Chapter 1: Siblings

“Knock, knock, knock…”

The sound of knocking woke James Carter from his sleep. Sunlight streamed in through the gauzy window screen, and outside, the noise of cars speeding by filled the air. James Carter opened his eyes, one hand pressing his throbbing head, the other propping himself up. His head, aching from a hangover, felt like it was about to split open, the world spinning around him.

The knocking continued, annoyingly persistent like a debt collector.

“If you have something to report, speak up. If not, court is dismissed,” James Carter said irritably.

“Your Majesty, this humble servant is hungry…” came a pleasant, slightly husky voice from outside the door.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” James Carter replied weakly, half-opening his eyes as he fumbled for his clothes at the foot of the bed.

“Hurry up,” the voice outside also sounded feeble.

Still groggy, James Carter put on his clothes. Unsteady on his feet, he bumped his head on the edge of the bed. For a moment, his mind went blank, and in his daze, he heard a voice:

“Matching time: June 19, 2017.”

“Matching space: Unknown!”

“Matching host: Suitable for hosting.”

“Iris lock engaged!”

“DNA lock engaged!”

“System auto-updating…”

What was that voice?

James Carter grimaced and stood up. His mind actually felt clearer. He walked to the window and pulled open the curtains. Warm, dazzling sunlight flooded in like a tide. He squinted, looking out at the endless stream of cars. This was a not-quite-new, not-quite-old residential complex, completed in 2004. In the distance, skyscraper after skyscraper formed the city’s CBD.

The year was 2017, midsummer in June, Shanghai.

Facing the sunlight, the unfocused pupils of James Carter’s eyes reflected the passing cars. After a while, he remembered it was Monday.

In the living room, dishes and cups were scattered everywhere. On the dining table, half a pizza from last night remained, and the 12-inch strawberry Margaret cake was down to an empty box—not because it was finished, but because it had been used as a weapon and ruined. Besides the leftovers, the table was covered with all kinds of bottles: cocktails, beer, liquor, champagne, even a few bottles of baijiu… enough to build a wall. The floor was littered with gold foil confetti. It was the aftermath of a wild party.

James Carter sighed softly, found the large garbage bags he’d prepared, and started putting the empty bottles in one by one, dumping the leftovers in as well. He dragged the bag out and tossed it in the big trash bin in the hallway. Looking exhausted, he went to the bathroom, washed up, and finally felt alive again.

He calmly entered the kitchen, took some skim milk from the fridge, poured it into a glass, and put it in the microwave on low for two minutes. Then he started frying eggs, cooking bacon, and blanching two lettuce leaves in boiling water. In less than ten minutes, a simple breakfast was ready. He set the food on the dining table in the living room—two portions of everything, just right for two people. He turned and went back to the kitchen. There was still half a bag of toast in the fridge, which went well with peanut butter.

After preparing breakfast, James Carter headed back to a room—not his own bedroom, but another room. The apartment was about eighty square meters, with two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a sunlit balcony. The family had bought this place as a school district apartment when James Carter was in elementary school. It wasn’t far from the CBD, and there was a subway station right outside the complex. Two stops on the subway would take you to University Town. The elementary school James Carter attended as a child had been demolished years ago, and over the past decade, the value of this apartment had increased more than tenfold.

James Carter’s university was in University Town, just two stops away. Originally, he wanted to experience dorm life, but on the first day of freshman year, the lazy, food-loving Sister uncharacteristically patted her ample chest and insisted on taking her brother to register at school. But when they were just two traffic lights away from the university, she casually made a turn and brought James Carter, along with his luggage, back to the apartment complex.

“Hey, hey, hey, this isn’t the way to school.”

“Mm.” The beautiful Sister tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Let’s put your luggage away first, then go register.”

James Carter said loudly, “I knew you weren’t being nice for no reason, offering to take me to school out of the blue.”

“What’s so great about living in a dorm? A bunch of people crammed into a messy room. Living with a beauty like me is obviously a better deal,” Sister declared righteously.

“Wow, thanks a lot.” James Carter curled his lip. “Forgive me for having zero interest after living with you since I was a kid.”

“Don’t be like that. It’s so inconvenient living alone. I have to clean by myself, I don’t have the strength to change the water in the dispenser, I can’t cook so the kitchen is covered in dust, and when I come home alone at night, I get followed by creeps. Boo hoo hoo…” One moment she was an untouchable ice queen, the next she was acting like a spoiled little girl.

“That makes me even less willing to live with you. I’m not going to be your nanny,” James Carter said. “Besides, the school doesn’t allow students to live off campus. That’s a strict rule.”