1

My best friend Lucia and I got caught in a sudden downpour while we were at the library.

Since we hadn't expected the heavy rain, I quickly called my brother to come pick us up.

"Chandria, it's so handy having a brother. You can just give him a call, and he'll come to the rescue!"

Lucia said enviously. Coming from an only child family, she often wished she had a sibling to keep her company.

I jokingly told her, "If you had a brother, he'd probably be an arrogant jerk."

But Lucia insisted, "You don't know how lucky you are."

As I thought about it, I realized my family didn't favor sons over daughters at all. In fact, I was the spoiled one, and my brother had to cater to my every whim. Even the new car our parents bought was so he could chauffeur me around more easily. Seen in that light, he did seem a bit pitiful...

Not long after my message, my brother pulled up in front of the library.

Lucia and I dashed to the car, using our books as makeshift umbrellas.

As soon as I hopped into the passenger seat, I noticed a "Girlfriend's Seat" sticker and some frilly pink decorations.

When my brother saw me there, his expression soured.

I was about to tease him, but his look stopped me cold. "What's wrong? You got a girlfriend now, so I can't sit here?"

He knew I got carsick easily, so I always rode shotgun.

"No way, you're my sister. My girlfriend won't mind," he muttered.

I nodded, but I was curious about this mysterious girlfriend who could tame my perpetually single brother.

"Well? Aren't we leaving yet?"

"Aren't we leaving yet?"

It was pouring outside, and half my clothes were drenched. I couldn't wait to change into something dry.

To make college life easier, and since my brother worked nearby, my parents had bought us a house close to campus. Usually, though, I lived in the dorms with Lucia and rarely went back home. But with the heavy rain today, I'd taken her there to change and rest up.

"Hold up, my girlfriend also goes to your school. Let me swing by and pick her up," my brother said.

I just nodded silently.

No problem, I thought. Just a little wait.

Little did I expect that "little wait" would drag on for over an hour.

Just as I was getting antsy for him to take us back first, a girl approached, clutching an umbrella and wearing delicate makeup.

But when she saw me in the passenger seat, my brother's face soured.

As she neared, he started to greet her, but she cut him off, yanking open the passenger door,

and letting a gust of cold air in.

She snapped rudely.

"Didn't you see the 'Girlfriend's Seat' sign?"

"Just who do you think you are, sitting there?"

Thinking she'd misunderstood, I tried explaining.

"He's my brother."

"Don't go calling every guy 'brother' at your age. If you don't want to work, don't go digging for sugar daddies," she sneered.

Her unpleasant insinuation left even my usually reserved friend Lucia reeling.

"Why are you spewing such vile nonsense?" she shot back.

"You're the one with the dirty mind! What's wrong with a sister sitting shotgun?"

The girlfriend clearly hadn't expected someone in the backseat.

Suddenly, there was a clicking sound.

"I didn't expect this, Channing. You hooked up with a schoolgirl while I was away? One in front and one behind, huh?"

"No, Lila, she's my sister!"

My brother scratched his head, clearly unsure of how to handle the situation.

Seeing that the rain had let up a bit, I didn't want to make things harder for him. I got out of the passenger seat, ready to move to the back.

"Am I invisible to you?"

Just as I opened the back door, someone yanked my hair.

The pain made me jerk my head back.

"Let me, your senior, teach you a lesson!"

With that, she pulled my hair even harder.

I thought, even though I tried to give her a break, she still wanted to cause trouble. She had it coming.

I slapped her twice across the face.

"There's no way you're becoming my sister-in-law, mark my words!"

In the end, my brother and Lucia got out of the car and separated us as we struggled.

I was dragged to the back seat, while the girl named Lila sat smugly in the front.

Maybe those slaps finally knocked some sense into her.

Her tone softened.

"Channing, I didn't know she was really your sister. You never told me you had a sister."

My brother sighed helplessly.

"I told you, but you think every girl you meet is..."

"I just care about you too much!"

As I heard her whining and acting coy, it gave me the creeps.

Lucia and I exchanged a look, both of us equally skeptical.

How could my/your brother be into this type of girl?

When I returned to the house my parents bought for us, I was stunned the moment I walked through the door.

The living room was filled with delivery boxes and women's stuff, both personal and not...

I couldn't tell if it was clean or not...

"Avert your eyes from the mess,"

Lucia muttered, half-covering her eyes.

I felt a surge of rage boiling up in my chest, about to explode in my head.

The house my parents bought for me was ruined like this?

I raised my hand and smacked my brother on the back.

"My girlfriend went a little crazy during the recent Black Friday sales, and I haven't had a chance to clean up yet..."

My brother rubbed his shoulder and gave me a sheepish look.

Didn't she know to throw away the boxes after unpacking? Did she have to leave them piled up in the living room? Did it look good?

And why did she expect my brother to clean up her mess?

Seeing that I was about to blow my top, Lila brushed past me and said something in a snarky tone.

"I'm dating him, so he should make sacrifices for me. Otherwise, what's the point? If I marry him, he has to treat me like a queen!"

What did she mean, my brother should sacrifice for her? What about her? Just stand there and enjoy my brother's generosity?

"If I'm not mistaken, those designer clothes you're wearing are all gifts from my brother, right?"

She's a college student, but she's decked out in branded gear. If her family was wealthy, that'd be one thing. But Lucia and I looked into her background in the car, and her family is just middle-class, so those fancy threads are all courtesy of my brother's wallet.

She's spending my brother's money, but still treats him so badly!

"None of your business! Your brother is happy about it."

Seeing we were arguing again, my brother hurried out to mediate.

It infuriated me to see him like this.

Why should he let himself be pushed around by a woman like her!

It was unbelievable! I pulled Lucia, who was standing there dazed, and we went straight to my room.

I was so worked up that I forgot to change out of my clothes.

It would be bad if I caught a cold over this.

As soon as we entered the room, Lucia immediately started venting.

"What kind of person is she? If your brother actually marries her, he'll be in for a world of trouble!"

I clenched my fists.

"Have you forgotten what I said in the car? There's no way I'll let her become my sister-in-law!"

But now it was obvious my brother was completely infatuated with her, so I had to find a way to make him see her true colors!

We just found out in the car that her name is Lila, she's a year older than us, but she didn't have a good reputation in her class. I don't know what tricks she used to reel in my naive brother.

And what about that garbage pile of delivery boxes out there?

I had to find a way to make Lila clean up her own mess.

"I've got it!"

Suddenly, a good idea struck me.

Lucia was just about to ask what I'd thought of when there was a knock at the door.

I opened it to find my brother.

He was holding a bag of my favorite snacks.

"I saw these when I went out to get something for Lila, so I grabbed them for you."

He handed me the snack bag, a peace offering.

I knew he was trying to make amends. From childhood to adulthood, whenever we fought, he'd use snacks to butter me up.

"I just can't bear to see you being bullied like this."

"I know, but Lila isn't a bad person deep down. She just has some contradictions in her personality...her family favored sons over daughters, so she craves love from me. You shouldn't have hit her."

My eyes darkened when I heard that. I didn't expect my brother to be so infatuated and come defend her against me.

But even if he liked her, I still had to make her pay for trashing my house like this.

"I know, I know. You have to go to work tomorrow, right?"

My brother nodded, visibly relieved to see my expression soften.

"You should get some rest."

After saying that, he turned and left.