I'm Going to Punish You

The next day, at 10 a.m.

It wasn’t until the sun was already high in the sky that Lu Qing woke up from a nightmare.

“!”

His eyes snapped open, and he felt something soft and comforting behind his head.

The sensation was so familiar, reminiscent of a past experience.

“Good morning, big brother.”

“!!”

Lu Qing inhaled sharply.

Looking up, he saw Su Ling’s smiling face from the corner of his vision.

Without hesitation, he pushed himself forward, lifting his head off her lap—

“Morning. How long have you been sitting here?”

“Not long. I noticed your sleeping posture wasn’t comfortable, so after I finished washing up, I came to adjust your position so you could sleep more comfortably.”

Su Ling smiled, her face devoid of the ghostly, eerie aura from the previous day, as if she had completely forgotten all her grievances and unhappiness.

This made Lu Qing’s heart tighten.

That’s right.

Last night, his sister had been standing in front of him, looking down at his sleeping face…

It had lasted so long, so unbearably long, that he had forgotten exactly how many minutes she had stood there. And then, overwhelmed by exhaustion, he had fallen asleep.

But the last thing he remembered was her placing the silver key back into his wallet, in the exact same spot as before, leaving no trace that it had been moved.

“…”

Terrifying.

Lu Qing realized that, in some ways, Su Ling’s methods, her abnormal behavior, and her obsession with certain things were identical to his own.

He knew how terrifying he could be, and there was no way around it.

After all, he understood that the path ahead could only be walked alone. There would be no more gods like Dr. Qi to help him dispel the darkness. If he didn’t drive away the shadows himself, he would never escape the abyss.

Now, seeing his sister’s behavior reach such an extreme, Lu Qing connected all the dots in an instant and arrived at a startling conclusion—

【Su Ling’s entire existence revolves around “studying me.”】

Her cooking.

Her fashion sense.

Her piano playing.

Even that rainy night when she came knocking at his door—

It was all part of it.

…

…

Lu Qing didn’t say anything.

He couldn’t.

They both knew each other’s “secrets.”

Before, Su Ling had been in the shadows, while he was in the light.

But now, the roles had reversed.

Su Ling thought she was still in the shadows, but Lu Qing knew she thought she was hidden, and he could use his position in the light to observe her actions in the dark—

This was the ultimate technique of the “Path of Qing,” the thirty-second move: “Silent Awareness.”

No questions, no accusations.

Discover, understand, and finally, guide.

This had always been Lu Qing’s approach.

When it came to his sister, he would never foolishly scold or interrogate her. That would not only be ineffective but would also trigger her condition, sending her into a state of collapse from which she might never recover.

The best way to communicate with someone suffering from depression was through “gentle actions.”

This, more than words of comfort or empty promises, would make her feel safe and at ease.

“Big brother, today is Bai Xing’s second livestream, right?”

Suddenly, she interrupted his thoughts.

“Yes.”

“Do you have any plans?”

“Not really. Since we’ve settled on her streaming style, she can just continue with it for the next few sessions. She’s found a way to perform that suits her, so I don’t need to sit by her side every time to guide her—unless she asks for it.”

Lu Qing replied.

In truth, he knew that Bai Xing had only just kicked off her rebranded livestreaming career, and it was largely thanks to the support of his roommates that she had managed to get this far. If she didn’t capitalize on this initial momentum, the opportunity could easily slip away, and all their efforts would go to waste.

Especially since the livestream was currently missing two crucial elements—

First, a “clip editor,” someone who could cut and edit highlights from each livestream into short videos for promotion.

Second, a sound engineer, someone who could handle audio post-production for the clips, enhancing the streamer’s performance and boosting the growth of the channel.

Lu Qing could do both of these things himself, and he had originally planned to spend the afternoon editing Bai Xing’s previous livestream and uploading the clips.

But considering that he had a new book to work on, taking on these tasks every time would be inefficient.

If he could delegate the work to someone else, that would be ideal.

“Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Lu Qing thought about it and decided that Yang, one of his roommates, would be the best candidate for the clip editor role. As a moderator, Yang’s workload wasn’t too heavy, and even if he took on the extra task, he would still have plenty of time left.

As long as he was paid more, it shouldn’t be a problem.

The real issue was the sound engineer role.

Someone without a musical background wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Or at least, they wouldn’t do it well.

Just as he was worrying about who to assign this important task to, his sister’s voice flowed into his ears like a refreshing stream—

“I see…

Big brother, I know you’re busy. If there’s too much on your plate, you can teach me, like you did last time.

After all, aside from practicing the piano, I have plenty of free time at home. I’d like to help you as much as I can.”

Su Ling smiled sweetly, her serious expression indicating that she wasn’t just making a casual offer.

Lu Qing suddenly realized: That’s right, the sound engineering tasks could be handed over to his sister!

She had already dipped her toes into the music world, and while her focus was on performance, sound mixing was a complementary skill.

Moreover, the audio editing required for VTuber clips wasn’t particularly complex. It was nothing like the large-scale, original sound design needed for game trailers or promotional videos. It was something even a beginner could handle.

From this perspective, his sister could easily take on the role of the guild’s sound engineer.

Unknowingly, Lu Qing had stepped into the trap his sister had set.

—Or so it seemed.

“Alright, I’ll think about it. If we’re really short on hands, I’ll take the time to teach you the basics of sound engineering.”

He added, “The resource packs are already downloaded on the computer. You can practice anytime you’re at home, and it’ll be convenient for you to get started.”

“Okay, big brother.”

Su Ling smiled.

She was happy.

It was this feeling of “being needed” that she found so intoxicating.

As if she was indispensable to him.

If she could slowly integrate herself into his plans while pushing forward her own milestones—

Then it wouldn’t be long before he would officially add her to the “work group,” exposing the secrets of the other girls to her in the most formal way possible.

At that point, wouldn’t it mean that even without actively investigating her brother, she could easily gather information about everyone’s next steps through the upcoming work plans?

She gleefully plotted.

Unbeknownst to her, in Lu Qing’s eyes, her flawless plan had already been exposed the previous night, and she had fallen into his trap—

【I’ll let you get involved in my work, let you step into the others’ line of sight.

If you can restrain yourself and resolve your “desire to pry,” then perhaps you’ll change.】

【Su Ling, I’m giving you this chance. If you can change, I’ll show you more care and companionship in the days to come.】

【But if you remain stubborn and continue to dig into my secrets,】

【I’ll have to punish you.】

…

…