Chapter 99 Pseudo-Siblings (5)

Lin Langyi always believed that the scene in the novel where the male and female protagonists go to the hospital after spending the night together and the doctor severely criticizes the male protagonist for "going too far" is unlikely to happen in reality.

Those are just dramatic movie plots; you can't take them seriously.

But she never expected that one day this would happen to her.

It was during that time that Lin Langyi learned that she was allergic to rubber.

This is not someone else's fault. First of all, she took the initiative to coerce and lure Bian Shu to the hotel a week after she turned 18, and secondly, she rarely had the opportunity to wear latex gloves and never thought she would be allergic.

Lin Langyi felt unwell after returning home. At first, she thought it might be because they were both clumsy and it was their first time doing it. However, when she took a shower that evening, she found that there were obvious red marks on her inner thighs. Instead of fading, they became more swollen and painful.

She had seen Yuan Chuyu's allergic reaction before and judged that her symptoms were no different from his. After searching on her phone for a while and finding the answer, she decisively went to his room to get loratadine.

The sound of water was constant in the bathroom; Yuan Chuyu must be taking a shower. Lin Langyi said through the door, "Brother, I need to get something."

A response came from inside. Lin Langyi was feeling unwell. She was bending over and rummaging through his bedside table for allergy medication. She was so uncomfortable that she kept rubbing her legs together. She wanted to scratch her skin but had to endure it. She was getting restless and irritable while searching for the medicine.

The drawer was a mess after she rummaged through it. Lin Langyi clicked her tongue impatiently and took everything out before finally finding a strip of medicine that had been unwrapped.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and with a snap of her fingers, the sound of tin foil breaking was barely audible when a voice came from behind her, "This is medicine."

Lin Langyi froze, turned around, and saw Yuan Chuyu who had just come out of the bathroom.

He was wearing a bathrobe loosely, his hair not completely dry, water droplets seeping into his clothes from the ends of his hair, leaving very faint round spots.

Lin Langyi's gaze lingered for a few seconds as she peered into his slightly open collar before quickly looking away.

Yuan Chuyu wiped the water off his chin with a towel, looked at her with half-closed eyelids, and said again, "This is allergy medicine."

"Ah, um." Lin Langyi tried to bluff her way out of it.

He slowed his drying motions and frowned slightly: "Are you having an allergic reaction?"

"Um, I'm feeling a little unwell," Lin Langyi replied ambiguously. She felt that if her family found out about this, it would be a horror story, so she tried her best to evade the question.

“You can’t just take medicine anywhere.” Yuan Chuyu’s gaze lingered on her exposed skin. He stepped forward and pulled her arm closer to examine it. “Where are you having an allergic reaction? Let me see.”

How could I possibly show it to him!

Lin Langyi's skin between her legs continued to burn, and the itching and pain from the allergy tormented her, making her irritable. She couldn't help it and subconsciously nudged her knees together again, which he keenly noticed.

"Legs?" he asked.

Lin Langyi made up a story: "It's nothing, just a little bit on my joint, probably eczema. I'm going back now."

She was eager to get away, but the more she tried, the less she could escape. Yuan Chuyu grabbed her wrist and turned her around to check; her elbow was clean.

He squatted down, his nightgown, which reached his calves, completely covering him.

"Knee bend?" In the past, he would have naturally lifted her skirt up to her knees to check, but after Bian Shu came to his house for dinner that night, Yuan Chuyu suddenly became much more reserved in such matters, as if he had finally realized that Lin Langyi was not only his sister, but also a woman.

He half-squatted in front of her, not lifting her skirt, but holding her ankle tightly with his hand, waiting for her answer with his face raised.

Lin Langyi nodded haphazardly.

Yuan Chuyu's gaze lingered on her absent-minded face for a moment before he said gently, "I still have some ointment. Allergy symptoms usually get worse at night. Apply some and you'll sleep better later."

Lin Langyi had just quickly brushed up on her knowledge on her phone and blurted out, "It's not a hormone drug, is it?"

Yuan Chuyu looked at her thoughtfully, and after a long while shook his head: "No."

"Okay then." She spread her hands in agreement.

But Yuan Chuyu searched for a long time without finding it. That wasn't the worst part. He suddenly said, "Oh right, I remembered that the chlorpheniramine tablet you have has expired."

a bolt from the blue!

