Madam, Please Behave
Chapter 438: Liu Zhiyue's Memory

Early morning.

Liu Xiazhi, still deep in sleep, rolled over, shifting from lying flat to sleeping on her side. The rare weekend should rightfully be spent sleeping in.

For some unknown reason, the peacefully sleeping girl suddenly found it increasingly difficult to breathe. Vaguely, she began hearing giggling sounds in her dreamlike state.

After a while, she finally opened her eyes.

When her gaze focused ahead, she saw an enormous face looming before her.

"......"

"AAAAAAAAAH!!!"

The silence was shattered by her scream.

Liu Xiazhi abruptly sat up in bed, grabbing the blanket to cover herself as she curled up in terror, breathing heavily.

Her frightened expression gradually faded, replaced by growing anger.

The prankster was Liu Zhiyun.

As the youngest in the family, he always enjoyed playing these kinds of tricks on his eldest sister.

Though... Liu Xiazhi certainly didn't appreciate this form of interaction.

When Liu Zhiyun saw Liu Xiazhi throw off the blanket, he let out a yelp and immediately scrambled off the bed with practiced ease.

Judging by his smooth escape route, this clearly wasn't his first time.

"Liu Zhiyun! You stop right there!"

"Tehehe!"

Liu Zhiyun only left behind this mischievous laughter as he dashed out of the room. Not to be outdone, the eldest sister Liu Xiazhi...

Barefoot, she stepped onto the floor and charged out without hesitation.

She was determined to teach this prank-loving little brother a lesson today!

"Big sis!"

Seeing his eldest sister run out, Liu Zhi'an, who had been crouching by the bed, called out as if wanting to warn her about something.

But Liu Xiazhi was too fast.

Before he could finish, she had already zoomed out of the room.

Watching this, Liu Zhi'an blinked and turned to look at Liu Chunnuan beside him.

He whispered:

"Big sis isn't wearing pants."

"Yeah yeah, she's not!"

"People will see everything."

"Yeah yeah, see everything!"

"Big brother is back too."

"Yeah yeah, she'll get scolded by big brother!"

In this call-and-response, though the two children looked nearly identical, their personalities differed slightly. Compared to his slightly older twin Liu Chunnuan, Liu Zhi'an was clearly more sensible.

After their exchange, they looked at each other.

Then together they propped themselves up by the bedside, peering toward the doorway.

"Big sis... so pitiful."

"Yeah yeah."

Meanwhile, Liu Xiazhi remained oblivious to her younger siblings' conversation. Her sole focus was catching that little rascal.

Then asserting her authority as the eldest sister to properly discipline him!

Perhaps because she'd just woken up, Liu Xiazhi's reflexes weren't fully active yet, preventing her from catching the darting Liu Zhiyun.

Until he reached a room door, stretched to grab the handle, and slipped inside.

Seeing this, the pursuing Liu Xiazhi's eyes lit up.

To her, this move was like her brother trapping himself in a dead end, leaving him at her mercy.

Without hesitation, barefooted, she charged into the room and delivered her threat:

"Liu Zhiyun, just wait till I spank your—"

Her words froze.

The threatening Liu Xiazhi suddenly became speechless, mouth hanging open without sound.

Clearly... Liu Zhiyun wasn't as foolish as she'd thought.

When Liu Xiazhi saw who her little brother was clinging to, all her anger instantly evaporated.

Like a deflated balloon, she instinctively took a step back.

"Big... brother? You're back?"

Standing by the window, Liu Zhiyue turned from looking at Liu Zhiyun to his sister at her call.

Before he could speak... when he saw Liu Xiazhi's current attire...

His expression darkened considerably.

"Is this how you dress at home?"

"Huh?"

At her brother's question, Liu Xiazhi froze momentarily before suddenly looking down at herself.

Her entire face... rapidly heated up. She immediately crossed her arms over her chest, wishing she could vanish into the floor.

"M-m-m-me!!"

"You're in high school now—how can you still do this? Go put clothes on right now!"

Her brother's scolding made Liu Xiazhi, now mortified beyond belief, cover her chest and flee the room.

Now... only Liu Zhiyue and Liu Zhiyun remained.

One tall, one small.

The small one clung to his leg, looking up.

The tall one looked down at him clinging.

Time seemed to freeze.

Until... Liu Zhiyun broke into a grin, smiling up at his big brother.

Only then did Liu Zhiyue speak:

"You were teasing your sister again, weren't you?"

"Nuh-uh!"

"You know what happens if you lie to me."

The smile vanished. Liu Zhiyun's eyes suddenly couldn't meet his brother's gaze, and his clinging hands slowly loosened.

"......"

Seeing this, Liu Zhiyue simply crouched down, lifting his little brother's drooping head.

Meeting his eyes.

"Tell me, what did I say before I left?"

"No... no pranks..."

"And how did I tell you to wake up your sister?"

"Pinch... pinch her nose..."

"So you broke our brotherly agreement, didn't you?"

"Big brother..."

"Hand out."

Hearing this, Liu Zhiyun didn't dare protest. After hesitating pitifully, he finally extended his small hand.

Without hesitation, Liu Zhiyue...

Gave his palm several firm spanks.

Though holding back strength, even controlled force was harsh punishment for a four-year-old.

Biting his lip against the pain, Liu Zhiyun seemed about to cry.

Noticing this, Liu Zhiyue simply said:

"No crying."

"Mm!"

Nodding, Liu Zhiyun sniffled, fighting back tears.

Then received three more.

After five total spanks, Liu Zhiyue finally stopped. His stern expression softened as he picked up his brother.

Using his thumb to wipe away the tears.

"You need to listen to Mom and Dad at home. Just because I'm away doesn't mean you can misbehave. People will think you weren't raised properly—it reflects badly on our parents."

"Mm... I understand..."

"Good boy."

Hearing this, Liu Zhiyue ruffled his hair with his other hand, then carried him out of the room.

As the door closed...

The room fell silent again.

The window was open.

The view outside looked particularly pleasing.

And... by the window, a framed photo.

In it, one boy and four girls.

Each face wore a genuine, heartfelt smile.

That... was an unrecoverable past.