Chapter 34 Chapter 34 False Feelings, Pretense
"I'm not joking, nor am I making up excuses to lie to you. Every word I said is true. Lin Mo and I took the wrong baby 25 years ago. I am your sister." Song Zhihan's tone was difficult, and every word he uttered was difficult.
Seeing her undisguised seriousness and sadness, Lin Jie finally accepted these words and gradually tried to understand the matter with his confused brain.
So, Lin Mo is not his sister, and he and Song Zhihan are brother and sister?
No, that's not possible.
Lin Jie tried to find clues that she had made a mistake: "Have you done a paternity test?" There was doubt in his words, but his voice was trembling, because he knew very well that Song Zhihan would not tell him this for no reason.
But he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart, hoping it was a misunderstanding.
Song Zhihan took out his cell phone, took off his hands, then held it firmly, and showed him the photos in the phone.
A paternity test report, written in black and white, states that the probability of a blood relationship is 99.97%.
Lin Jie still didn't give up. He asked even though he knew the answer, pointing to the surname that was listed together with Lin Mo's name.
Song Dynasty.
"Who is this?"
"It's my mother, or rather, Lin Mo's mother." Song Zhihan said the last sentence with a heavy tone.
Lin Jie couldn't accept it, and neither could she. She wished so much that all this was not true. No one could compare to Song Yazhi's position in her heart.
"You know there's a chance that paternity tests can be wrong, right?"
Lin Jie turned his eyes away as if fleeing, unwilling to look at it again, as if it were some kind of evidence of a crime.
Song Zhihan looked at him with surprise. Lin Jie was questioning the credibility of the parent-child report. How could such a rational and calm person like him turn a deaf ear and question science?
Helplessly, she took out Song Yazhi's photo and showed it to Lin Jie.
"This is... a photo of my mother." Lin Jie pursed his lips tightly, his eyes subconsciously looking at the photo. He prepared many excuses to find fault, but just one glance and his eyes froze instantly.
He heard the sound of doubt collapsing in his ears, the sound was like thunder, shocking.
They look so similar. How could there be two strangers who are almost identical in appearance and temperament?
He thought of Lin Mo's and Zhong Xiuwen's completely different appearances, and then thought of himself. Zhong Xiuwen often said that Lin Mo looked like their father, who had passed away long ago. Lin Jie's memory of him was already vague, but no one in the Lin family had ever seen the person in front of him who looked exactly like Lin Mo.
Similar faces and irrefutable parent-child reports.
He realized that this was probably true. Song Zhihan was telling the truth.
The order he had built up within him was crumbling, and his face was ashen. Lin Jie slumped into his chair like a lost soul, his expression suppressed, but Song Zhihan could sense that he was slowly digesting and accepting it.
This is a good thing.
Song Zhihan moved the corners of his lips and smiled reluctantly.
"Lin Mo doesn't know about this yet, and Aunt Zhong probably doesn't know either. Lin Jie, I've always thought you were mature and calm, and that you have the ability to solve any problem. That's why I chose to tell you this first. I don't know when the Song family will reveal it, but I think it should be soon."
Her voice was so soft that it was almost ethereal, like an invisible and elusive wind, tightly wrapped around Lin Jie's brain, but no trace could be seen.
"I'll go over to Aunt Zhong's place. If you really can't face me right now, wait a few days before meeting me again."
This was not only a chance for Lin Jie to buffer the situation, but also for Song Zhihan herself. She had made a lot of mental preparations before deciding to tell Lin Jie. Now that she had revealed it, she would have to prepare for a long time before facing him.
Lin Jie finally spoke. He moved his lips and choked out a few words from his throat.
"Why tell me now?"
Why not wait until the day he was told? Why not give him a little more time?
"Because I want you to help me. Lin Jie, I can see your and Aunt Zhong's feelings for Lin Mo. I don't want to wait until the truth comes out and become a burden that both families despise." When she said this, she hung her head, her voice was very low, and there was a hint of crying in her voice.
This is the fear that has always been hidden in Song Zhihan's heart. She is deeply afraid, just like a person who can't swim accidentally falls into the sea. If there is any possibility of getting ashore, she must hold on tightly. Now Lin Jie is her float.
Lin Jie subconsciously replied, "How could it be..."
How could Song Zhihan end up in such a situation? How could the words "dislike" and "burden" ever be associated with her?
She deserves to be loved and cherished by all.
He looked at Song Zhihan and wanted to wipe away her tears like he used to, but he couldn't do that now, he had to endure it.
"How do you want me to help you?"
Lin Jie accepted it, briefly, as it was a sign of escape. The last time he escaped was nine years ago, when he awkwardly rejected Song Zhihan's confession.
