Chapter 288 Fateful Counterattack
Tu Chaoxi finally couldn't stand up and half-squatted on the ground.
The cold touch of the stone bricks brought his burning emotions to a sudden drop in temperature.
It was as if a sharp knife was cutting through all the chaos in his head.
He looked at his pale face reflected in the bricks and said softly, "...I know."
"Whether in those years or now, I have always been autocratic and domineering."
“I can never keep up with her, and I’m not smarter than her either.”
"I'm just a passable older brother, but I have a perfect younger sister."
"I……"
"I can only rely on this bit of irritable tyranny and my status as the older brother to forcefully catch up, time and time again."
In those years, his abilities were limited, but Tu Yao grew rapidly, which made him gratified and proud.
But that only made him more panicked.
Even though he was unaware of the progress bar's existence, he wasn't oblivious to the danger.
Rather than a quick-witted reaction, the feudalistic parental mindset at its core, without grasping the truth and after Tu Yao's repeated dangerous encounters, all turned into irritable urging and scolding.
Over the years, he has often recalled the six months he spent with Tu Yao.
He inevitably feels sad at times like this.
He kept urging his sister, who was always running around, to come back to him.
But it seems that until Tu Yao left this world, they never sat down together properly to talk calmly and gently.
Tu Chaoxi stared at the ground, her vision gradually blurring.
"...I often think, if I could do it all over again, if I were more patient and smarter, could I have avoided that accident four years ago?"
"I've imagined countless times what would have happened if we had made different choices at certain levels..."
He looked up at the slender young man in front of him and choked out, "...Xu Chi, I understand what you mean."
"She is a living, breathing person, and she should have her own choices."
"But do you understand? I can't bear to part with it."
"I can't bear to see her make another choice!"
Tu Chaoxi spoke slowly and deliberately, a sharp, aching pain radiating from her head from time to time.
He almost gritted his teeth as he repeated, "...I can't bear to!"
Why is it that every single choice she makes is whether or not to stay in this world?
"Why is it that every time we glimpse the truth, we face the risk of losing her?"
"Why my sister! Why us!"
In the empty room, Tu Chaoxi stared with resentment and questioned him sharply.
Ask him, and ask yourself.
They were also asking about that invisible Heavenly Way.
Xu Chi's eyes reddened slightly, and he lowered them without saying a word.
...Over the years, Tu Chaoxi has been far more than just one person who has made those kinds of ideas.
At this moment, he was not the only one who couldn't bear to part with it.
...
Tu Chaoxi stood up, and the pain in her head gradually subsided.
"I'll never change this personality of mine in my entire life."
He took a deep breath, his face expressionless: "But if I can keep my sister, I'd rather be autocratic."
“If that day ever comes, and she can’t let go of that orphanage, I can find someone willing to take on that responsibility, and I’ll give him all my money.”
“She was worried about those children, so I put them in trust and found good schools for them, elementary, middle, high school... I can arrange anything.”
He had thought about it on the way here. He would have a good talk with Tu Yao when he got back. He would tell her what she was afraid of and what she was worried about. He said that all of them, her brothers, could solve it for her.
"If she's worried, then I'll make her completely at ease!"
"Nan Ke, the third brother."
He turned his head, his expression stern: "Is that right!"
Nan Ke silently looked away and gazed at the clear window.
Directly in his direction, Xu Chi's equally silent and exceptionally pale face was reflected.
Nan Ke frowned.
On the other side, Lin Yue hesitated for a moment, then suddenly shook his head.
"...Brother, Tu Xiaomao is worried about you."
"No matter what, she can't rest easy."
Tu Chaoxi: ...
Lin Yue pursed his lips and continued, "Besides, for Tu Xiaomao right now, it's actually quite easy to choose."
On one side are several older brothers who have no memory of the past, and on the other side is an entire orphanage with dozens of closely connected children, as well as the legacy of the director, who took on the responsibility early on.
It's an easy choice.
Tu Chaoxi: ...
Tu Chaoxi's head started hurting again.
...
At the orphanage, Tu Yao cut an apple, shared it with Lang Ya, and led the dog to the security booth.
It was a cloudy day. The old man was lying in his rocking chair, listening to the radio with his eyes half-closed.
Tu Yao pulled up a wooden stool, sat down, and ate an apple while reporting to the old man.
"Grandpa, once I've saved enough money, we can officially go through the ownership transfer process."
The old man immediately opened his eyes warily: "They're eyeing my savings for my funeral?"
Tu Yao laughed heartily: "Yes, yes."
The old man: ...
"...How much more is needed?"
Tu Yao waved her hand: "I need to think about it."
"What else is there to think about?"
Tu Yao didn't say anything more and continued eating her apple.
After a while, she tilted her head back and asked, as if casually, "...Grandpa, if I disappeared, would you miss me?"
The old man: ...
"What kind of nonsense question is this?"
Tu Yao laughed again: "I was just talking nonsense."
I turned to look at the gray clouds outside the window and continued munching on my apple.
It was a cloudy day, and her wrist started to ache after holding the apple up for a while.
So they switched hands.
Tu Yao stared at her wrist, chewing slowly.
She became aware of the strangeness about herself when she was eighteen.
The strange swelling and pain in my wrist, and the occasional feeling of falling in my dreams at night, all appear suddenly.
The strangeness of this world was noticed a month ago.
