Chapter 15 Bitterness: My Brother Loves You Very Much
"Sigh—why do good people always die young? I even bumped into him before he left home. He said he was going to pick up his niece from school. He was perfectly fine, how could something like this happen?"
"Who can argue with that? I heard it was to save a child."
"What a tragedy, the person is gone just like that. It's so pitiful for the two members of the Lin family, they were so young."
"Sigh—" the woman sighed, then turned around and suddenly froze in surprise: "Xiaoyu, when...when did you get here?"
Lin Yu looked up, staring blankly at the two women in front of her. Because Lin hadn't come to pick her up from school on time, and her phone was unreachable, she was the only child left in the class. Since it was exam time, school let out a little early, otherwise she could have gone home with her brother. When Teacher Yang saw her waiting alone in the classroom, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her, so she offered to take Lin Yu home.
Teacher Yang dropped the person off at the entrance of the residential area and then left, leaving her standing there alone.
Lin Yu, carrying her schoolbag, walked forward alone, looking dejected and listless. She had been standing there for almost ten minutes, having heard the whole conversation from the very beginning. The more she listened, the paler her face became. By the end, she was almost certain who the main character they were talking about was.
She still couldn't believe it. Tears blurred her vision. She tilted her head back, revealing her cheeks reddened by the cold wind, and asked, sobbing, "Auntie...is it...my uncle...that something happened to her?"
"Oh dear, I... how come you... aren't you..." No one expected that Lin Yu was standing right behind them listening. The group turned around abruptly and met the girl's aggrieved and tear-red face. When they saw Lin Yu's pitiful appearance, both of them showed an embarrassed and speechless expression, and stammered, not daring to tell her the truth.
Just then, Zhong Ying returned from the hospital. She had also heard about Lin Ye's situation. Before she could get him to the hospital, he had already stopped breathing on the way.
Standing behind Lin Yu, she was shocked to see this scene. She quickly stepped forward, squatted down, and comforted her, saying, "Good child, why are you standing here like this, crying like this?" As she spoke, she touched Lin Yu's hands and said with pity, "Look how cold your hands are, like ice cubes."
Upon seeing Zhong Ying, Lin Yu's tears immediately streamed down her face.
Snowflakes fell from the sky, and Lin Yu shivered with cold all over, her nails digging deep into her palms. She choked back tears as she looked at Zhong Ying, her voice trembling and incoherent: "Auntie, tell me, is it... that something happened to my uncle?"
"Auntie... I want to see my uncle. Could you take me to him?" Lin Yu's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, until finally it was just a pitiful plea: "Please..."
Zhong Ying lowered her head with a conflicted expression, about to speak, when a hoarse voice came from behind her: "Lin Yu."
As soon as the voice came out, Lin Yu immediately stopped sobbing; it was her brother's voice.
Lin Yu's body stiffened, and her crying stopped. But the tears hanging on her eyelashes fell down in a steady stream, sliding down her cheeks to her chin. She turned her head slightly and saw Zhou Ke standing behind Zhong Ying.
Dressed entirely in black, he stood upright in the snow-covered landscape, his expression grim and his eyes filled with sorrow, clearly having also heard about Lin Ye's situation.
No one could have imagined that the person who was sitting at a table early in the morning, talking about having cake that evening, would become a silent, cold corpse just hours later.
In that instant, Lin Yu felt as if she had grabbed a lifebuoy floating on the water. She ran over without thinking and threw herself into Zhou Ke's arms. Zhou Ke squatted down and opened his arms to hug his sister.
Lin Yu was held tightly by Zhou Ke, her face buried against his chest. She smelled the cold, bitter scent of snow on his clothes. She spoke haltingly, "Brother...did something happen to Uncle? Please take me to him, brother...brother..."
Zhou Ke's eyes reddened as she called him "brother" repeatedly. After a moment, he took out a pack of tissues from his pocket, pulled out a clean one, and handed it to Lin Yu, saying, "Wipe your tears clean. Brother will take you to find your uncle."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yu slowly raised her tear-stained face. She reached out and took the tissue, obediently wiping away her tears and snot. Then she stood quietly in front of her brother. In the wind and snow, glistening teardrops still clung to the little girl's long eyelashes, and her nose and the corners of her eyes were red from crying, making her look like an abandoned kitten.
