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Hey friends!

Guess what? After wrestling with my old hosting site (it was not a pretty fight), I’ve finally moved the blog to a shiny new home! The old site is still limping along, but it won’t be for much longer—so this is where the magic will happen from now on.

Now, full disclosure: I’m not a tech genius. There were tears. There was confusion. There may have been snacks used as emotional support. But we made it through!

If you spot anything weird or glitchy, please holler in the comments. I’m still tidying things up and trying to make this place look cute again.

I know I went quiet for a while—life threw some curveballs and I needed a minute (or several). But I’m back, and ready to start fresh. Thanks a million for sticking around. You’re the best.

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Chapter 41: No Brother Would Kiss His Sister Like You Do

The man’s usually cold eyes softened under the warm glow of the crystal chandelier in the living room.

When they were alone together, he didn’t wear his glasses. He would always look into her eyes when talking to her.

Jiang Se could clearly see what was in his eyes, and she knew that his words carried a serious meaning.

He was someone who could truly protect those he cared about, like Han Yin. If it weren’t for Lu Huaiyan, Han Yin wouldn’t be living so comfortably and peacefully now.

When Lu Huaiyan kicked Lu Jinzhong out of the Lu family, Lu Jinzhong had considered using Han Yin to mend his relationship with Lu Huaiyan, thinking that with Han Yin’s feelings for him, it would be an almost certain success. However, he searched all over Beicheng and couldn’t find her.

Few people in the circle could protect someone as thoroughly as Lu Huaiyan protected Han Yin.

Others said he was cold-hearted and indifferent, and that because Lu Jinzhong was his father and his mother was wronged, his attitude toward his father was no different than having a wolf’s heart and a dog’s lungs.

Gossip and rumors spread behind his back. He probably knew better than anyone what others said about him, but he never cared.

Only those he truly cared about could see the warmer side of him.

Lu Huaiyan was the oldest among the children of the Lu family, with a whole bunch of younger siblings, including five or six cousins.

Jiang Se thought back, and it seemed that he treated his younger siblings all the same—cold and indifferent, neither too close nor too distant.

If he had a biological sister, his attitude would probably be very different.

A “Huaiyan Ge” might exchange for brotherly love and protection, which seemed like a good deal.

But Jiang Se didn’t want to call him that. She had already outgrown the age where she needed someone to protect her.

All the love and protection she wanted, she would give herself.

So, she didn’t take his words seriously and instead tilted her head to give him a glance, saying, “If you really had a sister, you’d probably protect her even more than the Guans do.”

Lu Huaiyan pinched her chin, smiling. “You were staring at me for that long just to think about this? If you’re really curious, how about I be your brother for the night?”

He said this while leaning back in the chair, lowering his gaze to look at her, thinking back on how Guan Shaoting and Cen Li treated their younger siblings.

After a while, he seemed to remember something and smiled faintly, saying, “Let’s start with this.”

The man straightened his back, leaned forward, and pressed his lips against her ear. His breath was warm as he softly called, “Sister.”

Jiang Se blinked.

In a moment of confusion, she remembered when she was very little, Cen Li didn’t usually call her “Se Se,” but would always call her “sister.”

“Sister, come here.”

“Sister, do you want to play with this?”

“Sister, let me carry you.”

Was it when she was three or four years old?

It was the age when she first started to remember things, and whenever she recalled those moments, all her memories were tinted with a golden hue, the kind that only old photographs acquire after years of being preserved.

She remembered a summer when Cen Li held her chubby little hand and took her to the Lu family’s lotus pond.

By the pond, a young boy in a black vest and shorts, holding sheet music in his hand, glanced at them coldly and said, “Cen Li, why did you bring your sister again?”

“The last time we came, Aunt Han said the lotus flowers at your place had bloomed and asked me to bring my sister next time.”

When Cen Li mentioned Han Yin, Lu Huaiyan had no more words to say. He lowered his gaze to look at the little girl Cen Li was holding hands with.

Under the scorching sun, she wore a white wide-brimmed hat, a sea-blue dress with a pearl-trimmed collar, and blue leather shoes. Her face and hands were as chubby as ever.

Her black eyes shone like water-washed grapes.

When she looked at people, she was quiet and obedient.

