It was in the spring of 2012 that Xueling saw the ad enlisting for the help of a babysitter. The pay was good, and Xueling really had nothing better to do with all her spare time (plus she loved babies) so she happily typed the number into her phone and rang.

The next day, she showed up at the Zhang mansion. Xueling didn’t really know who she would be babysitting for, but she never really expected it to be the owners of the posh and well-kept house she walked past everyday to get home from school. Nervously, she rang the doorbell, and motherly-looking woman opened the door. “Oh, you must be Xia Xueling! Come in, come in. I have to go out to work, as you know, and I had to hire a babysitter because Mr. Zhang is out on a business trip. Yixing is in the living room watching TV; he’s already expecting you. Luhan is in his room doing whatever kids your age do these days, but he knows you’ll be here too. If you have any questions about what Yixing needs, just ask Luhan. I’ll be off now, good luck!” She shuffled Xueling into the door, before stepping out and waving.

Xueling walked into the living room and squealed when she saw Yixing, sprawled out on the couch and laughing happily to his cartoons. He turned at the sudden noise and smiled, his dimple flashing cutely as he sat up and reached his arms for her. “Hug! Xingxing wants a hug!”

“Aw, Xingxing is so cute!” She cooed and quickly walked over to pick him up. “Xingxing, I’m Xueling jiejie, okay?” He nodded, hair bouncing on his head.

“Jiejie, are you going to be taking care of me when mama’s not home?” He asked, head tilting to the left and innocent gaze turned up at her. She smiled and ruffled his hair.

“Are you glad?”

“Yeah! You look nicer than Luhan gege. Gege’s mean, he won’t play with me.” Yixing pouted.

“Xingxing, how old is gege? How old are you?” She tickled Yixing as he squirmed delightedly in her hold.

“I’m three!” He said proudly, holding up four fingers. Xueling laughed. “Gege’s old, I think he’s seventeen!” He tried holding up fingers for Luhan’s age, but only ended up looking in confusion at his own hands, wondering why he didn’t have enough fingers for the number seventeen. Chuckling, Xueling held up seven fingers to help Yixing out, and he grinned gratefully up at her.

“What do you want to do now, Xingxing? It’s ten, do you want to go play outside?” She his cheek softly as his brows furrowed deep in thought.

“I don’t know,” he said doubtfully, “maybe gege will know!” With that, he craned his neck towards the stairs and bellowed up at the second floor. “Gege! Do I want to go play outside?”

The sound of doors banging and the shuffling of clothes, paired with the sound of soft cursing alerted Xueling that Luhan was coming down the stairs. She stood up, pulling Yixing with her, and smiled once Luhan came into view. “Hi, you must be Luhan! I’m Xueling, Yixing’s new babysitter. Your mom said you knew I would be here?”

Luhan sent her a scathing glare and she flinched. “God, I told mom that I could take care of Yixing on my own and she didn’t need to hire a babysitter.” His words hurt, and she looked down balefully. “Yixing, come here, gege will take you out to play, okay?”

Yixing furiously shook his head. “No, gege, I want to play with jiejie,” he whined pitifully, latching onto Xueling’s arm.

“Zhang Yixing.” Luhan said sharply, crossing over the remaining space quickly and holding his arms out to Yixing.

“Gege,” Yixing thrashed, “you’re mean to me, you never play with me. I want to play with jiejie. Jiejie’s nice!”

“Xingxing, it’s okay. You can go with your gege. All three of us can play together, okay?” Xueling gently pushed the little boy latched onto her arm towards Luhan, who quickly snatched up the boy. He picked him up and quickly walked over to the glass door leading to the backyard. She followed quietly, unsure of whether or not Luhan approved of her presence.

The Zhang’s backyard was huge, consisting of a playground for Yixing, a beautiful garden filled with flowers, vegetables, and fruits, and a large pool. Luhan dropped the little boy down roughly by the playground and harshly nudged at him to start playing. He whined and abruptly sat down, crying. Shock crossed Luhan’s face, as he stooped down to comfort Yixing.

“Xingxing, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? Don’t you want to play?” The cries only got worse as Yixing ignored his brother, and Xueling was beside Luhan in a heartbeat. Yixing reached his tiny hands up to grasp Xueling’s shirt, and she scooped him into her embrace. She stood and rocked him, cooing.