Zhou Ke took her hand and led her step by step toward the police station.
The police station corridor seemed to have no end. Lin Yu, wearing a heavy down jacket, followed closely behind Zhou Ke, each step feeling like walking on cotton.
A piercing cry ripped through the air in the distance. As the distance closed, the cry became more and more distinct. Lin Yu's heart sank, and she gradually slowed her pace.
The policewoman who came to guide them stopped in front of a morgue. "This is it."
Lin Yu stood beside Zhou Ke, the two figures, one big and one small, blocking the doorway. Through the narrow crack in the door, Lin Yu could clearly hear her grandmother's sobbing.
In front of her grandmother was a table covered with a white cloth, and under the cloth was a raised figure.
At that moment, the world seemed to stand still. Lin Yu could not take another step forward; her feet were rooted to the spot, and tears flowed silently.
Zhou Ke lowered his eyes, his dark eyes devoid of any light. He stared at Lin Yu with a desolate expression, remaining silent for a long time. He didn't know what to say to comfort his sister. Perhaps, in the face of this scene, any words would be too pale.
"Uncle..." Lin Yu opened her mouth, but it felt like a blade had been placed in her throat, making it feel as difficult as if she were spitting blood and tears when she said those two simple words.
She closed her eyes, and suddenly everything went black. All she could hear was Zhou Ke's panicked shouts.
*
The hospital lights were so bright they hurt her eyes. Lin Yu tossed and turned in bed, sometimes sobbing and sometimes muttering to herself. Her high fever made it hard for her to distinguish between dreams and reality. In her delirium, she would always see her uncle holding her when she was little, and she would keep calling out his name.
"Still not awake?"
"Still has a fever."
"You've been at the hospital all night, you must be tired. I'll stay here and watch over things, so you can go back and get some sleep. I'll call you as soon as you wake up."
"No need, thank you Aunt Zhong."
After saying that, another desolate sigh escaped his lips: "Alright, I'm on duty today. Feel free to contact me if you need anything."
The noise reached her ears, and as her consciousness gradually cleared, Lin Yu moved her fingertips, trying to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as heavy as lead, her head was dizzy, and she had no strength at all.
Lin Yu slowly narrowed her eyes, then closed them again. She frowned, and a sharp cry suddenly echoed in her mind.
I'm so tired, my body feels heavy, and I can't move my limbs at all.
Lin Yu opened her eyes groggily, her vision blurred, with only the white walls and layers of overlapping images.
The breath she exhaled from her nostrils grew heavier and heavier. Lin Yu slowly raised her eyes, feeling a gentle warmth in her palm. She slowly turned her head, and the black and white tones in her pupils gradually transformed into her brother's facial features.
"Brother... Brother." Her dry lips moved up and down, her throat felt like it was blocked by a thick layer of sand, and Lin Yu managed to squeeze out two words.
Seeing that she was awake, Zhou Ke finally breathed a sigh of relief. He pressed the button on the side of the bed and adjusted the bed to a slightly tilted height. "She's awake...it's good that she's awake."
Lin Yu turned her head and scrutinized her brother's face. After a night, his complexion looked extremely bad. His eye sockets were slightly sunken, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't rested at all. His lips were pale and bloodless.
Zhou Ke sat on the stool in front of the bed, his warm palm holding his sister's cold one. He pursed his lips, his eyes bloodshot. Feeling his palm being squeezed tighter, he moved his lips, his voice hoarse but gentle: "What's wrong? Are you still feeling unwell?"
The scenes before she fainted flashed before her eyes, and Lin Yu's eyes quickly welled up with tears. She sniffed, her dark eyelashes trembling. "Uncle...he...brother, I want to go see Uncle."
Zhou Ke watched helplessly as his sister's tears welled up more and more. He reached out and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, letting the endless stream of tears soak his dry fingertips. Then he said softly, "You still have a fever."
