He is humble
It was past 9 o'clock when he got home. Zhuang Yu'an went into the kitchen and brought out two bowls of wonton noodles and two plates of side dishes about half an hour later.
Zhuang Jinghao had no appetite at all. He ate silently for a while and suddenly said, "Brother, have you ever thought about competing fairly with Brother Luffy?"
Zhuang Yu'an's eyes showed surprise, and after a moment he asked, "What do you mean by fair competition?"
"That's right..." She gritted her teeth and said generously, "You can also pursue Zuo Xiao! She and Luffy are just in a relationship anyway, they are not married. Besides, Luffy has dated so many girlfriends, and he is not the kind of person who will stay with one person forever..."
"Jinghao." Her brother interrupted her and said seriously, "Luffy is serious about her. He is planning to get married."
Zhuang Jinghao took a deep breath, opened his eyes wide, and asked in disbelief: "Really?"
The brother nodded. Zhuang Jinghao's throat choked, and she almost burst into tears again. Holding back her tears, she asked, "What would you do if they got married or engaged?"
After a brief pause, Zhuang Yu'an said, "It's no different from now."
Zhuang Jinghao's heart ached instantly. Wiping away her tears, she said, "Then can I tell Zuo Xiao that you actually like her too, and even liked her earlier than Luffy?"
"No." He said in a deep voice, "I think she should know how I feel about her. Luffy probably knows it too."
Zhuang Jinghao was shocked and blurted out, "Impossible!"
After thinking for a while, he asked again: "Why do you think so?"
"I see," he said calmly.
Zhuang Jinghao suddenly realized that her brother had remained too calm since she had exposed his thoughts that afternoon. Perhaps this was because he had already analyzed the situation and made plans.
She was a little confused and thought for a while before saying, "She clearly knows that you like her, but she pretends not to know. Is it because she is afraid that it will be awkward and difficult for everyone to get along after she points it out?"
"Of course." The brother said calmly, "Not to mention that Luffy and I have a special relationship. As my sister, you are also her good friend. How can she get along with you? So you must not break the window paper, understand?"
Zhuang Jinghao already understood the pros and cons of this, but she was unwilling to give in. Was her brother going to continue to have a secret crush on her, always watching Zuo Xiao and Luffy's affectionate relationship from a dark corner, and even see them get married?
She was silent for a long time, then said, "Why do you suppress your feelings and watch her and Luffy get along? Brother, don't you think this is too unfair to you? You also have the right to pursue love!"
Zhuang Yu'an's eyes showed surprise, and he said, "You mean, I should be the third person between them?"
Zhuang Jinghao felt her cheeks flush, and said shamelessly, "That's not what I meant... I just think you could express your admiration for her more, show off your charm, and let Zuo Xiao make her own choice..."
"Doing so would be like creating difficulties for her and putting her in an unfair position." Zhuang Yu'an said, "Do you think, with her personality, she can feel at ease to get rid of Luffy and be with me?"
Zhuang Jinghao frowned, thought for a moment, and then said, "Zuo Xiao is a very free and easy person in terms of feelings. He pays great attention to his own feelings and won't tie himself down with those worldly rules and regulations."
Zhuang Yu'an looked at her suspiciously. "I remember you said before that Zuo Xiao only looks selfish, but actually cares about others. You know she's a loyal person, so why are you overturning your previous conclusion now?"
He paused and said, "You just want to use this to convince me to snatch her away for your own happiness, right?"
Suddenly, Zhuang Jinghao's eyes became hot and tears welled up in her eyes. "Brother..." She wanted to say something, but she couldn't stop crying.
Zhuang Yu'an led her to sit on the sofa, took out a tissue to wipe her tears, and hugged her to comfort her, "Don't worry, your brother is not that miserable. On the contrary, it is a lucky and happy thing to be able to meet someone I fall in love with in my lifetime and experience the taste of true love, instead of just going through the motions of getting married, having children, and living a muddled life. Isn't it?"
Zhuang Jinghao cried and shook her head. She couldn't refute her brother's words, but she just couldn't accept it and was sad.
"I think that relationships don't necessarily require pursuing so-called results; the process is more important." Her brother stroked her back softly, saying, "There are many ways to love someone. Even if you can't be with her as a lover, being able to accompany her and protect her is wonderful."
When her crying gradually subsided, he wiped her red eyes with a tissue again and said, "So don't feel sad for me. If you really want to help me, then pretend you know nothing. Otherwise, if our relationship becomes strained, I'm afraid we won't even be friends anymore... Tell me, can you do this?"
Zhuang Jinghao sniffed hard and said in a muffled voice, "I promise you, I can do it..."
Zhuang Yu'an smiled slightly and took his sister into his arms again.
Late in the night, the trees swayed in the stillness of the night. The evening breeze crept in through the half-open window, brushing coolly across the surface of the cherrywood desk and lifting a corner of the open book.
Suddenly, the white printer next to the book began to work. With a humming sound, photo paper moved in and out of the printer. Finally, with a click, a photo was ejected.
Beneath a sweet-scented osmanthus tree, a girl in a sky-blue dress sat on a wicker chair, leaning over to play with a ginger cat at her feet. A few strands of her black hair drooped like satin, half-obscuring her moon-like face.
Slender fingers twisted the corner of the photo, and deep black eyes examined it carefully, as if wanting to deeply engrave the image. Suddenly, my heart felt a tightening pain.
After a long time, Zhuang Yu'an got up and left the study and walked into the bedroom.
He leaned over to light the bedside lamp, opened the bedside table, and took out a photo album.
He leaned against the head of the bed, opened the photo album, inserted the photo, and then looked through it page by page from the beginning.