Cen Li walked over, holding her hand, and said, “Sister, do you remember this brother? This is Brother Huaiyan. You met him last month.”

Jiang Se clearly called out, “Huaiyan Ge.”

The young boy gave her a cold glance but didn’t respond. He looked up at Cen Li, “Did your sister’s nanny come with you? If she didn’t, don’t come play ball with us. Stay here with her, watching the flowers and fish. My mother won’t have time to help you take care of her.”

“Aunt Zhang is here. Besides, my sister is very well-behaved and won’t disturb Aunt Han.” Cen Li waved his hand behind him. When Aunt Zhang came over, he handed Jiang Se’s hand to her, bent down, placed his hands on his knees, and said to her, “Sister, stay here and play with Aunt Zhang. I’ll be back soon after playing tennis.”

While he was talking to her, Lu Huaiyan, already impatient, handed the sheet music to a servant and turned to go inside to change clothes.

Not long after they left, Han Yin arrived at the lotus pond.

Han Yin had always been very kind to Jiang Se, always saying she looked like a delicate little dumpling, and that she would like to have a daughter as cute as her one day.

That afternoon must have been wonderful; otherwise, she wouldn’t have remembered it.

She squatted by the lotus pond for a long time, watching the fish and flowers, even using a net to catch several beautiful little fish before releasing them back. When Cen Li returned, her legs were numb, and she opened her arms to him, saying, “Brother, carry me.”

Cen Li came over, picked her up, and asked with a smile, “Did our sister behave today?”

The way the young man said “sister” back then was naturally different from the way Lu Huaiyan said it now.

Jiang Se placed her hands on Lu Huaiyan’s shoulder and slowly stood up, saying, “When you took me to your house to play when I was little, you always had a look of impatience on your face. You weren’t happy when Aunt Han came out to play with me.”

Actually, she could guess the reason. Han Yin had suffered two miscarriages while trying to have a daughter, and her health had never fully recovered since. Lu Huaiyan was just afraid she would get tired.

Her tone was calm, and her expression was too, but her words carried an underlying tone of old grievances.

Lu Huaiyan studied her expression and teased, “You really hold a grudge, huh? How old were you back then? And you still remember it to this day?”

He pinched her fingertip and said, “When summer comes, I’ll take you back to the old house. Pick any lotus flower or fish you like, and I’ll bring it to you.”

Jiang Se: “……”

The lotus pond was filled with rare and precious lotus flowers, and even the fish in the pond were prized possessions, cherished by Old Lady Lu. It is said that objects can remind people of others, and after Old Lady Lu passed away, the flowers and fish in the pond naturally became Old Master Lu’s treasures. Even picking the lotus pods from the pond had to be done secretly.

“Aren’t you afraid that Grandpa Lu will skin you alive?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? All the bad things you do, I’ll take the blame for you. Didn’t I fall into the water when we were little just to get the lotus pods? I’ll pick all the lotus pods for you.”

Lu Huaiyan said this as he got up from the sofa, taking her hand and leading her toward the entertainment room next to the living room. “Now, let’s go do something else.”

He called her “sister” so smoothly.

Jiang Se said, “Lu Huaiyan, have you gotten addicted to being a brother?”

“Of course, tonight, I’m your brother,” he replied with a smile, glancing at her. Just like Cen Li did in the past, he raised his hand and ruffled her hair before calling out, “Sister.”

“…”

There were several rooms in the entertainment area, with everything from billiards and board games to movie rooms and gyms.

The room Lu Huaiyan took Jiang Se to was specifically for gaming.

“One of the game companies we invested in developed a new game that hasn’t been released yet. You can try it today,” Lu Huaiyan said as he took a wooden stock from a cabinet near the wall and tossed it to Jiang Se. “Try it out, see how it feels.”

It was a wooden stock designed for gaming, and although it lacked a magazine, its structure was very realistic. It had a metal feel to it and was heavy in the hand.

Jiang Se had used a wooden stock at a shooting range overseas before, the first time being when Cen Mingshu took her.

Cen Mingshu had lived in the United States for many years, where wooden stocks were not banned. There had been numerous incidents involving wooden stock shootings, and Cen Mingshu had told her that while she didn’t have to use a wooden stock, she couldn’t be ignorant of how to use it, especially not knowing how to pull the trigger.