“Brother…” Large tears slid down her cheeks, landing with a soft pat on the white sheets, staining them a deeper color. Lin Yu lowered her head, feeling as if her chest had been ripped open, blood gushing out. She choked back sobs, clutching her brother's hand tightly, as if caught in a nightmare. Her voice, broken and fragmented, echoed in the hospital room: “Brother, I dreamt that Uncle was gone…he was lying in a pool of blood, and then suddenly many people came to the house, and Uncle became…became like Dad…a gray photograph. I…I also heard many people crying, they…”
Lin Yu closed her eyes, paused briefly, and large tears welled up in her eyes. She continued, crying as she spoke, "They said Uncle is dead... It's fake, right? Brother, they're lying to me, aren't they? Uncle is alright, isn't he? I want to go back, I want to find him."
After saying that, Zhou Ke leaned over and sat on the hospital bed next to her, reaching out to hug his sister's thin body, slowly swallowing the bitterness in his heart, "Don't cry, your eyes will hurt again if you keep crying."
The door to the ward was pushed open from the outside, bringing in a cool breeze. Lin Yu was still crying, her tears flowing like a faucet that had been turned on. The tears soaked the sweater Zhou Ke was wearing, making him feel as if his heart was soaking in an endless jar of acid.
He raised his hand and gently patted Lin Yu's back. He heard her sobbing. The disinfectant mixed with the refreshing scent of gardenias emanating from his sister lingered in his nostrils. He felt his sister's burning body temperature, and unseen tears dripped onto the web of his palm.
Hearing the door open, Zhou Ke turned around and saw Zhong Ying appear in the ward carrying two bags.
Seeing this, Zhong Ying felt a pang of sadness. She walked over, sat down on the other side of the hospital bed, reached out and gently patted Lin Yu's back, softly calling out, "Xiao Yu."
Hearing the voice, Lin Yu moved her head away from her brother's chest, revealing her flushed cheeks, and greeted the person in a soft voice, "Aunt Zhong."
Zhong Ying let out a soft "hello," then pointed to the takeout box on the bedside table and said to the siblings, "I bought a bowl of wontons and a serving of millet porridge to tide you over."
Zhou Ke: "Thank you, Aunt Zhong."
"Why are you being so polite with me?" After saying that, Zhong Ying turned to the side and pointed to the door. "Then I'll go and get busy. Remember to eat the things you bought while they're hot, they won't be good if they get cold. If you need anything, remember to come and find me, I'm at the nurses' station."
After everyone left, Zhou Ke took two tissues from the tissue box by the bedside and gently wiped away his sister's tears. Then he went around to the other side and opened the dinner that Zhong Ying had bought.
The delicate aroma of millet porridge mixed with the fresh scent of wontons wafted over, gradually masking the smell of disinfectant in the ward.
Zhou Ke picked up the disposable bowl, took a spoon and scooped up a wonton with a generous filling of meat. He first blew on it to warm it up before bringing it to Lin Yu's lips and saying, "Eat something first."
Lin Yu shook her head. "I have no appetite and can't eat."
Zhou Ke continued feeding her, just like he had done many times when he was a child, saying, "How can you grow up if you don't eat? What did your uncle teach you? You can only grow up if you eat on time. Be good, okay?"
As soon as she spoke, Lin Yu seemed to suddenly realize something. She remembered everything that had happened in the neighborhood after school, the faint crying in the police station, and that piece of snow-white cotton cloth.
She remembered that her uncle was no longer alive, but his teachings were still ingrained in her. He wasn't a strict elder, but he always taught her many principles in a way that was easy for children to understand.
Her nose started to sting again. Lin Yu opened her mouth and leaned over to eat the wonton that was fed to her. At the same time, a tear fell into the soup with a plop. She chewed it carefully and swallowed it little by little.
Outside, the snow continued to fall heavily. In the silent ward, Lin Yu finished a bowl of wontons with tears streaming down her face.
Because of a fever, Lin Yu stayed in the hospital for four days. During that time, the fever would subside and then relapse repeatedly. In order to take care of Lin Yu, Zhou Ke asked the school for leave and missed the final exams for the semester.
