Chapter 44

"elder brother……"

Zong Linhan hugged him tightly. His brother, who had disappeared for many years, was now truly being held in his arms. He had become thinner, and his bones ached.

Before Zong Linyang disappeared, Zong Linhan was much shorter than him and was just a boy who asked his brother when he would come home all day long. Now the two are similar in height and their appearances are even more similar.

"You're hugging me too tightly." Zong Linyang patted Zong Linhan's back. His voice was unfamiliar, much lower and hoarse than he remembered.

Zong Linhan wanted to speak, but tears streamed down his face first.

"Lin Yang, Lin Yang is finally back." Unable to suppress her sobs, the matriarch wiped away her tears and patted her two sons repeatedly.

Zong's father slowly appeared at the door, standing behind Zong Linyang, his usually straight back now slightly hunched.

Wen Zhiling had seen her father beam with pride in front of the camera, but the person standing at the door now was not a renowned director, but just an ordinary father. His lips were tightly pressed together, his Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his usually stern eyes were swirling with joy, as well as the pain he had hidden for years, unwilling to easily tell others.

He raised his hand and patted Zong Linyang on the shoulder, as if to confirm that his eldest son had really returned.

Tears welled up in Meng Run's eyes. He knew better than anyone how much suffering Zong Linhan had endured in secret in order to find Zong Linyang.

"Why are they all crying again?" Zong Linyang sighed softly, a playful smile curving his lips. "I just calmed Mom down, and as soon as you came back, she started again."

The matriarch wiped away her tears and angrily slapped him.

Zong Linyang's gaze passed over Zong Linhan and landed on a figure not far away.

He asked jokingly, "Your girlfriend?"

The two stared at each other for a moment, and Wen Zhiling subconsciously tensed her body, her fingers unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes.

She had seen him in an old photograph.

He bears a resemblance to Zong Linhan, and his features are also gentle.

But his smiling gaze gave her a strange flutter in her heart.

A sense of familiarity flashed through her mind: the curve of his smile, the slight tilt of his shoulder to one side as he stood, the friendly nod—all of these felt both familiar and strange to her.

"Yes." Zong Linhan's eyes were slightly red. "My girlfriend."

He announced the news in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, just right in front of his whole family.

Overwhelmed by the joy of their reunion and this astonishing news, the two deeply shocked elders immediately turned to look at Wen Zhiling.

Wen Zhiling: "..."

She was completely stunned.

The matriarch was also stunned. "Isn't she the staff member of the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations that your second uncle mentioned?"

The patriarch coughed.

As expected of a film queen, Madam Zong's emotions changed naturally. In an instant, she put on a gentle smile and nodded to Wen Zhiling, "Hello."

With her other hand, she pinched her youngest son hard without leaving a trace.

Is it appropriate to announce your girlfriend at this time? The future mother-in-law is completely unprepared, and didn't bring any gifts. Did he go to an island and get pecked on the head by seagulls and become stupid?

Zong Linhan, perhaps thinking that since they were already there and the whole family was together, was about to go down the steps to greet Wen Zhiling.

Wen Zhiling immediately gave a perfect 90-degree bow, "Hello everyone, uncles, aunts, and brothers, I won't bother you any longer."

Madam Zong, whose mind was full of plans to find someone to buy a few designer bags and have them shipped over, breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. There was no need to rush. She quickly turned to Zong Linhan and said, "Send the young lady home first. She must be tired from the journey. We can invite her to our home another day."

Meng Run responded quickly, "Captain Zong, I'll take Miss Wen home first."

-

The car slowly drove towards the city center.

"Captain Zong, it's been a long time since you've lost your composure like this." Meng Run knew there were some things he shouldn't say, but the touching reunion just now made him want to talk to someone who knew the situation.

Wen Zhiling hummed in agreement. "He's been looking for him for many years, hasn't he?"

“It wasn’t just the search; those early years when there were no clues were truly agonizing.” Meng Run’s voice lowered, as if lost in memories. “Don’t let his current success and apparent ease in his two jobs fool you; he risked his life for them.”

"At the age of seventeen, he won multiple first places in the training selection competition and was promoted to become the youngest team leader in the Bureau of Surveillance. He was also running with weights at three o'clock in the morning at the training ground. During the combat competition, he had broken ribs, fractured scapula, not to mention injuries to his arms and knees. I used to be quite arrogant and rarely admired people, but I have never seen him treat himself like this."

"You might not know this, but in addition to training, there's also the project qualification rate for advancement. For a while, he was always going abroad, supposedly to film movies. Whenever he had free time, he would go on missions, ambushing superhumans. He even held a weapon at the door while running a high fever, which terrified his partner."

"At the time, there was an underground boxing gym on the border. It was a mixed bag of people, and a conflict involving superpowered individuals broke out. The area where this happened was outside our mission area. Everyone else left after informing the locals, but he rushed in recklessly in order to get clues about his brother. He used the fighting skills he had honed in real combat to subdue a superpowered individual and pry open the hope that his brother might still be alive before the individual self-destructed."

As Wen Zhiling listened, her fingers unconsciously curled up. She always saw Zong Linhan's effortless side, and it was hard to reconcile his calm and relaxed demeanor with the stubborn, pale, blood-soaked boy that Meng Run had described.

She finally felt a pang of guilt, wondering if the time she was missing had also carved a deep crack in his heart, burying untold pain within him.

The vehicle drove through a residential area and stopped in front of an apartment building.

Meng Run helped Wen Zhiling with her luggage and led her upstairs to the second floor.

