Chapter 510: Little Sister Comes of Age

"No way, no way, I slept great yesterday! Hehehe"

"Don't be nervous—your grades are more than enough to get into Jingcheng. Be confident: if you can't solve a problem, neither can they. It's about ranking, not raw scores."

"Mm-hmm, if I can't do it, no one else can either—I've got the most tutoring books."

Li Ye accompanied his sister as she drank her beverage, gently guiding her psychologically, trying his best to help the little girl relax.

Li Juan nodded vigorously, placing absolute trust in Li Ye, even feeling as if she weren't fighting alone.

But before Li Ye could chat with Li Juan much longer, he saw Principal Chang leading over a dozen students toward them.

"Come on, come on—let you all meet our school's top genius! This is Li Ye. See that classroom building? It's thanks to him. Come on, shake his hand, let yourselves absorb some of his scholarly aura."

Before Li Ye could react, Principal Chang forcibly guided him to shake hands with the dozen students, as if a dignitary were receiving subordinates.

Several female students hesitated, barely brushing his hand before pulling away—yet Principal Chang insisted they shake his hand again.

After everyone had left, Li Ye couldn't help saying, "Principal, this is superstition. If word gets out, it'll reflect badly on the school."

"Superstition? What superstition?"

Principal Chang frowned. "Who understands students better—you or me? I've taught students my whole life. Don't you think I know the ins and outs? I'm using available resources to ease student stress—do you get it?"

"I haven't even called all the students from our school yet! Just a few top performers—do you think you'll rub their skin off? Look at how stingy you are."

Li Ye was speechless. No wonder the folks from County No. 1 High always called Principal Chang the "mud-footed principal"—he really did have his own peculiar ways.

Whatever. He'd shaken hands already. Maybe it actually helped a little?

Li Ye shook his head and let it go with a smile.

But then his sleeve was suddenly tugged.

"Brother, I—I haven't shaken your hand yet! You've given your scholarly aura to everyone else, what about me?"

Li Ye looked at Li Juan's hopeful eyes and finally understood Principal Chang's "brilliance."

At a moment that could decide one's entire future, even the flimsiest superstition would be clung to desperately by examinees.

"Sigh."

Li Ye sighed softly, then said solemnly, "Xiao Juan, Principal Chang only knows half the story.

Think about it—is the exam really won by the hand holding the pen? No—it's won by the mind."

Li Ye pointed to his head. "Come on, massage my scalp. Let all my knowledge soak into you."

Li Juan's eyes instantly sparkled. She hesitated, murmuring, "I'll just take a little… not too much…"

"Take too much? I'll just sleep it off. Hurry up, no more talking."

Li Ye sat down on a small stool and let his sister Li Ying rub his head vigorously.

Li Juan stood behind him, spread her fingers, pressed against his skull, and began clumsily massaging.

As she rubbed, she muttered under her breath: "This side's physics, this side's chemistry…"

Whether or not it was scientific, by the time the final exam ended that afternoon, Li Juan practically bounced out of the classroom.

"Brother, I felt like I had divine help—I'd seen every single question type before!"

Li Ye watched Li Juan try to whisper, as if afraid someone might overhear, and couldn't help wondering to himself:

Could it be… that this giant bug of mine really does carry great fortune?

Li Ye drove his sister Li Juan home; she chattered nonstop the whole way, in excellent spirits.

When they reached home, the two siblings got out of the car—and suddenly heard a piercing motorcycle engine roar coming from the courtyard.

Li Ye frowned. "What's Dad doing? Didn't he go to work today? Or did he leave early?"

But before Li Ye could process it, his sister Li Juan had already stormed into the courtyard.

Li Ye hurried inside and saw Li Kaibian's red Xingfu 250 motorcycle standing in the yard, polished to a brilliant shine.

The one cleaning it was their little sister Li Ying—her hands and arms were wet, clearly a hardworking child.

But now this hardworking child sat astride the motorcycle, bent forward in a "knight's charge" pose, her right hand twisting the throttle hard.

Li Ye instinctively lunged to pull her off—but saw the rear wheel spinning fast, realized she hadn't put it in neutral, and stopped dead in his tracks.

Don't scare her—this bike tipping over could mean a major accident.

But Li Juan didn't care. She roared like thunder: "Hey! Get off right now!"

Even the motorcycle's roar couldn't drown out the "bloodline suppression" scream.

