"I'm going to buy some herbs that I usually use to make soup. Just wait for me here. It'll be quick!"
She walked into the shop, chatted with the boss, and took a look at various soup and medicinal ingredients. Lin Lu was waiting for her at the door with vegetables, watching her figure quietly.
Li Xingruo's talents were fully realized in this market.
Lin Lu, who knew nothing about grocery shopping and cooking, felt the meaning of the term "sister" from her, and for the first time he felt a strange sense of dependence on her.
Like a child, she would tell Lin Lu what this is, what that is, what dishes can be made with these ingredients, and how to make them. She would also say, 'If you want to eat, my sister will cook it for you!'
Lin Lu is not an only child. He also has two younger sisters at home. The younger sisters are very good and clingy to him. They like him very much. He also takes special care of his younger sisters.
But when you get along with the younger sisters, compared to when you get along with the eldest sister Li Xingruo, the experience you can feel is completely different.
After his parents divorced, as a male entering adulthood, the word dependence seemed to be getting farther and farther away from him. This experience was strange but familiar to him, like being surrounded by a soft ball.
Wrapped in warm water, you can relax your body and mind.
Probably because of this feeling, the meaning of the term "sister" is particularly different in his mind.
"Yes, I can also make cakes, snow queens, egg tarts, and many other desserts. Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
As he said that, Li Xingruo couldn't help but put on the look of "I feel sorry for life, I have experienced five floors higher than you" in front of him, and sighed: "Later, when I had pocket money, I bought a lot of candied dates by myself.
I eat it, but it’s never as sweet as the ones I ate secretly before.”
The two were chatting while walking, and unknowingly they had arrived at the community. Li Xingruo was talking when her eyes were suddenly attracted by a small bamboo bush. She raised her hand to break off a bamboo branch and pulled off the excess branches and leaves.
With a slight wave, the bamboo sticks will make a buzzing sound that breaks through the air——
Lin Lu was about to reach out to pick up the bag in her hand, but Li Xingruo helped him pick up most of the bag in his hand. The slightly heavy weight left marks on her delicate fingers.
Lin Lu took her out from the nearest north gate, and after walking for a short distance, she finally saw a familiar street, which was faster than returning the same way.
While rummaging through the items in the bag, she said, "No, let's go home and cook."
"This is different. I don't recognize the location, I recognize the person. Just recognize the person!"
"How did you know I could make ice cream?!"
Lin Lu no longer likes sweet things like bitter melon and the like as he did when he was a child, but it is more in line with his current taste.
Li Xingruo was stunned and said narcissistically: "So, sister, I am special in your eyes?"
Lin Lu said it was a pity, but in his heart he had no regrets at all. He continued to stir the candied date core in his mouth with a relaxed expression.
"Has Sister Xingruo been a road addict since she was a child?" Lin Lu asked curiously.
"Is there anything else you want to buy?"
"Hmph, don't forget what I said, I'm going to be very strict in giving you extra lessons!"
Just when he was lost in thought, Li Xingruo came out after buying something, as if he was worried that he would wait too long.
When she finished speaking, she had already pulled out a candied date from a small white plastic bag.
"It's not that, I just felt like there wouldn't be any intersection, so I didn't bother to remember them."
"No! Is it because of face blindness..." Li Xingruo was surprised.
"...It's okay, I don't get lost in a small town." Li Xingruo didn't know why. It's probably because the town is too small, and it won't work outside the town.
Lin Lu was stunned for a moment, his Adam's apple rolled, and he asked cautiously: "Sister, what are you doing..."
"...This is not okay!"
"Really? I thought you had younger siblings." Lin Lu was a little surprised. It turned out that Li Xingruo was born with such a sisterly personality? But when he heard that she had no younger siblings, he somehow felt that he could monopolize something.
Emotional joy, what kind of reaction is this?
Li Xingruo accepted her fate, obediently said nothing, put away her desire to be the eldest sister, and followed Lin Lu back obediently. If it had been her, she would have had to take out her phone and scratch her head to look at the navigation.
"Hey! Saying it is the same as not saying it!"
Just as she was about to take her younger brother back like a big sister, she suddenly couldn't find the direction to the exit of the market and was suddenly embarrassed.
"Is there any such trick?"
"Hey, this is for you. It's very sweet. This kind of sun-dried candied dates and some dried longan meat are used to make soup, which is super sweet!"
"You can go out from here at the north gate. Follow the high school, middle school, and students! Let's go."
"Why, why?"
"Because - it's so special!"
"Hmph, that's pretty cool. I can recognize people very accurately. I can recognize who is who when I see them!" Li Xingruo found something to be proud of and suddenly became confident again.
"Remember the day when you first moved here, Sister Xingruo? Didn't you ask me how my neighbors were like? In fact, I have almost forgotten what the two families across the street look like..."
"No, I am the only one in my family."
"Oh, what a pity."
"You'll understand when you get to my age! You're a high school student!"
Lin Lu said with a smile: "Sister Xingruo, do you need me to do reading comprehension? Analyze the protagonist's state of mind?"
Li Xingruo's soft, rounded eyes became curious, as if he was quite surprised that Lin Lu would say this and in such a serious tone.
"What kind of statement is this..."
When the topic of brothers and sisters was mentioned, Lin Lu suddenly remembered something, so he changed the topic and asked: "Can Sister Xingruo make ice cream?"
"I just saw that you recognized the stall quite accurately, didn't you?"
Lin Lu's reaction made Li Xingruo very satisfied and said with a smile: "This has been my favorite food since I was a child. Every time my mother bought me some medicinal ingredients for soup, I would secretly eat the candied dates~"
But at this moment, he happily took the big candied date from Li Xingruo and ate it into his mouth. It felt like it was "full of sister's heart" and melted into his mouth.
“Very special.”
Lin Lu smiled mischievously and asked: "Then if I want to recognize my sister, will Sister Xingruo give me free tuition when I make up classes later?"
"Okay, but before that..."
"I just want to eat Sister Xingruo's ice cream if I have a chance."
Li Xingruo thought about it and found that there was nothing left to buy. This time he bought a lot. He asked Lin Lu to help him buy all the miscellaneous things that he might need in the future.
"...really good at it?"
Li Xingruo looked at him curiously and asked, "What's wrong? Do you want to recognize me as your sister?"
"Oh - so Sister Xingruo looks particularly humane?"
The tension in Li Xingruo's expression disappeared as if evaporated by sunlight. She smiled relaxedly and moved up the steps like a cute little bird.
"By the way, does Sister Xingruo have any brothers or sisters?"
"We came in through... that door just now, right?"
"My mother was not in good health and she gave birth to me. Like in our small town, many families have two children."
"How's it going? Is it delicious?" Li Xingruo looked at his reaction expectantly.
Lin Lu nodded honestly. He had finished eating the candied dates, and he was talking with the candied dates core in his mouth.
"It's delicious!" A large candied date, which cost only a few cents, actually made Lin Lu think it was the best thing he had eaten in recent years.
"...Really?"
"Otherwise."
The gentle neighbor sister suddenly looked like a queen.
Thank you Dan Dan for having such bad thoughts, no emotions, book friend 20220508110840822 and three classmates for the generous reward, the bosses are so generous! I also thank Baiye ReKi, the thousand-year-old hedgehog, reader 123692618058 and other classmates, as well as those who are too lazy to name their names, so let’s leave it like this.