Lin Langyi stared wide-eyed, feeling like she only had half a breath left. After a while, she groggily rummaged around for her phone, wanting to order takeout and have her medicine delivered. Only when she touched her pocket did she remember that she had come to pick up her medicine wearing a nightgown after taking a shower, and her phone was still charging in the room.

She turned to leave, but after only two steps, someone grabbed her arm.

“Go to the hospital,” he said.

"It's nothing, it's just..." Lin Langyi pulled her hand back and tried to break free, thinking that she couldn't let Yuan Chuyu know she was going to the hospital.

Yuan Chuyu stared at her: "I'll just call Bian Shu and I'll find out. You didn't eat anything special tonight. You went out with him during the day... what did you eat?"

Lin Langyi couldn't come up with anything for the moment and stood there speechless.

The main reason is that her stomach is the toughest in the family. Her father has a stomach problem from drinking, her mother is health-conscious but has average digestive function, and Yuan Chuyu doesn't eat spicy food. Only she has an iron stomach and has never been found to be unable to eat anything.

“If you don’t want me to check, then go to the hospital and let a doctor see you, Lin Langyi. What I need to tell you is that allergies are not a trivial matter. Some severe allergies can be life-threatening.” Yuan Chuyu picked up his phone and waved it in front of her. “You don’t want me to know, but if the family doctor comes, your parents will know.”

Lin Langyi eventually went to the hospital. Yuan Chuyu said that if the driver took her, it might reach her parents' ears, so he insisted that he take her there.

"I'm so devastated," Lin Langyi thought, sitting in the back seat, feeling utterly hopeless. "The only thing I can do is kill Yuan Chuyu to silence him."

She couldn't even get an appointment at the dermatology department that night, so she had to go to the emergency room. In front of the doctor, Lin Langyi stammered out the truth.

Yuan Chuyu conscientiously refrained from entering the examination room during the consultation, but when Lin Langyi left the room to get her medication, the doctor saw Yuan Chuyu waiting outside and dutifully added:

"Don't be embarrassed. Tell your boyfriend that you can use polyurethane or polyisobutylene in the future."

Lin Langyi stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning. She clearly sensed that Yuan Chuyu's body stiffened for a moment, and his gaze, as if it were a physical object, focused on her head and lingered for a long time.

I might as well die...

"Thank you, doctor." But Yuan Chuyu simply placed his hand on her shoulder and patted her back reassuringly. "I didn't know before. I'll take her for a full allergy test next time."

Lin Langyi was standing in front of his straight, broad shoulders, wishing she could bury her head in his chest like an ostrich playing dead.

Yuan Chuyu, you're so shrewd and understanding, you'd better pretend I don't understand.

Fortunately, he accompanied her to pick up the medicine and remained silent on the way home.

Lin Langyi had never been so grateful for Yuan Chuyu's sensibility.

When she got home, she rushed into her room, took her medicine, and then groped around with her hands to apply the ointment haphazardly.

Amidst the mess, Yuan Chuyu's voice came from behind the door: "Do you need cotton swabs?"

Lin Langyi sat up abruptly, pulled the blanket over herself, and her first thought was that she had indeed locked the door.

She clutched the corner of the blanket, crumpling it into a mess, still feeling embarrassed: "It's okay, I'm fine now."

Yuan Chuyu placed the items at the door and said calmly, "Don't be afraid to seek medical help. If you need anything..."

"No!"

Yuan Chuyu said nothing, and his footsteps disappeared from the doorway.

Lin Langyi fell asleep immediately.

Perhaps the events of last night were too impactful, because she even had a dream in which Yuan Chuyu applied medicine to her with meticulous care.

It seemed to be in his room, an unlocked place where he felt insecure and his parents could easily push the door open and enter. He had the light on, and was kneeling at the foot of the bed, holding two cotton swabs soaked in white ointment in one hand, and supporting her calves with the other, letting her put her feet on his shoulder.

When Lin Langyi woke up the next day, she lay on the bed as if she were dead, trying to format the absurd dream.

Her phone was flooded with messages from Bian Shu, and it took her a long time to process her complicated emotions and reply.

His apologies were incoherent, ending with, "Can I come over now?"

With her parents at home, Lin Langyi decisively rejected him.

The dialog box kept showing "typing," but no words were sent for a long time. Instead, a phone call was made.

