The moonlight outside the window was gentle and soft, and the bedroom was filled with a warm glow. Fang Zhi was holding a book and leaning against the headboard. Her thick, black hair was slightly damp, and it was clear that she had just taken a bath.
The phone on the bedside table kept ringing.
Qi Shen kept calling, but Fang Zhi's reading mood was not affected at all. He let the phone ring and stop.
Finally, the man on the other end seemed to get impatient. This time, he didn't call back after the phone rang. Instead, a text message notification sounded.
Only then did he put down the book and pick up his phone.
[Brother: Zhizhi, you need to know that my patience is limited. Call me back within five minutes, and be good. After all, you don't want to completely offend your brother, right?]
Fang Zhi looked at the message, pursed her lips slightly, and her fair and beautiful face swayed from side to side.
He guessed very accurately.
She really didn't want to offend him completely, so she subconsciously didn't dare to answer her brother's calls, and she could also guess what he wanted to say to her.
It's simply a matter of going back.
Only then did I realize that his eyelids were lowered, and there was a clear sense of inner turmoil in his eyes.
Her delicate, jade-like fingers kept stroking the edge of the phone; the screen displayed a man's phone number.
Should I call my brother back?
-
Under the same night sky, after sending the message, Qi Shen glanced at the empty space beside the bed, feeling a sense of emptiness in his heart as he secretly resented the girl for not answering the phone.
He'd grown accustomed to sharing a bed these past few years, accustomed to kissing the little girl's cheek before sleep, accustomed to having a soft, warm little person in his arms as he slept, accustomed to seeing Zhizhi's face every time he opened or closed his eyes—there were so many things...
Now that the young woman is not by his side, a sense of inexplicable loneliness quickly spreads through the man.
After dealing with the two women, he returned directly to Nangong after not sleeping for a day and a night. He lay on the bed and dozed off for two hours. He subconsciously reached out to touch the little girl, but his hand touched nothing. Then he woke up.
Qi Shen rubbed his brow bone, then lowered his eyes.
With only one minute left before he had to give Zhizhi the time, the little girl called as scheduled.
The moment the phone rang, he curved his lips into a smile, his narrow eyes brimming with laughter. He answered the call, his warm, soft voice carrying a slight electrical vibration from the receiver.
"elder brother......"
He gave a faint "hmm" and said nothing more.
Fang Zhi, holding her phone, was puzzled as to what the man was thinking. She asked softly, "Is there something you need, brother, that's so late?"
"Can't you call Zhizhi if there's nothing wrong?" Qi Shen retorted, his dark eyes flashing with a sharp light.
He was very dissatisfied with the girl's current attitude. Had he already forgotten that she was his woman after only two days away?
Fang Zhi was taken aback by the question and stammered, "No."
Qi Shen casually turned on the bedside lamp, reached for the cigarette pack on the bedside table, took out a cigarette, and lit it. A bluish-white smoke billowed from his thin lips and high-bridged nose as he murmured:
"Does Zhizhi miss her brother?"
Nighttime easily evokes loneliness and stirs the heartstrings; perhaps it's because the man's voice is too gentle and alluring at this moment, like a fine, aged wine that is both mellow and intoxicating.
Fang Zhi was drawn into his question, and a look of confusion flashed across his clear and bright eyes.
Did she miss him these past few days? She wasn't sure herself.
"Hmm?" Qi Shen asked again, "Do you miss your brother?"
Fang Zhi bit her lip. "I don't know."
The moment he intervened at the school and reinstated the teacher, she missed him.
But she didn't want to live like she used to.
"Brother misses Zhizhi very much." Qi Shen's tone was calm and his pace unhurried. "Zhizhi has been away for too long this time. It's time for her to come home. When she comes back tomorrow, brother will not hold anything against her. I will also stop keeping her locked up and preventing her from going to school."
He paused, then changed the subject, "After tomorrow, I'm not sure what my brother might do. These past two days without Zhizhi at home, I haven't been able to bear it for even a second."
Hearing the man's words, she realized that she was still a little scared, but thinking of Sister Lin's promise that as long as she stayed here, her brother couldn't do anything to her.
Fang Zhi hesitated for a moment, then grew bolder.
"Brother, if I go back, can I do whatever I want in the future? Please don't control me anymore?"
The man casually tossed out a "no," and the negotiation immediately failed.
"Zhizhi, you know that." Qi Shen's face remained expressionless, but his words carried a hint of warning. "You are the person I care about most. I don't want anyone or anything more important than me to be around you. You are my treasure, and I don't want anyone else watching you or surrounding you. So I'll pick you up tomorrow. Be a good girl and come back. Don't make your brother angry, okay?"
After speaking, he stubbed out his cigarette and listened quietly to the girl's breathing, waiting for her response.
Fang Zhi's attitude was clear: "No."
Qi Shen didn't seem surprised at all, his attitude remaining gentle and calm. "Have you thought it through?"
"Yes, I've made up my mind."
He smiled faintly, "Okay."
Look at his little bird, it's only been two days since it flew away, and its wings have already hardened to this extent.
Even through the phone, Fang Zhi could feel the pressure emanating from the man. She wanted to hang up, but having just refused him, she didn't dare.
The two seemed to be facing off across a distance, and time ticked by.
Qi Shen's eyes flickered slightly as he laid out the facts for the young girl, "Lin Yisheng has a husband and a family. How long can you hide with her, Zhizhi? When Shi Yan comes back, are you sure she'll still protect you?"
She knew the problem he was referring to. Fang Zhi's lips trembled slightly. "I...I..." The words were stuck in her throat like a tangled rope, and she didn't know how to refute him.
A slight smile appeared on Qi Shenjun's face. "Zhizhi, there's no need to rush to reply to your brother. It's getting late, go to sleep."
He said softly, "Goodnight." Then he instructed her, "Keep your phone by your pillow and don't hang up."
Fang Zhi subconsciously replied, "Good night."
As he said, she did not hang up.
The soft, shallow breathing sounds mingled together over the phone, as if the two were still sleeping beside each other.
Fang Zhi felt a little unwell at first, but as drowsiness washed over her, her consciousness became blurred, and she gradually fell asleep.
In the dimly lit bedroom, Qi Shen lay back down on the bed. He couldn't touch the girl, but hearing her breathing was a kind of comfort. As the night deepened, listening to the girl's breathing, a sense of peace gradually settled over him. The next moment, the urge to bring her back surged even stronger.
"Zhizhi, you can't escape me, you can't get away from me."
He murmured something, but the person on the other end didn't respond; they were already fast asleep.
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