Chapter 76 "Yes, my boyfriend is my brother."...
Chapter 76
After the farce of the past few days, Yu Pan's enthusiasm for going out to play faded, and she spent the rest of her days at home eating, sleeping, reading, and practicing calligraphy.
In Shen Yanzhou's words, he was like a lazy cat.
Feeling utterly bored, Yu Pan would go to work with Shen Yanzhou, pull up a small chair, and sit next to him to watch him work.
For example, right now, Shen Yanzhou is staring at the computer screen with a furrowed brow, a state he has maintained for more than half an hour.
Yu Pan sat next to him, resting her chin on her hands, quietly and attentively watching Shen Yanzhou for more than ten minutes.
As she watched, Yu Pan couldn't help but call out "Brother".
Shen Yanzhou snapped out of her reverie amidst the pile of data, turned to look at him, met Yu Pan's eyes, and unconsciously smiled: "What's wrong?"
Yu Pan shook her head, a slight smile playing on her lips. "It's nothing, I just wanted to call you."
Shen Yanzhou raised her hand and ruffled his hair before turning back to continue her work.
Yu Pan didn't bother him, continuing to rest her chin on her hand, her eyes still glued to Shen Yanzhou's face. After a while, she called out again, as if testing the waters, "Brother."
"Hmm?" Shen Yanzhou turned his head again.
Yu Pan shook her head again, a smile in her eyes: "It's nothing."
Shen Yanzhou assumed he was just being coquettish out of boredom and thought he would spend time with him after finishing his work. However, just a few minutes later, the person next to him started calling him "Brother," "Brother" again.
Shen Yanzhou released the mouse, turned around, and pinched Yu Pan's cheek.
Yu Pan has been enjoying her time at home lately, and her face has gotten a little fuller, making her incredibly cute.
"Are you teasing your brother? Hmm?" Shen Yanzhou gently pulled the soft flesh of his cheek outwards, his tone helpless.
Yu Pan wasn't afraid at all, and cheerfully told Shen Yanzhou about her new discovery, "Brother, I've noticed that when you're working, your brows can furrow this high!"
As he spoke, he raised his hand above his head to gesture.
Shen Yanzhou was amused by him: "Is it that exaggerated?"
"Yes! Absolutely!" Yu Pan nodded vigorously, then leaned closer and mysteriously revealed her second discovery: "And every time I call you, your brows, which are always so tightly furrowed, suddenly relax."
Shen Yanzhou leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth, saying softly, "Okay, I'll keep you company after I finish this document, okay?"
"Hmm!" Yu Pan was satisfied and stopped bothering him. She stayed quietly to the side, picked up the folder on the table and flipped through it. However, she would occasionally glance at Shen Yanzhou to make sure that his brows were no longer furrowed.
After Shen Yanzhou finished his work, the two walked around the office a couple of times, chatting casually. What they talked about didn't really matter; it could be national affairs or what to eat for dinner.
Yu Pan mainly didn't want to see Shen Yanzhou frowning and wanted him to rest for a while.
As the days passed, summer vacation was gradually halfway over. Shen Yanzhou thought about taking two days off to take Yu Pan out for a walk and relax.
However, before the plan was finalized, Yu Pan received a call from Ling Luo. It turned out that Ling Luo's father was having his birthday this week and he was going back to China. He wanted to arrange a time to meet with Yu Pan.
The two hadn't seen each other since the end of their college entrance exams. Before Ling Luo went abroad, Yu Pan said it would be easy to meet again, but they were both busy with their studies and ended up not seeing each other for more than a year.
Yu Pan readily agreed. Ling Luo was his best friend from high school, and it would be a lie to say he didn't miss her.
After celebrating her father's birthday, Ling Luo disagreed with Yu Pan's suggestion to go to Lanzhou, saying she would prefer to visit Beijing instead, and the meeting place was set in Beijing.
When Yu Pan saw Ling Luo at the airport exit, she was stunned for several seconds.
Ling Luo was the trendiest kid in high school, and now she's back from the fashion capital of New York... well...
Yu Pan thought for a long time but couldn't find a suitable word to describe it. She just felt that Ling Luo in front of her was like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.
She had striking blonde hair with a few strands of fluorescent green highlights, a black and white checkered scarf around her neck, a blue vest with an exaggerated skull print, ripped jeans that were practically falling apart, and a pair of stylishly dirty canvas shoes.
Ling Luo noticed Yu Pan staring at her and scratched her head in confusion: "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Yu Pan snapped out of her daze and honestly said, "I just feel... you've changed a lot."
Upon hearing this, Ling Luo proudly tossed his head, his few strands of green hair swaying as he spoke: "Of course! I'm now seriously studying fashion design!"
Seeing his smug look, Yu Pan laughed: "But his smugness hasn't changed at all."
“I call this staying true to myself!” Ling Luo said, then looked Yu Pan up and down in her simple T-shirt and casual pants. She leaned closer and lowered her voice with a mischievous grin: “Hey, tell me honestly, you don’t… need your brother to pick out what you wear now, do you?”
These words hit the nail on the head, and Yu Pan's face flushed red. She retorted stubbornly, "That's not true!"
After all, they were old classmates. Ling Luo chuckled, knowing when to stop, and rubbed his stomach, shouting, "I'm starving! I want to eat!"
"What do you want to eat?" Yu Pan took his suitcase.
Ling Luo put her arm around his shoulder and waved her hand, "Let's have something light, I'm feeling nauseous from the plane ride."
Yu Pan nodded and led him to the parking lot. He hadn't let Shen Yanzhou drive him here today; he had driven himself.
After putting away her luggage, Ling Luo saw Yu Pan get into the driver's seat and her eyes widened immediately: "Wow! Yu Pan, you can drive now! I'm so envious of you!"