After visiting the range, Jiang Se actually liked the feel of the wooden stock, particularly enjoying the thrill after successfully making a sniper shot.

When Lu Huaiyan saw her expression, he knew she would like this game. He handed her a VR headset and said, “This is an immersive shooting game. Once you’re online, AI will enter the game with you. You can choose to be the hunter or the hunted.”

Without hesitation, Jiang Se replied, “I’ll choose to be the hunted.”

Lu Huaiyan took out the controller and selected the mode for her.

After Jiang Se put on the headset, he grabbed another one and wore it himself. The game allowed for shared perspectives, meaning he could enter Jiang Se’s view and experience the game world through her eyes, feeling what she felt.

Soon, the sound of flowing water echoed in their ears. Lu Huaiyan followed Jiang Se’s perspective and looked around, realizing they were in an abandoned fruit canning factory. He frowned, about to take off his headset and change the scene for her.

But just as he was about to, a loud “bang” echoed, and the sound of a bullet cutting through the air rang out.

Jiang Se had already firmly fired the first shot.

Lu Huaiyan stared intently. One of the hunters fell, his heart pierced by Jiang Se’s precise shot.

She was decisive and calm.

The man put the controller back in his pocket.

The hunters kept appearing, and because Jiang Se was fighting against AI, the difficulty increased, but she showed no sign of panic. She calmly shot each bullet with precision.

Lu Huaiyan had tried the game before, and as Jiang Se played, he naturally slipped into his own way of thinking.

Soon, he realized that their thought patterns were surprisingly similar to some extent.

Even as the hunted, she was accustomed to fighting back with the mentality of a hunter, and she was very good at setting traps for her opponents.

A slow smile tugged at his lips.

Half an hour passed, and the hunted successfully eliminated all the hunters. The game ended.

But Jiang Se didn’t remove the headset. She tilted her head and said, “I want to play again.”

Lu Huaiyan stepped closer, pressing his body against hers. His left hand wrapped around her waist, and his right hand encased hers, gripping the wooden stock. His index finger slid over hers, pressing against her own as he smiled. “No, it’s my turn to play now.”

Still in the role of the hunted, the wooden stock remained in Jiang Se’s hands, but it was he who pulled the trigger.

He guided her into his perspective, joining her in the sniper’s position.

Jiang Se’s waist was pulled tighter by him, and their movements within the room became almost synchronized.

Finally, Lu Huaiyan fired the last bullet. To avoid the opposing sniper’s shot, he pulled her down to the ground with him.

They tumbled onto the soft carpet, Jiang Se protected by him, her body landing on top of his.

The game ended, and they won again.

Lu Huaiyan threw aside the wooden stock in his hands, propping himself up slightly as he removed both of their headsets. He brushed the hair from her face, gazing into her eyes.

Her pupils were slightly dilated—she was excited.

Jiang Se sat sideways on his lap, half of her body resting against his chest as she slowly caught her breath.

His gaze on her was deep and familiar, and she knew what he wanted.

He wanted to kiss her.

She quietly met his gaze, and as his hand moved to the back of her head, his lips about to land on hers, she slowly curved her lips into a smile and said, “Lu Huaiyan, no brother would kiss his sister like this.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the man’s movements froze. His eyes stayed locked on hers for a moment before he leaned back slightly, no longer kissing her. His hand that had been holding her head shifted to gently rub the top of her head. He chuckled softly, “Our little sister played quite well.”

“…”

After speaking, he tightened his grip around her waist and stood up. He walked over to pick up the wooden stock and headsets from the floor. “We can’t keep playing, or else your head will start to feel dizzy.”

Jiang Se’s gaze followed him, and in a firm tone, she said, “This game will never be released.”

It was too real and too violent, even the wooden stock used as equipment felt just like the real thing. It was impossible for it to pass any review for release.

Lu Huaiyan, however, seemed unconcerned and said, “I know, but I’ve already decided to buy out the rights to the game’s development.”

He set the items down and turned back, walking over to pinch her cheek, smiling as he said, “Our little sister likes playing, right? From now on, it will be your exclusive game. No one else can play it, only you.”

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