It was late at night, and Bai Zhengping stood up. "Everyone is tired today, let's go and rest first, and we can talk about anything else tomorrow."
Lin Chacha and Yan Xin had already gone to rest. Bai Zhengping asked the housekeeper to take Xiao An to his room and the maid to take Lin Xiazhu to the guest room.
Xiao An's room was on the second floor, and the guest room was on the first floor. Xiao An went back to her room and took a shower, then immediately went downstairs to the guest room to find Lin Xiazhu. Lin Xiazhu was quick; because it was a bit late, she hadn't washed her hair yet, and after showering, she went to bed.
She had just lain down when she heard a knock on the door. She glanced at Lin Taozi on the bed. Good, she was sleeping soundly, completely undisturbed. She got up, grabbed a light coat, and put it on. When she opened the door, she saw that it was Xiao An.
"Why aren't you asleep?" she asked, knowing the answer already.
Xiao An smiled slightly and naturally took her hand. "Xiao Zhu, I have something to tell you. Come out for a moment."
Lin Xiazhu struggled for a moment but couldn't break free, so she let him be. However, she still kept a straight face and said in a muffled voice, "It's too late, I'm sleepy. We can talk about it tomorrow."
"Sister Xiaozhu, let's go for a walk outside. If I don't tell you tonight, I won't be able to sleep. Will you come with me for a walk?" Actually, he was afraid that she would overthink things and then not be able to sleep.
I was planning to tell her about this during the day, but so many things happened, and I was delayed for most of the day at the hospital. We were supposed to have a family reunion dinner at home today, but because my great-grandfather is in the hospital, we had to eat out for dinner.
"Then tell me properly." When did you regain your memory? Why didn't you tell her? It hurt her so much; she felt distrusted and deceived.
"I'll tell you everything, and I promise I won't hide anything, otherwise..." This usually quiet person is now ready to swear a solemn oath at the slightest provocation.
"Stop, I don't want to hear anything unlucky. Let's go, don't wake Taozi." Lin Xiazhu covered his lips to stop him from continuing, then calmly closed the door and they went to the back garden together.
The two didn't go too far, figuring that talking there wouldn't disturb others, so they stopped by a clump of flowers.
Xiao An held her hand, looked up at the full moon in the sky, and whispered, "The Mid-Autumn Festival is in another month. I may not be able to celebrate it with you then."
Looking at his almost perfect profile, Lin Xiazhu sighed. This guy was probably looking melancholy again, trying to act profound and deliberately trying to soften her heart.
"Get to the point, don't change the subject." I'm not falling for his tricks, you brat.
Xiao An looked away from her and saw helplessness in his eyes. Sure enough, after finding her family, Xiao Zhu was no longer as gentle to him as before, and would occasionally roll her eyes at him.
Those eyes clearly said, "You're someone's pampered kid now. You don't need me to comfort your fragile heart anymore. You're a rich and powerful young master. From now on, it's my turn to fawn over you."
"Xiaozhu..."
"Look at you! You've only just returned to the Bai family, and you haven't even settled in yet, and you're already acting so disrespectful, calling me 'Xiao Zhu' all the time, omitting the word 'sister.' You're already starting to disregard me. I've been your sister for so long for nothing!" Lin Xiazhu said angrily.
Xiao An was both amused and exasperated. Suddenly, she pulled the person into her arms and hugged her tightly. In a low voice, she said, "Xiao Zhu, I'm actually a year older than you. You misunderstood back then. You all thought I was younger than you."
Back then... Xiao An was indeed thin and small, and looked really younger than her, so she always treated him as her younger brother. At that time, he had amnesia, so he assumed that he was her younger brother.
Wait, why did he suddenly hug her? Lin Xiazhu realized what was happening and immediately pushed him away. "You've been getting more and more unruly lately, hugging people all the time. Did you ask for their permission? You just hug them whenever you want?"
“You’re no stranger.” Xiao An chuckled.
"I'm not your sister anymore, so who am I?" Lin Xiazhu glared at him, annoyed.
She is the person he cherishes.
"Xiao Zhu, I'm sorry, there's something I haven't told you yet. Actually, I haven't lost my memory; you all mistakenly thought I had it." Xiao An blinked her innocent peach blossom eyes.
"...So it's all our fault, and you're the only innocent one. You've got some nerve, daring to push all the blame onto us. If you hadn't pretended to have amnesia, how could we have misunderstood?" I never realized before that this kid was so good at twisting the truth.
"I wasn't pretending. Xiaozhu, back then, I was sold to human traffickers by my adoptive father's younger brother. They took a train from the north all the way south for several days and nights. I was unconscious the whole time. When I woke up, I was taken to Changhe County. The human traffickers were going to sell me. I escaped with my life on the line."
But after I escaped, I was chased by human traffickers. Later, I ran into the street and was hit by a truck that suddenly appeared. I suffered a serious head injury, as you know.
Lin Xiazhu nodded upon hearing this. She knew better than anyone how serious Xiao An's injuries were back then.
“I was terrified at that time. I was abused by my adoptive father’s uncle and aunt. They didn’t give me food, and I was often hungry. I also had to do a lot of housework. I couldn’t continue going to school. I had to take care of my uncle’s children at home, and they bullied me…”
"I did so much, ate less than a chicken, and I never thought I would still be sold in the end. Do you know how desperate and unwilling I was in the moment before I was hit by the truck? But when I was really hit and my head was bleeding, and I felt death getting closer and closer to me."
I felt relieved again, thinking that it would be better to die like this. Without family to love me, everything I did was wrong; my life was superfluous. My biological parents passed away shortly after my birth, and later my adoptive parents died too. Only I am still alive, and I will die soon.
He had actually died once, but he wouldn't tell anyone, including Xiaozhu, about it.
"Waaah... Xiao An, stop talking. I know, I don't blame you. You had your reasons, waaah..." Lin Xiazhu cried with snot and tears streaming down her face, finding a reason to excuse Xiao An.
Unable to find tissues to wipe her face, she simply threw herself into Xiao An's arms, wiping her tears and snot all over his clothes.
Xiao An: "..." If anyone else dared to do that, he would have hit them.
"Luckily I met you, otherwise Xiao An wouldn't exist now." Then there would only be Gu Mingxuan, hastily buried in the ground after his death.
Gu Mingxuan was given to him by his adoptive father, Gu Changcheng. Over the years, he has been living as Lin Ruan. The name Gu Mingxuan has long been unfamiliar to him. Gu Mingxuan is long dead. The one who is alive now is Lin Ruan.
After crying for a while, Lin Xiazhu stopped crying, looked up at Xiao An, and said, "You have a younger sister, so why haven't you mentioned her before? Aren't you worried about her?"
It wouldn't be right to say he wasn't worried; the first thing he wanted to do upon returning to the Bai family was to bring his sister back, which shows that he had been thinking about her all along.
“I don’t want to, and I can’t, cause you trouble. Xiaozhu is very capable and strong. The whole family depends on you for support, but you are just a child. It is my responsibility to support my younger sister.”
He wanted to bring his younger sister over when he was able to, rather than adding pressure to Xiaozhu. He could just shamelessly rely on her on his own; he didn't want to bring her along as a family.
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