Chapter 8 — Turns Out You Actually Like Me

Afterward, he lowered his head and shoveled another two mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. Believing that he intended to remain silent, I began frantically rummaging through my mind for the absolute best, most foolproof jokes I had ever saved up to lighten the mood.

When he was fourteen years old.

His voice carried a heavy, desolate weight, and I fell completely silent to listen.

My father found out about something. Before marrying him, my mother had once dated his very best friend. After they broke out, out of sheer spite and anger, my mother married my father.

Upon discovering the truth, my father felt utterly betrayed by both his closest friend and his wife. He was consumed by rage. My mother told him that if he could not accept it, they should just get divorced.

Then, a few days later, my mother got into an accident and passed away.

My jaw dropped, yet not a single sound managed to escape my throat.

From that day on, my father changed entirely, transferring all his hatred onto me as well. He began to completely ignore me, refused to give me any allowance, stopped coming home, as if I did not even have a father in this world.

After that, I had to work to support myself. At fourteen, I started taking on odd jobs—waiting tables, handing out flyers, delivering food, I did a little bit of everything. I earned my own tuition and raised myself all on my own.

His voice trembled slightly. How on earth had he managed to stumble and claw his way through the bitter years just to survive until today? Listening to his story, a sharp, aching pain pierced straight through my heart. I could only bite down hard on my lower lip to keep my emotions from spilling over. I asked, My brother told me that your father... came looking for you recently? He nodded.

He has accumulated massive gambling debts, and seeing that I am doing quite well for myself now, he crawled back to claim our familial ties.

He raised his gaze to look at me, his eyes carrying an eerie, profound calmness.

But I no longer need him.

You...

Over the past few years, I quietly gathered enough incriminating evidence of his crimes, and with my own hands, I sent him away where he belongs.

Hearing this, a terrifying thought flashed instantly across my mind, though I quickly pushed it away.

You...

He looked at me, a trace of deep uncertainty flickering within his eyes.

Are you frightened by what I've done?

I shook my head.

Not at all.

Really?

Truly.

I stared straight into his eyes, speaking with absolute earnestness, I think you are exceptionally brave. He remained silent for a moment. I sniffled softly, Furthermore, you truly raised yourself into such a remarkably fine person. For reasons unknown, the moment those words left my lips, the corners of his eyes flushed red. In the very next second, he reached out, pulled me tightly into his embrace, and held me fiercely against him. I could vividly feel his forehead resting gently against my shoulder, his entire body trembling slightly. He said nothing at all; I could only hear the sound of his suppressed breathing, so soft, so delicate. Yet barely a few minutes had passed before he released me, turning his head away to hurriedly swipe the back of his hand across his eyes. When he turned back to face me, his eye sockets were still stained with red, but his expression had already returned to normal. His voice was husky as he spoke, I am sorry, I lost control of myself. Seeing him struggling so hard to restrain his emotions only made my heart ache with a profound, suffocating tenderness. I did not reply, but instead reached out my arms and took the initiative to wrap them around him. This time, he did not push me away.

Ever since that fateful day, the text messages between us grew significantly more frequent. I secretly swelled with pride, convinced that the glorious day I finally captured his heart was just within arm's reach. On the very last day before the holiday break, I packed my luggage and waited patiently for my older brother to come pick me up. Over the phone, my brother had promised with absolute certainty, Alright, just wait right there, I am on my way. Yet, knowing his notoriously slow and dawdling habits, I figured I would still have ample time to casually eat an entire meal right at the school gates. I dragged my heavy suitcase toward the main entrance, mentally calculating what I should grab for a quick bite to eat.

Liang Dao.

I spun around. Senior student Lu Shen was running toward me from behind, clutching a thick stack of documents in his hands, completely out of breath by the time he stopped right in front of me. I froze for a full second. Lu Shen was precisely that ordinary, unremarkable senior my brother had casually mentioned before. To be honest, the two of us had never really interacted much; we had simply collaborated on a project once, and occasionally exchanged polite greetings when our paths crossed in the cafeteria.

Is there something you need, Senior? I asked politely.

As it turns out, there are a few lingering details regarding that project that I wanted to go over and discuss with you.