"Sister, is everything you said true?" An Yunxiu's eyes held a glimmer of hope. Truth be told, upon hearing it, he knew she was trying to placate him, but An Yunxiu couldn't bear to expose his sister's lie.
An Nuan's face was full of smiles as she said, "Of course it's true. When has your sister ever lied to you? Don't you believe what I say?" She spoke with feigned ease, but her tightly clenched hands betrayed her.
"Yunxiu, don't worry. Sister will try her best, try her best to make Xi Zhou ge like he used to be, okay?"
An Yunxiu nodded. He understood everything, but he couldn't bring himself to expose his sister's lie. He knew she didn't say it because she didn't want him to be sad.
Yet, he longed to grasp his sister's hand and tell her: Sister, you don't have to, you don't have to trouble yourself like this. Your Yunxiu has grown up and is a man who can protect you.
Such words, upon meeting An Nuan's gaze, he swallowed them back.
Let it be, perhaps this was the best outcome.
As An Nuan stood up to close the door, she saw Shen Xizhou.
At that moment, all the blood in An Nuan's body seemed to freeze. She didn't know when Shen Xizhou had appeared, nor if he had heard what she had just said.
Shen Xizhou said nothing. He picked up the car keys that had accidentally fallen there and left.
As he exited, his gaze fell upon An Nuan, and he looked at her with mockery.
An Nuan's lips curved into a bitter smile.
Just then, Shen Xizhou grabbed her hand, cornered her, and whispered in her ear, "An Nuan, you're really good at lying, aren't you? How did I not notice this before?"
An Nuan bit her lip tightly, not wanting to retort to Shen Xizhou's words. All she wanted was for the person in front of her to disappear quickly.
Her younger brother was watching, and she was afraid, afraid Yunxiu would notice something amiss.
She could bear to be humiliated, but not in front of her brother.
"I didn't expect Mr. Shen to have a habit of eavesdropping. You've really opened my eyes," An Nuan said sarcastically, hoping this would make Shen Xizhou leave immediately.
"Heh, let's see how long you can keep that tough act up." Shen Xizhou's hand directly clamped onto An Nuan's neck, the strength in his arm tightening as if he intended to tear her apart.
An Nuan knew he was angry, and he would surely humiliate her again. He would leave soon after.
But An Yunxiu, standing by, stepped forward directly, suddenly intercepted Shen Xizhou's hand, and shielded An Nuan behind him.
"Mr. Shen, your temper seems to have worsened over the years. Before, you wouldn't even dare to touch my sister's finger."
"Indeed, times change, and people's hearts change too."
An Yunxiu's hand held Shen Xizhou's wrist without letting go.
Shen Xizhou's wrist was already turning bruised.
An Nuan, fearing Shen Xizhou would harm Yunxiu, quickly stepped out from behind An Yunxiu and grabbed her brother's hand, urging him to let go. But before she could persuade her brother, Shen Xizhou threw a punch directly at An Yunxiu's face.
An Yunxiu was sent sprawling to the ground, spitting out blood.
Seeing her brother beaten until he bled, his face more swollen and bruised, An Nuan's heart ached. She was supposed to protect her brother, but now her brother was protecting her, and was even injured. Tears she could no longer hold back streamed down her face. She knelt before Shen Xizhou, grasped his hand, and pleaded, "Please, don't, don't hit him anymore."
Shen Xizhou's eyes were filled with intense malice. He looked down at An Nuan and An Yunxiu with disdain and disgust, saying, "You should have thought of the consequences before laying a hand on me."
"Yunxiu."
Seeing An Yunxiu clutching his chest, An Nuan no longer cared about Shen Xizhou's words or what he intended to do.
Her brother's face was exceptionally pale, and she sensed something was wrong.
She quickly took out her phone and made a call.
At the hospital.
"Doctor, doctor, please, save my brother, save my brother," An Nuan pleaded incessantly.
Her brother's face was devoid of color, his lips pale, a bad omen.
An Yunxiu's forehead was covered in sweat. He was in so much pain he almost fainted, but seeing his worried sister, he dared not even let out a groan. Enduring the searing pain, he rasped, "Sister, don't worry, I'm fine."
An Yunxiu was eventually sent into the emergency room.
Three days later.
An Yunxiu had woken up, an IV drip attached to his hand.
Seeing An Nuan asleep by his bedside, he reached out, stroking her hair, and wiped away the tear stains on her face.
He couldn't hide it any longer. Sister must have known. He had thought he could hide it well. He had thought Sister would never know. He had thought that now that he was back, he could protect his sister.
But it seemed he couldn't protect his sister, and had instead brought her a lot of trouble.
He wondered if his appearance had been ill-timed.
An Nuan woke up. Her gaze fell on An Yunxiu, and she immediately said, "Yunxiu, it's okay, it's okay, sister is really fine."
Faced with her brother's self-blame and guilt, An Nuan didn't know how to comfort him.
Hearing An Nuan's words, An Yunxiu's eyes filled with emotion. He lowered his head, his eyes devoid of any light. He said weakly, "Sister, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. My appearance seems to have brought you a lot of trouble. If I hadn't appeared, your life wouldn't have been disrupted by me. Perhaps, you would have lived a happier life."
An Nuan lowered her head, her eyes reddening. She had never expected Yunxiu to say such things to her.
Her brother really didn't need to blame himself so much.
This situation was all her fault. It was her who had caused this outcome. It had nothing to do with him.
Thinking of this, she felt immense guilt.
She would dedicate the rest of her life to ensuring her brother lived well and was free from worry about food and clothing.
Her brother's illness was not incurable; it was just a matter of money. As long as there was money, her brother would be fine.
An Nuan secretly made a resolve in her heart.
...
In the hospital, Xu Ruowei kept thinking about how things were with An Nuan. Had Shen Xizhou troubled An Nuan?
And how was Wang Xuerou? Had she been saved?
Wang Xuerou had not died, but had become a vegetative state. The doctor said she would not wake up unless a miracle happened.
Even so, Xu Ruowei was still uneasy. She would not allow anyone to threaten her interests.
She had worked so hard to reach this point, she couldn't leave any potential trouble behind.
Right, since killing wasn't something she had never done before, and she was already familiar with such matters, Wang Xuerou could not be allowed to live.
She had to do something.