Ethan Carter: "???" What kind of nonsense is this little brat suddenly spouting?

Olivia Carter was holding that bag of green grapes, her little eyebrows slightly furrowed. She pointed at the price tag, silently hinting with her actions.

Ethan Carter looked at the price of the grapes, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him—he understood his little sister’s unspoken message!

She thought he shouldn’t buy such expensive grapes!

Looking at the tense little face, Ethan Carter instantly broke out in a cold sweat, caught in a dilemma. At this moment, he had to choose between being vain or being hypocritical. If he kept hiding his income, she’d think he was just putting on airs; if he confessed now, she’d settle old scores with him.

Once you tell a lie, you have to cover it up with countless more. Although Ethan Carter just wanted to tease the kid at first, now he felt that if she found out the truth, she’d explode and probably pin him to the sofa and beat him up.

Ethan Carter’s expression wavered, and he stammered, "Uh, that kind of makes sense..."

Seeing his inexplicable lack of confidence, Olivia Carter mistakenly thought she’d hit a sore spot and felt her words had worked. She put the green grapes back on the shelf and comforted him, "If you really want to eat them, I’ll buy them for you in the future."

But Olivia Carter felt that "the future" was still a long way off—after all, she didn’t have any financial means for now, and would probably have to wait until she started working and earning money.

Ethan Carter was a little touched, but couldn’t help teasing, "Don’t you really dislike me? And yet you’d still buy me something?"

Olivia Carter replied earnestly, "I may dislike you, but you’re a member of the family, so I have to take responsibility for you."

Ethan Carter reached out to pinch her little head: "Stop saying such deep things. You’re still being taken care of by others, so how can you be responsible for anyone else?"

Ethan Carter just thought she was innocent and childishly outspoken. Although her intentions were good, there wasn’t much she could actually do.

"Alright, let’s go." Ethan Carter picked up the shopping basket and reached out his hand to her again, saying, "You’re still young, so you’re the one who should be taken care of the most."

Upon hearing this, Olivia Carter frowned and didn’t take her brother’s hand. She was silent for a long time before retorting, "I think you’re wrong."

Ethan Carter: "Huh?"

Olivia Carter: "It’s not that I should be taken care of just because I’m young, but that I exchange other contributions in the family for others’ care."

Seeing her so serious, Ethan Carter felt a bit lost: "Wait, why are we suddenly talking about this..."

Olivia Carter’s little temper flared up too. She took the stance she usually used when debating with their father and argued forcefully, "I have an equal and cooperative relationship with you all—there’s no such thing as who takes care of whom!"

Olivia Carter believed that the family was the basic unit of human cooperation. She contributed to the family just as much and wouldn’t let her contributions be dismissed by her cheap brother.

Ethan Carter couldn’t help but laugh: "Don’t you still need Mom and Dad to support you? Don’t you still need the elders to take care of you? You can’t even do anything yet!"

Olivia Carter declared righteously, "Within the same family unit, everyone has different strengths, so of course there’s a division of labor. Even though I can’t work yet, I contribute in other ways!"

Ethan Carter: "What can you contribute right now?"

Olivia Carter: "I bring happiness and joy to the family!"

Ethan Carter was both amused and exasperated: "So you’re the mood-maker, huh?" If this were an idol group, his little sister would be the variety show member.

Olivia Carter didn’t understand what her brother meant, but she put her hands on her hips and said confidently, "If you say I should be taken care of just because I’m young, or that Mom and Dad have to take care of me just because they’re my parents, that’s just unreasonable! Relationships are a two-way street—that’s the only way people can get along!"

Because of her special abilities, Olivia Carter always believed that if others were good to her, she should be good to them too. Human relationships are strengthened through mutual interaction. A family is like a class in kindergarten—everyone has to contribute to the class, or else others won’t like you.

Of course, every class has students who fall behind. They can’t contribute for the time being and need help from others. While it’s true that those who fall behind may lack ability, they shouldn’t take their shortcomings for granted and never strive to improve.

Right now, Olivia Carter saw Ethan Carter as the one falling behind. Even though their relationship was just so-so, she felt it was necessary to help him move forward—this was also her way of contributing to the family. She certainly wouldn’t allow her efforts to be ignored, or to be seen as someone who just gets taken care of without giving anything in return.

After hearing her novel theory and seeing her indignant expression, Ethan Carter simply grabbed her hand and led her out: "Alright, alright, you’re contributing..."

Olivia Carter was a bit dissatisfied with his perfunctory tone. She huffed and followed beside him, feeling that her cheap brother was just hopelessly stubborn.

The siblings paid and left. On the way back in the taxi, they didn’t speak to each other. Ethan Carter stole a glance at the sulking little one, thinking she sure could hold a grudge for a long time. He felt his little sister always had some wild ideas—she even saw her family as peers, not feeling any difference between herself and the adults.

David Carter probably always got the short end of the stick with her.