Chapter 93 Being a Good Older Brother. Do you think the older brother next door is handsome or...?
Gong Shi Moyu was absolutely certain that his emotions were not due to the face in front of him, but to the soul behind that face.
He also fulfilled his responsibilities as an older brother to the "original owner" of the body. In their daily interactions, they were often very close, but he never had any unusual feelings and treated her purely as a younger sister.
Could it be because he and Xie Jiaoyue share a bond spanning two lifetimes? Perhaps the long time they've spent together has caused these unusual feelings to arise?
Gong Shi Moyu was in a state of great inner turmoil.
One emotion told him that they were siblings, and he should never have such thoughts. Another emotion told him that they weren't siblings at all; they were two people with no blood relation, and he wasn't even listed in the Xie family genealogy, so he wasn't a legitimate adopted son, at most a kind-hearted lady supporting poor orphans. Yet another emotion told him that they were siblings, even if not in reality, at least in name, and he should never have such thoughts.
Two emotions intertwined in his heart, leaving him speechless with a dark look in his eyes for a long time.
Xie Jiaoyue asked again, "Brother Moyu, were you just talking about 'self-defense'?"
Gong Shi Moyu finally snapped out of his emotions and realized what he had just said.
Oh no, he's been exposed.
For a moment, he couldn't tell whether it was more serious that the beastly brother had fallen in love with his sister, or that it was more serious that his identity had been accidentally exposed.
It's all so serious! His heart is torn in two; he can't let go of either side, and he can't figure out either of them.
He lost his usual calm and composure, and his tone became unusually hesitant: "I, um, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of this word. I feel it's quite suitable to describe the current scene."
Xie Jiaoyue wouldn't let it go: "Brother Moyu, have you never heard of this word before?"
"I've heard of it, oh no, I haven't. No, I mean, I've heard you say it, but no one else has."
"Brother Moyu, you're mistaken. This is the first time I've heard this word today; I've never heard it before."
Gongshi Moyu didn't know what to say.
Taking advantage of Gongshi Moyu's distraction, Xie Jiaoyue suddenly asked, "Brother Moyu, do you prefer Moutai or Wuliangye?"
Gong Shi Moyu subconsciously replied, "I don't drink."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gong Shi Moyu realized that he had been exposed!
He should answer that he doesn't know what Moutai and Wuliangye are!
If Jiaoyue had said something like "odd changes, even remains the same" or "Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger," he could have understood the structure of a couplet, but Jiaoyue used this rhetorical question, and he momentarily overlooked it...
Xie Jiaoyue smiled happily: "Fellow villager!"
Seeing Xie Jiaoyue's completely genuine smile, Gong Shi Moyu suddenly realized, "That's right, he could simply reveal that they are from the same hometown, without revealing that he was his neighbor from his previous life."
Gong Shi Moyu's emotions gradually calmed down, his mind came back to work, and he realized the problems with his previous behavior.
When Xie Jiaoyue first asked him what legitimate self-defense was, he should have already known that he had found a fellow villager. He shouldn't have remained silent and wary; at the very least, he should have shown joy.
However, he acted very strangely, as if he was guilty or distrustful of Xie Jiaoyue.
Gong Shi Moyu began to make excuses for her previous behavior: "I... I wasn't a good person in my past life, and I was afraid you would hate me if you found out."
One lie requires more lies to cover it up. Once he started, Gong Shi Moyu's subsequent fabrications went much more smoothly: "I committed a crime before."
Xie Jiaoyue: "Huh?"
Among the crimes she knew, Gong Shimoyu picked and chose one that wouldn't annoy most people but would make her feel guilty: "I was threatened by my boss to help him take kickbacks, which led to the company's bankruptcy and affected countless people's livelihoods. Although I eventually couldn't bear the pangs of conscience and reported him, the money had already been squandered by him, and the poor employees still hadn't received compensation. I often think, if I had done it earlier, would they have been able to receive the compensation they deserved?"
In this charge, he is indeed a very suitable ordinary person who feels guilty and responsible and is coerced by his superiors.
Sure enough, Xie Jiaoyue looked sympathetic: "It's not entirely your fault that this happened. But why are you afraid I'll find out? Are you afraid I'll ask about your past life and then easily find out about this? Was this a big deal back then?"
However, Xie Jiaoyue did not seem to know about such a sensational case.
Gong Shi Moyu chuckled: "It's not that I don't know what you did in your previous life. If you had been involved in the public security, procuratorate, or judicial system, you would have known easily."
Xie Jiaoyue then asked a new question: "I look the same in both of my lives. Actually, I'm quite famous, the kind that's always in the news. Don't you recognize me?"
Her mother's game company has a lot of attention, her older brother performs everywhere and has many fans, and even her neighbor's uncle is a wealthy man. She has also been paired up by marketing accounts, who said that she and her neighbor's son were childhood sweethearts and might get married in the future.
