Chapter 2: My Sister Is A Streamer

"I don't really get it." Caspian stepped closer and peered at Melissa's computer. "What is this thing?" Melissa's eyes widened. "Bro, it's a computer. A computer! You know?" "Isn't a computer..." "You mean those clunky desktops, right?" Melissa cut in. Caspian nodded. "Yeah, the huge ones. Back in the day, I got in a ton of trouble with Mom and Dad for sneaking off to an illegal cyber café." Hearing him say that, Melissa's heart ached. What had Caspian's life been like, that he didn't even recognize a flat‑screen? From now on, she was going to take care of him. "Why don't you watch me stream?" "Okay." When it came to Melissa, Caspian said yes to everything. He stood beside her as she went live.  A minute later, her longtime fans did a double take at the screen, surprised to see more than one person in frame. [Melissa, who's that guy beside you?] [No! My goddess!] Melissa glanced at the handful of live comments and laughed.  "He's my brother. Some of you know I got separated from him when I was little, but today I finally found him." As she spoke, happiness bloomed across her face. She did not mention that Caspian was the ancient costume creep everyone online's been trying to track down. Her longtime regulars knew Melissa's history.  They often tried to tip her, but she always refused, saying she didn't want to milk it for sympathy or money.  Newer viewers had no idea. [Wow! Congrats, Melissa!] [Guardian Angel of Melissa sent a High Energy Alert gift ×1] [Blank Space sent an Awesome gift ×1] Melissa saw the two virtual gifts flash across the screen and hurried to thank them. [Melissa, your cheeks look a bit flushed.] [They weren't a minute ago. What happened? Nights have been cold. Did you go out without a jacket and catch a chill?] "Maybe... Achoo!" Melissa hadn't finished the sentence before she sneezed. Her head was dizzy. Was she having a fever? A second sneeze came.  A third then came. After a small fit, she reached for water, but before she could rise, a figure appeared with a steaming cup, offering it to her. "You're running a fever. Take this." Caspian handed Melissa the hot water with one hand, and with the other, placed a pale yellow pill in her palm.  He lightly touched her forehead with his index finger. "A hundered and two degrees Fahrenheit. You have a high fever." "What is this?" Melissa stared at the pill in her hand. "It treats flu. You'll be fine after you take it." Dazed and stuffy-headed, she swallowed the pill without another question and drank the hot water. Warmth spread through her whole body.  Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and the headache that had throbbed in her head melted away.  The exhaustion from late nights vanished, wiped clean. What on earth? Melissa blinked, astonished. Her fans kept urging her to log off and rest, but Melissa felt wide awake now and wasn't about to log off. She smiled.  "It's okay. I took medicine, and I feel perfectly fine. All thanks to my brother!" [Huh? Her cheeks aren't as red now, and she looks way better.] [No way, one pill fixed it? She had to be over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit just now.] "My brother said it was a hundred and two degrees Fahrenheit." Only then did Melissa picture Caspian's earlier gesture.  Just a tap of a finger to her forehead, he knew the exact temperature. That wasn't possible. She didn't dwell on it.  The viewers were curious but didn't press. Melissa streamed until four in the morning to hit her daily quota.  Later, she struggled to fall asleep.  Her brother, who had vanished for fifteen years, had come home.  She wouldn't be living alone anymore.  The cold looks and snide remarks she had endured since childhood would no longer have a place in her life. Thinking that, she finally drifted into steady sleep. The next day, Melissa woke and found Caspian in the living room, tinkering with something. "What are you doing?" She stepped closer and saw him fussing over a battered little cauldron he had dug up from who knows where. "Making medicine," Caspian said, keeping an eye on the flame inside the cauldron.  "You had a cold last night, right? Once you take this, you won't get sick again." Never get sick again? Melissa didn't buy it.  People get sick. That's just life. And besides, what kind of medicine could Caspian even make in a rickety little cauldron like that? She assumed Caspian was teasing her. "My cold's already gone. You gave me that pill last night." It was a little baffling.  Her body temperature had reached a hundered and two degrees Fahrenheit, but a single pill had cleared it right up.  Had her fever been a fluke? "It might come back. Don't worry. Take this pill, and you won't get sick again." Caspian handed Melissa a freshly made pale blue pill. Melissa studied it, hesitated, then swallowed it with warm water. The instant it reached her stomach, a clean, cool sensation spread through every inch of her body. "Alright, come with me today. We're going apartment hunting." With two people at home, a one-bedroom wouldn't do.  They needed at least a two-bedroom, and it had to be close to her campus. Caspian obediently stowed away his cauldron.  Melissa hadn't quite seen how he did it. One blink, and the cauldron had vanished. She shook her head and went to the door to put on her shoes. "Wait here for a bit. I'm going to buy you some clothes." She closed the door and left.  Caspian glanced down at his outfit. He had gotten his current outfit from a daily login reward of the Storage Space.  It looked strange in the mortal world, out of step with modern fashion, but it was an unbelievably powerful piece of defensive armor.  In this world and even in the Storage Space, no weapon could pierce it. Soon, Melissa returned with a sporty casual outfit.  Caspian felt reluctant to set aside his supreme armor, but it was a gift from his sister.  In the end, he changed into the clothes she had bought.