“Mianmian, it’s time to eat.”

Mother Yu knocked on the door outside the room. Yu Mian rubbed her eyes, sat up from the bed in a daze, and answered, “Okay, Mom.”

She laid on the soft and warm bed reading a book with the pattering rain outside the window and the overcast sky. She fell asleep at some point and the afternoon passed without her noticing.

Her mind was still not quite clear upon waking up. Looking at the unfamiliar room in front of her, Yu Mian was vaguely confused where she was.

Before Mother Yu left outside the door, she added, “Your Older Brother is also back. Mianmian, come down quickly, alright?”

Yu Mian blinked slowly. With the words ‘Older Brother’, some fragmented memories emerged from her still chaotic mind. The man’s face was blurry and broken into several images, leaving only a rigid and thin shadow.

The impression the man gave her was cold and imposing. He rarely goes home or talked to his sister, leaving her with nothing but an indifferent view of his back.

After a careful recollection, she found that in the other Yu Mian’s memory, the image of this brother was really too poor. She only knew that he was eight years older than her, had taken over the family business, and had a cold and indifferent personality. Apart from that, there was nothing else.

There’s also a little story. As mentioned before, the other Yu Mian stayed in the family’s hometown when she was a child while her brother followed their parents to start a business in another place. Later, after finally succeeding, the other Yu Mian was then brought to the city.

However, the other Yu Mian resented her family, thinking that they had abandoned her by leaving her in their hometown. Once she was with her family, her personality became extreme. Her parents were full of apologies and wanted to make up for it, but she remained unabashed, like a rebellious teenage girl.

There was a time when Mother Yu served her a soup, however, the other Yu Mian didn’t appreciate it and she swept away the bowl of hot liquid, which spilled on Mother Yu, scalding her skin.

The other Yu Mian was still young at that time and when she saw Mother Yu crying out in pain, she was so flustered that she froze on the spot.

At that moment, Yu Xing stood up and called someone to treat Mother Yu’s injury, then walked straight to the other Yu Mian. He grabbed her arm and pushed her out of the door. The other Yu Mian clearly remembered that it was a rainy day. Heavy rain was pouring and the brother who had never been close to her told her coldly, “Stay right here and reflect on yourself.”

That day, the other Yu Mian stood in the rain for two hours. Even though it wasn’t too cold in the early summer, her face still became pale and stiff. After she was allowed inside, she had a high fever for two consecutive days.

After that, the other Yu Mian became afraid of this brother. Every time Yu Xing came home, she would find excuses to hide, not wanting to see him. Even if they met, she wouldn’t dare raise her head to look at him. Therefore, even though Yu Mian tried to recall the face of this brother, Yu Xing, it wasn’t very clear.

After going through the memories in her mind, Yu Mian didn’t know whether she was affected by the other Yu Mian’s emotions, or because the older brother in her memory looked very fierce, she suddenly became nervous.

She climbed out of bed, stepped on a pair of pink fluffy bunny slippers and gently opened the door. She made her way towards the corridor and down the stairs to the living room on the first floor.

Even from the spiral staircase, she could notice a difference in the atmosphere. After lunch, she and Mother Yu sat on the sofa and watch an idol drama for a while, creating a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere. Currently, the wall-mounted TV was also on, but there was no cheerful conversation.

Yu Mian slowly approached and the screen came clearly into view. It turned out to be displaying a financial news channel, with the host speaking in a methodical way.

Yu Mian: “……”

As she drew nearer, the person on the sofa was also revealed. He was wearing a crisp silver-gray suit that was pressed extremely neatly, as if he was holding a meeting. Sensing her arrival, the man looked over with a serious look on his face and a pair of bottomless dark eyes.

Her footsteps abruptly stopped. Yu Mian instantly understood why the other Yu Mian was afraid of this brother!

One was his imposing aura, and the other was his eyes, which were extremely cold. He was like an outsider watching the mundane world from afar with utmost sobriety and indifference. Anyone who locked eyes with him would have heart palpitation as it was as if he could see through people.

When he looks at someone silently with those eyes of his, it’s like one’s being was stripped bare and there was no secret that could be hidden from him.

Yu Mian almost wanted to turn around and leave. She wasn’t the other Yu Mian and was occupying her body, thus she felt guilty. Being stared at by those eyes made her extremely uncomfortable.

She moved almost step by step and under his probing gaze, she finally stood in front of him. She tried her best to raise the corners of her lips and greeted him in a small voice, “Hello, Brother……”

Yu Xing surveyed the trembling girl with slightly squinted eyes. He noticed that the girl was imperceptibly shaking from her subtle movements and the blood on her small face had faded. A faint doubt appeared in his eyes.

On the phone, his mother joyfully told him that his younger sister had become a lot more sensible after coming out of the hospital.

He didn’t believe it originally. How could he not be clear of Yu Mian’s personality? Before this, she was still arguing with their parents about moving out of the house. It was impossible for her to change overnight.

