Chapter 1
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He braced his hands on either side of me, his eyes narrowed dangerously. “Little one, does your brother always treat you like this?” Snowball urgently pawed at the desk edge, barking. I seized the opportunity to use its paws as a rading. “Big Brother is just… busy?”
Chapter 2
Actually, before he met Clara, he used to take me to Disneyland and ride the Ferris wheel with me. For my second birthday, he even wore a full Pikachu costume.
Alex’s expression grew even more terrifying. Three days later, a card suddenly appeared in my small backpack, Alex was braiding my pigtails; though his craftsman- ship wasn’t great, he casually said, “That’s the profit from the third project Daniel lost.”
“Wow!” I held up the shiny bank card. “How many cheese sticks can I buy with this?”
His hand paused. “…Is that the point?”
“What else?” I tilted my head, looking at him. “Can I… buy a Peppa Pig watch?” Alex choked. “At market price, you could buy a cheese stick factory outright and eat
them for life!”
My mouth dropped open into an ‘O‘ shape! This was a dream come true! Alex wasn’t a supervillain at all! He was Santa Claus!
“Keep it safe,” Alex said, stuffing the card back into my dinosaur–print backpack. “This is your…”
“Wife fund!” I blurted out, having just learned the phrase from a TV show. “Can I buy Snowball some chew toys?”
Alex’s lips twitched. “…As you wish.” I lunged forward, giving him a big smooch. Alex instantly froze, not even reacting when I crooked his six–figure tie.
“Big Brother Alex is the best!” I swung from his neck. “Better than my own brother!” His ear tips visibly reddened, and he stiffly pulled me off, but then reached out
and ruffled my hair.
I spent three days playing wildly with Snowball at home, almost forgetting I had to go to kindergarten. It wasn’t until Alex came home from work and saw our next- door neighbor picking up his son that he realized I had skipped school for several days. He intended to take me to kindergarten himself. But I didn’t want to go.
Early the next morning, Alex’s voice drifted from outside my bed. “Nanny, come out!” I burrowed further under the bed. From this angle, I could see his shiny leather
shoes pacing anxiously by the bed, having already turned seventeen times. “If you don’t come out in three minutes, today’s cheese sticks are canceled.” I clamped
my hand over my mouth. Despicable! Threatening a three–year–old with snacks!
Snowball’s tail brushed my face. It tilted its head, its black, grape–like eyes conveying, “I told you hiding here was useless.”
“Five, four, three…” As I scrambled out, using both hands and feet, I met Alex’s crouching gaze. He was wearing a black shirt today, collar slightly open, looking very
much like the Big Bad Wolf from cartoons who eats children. “Reason,” he said, lifting me by the back of my pajamas. “Why aren’t you going to kindergarten?” I dan-
gled in mid–air, kicking my legs. “… My tummy hurts.”
“Liar,” Alex narrowed his eyes. “Yesterday, you said you loved the kindergarten’s stuffed rabbit most.” I pouted, and suddenly my nose stung. That stuffed rabbit, na-
med Snowball, had already been cut up by Teacher Emily, just because I said it was my only best friend. Alex’s expression suddenly changed. He placed me on the bed, kneeling on one knee to meet my gaze. “Did someone bully you?” Snowball seized the chance to crawl out, its wet nose rubbing my palm.
