Chapter 39 Secret

Su Niannian was so frightened that she immediately pushed him away. The next moment, Su Jianshan fell from the sky and stood in front of his sister.
“Stay away from her!”
Jin Chuan’s expression grew darker; his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Headjusted his glasses and forced a smile. “Ah… an acquaintance.”

The two siblings were openly close, and a man shouldn’t covet his friend’s wife — Jin Chuan’s interest disappeared. When Gao Jianshe’s voice came from upstairs, he chose to step aside and leave.

The air seemed to carry a laboratory-like chill.
Su Niannian felt a rush of unease; her thick lashes trembled as she forced a small smile toward Su Jianshan.
“You know him.”
Tears glimmered in her lashes. Su Jianshan stuttered, “I… I don’t know him at all!”
“Don’t pretend. I know you do. Brother, I’m really sad.”
Su Niannian turned her face away quickly and wipe away the warm tears. All her efforts in this life were meant to avoid repeating the trajectory of their past — both for herself and for Su Jianshan. But it seemed that he had met Jin Chuan much earlier. Did he offend him? Did he make him hold a grudge?

Softening, Su Jianshan sighed.
“The last time I went to a restaurant with my brother-in-law, I ran into Chen Niannian. She insisted I take her to the Jin residence… So I saw your former fiancé. To be frank, he’s not even a finger’s width as good as your brother-in-law, Nian Nian. I really don’t like him!”
“Who said he’s my fiancé?! Did you tell Gu Zhiye?”
“That… of course not!”
“That person… I barely know him, and we have no connection at all. The person I was engaged to was his older brother, Jin Lou — he died a long time ago…”

Mentioning the deceased, Su Niannian’s voice fell a little.
Jin Chuan might be a monster, but Jin Lou had been kind and protective toward her, which made her view him through a filter in her previous life.
Who knew two people raised on the same food and water could grow up to be completely different?

“Stay away from him in the future, Brother. He’s not a good person.”
Su Jianshan nodded smugly. “I already saw through him.”
Anyone engaged to Chen Niannian certainly was no ordinary person.

Walking side by side out of the hospital, they saw Liu Tao waiting by the side of the road.
She noticed Su Jianshan casually carry someone’s belongings and frowned.
Striding forward, Liu Tao directly grabbed the items from his hands.
Then, with a serious expression, she said, “Brother Su, there’s something I shouldn’t say, but I’m going to anyway.”
The two turned to look at her in unison.

To their surprise, their gazes were identically clear — the sister’s wet and vulnerable, the brother’s simple and pure.

Liu Tao said gravely, “Niannian, if I remember correctly, you have a fiancé back home. To protect your reputation, from now on, it’s best not to directly accept things from your brother. So many people are watching us… If you get something today, someone else might follow suit tomorrow. So from now on, let me be the one to transfer these things for you. Is that okay? If you trust me…”

“That’s fine! Please do that.”
Before Su Niannian could respond, Su Jianshan rushed forward and made the decision for her — he could tell this woman meant well.
So, reluctantly, Su Niannian forced a bitter expression.

…

On the rooftop of the hospital.
The strong breeze blew through Jin Chuan’s white lab coat.
He stood expressionless, his silver-framed glasses gone — tossed to the ground — with a cigarette between his fingers.
He gazed into the distance.

All at once, a lovely face appeared in his mind — Su Niannian’s — blooming like a sheltered rose — fueling a sadistic rush within him.

“Jin Chuan——! I’ve been looking for you. What are you do­ing up here…?”
“It’s prohibited to smoke in the hospital.”
Jin Chuan kept his eyes down and quietly turned his gaze away.
He drew a shaky breath.

“The wound on your hand forbids alcohol and smoke. Did you forget the doctor’s orders?”
Gao Jianshe sighed, somewhat exasperated.
He knew his friend was a mess.
Relatives and friends all saw him as gentle, refined, and kind — but only he knew that a wild, mad creature was locked away deep down in his soul.

“I miss him.”
Jin Chuan exhaled a trail of smoke, its blue-gray tendril blurring his face.

Gao Jianshe fell silent, unsure of what to say. Everyone knew whom he meant — his big brother, Jin Lou, who was more than just a brother — a guardian, a parent. All the kindness in Jin Chuan’s life seemed to expire the moment Jin Lou died.
Jin Chuan slowly fell into chaos under its weight.
Gao Jianshe even suspected that Chen Niannian was a legacy left by Jin Lou — something Jin Chuan was forced to carry, reluctantly, until it destroyed him.

He was about to say something to ease the oppressive atmosphere when his expression suddenly turned mischievous. “Speak of the devil — there she is.”
Looking down, the two saw a somewhat clumsy figure dart into the building — it was none other than Chen Niannian.

Jin Chuan, with a cold expression and growing annoyance in his black eyes, put out his cigarette. “Let’s go.”
He turned and walked down the stairs, bumping directly into a hurried Chen Niannian.
“Jin Chuan, I heard you were injured. Are you all right? Where are you injured?”
Jin Chuan raised his hand in a way that suggested it was a minor matter.
Chen Niannian grabbed his arm, tears glimmering in her eyes. “Does it hurt?”
“…”
Jin Chuan felt his stomach nearly turn at the pure sentiment.