Su Yunmo's body stiffened slightly, a forced smile on her lips. "You've got the wrong person."
Lin Chenxi shook his head and took out a sachet from his embrace, tossing it onto the table. "I know it's you. I knew from the very beginning."
No, to be precise, he'd harbored suspicions from the moment she appeared.
The people of Li Man Lou were saved, while King Cheng's men were killed. The medicine for leg ailments, exclusive to Nian Ge, these were all suspicious points.
It wasn't until she started targeting Yu Ning that he was completely certain.
Su Yunmo saw the sachet he'd placed on the table, the one she had given to Lin Yu Ning, containing 'Dream Entering.'
"Heh~" she sneered self-mockingly. "And then what? What do you want to say?"
Since he had known for so long yet hadn't revealed it, waiting until she handed him the final pill before breaking the silence, he must have something he wanted to tell her.
Lin Chenxi sighed softly, looking at her with tenderness and pity, just like when they were children. "Nian Ge, stop. That fire wasn't entirely Yu Ning's fault."
"Stop?" Su Yunmo really wanted to burst out laughing. "You want me to stop?"
His sister, who had died and come back to life, the sister he grew up with, was now standing before him, and the first thing he wanted to say to her was this?
Lin Yu Ning colluded with outsiders to set the fire and didn't help, watching her burn to death, and now he said it wasn't that woman's fault?
Why? Just because she was his half-sister, while Lin Yu Ning was his full sister?
So he wanted her to sacrifice herself?
He was truly a good brother to his sister!
"Listen, I will not stop. I will never forgive those who betray me, no matter who they are!"
Since he already knew, there was no need for her to hide. She had kept her promise to him. What he thought was his business.
Su Yunmo picked up the sachet, tore it in half, and turned to leave.
Lin Chenxi watched her go, extending his hand to let the empty porcelain bottle containing the pills slide to the ground. "If that's the case, then don't blame your elder brother."
Su Yunmo didn't go to class that afternoon. She closed the door and holed up in her dormitory.
This was the first time she had drunk alcohol since her rebirth.
The liquor was incredibly potent, burning her throat and causing tears to stream down her face uncontrollably.
When Ye Jingyu came to find her, she was sitting on the floor, staring blankly with a bottle of wine in her hands.
She looked up through the window at the dark sky.
The faint starlight flickered in her clear eyes, seeming to ignite a flame.
Ye Jingyu snatched the wine from her hand, his brows furrowed. "A child drinking alcohol and staying up late, what kind of behavior is that!"
Su Yunmo saw him arrive, pointed at him, and laughed loudly. "There are two Ye Jingyus, and his nose is above his mouth, hahaha..."
She was laughing, but the tears didn't stop.
This wasn't the first time Ye Jingyu had seen her like this. He pulled her up from the floor. "Do you like Lin Chenxi that much?!"
They had only known each other for a few days, yet every time she returned from seeing him, she ended up like this. What kind of bewitched spell had Lin Chenxi cast on her!
Su Yunmo froze, her laughter abruptly ceasing. She lowered her gaze, pursed her lips, and stubbornly mumbled the name 'Lin Chenxi.'
Her mind went blank. The name felt both familiar and strange. A gentle face gradually materialized before her eyes.
Su Yunmo opened her mouth, and a wave of intense grief suddenly surged through her. She threw her head back and began to sob uncontrollably.
Ye Jingyu was startled by her cries, then flustered by the scene before him. He wanted to embrace her, but seeing her cry so hard, he feared she might not be able to catch her breath.
"Don't... don't cry, please don't cry," the young man repeated these words endlessly, desperately searching his mind for comforting phrases, but finding nothing else.
He had never comforted anyone before, let alone a child.
"Did he bully you? This King, this King will kill him for you!" This was the best he could come up with after racking his brains.
Su Yunmo cried miserably, snot and tears mixing, her face flushed red, veins showing. Her bright eyes were completely obscured by tears.
She pointed to her chest, her voice choked with sobs, her helplessness heart-wrenching. "It hurts so much here, so much, it feels like it's going to split open."
Yu Ning was one thing, but even her elder brother was like this. Why were they treating her like this?
Her mother had died when she was very young, leaving only a glazed lock. She was only five years old when she first met her elder brother.
Her elder brother was born to a concubine and lived in a side courtyard. His living conditions were worse than hers, but he was gentle and doted on Yu Ning.
Later, he discovered her. He said she was also his sister, that he would dote on her and protect her from then on.
She had spent the past ten years giving her all, wanting to repay that affection. But after knowing that Yu Ning had tried to murder her, he asked her to let go.
She knew she couldn't compare to Yu Ning, she had always known that, but... but she truly respected him. She considered him family!
Had he been using her all these years? Were they just tools in their eyes?
"Ye Jingyu, what should I do? I have no one left... no one at all, no family..." she cried until her voice was hoarse, her whole body trembling.
She had no family left. She was all alone.
Ye Jingyu wiped her tears with his sleeve, struggling to understand her words.
He didn't know if she had been bullied at the General's mansion. Although he had investigated, and everyone in the General's mansion treated her well, some things were superficial.
Just like his own time in the palace back then.
"Don't cry, I'll be your family," the words blurted out before he could even think.
The young man snapped back to reality, his ears instantly flushing, the color spreading from his ear tips all the way down his neck. He had never said such a thing before.
But looking at the sobbing child before him, Ye Jingyu pursed his lips and said solemnly, "Whatever you want, this King will give it to you."
Su Yunmo slowly stopped crying. The alcohol had numbed her mind.
She hiccuped, her small hand clutching his clothes tightly. "Really?"
Ye Jingyu knew that when she made this gesture, it meant she lacked security.
He pursed his lips, wrapped his arms around her, and held her gently but firmly, saying each word distinctly, "From today onwards, this King is your family."
No one will be allowed to touch you!
Su Yunmo tilted her head, trying to process his words.
She hiccuped intermittently, blowing snot bubbles. The alcohol seemed to have completely numbed her nerves.
"You must keep your word... your word, you can't go back on it." She extended her little finger, hooking it. "We have to pinky swear."
Ye Jingyu had never done this before, but he still mimicked her action, hooking her finger, his expression solemn.
Su Yunmo stopped crying, simply staring blankly at their hooked little fingers. After a long moment, she finally grinned.
She threw herself into Ye Jingyu's embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck, nuzzling him timidly like a fawn.
"Brother Yu, Momo likes you. We're family now."
Ye Jingyu's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes widening suddenly.
She said... she liked him.