In the hospital, Lin Yu was mostly asleep. The medicine had a hypnotic effect, so she was only awake for a short time. Even when she was awake, she would stare blankly with swollen eyes. Zhou Ke would feed her, and even if she couldn't eat, she would force herself to take a bite or two.
Lin Ye's funeral was scheduled for two days later. The snow that had been falling for five or six days finally stopped and was replaced by a continuous drizzle.
That day, Lin Yu, still recovering from her illness, appeared at her maternal grandmother's house in the countryside with Zhou Ke.
Jiang Huifang also looked much more haggard, as if her hair had turned completely white overnight. She had a daughter and a son in her life. Her daughter died in childbirth, a tragic loss for her child. Who would have thought that ten years later, she would face such an end?
She cried until her voice was hoarse, and she could not stand steadily in the wind and rain, so she could only rely on others to support her.
When Lin Ye was alive, he never brought Lin Yu back to his hometown. He never expected that the first time he came would be to attend his funeral.
A dilapidated old house, with peeling paint on many walls, was decorated with white wreaths that stretched from the inner room to the doorway.
The wailing was so loud that Lin Yu almost lost her hearing. Standing in the center of the mourning hall, she suddenly remembered that her first encounter with death was when she accompanied Lin Ye to Jiang Guohua's funeral.
But now, she is only sad that she will never see her uncle again.
Lin Yu stood weakly in the drizzling, cold wind, with Zhou Ke quietly by her side.
Everyone around them was watching the two of them. Lin Yu couldn't hear what they were talking about, but it was probably something like "pitiful."
Upon seeing her, Jiang Huifang's previously cloudy eyes suddenly turned fierce. She abruptly broke free from the support of those around her and rushed towards Lin Yu. With a stern look, she began to curse, "It's you! It's all because of you! If your mother hadn't had a difficult childbirth because of you, your uncle wouldn't have been hit by a car if he hadn't gone to pick you up from school. It's all because of you! You...you're a jinx..."
“They were all cursed to death by you… How dare you show your face here?” Jiang Huifang pointed her finger and berated her word by word in front of everyone.
Lin Yu raised her eyes and met Jiang Huifang's cold gaze, her back stiffening as she stood still.
Zhou Ke stood beside her, listening to Jiang Huifang's words, his gaze suddenly darkened. No one expected Jiang Huifang to suddenly go crazy. Seeing this, the people around her rushed forward and grabbed her arms to stop her from going any further. Zhou Ke glanced sideways, subconsciously paying attention to Lin Yu's condition.
The rain, like spider silk, entwined her, and the biting wind stung her cheeks. She felt trapped in a storm, the swirling eye of the storm unexpectedly dragging her against the current. Her vision blurred, her head throbbed with dizziness, and she could barely stand. Seeing Lin Yu's pale face, Zhou Ke moved forward and stepped in front of her, then raised his hand and pressed his palm tightly against her ear, covering it and using the back of his hand to shield her from all the foul language.
All those insults, dripping with spittle, landed on the back of his hand.
Zhou Ke resolutely pulled her into his arms, his body forming a natural barrier, building a high wall around her, keeping her firmly in a safe zone, and preventing anyone from harming her.
Lin Yu stood there, stunned. She looked up and met her brother's cold and sorrowful gaze. His eyes held so much: heartache, determination, and a completely full reflection. She blinked very lightly. In her vision, she saw Jiang Huifang's lips still moving, but she could no longer hear them. Only tears continued to flow silently.
The cold wind howled through their bodies, like invisible blades, causing a knife-like pain to every inch of their skin.
A sudden wave of dizziness washed over Lin Yu, leaving her mind blank. She swayed and could no longer hold on, collapsing into Zhou Ke's arms in front of everyone.
With her high fever still lingering, and having spent two whole hours in the cold wind despite her health, Lin Yu was sent to the hospital again. This time, her condition was far from optimistic. She slept for a day and a night, the cold IV drip flowing into her body through a long tube. She lay quietly on the hospital bed, motionless, like a fragile porcelain doll.
Zhong Ying had visited her many times and knew about her plight. He secretly spat and cursed the old woman in his heart.
It was clearly their own fault, yet they insisted on blaming the little girl; they were truly shameless.
