“Hello there?”
Shen Ruxue’s voice was soft, but her beautiful tone drew Chi Yingyu’s full attention to her.
Previously, when her niece mentioned her best friend, Chi Yingyu had only seen a simple photo of the two on her phone. But now, seeing the girl in person—
Chi Yingyu couldn’t help but feel that the girl before her was extremely elegant.
Her shoulders and neck were straight, her posture delicate, and her features were naturally exquisite, radiating an undeniable nobility.
She looked beautiful and proud.
Yet, when Chi Yingyu met Shen Ruxue’s eyes, those familiar and profound eyes gave her a vague sense of déjà vu.
Shen Ruxue stepped into the office, and in a blink, locked the door behind her.
She hadn’t seen her own younger sister up close in over ten years; the only glimpses she’d had were from photos taken by others.
Now, meeting face to face at such close range, Shen Ruxue finally realized that the little sister who used to cling to her sleeve and cry had already grown up.
When she knocked on the office door, Shen Ruxue’s mind was filled with countless thoughts.
She had rehearsed over and over in her heart what to say from the moment she knocked to when she walked in.
She thought she had it all planned out, but actually facing Chi Yingyu, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.
Her little sister had truly become outstanding, with her own firm, so tall, and dressed in a black business suit that exuded a calm and steady aura.
At this moment, Shen Ruxue couldn’t help but raise her hand, wanting to gently stroke Chi Yingyu as she did when they were little.
But halfway through, she realized her current identity made such a gesture inappropriate.
Shen Ruxue never thought there would come a day when she’d be afraid—afraid that after being gone for so long, her sister, daughter, and husband would forget her.
She’d always feared this.
But when she heard her daughter say she was about to get a stepmother, that fear slowly turned into a determination that she would never allow it.
She couldn’t allow anyone to take her place.
She would not allow anyone to become Jiang Lai’s wife, or her daughter’s mother.
Staring at Chi Yingyu’s face—so different from her memories, so mature now—Shen Ruxue’s beautiful eyes grew misty with tears.
While Shen Ruxue was lost in her emotional struggle, Chi Yingyu spoke first to confirm her identity, “Little sister, are you Jiang Leyi’s friend? Did you come here to see her?”
Although the girl in front of her was her niece’s friend, if Chi Yingyu really had to call herself an aunt to someone of this generation, she couldn’t help but feel a bit unwilling in her heart.
Hearing her sister address her that way, Shen Ruxue suppressed the turmoil in her heart, looking Chi Yingyu straight in the eye. “Xiaoyu… do you remember me?”
Xiaoyu—this familiar name made Chi Yingyu dazed, because there shouldn’t be anyone left in the world who called her that. Even her closest brother-in-law now called her “Yingyu.”
This name that should have disappeared brought back some hazy memories for Chi Yingyu.
“Xiaoyu, my boyfriend is coming today. I’ll give you some pocket money. When Mom and Dad call me over to chat, could you keep him company?”
“Xiaoyu, you said you wanted to find a boyfriend like your sister’s someday, right?”
“Xiaoyu, don’t be naughty. When you see Jiang Lai from now on, don’t call him by his name anymore. You can start calling him brother-in-law.”
“Xiaoyu, don’t cry. In the days ahead, help me take care of your brother-in-law. He’s very responsible, and soon he’ll be all alone. He’ll wear himself out.”
Countless memories flooded back to Chi Yingyu.
The only person in the world who called her that was her elder sister.
Looking at the girl before her—who seemed even younger than her own niece—Chi Yingyu kept doubting whether she’d misheard.
But the next second, Shen Ruxue tightly gripped her hand. “Xiaoyu, maybe you think this is unbelievable, but I’m back. I never left you. I’ve always been here.”
Chi Yingyu’s mind hadn’t caught up before she was forced to accept a torrent of information.
If what was happening in front of her was true, then miracles really did happen too often around her!
Chi Yingyu couldn’t believe it. If she only listened to the girl’s words, she’d be full of doubt. But it wasn’t hard for Shen Ruxue to dispel that doubt.
It was as if Shen Ruxue needed to pour out all the emotions she’d bottled up for over a decade. All she had to do was mention things that happened when they were kids.
In just a few minutes, Shen Ruxue poured out everything she’d wanted to say during this time, telling Chi Yingyu that she was still alive, and that she’d been thinking of them all these years.
But just a few simple sentences left Chi Yingyu so shocked she was speechless.
She never imagined that something as fantastical as a rebirth, like in a novel, would happen to her sister.
Aside from shock, what filled her heart even more was joy.
Things that defied logic had already happened once to her brother-in-law.
When she heard that her sister had died and been reborn as a baby, she wasn’t even that surprised.
At this moment, Chi Yingyu was completely immersed in happiness that her sister was still alive, and felt relieved that her niece would have her mother back.
If their parents could know about this, they would surely be overjoyed.
Her parents had retired long ago. Although their pension wasn’t much, with occasional money sent by Jiang Lai and Chi Yingyu, they lived quite comfortably.
Their greatest regret in life was not being able to see their elder daughter again.
If they could learn that their eldest daughter was still alive, their spirits might even become ten years younger.
But if anyone would be happiest to know her sister was alive, it would be her brother-in-law, Jiang Lai.
As Chi Yingyu realized this, her overflowing joy gradually turned stiff.
Because Chi Yingyu had witnessed with her own eyes her sister and brother-in-law’s journey from falling in love, to getting engaged, married, having a child, and finally being separated by death.
No one understood better than Chi Yingyu how deep her sister and brother-in-law’s love was—devoted to the bone, longing for each other with all their hearts.
No one loved each other more than they did.
That was a love she could never hope to match…
At this moment, Chi Yingyu felt her own heart was ugly and selfish.
Clearly, reuniting with her sister should be something to celebrate, so why did she feel a trace of reluctance inside?
For a split second, Chi Yingyu even thought: why did her sister have to come back?
Their lives were so good now, without anyone disturbing their happiness—including the sister standing right in front of her.