Halfway through the car ride, Lin Jianshen’s phone rang. It was a call from Yu Xing.

“We’re on our way back. We’re almost there. Twenty minutes at most…… She drank a little too much, I’m afraid it’s not convenient to answer the phone…… It was my negligence, I’m sorry…… Nothing’s wrong, don’t worry. Okay.”

The intermittent voice drifted to the back, where Yu Mian was curled up against the wide leather seat. Her head was dizzy from the shaking of the car and waves of nausea surge up to her throat, making her close her eyes tightly, thin eyebrows deeply knitted.

The champagne had a strong aftertaste and she drank a lot on an empty stomach, which made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Drunkness amplifies one’s emotions. In the past, no matter how uncomfortable she was, Yu Mian would habitually endure it and pretend as if it was nothing, because no one would care about her feelings.

But at this moment, listening to the conversation between Lin Jianshen and her brother, and feeling the love and care of her family, even though Yu Mian’s mind was still clear, an inexplicable feeling of grievance emerged in her heart.

Just like a child who fell down, she would endure the pain and get up when her family wasn’t around, but as soon as she saw her parents, she would cry and open her arms for a hug.

Yu Mian wasn’t a strong child. She had just been living alone for a long time, so she had become independent and tough. At her core, she had always been the child who fell to the ground, arms outstretched, waiting for her family to pick her up.

The car drove smoothly into the front yard of the Yu family’s villa. Lin Jianshen parked the car, got out and went to the back seat to open the door.

Lamp posts as tall as people were erected in the front yard, illuminating the road. The orange light gave the night a warm atmosphere.

It was cold but the lamp posts dispersed the darkness that was crowding in like a tide.

Through the soft light, Lin Jianshen saw the young woman huddled up into a small ball, her eyes closed tightly. She was biting her lips and her face was covered with crystal tears. It wetted her long eyelashes and the tip of her nose was dyed red, making the young woman appear as fragile as a newborn cub.

The man’s light gaze fell on her face where it suddenly paused, and then swayed violently a few times, like a candle flame being blown by the wind.

Flustered, he approached her slowly with a hint of caution.

“Yu Mian? Are you feeling okay?” Lin Jianshen unconsciously lowered his voice, as if any louder and it would disturb her.

The man’s deep voice was hoarse, and in this dim and cramped space, it took on a hint of ambiguity.

Yu Mian slowly opened her beautifully shaped eyes that were filled with tears. It reflected a light that was coming from someplace and shattered into a pool of stars that filled it with sparkles.

She felt very uncomfortable and didn’t dare to speak for fear that she would throw up.

Lin Jianshen saw that she didn’t speak and only looked at him with teary eyes. Her eyelashes were wet and two lines of tears fell down on her face as soon as she blinked. However, she didn’t make a sound, only biting her lips tightly and silently shedding tears.

He had no idea how long she’d been crying. He had a headache and felt a bit at a loss.

Apart from filming, he had basically no experience with the opposite sex. Dai Zhong often said that he was destined to be forever single.

So facing this young woman who was crying miserably, who was many years younger than him, and who was even his nominal fiancée, he couldn’t leave her alone, but he also didn’t know how to comfort her. Lin Jianshen rarely lost his usual calmness and felt extremely troubled.

He reached out to help her, and Yu Mian, drained of strength, leaned limply against him.

“Are you…… feeling uncomfortable?”

The young woman hummed softly through her nose with a strong crying tone. She glanced at him with tearful eyes, then closed it and lay back on his arms.

She felt dizzy. The world seemed to be spinning, and the more it spins, the more uncomfortable it becomes.

Lin Jianshen breathed a deep sigh of relief. It seemed that she had just drank too much.

He gently wrapped his arms around her and guided her out of the car, wanting to take her home. At this moment, a man walked out of the villa wearing a black shirt and a suit pants, with a slender figure and a straight back. He gradually approached the two people.

“President Yu.” Lin Jianshen greeted.

Yu Xing glanced at Lin Jianshen and then shifted his gaze to Yu Mian. With sharp eyes, he noticed her tear-stained face and his eyes turned cold. Seeing the two people stuck together, he found the image an eyesore.

“What happened?” He took a few steps closer and without hesitation, reached out to take the girl leaning on Lin Jianshen’s shoulder.

Seeing Yu Mian so limp that she couldn’t even stand straight, he simply put one arm around her shoulders, the other through the crook of her knees, and carried her.

With the young woman in his arms gone, Lin Jianshen felt relieved, but also felt an inexplicable sense of loss. However, it was fleeting and disappeared without a trace before he could capture it.

Noticing the questioning in Yu Xing’s eyes, Lin Jianshen said with a calm expression, “Miss Yu drink too much wine and felt uncomfortable. It’s my fault for not taking good care of her. When Miss Yu is sober, I’ll personally come and make amends with her.”

If it was in the past, Yu Xing wouldn’t worry at all even if Yu Mian as drunk. But now Yu Mian seemed like someone who didn’t know how to drink. She was very nervous even going to a banquet and asked Mother Yu many things to pay attention to. How could she let herself get so drunk at the banquet?