But when Yu Mian stood in front of him, he suddenly became perplexed. He heard that Yu Mian’s heart stopped beating for a minute in the hospital. Could it be that a near-death experience really brought about such a big change in a person?

Putting it in a good way, Yu Mian was extremely rebellious, but frankly speaking, she had an extremely dark personality. Yu Xing had been prepared for the fact that she would become a disaster in the future.

But look at the girl right now standing timidly, her head was almost buried in the ground and with a plain, unpainted face that was no bigger than a palm, which was getting paler with his silence. Her long eyelashes fluttered like fallen leaves in the wind, quivering and shaking.

She was still afraid of him, but the feeling she gave was different. In the past, she was afraid of his authority. Yu Xing always believed that if one day she had the power to resist him, she would definitely retaliate without hesitation.

To put it bluntly, the previous Yu Mian was like a hedgehog, with an aura of bitterness and hatred lingering around her, as if the whole world had betrayed her.

Now, the dark cloud shrouding her was gone. The girl’s skin was fair and her eyes were clear. She looked at him with both fear and vague novelty, like a newborn deer in the forest, surveying the world with curiosity and fear. Moreover, in the past, she would never take the initiative to talk to him, let alone greet him.

“……Yu Mian?” The man’s voice was as cold as ice, chilling to the bone.

Hearing her name being called, Yu Mian subconsciously responded, “Huh?”

With this natural reaction, it didn’t seem like she had been replaced with someone else, but still the same Yu Mian. Yu Xing casually thought, he just didn’t know how her personality changed. If a near-death experience had such a good effect, then entering the hospital’s emergency room was worth it.

However, even if Yu Xing noticed the change in Yu Mian, he was only surprised for a short moment. To him, Yu Mian was just a cheap sister whom he couldn’t like and he had no affection with, as well as someone whom he needs to care of after their parents pass away in the future.

The age gap between this younger sister and him was too big. He was already eight years old when she was born and they were separated for many years. They were destined not to be like other ordinary siblings.

The two people, one sitting and one standing, looked at each other in silence. From the door of the dining room, Mother Yu leaned out with a smile and said, “You’re awake, Mianmian. Come over and eat.”

This sound was no less than heavenly music to Yu Mian’s ears. She breathed a huge sigh of relief and immediately ran and hugged Mother Yu’s arms, saying softly, “Mom, I’m starving.”

Mother Yu’s eyes narrowed in a smile and she squeezed her little daughter’s cheek affectionately. “Then Mianmian should eat more. Look at this little face, it’s all thin.”

The mother and daughter, one old and one young, ignored Yu Xing. But Yu Mian did it on purpose. She really didn’t dare to stay in front of him any longer. Yu Mian felt as if he would notice something. Those penetrating eyes were really scary.

Mother Yu, on the other hand, only sees her daughter and didn’t pay much attention to her son. The broken relationship with her daughter had always been a knot in her heart, which was why she would always agree to everything Yu Mian wanted in order to make up for it.

It’s not easy for her daughter to finally grow up and become sensible. Yu Mian had now become the caring little cotton-padded jacket in her heart. Mother Yu cherished her so much that she wished she could hold Yu Mian in the pam of her hand and put her in her pocket.

Yu Xing didn’t think anything of it. After all, he was already so old and couldn’t possibly compete for his parents’ favor.

He had no idea how Yu Mian change, but he was happy to see it. He’s usually too busy with work to take care of their parents. If Yu Mian had really changed for the better, she could spend more time with their parents in the future, so that they wouldn’t always look for an opportunity to urge him to get married.

The family sat in front of the dining table. Just like at noon, Mother Yu served Yu Mian food, and occasionally, Father Yu would also clip up some dishes for her. She didn’t even have the time to worry about her imposing and terrifying brother. Her belly became rounded with each bite and her whole heart was warmed by their care.

Yu Mian has a small appetite and was constantly fed, so she was the fastest to get full.

Father and Mother Yu waited for her to finish eating before moving their chopsticks. Yu Xing ate slowly on the side and soon finished eating as well. He took a tissue and wiped his lips.

Throwing the tissue into the bin, Yu Xing raised his eyes, his gaze shooting straight at the girl with a lazy expression after getting full, and asked, “Since you know better now, what’s your next plan?”

Yu Mian was holding a bowl of soup, taking small sips. When she heard this unexpected sentence, she was momentarily stunned before reacting.

Maybe it was because she had become more courageous after eating her full or maybe because Yu Xing’s aura at the dining table wasn’t as strong, and his whole person was tainted with a down-to-earth air, Yu Mian was no longer so afraid of him.

Originally, she really wanted an older brother. When she’s in primary school, whenever she saw other people with brothers, she would be envious.

With an older brother, even when her parents die, she wouldn’t be left alone. Every time someone called her a parentless child and bullied her, she always longed for an older brother coming down from the sky to help her beat those kids away.

Swallowing the soup in her mouth, Yu Mian thought about it seriously and said, “I’m too behind in my studies now. Brother, can you find me a tutor?”