The Man in the Mask (3)

"Brother, they are coming." Qiao Ning Xi shouted while running towards him. She was really glad that his injuries will be finally treated properly.

The man saw her running to him and wanted to remind her to be careful, afraid that she might trip.

"Brother, the person who answered the call has a really nice voice. It was my first time hearing someone who has a deep voice like him. I want to hear your voice too." She said as she sat down beside him.

They are currently at the back of the hospital, full of trees. Since they don't want other people to see them and report them to the police so they are hiding.

However, if it's someone who was trained then they could sense their presences and location so here is the best place for them to hide.

"How long do you think it will take them to get here?" She asked him.

Qiao Ning Xi didn't realize that she became talkative when she's with him. It was because she is not used to the awkward silence between them, she rather talk by herself than no one talking.

The man picked up the stick beside him and wrote in the ground.

'30 minutes or so.'

"Oh. Really? Ugh. It's so boring. How about we play truth or dare?" She looked at him full of anticipations.

He saw her eyes but he ignored her.

"Please, Brother?" Seeing that he ignored her, she used her puppy eyes and grabbed his arm.

The girl clung to his arms and he tried to shake her off but she stuck to him like bubble gum.

'Cute.'

Anyone who sees her acting like this will fall in love with her cuteness. She didn't think her looks will be one of her best cards after her regression.

However, she watched the man's reaction and because of the mask, she thought that her cute acts didn't work on him but actually, it does.

She couldn't see it but behind that mask, the man was trying to stop himself from chuckling.

He didn't know that he was someone who was weak to cuteness. She was the first child, who was not afraid of him, even when he saved her and she did cried but after that she let him carry her.

As he ignored her, a minute passed and the girl stopped bothering him which is strange. Then he turned to look at the little girl and found her sitting under a tree two meters away from him, sulking.

'Is she sulking?'

He doesn't want to see her acting like this after all she saved him but he couldn't agree to her. People might say that if he doesn't want her to know his identity then he can just lie to her but he don't want to.

It's true that he didn't want to leave a trace of him to her, he wanted her to forget him after this day but that doesn't mean he will lie to her. This is their second and will be their last meeting.

Ten minutes had passed since Qiao Ning Xi sulked and until now, she hadn't speak nor move. She just stared at the road without emotion, waiting for the others to arrive.

The man couldn't take her sulking anymore and finally concede. He patted her shoulder but she ignored him.

Actually, she already knew that he will give in to her request but she didn't think that it will take this long for him to give in.

She wanted him to experience how it feels being ignored. He always ignored her everytime he didn't want to answer her or talk to her which is quite painful.

If she was an ordinary 12 years old girl, maybe, she have already cried. Imagine being ignored by the person you saved by risking your life and he didn't even express his gratitude to you. How would you feel?

While she was thinking how long should she ignore him without him getting mad or giving up on coaxing her, the man walked and sat down infront of her before writing on the ground.

'I am sorry. You can ask me anything and I will do one request of yours.'

She looked at the words written on the ground and couldn't help but to grin. She felt like she won something.

The man was waiting for her reaction. He was afraid that she is really mad at him. Last time, she cried because he somehow scared her and now he made her mad.

"Okay! You should keep your words and no regretting it, alright? She said while smiling.

He was shortly stunned at her reaction before realizing she played him. How could he not realize it after seeing her grinning at him like she won or achieved something.

He had no choice but to agree and nod.

"Yehey! So what should I ask first?" Qiao Ning Xi said massaging her chin contemplating about something.

As she was thinking, the man only looked at her, nervously waiting for her question. He doesn't want to lie to her so if it's something he can't really tell her, instead of lying he will not answer her.

He then reminded her that he would only answer three questions and do one request. What he said made her stop thinking and thankfully, she haven't ask him any question yet.

"What? Only three? You didn't say anything earlier!" She pouted and complained at him.

She saw through his eyes that he is determined to do only what he said.

"Fine. Then brother, how old are you?"

He was quite bewildered by her question. He was expecting her to ask him about his identity or about the people who shot him.

'24'

"Brother, you're twenty-four?" She asked just to confirm it.

He nodded.

"Do you have a sibling or cousin?" The reason why Qiao Ning Xi asked his age for the first question is because she wanted to recognize him somehow even without knowing his face.

This time for her second question, she was actually just curious. She has been acting as his sister so she wanted to know if he treated her like a sister or not.

