just cares about me too much. This morning, you drove the car away without a word, and that was wrong of you. It cost Savannah her perfect attendance bonus. It's only natural for her to be angry and curse at you a little. How could you say such awful things to her?" "Hah!" I actually laughed, genuinely furious. "My car, I drive it away. And I deserve to be cursed at for it, is that it? If you're so capable, buy your own car and drive her! What kind of trash thinks it's righteous to leech off me?" "So you're finally saying what you really think, are you?" Liam's eyes suddenly blazed red, looking at me as if I were an enemy. "Savannah was right after all. You just use me to flaunt your superiority. It's just a cheap car, I don't care for it." What was he talking about? I couldn't hold back anymore. SLAP! My hand connected with his face. Liam's head snapped sideways. He suddenly went berserk, grabbing my shoulders and shoving me. I stumbled backward a few steps, my leg hitting the corner of a table. Instantly, blood streamed down. "Sis..." His face filled with panic as reason returned. "Get out..." My entire being radiated a low pressure. Liam stood rooted to the spot, stunned. I snarled again, "Get out..." Just as Liam stood there, bewildered, his phone rang. After hanging up, he walked towards me, speaking softly. "Sis, you're not short on money anyway. Can you give me the bracelet you gave me yesterday? I'll return it when I earn enough..." I snatched off the bracelet and threw it at him, furious. "Get out!" Liam picked up the bracelet, hesitated for a moment, then ran off. I looked at the blood gushing from my ankle, sucking in a sharp breath. However, the pain in my heart was a hundred times worse than the pain in my foot. Just as I was about to leave, my phone lit up. "Old hag, still want to fight me? When I marry Liam, I'll kick you out of the house."
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