Gong Shi Moyu was sweating a little from being bombarded with questions by Xie Jiaoyue.
"I don't actually pay much attention to the news. As you know, in my position, I'm already overwhelmed with dealing with my superiors."
Perhaps overwhelmed by the joy of meeting a fellow countryman in a foreign land, Xie Jiaoyue, unusually, didn't press the issue further and began to simply chat with her fellow countryman about the past: "Sigh, it's been quite a while since I came here. I wonder how my parents and brother are doing now."
Gongshi Moyu did not comfort Xie Jiaoyue, but said, "But you will not be sad because of missing her."
Sure enough, fellow villagers really understand you.
Xie Jiaoyue said firmly, "Yes, I miss them, but I'm not sad. Because they wouldn't want me to be sad, and I wouldn't want them to be sad either. And you, will you be sad?"
Gong Shi Moyu would not do it either.
Unlike Xie Jiaoyue, his home wasn't cold and deserted. His parents were away most of the time and weren't particularly close to him, so it wasn't easy for him to find some warm memories.
Gongshi Moyu didn't want the conversation to revolve around her, so she took the initiative and asked, "Besides your parents and brothers, is there anyone else you miss?"
"Someone I miss." Xie Jiaoyue said thoughtfully, then added, "Although we're not particularly close, I still miss him quite a bit."
"who?"
“My neighbor’s older brother. I’ve mentioned him to you before. Although we’re incompatible and always argue, he’s actually quite pitiful.”
"How are you pitiful?"
“His parents rarely come home, leaving the child alone there. Although they pay him, the nanny always takes advantage of him being all alone. When I tell my parents, they don't believe me and think it's because the child is disobedient. Eventually, my parents couldn't stand it anymore and started calling the nanny to our house more often. I don't know if he's doing any better now.”
"If you don't like him, why are you still thinking about him?"
“It’s very simple. Although we don’t get along, he’s actually a well-behaved kid. We’ve known each other for so many years, so of course I want him to be happy.”
Hearing Xie Jiaoyue say this, Gongshi Moyu felt a sweet sensation in her heart, like a glass of iced milk in the middle of summer, with a few scattered ice crystals in the glass. After taking a sip, the sweetness in her mouth was subtle but not dissipated.
I really want to keep reliving it.
Gong Shi Moyu couldn't resist trying to get Xie Jiaoyue to say more.
"What does that person look like?"
"He was good-looking from a young age. As a child, he was as delicate as a porcelain doll that never smiled. As he grew up, he matured and became less rounded than when he was young. His eyebrows are high and sharp, and he exudes an air of authority when he is not smiling, which has led many people to respect him as the eldest brother in his grade."
Gong Shi Moyu hadn't expected to be so highly regarded by Xie Jiaoyue. He couldn't help but touch his face and ask, "Then... how does he compare to me?"
Xie Jiaoyue had enough emotional intelligence, and immediately began to praise: "It must be because Brother Moyu is so handsome that he is admired by the world. No ordinary person can compare to him."
“I am much better than him.”
"Yes, Brother Moyu is the most handsome man I have ever seen."
Gong Shi Moyu's originally cheerful expression turned gloomy again.
He always thought that his appearance was not as good as before, but he never expected that Xie Jiaoyue thought he was better now.
Doesn't that mean things were worse before than they are now? But he's been in this world for so many years, and no one has ever praised his looks... So, all of Xie Jiaoyue's compliments were just polite words.
After much deliberation, Gong Shi Moyu finally concluded that he was only average-looking now, but he was much uglier before.
As a result, his mood worsened.
Xie Jiaoyue asked curiously, "Brother Moyu, why do you have such an expression? Is the food not to your liking?"
Could Gong Shi Moyu say that it was because he was worried that Xie Jiaoyue thought he was ugly?
"It's nothing. I was just wondering, if your neighbor's older brother is really good-looking, why isn't he popular?"
Xie Jiaoyue laughed: "He's not even that popular. With his well-behaved and composed demeanor, teachers, parents, and all sorts of elders treat him like a darling, doting on him and talking about him all the time."
"What about people of the same age?"
"Among his peers, actually, apart from me, many people like him. I remember that he would receive love letters and various small gifts from others when he was young. But he didn't seem to like them much, and he didn't seem to care at all."
Gongshi Moyu was stunned. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed that this was indeed the case.
It's not that he's unpopular, it's just that he doesn't really care about those who like him, and he always rejects them seriously at the first opportunity.
However, he still felt that he was not liked by his peers because the little girl next door would turn around and walk away as soon as she saw him.
Ultimately, he only cared about Xie Jiaoyue's thoughts, about the thoughts of this Xie Jiaoyue who looked disgusted but took the initiative to bring him to her home and fought with the nanny when she bullied her.
Since Xie Jiaoyue has no different feelings towards him in the past or in the present, he will do his duty.
Be a good older brother.
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