This gentle and attentive person… is actually still just a child himself.
Thinking this, Su Ziyan ignored how the other person’s embrace was growing tighter and tighter. Instead, he reached out to gently pat her back, soothing the sobbing girl in his arms.
He suddenly remembered that he, too, had once used Cheng Qingyun as a substitute for his elder sister, yet ended up falling in love with her.
Even though Cheng Qingyun didn’t love him back.
Wasn’t this exactly what he was like? Regardless of whether the story’s beginning was full of lies, as long as the other person treated him with their whole heart, he would inevitably fall for them.
Of course, he definitely wouldn’t fall for a little girl he’d met for less than a day. But Shi Lingge, despite the falsehoods she spoke, had in reality been genuinely good to him.
He wasn’t some cold, heartless person. Naturally, he would feel for her when she was sad.
What she actually thought didn’t really matter.
He felt her kindness towards him, and that was enough.
Shi Lingge cried for a long, long time. She only stopped making sounds when she grew tired from crying, but she still lay quietly on Su Ziyan’s shoulder, tears continuing to flow.
It was strange. She clearly felt that after all she’d been through, she was a proper adult who shouldn’t cry so easily.
But for some reason, once the tears started, they wouldn’t stop. Even now, though she had stopped crying, she couldn’t hold them back.
“You’re so bad…”
After a long silence, Shi Lingge finally spoke, her voice soft and distant.
“If you’re like this, I’ll feel even more guilty once I’ve calmed down.”
Su Ziyan was taken aback for a moment. His subsequent smile held a touch of helplessness. He had to admit, this child Shi Lingge’s moral standards were still far too high.
She had been consistently doing things for his benefit, yet in the end, she was the one feeling this guilty?
“Guilty?”
Su Ziyan replied softly.
“If you feel guilty, then just keep being this good to me in the future. After all, I already consider you a good friend.”
“A good friend?”
Shi Lingge’s voice, for some reason, carried a hint of grievance.
“Not a good elder sister anymore?”
Without waiting for Su Ziyan’s answer, she continued on her own,
“I never would have guessed you were so silver-tongued. You must have fooled plenty of girls, right?”
“Is our Young Lady one of the girls you, this heartless scoundrel, has manipulated? Hmm?”
Shi Lingge felt she was acting strangely.
She was clearly filled with guilt towards Su Ziyan. She also clearly recognized him as a good person. Yet, for some reason, she said such things. And not only was her tone full of grievance, but an inexplicable anger also rose in her heart.
As she spoke, her small hand slid to Su Ziyan’s waist, instinctively preparing to pinch him after he replied.
“Wronged! I’ve only ever been in one relationship in my entire life. Her name was Cheng Qingyun. We broke up three months ago. Is your Young Lady named Cheng Qingyun?”
For some reason, when her hand landed on his waist, Su Ziyan didn’t feel the slightest hint of ambiguity. Instead, his hair stood on end, and he hurriedly explained:
“I was just kindly comforting you, and you immediately label me a scoundrel. I’m being so wronged here.”
“Oh…”
Shi Lingge responded softly after hearing Su Ziyan’s explanation, whispering,
“What a pity…”
But with the two of them holding each other so tightly, even Shi Lingge’s softest whisper was perfectly clear to Su Ziyan. Curious, he asked,
“What’s a pity?”
“It’s a pity I can’t find an excuse to pinch you,”
Shi Lingge’s voice was thick with resentment.
“After all, you saw me in such an embarrassing state. Not messing with you a bit just doesn’t feel right.”
After hearing her words, the corner of Su Ziyan’s mouth twitched. He then immediately and shamelessly resorted to emotional blackmail:
“Then go ahead and pinch me! Pinch me, this kind-hearted soul who comforted you with good intentions! Pinch me, this person you… hiss… You’re really doing it? Are you a dog?”
Having given up on pinching the soft flesh at Su Ziyan’s waist, Shi Lingge slowly released her mouth from his shoulder. She showed not a hint of embarrassment and instead said directly,
“Woof woof!”
It was mentioned earlier that Shi Lingge had the most pleasant voice Su Ziyan had ever heard in his life. So, the moment she imitated a dog’s bark, he shuddered involuntarily.
The stimulus of her soft body in his arms combined with that adorable voice nearly made him lose control. Thankfully, he was a master, and with all his might, he managed to hold his ground.
Feeling her breath against his earlobe, Su Ziyan spoke seriously,
“Shi Lingge, maybe you should get off me first.”
“What? Wasn’t it you who told me to hug you?”
Shi Lingge was stunned for a moment. Instead of moving away, she hugged Su Ziyan even tighter.
“What’s wrong with an elder sister hugging her younger brother? Hmm?”
“It’s perfectly normal for an elder sister to hug her younger brother, that’s true,” Su Ziyan said, trying his best to remain calm.
“But if you keep this up, I won’t be able to hold back anymore.”
Silence spread between the two embracing figures.
The next moment, Shi Lingge sprang up. She reached out to smooth the hem of her maid’s dress, intending to hide her shyness, but then remembered there was no need to hide in front of Su Ziyan, who was already blind.
He couldn’t see anyway.
“Anyway, thank you,” Shi Lingge said, her face completely red, but her voice remained steady.
“But I still need to apologize. After all, using one person as a substitute for another is too much.”
“It’s fine, I don’t really mind,”
Su Ziyan scratched his head.
“After all, you’ve genuinely been good to me. I already consider you a good friend.”
“Good friend? Not a good elder sister?”
A hint of laughter entered Shi Lingge’s voice as she put on a cute, affected tone.
“I wonder who it was, just a moment ago, calling out ‘Elder Sister~’ over and over.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll also think of you as my good younger brother from now on,”
Shi Lingge took out a handkerchief and leaned over to wipe the tears she had smeared on Su Ziyan’s face.
“Of course, not as a substitute, but as a real younger brother.”
Su Ziyan wore an expression of speechlessness and voiced his complaint,
“I’m five years older than you. Is it really appropriate for me to be your younger brother?”
“Then…”
Shi Lingge paused, her voice growing smaller.
“Brother?”
Then she saw Su Ziyan’s face visibly redden, and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“It’s the same level of closeness anyway. How about I call you ‘Brother’ from now on?”
Even though he had a younger sister himself, Su Ziyan had never heard anyone call him ‘Brother’ so sincerely, without any polite flattery.
Coupled with Shi Lingge’s incredibly pleasant voice, Su Ziyan found himself feeling somewhat flustered for a moment. Shi Lingge, as if she had discovered something fun, continued wiping his face while calling him ‘Brother’ in various tones of voice.