Chapter 74

Celine pushed open the private room door and immediately noticed an unusual quietness.

Too quiet.

So quiet that it felt... awkward.

Kaylee and her older brother Shenan sat facing each other. The dishes on the table were delicate, steam rising gently, but between the two of them, it felt like there was an invisible wall.

Chopsticks occasionally hit the edge of a bowl, making a crisp sound that only made the silence more obvious.

No conversation, not even an exchange of glances.

Celine frowned slightly.

She didn't know what had happened before, but instinctively blamed the silence on her older brother's sometimes overly calm, even cold personality.

After all, it must be tough for a lively and cheerful girl to face her brother's "iceberg face" all day.

Feeling a bit sorry, Celine sighed quietly, feeling bad for Kaylee.

As the thought crossed her mind, she glanced at Shenan with a hint of reproach and silently shot him a look.

Shenan was about to pick up a piece of fish when he suddenly noticed his sister's sharp gaze. His movement paused for a moment, then he looked up at her with a faint look of confusion.

What's wrong?

Had he done something to upset her?

Celine ignored the silent question and walked straight over to Kaylee, sitting down beside her with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Kaylee. My brother is just the type who seems cold on the outside but warm inside. He's not good at talking, so don't mind him."

Her voice was soft but clearly broke the silence in the room.

Kaylee, who had been eating quietly, suddenly looked up and immediately understood Celine's meaning—she thought Shenan had been deliberately ignoring her all day.

"N-no, not at all!"

Kaylee quickly waved her hand, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Celine, Shenan didn't ignore me. He… he's been fine."

She had meant to say "Mr. Yu," but changed her mind. Since Celine called her by her name, calling him "Mr. Yu" would feel too formal.

Before Celine could notice the slight awkwardness in Kaylee's "he's been fine," Shenan spoke up.

His voice was still calm but seemed a bit warmer than before.

"Just call me Shenan."

This was directed at Kaylee.

Kaylee was completely stunned.

She could clearly feel her cheeks and even her ears growing hot.

He… he wanted her to call him by his name?

Celine looked at Kaylee, who seemed a little lost, then glanced at her brother's face that looked unchanged, and suddenly thought...

The atmosphere felt even weirder.

She couldn't say exactly what was strange.

But since Kaylee said it was fine, then maybe... it really was nothing serious?

Maybe she was just overthinking.

Celine pushed down the doubts in her heart and decided not to dwell on it. Instead, she picked up her chopsticks and said,

"Stop staring and eat quickly. After running around all day, I'm starving!"

At Celine's words, the tense atmosphere in the private room seemed to loosen a bit, but somehow... it still felt strange.

But she was really starving and didn't care to think much. She picked up her chopsticks and started eating quickly. After all, she had only eaten a bun and drank a bottle of mineral water at noon.

Spare ribs, boiled fish, stir-fried pork, vegetables in oyster sauce... Celine was eating happily.

However, Celine's full focus made Kaylee across from her even more restless.

Kaylee tightened her grip on her chopsticks, feeling heat spread from her cheeks to her ears.

She secretly glanced up, wanting to see Shenan's expression, but just then caught his eyes looking at her.

Their eyes met for only a moment.

It felt like a faint electric shock passed between them. Both quickly looked away as if burned.

Kaylee's heart skipped a beat. She nervously lowered her head, pretending to focus on the vegetables in her bowl, but her ears burned even more.

Shenan also barely paused for a moment. His gaze flickered before returning to his plate, but his chopstick movements seemed half a beat slower than usual.

All these subtle interactions filled the air, but none of it caught Celine's attention as she was busy filling her stomach.

Right now, Celine's mind was full of money, money, money!

She didn't notice at all the almost strained and tense current between her big brother and Kaylee.

"Mm…"

Celine had a few bites of rice and felt a bit choked. Her eyes scanned the steaming mushroom chicken soup in the middle of the table, and naturally said,

"Big brother, I want some soup."

Since she was little, ordering her big brother around was a habit.

"Hm."

Shenan was used to it. He put down his chopsticks and picked up the ladle, smoothly scooping a bowl of soup for his sister and pushing it toward her.

Then…

Then he hesitated for a moment, as if he suddenly remembered something, or some subconscious urge made him do it. He picked up the empty soup bowl in front of Kaylee and scooped her a bowl as well.

His movements were still steady, even with a hint of decisiveness that didn't allow refusal.

"For you."

Two simple words, just like him—concise, with no extra emotion.

The soup bowl lightly touched the table, making a crisp sound.

Kaylee's eating froze completely.

Her chopsticks hung in the air, forgotten.

She felt like she was holding her breath, blood rushing to the top of her head.

Why… why did he scoop soup for her?

Was it just because he saw his sister drinking soup, so he gave her a bowl as a polite gesture for a guest?

Yes, it must be that.

But… what if…

What if it wasn't?

Could it be, even just a little, that it was because…

He cared?

This thought grew wildly like weeds, burning Kaylee's heart hot, mixed with a little fearful hesitation.

She didn't dare think any further.

She was afraid.

Afraid that maybe it was only her one-sided guess.