Are you still feeling unwell?

Lin Langyi sought medical attention promptly and felt much better after a good night's sleep. She said, "Much better, how did you know?"

After a few seconds of silence, he said, "It was your brother who informed me."

The word "notification" was so apt. Lin Langyi wailed inwardly, but as expected, he couldn't hide it from Yuan Chuyu. In his grief, he didn't notice Bian Shu's unusual tone.

Bian Shu asked in a low voice, "Zhuzhu, why didn't you tell me before you went to the hospital yesterday?"

Lin Langyi gave up struggling and collapsed onto the bed: "I originally wanted to tell you, but then I remembered that my brother has medicine in his room, so I took the medicine first. But when I went to get the medicine, I got caught, and then he took me to the hospital. All I could think about was that I was going to die... so I forgot about you."

Bian Shu repeated in a dreamlike, ethereal tone, "He took you to the hospital?"

“Yeah.” Lin Langyi rolled over in bed, sounding weak. “We could have kept it a secret a little longer. I heard my brother say that some allergies can be fatal, so I knew he wasn’t thinking that way. What would a single woman like him know…”

Her next sentence was incredibly distraught: "But when I opened the door and went out, the doctor thought he was my boyfriend and gave me a few instructions... Oh my god."

Bian Shu fell into a long silence.

Lin Langyi felt much better after confiding in everyone. She kept the call on speakerphone until she was about to get up and wash when she heard Bian Shu ask in a low voice:

"Zhuzhu, you and your brother have a really good relationship."

Lin Langyi, wearing slippers, hummed in response and laughed, "Is he and I alright? We just get along like ordinary siblings."

She didn't want to discuss the distribution of Yingyuan's core interests with her boyfriend, and she also felt that there was no need to tell others about her little schemes. Yuan Chuyu was a person who was warm on the outside but cold on the inside. Perhaps the brother-sister relationship that seemed so sincere to outsiders was not really that genuine to Yuan Chuyu.

He can act like a loving father and filial son in front of his parents, so acting like a considerate older brother in front of her is a piece of cake for him.

But Bian Shu said with certainty, "I think he values ​​you a lot, and his feelings for you are...different."

Lin Langyi didn't seem to care: "Really?"

“I often feel that his feelings for you are not like a brother’s feelings for his sister, but rather like…” Bian Shu didn’t know how to say it. He was unsure whether it was good or bad to say it this way, whether it would warn Lin Langyi to stay away, or whether it would have the opposite effect and make her focus more on Yuan Chuyu.

Lin Langyi paused in her gesture of turning on the light. The dream that she had finally managed to format and enter was now making a comeback. She glanced at the call timer on her phone, which was still lit up, and said nothing.

"I was just talking nonsense," Bian Shu tried to salvage the situation.

The two ended their conversation, listening to the busy signal in their ears, without mentioning that they were still at her doorstep and hadn't left.

He had actually rushed over immediately after receiving Yuan Chuyu's message last night, but Lin Langyi went to bed early, so he paced back and forth outside the door several times without going in, and waited at the door for more than forty minutes.

In the end, Yuan Chuyu came out alone. He stood under the eaves with a cold and gloomy expression, showing no intention of inviting anyone in to sit down.

Perhaps it was because the night was too deep, but during the silent confrontation, Yuan Chuyu's eyebrows and eyes, in the shadows cast by his hair, were filled with a ruthless intent that seemed to stir up a storm. The smile that used to grace his eyes was gone, and his entire being exuded a chilling aggression.

Under such a daunting atmosphere, Bian Shu slowly straightened his back, as if it were a subconscious reaction after being provoked.

He finally realized, belatedly, that Yuan Chuyu's emotional fluctuations towards Lin Langyi were too intense, as well as the reasons why he had always felt uncomfortable with Yuan Chuyu.

Isn't he going a bit too far as the older brother?

Bian Shu thought this way and asked this question.

Yuan Chuyu did not respond to the question. With a cold face, he straightened his arm and quickly raised it diagonally upwards, making a whistling sound as he tossed the crumpled hospital receipt in his hand to Bian Shu.

Two or three pieces of paper floated in the air, slowly falling like rootless duckweed.

