Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Jade left, clutching the shirt she had scavenged. Upstairs, Vivian peered through the window, her gaze venomous as she watched Molly walk away. A smug smile played at her lips. "Molly, you won't be smiling for long." Back at home, Jade, who had never dirtied her hands with chores, surprisingly took it upon herself to scrub the clothes clean.

As dusk fell, Chad walked in to find Coleen recounting the day's chaotic events. "She turned your room upside down; spent an hour and a half scrubbing your shirts; had a shouting match with Mia on the phone, tearing into Vivian; chatted with a sleeping Henry for a good while; then, when she was angry enough, she ordered a massive serving of Buffalo wings and devoured it all by herself; talked herself weary, ate herself full, and went upstairs to crash. Oh, and she nearly set the kitchen on fire around noon."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Didn't study at all today?"

Coleen sighed. "Didn't even crack open a book."

Chad trudged upstairs, heading straight for Molly's room.

Soon enough, Molly's room echoed with her loud apologies. "Bro, I know I didn't study, but I... Ah! I'm wrong, I'll get up and hit the books now, please don't be mad."

Coleen shook her head. It always fell on her son to rein in Molly's wild temper.

In her bedroom, Molly sat in her pajamas, hair haphazardly tied up, grabbing a random book off the shelf. "I swear, I'll burn the midnight oil tonight."

Chad pulled up a chair next to her, tapping impatiently on her desk. "I'm watching you study tonight! You're an adult; can't you prioritize your responsibilities?"

Molly hadn't even scribbled a word when she turned to Chad, "Bro, today I..."

"Study!"

Biting her lip, Molly pressed down on Chad's hands, which looked ready to strike at any moment. "I went to find... Ah! Studying, studying." Molly flinched as Chad raised his hand, then quickly settled down to her haphazard revision. Chad sat beside her, a scene reminiscent of their childhood when he would supervise her homework after she'd been caught watching cartoons instead of studying.

Shortly after, Chad's phone rang.

darted toward the pocket where his

at his ever-curious

back to her books, mumbling, "Back to studying, not saying a

take the call. "Yeah, talk to me. I'm not busy, just overseeing Molly's revision. Finals are coming, and she's still acting like a kid. If I'm not sitting

her childish behavior and continued speaking to the caller.

hanging up, Chad returned to his seat and

"Okay."

could still hear him, even with her

in winter, and by seven, it was

when two police officers

clueless, all except Molly, who kept eating as

looking

were courteous. "Officer Chad, we need Molly to

in

mid-bite, accompanied Chad to the familiar

Molly perked up at

a look, and she immediately fell

she followed the investigation, while

The fire spread in an old neighborhood with narrow streets, complicating the rescue. Three were injured; two are at the hospital, and one, the tenant

last person she saw was Molly. And someone confirmed Molly visited her in the afternoon, alleging Molly threatened

burn her?" Molly, fearless with

interrogating officer coughed to remind her of the recording. "You can call me 'big bro' off the record, but not

quickly corrected herself. "Officer Xu, I did see her this afternoon, but that was because Vivian stole my brother's shirt. I went to retrieve it. I never said those words. I was raised by the people's servant; would I break