Zhou Ke remained silent with his eyelashes lowered. Since Lin Ye's accident, he had barely slept. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked pale and thin. Zhong Ying was worried that he would fall ill and kept urging him to go home and rest. Zhou Ke just shook his head and said that it was not necessary. He wanted to wait for his sister to wake up.
Fortunately, fate did not disappoint him. Lin Yu opened her eyes on the second night after being admitted to the hospital. Although she was awake, she was greatly affected and looked emaciated. Only her eyes would move from time to time. She did not speak or eat on her own.
The doctor couldn't do anything but prescribe some nutritional fluids to maintain her bodily functions.
When they were finally discharged from the hospital, Zhou Ke took Lin Yu home. The house was cold and lifeless, and the cold moonlight shone on the living room. Everything in the house was the same as before they left that day. Nothing had changed except for the three people living in the house.
Zhou Ke stood in the entryway and turned on the living room light. However, whether it was because he hadn't been home for too long or something else, the living room light bulb flickered with a hiss and then went completely silent.
The brother and sister stood there stunned for a moment, but Zhou Ke was the first to react. "The light bulb is broken. You stay at home, I'll go buy a new one and replace it."
Lin Yu glanced at the sky outside, her dry lips moved slightly, and she said three words listlessly: "It's getting dark."
Although Lin Yu didn't say it explicitly, Zhou Ke knew what she meant. He sighed silently in his heart, "Then you go sit in the living room first, I'll go look for candles in the house since we don't have any."
"No need to trouble yourself, brother." Lin Yu stopped him, saying weakly, "I want to go and rest first."
Zhou Ke lowered his eyes, looking at his younger sister whose face was even thinner than before, and a feeling of heartache and self-reproach gradually welled up in his heart. "Okay."
After that day, Lin Yu locked herself in her room and never took the initiative to step out. Most of the time, she just stared blankly into space.
Zhou Ke was very worried about her condition and spent all his time, except when he was sleeping, watching over her.
Days passed by like this, until that turbulent night arrived.
Perhaps because they lived together, Zhou Ke and Lin Yu always seemed to have a tacit understanding, as if they were telepathically connected.
Thunder rumbled outside the window, and a burst of crimson lightning flashed across the dark night sky, as if splitting the sky in two. Rain poured down, dripping and splashing onto the ground, creating layers of water droplets. The windows rattled in the wind, sounding like the low groans of evil spirits.
Perhaps because of the heavy rain, Zhou Ke tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep at all.
He opened his eyes and, by the dim moonlight, looked at the branches of trees outside the window, swaying in the wind and making a low rustling sound. Zhou Ke's heart skipped a beat, as if something had stabbed him, and a wave of anxiety surged through his mind, as if something bad was about to happen.
Zhou Ke felt something was wrong. Through the not-so-thick city wall, he thought of Lin Yu, who was just a wall away. On days like this, she never dared to sleep alone and would always hold his hand and beg her brother to sleep with her.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ke threw off the covers, put on his shoes, and walked out of the room.
The living room was pitch black, and the balcony window was wide open, letting in torrential rain. The air was filled with a biting chill, and the wind blew the curtains aside, making them flutter in the air.
In an instant, Zhou Ke's eyelids twitched uncontrollably twice, and his panic intensified. He then hurriedly pushed open the door to Lin Yu's room.
When the cold, incandescent light illuminated the entire bedroom, the first thing Zhou Ke saw was not his sister's panicked and helpless eyes, but the gleaming fruit knife on her desk.
In that instant, Zhou Ke felt as if his blood had frozen and his heart had stopped beating. He stared at Lin Yu in disbelief, his mind too shocked to process anything. After several seconds of stunned silence, he slowly raised his eyes. It felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his throat, causing him to stop breathing and experience an unprecedented feeling of suffocation.
His eyelashes trembled, his eyes widened in fury as he stared at him and roared, "What are you doing!"
"Brother...I..." When Lin Yu saw Zhou Ke appear in the room, her eyes widened suddenly, and a panicked shock appeared in her clear eyes. She glanced at the 'murder weapon' on the table and felt a sense of helplessness, as if she had been caught red-handed doing something wrong. She did not dare to look directly into her brother's astonished eyes and could only lower her head and bite her lip tightly.