For a moment, their gazes were obscured by the paper. Yuan Chuyu's voice was devoid of warmth: "Zhuzhu will be representing Yingyuan at the Hope Project's unveiling ceremony in a few days. She has never been to your hometown before, so this is the time for her to see it for herself."

Bian Shu had heard Lin Langyi mention this matter.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous or embarrassed at all, but he had tried his best to adjust himself so as not to upset her.

Yuan Chuyu's choice to say such things truly reveals his true intentions.

Bian Shu bent down and picked up the two pieces of paper without looking up, replying, "Thank you, but I won't bother you with this kind of thing again. You're going abroad after this summer vacation, right? Congratulations."

“Zhuzhu and I are in the same university. I will take good care of her while you are away.”

The only response he received was the slamming door shut.

*

To maintain the image of Yingyuan Group, my father has been carrying out various initiatives that demonstrate corporate social responsibility, including not only simple monetary donations and Hope Primary School construction projects, but also some promotional activities.

He really enjoys being on TV, probably because his shareholding in the company is less than his mother's, so he can only relieve his worries by frequently being in the spotlight, and he has created quite a few gimmicks for the media to report.

Lin Langyi was often annoyed by her father, but she had to admit that she and her father were very similar in some ways, such as using methods to embellish and beautify themselves in order to gain benefits.

Project Hope is a public welfare project that Ying Yuan has been doing for a long time. In the past, his father would take the lead. This time, his mother arranged for Lin Langyi, who had just come of age, to attend without his consent. Lin Langyi was more than happy to accept.

In addition to attending the unveiling ceremony, she will also spend a week in a remote village to "build her image".

This remote little village is Bian Shu's hometown.

The Hope Primary School was built in the town, and Bian Shu's hometown was just one of the villages under its jurisdiction. For the first time, Lin Langyi truly saw Bian Shu's life, which was completely different from hers. This was more intuitive and concrete than she had imagined.

There are almost no young people left in the village; everyone has gone to work and wander in other places, leaving behind only elderly people.

Lin Langyi did not stay at Bian Shu's house; the village officials arranged for them to stay at a guesthouse.

This is the only guesthouse in the village, with only eight rooms in total. The first floor is also a breakfast shop, with a large exhaust pipe leading outside. Greasy fumes continuously drift upstairs, blackening a large area of ​​the exterior walls.

The remote villages have poor conditions and facilities in all aspects.

In the so-called guesthouse, the only "suite" didn't even have an air conditioner in each room.

Due to various considerations such as the house layout, outdated wiring, and cost-saving measures, an air conditioner was barely installed between two adjacent bedrooms, separated by a thin wall with a door whose paint was peeling off underneath.

The network and signal are extremely poor.

Lin Langyi carried her suitcase. Although she had expected it, she still felt a bit emotional after actually arriving here.

Yuan Chuyu stood beside her, and while she stood there in a daze, he looked around both rooms and finally gave her the larger one.

Lin Langyi, unsure of where to go, called out blankly, "Brother..."

“One week.” Yuan Chuyu hung up the clothes, each one now covered in a dust bag, one by one. “The media will be coming to interview us afterward.”

"No, what I meant was, can't we book two rooms?" She pointed to the room next door.

“There are only eight rooms in total, and with other people coming this time, it’s difficult to make reservations.” Yuan Chuyu patiently explained for the first half, but then changed the subject, looking into her eyes and asking, “Or would you like to stay at Bian Shu’s house?”

Lin Langyi had no intention of doing so and felt extremely wronged: "...Don't you like staying in single rooms?"

Yuan Chuyu's gaze was deep and unfocused, showing no gratitude whatsoever; on the contrary, he seemed rather unhappy.

"Need not."

This week, Lin Langyi did a lot of things, whether it was getting familiar with the town and six villages with the village and town officials, or meeting with several leaders related to Project Hope who she would be dealing with frequently in the future.

Bian Shu also returned to her hometown, but she never saw him again because she simply didn't have the time.

He sent several messages, but Lin Langyi either rejected them outright or missed them because she didn't see them in time.

After it happened many times, she turned around and advised Bian Shu, "Why don't you go back earlier?"

Bian Shu then fell silent, probably feeling wronged.

Lin Langyi didn't think there was anything wrong with this. Things have priorities. Dating is just a seasoning in life, and seasonings can't be the main course.

