Chapter Six: Minors, You Know How It Is

“So you not only took the insurance money, but now you’re planning to steal my house too?” Luo Chen stared fixedly at Luo Song and his wife, making them uneasy enough to avert their gaze.

“You know, when you’re a minor, it’s not unusual to act impulsively—say, stabbing someone with a knife. If there’s someone to cover for you, it’ll probably just get swept under the rug.” The fierce expression on Luo Chen’s face gradually faded, but the ruthless glint in his eyes was obvious to anyone with a hint of perception.

“Cough, cough, Luo Chen, calm down. Let’s talk about this slowly, you should think about Tianyi too, shouldn’t you?” Luo Song was startled by Luo Chen’s glare—was this kid really serious?

As he pondered, Luo Song’s tone softened. He wondered if his supposedly deceased cousin had left behind connections he didn’t know about, but seeing the siblings’ lonely appearance, it didn’t seem likely.

“I said, get out now—or I’ll throw you out myself!” Luo Chen didn’t give Luo Song time to think, issuing his ultimatum to prevent further trouble.

“You brat, you owe money and still act arrogant? I’ll stay right here and see what you—” Li Tong, just frightened by Luo Chen’s vicious look, felt a surge of humiliation once she recovered and was ready to cause a scene, but Luo Song promptly raised a hand to stop her.

“That’s enough, let’s go.” Luo Song shot his wife a warning look—he knew they wouldn’t get any advantage today.

“Leave? If you want to leave, go. I won’t let this brat off so easily.” Li Tong, her anger unspent, was only facing a kid with a knife. In her fifty-some years, she’d dealt with all sorts; there was nothing she hadn’t fought over, and she wasn’t about to be intimidated now.

“Li Tong!” Luo Song knew if his wife really lost control, she might rush forward, and then someone might end up with a few extra holes. He hurried to restrain her, hoping it wasn’t too late.

Li Tong looked at her husband with grievance, then glared fiercely at Luo Chen, but finally stopped.

“Luo Chen, you’re something else! We’ll leave today, but don’t forget, you have twenty days until repayment is due. Let’s see how you’ll pay back that hundred and fifty thousand!” Luo Song spat out his threat, dragged his reluctant wife away, slammed the door, and left the siblings alone.

Having temporarily dealt with Luo Song and his wife, Luo Chen breathed out in relief. He knew his intimidation was just supplementary, not enough to frighten that old fox—might even make things worse.

If it were only intimidation, next time it wouldn’t just be two or three people, and the conversation wouldn’t be so civil. What really made the old fox back off was uncertainty about whether Luo Chen still had any support left.

If it weren’t for Luo Song’s guilty conscience and facing Luo Chen, the wronged party, it wouldn’t have been so easy to send them away.

As for calling the police?

Ha.

With both the creditor and guardian’s title, Luo Song was an old fox—handling these things would hardly be difficult.

He knew his own circumstances; though Luo Chen’s father seemed to have gotten by fairly well, Luo Chen wasn’t aware of any impressive connections.

He did recall, at his parents’ funeral, quite a few people showed up, but most only offered brief comfort.

Supposedly, his mother’s side had some background, but in these past days, no one had checked in—either ties were weak, or they were held up by other matters.

Having weighed the pros and cons, Luo Chen shook his head helplessly. He hadn’t even had time to process his inexplicable transmigration, and already he was saddled with a heavy debt and a dependent little sister.

Wait—a sister?

Suddenly, Luo Chen snapped back to himself and turned to look at the girl staring at him.

Beside him, Luo Tianyi’s gaze was fixed on Luo Chen. Her long, dark hair framed a flawless, delicate face. She wore a pale blue dress, cinched at the waist with a pure white ribbon. Her small nose was slightly wrinkled, and a faint mist veiled her bright eyes, as if she were silently protesting injustice.

“Tianyi, were you scared just now?” Luo Chen’s expression grew awkward. He’d been threatening and intimidating, completely forgetting there was a minor present—and he was occupying her brother’s body, after all.

“Boohoo, brother, am I really so useless that I can’t help at all?” Before Luo Chen could explain, Luo Tianyi flung herself at him, unaware that the brother before her was no longer the same.

She felt utterly useless; since their parents died unexpectedly, her brother had handled both the funeral and daily life. Today, she’d even been used as leverage for threats, and if her brother hadn’t arrived in time, she wouldn’t have known what to do.

Caught off guard, Luo Chen instinctively placed his hands on her soft back, realizing only afterward it was muscle memory from the body’s original owner.

How practiced must he have been? Luo Chen felt a strange pang of jealousy, then wondered if it was absurd to envy himself.

He breathed in the subtle scent of her hair, feeling her sobs against his chest, and couldn’t bear to let go.

After all, she was his sister.

That thought flickered through his mind, and he felt much more at ease.

But faced with such a defenseless, beautiful girl in such close proximity, Luo Chen, who had never been so near to a girl before, was overwhelmed. The lingering sense of familiarity couldn’t stop the stirrings of desire, but fortunately, before anything happened, the girl in his arms fell fast asleep.

Looking at the sleeping girl, Luo Chen thought at least he wouldn’t be mistaken for a beast by his sister right after transmigrating.

“Luo Tianyi.”

He gazed dazedly at his sister. He hadn’t had time to think much before, but now, seeing her delicate face up close, wasn’t she exactly that famed “Luo Goddess,” the foodie Tianyi?

Though the dimensions were separated—few people in the second and third dimension looked alike, even as sp characters—the girl before him, aside from having orthodox black hair rather than the virtual idol’s color and a different hairstyle, was otherwise identical.

Could this be the real-life Luo Tianyi?

“But isn’t she a virtual character?”

Luo Tianyi was the world’s first Chinese voicebank and virtual image, created by a company using a third-generation speech synthesis engine, wildly popular on that platform.

Before transmigrating, Luo Chen had been a devoted fan, brainwashed by her songs daily. Now, thinking his delays had forced a girl who should have been carefree and innocent to weather storms, he felt remorseful.

Gently cradling his sleeping sister, Luo Chen thought: since he was now her brother, his job was simply to let her remain a cheerful, airheaded foodie. Everything else should be his responsibility.