As mentioned before, Shi Lingge’s voice was the most beautiful sound Su Ziyan had ever heard in his life.
A beautiful voice was naturally a huge advantage for a blind person. Adding in how fragile her tone sounded right now, with a clear hint of coquettishness, it felt like a massage for the ears.
Plus, his first impression of her had been that of a cold beauty, so this coquettishness added a touch of contrast cuteness.
So when he actually heard such a sincere apology, Su Ziyan’s earlier sulky mood calmed down by more than half.
No matter what, he couldn’t stay angry anymore.
Not to mention that he was originally a hostage brought here—it was really unwise to be sulky with a kidnapper.
After all, based on their roles, Shi Lingge making him sad was only natural. Her current care and apology were what truly didn’t make sense.
The way he was acting now was like someone getting an advantage and then playing hard to get.
“I’m actually not that angry anymore. I was just a little upset earlier.” Su Ziyan looked at the blurry silhouette lying on his bed and spoke softly. “You don’t need to apologize. I know you were just joking with me. I was the one who overreacted.”
But Shi Lingge’s fingers didn’t pull back at his words. Instead, they gently rested on his cheek, stroking him tenderly.
“Then have you really forgiven me, brother?”
Her voice was so earnest, as if she were asking about something very important.
But that earnestness didn’t reach Su Ziyan’s heart. Instead, it made him restless.
‘What identity is that woman using to ask me this question?’
‘Is she a kidnapper who kidnapped me, or a maid treating a guest gently?’
‘Is she the older sister treating me as an emotional substitute, or the little sister treating me as an older brother?’
‘Or maybe she’s nothing at all.’
‘Just a normal friend I’ve known for a day.’
‘Or just an acquaintance who happened to speak my thoughts and happened to comfort me?’
Su Ziyan couldn’t figure it out.
Logically, he shouldn’t be making such complicated guesses about this girl who was gently touching his face, right?
But he couldn’t help it.
Because the filter he had for Shi Lingge had just been shattered.
Until that joke earlier, even though they had only known each other for a very short time, Su Ziyan had always regarded her as his close confidante.
He saw her as someone gentle yet fragile, someone putting on a brave face while being lost inside—a little sister.
The reason was simple: he was in a strange environment that offered no sense of security.
And Shi Lingge was the only person in this cold world who was kind to him.
So naturally, he saw her through a beautifying filter. But that joke broke his filter.
It made Su Ziyan realize that she wasn’t necessarily someone willing to listen to him, even when he was truly desperate.
Actually, that was normal—they had only known each other for a day, so how could they understand each other that well?
But in Su Ziyan’s eyes, this wasn’t normal. He thought they should be close friends, that they should understand each other, that they should listen carefully to each other’s words, worries, and truest thoughts.
Because that was exactly what Su Ziyan had done last night.
But in reality, this wasn’t normal. No one would pour their heart out to someone they met less than twenty-four hours ago, right?
He shouldn’t indulge in this self-sentimentality either. He couldn’t assume that just because he was willing to listen to her past and thoughts, she would also listen to his.
That question he had just asked himself in his mind—on the surface, it was asking what stance this woman was taking—but it really wasn’t.
He was just asking himself, asking who this person was in his eyes.
Was she a kidnapper facing a hostage, a maid facing a guest, an older sister, a little sister, a close friend, or just an acquaintance?
And at the same time, he was asking himself who he was.
Su Ziyan, who are you in her eyes?
A hostage, a guest, a younger brother, an older brother, a fool indulging in self-pity and self-sentimentality, or simply a trash can she had already used?
He really couldn’t figure it out. As mentioned before, he was a very “heavy” person.
His emotions were both clumsy and weighty.
That was why he had spent so many years without understanding Xu Duyan—both before and after the accident, he never understood her feelings for him, right?
And Xu Duyan was the person he had devoted his entire life’s energy to observing and approaching.
So really, he was just an idiot when it came to emotions.
Thinking that way made him even sadder.
Su Ziyan nodded and said seriously, “Really, Shi Lingge, I forgive you.”
“Or rather, I never actually blamed you. I just blamed myself.”
His voice was so faint, as if it might disappear in a light breeze.
He wanted to brush away this matter and his earlier foolish self-sentimentality, letting them vanish like the wind.
But they were in the bedroom, the windows weren’t open, and there was no breeze flowing. Shi Lingge wasn’t stupid enough not to notice Su Ziyan’s sadness.
“Really? But you look like you’re about to cry.”
Shi Lingge ruthlessly saw through his lie.
“Maybe you really don’t blame me anymore, but if that’s the case, I’d rather you resent me.”
Like a cat whose weak spot had been hit, Su Ziyan bristled.
“Then what do you want?”
“You were the one joking earlier, and now you’re the one being nice. You were the one asking for my forgiveness, and now you want me to resent you. Shi Lingge, what exactly do you want?”
“I want things to be like before.”
Shi Lingge’s voice was firm.
“I want you to look at me like you did before, not like this.”
Su Ziyan felt as if his heart had been pierced. All his thoughts were laid bare in Shi Lingge’s eyes. She seemed to see right through his complicated and twisted mental state.
But he didn’t want to admit it, so he stubbornly said, “What ‘before’ and ‘now’? We’ve only known each other for less than twenty-four hours. How many ‘pasts’ are there?”
“You know what I mean, brother.”
Shi Lingge spoke as if stating an established fact.
“I don’t want you to change your view of me because of this. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Because you are really, really important to me. I know it sounds crazy, but I’m serious.”
“I only cry like a child in your arms.”
“Really?”
Su Ziyan raised an eyebrow.
“But I think I just happened to be there at that moment and said those words. If someone else had been there last night and said the same thing, the result would have been the same, right?”
‘In the end, we’re just acquaintances brought together by coincidence.’
“Then were the things you said last night lies?”
Shi Lingge’s question interrupted his thoughts, making him ask in confusion, “Huh? What lies from last night?”
“I know they weren’t lies. They came from your heart.”
A smile curled at the corner of Shi Lingge’s lips.
“So you’re wrong. The reason I cried like a child in your arms is because it was you.”
“Because your words came from your heart. So no matter the time or place, if we met, you would say those same things to me, wouldn’t you?”
“That proves that no matter the time or place, if we meet and get to know each other, I will open my heart to you and acknowledge you, brother.”
“You are special to me. No matter what, I don’t want to lose you.”
“So, I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Don’t look at me with that gradually cold gaze, okay?”
By the end, Su Ziyan could clearly feel the tremor in her voice.