She didn't comfort Bian Shu, perhaps because she was busy, or perhaps because she had done so many times when she was with him that she sometimes felt annoyed, or perhaps, the phrase "to be influenced by what one sees and hears" is really quite interesting.

She was clearly the kind of person who prioritized self-interest; she and her family were the same kind of people from the very beginning.

She always remembered her original intention in coming here, which involved taking a plane, a car, and finally a tractor.

Yuan Chuyu will be going abroad to study after this summer vacation, so Lin Langyi decided to start taking over Yingyuan's business gradually during her university years, at least to secure her position before going abroad for further studies.

She needs to gradually erode the image of her father appearing in the spotlight so that when people think of Ying Yuan, her image will be the first thing that comes to mind.

Originally, she didn't want Yuan Chuyu to come along, worried that he would share the cake with her, but her parents insisted that the two siblings come together this time, saying that they were worried about her going to an unfamiliar place alone.

Lin Langyi secretly kept an eye on the reports about Hope Primary School and found that Yuan Chuyu's name had not appeared at all. The school had only contacted her throughout the entire process, which put her at ease.

Yuan Chuyu had always played the role of a supportive and virtuous wife, putting in a lot of effort, often working from dawn till dusk, but in terms of reward, he was always doing the work for others.

This wasn't the first time he'd done this. As the two of them matured and became more independent, Lin Langyi's secret observations of Yuan Chuyu became more and more frequent, but he never crossed the line when it came to dividing the spoils.

Even the strict mother said, "If Yuan Chuyu continues to behave himself and not cross the line, the family will be much more harmonious in the future, and I will treat him a little better."

Bian Shu, however, said that Yuan Chuyu's feelings for her had crossed the line.

That's utter nonsense.

Lin Langyi returned to the guesthouse only after successfully concluding the plaque-decorating ceremony and completing interviews with the media.

Originally, we were supposed to have dinner with all parties that evening, but later not everyone was present, and some leaders couldn't drink alcohol on a weekday, so that dinner became "next time, for sure."

Lin Langyi returned to the guesthouse first. Yuan Chuyu had told her in advance that he was still in town and would be back later, so she didn't need to wait for him and could just eat first.

There were several boxes of stir-fried vegetables on the table, covered with a layer of aluminum foil to keep them warm.

Even with all the lights on, the room is dim and yellowish, and the warm glow easily calms the mind.

Lin Langyi took a few bites, and the scene of her and Yuan Chuyu sitting and eating in this barren and desolate place in the past few days inexplicably appeared in her mind.

The two of them assigned seats, just like every cushion and cup in a house has its own home. She sat closer to the window when she ate, while he sat closer to the door.

The dishes were all her favorites, with a preference for strong flavors. What was even more thoughtful was that even when he wasn't back, the meat dishes were placed closer to her.

Lin Langyi carefully chewed the stir-fried vegetables in her mouth, put down her chopsticks, stood up, took out a new pair of disposable chopsticks, scooped out half of each dish, covered it again, and draped it with aluminum foil to keep it warm.

She also sent Yuan Chuyu a message: "Brother, when are you coming back?"

Yuan Chuyu replied instantly: "Almost there, five more minutes."

Seeing this, Lin Langyi simply put down her chopsticks and waited for him to join her.

To save time, she got up and walked towards the door, intending to open it for him in advance. But before her hand even touched the doorknob, a deafening explosion suddenly rang in her ears.

The world seemed to shake violently. The sound of shattering glass assaulted her ears, followed by a sharp buzzing sound and then a vacuum-like silence.

Lin Langyi turned her head in alarm and saw that her seat was covered with shards of glass. The billowing black smoke outside the window was thicker than the night, and the blazing flames shot up to the second floor in a matter of seconds.

"The gas cylinder exploded!!"

The piercing cries echoed everywhere, and the brief pause in Lin Langyi's mind snapped back to reality. She rushed into the bathroom, wrung out a wet towel, and ran out.

She didn't even have time to grab her phone, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Yuan Chuyu's briefcase in the entryway. She remembered that his leather notebook, which he took everywhere with him, was also in there. Before she could even process what was happening, she grabbed the bag and rushed out the door.

She hadn't looked at the leather-bound book, but judging from how Yuan Chuyu had brought it to the grave to pay his respects, it was most likely a precious relic.

Other things can be burned without any problems, but this kind of unique memory should be salvaged while we're at it.