“This is a safe house for our team’s own use. The place you stayed before is still under surveillance, so it’s not as safe as this place. The facilities are also new.” Meng Run opened the security door with a key.

Wen Zhiling: "Is there no one to supervise?"

Meng Run shrugged: "If there's enough funding, just keep burning through it. We're working three shifts a day, just in case you go back anytime."

He excitedly suggested, "We can write a report. It's easy to report corruption and bribery. I've disliked those eco-faction people for a long time."

Wen Zhiling: "..."

The room is simply decorated and has a few pieces of furniture, but everything is complete.

Wen Zhiling thanked Meng Run.

After seeing Meng Run off, Wen Zhiling tidied up a bit, hung her clothes in the closet, and placed her toiletries on the sink. These few traces of her personal touch barely dispelled the feeling of unfamiliarity in the room.

The phone screen on the table lit up, and Zong Linhan sent a message: "Arrived? How's the environment?"

Wen Zhiling replied: "Mmm (cute cat nodding emoji)".

Zong Linhan: "Get some rest."

He locked his phone, placed it face down on the table, and looked at Zong Linyang behind the island counter, who was pondering the coffee machine.

My parents have returned to their home in the city, and the living room is finally quiet again, no longer filled with sobs.

Bright light streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, outlining the similar silhouettes of the two brothers.

The coffee machine emitted a soft hum as Zong Linyang fiddled with it.

Zong Linhan stared calmly at Zong Linyang, his dark eyes filled with the ecstatic joy of regaining what he had lost, but deeper within was a tempered calmness.

“Brother,” Zong Linhan said, his voice still a little hoarse, “where did you go?”

Before Zong Linyang could speak, he interrupted her directly, saying, "I don't believe the nonsense you told Mom and Dad."

What secret operation of the Bureau of Surveillance was so unknown that even Uncle Er didn't know about it? What mission was so complex that it required him to fake his death for so many years? In addition, Lu Qin's suggestive words before the program ended, followed by the appearance of someone who "came back to life," made it hard not to be suspicious.

Zong Linhan leaned forward slightly. "I'm glad you're back, but I won't let the joy of our reunion cloud my judgment."

Zong Linyang inserted the coffee stem into the machine, pressed the switch, and the dark brown liquid slowly dripped into the cup, its aroma spreading in the dangerous atmosphere.

"You've become so suspicious lately?" Zong Linyang said without looking up. "Then would you still dare to drink the coffee I make?"

He brought over two cups of coffee and handed one to Zong Linhan.

Zong Linhan did not accept it.

Zong Linyang took a sip of her drink. "Oh, I'm so heartbroken. I just got back, and my brother is already suspicious of me. Why don't you just call the police and have me arrested?"

Zong Linhan stared at the barely formed latte art and pushed the coffee further away in disgust. "Even if you didn't poison it, I'd still be poisoned."

Zong Linyang: "Tsk, that's really mean. Who does he take after?"

The coffee tasted awful, but Zong Linyang turned around without changing his expression and poured it into the sink. "Luckily I didn't drink it, otherwise I would have been poisoned and they would have called the police to arrest me."

Zong Linyang tried to use a joking tone to cover up the sharp questioning, but Zong Linhan did not budge in the slightest. His gaze was fixed on Zong Linyang, and his voice was deep, already having reached a conclusion: "The signal on Meilan Island was sent by you, the aperture was guided by you and I obtained it easily, Lu Qin is your person, when did you set your sights on Wen Zhiling, why her, and what is your purpose?"

A barrage of cold questions finally dispelled the slight smile on Zong Linyang's face. Seeing that some of the coffee liquid was still in the sink, he turned on the tap and rinsed it away.

He turned around, looked at Zong Linhan, and lightly tapped the table with his long, slender fingers. "Xiaohan, you are indeed more beautiful than I expected."

"..."

Zong Linyang pointed to the table. Zong Linhan's phone had been vibrating since earlier. "Is it a call from the Bureau of Surveillance? They're probably urging you to report for duty and take your little girlfriend for a blood test while you're at it."

He chuckled. "Wait until your little girlfriend gets her blood tested—now, I'm going to pick out a comfortable room to sleep in."

No matter how much Zong Linhan questioned him, he refused to say anything more.

Zong Linyang went upstairs as if she were at home, opened Zong Linhan's wardrobe, and asked, "Do you have any extra pajamas? I came back in a hurry and didn't prepare anything."

Zong Linhan frowned: "Why don't you go back to live with your parents?"

Zong Linyang laughed: "How come I remember every time I came back before, there was always a coward who would hug a storybook and try to hide in my brother's bed to sleep?"

Zong Linhan's forehead vein twitched. "How old was I back then?"

Zong Linyang: "Are you reading storybooks again tonight?"

Zong Linhan: "Get lost."

Zong Linyang didn't care at all. "Of course I'm leaving. I'm not sleeping in your room anyway."

When he was choosing a room, he saw one that was open and showed signs of having been occupied. He pushed it open and glanced inside. "Ah, did I disturb you and your girlfriend?"

Zong Linhan: "No."

He went into the storage room to get Zong Linyang toiletries.

Zong Linyang seemed thoughtful. "You haven't slept together yet?"

Zong Linhan: "..."

Zong Linyang turned to look at him, "I heard from Mom that you're planning to drink Chinese medicine?"

Zong Linhan: "..."

Zong Linhan gritted his teeth: "Brother."

Zong Linyang smiled mischievously, "Hey, I'm here."