Fu Qingye was conscious that Shen Xi kept him at arm’s length because of Qingli’s threat.
At this very moment, Fu Qingye was overwhelmed with helplessness and despair. Why was she not his sister?
Everything he did would be deemed rightful without being branded nosy if the girl was his sister.
Nightfall.
With the Fu family home plunging into darkness, the huge estate was wrapped in a silvery glow by the illumination of the full moon.
Fu Qingli remained awake this whole time, staying still like a cold statue before a huge floor-to-ceiling window. The coarse facial lines on his stoic face gave out a chilly edge.
However, his presence seemed to be filled with desolation and despair.
The light was not turned on in the study. The pitch-dark room shared his loneliness, adding tension to the already tense atmosphere.
Moments later.
He turned around and opened the door under the dimmed light before proceeding downstairs and heading outside. The biting cold breeze appeared to cut through his bones.
Fu Qingli stood on the stone steps at the entrance, staring intently at the huge tree in the distance. His eyes welled up to see a figure curled up under the tree.
Across the manor were two tall trees – an osmanthus and magnolia. The family planted them when Mom was pregnant with Fu Qingxuan and Fu Qingxi.
Mom mentioned that girls should be like the magnolia – innocent, prosperous, fortunate, and be protected from all harm always.
Nevertheless, his little sister went missing only ten days after her birth. She was so young. They searched the world high and low for many years yet were unable to locate her.
Fu Qingli hated himself. Why could he not find a single clue leading to Fu Qingxi over the years? His incompetence was the cause of Mom’s sorrow and hopelessness.
Every year on this day, Mom would sit alone under the magnolia tree after dark when everyone was asleep to drown in loneliness, despair, and pain.
She thought they were in the dark about it.
They all knew.
Despite this, Fu Qingli was unsure how to comfort her. The only thing he could do was to quietly watch her and be with her from afar.
Afraid to drive his car in, Fu Qingye parked the car in front of the estate and caught sight of the figure under the magnolia tree. He crept over and stood near her for a long time before turning to leave.
Even though Fu Qingli saw him approaching, he was not in the mood to deal with him.
A good boy as he was, Fu Qingye greeted his brother and took a seat next to him. It took a while before he asked, “Aren’t you going to let him out?”
Fu Qingli said, “You’re in the clear for now.”
Fu Qingye remarked, “She’s a good girl. Your judgment is clouded by the first impression, Qingli.”
Fu Qingli responded, “What’s so good about her?”
Fu Qingye snapped back, “Everything.”
Fu Qingli commented, “I think you guys are out of your minds.”
Fu Qingye was without a word as he leaned on his knees. After a while, he asked another question. “How do you feel if she marries Li Yuan?”
The girl told all her suitors in school that she had a crush. Her crush was Li Yuan!
“What’s good about a cripple?” Fu Qingli scoffed coldly.
The girl must have her eye on Li Yuan’s money and connections. The man was only a peculiar and ruthless cripple. Who would take a fancy to such a person!
Fu Qingye grinned bitterly to himself. “But she likes him.”
He, too, disapproved of her falling for a cripple. However, she liked him and it was written clearly in her every movement.
She really liked that man.
“Shut up.” Both their names should not be spoken of in Fu Qingli’s presence.
Fu Qingli wanted to say they made a good couple. A brat and a cripple was the perfect annoying match made in heaven.
Yet, something was not right.
His heart was telling him that he could not stand the sight of them together!
Holding his tongue as requested, Fu Qingye heartbrokenly stared at the figure in the distance.
They were too cowardly to go up there and keep Mom company. They were even afraid to bring her a coat. The most they could do was to be here with her.
Shen Xi woke up from a good sleep the next day. It was only after breakfast when she suddenly remembered. “Where’s Qingye? Is he still in bed?”
Li Yuan placed the peeled herbal tea egg on her plate and solemnly replied, “He took off early on.”
While cheerfully taking a bite out of the tea egg, Shen Xi mumbled, “Well, he’s up early.”
Fu Qingli probably told the guy to come home, but that was their family matter. It was no place for her, as an outsider, to get involved.
The girl was back to her energetic self, unlike the constant daze she was in yesterday. With Li Yuan’s mind at ease, he served her another bowl of porridge. “Don’t choke on it. Have some porridge.”
Shen Xi stuffed an entire egg into her mouth, puffing her cheeks up like an adorable little hamster before accepting the porridge.
Li Yuan smiled dotingly. “Slow down, young lady.”
Shen Xi grinned from ear to ear as she sipped on the porridge to swallow down the egg. She asked, “What are you if I’m a young lady?”
Li Yuan inquired, “What do you think?”
Shen Xi fell into deep thought.
Li Yuan wondered what she would come up with.
The girl thought for a while before turning to him. “You’re Brother!”
Li Yuan guffawed in delight. Afraid she might choke on her food, he tapped on her head. “No talking at the dinner table.”
Shen Xi was tickled pink. No matter what they did, she was always having a good time with Brother.
After breakfast, Li Yuan dropped her off at Fu Qingxi’s Medical Laboratory to collect the report while he waited in the car.
Shen Xi did not see Fu Qingxuan but ran into Fu Qingli instead. He was sitting on the sofa and looked like he had been waiting for her. She smiled politely. “Mr. Fu.”
As there were certain things he could not talk about in front of his mother yesterday, he came here to wait for her. Fu Qingli went straight to the point. “Please don’t contact my family again!”
“Sorry.” Shen Xi acknowledged it was her fault this time since she was the one who contacted Fu Qingxuan. Hence, she immediately offered her apologies.
It never crossed Fu Qingli’s mind that she would yield. He thought she had quite the backbone and loved chewing him out? Why was she suddenly caving in? It was so unlike her.
Shen Xi went over to store all her experiment’s data. Initially, she wanted to go through the report with Fu Qingxuan or maybe get a consultation with a specialist.
However, now it seemed that it would not happen. She could not even meet up with Fu Qingxuan, and the consultation with a specialist? More like in her dreams.
At present, Fu Qingli became her nightmare and hell.