His feet felt as heavy as if they were filled with cement, and every step required all his strength. Zhou Ke moved slowly, and the short distance of two or three meters felt like hundreds of meters to him.
He stared at the spotless blade under the light, his eyes stinging as if blood would have gush from it had he arrived even a second later.
Lin is dead too, should she go with him?
When the thought crossed his mind, Zhou Ke felt his whole body tremble. He stood there, stunned, like a desolate mountain peak, and asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you going to do? Are you going to... commit suicide? Do you want to die...? Speak, Lin Yu!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the sky suddenly flashed, a cold bolt of lightning ripped across the horizon, and the rain poured down, the silence lingering.
Lin Yu lowered her eyes, a soreness slowly rising in her nose. Her eyes felt swollen, and she choked back tears. She slowly closed her eyes, and two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks as she murmured in anguish, "Brother... I'm... sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Zhou Ke asked, his voice trembling. He never imagined that his usually timid sister, who was even afraid of thunder and lightning, would have such a bold idea as suicide. He had already suffered the death of Lin Xiangyun and the death of Lin Ye. Now, did he have to suffer the death of his sister as well?
He slowly squatted down, his red, wet eyes particularly glaring in the night: "You want to die... then what about your brother?"
Lin Yu slowly raised her face. In the moonlight, Zhou Ke's moist eyes were deeply imprinted in her pupils, like a piercing thorn, bloodily stabbing into her heart.
She didn't want to either.
But her uncle... died. Her grandmother's words clung to her like venomous snakes, keeping her awake at night and causing her unbearable pain. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could recall Lin Ye's funeral. She knew that Lin Xiangyun had died in childbirth because of her. If... if her uncle hadn't come to pick her up from school that day, would he not have died?
Lin Yu raised her tear-streaked face, met Zhou Ke's bloodshot eyes, and choked out, "I'm thinking about what Grandma said. Did Mom and Uncle die because of me? Am I really unlucky? Will I kill you one day too, brother? I... I don't know what to do. I'm so scared."
Finally, Lin Yu could no longer hold back. During this time, she kept recalling the time she spent with her uncle. She didn't have a mother, only a father. She knew that Jiang Huifang didn't like her. Lin Ye was the only family she had left. However, Jiang Huifang's words were like a sharp knife, telling her that all the misfortunes she had experienced were of her own making. She completely broke down. Nightmares haunted her. She didn't know what to do. Tears blurred her vision, and she sobbed and wailed.
"Brother, I have no more... Uncle. I miss him so much. I've never had a mother since I was little, and now... even Uncle is gone... I have no family left... Brother... is it because of me that they died...?"
All the emotions that had been building up inside her and could never be expressed finally burst open on this side. Lin Yu lowered her head and cried until her whole body trembled.
Zhou Ke gazed at her quietly. The soft moonlight shone through the small window, falling on him as if adding a layer of pale light. He swallowed silently, his hands, hanging by his sides, unconsciously clenched, and then, with eager anticipation, he pulled her into his arms little by little. He heard his own voice still trembling: "No, none of this has anything to do with you."
He understood Lin Yu's pain. No one could accept being the root of the problem. He slowly raised his head and placed his palm on the back of her head. "Mom loves you very much. Her death is not your fault, it is the Jiang family's fault. Uncle also loves you very much. His death was an accident. It has nothing to do with you. If you stubbornly take the blame on yourself, Mom and Uncle will be the ones who are truly heartbroken."
"And..." Zhou Ke paused, the sound of rain outside the window gradually subsided, the bedroom light dimmed, the boy's figure was bathed in the gloom, his dark eyes were now filled with the same pain as his sister, "Grandma doesn't love you, but your brother loves you, are you going to abandon your brother just because of her words?"
The arms tightened around him, and Zhou Ke held him close, his voice softening to almost pleading, "Don't do anything foolish, understand?"
