A Miracle of Love?
Su Ziyan actually took a moment to seriously think it over before snapping back, a grimace spreading across his face: “Do you actually think I’d believe that? When we first met, I thought you were pretty aloof, but I never expected you to love joking around like this.”
“That wasn’t aloofness—that was just basic politeness toward strangers! It’s called social distance, you know?”
Shi Lingge replied without a care in the world:
“But now you’re my brother, so I want to show you my truest self.”
“Alright then.”
Su Ziyan suddenly grinned and spread his arms.
“I’m the one who accepted you as my little sister, after all. In that case, I’ll take on all your spoiled demands.”
Spoiled demands?
For a moment, Shi Lingge didn’t react.
Then it suddenly hit her—this word was still so far from her current self.
How long had it been since she’d heard something like that?
Her gaze dimmed for an instant, but it swiftly returned to normal.
Maybe girls were the real actors.
They knew everything, but they didn’t want to bring it up.
Maybe they hoped you’d back off on your own, maybe they simply didn’t care…
Or maybe, they were just genuinely moved, yet too shy to say it out loud.
Looking at Su Ziyan standing there with a smile and open arms, Shi Lingge’s heart suddenly pounded so fast she almost lost control again and hugged him.
But she snapped back to her senses and instead spoke in a perfectly normal tone:
“Pfft! Who said I wanted to act spoiled with you?”
Her face was full of smiles, but her tone carried an unmistakable hint of disdain.
“We’re not little kids anymore. We’re independent adults, you know.”
“So you’re saying it’s actually you who wants to act spoiled in someone’s arms? Like those people online who want a loli mom?”
“But people who say that kind of thing usually do it because they’re longing for it themselves, right?”
“So you’re just trying to throw mud at me again?”
Su Ziyan gave an exasperated sigh and pulled his arms back.
“But I’ll keep this offer open for you. After all, I am your big brother.”
“Eww!”
Shi Lingge stepped forward and linked her arm through his again.
“You finally got the chance to take advantage of me. I should have made you call me ‘big sister’ back then.”
“Fine, fine, you can be the big sister.”
Su Ziyan followed her pace as they resumed their walk, saying indifferently:
“Big sister, big sister, I want some ice cream.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll check the fridge when we get back to see if there’s any left.”
Shi Lingge replied with a smile.
“How come you’re suddenly acting like a little kid?”
“What, you can’t stand it?”
“Not at all. You can bother me more—let me really feel like a big sister.”
“Hey, you’re actually taking this ‘big sister’ thing seriously?”
“What, is that not allowed?”
The two bickered as they walked deeper into the manor.
It was a clear, sunny day.
Every cloud had gone missing, and every moon had vanished.
He and she strolled arm in arm, the world so quiet it felt like the aftermath of the apocalypse, leaving only the two of them.
They were young, they’d known each other for only a short time, and the sunlight was free.
Of course, human sorrows were never truly shared.
Just like Su Ziyan and Shi Lingge had slept well last night, but others in this world had stayed up all night.
Take Xu Duyan, for example.
Her eyes were now full of bloodshot streaks.
She sat on her own living room sofa, waiting for news from Su Xiaoyan.
Unexpectedly, Su Xiaoyan wasn’t indifferent to the news of her estranged brother at all.
The moment she heard about Su Ziyan, she immediately revealed an inability to hide her anxiety.
What’s more, she had scolded Xu Duyan mercilessly over the phone, demanding how she could be such a lousy sister as to let her own brother end up suspected of suicide.
Xu Duyan listened, bitterness filling her heart, but she had no room to argue.
She could only apologize over and over again.
Still, fortunately, the other party agreed to her request and had already mobilized her connections to search for Su Ziyan.
Coincidentally, the surveillance cameras in the two nearest neighborhoods were undergoing their semi-annual maintenance, making the search for Su Ziyan’s whereabouts like finding a needle in a haystack.
Xu Duyan had planned to go out and search herself, but Su Xiaoyan stopped her, telling her to stay home in case Su Ziyan came back, so she could keep him there.
As for the places Xu Duyan had mentioned where Su Ziyan might go, Su Xiaoyan would personally lead people to check each one.
By now, Xu Duyan’s mind was in complete chaos.
For once, she had no opinion of her own.
She just sat on the sofa at home and waited through the entire night.
To be honest, that wait was far from easy.
If she had gone out to search, she could have done something to fill the emptiness inside.
But now, she could do nothing.
She could only wait at home, every minute and second an ordeal.
She stared at her phone, hoping for a notification from Su Xiaoyan or a reply from Su Ziyan.
Until the sound of a knock suddenly broke the silence.
The moment she heard the knock, Xu Duyan jumped up almost as if by reflex.
But because she had been sitting for so long, the sudden movement made everything go black before her eyes, and she nearly collapsed again.
Yet those few seconds felt unbearably long to Xu Duyan in that moment—as long as if centuries had passed.
She steadied herself by grasping the armrest of the sofa, then rushed toward the door with uncontrollable urgency.
It was such a short distance; running there wouldn’t have taken nine seconds.
But during those agonizing seconds, Xu Duyan began to recall her actions from the past few days, engaging in a self-examination.
Maybe those conversations in the car had all been genuine.
Su Ziyan really didn’t want to be with her anymore.
Saying he still loved her was just a polite excuse.
In reality, Su Ziyan had already stopped loving her, this old woman who had occupied his feelings for years without giving back even a single ounce.
It was only because she was his sister that he couldn’t openly say he hated her.
If so, his suicide was her fault.
After all, he was already unhappy because of his health, and there was someone he hated hovering around him, harassing him nonstop.
That person was the one he had once loved deeply, given everything for, yet received nothing in return.
Now that he didn’t love her anymore, she stuck to him like an annoying fly.
It was like a mockery of his once-true heart.
Every time she forced a confession or a kiss, it probably wasn’t some heart-pounding interaction in his eyes—it was just her blatantly making him sick.
He must be disgusted by how pathetic she looked now.
Xu Duyan knew this explanation was not only forced but also extremely extreme.
But after waiting in anxiety for a whole night, she was nearly driven mad and couldn’t think rationally.
All she knew was that her own pushing had driven Su Ziyan to suicide.