Early in the morning, it was already the usual time for Ye Jinyan's morning run, and Wen Shui Wang Ma and the others were already prepared, but no matter how long they waited, Ye Jinyan, dressed in sportswear, never came downstairs.

At this moment, Ye Jinyan in the room had clearly woken up, but he felt as if his eyelids were glued shut, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not open his eyes.

After struggling to open his eyes, Ye Jinyan slowly lifted the covers, gently patted his still-drowsy head, picked up the alarm clock on the bedside table, and realized that he had overslept, and his morning run was completely ruined.

He thought this in a daze.

The boy, still not fully conscious, went into the bathroom. The moment his fingers touched the cold water, he shivered, but he finally came to his senses.

It seems that it really was because I stayed up too late last night that...

Thinking of last night and that dream, Ye Jinyan immediately splashed cold water on his face, telling himself he couldn't think about it anymore!

He quickly washed up and got dressed before leaving the room and going downstairs.

It was at this moment that he realized Tang Ning had already sat down at the table and was eating breakfast.

Upon seeing Tang Ning's delicate face, Ye Jinyan immediately couldn't help but recall Tang Ning's flushed face from crying in his sleep yesterday. Almost instantly, Ye Jinyan's face turned bright red.

"Good morning, brother."

After a night, Tang Ning, whose foot injury was finally not so painful, was full of energy.

"Um... good morning," Ye Jinyan mumbled in response.

"Why didn't you go for your morning run today, brother? Did you have such a wonderful dream last night that you didn't want to wake up and forgot about it..."

No! Don't talk nonsense!

Tang Ning teased with a smile, but before she could finish speaking, she saw Ye Jinyan explode like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his face turning even redder.

this……

Okay, she knew this impure kid had already confessed; he had been dreaming last night. Considering the message she received that morning about Ye Jinyan's favorability rating increasing to 59, it wasn't hard to guess that his dream must have been about her, and his face was still so red…

Hmm...

Looks like it was just a pipe dream!

Tang Ning immediately deduced the biggest secret Ye Jinyan was trying so hard to hide from her.

Tang Ning laughed even harder inside, but on the surface she just grumbled twice, "If you don't have it, you don't have it, why are you making such a fuss?"

Upon hearing Tang Ning's words, Ye Jinyan looked up at her and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"Why do you need to apologize? I'm not angry. I would never be angry with you, brother. Let's eat breakfast. It's getting late. We need to hurry up and get to school after we finish eating."

Tang Ning said this with a smile.

Ye Jinyan nodded almost imperceptibly, but his brows furrowed slightly as he put the fried egg in his mouth.

There was no taste at all. Could it be that Wang Ma made a mistake? But after a while, he found that not only the fried eggs had no taste, but also the bacon, bread, milk, and even the steamed buns and fried dumplings that Tang Ning loved to eat had no taste to him.

Could it be that he...?

After finishing breakfast, he went to Tang Ning's side, intending to carry her to the car outside. But as soon as he squatted down, Ye Jinyan felt his vision go black and he became dizzy. He instinctively staggered forward, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.

"elder brother!"

Tang Ning's voice immediately rang in his ears, but because her leg injury had not yet healed and she was in such a hurry, she also fell down next to him.

"Hmm..."

She let out a muffled groan, then immediately moved to Ye Jinyan's side, grabbed his hand, and her eyes reddened instantly. "Brother, what's wrong? Aunt Wang, Uncle Li, come quick, come quick..."

In a daze, Ye Jinyan looked at Tang Ning's anxious and flustered face. He wanted to comfort her, but his hands felt as heavy as if they weighed a ton and he couldn't lift them.

He knew he most likely had a fever. After all, he had soaked himself in cold water for a long time last night to keep himself from overthinking, so it was normal to have a fever. He had caught colds and fevers before, but because he was usually in good health, he hadn't paid much attention to them. But he didn't expect this fever to come on so suddenly and violently.

"rather……"

Ye Jinyan moved his lips silently.

Ningning, don't worry, he's fine, don't fret.

That was clearly what he wanted to say to comfort her.

Unfortunately, Ye Jinyan only managed to utter such a short sound before immediately falling into a coma.

The last thing he saw before he fell into a coma was Tang Ning's panicked and frightened little face.

Perhaps because he was constantly worried that Tang Ning would be concerned about him, even when he was delirious with fever, Ye Jinyan kept repeating Tang Ning's name.

Meanwhile, Tang Ning, hearing Ye Jinyan's voice, looked anxiously at the Ye family doctor who had rushed over as quickly as possible. After examining Ye Jinyan, the doctor began preparing his IV fluids before Tang Ning hurriedly asked, "Dr. Wen, is my brother alright? Does he need to go to the hospital? How could he suddenly faint? Will his fever go down after this IV drip?"