The residents on the second floor rushed downstairs. There was a large hole in the ceiling of the first-floor building, which had been damaged by the explosion, and debris and rubble were scattered all around. Flames, like waving lines, licked upwards along the stairs, carrying scorching hot air. Each step down made a creaking sound.

As Lin Langyi stepped onto the last step, a person walking hurriedly brushed past her from the opposite direction.

The crowd was dense, the smoke was choking, and as shoulders bumped against each other, the bag in her hand slid down quite a distance. People were cursing in front of and behind her, but Lin Langyi didn't have time to look back. She hurriedly slung the bag over her shoulder and rushed out of the precarious guesthouse.

It was said that a gas cylinder in the restaurant downstairs had exploded. Fearing a secondary explosion, the crowd was evacuated to an open area. Police officers on the run were busy taking attendance while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

Lin Langyi's hair was singed, and the smell of burnt egg whites lingered around her. She frowned as she looked at the wounded soldiers placed on the ground and the guards loudly counting heads, and touched her own arm.

The burning sensation lingered on her skin, and when she heard the guard call out her name, "You two, right?", her mind went blank for a moment.

“My brother…” Lin Langyi turned her head to look around, and all she saw were unfamiliar faces. Suddenly, she felt a sense of panic.

Not seeing any familiar faces, Lin Langyi grew increasingly uncertain as she spoke: "He wasn't back when the explosion happened..."

“Someone rushed in! A man, very tall.” A guest standing nearby suddenly spoke up. She looked Lin Langyi up and down, her expression hesitant. “He looks kind of familiar.”

Lin Langyi suddenly remembered the person who had brushed past her. Her nerves tightened, and she gasped as if she had inhaled a large cloud of choking black smoke. She coughed violently as soon as she managed to utter "Yuan Chuyu".

She coughed until her mind went blank, and for a moment her mind was completely empty, as if she were in a snowy field where she couldn't tell which way was which.

She thought that although she often found him annoying, fearful, and hateful, she had never thought of him dying.

He can't... how could he...

“Room 203, the second one on the right after you go upstairs. He was wearing a white T-shirt, black pants, and black shoes today. He's very tall, probably 187cm…” Lin Langyi blurted out the information like beans, not even realizing that she was anxiously clutching the guard's sleeve. “My brother…”

She was stunned for a moment, not knowing what else to say. The second "brother" was squeezed out of her throat with difficulty and hesitation. Suddenly, a strong force came from behind her.

Her shoulder was forcefully twisted, and she staggered a couple of steps before turning around. The thin summer fabric couldn't block out the scalding heat emanating from the center of that hand.

Lin Langyi was grabbed around the waist. He was so strong that his arms, as hard as iron, held her tightly in his embrace.

His skin was burning hot, and his rapid, heavy breathing as he held her close sent shivers down her spine.

Lin Langyi regained her sense of smell after more than ten seconds. The faint scent of ylang-ylang amidst the overwhelming pungent smell of flames finally brought her back to her senses. She grabbed the hem of his clothes and looked up at the disheveled Yuan Chuyu.

He cupped her face in his hands as well, examining her closely by the firelight. Lin Langyi sensed that the hands pressed against her cheeks were trembling slightly, like an animal reacting to stress due to excessive fright.

His hair was disheveled, the ends singed and curled. When they met eyes, his usually calm eyes were red and moist. In the moonlight, she almost thought he was crying.

Lin Langyi stared at him for a long time, watching his eyebrows twitch and tremble a few times, his lips tighten and then relax, and he quickly shut his mouth after only managing to utter a muffled "zhuzhu" from his throat.

His voice was so hoarse it sounded like it had been rubbed by rough sand, and the thick smoke had made his throat hoarse.

Lin Langyi still had a buzzing sound in her ears, and she felt that her throat was also dry and sore from the smoke.

"elder brother……?"

She stared at him blankly, then asked softly, "Why did you rush in?"

Yuan Chuyu did not reply to her.

The guard breathed a sigh of relief and scolded, "Everyone else is running outside, but you ran into the fire when it was on fire?"

Yuan Chuyu said in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry."

As he said this, he stared at her intently, as if he were apologizing to the guard, or perhaps to her.

Lin Langyi really wanted to hear his reasons for rushing into the fire. If she really perished in the fire, wouldn't he be able to reap the benefits?

