"Click."
Accompanied by the sound of the key turning in the old door lock, the two sisters walked into the room, closed the door, and secured it with the deadbolt.
"Your sister is dying of exhaustion..."
Su Yue collapsed onto the shabby yet impeccably clean sofa.
Her pleated skirt fluttered slightly, settling over a pair of fair, well-proportioned legs. Her twin ponytails lay limply behind her head, splaying out in an inverted "V" shape.
Su Mu walked over, gently stroked her sister's head, and signed, "You didn't have to walk home from work with me."
"That wouldn't do." Su Yue sat up on the sofa, looking like a little duck. "What if you ran into that kind of trouble again, Sis? You're not going to run into a good guy like Senior Ye every time."
Su Mu shook her head. "I bought some face masks. I'll just wear them from now on."
"That still won't do." Su Yue was very persistent. "Besides, I don't have anything going on anyway, so it's fine for me to walk you home from work. That KEC place is so unreasonable, saying they don't hire anyone under eighteen... Otherwise, I could work part-time with you!"
"You're taking the college entrance exam next year. Your mind needs to be on your studies," Su Mu signed with a gentle smile.
"But I don't want you to be so tired, Sis," Su Yue said, lowering her head. "I want to share the burden."
"It's fine. Once you're older, it'll be your turn." Su Mu tucked a stray lock of hair behind her sister's ear. "Alright, alright, I'm going to go make dinner."
"I'll help."
Su Yue got up from the sofa and followed her sister into the kitchen.
Whenever Su Yue saw her sister with her long hair pinned up and an apron tied around her waist, looking so gentle and virtuous, the phrase "an elder sister is like a mother" would instinctively come to mind.
For dinner, the sisters made only one dish of stir-fried pork with chili peppers, accompanied by a bowl of tofu soup.
After finishing their meal, cleaning up the dishes, and tidying the house, the two sisters went to the bathroom to take a bath together.
To save a little bit on water bills, the two of them always bathed together.
When Su Mu slipped off her loose school uniform, Su Yue froze in place.
"Sis, did yours get bigger again?" Su Yue signed in astonishment.
"Did they?" Su Mu looked down at herself, then signed, "My shoulders do seem to get sore a bit more easily lately."
"..." Su Yue looked down at herself, glanced back at her sister, and then measured the air with her hands, looking utterly deflated.
They were sisters, so why was her sister a watermelon while she was a cantaloupe?
Although her sister was a year older than her, would she ever really be able to complete the metamorphosis from a cantaloupe into a watermelon?
Su Yue didn't have much confidence.
After bathing, the sisters returned to their room. In the dead of summer, they usually just let their hair air-dry.
Su Mu sat on the bed wearing a camisole nightgown that had once belonged to their mother.
Since it was a summer nightgown, it was rather short, falling just around her knees. Her ample bust propped up the fabric, and her fair, well-proportioned legs were pressed together as she read a paperback novel at the desk.
The novel was borrowed from the municipal library—it didn't cost a dime, as long as it was returned on time.
Su Yue glanced over at her sister.
A doubt arose in Su Yue's mind.
Why wouldn't such huge watermelons sag?
Su Yue shook her head and looked away.
"I want to see you smile.
I want to play with you.
I want to hold you in my arms.
The last second we're arguing with flushed faces.
The next second we turn around and make up."
Inside the room, Su Yue continued to sing. She wanted to sing this song as best as she possibly could, so she wouldn't let Senior Ye down.
Listening to her sister's singing, Su Mu looked up, a tender smile playing at the corners of her lips.
An hour later, Su Mu closed her book, took off her hearing aids, quietly walked out of the room, poured a glass of water, and placed it on her sister's desk.
"Yueyue, it's getting late. Let's go to sleep," Su Mu signed.
Su Yue looked up at the wall clock and was surprised to see it was already ten o'clock at night.
"Okay, Sis," Su Yue signed.
They turned off the lights and lit a frog-shaped mosquito coil. Gusts of evening breeze blew in through the window, and bright moonlight spilled over the windowsill, casting its glow upon the sisters' fair cheeks.
Su Yue's eyes blinked continuously, shimmering with moonlight.
"What is it?"
Seeing that her sister's eyes were still wide open, Su Mu, lying flat on her back, stretched out her arm and signed. The moonlight mirrored the young girl's delicate hand, casting shifting shadows on the wall like fluttering butterflies.
"Sis, can I really sing well?" Su Yue also stretched out her arm and signed.
Su Mu's eyes curved into crescents. "Yes, you can, Yueyue. You sing very well. Besides, you said when you were little that you wanted to become a singer and a big star. Your sister is looking forward to it."
"Sis, that was when I was a kid..." Su Yue's face flushed slightly.
It was about as cringeworthy as shouting "I want to be an astronaut!" when you were little—a bit of dark history, to say the least.
"So you don't want to become a big star now?"
"Of course I do! Once I become a big star, I'll be able to earn lots and lots of money, and you won't have to work part-time anymore. Then I can take care of you forever—you can eat whatever you want, and buy whatever clothes you want."
"Silly girl," Su Mu turned onto her side. Her fingers performed a light, graceful dance, and her smiling eyes held the gentleness of a spring breeze. "You're going to get married someday. How can you take care of your sister forever?"
"I'm not getting married! The two of us will stay together for the rest of our lives!" Su Yue also lay on her side to sign, then playfully stuck out her tongue.
"You won't say that once you meet someone you like," Su Mu said dismissively.
"I'll never meet anyone like that. I only like you, Sis," Su Yue said, her eyes curving. "By the way, do you think you'll meet someone you like in college? What if a bunch of guys chase after you?"
"I can't speak well, and my hearing isn't good. Who would like me?"
"Who says they wouldn't? You're so pretty, and your figure is so nice—those guys in college are going to stare their eyes out!"
"Alright, go to sleep, go to sleep. Don't worry, your sister isn't going to fall in love." Su Mu tucked the blanket around Su Yue.
"Fine..."
Su Yue still wanted to tell her sister, "I hear the boys in college are in rut all four seasons of the year, so you have to be really careful."
But seeing how exhausted her sister was after working all day, she decided against it.
Soon, the steady, gentle sound of Su Mu's breathing rose from beside the pillow.
Yet Su Yue couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
The more she thought about it, the more dangerous she felt her sister's college life would be.
Going off to another city where she didn't know a soul, and with her sister being so naive and pretty to boot—it was just too worrying.
"Maybe I should ask Senior Ye to look after my sister next time?" Su Yue's thoughts churned. "In any case, I absolutely cannot let any perverts get near her!"