Upon hearing Tang Ning's question, Dr. Wen immediately glanced at Tang Ning with some surprise.

After all, he had been the Ye family doctor for nearly twenty years. In his memory, the relationship between the two half-siblings had never been good. They could even be considered as two strangers living under the same roof. How come their relationship suddenly improved so much after he hadn't visited for a while?

After Ye Jinyan fell into a coma, he kept calling out Miss Tang Ning's name. And Miss Tang Ning was also so concerned about her brother?

It's really baffling.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, but Dr. Wen remained calm and replied, "It's nothing serious, just a fever. There's no need to go to the hospital. Young Master Jin Yan has always been in excellent health. I just gave him a full physical examination not long ago, and there were no problems. His fainting spell is probably just due to the fever. I'll give him an IV drip now to bring the fever down as soon as possible. With his constitution, it shouldn't be anything serious."

After listening to the doctor's words, Tang Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that Wang Ma had brought over the warm water, Tang Ning immediately reached out and took it.

"Let me do it, Aunt Wang."

"But……"

“My brother’s fever is most likely caused by him forgetting to put on his clothes yesterday when he took me to the school hospital after I was injured. I bear a lot of responsibility. Aunt Wang, please let me come. This will make me feel better.”

Tang Ning said this with some sadness.

"Well... alright, miss, please be careful, your foot injury hasn't healed yet."

"Yes, thank you, Aunt Wang."

After thanking her, Tang Ning immediately began to wipe Ye Jinyan's forehead, neck, and arms with a towel dampened with warm water.

On the other end, Dr. Wen had already inserted the IV needle into the vein on the back of Ye Jinyan's hand.

Seeing this, Tang Ning, who was still holding a towel, immediately and without hesitation told the people guarding the bedside, "You can all go down first, and take Dr. Wen down to get some rest. There's no use keeping so many people here. If there are any problems, I will call you up immediately."

"Miss, are you alright by yourself?"

Wang Ma asked this with some concern.

"Yes, it's fine. My foot injury wasn't that serious to begin with, and I can already walk a little bit now. Don't worry, Aunt Wang."

Tang Ning solemnly assured him.

"Well...Miss, we'll go downstairs now. If you need anything, remember to call Aunt Wang, okay?"

"Uh-huh!"

Tang Ning nodded vigorously.

Soon, one by one, all the people who had crowded the room left, leaving Tang Ning alone by Ye Jinyan's bedside.

Looking at the boy's perfect and delicate face, Ye Jinyan seemed much more harmless when he was asleep than when he was awake!

She reached out and gently stroked his high, straight nose. Tang Ning's lips curled up slightly. This was the perfect opportunity to exploit a plot hole, play the victim, and gain favor. Of course, she had to guard it all by herself.

It's unclear how much time passed, but perhaps due to the effects of the medicine, Ye Jinyan finally regained consciousness, albeit in a daze.

He was awake, but he couldn't open his eyes and couldn't move his body at all. Just as Ye Jinyan was getting anxious, he felt his hands being tightly grasped by two soft little hands.

"...Brother, please wake up soon, okay? I...it's all my fault. If I hadn't hurt my leg yesterday, and you hadn't rushed me to the school clinic, I wouldn't have caught a cold..."

No...it has nothing to do with you...

Ye Jinyan subconsciously retorted in his mind.

The next second, he felt a sudden heat on the back of his hand, and a drop of water immediately rolled down his arm. Upon feeling this sensation, Ye Jinyan became anxious and tried even harder to open his eyes, but the harder he tried, the more difficult it became to open them.

Just then, Tang Ning sniffed, and her voice, tinged with laughter, rang out again, "But why... am I so happy? I'm so happy that you care about me like this! It's like... it's like I really am your sister..."

"You have no idea how much I liked you the first time I saw you. I still remember the first time I came to the Ye family with my mother. You were wearing a white sweater, sitting in front of the piano in the living room, just like the Little Prince I read in a fairy tale. I liked you at first sight. If I was a little scared before coming to the Ye family, I wasn't afraid of anything after seeing you, because I was convinced that you would be a very, very good older brother..."

"You probably have no idea what my life was like before. My mother was so busy and tired every day that she didn't even want to move a finger when she got home. How could I tell her about being bullied by those older kids? When they held my head underwater in sewage, making it hard for me to breathe, laughing at me and scolding me, and I was trembling with fear, I wished I had an older brother to protect me. That's why I couldn't help but try to please you again and again... hoping you would be nicer to me, just a little nicer... as if that would make me forget all the sad and unhappy memories from my childhood..."

"But why...why did you have to be like that? I really think I've tried my best. I've tried to keep up with you, I want you to see me, to see that I'm not what you say I am, that I'm excellent enough to be your sister, and even...I even hope you can be proud of me..."