The person in his arms was still crying uncontrollably, her shoulders trembling from sobbing. He had come out in a hurry, wearing only a thin nightgown. His sister's tears had completely soaked his clothes. Feeling her not-so-warm body temperature, Zhou Ke belatedly felt fear once again. If he hadn't appeared in time, would he also have had to hold her coffin and mourn for her?
After crying for so long, Lin Yu felt like a ball of cotton in ice water, her head heavy and her body soaking wet.
She slowly stopped crying, and raised her head little by little, but her hands were still tightly clutching the hem of her brother's clothes, revealing a head full of tears and snot. She looked like a gardenia that had been dazzling in a rainstorm, both beautiful and pitiful.
She tilted her head back, her amber eyes looking as if they had just been pulled from the water, and sobbed, "Brother, you're all I have left."
Zhou Ke lowered his eyes, looked at his sister's wet face, said nothing, and simply hugged her tightly.
But all along, your brother has only ever had you.
He said it silently in his heart.
The moonlight outside the window cast a cold, pale gray hue over the bedroom. In the long, lonely night, two restless souls embraced tightly.
Lin Yu didn't know how long she had been crying. Perhaps she was tired, or perhaps she was sleepy. Before her consciousness faded, a clear, sweet scent of soapberry lingered in her nostrils. It was her brother's scent, warmed by his body heat, covering her breath, making her feel that there was nothing more reassuring than this.
After that day, Zhou Ke stayed by Lin Yu's side almost constantly. Every night, he would sit by Lin Yu's bedside, watching over her without moving, afraid that something might happen to her again.
He knew that Lin Yu's current situation was not good, so in order to help her get through it more quickly, he specifically contacted a psychologist and told him about Lin Yu's situation.
After listening, the psychologist told him that Lin Yu's current situation was not optimistic. Many people cannot bear the pain of losing a loved one and will develop self-destructive behavior. In particular, she blamed herself for the death of her relatives, which has seriously affected her mental health, to the point that this blow has made her give up on life.
"In her case, medication alone won't be very effective. She needs the support and guidance of her family, which will be a long process. As a family member, you should be prepared."
After replying with "thank you," Zhou Ke looked at Lin Yu sitting on the swing set in the community. It had started snowing again in Tongcheng. She was wearing a down jacket that reached her calves, her head tilted against the rope next to the swing set, her eyes empty and lifeless.
It was the Spring Festival, and every household was bustling with activity, with the sounds of firecrackers and fireworks playing intermittently.
Laughter surged in like waves.
Winter days are short, especially on snowy days, when night falls even faster. At this moment, the sky has turned into a deep, hazy blue. The streetlights in the neighborhood are sparsely lit. Snowflakes, like grains of rice, fall gently from the sky, landing on the two people's fluffy hair, and quickly melting into water. Zhou Ke reaches out and holds Lin Yu's hand, which is resting on her knee. His sister's hand is very cold, as if it has been soaked in ice water.
A warm source of heat came from her palm. Lin Yu stiffly raised her head, her eyelashes, damp with mist, trembled. The cold air made the tip of her nose red. She turned her head and looked at her brother, whose eyebrows were lowered. After a long while, she smiled with relief and said, "Brother."
"Mmm," Zhou Ke responded lightly.
Lin Yu: "You'll always be with me, right?"
The snowflakes grew larger with each sentence of conversation, swaying and drifting down like willow catkins, landing on the fluffy black hair, turning it gray in no time. Zhou Ke turned his head and met his sister's devout and earnest gaze, replying without hesitation.
"certainly."
As dusk settled, the low-wattage streetlights cast an orange halo, stretching two long, thin shadows far apart. Under the swing set, two gray shadows nestled closely together.
A cheerful melody drifted from afar, as if someone was watching television. The singing floated over, and Lin Yu's low voice, mixed in with the background noise, slowly and deliberately rang out, "Brother, I won't do anything foolish again, I promise you."
I will live well, and my soul and body will forever uphold this vow.
But you must stay with me forever; that's the only reward I ask for.
"good."
-----------------------
Author's Note: That's all for the flashback. The brother and sister's past was indeed a bit dark, but things will get sweeter later. [Loud-eared bunny head][Loud-eared bunny head]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
