"Mom, we're back. How's little sister? Has she woken up?"
Two young men, about twenty years old, pushed open the door. Before even stepping inside, one of them spoke up.
The young man in front had a simple and honest face. While talking, he habitually scratched his head.
He was Hailee's second brother, Cohen.
Behind Cohen was another young man who looked a bit like him but was more handsome. When he heard Cohen's question, he curled his lip and sneered, "Wake up for what? If you ask me, it's better this way. At least she won't wake up and keep acting like a fool, embarrassing everyone."
This made Mother Li very unhappy. She rushed over and smacked him on the head. Mother Li scolded, "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? That's your own sister. How could you not hope for her to get better?"
"You rascal, if I hear you cursing your sister again, believe me, I'll skin you alive."
"You're nothing but trouble. Always making me angry."
When their mom exploded, Callan quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Mom, Mom, I just said it without thinking. She's my full-blooded sister. How could I not wish her well? Look, I just found these bird eggs. You can cook them for her later to help her recover."
Unlike the honest and simple Cohen, Callan had always been mischievous since he was little. Climbing trees for nests, diving into rivers to catch fish, there was nothing he hadn't done.
Callan was smart. He was one of only two high school students in the family. If the college entrance exams weren't canceled, he would have surely become the Su family's first college student.
Callan and Hailee were twins. Did he care about her? He cared more than anyone. He didn't truly want her to stay unwell. He was just disappointed in her.
He used to like Hailee a lot, and now, he hated how she revolved her whole life around Mike.
Just earlier, on their way home, he had even discussed with Cohen about sneaking into the educated youth camp at night to beat up Mike and stand up for Hailee.
How could he not wish for Hailee to get better?
Mother Li snorted. "That's more like it." She cupped the bird eggs in her hand, then her tone softened. "Your sister woke up for a bit this morning but is sleeping again now. Later, you two go check on her. And remember, don't mention that jerk, got it?"
"Especially you, Callan. If I find out you upset your sister, I'll skin you."
Callan rolled his eyes. Just as his mom raised her hand to hit him, he ducked and ran past her.
Skin him, skin him, how many times had she said that? His skin was still perfectly fine.
Cohen washed his hands, flicked off the water, and seriously promised, "Mom, don't worry. I'll keep an eye on Callan. If he dares to talk nonsense, you won't need to do anything. I'll deal with him myself."
He even waved his fist.
Cohen looked just like their oldest brother, Chase, tall and sturdy, very imposing at over six feet tall. Just standing there gave off a powerful presence.
As long as he didn't smile. The moment he smiled, he looked like a silly farmer.
Because of his personality, Mother Li was afraid he'd get scammed, so she didn't let him enlist. Luckily, Cohen wasn't interested in joining the army anyway. He liked farming more than being a soldier.
Cohen was great at farming. Strangely, even though everyone worked the same land, the crops under Cohen's care always grew better than anyone else's.
Also, Cohen always listened to his mother. As long as Mother Li gave the order, he would really beat up Callan.
Callan glared angrily at his second brother. Was he even his real brother? It was one thing for Mother Li to act this way, but even his own brother was like this. He was starting to wonder if he had been picked up from somewhere.
Still, despite their complaining and arguing, the two brothers finished getting ready and quietly pushed open Hailee's door to check on her.
The Su Family had a lot of people and a big house. Besides the five main rooms, there were three side rooms on the east and west sides.
Out of the five main rooms, the one on the far east was the kitchen, and the one on the far west was used as a grain store and storage. The remaining three rooms were for their grandparents, their parents, and Hailee.
Hailee's room was in the center. Even though it wasn't the biggest, it had the best lighting. The few pieces of furniture she had were carefully chosen by her family.
When the two brothers entered, Hailee was looking in the mirror, admiring her beauty.
In her past life, Hailee didn't look very special. She had a big frame, a rough voice, and had even been mistaken for a boy at times.
Looks were given by her parents. Hailee couldn't change that, and she had never thought about changing it.
After starting middle school, Hailee fell in love with martial arts. After years of training, she developed eight-pack abs.
What she liked most about her body was that eight-pack.
Now, the abs were gone, and she had become someone she used to admire and later dislike in her past life.
Before the apocalypse in her past life, Hailee used to dream of having a different body. Even if she couldn't be as delicate and soft as her name suggested, at least she wanted to look like a girl.
After the apocalypse, she saw too many delicate girls. Every time something happened, they would only cry and cause trouble without realizing it. It was annoying enough to make her want to curse.
Now that she had suddenly turned into the kind of soft, delicate girl she once admired and later despised, Hailee found herself very uncomfortable. Compared to being a clingy girl who only cried and relied on men, she much preferred being a strong, independent warrior like she had become after the apocalypse.
Just as she was touching her own cheek, the door opened.
Seeing Hailee looking in the mirror, Callan forgot to keep his mouth shut. He blurted out, "Yo, checking yourself out? Don't worry, it's just some water, it didn't mess up your looks. Any guy would be stunned by how pretty you are."
The sudden voice startled Hailee. She silently scolded herself for losing her alertness just because she was in a different place, then turned around. The memories in her mind quickly matched the person speaking. Yes, the one who talked like that was her triplet brother, born just a few minutes earlier than her.
Next to him was the simple and honest-looking guy who clearly wasn't the sharpest — that had to be her second brother, Cohen.
"Cohen, Callan, you're back from work?"
Cohen grinned and scratched his head, looking even more silly. Hailee bared her teeth a little in a forced smile, thinking she really couldn't bear to look at him.
"Sis, it's good you're awake. Just now, Callan was saying, if Mike dares to bully you, we'll throw a sack over him tonight and beat him up."
Before he could finish, Callan quickly covered his mouth. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Cohen, you're really the best brother ever."
He had never seen anyone sell out their brother so fast. Mother Li had just told them not to mention Mike, and Cohen already forgot?