Unlike others, she didn't know the top star Tu Chaoxi. Even though the film and television base was only two roads away from the orphanage, she had to rely on a map to familiarize herself with it and distinguish it from others.
So she spent some time guessing.
Gradually, she realized that two worlds were merging, but only her memories remained in the original world.
This always frightened her, like a storm coming and her standing right in the eye of it.
Until the appearance of Tu Chaoxi, Nan Ke, and Lin Yue.
That fear gradually disappeared.
Because she understood that, in the best-case scenario, she could have everything and everyone around her.
In the worst-case scenario, she simply needs to make a choice.
Tu Yao turned her head back to the present. "Then let's change the question. If I disappeared, would those brats miss me?"
The old man glared at her: "Isn't that obvious!"
"Right?"
Tu Yao nodded freely: "...So it's actually very easy to choose."
...
In the study, Lin Yue was still saying, "And didn't she already tell Second Brother that Tu Xiaomao subconsciously wanted to choose another world?"
He looked like he was racking his brains and being honest.
Tu Chaoxi finally couldn't help but interrupt.
"Third brother, you'd be better off keeping your mouth shut."
Lin Yue was stunned for a moment, then belatedly realized that he seemed to have hurt his brother's feelings again.
Tu Chaoxi said irritably, "You usually can't say much, but now you're talking like a pro. Do you really think your brother's heart is made of iron?!"
Lin Yue: ...
"Can you imagine something I can't? We're both equally foolish. Even if I'm stupid, can I be stupider than you?!"
"Don't you know her heart is completely devoted to that world? You have to tell me!"
"I didn't know she was more..."
Lin Yue glanced at his eyes, which were gradually reddening as he spoke, and interrupted for the first time: "Brother, I was just thinking about the time when I lived with Grandma."
Tu Chaoxi felt a surge of resentment stuck in her throat.
"……What?"
Nan Ke and Xu Chi both looked up at the same time, also looking at the young man in the corner who usually didn't make much of a fuss or react much.
Lin Yue paused for a moment, then continued, "I've never said this before, but before I recognized you all, although it was tough, I was also happy."
The three pairs of eyes darkened at the same time.
No one knew better than Lin Yue himself that at that time, even if he saw his family again, he was still prepared to never acknowledge them as his relatives for the rest of his life.
Because his current situation is enough to make him feel happy.
Looking back now, Tu Xiaomao recognized him earlier than Tu Chaoxi and Nan Ke, and respected his choice.
Whether facing him, Tu Chaoxi, or Nan Ke, she never interfered with their decisions.
Lin Yue's dark eyes shone with an unprecedented seriousness.
"So Tu Xiaomao is happy now, right?"
Tu Chaoxi opened his mouth, and even the most dull-witted person would understand Lin Yue's meaning.
Lin Yue: "Since she is happy, why should we cause her trouble?"
Since he chose to let go back then, why can't Tu Yao make the same choice?
Just as Tu Yao faced and respected his choice back then, they should do the same today.
"Brother, this is the respect we should give back to her."
Lin Yue's voice landed neither too loudly nor too softly.
This was the first time he had ever spoken so much.
Calm, realistic, gentle, and cruel.
Tu Chaoxi has never realized this more clearly than she does now.
The situation that Tu Yao experienced back then is now retaliating against them in a more realistic and tragic way.
This prevented him from continuing his heated, stubborn, and domineering rebuttal.
Xu Chi reminded him that Tu Yao had the freedom to choose.
Lin Yue told him that they had to respect Tu Yao's current happiness.
Tu Chaoxi staggered back a step, closed her eyes, and said in a hoarse voice:
"……I see."
"I see."
The study returned to silence.
After an unknown amount of time, Tu Chaoxi turned around again.
He looked at the sickly, thin young man opposite him.
"Take care of yourself, we're leaving now."
Xu Chi chuckled. In the end, it was Lin Yue, who spoke the least, who persuaded his most talkative brother.
Tu Chaoxi scoffed again: "If we don't reach the final step, and the two worlds successfully merge, Tu Xiaomao won't have to choose, right?"
He didn't refute it, but he stubbornly maintained his hopeful expectations.
"Don't get so sick that you can't walk to see her."
Xu Chi's eyebrows twitched slightly, and after a pause, his tone revealed a seriousness that was barely perceptible.
He said, "Okay."
Nan Ke continued to stare out the window, his brows furrowing unconsciously.
Through the window, one could clearly see Xu Chi sitting at the table, his slender figure leaning against the back of the chair, his long, thin fingers resting on the side, trembling almost imperceptibly.
He smiled and said, "Then, Teacher Tu, I won't see you off."
Tu Chaoxi had already taken two steps and casually waved her hand; Lin Yue silently followed.
Passing by Nanke, he called out, "Second Brother?"
Nan Ke snapped out of her daze, slowly followed, paused for a second, and gently closed the door.
Soon, only Xu Chi remained in the study.
In an instant, he exhaled softly and relaxed his stiff back, which had been rigid for a while.
The space returned to silence, and he closed his eyes to think slowly.
The three brothers' itinerary was within his expectations; the instability between the two worlds would eventually be exploited.
Vulnerabilities are easy to spot, but difficult to patch.
What else can he do...?
...
"What did you sacrifice to bring Tu Yao back?"
Suddenly, a deep voice came from above.
Xu Chi opened his eyes.
It is like Nanke, who left and then returned.
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