Yu Pan bent down to fasten her seatbelt, skillfully started the car, and turned the steering wheel to drive out of the parking space: "What's there to envy? Driving is very simple."
Ling Luo thought back to her experience of constantly scraping walls or crashing into flower beds while practicing driving abroad, and getting lost for three hours after finally being able to drive on the road. She shook her head with lingering fear: "Forget it, I'd better stick to drawing design drafts. I want to live a few more years."
There are many delicious foods in Beijing. Yu Pan has been here for so long, and he and Shen Yanzhou have been to almost all the famous and unique restaurants. He has his own ranking in his mind.
After thinking it over, Yu Pan took Ling Luo to a Cantonese restaurant that he and Shen Yanzhou often frequented.
As soon as the food was served, Ling Luo started eating while pouring out her grievances to Yu Pan, complaining about the "inhuman" life she had been living abroad.
"If it weren't for my studies, I would have flown back long ago! Let whoever wants to stay stay here can stay!" Ling Luo said fiercely, taking a big bite of a chicken foot with black bean sauce.
Speaking of which, Yu Pan suddenly remembered: "By the way, what about your... boyfriend? Didn't he come back with you?"
He remembered Ling Luo mentioning that she went abroad with her boyfriend.
"Him?" Ling Luo immediately pouted. "His only concern is his lousy restaurant! He's always so busy he's practically invisible, and the time he spends with me can be counted on one hand! He might not even know I'm back!"
While eating, Yu Pan asked, "Didn't you tell him you were back?"
"Shut up!" Ling Luo swallowed a shrimp dumpling angrily. "I just left a note, read it or not!...Oh, right!"
Ling Luo suddenly remembered something, put down her chopsticks, and looked a little conflicted. "I also want to ask you something."
Yu Pan looked up from the food and stared at him intently: "What is it? Tell me."
Ling Luo first laid the groundwork: "Well... your boyfriend, he's working now, right?"
Yu Pan nodded: "Yes, I'm at work. What's up?"
"So... how do you two usually get along?" Ling Luo leaned forward, looking puzzled. "Well, when he's working, there are definitely times when he can't pay attention to you. Don't you... get angry? Don't you feel neglected?"
"Angry?" Yu Pan thought about it carefully. "Occasionally, I might get angry. If he's busy until late and forgets to eat, I'll be angry that he doesn't take care of his health. But most of the time, when he's working, I'll do my own thing, like reading or writing."
"Don't you feel that compared to his work, you're not important at all in his eyes?" Ling Luo pressed, his tone carrying an anxiety he himself didn't realize. "It's that feeling... that work always comes first!"
Hearing Ling Luo ask this, Yu Pan shook her head: "No, he works so that we can have a better life in the future."
Yu Pan paused, then added, "And I know that in his eyes, I am definitely more important than work."
Yu Pan never doubted this.
“Okay…” Ling Luo said with a bitter face, “To be honest with you, I feel that he has changed and is not the same as before.”
"It's changed?"
“Yes!” Ling Luo began to complain, “He used to put me first in everything, always available whenever I called, but now, work takes precedence over everything! Even…”
Ling Luo gritted her teeth and said angrily, "I hurt my foot before, and he just came to see me for a moment, handed me a bag of ice, and then went off to do his stupid work after getting a phone call! I'm so angry!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Pan finally understood: "Have you told him how you feel?"
Ling Luo choked: "No... Can't he guess? He just doesn't value me as much as before!"
“Have you ever thought about this,” Yu Pan put down her chopsticks and looked at him seriously, “that he works so hard because he wants to lay a good foundation for your future together?”
“Like my brother, sometimes he’s so busy he doesn’t even have time to eat, but I know he’s doing it for ‘us’.”
Yu Pan recalled that no matter how busy Shen Yanzhou was, he would remember what Shen Yanzhou had casually said, and continued, "Moreover, whether someone values you or not cannot be judged solely by whether they are always by your side. Perhaps their way of expressing themselves has changed? For example, does he remember what you like, or does he save what he thinks is the best for you?"
As Ling Luo listened, her pouting lips slowly relaxed a little, her eyes darting around. Indeed, Qin Yue remembered what she liked, and he would give her all the money he earned…
To be honest, after being abroad for so long, apart from the first few months when he spent the money his parents gave him, it seems that since the New Year, he has been using Qin Yue's card all the time... and he was quite happy about it, telling him to spend more.
"Then...then I need him to be with me too." Ling Luo's voice softened, tinged with a hint of grievance.
“Then just tell him,” Yu Pan said. “If you want him to be with you, just say so. It’s so frustrating to keep guessing. That’s how my brother and I are. We just say what we’re thinking and communicate clearly so we won’t sulk alone.”
Ling Luo poked at the rice in her bowl thoughtfully, remained silent for a long time, then let out a long sigh and muttered, "That seems to make sense, we should talk about it... We can't keep going like this... Wait a minute!"
Yu Pan: "What's wrong?"
"Weren't we talking about dating?" Ling Luo frowned. "Why do you keep bringing up your brother?"
Can a brother and his girlfriend be compared...?
Ling Luo suddenly remembered that the first time she met Shen Yanzhou a few years ago was when he brought Yu Pan to his house, giving her all sorts of instructions. She also remembered Shen Yanzhou's reaction when she accidentally injured Yu Pan...
"Could it be that your partner is...?"
Yu Pan scratched her head sheepishly, "Well, my boyfriend is my brother."
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Author's Note: Panpan [Cat Head]: Although I only dated one person, I have plenty of experience! [Cat Head]
Small red envelopes will be randomly given away in the comments section of this chapter!
Good news! My hand is mostly healed. I'll try my best to resume daily updates. If I can't update, I'll ask for leave. Love you all~
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