“Hehehe, Xiaoyu~ Don’t touch me there, it’s really ticklish~”
In the quiet room, the woman’s murmurs sounded softly.
Lin Mowei’s lips curled into a smile in her dream, as if she were having a sweet dream. Unconsciously, she turned over, and then…
“Ouch!”
With a muffled thud, she rolled off the bed, quilt and all, straight onto the floor.
Jolted awake by the fall, she slowly opened her eyes, her consciousness tumbling from the warmth of her dream back into cold reality.
Just moments ago, she had been thinking about her little brother, preparing for some “warm-up exercises.” She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep.
Untangling the quilt wrapped around her, she sat up from the floor, looking around in a daze.
“Hmm? Xiaoyu?”
She instinctively called for the doctor, but the only reply was the constant rush of water coming from the bathroom.
Lin Mowei turned to look at the electronic clock on the nightstand. The screen glowed faintly blue—23:47.
She narrowed her eyes, most of her sleepiness gone. “Still taking a shower at this hour? Are you planning to wash yourself all night or what?”
The moment she said this, she froze for a second.
Something wasn’t right!
It was taking too long.
From the time she’d dozed off until now, the sound of running water had hardly stopped, and she hadn’t heard any other movement.
Suddenly, a cold intuition shot from her back straight to her brain.
Panicking, she got up and rushed barefoot to the bathroom door, not hesitating for even a second as she yanked the glass door open.
“Xiaoyu!”
The bathroom was empty. Only the showerhead continued spraying water, the stream striking the tiled floor and kicking up a fine mist.
The sound of water, which had just moments before carried hints of anticipation, now felt like a monotonous, sharp mockery, each note pounding in her ears.
Her hand clenched on the door frame unconsciously, the metal frame warping slightly with a nerve-wracking screech.
At this point, even a fool would understand what had happened.
Her brother had run away!
This realization didn’t spark anger, but instead left her with a heavy, hollow sense of loss, as if her foot had slipped off a ledge.
Why? Why did he run away? Did he not like his sister?
All the strength left her body. She released the door frame and slowly slid down to the floor.
She hung her head, long hair spilling over her face, hiding most of her expression from view.
In the silent room, only the endless patter of the shower broke the quiet.
After a long while—perhaps only a few minutes, or maybe longer—a low, subdued laugh slipped out from behind her curtain of hair.
“Hehe…hehehe…”
The laughter gradually grew louder, carrying a twisted tremor.
“Has Xiaoyu finally realized what his sister feels for him?” She slowly lifted her head and muttered to herself. There were no tear stains on her face, only an odd mix of regret and excitement spreading across her features.
“That child, it’s normal for him to be scared… The first time is always like this, it’ll get better, he’ll get used to it…”
Unsteadily, she stood up and walked to the shower, reaching out to turn off the valve.
Silence enveloped the bathroom, and the whole room.
She looked at herself in the mirror—hair slightly messy, her eyes unusually bright—and her lips curled up bit by bit.
“Hmph.” She chuckled at her own reflection, her tone resuming its usual gentleness. “Xiaoyu, your sister will come find you right now. If not tonight, then tomorrow night. If not tomorrow, then some other day… We have so much time. You can’t escape your sister’s grasp.”
Stepping out of the bathroom, she picked up her phone from the nightstand. The screen lit up, illuminating her determined, triumphant smile.
“Right, I’ll give Xiaoyu a call first and ask where he is.” With a gentle swipe in her contacts, she found that pinned name instantly.
Even if he didn’t say, it didn’t matter. Ever since her rebirth, to keep track of her brother at all times, she had already made a series of preparations.
Including—but not limited to—installing miniature cameras in hidden corners of the house, and secretly embedding a tracking module in her brother’s phone…
Unless absolutely necessary, she didn’t want to use these methods.
She much preferred it if her brother told her himself, or even more, she enjoyed the process of “finding him.”
Listening to the waiting tone on the other end of the line, the smile on Lin Mowei’s face deepened.
How would Xiaoyu respond? What excuse would he give? She really wanted to see the adorable expression on his face when she found him~
Elsewhere, Lin Yu stared at the caller ID—“Sister.” His sister’s call didn’t surprise him; in fact, it was a bit later than he had expected.
Clearing his throat, he composed his expression—even though she couldn’t see him—and tried to make his voice sound natural as he pressed the answer button.
“…Sis.”
He had already prepared himself to face a barrage of scolding or questioning from his sister, and had mentally rehearsed several responses.
But unexpectedly, the voice that came through the receiver was as gentle as ever—no, even gentler than usual.
“Xiaoyu~ Where did you go? It’s so dangerous for you to be out so late. Tell your sister where you are and I’ll come pick you up, alright?”
“???”
Lin Yu blinked and instinctively pulled the phone away from his ear, double-checking the name on the screen.
It was definitely “Sister.” But her reaction was far too calm, too gentle, to the point that it gave him chills.
“Who are you?” he probed, half-jokingly, “Where did you take my sister?”
“Hahaha.” Lin Mowei laughed on the other end. “What are you talking about, Xiaoyu? It’s your sister. Come on, don’t joke around. Quickly tell your sister where you are, I’m worried about you being out alone.”
“Uh…well.” Lin Yu hesitated.
She really didn’t sound angry at all? Only pure concern in her voice.
Could it be that he was just overthinking it? That his sister never had any of those feelings, and was just worried about him? Maybe… he should just tell her the truth?
But the moment the thought crossed his mind, he shook his head.
No.
His sister didn’t know about Gu Yunxi, and if she found out, he didn’t dare imagine the consequences.
“Sis, I’m fine. I just got a room at a nearby hotel. I’ll definitely come home in the morning, don’t worry.”
As he spoke, he listened closely, ready for his sister to question, doubt, or act coy.
But once again, her response caught him off guard.
“Oh, I see…” Lin Mowei’s voice sounded a little disappointed, but she quickly said, “Alright then. Just stay safe, lock the door, and if anything happens, call your sister immediately. You must come home tomorrow morning, okay? Don’t make your sister worry, understand?”
Hearing the untainted concern and reminders in her voice, most of the gloom Lin Yu had felt earlier because of Yeling faded away.
“Mm, I know, sis. You should rest early too.”
“Okay~ Good night, Xiaoyu.”
“Good night, sis.”
The call ended.
Holding his phone, Lin Yu recalled the things Gu Yunxi had told him about his sister earlier, and couldn’t help but shake his head, muttering to himself:
“See? Just like I only see her as my sister, she only sees me as a little brother to take care of. How could there possibly be anything else? Seriously… I was overthinking.”
He let out a long breath, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
His taut nerves relaxed, and exhaustion crept over him once more.
“Time to sleep…”
In the dim room, the occasional sound of cars passing by outside only deepened the stillness of the night.
Now that he’d let down his guard, Lin Yu couldn’t possibly have imagined that, at the other end of the line, Lin Mowei’s smile vanished the moment she finished her gentle goodnight.
She swiped her phone and opened an app she’d never used before.
On the screen, a single glowing dot flashed somewhere near a street on the other side of the city.
She watched that dot, her eyes gentle, but beneath that gentleness was a look as if she were staring at a disobedient pet.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t tell your sister… Sister will come find you herself.”
Tonight, the moon seemed especially bright. Beneath the moonlight, a graceful figure slipped through the city’s buildings.
The night was still long.