“Our Yixing isn’t a baby anymore, right? He’s a big boy, and big boys don’t cry.” Eventually, Yixing’s sobs died down, and Luhan stared at her, flabbergasted. “Yixing’s gege is a baby though, right? Yixing is so much manlier than his gege.” This brought out a giggle, and the tears dried. Luhan, however, looked ready to punch Xueling in the face. She gave him an apologetic look and a ‘what-do-you-want-me-to-do-about-it’ face before turning back to cooing at Yixing.

Though their relationship didn’t get any better, Xueling and Luhan learned to tolerate each other to keep Yixing happy. Nothing amused the toddler more than going out for walks around the neighborhood with his gege and jiejie, introducing them as his “mama and baba,” to the horror of the two teenagers. Some regarded the “family” with remote amusement, others with look of contempt, and a few with looks of adoration. These faces would all start laughing, however, as Luhan and Xueling stuttered in protest to clear up the situation.

It frustrated Luhan to no end that Xueling was getting more love from his baby brother. When they colored together, Luhan was always the one that ended up with marker pictures all over his arms and face, while Yixing and Xueling was laugh together at his grumpy expression. When Luhan and Xueling held cooking competitions, Yixing would always gobble up Xueling’s food and completely ignore Luhan’s (he ended up eating them himself).

Luhan could never stop Yixing from crying, only Xueling could do that (and oftentimes, Luhan got called a baby so Yixing would laugh).

It was a summer day about two months after Xueling had first taken the job, and the three of them were outside enjoying the sunlight. Xueling dozed off after ensuring that Luhan would keep an eye on Yixing, but was awoken by a sudden splash. Looking in the direction of the pool, she saw that Yixing had fallen in. Without thinking, she ran towards the pool and jumped in too, all thoughts on saving Yixing and none on the fact that she didn’t know how to swim.

“Yixing! Xueling!” Luhan quickly ran to the edge of the pool, waiting for Xueling to get Yixing to him. Yixing gurgled happily at the attention (because the little brat knew how to swim, but Xueling didn’t know that) and swam towards his brother.

“Gege! Jiejie came to swim with me, you should too!” He turned to point at Xueling’s rapidly sinking figure, bubbles flowing from her nostrils.

“Yixing,” Luhan panicked, “get out of the water, quick. Your jiejie doesn’t know how to swim.” Yixing’s eyes widened and he quickly paddled himself to the side of the pool, where Luhan picked him up and fished him out. “Stay here, okay? I’m going to get your jiejie.” Yixing nodded and Luhan dived into the water.

He pulled a struggling Xueling out of the water, and she gasped for air as soon as she was safe.

“You don’t know how to swim.” Luhan was angry. “How stupid are you? Why did you jump in the pool if you didn’t know how to swim?”

“I- I- Yixing. I didn’t want Xingxing to get hurt,” she said in a soft voice. “I didn’t know he could swim.” Yixing looked back at her guiltily.

“You’re so dumb. Are you okay?” Luhan looked concerned, and Xueling was touched.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Pool water tastes disgusting though.” She made a face and Luhan visibly relaxed, as Yixing laughed.

“Jiejie, you know gege was so scared you were going to die! Gege’s scared of water you know, but he still went to save you. Gege loves you!” He stated proudly, and Xueling blushed.

“Really, Luhan? You’re scared of water but you still jumped in to save me? Are you sure I’m the one that’s stupid?” She teased playfully. It was Luhan’s turn to blush.

“Don’t listen to him,” Luhan looked away, “I don’t love you. He’s just joking.”

“I’m not,” Yixing accused, “you told me! Gege, you’re lying. You told me you loved jiejie the first day you met her!”

“N-no! No, no, no!” Luhan said in horror.

“But Luhan, I think I might love you too,” Xueling pouted and Yixing looked smug.

“I- no don’t listen to him-  Wait, what?” He looked confused as Xueling propped herself up on her elbows.

“Thanks for saving me you big baby.” She leaned in as his eyes widened in shock and pressed her lips against his. Yixing squealed and they broke away. “And thanks for telling me, you cute little baby.” She planted a kiss in Yixing’s hair.

“Oh. Oh.” Luhan touched his lips in wonder. “Can we do that again?”

Xueling chuckled and leaned herself against Luhan as she kissed him again, to the delight of Yixing.