Chapter 94

Chapter 94

After using the official Weibo account of the group to sarcastically mock those hypocritical jerks, Lu Zhiyun still felt like he hadn’t vented enough.

Next, he found a Weibo post among various melodramatic posts that said, "Late apologies are worthless," and gave it a like. Only then did he feel satisfied and returned the official account to the operations team.

When his brother caught wind of this, he immediately put aside a multi-billion-dollar deal. While busy taking down trending topics, deleting pictures, and blocking messages, he also hurriedly gathered evidence for the legal team to handle the public relations crisis.

He acted as if every second counted to protect Su Xingyao.

After pulling out all the stops to fix things, his brother hopped on a private jet and rushed home without delay.

Considering the time difference, Lu Zhiyun knew Lu Jiuxu was losing sleep over his wife.

Now that the dust had settled, his brother had swiftly and perfectly resolved all issues.

Yet those insignificant losers belatedly issued some lukewarm condemnation statements.

When Lu Zhiyun saw those statements, he couldn’t help but laugh mockingly.

These pathetic clowns were now desperately clinging to Su Xingyao, pretending to make things right. How utterly ridiculous.

What’s the point of their fake apologies?

They should take a good look in the mirror. Do they even deserve to defend Su Xingyao?

...

When Lu Jiuxu finally made it home, Su Xingyao, fresh out of the shower, was asleep at the desk.

He tossed and turned in his sleep.

His brows were furrowed under his damp hair.

Su Xingyao held a letter in his hand, and Coral leaned against his arm, shielding the letter with his body.

Even Sunset, normally laid-back, seemed to pick up on Su Xingyao’s mood.

At this moment, it quietly stayed by his side, silently accompanying him.

Lu Jiuxu made no sound as he tiptoed to Su Xingyao's side, staring intently at him.

Sunset and Coral, noticing Lu Jiuxu’s return, took one look at Su Xingyao and slipped away.

In his sleep, Su Xingyao was not at peace.

The scenes in his dream were chaotic, and unpleasant memories from the past flashed by one after another.

He felt as if he had returned to that nightmare of a home.

In the dimly lit room, his foster father, who had gambled away a fortune and was drowning in new debts, came home drunk in the middle of the night.

Without warning, he kicked open the shabby door, dragged Su Xingyao and his sister out of bed, and threw them to the ground, beating them mercilessly.

As frail children, they were no match for the man.

The stick hit him over and over.

Finally, when he was split in two, his vision was also blurred by a sea of blood.

His injured sister grabbed him and desperately fled outside.

Their little dog, Yolk, used its frail body to block the evil man in front of them to cover their escape.

It lunged without hesitation and bit the man's leg.

But then it was violently thrown aside by the enraged man.

The enraged man grabbed a knife from the kitchen, hacked off the dog's legs, and then continued to chase after the siblings.

After that, Su Xingyao's dream was awash with vast swathes of blood red.

He struggled to escape this hellish sea of red.

But he found himself at a crowded crossroads.

Those malicious people pointed at him right to his face.

They spread the rumor that his sister had killed someone without hesitation.

"It's him, his sister is a murderer, stay away from him."

"Didn't you hear? His sister killed someone and then killed herself out of guilt just days later."

"They say she jumped into the river, and her body still hasn't been found."

"His sister killed their foster father, the man who raised them. How cruel-hearted she must be."

The rumors engulfed him like a flood, drowning him in endless darkness.

Su Xingyao ran desperately through the crowd, shouting with all his might to defend his sister.

But no one paid any attention to his words.

Tears blurred his vision, and Su Xingyao felt trapped in a quagmire, utterly unable to escape.

But just as he felt himself teetering on the edge of an endless abyss, a pair of hands grabbed him tightly.

Su Xingyao jolted awake.

When he opened his eyes, he was met with a pair of deep, ink-black eyes.

Still half in the dream, Su Xingyao's gaze settled on that familiar, reassuring face.

His slender right hand rose, and by the light of the small night lamp, he traced the outline of the person before him, inch by inch.

The warmth from his palm made Su Xingyao realize he wasn't dreaming.

He sat up slowly, surprised, and asked, "When did you get back?"

He clearly remembered that the other person had said he would be abroad for a week.

But now, it was less than three days.

His gaze lingered on Lu Jiuxu.

Looking at the person who was supposed to be abroad, now suddenly by his side. Su Xingyao was surprised, but a certain part of his heart was inexplicably warmed.

When Su Xingyao asked, the man with dark circles smiled slightly and said something nonsensical with a straight face.

"Just a moment ago."

"I didn't wake you since you were asleep."

As he spoke, Lu Jiuxu reached out and gently smoothed the furrow in Su Xingyao's brow.

He asked softly, "Did you have a bad dream?"

Although Su Xingyao was already awake, he hadn't fully shaken off his emotions yet. He lowered his eyelids and nodded slightly.

"I just dreamed about some things from the past."

After a pause, he added in a low voice.