"But no...not even for a single day...Actually, I childishly resented you later, thinking that if you ignored me, I wouldn't ignore you either; if you were cold, my face would be even colder. But only I know that I was still secretly hoping, hoping that one day you would see your little sister. So you have no idea how happy and satisfied I am with you now, as if flowers are blooming in my heart..."

After saying that, Tang Ning placed Ye Jinyan's still warm hand on her cheek and gently rubbed it.

"I've been keeping these words inside for a long time, and I only dared to say them after you fell asleep. It feels so much better to say them out loud..."

"Brother, you have to get better soon..."

Tang Ning murmured this to herself.

Hearing Tang Ning's words, Ye Jinyan felt as if his heart was being slowly, slowly clenched. Guilt, embarrassment, regret, bitterness and other emotions fermented in his heart.

sorry……

I apologize for my past careless remarks.

I'm sorry for taking my anger out on your incompetence.

I'm sorry for all the bad things I've done.

I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry...

Ningning, I'm so sorry.

He was wrong...

Perhaps due to the intense emotional fluctuations, Ye Jinyan quickly fell into a deep sleep again due to excessive mental exhaustion.

After being in a daze for an unknown amount of time, Ye Jinyan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he finally opened his sticky eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Tang Ning's sleeping face leaning against the headboard. He glanced at the sky outside the window; it was almost dusk. The warm glow of the setting sun fell on Tang Ning's face, as if casting a thin layer of light on her, making her look so quiet and well-behaved, just like the little doll he loved to hold in his arms when he was a child.

The moment he saw her, the words Tang Ning had whispered in his ear echoed in his mind, one by one.

What did she do wrong again? She did nothing wrong, didn't she? What gave him the right to vent all his pain over his mother's passing on her, and what gave him the right to utter those vicious words to her? And then watch helplessly as the light in her eyes gradually faded until it turned completely gray...

Ningning...

Perhaps due to illness and weakness, Ye Jinyan's eyes were slightly red. He stared intently at Tang Ning's sleeping face, and then suddenly reached out and touched her cheek.

The moment the warm fingertips touched her fair cheek, Tang Ning's brows furrowed slightly. Before she even opened her eyes, her fingers reflexively reached for Ye Jinyan's forehead. Upon touching the already cold towel, she immediately turned around, soaked it in the basin beside her, wrung it out until it was half dry, and then turned away.

Upon seeing Ye Jinyan open his eyes and look at her, her eyes widened instantly, followed by an expression of overwhelming joy. "Brother, you're awake? Is anything bothering you? Does your body hurt? You haven't eaten all day, are you hungry? I... Oh right, Dr. Wen told me to call him over immediately as soon as I saw you wake up!"

"Doctor Wen..."

At this point, Tang Ning got up without thinking and was about to run outside, but she completely forgot that her leg injury had not fully healed. She had only taken a couple of steps when she fell to the ground.

"careful!"

Splash—

Seeing her fall, Ye Jinyan reached out to catch her without thinking.

But unexpectedly, he was still weak and shaky after his fever subsided, and not only did he fail to rescue Tang Ning, he also got himself involved.

The two fell to the ground together, with Ye Jinyan landing squarely on top of Tang Ning. After they came to their senses, their eyes met instantly.

Tang Ning's eyes were moist and sparkling, like the first dewdrop on the most beautiful rose in the garden at dawn. Her body was soft and delicate, just like the touch he felt in his dreams...

Ye Jinyan stared intently into her eyes, his mouth slightly dry. He had clearly held his breath immediately, but—

Thump, thump, thump...

His heart pounded harder and harder, as if it were about to leap out of his chest; he couldn't control it or suppress it.

This unusually intense heartbeat made Ye Jinyan understand too many things in an instant.

His feelings for her were never any childhood guilt, nor any adolescent hormonal surge, nothing at all.

Over the years, he has remained calm and composed in the face of all external changes, even his father Ye Zhen. Why is it that when facing Tang Ning, he cannot control even the slightest bit of his temper and irritability?

That's because he has always coveted her.

No one could witness as directly as him how she gradually became so outstanding. He never stopped paying attention to her for even a day. After paying attention for so long, he himself didn't even know what his feelings for her were anymore.

He told himself that it was disgust, it was aversion.

In reality, during those few days of tutoring, any slight closeness she showed him would immediately set his heart racing. Seeing her attentiveness to A-Yao would make him feel lost, irritable, and restless. Seeing her injured would make him panic and feel helpless.

Even though everything was so obvious, he still clung to his old dislike and disgust, deliberately ignoring her and being cold and indifferent to her. In reality, he was just trying to cover up the despicable nature of himself.

He, Ye Jinyan, had long harbored feelings for his half-sister.

Ye Jinyan's current favorability rating: 80.