The fog grew thicker and deeper, eventually turning into large tear drops, falling patter patter to the ground.

Chi Cheng’s throat tightened, and he quickly pulled her back into his arms, kissing her hair, his voice low, "Ranran, be good, don’t cry."

"You, you scolded me..." An Ran whispered, sounding like a wounded kitten.

Chi Cheng lowered his head and gently wiped her tears with his thumb, "I didn’t scold you."

Soft whimpers continued to escape from An Ran, intermittently.

"I was just worried about you." Chi Cheng hugged her tighter, "There won’t be a next time."

An Ran longed so much for this embrace, so much for this brother.

If only time could freeze at this moment.

She shook her head, as if talking to herself, "There won’t be a next time..."

Because she and her brother are half-siblings, sharing the same father but different mothers.

"What did you say?"

"Brother, we can’t be together." An Ran’s voice was filled with sorrow, "Not in this lifetime, so we might as well..."

"Don’t say those two words."

"We..."

"Are you still going to say it?"

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Vaguely, it seemed like she heard her brother calling her name beside her, and then he said something else...

What did brother say?

An Ran wanted to listen, but her consciousness drifted further and further away from her.

-

When she woke up again, it was already daytime.

She sat up and looked around.

This... is her brother’s apartment.

The doorknob of the bedroom suddenly turned.

Someone was about to come in.

An Ran panicked for a moment, pulled up the quilt, and lay back down to continue pretending to sleep.

Though she didn’t know why she had such a reaction...

Maybe she wanted to escape reality.

Steady footsteps approached her.

Without opening her eyes, she could feel the warm aura emanating from that person.

It was indeed her brother.

What should I do?

How should I talk to my brother about this?

If brother also knew that we are actually half-siblings, would he be devastated too?

Wait, what is he doing? Why is there no movement for so long?

An Ran secretly opened one eye and saw Chi Cheng sitting across from her, holding a bowl of porridge and stirring it with a spoon.

He kept his head down, blowing on the hot porridge with the spoon, his eyelashes distinct, casting a subtle shadow.

The man didn’t look up, his voice was clear, "Have you had enough of the pretending to sleep game? The porridge’s not hot anymore, get up and drink it."

!!!!!

How did he know!

An Ran didn’t respond, continuing to keep her eyes closed.

Chi Cheng put the porridge aside, leaned down with a half-smile and looked at her, "What, do you want me to wake you up with a kiss?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

No way.

An Ran quickly opened her eyes and struggled to sit up, "You, why am I here?"

"If you’re not by my side, where else would you be?"

Faced with Chi Cheng’s constant flirting, An Ran could no longer face him.

Because he is her biological brother.

An Ran lifted the quilt, "I want to go home."

Chi Cheng grabbed her arm, "This is your home."

"I mean, I want to find my mother!" An Ran refused to look at him, "Let go of me."

"Are you avoiding me?" Chi Cheng looked at her quietly, "Why."

An Ran steeled herself, "Because I don’t like you anymore."

"Oh?" Chi Cheng didn’t seem affected at all, slowly putting the porridge aside, "So Ranran, you’re saying that within just one day, without any arguments, you’ve changed your mind?"

With such an unconvincing reason, An Ran had no choice but to continue, "Yes, is that not allowed?!"

She didn’t want her brother to also bear the shock and pain of knowing they were half-siblings.

If so, she’d rather he give up on her completely.

Chi Cheng lifted An Ran’s chin, looked directly into her eyes.

His pupils were bright and clean, reflecting An Ran’s somewhat bewildered figure.

Just by being looked at like this, her heartbeat involuntarily sped up.

Chi Cheng extended his hand, gently touching her chest, with a light smile, "Didn’t you say you don’t like me anymore? Why is your heart beating so fast?"

In front of him, An Ran was always as transparent as a sheet of white paper.

An Ran put her small hand against his chest, "Please stay away from me."

"What if I refuse?" he said, his charming face approaching even closer.

This enchanting man.

An Ran bit her lower lip, "You..."

Pfft.

Chi Cheng suddenly laughed, rubbing her small head, "How can my Ranran be so cute?"

What’s going on?

Was her display of heartlessness not clear enough?

Cute? What’s so cute?!

An Ran: "Did you even understand what I said?"

"You’ve seen that photo of Aunt An and my dad when they were young."

Not a question, but a statement.

An Ran looked at him in shock.

"So you believe that you and I are half-siblings, and Aunt An thinks so too, right?"

Why does brother... know everything?

An Ran’s mouth opened and closed, but she couldn’t utter a word.

"Silly girl." Chi Cheng’s smile grew more mischievous, "I told you, there’s nothing that can separate us now."

"But, your dad and my dad are the same person!"

What on earth is going on?

"My dad is Uncle Chi, right?"

"Yes."

"Then brother’s dad..."

"You just need to remember that you and I have no blood relationship." Chi Cheng picked up the porridge, scooped a spoonful, and offered it to An Ran’s lips, softly coaxing, "Open your mouth."

An Ran blankly opened her mouth and drank it down.

Her mind seemed to explode into a mess.

Brother means... he’s not Uncle Chi’s biological son at all?

Then who is his dad?

A whole bowl of porridge went down as An Ran’s thoughts swirled muddily.

Chi Cheng took out a tissue and wiped her mouth, "Does your stomach feel a bit better?"