If he did, then that means their relationship got quite close and actually, she have never thought about it since her rebirth and after all of the things she experienced with her family in her previous life but she actually wanted to experience to have a real family.

He might be cold sometimes and usually ignored her but she can still feel the warm he has been giving to her. She had no choice but to admit to herself that she wanted a family that gives off that warm feeling like he do and so she's been treating him like her real brother, a family.

During this time she also realized that her disdain towards Mother Qiao already disappeared while she unconsciously threw away her grudge to her.

It all started when Mother Qiao finally treated her as her adopted daughter, giving her care and love. It might not be like how other people treated their own daughter but it's normal since she wasn't her biological daughter.

She already forgave Mother Qiao's negligence to her in her previous life and current life. She wanted to experience more care from her foster mother rather than her hating her because of the hate and grudge that only she can remember.

'I don't have.'

Seeing him write that he doesn't have any siblings made her happy. Her smile reached to her ears, she was happy thinking that she is his only sister.

"Then Brother, do you know me or have you ever seen me before?" Ever since she met him she always feel like he knows her. If not, then she is reminding him of someone.

'I won't answer you since this is your fourth question.'

"What?! What do you mean?" Qiao Ning Xi was perplexed after reading what he wrote. She looked at him waiting for him to answer her or explain in to her but of course, he ignored her.

She had no choice but to rewind her memories from her last question to the first.

"Don't tell me you considered that I used my second question when I casually asked if you are twenty-four?" She asked after realizing it.

The man nodded while smiling behind the mask. He found it entertaining watching her, especially her reaction when he teased her.

"That's unfair! Brother, you are so mean! How could you do this to your sister?!" She puffed her cheeks to show him that she is getting upset.

Qiao Ning Xi realized that when she is around him she tends to act childish sometimes, I guess, it's because she is comfortable around him.

She felt that it's alright for her to act childish or spoiled to her brother. Maybe, this is what they called siblings bond.

Meanwhile, the man was dumbfounded at her, who kept on addressing him 'brother' and fully accepted her role as his sister.

When did he have a sister that he doesn't know? Weren't they just acting last night?

He doesn't know what to say. How reckless of her calling a stranger, she had just met for a few hours not even a day, a 'brother'.

'Don't call me brother. I'm not your brother and I don't have a sister.'

When she saw what he wrote, she was upset since she has been treating him like her brother but this man didn't treat her as his sister.

She suddenly felt the same feeling she felt when she realized that Qiao Hua, the person she used to care the most never treated her like a sister. She felt like she was a fool.

"Okay, Uncle. It's alright to call you uncle, right? I don't know your name so I don't know what to call you. You are also twelve years older than me."

Well, he is actually just seven years older than her if we include her previous age, she is seventeen years old.

The moment Qiao Ning Xi called him 'uncle', the man's expression darken. He doesn't want her to call him brother because she self-proclaimed that he is his sister but he hate it more when she called him 'uncle'.

He is not that old. He is just twenty-four years old!

Qiao Ning Xi noticed his glare to her and giggled, "If you don't want me to call you 'uncle'' then let me call you 'brother'."

The man knew that she did it on purpose, so that he will allow her to call him brother but he didn't give in to her and instead ignored her.

Seeing the man ignoring her, she teased him more by calling him uncle for a few times and even though he was very annoyed, he didn't say a word and still ignored her.

She finally stopped teasing him after thinking of another method for him to let her call him 'brother'.

"Didn't you said that you will do one of my request?" She said smiling at him. He nodded even if he felt ominous about it.

"Then from now on, we will be siblings. You will be my older brother and I will be your little sister! Alright, brother?"

He was stupefied at her request. First, he didn't expect her to ask for that. Second, he was expecting her to ask for something more. Third, It feels like she doesn't care about his identity because she didn't ask for his name or identity when she had a chance and now, her request.

It's not like she wasn't interested at his identity, it's just that she knew he won't answer her and even if he did, she doesn't want to force him since he hid it on purpose.

Before Qiao Ning Xi received his answer for her request, a car stopped in front of them and four men got out of the car. Three of them are wearing suits while the other one is wearing a white coat and the four of them are not wearing a full face mask/maskara like her brother.

"Master!" They all called.

The man was shock seeing his men not wearing their own masks. He immediately turned into Qiao Ning Xi wishing that she won't recognize them but it was too late, she already recognized them.

Qiao Ning Xi was shocked to see the two men who saved her before. Rafael and Wen Si Han.

If the one they called master is her brother then, the man she saved and beside her is HIM.