Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Our relationship took a turn for the better the day Noah skipped school.

I'd had a headache and a low fever that day, so I went to the teacher's office to ask for sick leave. There, I ran into Noah's homeroom teacher, who asked me if Noah was sick since he hadn't shown up for class.

Noah and I had left the house together that morning, so I knew full well he wasn't sick. But I didn't expose him—instead, I lied to cover for him. After that, I asked for sick leave for myself too and went to look for him.

I found Noah in front of a hotel.

A wedding banquet was being held in the hotel lobby. Everyone coming and going had smiles on their faces.

The boy stood at the door, watching the lively scene inside. His hands hanging by his sides were clenched into fists, and his arms trembled slightly.

He was facing away from me, so I couldn't see his expression. But just that lonely back made me feel an overwhelming sense of sorrow.

I walked over and called out: "Little brother."

Hearing my voice, Noah turned around. His eyes were slightly red, and there was no shortage of shock in his gaze when he saw me.

Noah bit his lip, his tone far from friendly. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you," I said honestly. "Your homeroom teacher said you didn't come to class and asked if you were sick. Don't worry, I asked for sick leave for you—I won't tell our parents."

It was as if Noah hadn't heard my explanation. He asked again: "How did you know to come here?"

That's when I realized he was asking how I'd found this specific place. I scratched my head and said, "You've been distracted these past few days, so I paid a little extra attention..."

Noah's expression was blank as he saw through my excuse: "Did you rummage through my desk? Or eavesdrop on my phone calls?"

I swore I hadn't intentionally gone through his desk. It was just that a few nights earlier, when I'd brought him fruit, I'd happened to see a wedding invitation on his desk.

I blinked and asked: "Which one would you be more willing to accept?"

Noah's face darkened: "……I wouldn't accept either."

I shrugged. "Well, then I guess I'll just say I happened to dream that you'd be here."

Noah's tone was angry: "……Linda Zhong!"

I was stunned, then flattered. "That's the first time you've called my name. Before, you always just said 'hey.' Though it would be even better if you called me 'sister.'"

"……"

Noah fell silent, seemingly at a loss for how to deal with my thick skin. His face turned red and then purple with anger.

Just then, someone suddenly called Noah's name—a gentle voice, laced with hesitation.

"Xingye?"

I followed the voice and saw a woman in a cheongsam.

She was around my mom's age, even more beautiful in person than in the photo I'd seen on Noah's desk. There was a faint resemblance between her features and Noah's, but her temperament was gentle and soft—nothing like Noah's cold sharpness.

Noah's whole body froze. He slowly turned around, his lips trembling as he whispered, "Mom."

This was Noah's biological mother—and today was her wedding day.

The reason Noah had been distracted these past few days, and had skipped school to come here, was all for this.

The blank essay he'd handed in during the monthly exam was also because the essay topic had been about family.

But knowing Noah as I did, I was certain he hadn't come to attend the wedding—just standing at the door had already made his eyes red.

Sure enough, Noah turned around and left, ignoring the woman calling after him.

I quickly said hello to her, then hurried after Noah, chattering in his ear. "Your mom is really too much. She obviously knows you can't accept her remarrying, yet she still insisted on making you come to the banquet."

I went on: "She doesn't love you at all—that's why she left you with your dad and went to start a new family on her own."

Noah finally stopped walking and snapped at me: "Shut up! What do you know?"

Me: "If she really loved you, no matter how badly she and your dad got along, she would never have chosen to divorce—especially since you value family unity so much."

"That's nonsense!" Noah retorted. "They got divorced because they had problems getting along. It was a mutual decision. If they'd stayed together just for me, making themselves miserable—what would that make me?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You know that's the truth, so what are you angry about?"

Noah was left speechless. He scowled and turned to leave.

I hurried after him again. Unexpectedly, to shake me off, he started running—and I had no choice but to run after him.

We ran like that, one in front of the other, for who knows how long, until Noah finally gave up. He stopped and leaned over, hands on his thighs, gasping for breath.

I walked up to him, put my hand on his shoulder, and laughed while catching my breath. "Didn't expect I could run this fast, did you? When I was a kid, I used to run with my... Never mind, let's not talk about the past. You wanna keep running?"

Noah didn't care about my past. He pushed my hand away, straightened up, and asked coldly: "What do you want from me, anyway?"

I spoke plainly: "I'm here to get you through this."

Noah stared at me without saying a word. His eyes were red, and his jaw was tight, as if he was using all his strength to hold back tears.

I stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and pulled him in a direction. "Come on, sister'll take you somewhere fun."

Noah struggled hard. "Linda Zhong, let go of me!"

Of course, I wasn't going to let him break free easily. I held onto his arm even tighter and said with a grin: "If you call me 'sister,' I might consider it."

Noah's face darkened, and he fell silent.

He really was dead-set on not acknowledging me as his sister.