Chapter 2 All These Years (Part 2)

It had been a year since I last saw him, and he seemed more reserved than before, exuding an almost indescribable mature aura.

Around us, the breeze of the campus gently blew, making the skirts of the girls flutter. Many female classmates, as they passed by, couldn't help but glance at him.

I quickly rushed downstairs.

In the crowded hallway during the break, I pushed through the sea of people, desperately searching for that long-lost figure among the familiar and unfamiliar faces.

"Brother! You're back!"

I panted, climbing a few steps to stand slightly higher than him, our gazes locking.

This position conveniently shortened the gap in our height.

He slightly tilted his mouth, his tone carrying a hint of teasing. "Hmm, just got back and I hear someone left their brain at home."

Shen Ji Bai reached out and handed me a heavy folder.

"Hey... thanks, Brother..." I said, my face flushed, still out of breath from running so hastily just now.

The school bell rang just in time.

"Focus on your class," he glanced toward the stairs and calmly gestured for me to go up.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my rapid breathing, then looked up and smiled at him. "Okay, Brother, see you later!"

I hurried toward the classroom, the sound of the bell echoing in my ears.

To be honest, Shen Ji Bai coming back wasn't something particularly exciting in itself, but the thought of going to Aunt Lin's house for a "welcome home" feast that night instantly made me very happy.

I loved the lively atmosphere of a traditional family feast with everyone gathered around a big round table.

Meanwhile, in the classroom, my classmates had gathered around my desk— all of them girls!

"Jiang Li, who was that guy in the hallway today?"

"Who is he to you?"

"He's so handsome!"

"You two aren't... right?"

"Did you fall in love early, Jiang Li?"

"He looks like a rich guy."

"No, you must be being kept, right?"

As the questions got more absurd, in my desperation, I didn't know which wire had been crossed, and blurted out:

"He! He's my brother! My real brother!"

"You're from a single-parent family, how do you have a real brother?" my desk mate asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not from a single-parent family, we go to the same school, don't you know? Every parent-teacher meeting, it's always my mom who attends, didn't you notice?"

As we all know, once a lie is told, it often leads to more lies to cover it up.

When the girls heard "real brother," they immediately began "hunting" for his WeChat, showering me with flattering attention. Even my most dreaded math homework was taken care of by my genius desk mate without a second word!

After weighing the pros and cons, I figured the accuracy of my math homework > Shen Ji Bai's innocence.

So I casually said, "You... do your best, I won't handle any after-sales service!" and generously handed Shen Ji Bai's WeChat to a few girls, including my desk mate, who had become quite valuable to me.

To prevent the lie from being exposed, I carefully sent a message to Shen Ji Bai:

"Brother, a few of my classmates added you, please accept them, please, please! I picked the ones who are good-looking and good at studying, who knows, maybe one of them could be your future girlfriend! Hehe~"

"Remember, if they ask, you have to say you're my real brother, we share the same mother, don't mess this up!"

Seen but no reply.

The "welcome home" banquet at the Shen family mansion that night was grand, with many of Uncle Shen's business partners attending. Despite the formal atmosphere, Aunt Lin insisted I sit beside her, peeling shrimp for me while handling the guests.

As I spent more time in the Shen family's mansion, my status there gradually rose. Sometimes, I even felt like Shen Ji Bai had become the outsider, and I was the true child of this family.

During the banquet, someone was talking about introducing Shen Ji Bai to a young lady from a wealthy family. I almost dropped the shrimp I was about to eat.

Thinking about the stack of math papers and my desk mate's dark circles, I gritted my teeth and secretly sent a message to Shen Ji Bai under the table:

"Brother, can you talk later? If you really want to date, don't post about it on social media! At least don't do it during this holiday, if my desk mate sees it, I'm done!"

Then I winked at him, signaling him to check his phone.

I was sitting diagonally across from him, so he just needed to look up slightly to see my face.

He probably didn't want to answer me, but couldn't ignore my anxious expression, so he calmly lowered his gaze and opened the message.

Then he put his phone down and continued eating without looking at me, a slight, indescribable emotion curling at the corner of his mouth.

I didn't care; no refusal meant consent!

As the tutoring classes ended, the story of the holiday faded into the humid air of summer.

The impulsive, naive feelings of youth often dissipate over time without a trace.

At that time, I didn't think of romance, and the reason I hoped Shen Ji Bai was my real brother was that if that were the case, Aunt Lin would be my long-lost mother.

The young, happy me thought Aunt Lin's generous motherly love could last forever.

But a car accident abruptly ended everything.

I'll remember that day for the rest of my life.

That ordinary evening, coming back from school, I happened to see the Shen family mansion surrounded by people. Through a gap, I vaguely saw a tall figure being escorted into a business car. It was Shen Ji Bai, wearing sunglasses, and the car windows were so dark I couldn't see his expression.

Why was he back during a non-holiday period? The Shen family gate was locked, and standing outside, a strange emotion surged within me.

After lingering for a while, I had no choice but to go home disinterested. The nanny told me that Aunt Lin was gone.

A sudden car accident had taken Aunt Lin's life.

