Chapter 489: Day 17 into the Alien War Story

Chapter 489: Day 17 in the Alien War Story

On the first afternoon of the trip, the family went to the seaside.

The beach in Haiqi City had fine white sand, warmed by the sun, and when you walked on it barefoot, the grains would trickle out from between your toes.

The seawater was crystal clear, a pale green near the shore where you could see light and shadows shifting on the seabed, deepening into a deep, endless blue further out.

Coconut palms swayed behind the shoreline, their broad leaves rustling in the sea breeze, casting dappled, dancing shadows.

An Qionglan had changed into a swimsuit, draped a gauze shawl over her shoulders, and was lying on a lounge chair under a beach umbrella.

She wore sunglasses and held a glass of iced coconut juice, like she was enjoying the sea breeze and sunshine—but behind the lenses, her eyes were fixed on the two boys not far away, with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

An Cheng wore simple black swim trunks with a T-shirt still on—now wet and clinging to his body, faintly hinting at broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

His muscle definition was smooth but not exaggerated, the kind of balanced build you get from working out regularly—still lean with youth, but already showing a grown man's strength.

At this moment, he stood in front of An Yi, holding a bottle of sunscreen.

"Let me put it on for you. You'll get sunburned." An Cheng's voice was calm, but his brow was a little furrowed.

An Yi sat on a beach towel with his back to him, wearing only a pair of dark blue swim trunks, leaving a wide stretch of pale skin bare.

His skin was almost translucent in the sunlight, his shoulder blades clearly outlined, beautiful, the line of his spine running down until it vanished under the waistband of his swim trunks.

Hearing An Cheng's words, he didn't turn around, just said flatly: "No need. I don't burn."

"You will." An Cheng's brow furrowed deeper. "The UV rays at the beach are strong. You don't have to let me do it, but you have to put some on."

He sounded insistent, and only then did An Yi turn his head.

His face was somewhat blurred in the backlight, his eyes resting on An Cheng for a few seconds before he held out his hand: "Give it to me."

An Cheng handed the sunscreen over.

An Yi took it, unscrewed the cap, squeezed some into his palm, and began applying it himself.

He did his arms, then his chest, then his shoulders and back—for the parts of his back he couldn't reach, he just slathered it on haphazardly.

An Cheng watched, his lips moving slightly as if he wanted to say something, but he never said anything.

Under the beach umbrella, An Qionglan watched the whole thing, her frown deepening.

Before—even just a year ago—Xiao Yi would have lazily agreed, then turned around and let Xiao Cheng put it on his back.

Xiao Cheng would have teased him for being "lazy" while carefully rubbing it in evenly.

But now...

When had the two of them become so... distant?

Not the kind of estrangement from a fight, but a subtle, deliberate keeping of distance.

Like two gears that once fit tightly together, suddenly pulled apart by a small gap—still running in the same machine, but no longer meshing perfectly.

An Yi finished applying the sunscreen and stood up.

He still had that youthful, adolescent build—tall and lean, with a tight waist and straight legs.

Sunlight fell on him, water droplets sliding down his collarbone, leaving glistening streaks on his skin.

"Done." He handed the sunscreen back to An Cheng. "Going for a swim?"

"You go ahead." An Cheng took the bottle. "I'll be there in a bit."

An Yi glanced at him, those always-gentle eyes giving nothing away. After a few seconds, he nodded: "Okay."

Then he turned and walked toward the water.

He walked barefoot across the sand, leaving shallow footprints, and when he entered the water, the waves rushed up, lapping at his calves, then his knees, then his thighs.

The water rippled around his waist, catching the light.

He kept walking until the water reached his chest, then dove in and started swimming.

His movements were fluid, like a fish, arms pulling through the water, body rising and falling with the waves.

Backlit by the sun, his figure was lean yet strong, his swim trunks completely soaked, clinging to him and outlining his hips and legs.

An Cheng stood there for a long time.

He watched that figure rising and falling with the waves until, after a long moment, he finally looked away and walked over and sat down on the lounge chair next to An Qionglan.

"Mom." He said, his voice a little low.

"Hm?" An Qionglan took off her sunglasses and turned to look at him. "Why aren't you swimming? Afraid of the water?"

"No." An Cheng paused, his gaze fixed on the distant sea. "Just felt like sitting for a while."

An Qionglan looked at him.

At eighteen, his features were already well-defined—he'd gotten his birth mother's delicate features, but he had a steadiness beyond his years.

His profile was sharp in the sunlight, with a high nose bridge and lips pressed into a straight line.

She watched him for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke: "Xiao Cheng, did you and Xiao Yi... have a fight?"

An Cheng's body stiffened slightly.

A very subtle reaction—barely noticeable if An Qionglan hadn't been watching him closely.

His fingers curled slightly on the armrest, then relaxed.

"...No." He said. "Why do you ask?"

"Just a feeling." An Qionglan put her sunglasses back on, looking at the figure still swimming in the sea. "You two have been a bit strange lately."

"Nothing's strange." An Cheng said, his tone still steady. "Maybe it's just... we've both grown up."

Grown up.

So they could no longer hold hands, hug, or share a bed as freely as they did when they were children.

So they had to maintain appropriate distance, to observe the boundaries of adulthood.

It was a reasonable, natural explanation—almost the inevitable stage of growth for siblings in every family.

But An Qionglan didn't believe it.

She had watched these two kids grow up.

From eight to eighteen, from six to almost seventeen.

She had seen An Cheng stubbornly insisting on putting shoes on An Yi when they were young, seen him get up in the middle of the night to fetch water for An Yi, seen him get into fights with other kids over An Yi.

Xiao Cheng's care for Xiao Yi was never that "you're my little brother, so I have to look after you" kind of duty, but rather "because it's you, I want to" — a treasuring rooted in who this person was.

That kind of devotion wouldn't easily change just because they grew up.

So what exactly had happened?

She turned her head, studying An Cheng's side profile through her sunglasses.

The boy was looking at the sea, his gaze following the figure bobbing among the waves.

That gaze was so focused — focused to the point of being almost... reverent.

An Qionglan took a deep breath and slowly sat up straight.

It couldn't be... could it?

She laughed softly, brushing off her absurd thought.

Xiao Cheng and Xiao Yi... how could that be? They were brothers — not by blood, but legally, and even more so emotionally.

She must be overthinking it, letting the weird vibe between the two kids lately throw off her judgment.

She shook her head and leaned back in the lounge chair.

But her brow kept furrowing.

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