Their sibling bond was separated by an impenetrable veil; their opposing stances meant that sincerity and lies were intertwined. She asked herself if she had played her role convincingly enough, but honestly, if the roles were reversed, she couldn't bring herself to rush into the fire to find him.

Yuan Chuyu, even if he endured hardship and bided his time, even if he lived the life of an actor, wasn't he working way too hard?

It was as if she were truly his beloved younger sister, someone he would risk his life to save.

However, Lin Langyi ultimately did not ask the question, because Yuan Chuyu's features suddenly magnified in front of her, and his breath sprayed on her face, causing her to unconsciously straighten her shoulders.

She was too close to him.

Memories of the past flashed through my mind, and the hesitant expression of dissatisfaction on his face appeared before my eyes.

In the end, all that remained in her mind was the magnified word "crossing the line".

What is he going to do?

Her feet felt rooted to the spot, making it impossible for her to move an inch. She felt her mind was clearer than ever before, but she just couldn't react at all.

She watched as Yuan Chuyu lowered his head and moved closer to her. Their noses brushed against each other lightly, and as she held her breath, he pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

A wet streak brushed across her face. Lin Langyi hadn't closed her eyes the whole time. Caught off guard by these unexpected tears, she opened her eyes wide and stood there for a long time.

The slight coolness and dampness trickled down her cheeks, quickly evaporating in the sweltering air.

She belatedly raised her hand to touch her cheek; it was dry to the touch, as if his feelings, which had reached out a tentacle and then quickly retracted, had vanished without a trace.

It must be my imagination... How could Yuan Chuyu possibly be crying?

But the second tear fell into her eyes like a downpour that the weather forecast couldn't even announce.

She was held tightly in someone's arms, but the person in front of her didn't utter a single sob; their chest rose and fell weakly as they silently wept amidst the towering flames.

He couldn't hide it anymore, and she could no longer find an excuse to absolve him.

Lin Langyi could only awkwardly shove her briefcase into his hand and say, "Check if everything in your bag is alright."

Yuan Chuyu didn't answer, as if he were a machine with a malfunctioning program. At this moment, he couldn't hear anything else and just held her tightly like a pitiful person who had been lost and found again, refusing to let go.

Lin Langyi forcefully stuffed the leather copy into his arms, and finally heard a short, choked sob escape his lips.

He actually took a step back, letting the leather-bound book he had always treated as his lifeblood fall to the ground like trash.

"At a time like this, you're still thinking of taking something like this?"

Perhaps he wanted to lecture her as usual, but his words carried no threat whatsoever.

Lin Langyi bent down to pick it up: "Isn't this the only thing you keep in that locked drawer? You value it so much."

Her outstretched arm was suddenly grabbed.

Yuan Chuyu, as if giving up resistance, shed dull tears in front of her. Those vague feelings, like looking at flowers through a fog, became as unforgettable as the moment of anticipation when flipping a coin when he saw the explosion. All the lies and avoidances were torn apart. The raging fire burned his cowardly hypocrisy and restrained calm to ashes. He could deceive others, but he could not deceive himself in the end.

His eyes were red as he gazed at her, his eyelashes fluttering: "Can't you tell what's most important to me?"

Lin Langyi stared at him in a daze.

People often say that one cannot judge the value of a moment until it becomes a memory. But Lin Langyi felt that the moments that could be written into one's memoirs were actually anticipated when they arrived, like the mournful sound of a whistle coming from afar on a railway track. You looked forward to its arrival, knowing full well that the waiting had come true.

But how can that be?

Has he gone mad?

Is he still thinking clearly?

Lin Lang thought that one madman was enough; his tears could wet her skin but not drench her heart.

This was just a little secret between the two of them, a give-and-take. Just as he kept her secret about her embarrassing experience of going to the hospital for a rubber allergy, she would keep his unintentional words from a chaotic and disastrous night in this remote town far removed from her daily life.

They share the same blood, and that's something that can't be achieved even at the end of the world.

She heard her own heart-wrenching reply: "I don't know, brother, I don't know what you're talking about."

She called his name again and again, as if trying to bring him back to his senses: "Brother."

"elder brother."

"No way, bro."

"Let's go to the hospital. We're going home tomorrow. After this summer vacation, you'll be going abroad."