And it ended all my hopes for a mother's love for the rest of my life.

My father rushed back, handing me over to the nanny, and went to pay his respects, not bringing me along.

Neither he nor Shen Ji Bai knew the significance Aunt Lin had in my life—there was no one closer to me than her! She even kissed my dad!

The adults followed their rituals, doing what they thought was proper, but I didn't have the courage to see her for the last time. Fear and panic filled me; she had always been so gentle, yet in the end, she was so cruel to me.

I couldn't even cry.

In that moment, a crack silently tore open in my life.

In the face of such overwhelming sorrow, the fragility and resilience of the human body coexist. It first pushed me into a numb abyss, leaving me like a walking corpse, yet my consciousness remained clear as if a cold blade had cut through my soul.

Yet, that pain seemed to be shielded by some invisible force, giving me a brief moment of respite.

The body's protective mechanism numbed me, but it eventually wore off. Over the next few months, I was tormented by nightmares.

In the dreams, everything was chaotic, and when I woke, I was suffocated by sorrow.

It drained all my courage to stay in that place.

Because every day after school, when I passed by the Shen family mansion, my heart felt as if it were being sliced by a blade, and I could clearly feel the path of the cut.

I took the initiative to ask my dad to send me abroad, and I went to the United States.

Meanwhile, Shen Ji Bai returned to China.

After Aunt Lin passed, Uncle Shen seemed to lose himself for a long time and couldn't get over it. Eventually, he went to New Zealand to recuperate, as the vast family business of the Shen family couldn't go without a successor.

And so, Shen Ji Bai and I continued to only meet during the holidays in the same city.

I was gradually growing up, and the pain was gradually healing.

I celebrated my 18th birthday in the U.S. without any grand ceremony. At midnight, I received a huge red envelope from Shen Ji Bai, the amount shocking even me, a wealthy second-generation.

In my drunken haze, I went through our past chat records and suddenly realized that over the years, every holiday, he, as my brother, would diligently send me a red envelope without fail.

But other than that, I rarely thought of him.

In order to numb the scar left by Aunt Lin, I consciously avoided people and things that would bring back memories.

But that night, I pinned Shen Ji Bai's contact at the top of my messages, noting him as "Real Brother."

If those overwhelming memories couldn't be forgotten after trying so hard, then let them consume me entirely.

My dad insisted I return home once a year.

There wasn't much to see at home, but I returned anyway, mostly to party with a few old classmates from middle school. Among them was a guy named Shen Jin, Shen Ji Bai's cousin, who was also a bad student like me.

We were the closest pair of misfits, always getting into trouble together.

I remember one holiday, he told me that Shen Ji Bai was being forced by the family to go on blind dates, and the girl was a rich young lady named Song Yixin.

I thought, "Why should I care?" and went back to drinking.

Later, Shen Jin got so drunk I couldn't move him, so I called our mutual friend, Lin Xi, to help.

For some reason, the trendier bars always seemed to be in alleys. I was worried Lin Xi might not find me, so I waited for her in the chilly autumn night, trying to sober up.

As I sat there, a few drunken men passed by.

"Little girl, come with me? I'll make you feel good…" They yelled at me, their voices full of derision.

Well, I've been through five years of raves in the U.S., I've seen worse. These guys were nothing more than toddlers playing "peekaboo."

Across the street, I raised an eyebrow and gave them the middle finger.

Bright headlights from a car suddenly appeared in front of me. Before I could lower my finger, the headlights dimmed, and a tall figure stepped out of a Rolls-Royce.

Wide shoulders, narrow waist, even through the tailored suit, his strong torso and inherent elegance were apparent.

He unbuttoned the second button of his shirt, his expression cold, his eyes clear as a painting, walking toward me.

"…Shen Ji Bai… What are you doing here? Where's Lin Xi?"

I stood up, still blurry-eyed, swaying.

"Lin Xi got too drunk to come. She called me to come get you guys. You're all just drinking and not doing anything useful, get in the car."

He said as he walked past me and into the bar to find Shen Jin.

It was clear he was impatient with our drunken antics.

Shen Jin was thrown into the car, still talking nonsense.

In my drunken excitement, I didn't care how bad Shen Ji Bai's face looked. I just kept taking videos from the passenger seat and laughing manically.

At least this video would prove that my alcohol tolerance was a little better than Shen Jin's, and I'd get to brag about it in the circle.

He only glanced at me, frowned, and coldly said, "Seatbelt."

"Okay, okay," I replied, trying to respond to the group chat teasing Shen Jin while clumsily attempting to fasten the seatbelt.

Drunk and unfocused, I failed multiple times, and finally, Shen Ji Bai reached over and fastened it for me, without even looking at me.

Then I don't remember when I passed out from the alcohol in his car, but when I woke up, it was already late at night.

I was covered with a soft wool blanket that felt just like the one Aunt Lin used to have on the couch.

I clung to the blanket like a lifeline, closing my eyes and falling back into a deep sleep.

In my dream, Aunt Lin was hugging me, saying, "Don't be afraid, Shen family is your family, always."

I screamed out her name, crying uncontrollably.