In the entire Yu family, Yu Xing had the most contact with Lin Jianshen. He knew Lin Jianshen’s character well, and even though he guessed that there might be another reason for the matter, he still couldn’t help but express his anger.

Before he went out of the door, Mother Yu asked him to invite Lin Jianshen for a cup of tea. Yu Xing didn’t mention this and only said coldly, “En, you can go back. I’ll take her inside first.”

Yu Xing carried his sister back to the house. He used to only treat her as his nominal sister. He only did his responsibility towards her but unable to show any care. That was until she changed. She would cutely call him brother, worry that he’s working too hard, care about his health, and look at him with eyes full of trust and admiration.

People say that love was two-way.

Yu Mian’s unreserved sincerity made him gradually realize that he was her brother.

When Yu Xing was a child and his mother was just pregnant with Yu Mian, there was a time where he stroked his mother’s bulging belly and said, “I want a little sister, a cute, soft, and sweet little sister. I will protect her for the rest of my life!”

Unfortunately, his sister didn’t want his protection. She hated him and treated him as an enemy. That kind of sister was far from his wish. He was completely unable to feel any love for a sister who resented him.

It was only at this moment that he got the feeling that his little sister had returned.

Being lifted up in the air, Yu Mian’s dizziness improved a lot. She opened her eyes in a daze and saw a man’s stern profile.

“……Brother?”

Yu Xing stopped and lowered his head to look at her. The girl’s eyes were filled with tears making his heart feel soft. The warm orange light hit him, and his cold and hard face turned softer.

“Brother will take you home. We’ll be there in a minute.”

Yu Mian hummed softly. She buried her face in her brother’s shoulder and rubbed her tears on his shirt.

This was her brother, so…… she could act spoiled with him, right?

“I don’t feel good……” She said softly.

Yu Xing asked her as he walked, “Where are you unwell?”

Yu Mian sniffled. “I feel dizzy, my head hurts, and I’m nauseous.”

“Then why did you drink so much? Did Lin Jianshen not take good care of you?”

Yu Mian raised her head, her bright eyes wide open. “No! It has nothing to do with him. It’s me who wants to drink, because I’m happy!”

“Happy about what?” Yu Xing always talks little and doesn’t like to utter meaningless words. But when accompanying his drunk sister, he was willing to chat with her even if she wasn’t saying a word.

Yu Mian muttered a couple of inaudible words, buried her head in his shoulder again, and remained silent.

When the siblings got inside and Father and Mother Yu saw their drunk daughter, they were extremely worried. In the past, it was quite common for Yu Mian to get drunk and not return home for the whole night, but they were still worried every time. All parents like them were really pitiful.

After giving Yu Mian some hangover soup, Mother Yu took care of her. After helping her take a bath, she sent her back to her room to rest. During this period, Yu Mian acted like a little baby, extremely clingy. She kept calling out to her mother, making Mother Yu’s heart ache.

Only after seeing that Yu Mian was asleep did Mother Yu came out of the room. Outside, Father Yu and Yu Xing were still both in the living room.

Mother Yu smiled and told them, “It’s okay now. She’s already asleep.”

Father Yu said, “Crying like that, let her go out less in the future.”

Mother Yu waved her hand. “The little girl is just being sentimental, it’s not a big deal. I think Mianmian’s a lot more sensible now, so don’t always manage her.”

Yu Xing said, “Look after her a bit in the morning, she might have a headache.”

After dropping such a sentence, he turned around to go back to his room, his back looking as cold as ever. Father and Mother Yu, however, looked at each other and smiled with relief and satisfaction.

———pr

Lin Jianshen drove back alone. He had asked the director for two days off for this banquet. The Yu family was half a city away from his place and it was almost early morning when he arrived home.

As he was about to get out of the car, he caught a glimpse of a small paper bag placed on the passenger seat.

The image of the young woman’s rosy cheeks as she shyly held up the paper bag while looking at him, and the way she was curled up into a ball in the dimly lit back seat with a tearful and hazy look, flashed before his eyes.

The man’s Adam’s apple unconsciously moved a few times. He reached over and picked up the small paper bag.

His eyelashes lowered as he opened it slowly and before he could even see the contents clearly, the sweet aroma of osmanthus hit his face.

In the dark of the night, everything was silent. Lin Jianshen opened the bag all the way and looked at the small white plastic box inside and the neatly stacked light yellow and transparent osmanthus cakes within.

There were so many unexpected things that happened that night that he only realized he hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

So these sweet-smelling cakes became the ultimate temptation.

There was also a small silver fork thoughtfully placed on top of the box. She remembered that the other party said she made it herself.

Lin Jianshen hesitated for a moment but then still took the fork and tentatively put a piece of osmanthus cake into his mouth. His chewing action paused as his calm eyes quietly lit up. He then slowly and methodically wiped out the entire box of small cakes.

Some of his complex thoughts also returned to nothingness with the disappearance of the food and he once again returned to his serene self.