Huo Yao sat in the living room, watching the television after dinner.
Her phone rang in her pocket. She checked it and realized that Yuan Xi was calling her.
Huo Yao recalled Yuan Huan was Yuan Xi’s brother. She paused for a couple of seconds and pressed the answer button.
“I just found out you’re on a few days’ sick leave. Are you okay?” Yuan Xi was still coughing as she spoke.
Huo Yao heard Yuan Xi coughing deeply. She looked up and replied. “I’m fine. What about you? Why are you still unwell?”
Yuan Xi coughed a few more times before it finally subsided. She frowned and complained. “I should have recovered already, but I can’t stop coughing.”
Huo Yao nodded. “Drink more warm water.”
“Got it.” Yuan Xi smiled as she touched the figurines on her table. Even though she had some baby fat on her face, she had clearly lost a lot of weight. “Oh yes. Are you coming to school tomorrow?”
“I will probably stay home for a couple of days more.” Huo Yao paused briefly before she replied.
“I see,” acknowledged Yuan Xi.
Since her throat was very dry, she could not stop coughing, so they hung up after exchanging a few words.
Yuan Xi put away her phone and got up to leave her room. As she walked, she kept coughing with her hand covering her mouth.
Mr. and Mrs Yuan were talking in the living room and the two of them looked very worried. When Yuan Xi came over, they quickly composed themselves.
“Mom, Dad, did something happen?” Yuan Xi had come over to get herself a glass of water. Since something seemed wrong with her parents, she walked over to them.
Mrs Yuan looked at her hesitantly. After some time, she finally said, “Something happened to your older brother.”
The moment Yuan Xi heard the news, she stood dumbstruck. “What do you mean something happened?”
Mrs Yuan’s eyes looked teary. She had always treated Yuan Huan like he was her own son. “Uh huh. They say he stole research archives and got thrown into the Ministry of National Security.”
Mr. Yuan sat on the couch with his back straight rubbing his brow. He looked very worried and powerless. The incident seemed to make him look ten years older.
“How’s he doing now?” asked Yuan Xi with her fists clenched.
“We have asked around. They say he has committed a serious crime, so the chances of release are very slim…”
Mrs Yuan continued saying more, but Yuan Xi paid no attention to her. There was only a slim chance for Yuan Huan to get released and the words kept reverberating in Yuan Xi’s ears.
A few years ago, she inadvertently caught Yuan Huan dissecting a living man for an experiment. Ever since the incident, she was unable to treat him like a normal person.
She could still remember the cold look in Yuan Huan’s eyes. It felt as though human lives meant nothing to him and they were only good for experiments.
Yuan Huan did not care about other human lives and she did not understand why he never got arrested for this. She once wanted to expose him for his pretense, but did not dare to do it.
She could not put her family at risk. In the end, all she could do was run away from Yuan Huan, but no matter how she tried, it was futile.
Yuan Xi covered her mouth and coughed. Something was stuck in her throat and it felt terrible, but she inexplicably felt relaxed.
Her older brother should have gotten jailed ages ago.
Yuan Xi lowered her head. She smiled and inexplicably felt relieved.
Even better if he could not get released. In that case, she would no longer have to live in fear that she might suddenly wake up one day on his laboratory table.
