“It’s not just because buying my merchandise makes things awkward. Like that Eternal Star Limited Edition autograph you bought on a second-hand platform…”
Xiaoxi rummaged through the box for a while and pulled out a signed board that was quite old but well preserved.
“This autograph is fake. And those other items you collected before, about two or three of them? They’re all fakes.”
“???”
‘So that’s the reason!’
So that was why every time she wanted to buy Eternal Star merchandise, her sister would go out of her way to stop her.
That time when she was getting the autograph, her sister had said autographs were easy to fake, but she hadn’t believed it.
Instead, she had retorted, “You don’t even like Eternal Star, how would you know it’s fake? It looks perfectly fine to me!”
As she thought about it, Xiaoke’s face flushed. She had said that in front of [Eternal Star] Senior… and at the time she had thought her sister was annoying.
It turned out her sister was really looking out for her!
Then Xiaoke felt a pang of regret. That autograph had cost her three months’ worth of hard-saved allowance!
Back then, Mom gave her and her sister a fixed allowance.
Her sister spent hers on food and drink, while she saved every cent to buy Eternal Star merchandise.
Xiaoxi gave a helpless smile and tossed the autograph back into the box. Xiaoke winced instinctively.
“Big sis, go easy on it! That box is full of Eternal Star Senior’s merchan… Ah, sorry, Senior.”
Xiaoxi: “?”
“What? There’s no third person in this room besides us. Is my little sis having a brain short-circuit? The fact that I am Eternal Star… does it really affect her that much?”
A wicked idea sparked in Xiaoxi’s mind. While Xiaoke was tidying up the merchandise, she quietly slipped behind her and, like a mischievous Jimi, patted Xiaoke’s head twice with a thump thump.
“Big sis, don’t you have anything better to do… Ah, Sen, Senior…”
Xiaoke waved her hand back in annoyance, but when she turned around and saw Eternal Star standing there with a serious expression, her tone softened involuntarily.
Xiaoxi chuckled inwardly. ‘Oh hey, there really is a code conflict?’
“Big sis, don’t… No, nothing, Senior.”
“Big sis… Senior…”
“Big… die already, dammit!”
After repeating the same routine a few times, Xiaoke finally couldn’t take it anymore when Xiaoxi reached out again like a cat.
She gave her a sharp elbow. It seemed the Sister Love Code had won in the end.
Xiaoke shook her fist angrily at Xiaoxi. “You jerk of a sister, stop ruining Senior’s image!”
Xiaoxi clutched her head in mock pain… Ruining the image? Eternal Star was her, wasn’t it?
This was how she had always been! If anything, the Eternal Star in Xiaoke’s mind was the overly beautified version.
Seeing that Xiaoke was about to unleash a combo, Xiaoxi quickly transformed into the [Venus] form and looked at her with pitiful, blinking eyes.
“Really, Keke? You can really bear to hit me?”
“Ugh…”
Xiaoke clutched her heart as if struck by a critical hit, her other hand frozen in midair.
Even though she knew her sister was deliberately acting cute, she had to admit that [Eternal Star] Senior was really adorable.
But usually, Senior was so serious. This was the first time she had seen Eternal Star make that expression… It was way too unfair!
“Really, really, really? Can you really do it, Keke? Who used to say she loved Eternal Star every day? Didn’t you say Eternal Star was your idol~”
“On your fifteenth birthday, didn’t you wish you could see Eternal Star in person? I accidentally laughed, and you chased me all the way to the community garden~”
“Ughhhhh! Don’t say it, don’t say it anymore!”
Xiaoke’s face scrunched up as she covered her ears and rolled around on the bed like Sun Wukong being bound by the tight band.
This was way too embarrassing!
Ever since she found out her sister was Eternal Star, Xiaoke dared not think about the past.
Now her sister was not only throwing it in her face but also deliberately transforming into [Eternal Star] to say these things. How could she stand it?
It felt like showing an adult their middle school cringe-phase speeches.
Now, thinking about how her sister had seen all her past worship of Eternal Star, she felt her face burning… spiritually enlighted, as it were.
But Xiaoxi knew when to stop.
Not to spare Xiaoke’s feelings, but mainly because she was afraid that if she kept teasing, Xiaoke’s Sister Love Code would take over again, and she’d jump up and give her a Lightning Whirlwind Slash.
Xiaoxi crouched by the bed and poked Xiaoke, who was covering her burning cheeks.
“What’s wrong, little sis? Is it really that disappointing to find out Eternal Star Senior is actually your sister?”
“It’s not that I’m disappointed, it’s just…” Xiaoke sighed softly. “I always thought Eternal Star Senior would be a more… outstanding person.”
A question mark appeared over Xiaoxi’s head. She felt like Xiaoke was insulting her, but she couldn’t prove it.
“Ah, sorry, big sis. It’s not that you’re not outstanding. It’s just that Eternal Star Senior has always been a hardworking, strong, and righteous magical girl in my mind. I subconsciously thought Senior would be that kind of person in daily life too…”
Xiaoxi was a bit curious. “Then what kind of person is your big sis in your eyes?”
“…A shut-in, a loser who can’t find a job after graduation, can’t pay rent, gets kept by her girlfriend, and even secretly writes magical girl school romance novels on the side.”
Xiaoxi clutched her chest. Even though everything Xiaoke said was true, the truth hurt the most.
After saying that, Xiaoke suddenly realized something. Wait, that meant… Eternal Star herself had been secretly writing fanfiction about her former teammates after retirement?
She remembered Star Song Senior had mentioned that the reason that fanfiction caught her attention was because it was so realistic… So that was it? Because the author was Eternal Star???
Xiaoke heard a crack sound in her ears. The perfect, flawless image of Eternal Star Senior in her heart had completely shattered.
“Ahem, well, your big sis has to make a living too. And Xingge has already scolded me for this. Let’s just forget it…”
Xiaoxi looked away guiltily. But it wasn’t just her! Some people secretly shipped their former teammates’ pairings and bought their former teammates’ risqué books too! And that “some people” were even more of a shut-in than her on normal days, okay?
Come to think of it, Xiaoke seemed to admire Silver Dragon Princess quite a bit. Eh, never mind, better not destroy any more of little sis’s idols.