Li Ying glanced in the rearview mirror, startled—but when she saw Li Ye enter behind her, she relaxed.

She pulled the clutch, shifted to neutral, turned off the key, then slid off the bike and sidled along the courtyard's edge toward Li Ye, grinning.

"Brother, you're back! I knew you'd come back these days! Hehehe."

"Dad went drinking today—he doesn't ride after drinking—so I helped him clean it. I was just… hehehe…"

Li Juan was fuming, wanting to punch the grinning little sister—but held back because Li Ye was watching.

Li Ye adored his little sister and forbade the sisters from fighting.

Seeing her older sister powerless to act, Li Ying grew even more smug.

"Brother, I ranked thirty-eighth in my class on the middle school exam! There are fifty-nine students total—I'm right in the middle. Are you still keeping your promise?"

Li Ye had once promised Li Ying: if she reached the middle of her class, he'd buy her a bicycle, give her a daily allowance of thirty clothes to sell, and let her run her own business.

From second-to-last to twenty-second—from such a leap, Li Ying believed Li Ye, with his sincerity, wouldn't renege. So now she was openly demanding her reward.

But she didn't get the bicycle—she got a kick from Li Ye.

Li Ye lashed out with a foot, striking Li Ying's thigh and sending her sprawling face-first onto the ground.

"You ask if I keep my word? What did I promise? I said I'd buy you a bicycle—not a motorcycle!"

"Now tell me honestly—when did you start riding motorcycles? Huh? Tell me the truth!!"

Little sister Li Ying seemed stunned, lying motionless on the ground for a long while—then her eyes filled with tears.

Li Ye softened.

But even softened, he didn't rush to help her up.

In his past life, Li Ye had once been obsessed with motorcycles, thinking they were more exciting and stylish than cars for the same price.

During that time, he'd followed some female motorcycle influencers online.

And then he lost interest in motorcycles.

Because besides those who shook their hips to music and showed off their legs, and those fake riders who barely hit sixty kph while leaning over to refuel, the real ones who chased speed and adrenaline all ended up badly.

So motorcycles weren't something girls should touch—especially not Li Ying, a girl barely fifteen by lunar age.

"Get up. Tell me the truth. Once you do, I'll buy you the bicycle—just as I promised."

Li Ying, still on the ground, rolled her eyes, studying Li Ye carefully. Once she decided he was "all bark and no bite," she slowly rose, muttering pitifully:

"Wahhh, I didn't ride the motorcycle—I just sat on it for a bit. Today was my first time."

"Don't lie. If this is your first time, I'll reverse my name."

"I… I practiced twice on Auntie's motorcycle."

Li Ying held up two fingers pitifully, blinking her eyes with deceptive innocence.

Li Ye didn't call her out. He said coldly: "No third time. I'll buy you the bicycle. When you're old enough, you can drive a car—but motorcycles—"

"If you touch one again, I'll break your legs."

Li Ying studied him closely, unwilling to give up: "Brother, motorcycles are great! They can pull several thousand jin on a cart—and they're not even fast! Safe! Dad's been riding one for three or four years and he's fine!"

"You're not done yet? Dad trained in the military—what are you, some nobody?"

Before Li Ye could scold her, Li Juan charged forward, leg out, ready to skillfully trip Li Ying.

Earlier, she'd held back fearing Li Ye would protect his sister. Now that Li Ye's stance was clear, wasn't it her duty as an older sister to help him?

But this time, Li Juan misjudged. She didn't trip her sister—instead, Li Ying wrapped her arms around her waist and held her tight.

"You think I'm still the same? Today I'm fighting you!"

The two girls instantly tumbled into a fierce, back-and-forth struggle.

Only then did Li Ye notice: Li Ying, now fifteen by lunar age, had grown taller—she used to be a head shorter than her sister, now only five centimeters shorter.

So… was this the time for revenge?

"Cough, cough—tomorrow's the college entrance exam! If you two keep fighting, don't blame me for what happens next!"

The two girls, locked in leg locks, immediately stopped.

The older sister had a major exam—she couldn't waste energy on petty squabbles.

The younger sister was terrified—what if their mother came home and found out? She'd be beaten black and blue.

Li Ye suppressed his laughter: "Since you're not fighting anymore, fine. But no one says a word about today."

"Hmph."

"Hmph."

The two girls, neither victorious, stood like two proud little hens, refusing to yield to each other.