"Some unpleasant memories."

Lu Jiuxu had been sitting beside him for at least half an hour, seeing his distressed expression while he slept, and naturally guessed what he had dreamed about.

He reached out and wrapped his arm around Su Xingyao's waist, holding him tightly, his heart aching.

"I'm sorry I came back late."

Lu Jiuxu's apology suddenly made Su Xingyao's eyes well up.

He wasn't one to be overly sensitive.

In fact, since his sister passed away, he had barely cried.

After all, he had known for a long time that for those who aren't favored, tears are pointless.

Only those who are cherished have someone to care if they're sad.

But leaning on Lu Jiuxu's broad shoulder, listening to his soothing words, Su Xingyao finally couldn't help but express his feelings.

"Lu Jiuxu."

"When I saw the news this morning, I was really upset."

Hearing his lover's voice slightly choked with emotion, Lu Jiuxu lowered his eyes.

"I understand."

He understood better than anyone how painful it would be for Su Xingyao to see his beloved sister being slandered and cyberbullied.

She was his only family, his untouchable boundary.

And now, that boundary was being so easily violated.

With a warm palm, Lu Jiuxu gently stroked the back of Su Xingyao's neck, but his expression was unprecedentedly cold.

He had seen Su Xingyao hurt too many times.

So now, he didn't want him to be sad about anything anymore.

Su Xingyao felt the warmth of Lu Jiuxu's palm.

He felt like this gesture was meant to comfort him like a child.

Yet, this feeling wasn’t unpleasant for him at all, so even his terrible mood seemed to ease with Lu Jiuxu’s companionship.

"Those words they said had been said before."

"No matter how much I tried to explain to those around me, they didn’t believe me."

"They went too far, spreading so many baseless rumors."

"I never expected that after all these years, my sister would still be slandered like this."

"She did nothing wrong, so why should she endure this..."

Lu Jiuxu gently wiped the tears from Su Xingyao’s eyes, promising him like a vow.

"It will never happen again."

"No one will ever speak ill of her again."

Lu Jiuxu’s words seemed to carry a magic that brought peace.

Su Xingyao knew those words weren’t just empty comfort.

The swiftly removed hot searches, deleted photos, and clear, firm clarifications on accountability.

Each was a silent promise from him.

Su Xingyao looked at him and handed over the letter.

"After my sister passed away, she left nothing."

"Even her ashes, she wanted scattered into the river."

"This is the only letter she left behind after her death."

"But I never had the courage to open it until now."

Su Xingyao asked softly, "Lu Jiuxu, will you read it with me?"

Lu Jiuxu took the well-preserved letter and slowly opened it.

The letter inside was pristine, neatly folded into a small square.

As the letter unfolded, neat and clear handwriting appeared before Lu Jiuxu.

Xiao Shuang:

I hope you’re doing well.

I don’t know when you’ll open this, but I believe you’ll see its contents one day.

This is the bond between us siblings, I’m sure.

But I’m truly sorry, from now on I won’t be by your side.

I don’t know what you look like now.

Have you gained a little weight? Are you still so quick to cry?

I know my brother is so strong and adorable, and he’ll surely be able to stand on his own someday, with a bright future ahead of him.

Still, I think you might cry in secret because of me.

But don’t cry—your sister loves to see you smile.

Haha.

Do you think I’m being a little too self-absorbed?

But anyway.

Little Shuang, my dear brother.

In this life, I’ve had no one to lean on, but you’re the one I worry about most.

Even though we’re not related by blood, you are my only family in this world.

You might not know this, but the first time I saw you, I felt like I’d met the purest little angel from a storybook.

You brought color and light back to my life.

But it’s such a shame—this time was far too short.

So short that I couldn’t even see you grow another year, couldn’t accompany you through this long life.

Please forgive me for leaving you so abruptly.

Your sister is just too tired, both physically and mentally unwell.

So on this journey of life, your sister has to step off for a while to rest.

From now on, you’ll have to walk this path alone.

You’re the strongest boy in the world, and I know you can take good care of yourself.

But I still hope you’ll promise me this:

No matter what happens, live well—don’t end up like me...

As I write this, I suddenly remember we still have an unfinished promise.

But I won’t get the chance to see the meteor with you again.

But that’s okay—I’ll make a wish on the stars.

I hope—

If there’s really a next life, Shuang and I can be siblings once more.

We’ll be born into an ordinary, everyday family.

From toddling to babbling.

As we grow up together, we might quarrel, but we’ll definitely make up in the end.

You’ll share every interesting thing at school with me, and I’ll prepare unexpected surprises for you on your birthday.

I truly, deeply hope that there’s a next life.

That way, we can meet again.

But even if there is no next life, that’s fine.

Being family in this life is more than enough...

Little Shuang'er.

Remember what I told you?

If I leave before you, I’ll do my best to become the brightest star in the sky, watching over you from heaven.

So when you look up at the stars in the night sky, know that your sister will always be silently blessing you.

Farewell, my brother.

...