The restaurant was at its peak during the 6 PM dinner rush. Since this particular eatery was a bit out of the way with less foot traffic, there were still many empty seats when Shen Yue arrived.
A server brought over the menus. Shen Yue first handed the menu to Shen Yan, her eyes curved into a smile as she said, "You order. Tell me what you like to eat."
Shen Yan handed the menu back, his face expressionless. "Whatever."
Shen Yue coaxed him a few more times. Only when Shen Yan showed signs of impatience did she quiet down and start ordering for herself. She didn't know Shen Yan's tastes very well, so she decided to order a variety of dishes.
Shen Yan, who had been pretending to look at his phone, noticed Shen Yue hadn't finished ordering after a long time. He looked up and saw her still sketching on the menu with a pencil.
He stretched his neck to get a better look.
"Damn, why did you order so much? Can you even eat all of this?"
Shen Yue lifted her eyelids, her long, thick eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. She smiled gently. "It's okay. You're still growing."
Shen Yan looked speechless. "Even if I'm growing, I can't eat this much. I'm not a pig."
Seeing Shen Yue still looking dazed and naive, Shen Yan directly snatched the menu. He quickly scanned it, crossing out all the unnecessary dishes until only three remained.
Shen Yue couldn't help but interject, "Won't this be too little..."
"It's not little!" Shen Yan's eyebrows furrowed. "If you keep talking, I'm leaving."
This threat instantly silenced Shen Yue.
After handing the menu to the server, Shen Yue lowered her head and fiddled with the hem of her clothes. Shen Yan pretended to play with his phone again, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward.
Shen Yue pursed her lips, then looked up, her clear, beautiful eyes fixed on the teenager opposite her. She broke the stalemate, her voice soft and gentle, "What's your name?"
The air seemed to still for a second, and then a *click*—
The phone slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.
Shen Yan doubted his ears. He looked incredulously at Shen Yue and his voice rose, "What did you just say?"
Shen Yue's fair face slowly flushed with embarrassment. She seemed to realize how odd the question was. An older sister asking her younger brother for his name was peculiar to anyone.
But Shen Yue had lost her memory. She couldn't remember anything, not even what the person in front of her was called.
Biting her lip, she said weakly, "I... I don't remember."
—
Shen Yan's face was tense, his fair and handsome features growing increasingly somber, revealing suppressed anger.
"So, you're saying," Shen Yan began, "that you had a car accident half a year ago and lost your memory, that you don't remember anything."
In front of a teenager who was clearly younger than her, Shen Yue looked like a child who had done something wrong. Her eyes were clear and beautiful, her fingers twisting together, her voice barely audible, "Yes..."
Shen Yan's gaze was fixed on Shen Yue, searching for any hint of deception, but there was none. None at all.
Moreover, the Shen Yue from before would never have shown this expression, nor would she have suggested taking him out to eat.
The veins on Shen Yan's forehead throbbed. "No, how can you be so stupid? You got hit by a car just walking, what are your eyes for?"
The teenager's tone was still harsh, but it lacked the malice and pettiness of before, replaced by a hidden concern.
Shen Yue was scolded, yet she still managed a faint smile. Her dark, moist eyes were as clean and bright as glass beads, innocent and naive, like a child untouched by the world.
She smiled foolishly.
Shen Yan could barely watch. His brow furrowed, his expression shifting multiple times, his entire face a mask of indecipherable complexity. Slowly, he calmed down.
He ran a hand through his hair and introduced himself self-consciously, utterly awkward. "Shen Yan. I'm 17 years old. I used to be your younger brother, but a year ago, we severed all ties."
Shen Yue seemed taken aback by this answer. Her gentle eyes were filled with confusion and helplessness. Shen Yue was very beautiful; her long eyelashes drooped slightly, adorned with tiny shimmering tears, like diamonds sculpting her already captivating features.
Shen Yan couldn't stand it for more than three seconds. He couldn't bear to see Shen Yue looking so pitiable. He hesitated, his brows deeply furrowed, and spoke gruffly, "I'm telling you, pretending to be pitiful won't work. You abandoned this family yourself. No one forced you."
He still remembered the words Shen Yue had spoken a year ago, which had angered their father so much that he fell ill. Shen Yue had not cared at all, simply packed up, and left.
Through a twist of fate, when their father, Shen, was taken to the hospital for a check-up, he was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer. The family had no money. They scraped together every penny and tried every possible method, but they couldn't afford the surgery.
In desperation, Shen Yan called Shen Yue. He discovered he had been blocked. Shen Yue had blacklisted all of their family's phone numbers.
He searched everywhere and found Shen Yue's apartment. However, he couldn't even get past the front door. He waited there for a day and a night, and finally managed to catch Shen Yue.
Shen Yue sat in a luxurious car, not even glancing at Shen Yan, who was desperately banging on the car window. She left behind a cloud of exhaust fumes.
Their father, Shen, had worked hard his entire life for his children. Upon learning of his late-stage stomach cancer, one day while Shen Yan and his mother were asleep, he took rat poison.
Before Shen Yan could even raise enough money for the surgery, their father died.
The funeral was a rushed affair. Shen Yue did not attend.
From that day on, Shen Yan no longer had a sister.
He hated Shen Yue. Hatred surged within him like an overwhelming tide, and he even blamed Shen Yue for their father's death.
A year passed, and Shen Yue remained out of contact.
Now, fate had played a cruel joke on him. Shen Yue reappeared, claiming to have lost her memory.
To be honest, Shen Yan didn't know what to do.
His heart surged with emotion, his thoughts a whirlwind. Countless ideas flashed through his mind, yet he found no clarity, his mind a blank.
At this moment, the food was served.
Shen Yue scalded the chopsticks and bowls with hot water and placed them in front of Shen Yan. She pushed the steaming dishes towards him, as if afraid he wouldn't be able to reach them.
She paid no attention to her own meal and instead got a clean bowl for Shen Yan, serving him fish soup. "The fish soup here is delicious and very nourishing," she said. "You're growing now, so you need to eat well."
Like any ordinary sister, Shen Yue served Shen Yan food and offered gentle reminders, her eyes filled with a touch of doting affection.
Looking at Shen Yue like this, Shen Yan felt a heavy stone pressing on his heart, making it difficult to breathe, a growing sense of suffocation.
From childhood until now, Shen Yue had never been so gentle with him, had never served him food, nor had she ever prepared soup for him.