"Help me get closer to Aunt Zhong, and accept me into the Lin family on the day Lin Mo and I are swapped." Song Zhihan looked at him with a firm gaze.
From the beginning to the end, she had only this one goal. Lin Jie was the backbone and support for the other two people in the family, and Song Zhihan understood this very clearly. As long as he could grasp Lin Jie's attitude, other problems would be easy to solve.
She acted as if she was negotiating a deal, which hurt Lin Jie's eyes.
If this was her purpose, then what was the meaning of everything they had experienced during this period? Was it her deliberate act? How much truth was revealed in it? Those moments that sparked countless fantasies in him, were they real or just acting?
He found that he couldn't find a definite answer. He couldn't even see into Song Zhihan's heart, and he was self-righteous again.
"Lin Jie, are you... willing to help me?" Song Zhihan looked at him in a daze and leaned forward.
Lin Jie looked at her, with mystery in his deep eyes.
"I have no idea."
When he heard his own answer, he thought about it a lot and chose the most honest answer.
When facing Song Zhihan, he always has too many concerns and hesitations.
Song Zhihan smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "Okay, then you think about it carefully. It's okay. If you don't want to, I will find a way myself."
As she was about to stand up and leave, Lin Jie reached out and grabbed her wrist, his palm tightly gripping the slender wrist bone. His tall body completely enveloped her in front of him, somewhat intimately.
"Song Zhihan, I..."
Before he could finish his words, she interrupted him coldly: "Lin Jie, some things should always be kept in your heart. No matter what happened between us in the past, from now on, we are just brother and sister."
Brother and sister. The word splashed onto Lin Jie's hand like boiling magma, burning him so much that he helplessly let go. His palm slowly slipped away. He looked at Song Zhihan, who had never been so serious before, and turned his eyes away, unable to bear to look at anything on her.
"No, I have nothing to say."
All the words, all the expectations, all the beautiful imaginations must be swallowed up, and even the past must be cut off.
Their relationship has been framed in a strange circle called brother and sister, where brothers and sisters are only friendly and respectful to each other, and no ambiguity that crosses the line is allowed.
No one can step beyond the line.
Song Zhihan dragged his feet forward a few steps, then took a step forward, walking faster and faster.
The tears that she had been suppressing could no longer be held back and burst out of her eyes, wetting her face.
All her disguises were exposed. She covered her mouth tightly, suppressed the sobs in her throat, and ran to the corner of the rooftop in anger, leaving herself in a mess against the concrete wall.
As night falls, the sky is dotted with stars, but they are no longer dazzling, and darkness covers the earth.
In the office, Lin Jie was still standing there, looking at his empty palms. He curled up his fingertips, slowly and stiffly clenched them into empty fists, and then placed them on his legs.
He seemed to be speechless and couldn't say anything for a long time until the phone rang. He raised his hand and answered it mechanically.
"Hmm? Is this Mr. Lin with the license plate number ending in 9913? The flowers you ordered have arrived."
Lin Jie turned a deaf ear to it.
"Wrong? The last number is 9913..."
The delivery man repeated it again, his tone heavy as if he had just heard it.
"It's me. Please... throw it away for me. Thank you."
After the call was hung up, he took a few steps back and fell onto the sofa. His tall figure looked a little disheveled.
He leaned back on the sofa, feeling a solid presence against his back, and it gave him a sense of reality.
He crushed and broke apart all the words Song Zhihan had said today, chewing them over and over again. The taste was bitter, but he didn't care at all.
He thought he was under control of everything, he thought he saw the shyness hidden in Song Zhihan, he thought everything was the same as before, but the reality showed that he was just a complete fool.
I didn't have the courage to face it before, and after waiting for so long until now, fate has revealed its clues again. God is really a good screenwriter. He set up the reunion scene, and then quickly reversed it, making Lin Jie's expectations reach the peak and then suddenly fall through, without even leaving him room for sadness, forcing him to follow the original script and move on, without even the slightest resistance.
No matter how many difficulties or obstacles there are, he will not back down. But why are they brother and sister, and why are they the shackles of family affection? Even if he is crazy enough to do anything, he never wants to see Song Zhihan being blamed by anyone.
The repeated admonitions lingered in Lin Jie's mind. All the moral shackles were torn apart at a single blow, and all the ethical principles became nothingness at a certain moment. He was shocked by his own stubbornness and madness.
And then, everything returned to calm.
Lin Jie silently told herself not to think about it anymore, not to be delusional anymore, just as Song Zhihan said, being a brother and sister would be good for everyone.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: There is another chapter, which will be published later.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com