There were several photos on each page, some group photos, some individual photos, and she was in every one of them.
She kissed the sunset at the Aranya Beach; she paused to admire the century-old historical buildings in Tianjin; she posed for photos with her favorite singers, making a heart shape with her hands; she leaped high and swung her racket to smash the ball; she lowered her head to pluck the strings, a few strands of black hair cascading down onto the wooden guitar case...
There were also two photos of her and him, which came from the sudden anonymous email.
In the rain, he held her horizontally in his arms. She hooked one arm around his neck and held the umbrella with the other. Under the umbrella, there were only the two of them in the world.
Unexpectedly, the person who took the secret photo, with despicable intentions, accidentally helped a secret admirer to treasure the most wonderful night of his life forever.
Admittedly, secret love is wonderful. But it's also tormenting and despicable, requiring a constant battle against inner delusion. He exerted immense willpower to just about stick to the boundaries he'd set for himself, including not secretly photographing her.
None of these photos were taken secretly by him, but were collected through various channels, including his sister and Zuo Xiao's circle of friends. This allowed him to look through them with peace of mind on every night when he missed her, without letting the guilt in his heart ruin the beauty of the process.
The feelings of a secret admirer are usually contradictory, and he gradually realized this after becoming one of them.
He had considered his sister's proposal tonight. The five words "grab her" held such a powerful allure that he had tossed the idea around countless times, yet struggled to suppress it countless times.
On the one hand, he acknowledged that intimacy is based on a first-come, first-served basis, and that stealing someone's love was inherently morally untenable. On the other hand, Luffy, as his competitor, was in a unique situation, and he couldn't ignore the fact that he wasn't an emotionally healthy person. Luffy needed Zuo Xiao more than he did, so he couldn't be so cruel as to remove the rope ladder from the cliff.
Most importantly, as he had told his sister, he couldn't bear to embarrass her, nor could he bear the risk of losing her completely. Continuing to be a secret admirer was the best option.
Since I can't become Luffy, then become Chen Liqing.
This is his choice.
At this moment, Zhuang Jinghao couldn't fall asleep.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that her brother was too patient and too considerate of others. Even when he secretly loved someone, he was more suppressed and humble than most people, even making her feel incompetent.
She understood her brother's concerns. He loved Zuo Xiao and prioritized her happiness, fearing his admiration would cause her trouble. As someone secretly in love with her, she herself had once felt so bad for Chen Liqing that she hoped Zuo Xiao would fall in love with him and fulfill his love.
However, that was just the initial state of mind of a secret crush. Things were different now. As her feelings for Chen Liqing grew deeper and deeper, she no longer felt that way. She only hoped that Chen Liqing would no longer have anyone else in his heart and would be able to be wholeheartedly with her.
From this perspective, she is much more selfish than her brother.
On second thought, it wasn't surprising that my brother would act this way. He had developed a selfless personality since childhood, accustomed to taking care of others and never living for himself. And the reason my brother became like this was largely because of her...
Zhuang Jinghao felt guilty and heartbroken, and she became even more convinced that she had a responsibility. She was determined to defend her brother's love, even if it meant being the "bad guy"!
After much thought, there are three paths before us:
First, find a way to make your brother let go of Zuo Xiao and fall in love with another girl.
Second, break up Luffy and Zuo Xiao. Once Zuo Xiao becomes single, my brother will have a chance.
Third, let Zuo Xiao fall in love with his brother and choose to be with him.
None of these three paths are easy to take. With her almost zero experience in love, she's afraid none of them will be feasible. So, she needs help!
So where is the reinforcement?
She racked her brains and finally locked onto the target——
Liang Sirui!
In her mind, Liang Sirui possessed a pair of "fiery eyes," able to see through her brother's preoccupations the moment she saw him. Furthermore, after just two encounters, she had deduced the complex and subtle relationships and mindsets between her brother, Zuo Xiao, Lu Fei, and Chen Liqing. She was truly a master among masters! If Liang Sirui were willing to help, her chances of success would soar from 0 to over 50%!
She did it right away. She took out her cell phone and sent a WeChat message to Liang Sirui.
The next afternoon, the two met in a cafe near Liang Sirui's home.
Zhuang Jinghao talked non-stop, and the other person laughed as she listened. When she said, "Si Rui, can you help my brother?" the other person actually laughed out loud, his shoulders shaking violently.
She felt a little unhappy, but continued to plead, "With my ability, it's definitely impossible. Si Rui, please just help me..."
Liang Sirui finally stopped laughing, looked at her with interest for a while, and said, "It's not impossible. But what good will it do me?"
Zhuang Jinghao gritted her teeth and said, "Just tell me how you want me to repay you. For my brother's happiness, as long as it's within my ability, I will do my best to do it!"
"Really?" The other party smiled mischievously, "Then can you give Chen Liqing to me?"
Zhuang Jinghao's face suddenly darkened. After a pause, he said seriously, "I'm afraid this won't work..."
"Hahaha!" Liang Sirui laughed out loud, "It seems that your love for your brother is just this much."
Zhuang Jinghao realized she was joking and pouted, "Anything except this..."
Liang Sirui crossed his arms, squinted his eyes and looked at her for a while, then said, "Next year I want to open my own music training institution. If things go well, how about you become my investor?"
Zhuang Jinghao's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked without hesitation, "How much investment do you need?"
"About one million." Liang Sirui said, "I won't let you spend money in vain. I will give you corresponding shares."
Zhuang Jinghao pondered: One million investment is not a small amount, but it can buy his brother's lifelong happiness——
value!
She felt her heart surge and said aloud:
"make a deal!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
