Tu Li, hearing her tone, grew increasingly puzzled and wanted to verify with Chen Yi, but he snapped, "We'll talk on the way."
Stumbling after Chen Yi down the stairs, she only processed it after the car door slammed shut: "Why couldn't we just talk it out clearly at home?"
"Why did you come?" Chen Yi frowned. "Who told you to come?"
"Is she really your sister? I've never heard you mention having a sister at home."
"Yes."
Tu Li still felt something was off and confronted him, tossing her hair: "Why can't I come? You said there was something at home—is this it? Why didn't you let me know?"
Chen Yi rubbed his face with his thumb, lit a cigarette, and snorted irritably: "What's it to you? Have I ever meddled in your family's affairs? Have your family ever let me in on anything?"
Tu Li was taken aback, slumping in the car in a daze, her demeanor weakening: "Who is she, really?"
His expression was as calm as water, showing no ripple of emotion toward her: "My sister. She's back in Tengcheng for work and is living at home again."
The car roared to life and sped down the road. Chen Yi dropped Tu Li off at her apartment building, disregarding her, and drove off without a second glance.
On his way back, Chen Yi still stopped by the billiards hall, waiting until it closed before heading home. Parking the car downstairs again, he saw the lights on the second floor were completely out, the curtains of the left room drawn tightly. Lowering his eyes to light a cigarette, his lashes cast a fan-shaped shadow beneath them. He pondered for a long while, slowly exhaling a plume of smoke, his taut arm resting outside the car window, fingertips lightly flicking, a faint red glow shimmering in the hazy night.
He didn't know why she had come back.
—
Tu Li sought out Chen Yi's old friends, asking Dai Mao, Bo Zai, Da Tou Yuan, and A Yong. They all echoed the same response.
"Miao Jing is back?"
Chen Yi hadn't said a word; none of them knew Miao Jing had returned.
Tu Li felt half-reassured: "Miao Jing? You all know her?"
They all said they did, but their familiarity varied—some had only heard her name, some had seen her a few times, some knew her, and others were quite close and on good terms with her.
"Chen Yi's sister, but not by blood. Chen Yi's dad found a woman from out of town who brought her daughter along to live with them. It's been over ten years now. She was around when Chen Yi was in elementary school. Later, Miao Jing got into university, went to a big city to study, and just cut off contact. She never came back."
"Why didn't any of you mention it?"
"Yi Ge never brings it up, and it's not exactly a happy topic. He really hates talking about it—he just goes cold if anyone mentions it. His relationship with Miao Jing was pretty bad; Chen Yi used to often yell at her and find her annoying."
"Were they really that bad?"
From their brief encounter the previous night, the two indeed hadn't been warm, acting more like strangers than relatives or friends.
"Bad? More like enemies. Ice-cold. They barely spoke."
Someone in the know chuckled darkly: "How bad was it? Once, when Yi Ge got into trouble outside, his sister called the police—turned him in to send him to jail. He'd never been so humiliated by anyone else; it drove him crazy. After Miao Jing left, Yi Ge was much happier."
Tu Li asked each of them and pieced together most of the story. She realized the "sister" Chen Yi mentioned was indeed a figure from his past with history, and it had all been a misunderstanding. Recalling the scene last night—her shouting in front of the siblings that Chen Yi was fooling around with women, and Chen Yi's face turning thunderous—it struck her how awkward it must have been.The next day, Tu Li went to the billiards hall again to find Chen Yi. The hall was hazy with smoke as he was playing a game with someone. Having just cleared the table in one stroke, he was in high spirits. Tu Li approached him with a grin, massaging his shoulders, serving tea, and offering apologies. She mentioned wanting to meet Miao Jing to apologize as well, suggesting they all have a meal together.
Chen Yi leisurely chalked his cue, not even glancing at Tu Li. He bent low over the table, his narrow waist pressed against it, and broke with a sharp strike. His tone was cold: "She’s at a company team-building event these days. Wait until the weekend."
—
Miao Jing’s company had organized a team-building activity for new employees, taking them to a suburban farm for training exercises—hiking, obstacle courses, and rural experiences. Most participants were young, energetic men who handled the challenges with ease. The few women gritted their teeth to keep up, occasionally receiving help from their male colleagues, and the team quickly bonded.
Miao Jing and Lu Zhengsi were from the same hometown, shared the same major and department, and were grouped together for the activities. They had plenty of common topics and got along well.
Lu Zhengsi was tall and upright, with single eyelids, fair skin, and two small dimples when he smiled. A year younger than Miao Jing, he was a diligent and motivated young man. Since everyone held the title of engineer, they called Miao Jing "Engineer Miao," and she referred to him as "Engineer Lu." Lu Zhengsi scratched his head, a bit shyly, and said to Miao Jing, "That sounds like a boiler worker. I really don’t like it. Engineer Miao, just call me Zhengsi, or use my English name—Jack."
Miao Jing couldn’t help but laugh. "Then I’ll call you Zhengsi. Shouting 'Jack' in the workshop would be a bit weird."
After two days of team-building, everyone brought back a bag of sweet melons from the farm. Lu Zhengsi happened to have errands in the city and offered to drop Miao Jing off at home. Seeing him drenched in sweat, she invited him up for a glass of water and mentioned she had some professional materials from her previous job that he might find useful.
Lu Zhengsi didn’t refuse and was about to agree when a cigarette butt suddenly dropped straight down beside them. He and Miao Jing looked up to see a young man sitting boldly on the second-floor balcony, one long leg propped on the windowsill. His casual, unruly gaze, like sunlight breaking through dark clouds, fixed directly on the two below.
The man looked familiar—Lu Zhengsi remembered him as the one who had picked Miao up after the last dinner gathering.
"Engineer Miao... is that your boyfriend?" Lu Zhengsi halted, his expression slightly awkward.
"No." Miao Jing glanced up lightly and replied calmly, "My brother."
Since someone was home and the man’s aura seemed a bit intimidating, Lu Zhengsi decided not to go upstairs. He handed Miao Jing the melons and her backpack, waved, and turned to leave. She went upstairs and opened the door to find Chen Yi still sitting by the balcony window. Seeing her return, he swung his long legs down and asked casually, "You’re back?"
"Mm."
"Didn’t we agree I’d pick you up? Why did you come back on your own?"
"The company shuttle bus brought me back."
OpenNovel