A week.
An Nuan stayed in the house that Shen Xizhou had bought for her, looking at An Yunxiu's pale face, a person so thin he was almost skin and bones, and her heart ached.
She looked at An Yunxiu, filled with guilt. It was all her fault. If she hadn't been so eager to see Shen Xizhou back then and had left An Yunxiu on a park bench, her cute, chubby brother wouldn't have become like this.
An Yunxiu's current state was all her doing.
She watched An Yunxiu quietly reading a book, tears welling up in her eyes. Mother, Mother must be able to see all this. Mother must know her brother is back. Mother would be so happy.
From now on, she would no longer concern herself with external matters. The only thing she wanted to do in this life was to take good care of her brother.
Would her brother blame her? Because of her negligence, this was the outcome.
If it weren't for her, her brother would probably be very handsome.
Over the years, her brother must have suffered greatly. If life had been good, he wouldn't have ended up like this. And the person who caused all this was her.
She was the culprit. Wasn't she the one who deserved to be like this? Why did her brother have to endure all of this?
An Nuan's eyes were filled with tears, her eyes red. She walked over, carrying the soup she had just prepared. Her gaze fell on An Yunxiu's emaciated face, and her voice, filled with deep guilt, said, "Yunxiu, I just finished this. Please have some."
After speaking, An Nuan held the soup, her head bowed, not daring to meet the eyes of the person in front of her.
"Sister, you don't need to feel guilty. This isn't your fault." An Yunxiu said with a sense of helplessness. Actually, back then, if he hadn't been so playful, such a thing wouldn't have happened. When his sister came to find him, he was still in the park. He had hidden in the bushes, wanting to continue playing. But he knew very well that his sister would definitely take him back. He didn't like going back, so he hid.
After playing for a while, his sister appeared again. Just as he wanted to come out and call his sister, his mouth was tightly covered by someone. He looked at the ferocious man in front of him, terrified. He was struggling, wanting to shout loudly, but there was nothing he could do.
It was then that he realized he had been kidnapped.
He was directly knocked unconscious. In the moment he lost consciousness, he saw his sister's anxious face, crying, and constantly calling his name. He was responding, but he couldn't make a sound.
Finally, he lost all consciousness.
This incident had absolutely nothing to do with his sister. His sister had never done anything wrong.
But seeing his sister's humble and guilty appearance now, he felt immense heartache.
"Sister, you did nothing wrong in the incident back then."
"Yunxiu, I know you're comforting me. You're saying these things only to make me feel better. But, Yunxiu, some mistakes are mistakes. They can't be covered up with a single sentence."
"I know you don't blame me, sister, but I can't get over this hurdle myself."
An Nuan took a deep breath, a smile on her face. She didn't want Yunxiu to be unhappy because of her negative emotions. Her Yunxiu should be the happiest person in the world. He shouldn't have negative emotions because of her.
Over the years, she owed Yunxiu enough. Would she spend the rest of her days having Yunxiu constantly comfort her?
Some things shouldn't be said, but done.
She had wronged Yunxiu, so she would do something to make him happy and atone for her actions.
She carried the soup, picked up the ladle, and fed him spoonful by spoonful. She looked at Yunxiu and said, "I don't know how you lived before, Yunxiu. But now, you're well. I'm by your side. You don't need to worry. I'll shield you from anything. I won't let you be harmed again."
"Mm." An Yunxiu's face clearly showed a smile. He said happily, "Sister, can you ask Brother Xizhou to come see me? I've been here for a week and haven't seen him."
"There are some things I don't understand, and I want to ask Brother Xizhou. I think Brother Xizhou will understand."
"Before, I would ask Brother Xizhou about anything, and he would answer me one by one. And Brother Xizhou's answers were really interesting, making me remember them instantly."
An Yunxiu said with longing. But when his gaze fell on An Nuan's troubled face, he felt as if he had said something wrong, causing his sister distress.
"Sister, did I say something wrong?" An Yunxiu asked nervously.
He kept replaying what he had just said.
"No." An Nuan took a deep breath, putting away her hesitation. "How could Yunxiu, who is so good, say something wrong? It's good that Yunxiu wants to understand when he doesn't know."
"Yunxiu, it's just that your Brother Xizhou is very busy right now. If you don't understand anything, you can ask me. I can answer you." An Nuan said with a smile.
"But, Sister, no matter how busy Brother Xizhou was before, he would always come, even late at night. Is it inconvenient now?" An Yunxiu's face was filled with deep doubt, but his probing gaze never left An Nuan.
He always felt that something unpleasant had happened between his sister and Shen Xizhou. He had been here for a week, and he hadn't even seen Shen Xizhou. Had something happened in the years he was gone?
Yes, he had been gone for so many years, and many things must have happened.
And in the past week, he had noticed that nothing in the place where his sister lived was related to Shen Xizhou.
Had they broken up?
But was it true? Why did he not quite believe it? Back then, his sister and Brother Xizhou were such a happy couple, even he envied them. How could such a happy and genuinely loving couple separate?
An Nuan knew that she had to tell her brother some things. After all, with time, her brother would find out. Some things couldn't be hidden.
She knew very well how much her brother admired Shen Xizhou.
Shen Xizhou had always been his goal, his motivation.
An Nuan wanted to speak, but when she met An Yunxiu's eyes, she finally swallowed the words back. Such words would be too cruel to her brother. And her brother's current condition was not suitable for hearing them.
She sighed helplessly, and in the end, did not say anything. Perhaps, she herself was afraid to face it.