Her silence made Chi Yunyan feel inexplicably uncomfortable.
He stopped, looked at the face covered with candlelight, hesitated for a long time, and asked the question he was holding back.
"Sister." He stared intently, not wanting to miss any of her expressions: "Do you have a brother like me in your planned future?"
"I'm not the only sister you have."
"What's the meaning?"
"That's what it means on the surface." Chi Anying wiped the foam on her fingertips and poured two ladles of well water into the round basin on her right.
She is too cold.
Strangely cold.
Chi Yunyan was unwilling to accept the fact that he was not included in her plan: "Do you mind if I get close to Sister Yue?"
Chi Anying: "Although I don't like her, how you get along is your business."
"After all, you still mind." He took a deep breath: "You want to leave the Taoist temple, is it because of Sister Yue?"
"A little."
"From the day we came to the Taoist Temple to now, has Sister Yue ever given you a bad look? Has she ever bullied you? No, right? When you were unconscious, she was the one who asked Yunqi to treat you! Why can't you let go of your hatred? How about getting along well with her despite her prejudices? We are a family!"
"A family?" Chi Anying seemed to have heard a ridiculous joke: "Have you forgotten what mom said before? If it weren't for Chi Yue's mother, she would not leave her dad, let alone marry that man, and suffer the consequences. So much sin.”
That person refers to her biological father.
Many years ago, Chi Hongmin and Feng Lan, who were studying in the same university, fell in love with each other at first sight. They fell in love for two full years and originally planned to get married as soon as they graduated. However, the appearance of Chi Yue's mother made Chi Hongmin abandon Feng Lan and fall in love with each other. Don't fall in love.
Feng Lan, who was heartbroken and heartbroken, accepted the pursuit of Chi Hongmin's friend and started a family with him in her senior year.
He initially treated Feng Lan very well.
But since he got into gambling and alcoholism, all the "good things" turned into fists falling on Feng Lan.
As long as Chi Anying could remember, she often heard his insults and curses, often witnessed his violence, and often saw Feng Lan's body covered with bruises and scars that would not go away.
Including herself, she did not avoid the fist.
Even though many years have passed, she still can't forget the dark life and Feng Lan's eyes that were red from crying.
She hated that person, hated Chi Hongmin and his wife who indirectly caused Feng Lan's suffering, and even disliked the daughter they gave birth to. How could she treat them as family members as if nothing had happened?
Chi Yunyan: "Sister, Aunt Wan has never interfered in my parents' relationship from the beginning to the end. On the contrary, my father cheated on me after getting married. Sister Yue and Aunt Wan are the victims, okay?"
"Who told you that?"
"Steward Liu."
Chi Anying sneered.
She was too lazy to talk to people who had not witnessed Feng Lan's domestic violence. She shook off the water droplets on her hands, took the basin of foamy water, and walked to the sink to pour it all out.
"Sister!" Chi Yunyan couldn't see through her thoughts, so he could only remind: "There are only three of us left in the Chi family now!"
He repeatedly emphasized that they were "family."
Chi Anying listened impatiently.
She said indifferently: "Chi Yue still doesn't know your life experience, right? Do you dare to tell her? You don't dare."
"If you can't even be honest with her, why should you ask me to put aside my grudges and treat her as my own family?"
Chi Yunyan was speechless.
He stared blankly at the flickering candlelight, his ears ringing with every word Chi Anying said, and he couldn't recover for a long time.
*
The polar night causes the temperature to drop day by day.
They had just taken off their thick clothes, and now they had to put on a thick and warm coat in subzero temperatures.
Wen Qizhou put on his shoes and socks sleepily, held the silky catkin, and walked out of the east wing in a leisurely manner.
The cool wind blew, and the hair hanging on Chi Yue's shoulders raised a slight arc, and the person became more awake.
She leaned close to Wen Qizhou's arm, moved her body back, relied on him to block the gust of wind, and walked lazily into the main hall.
Others came one after another, sat at the round table and had a brunch, and then all moved to the side to light a fire to keep warm.
"Sister." Chi Yunyan, who had been struggling for many days, walked to Chi Yue and lowered his voice: "I have something to tell you."
"Say it."
"It's not convenient here."
Chi Yue followed him outside the main hall.
She crossed her arms and looked at Chi Yunyan, who was a head taller than her. She looked at the face that was not as green as before, and waited quietly for him to speak, without any impatience on his expression.
He pondered for a long time, then stood in front of Chi Yue honestly like a child who made a mistake: "Sister, I am my parents' child."
"I know."
"..." Chi Yunyan thought she didn't understand, so he said it again: "I am the child of Chi Hongmin and Feng Lan."
"Ok, I know."
Chi Yue brushed away the long hair that brushed her lips.
She still looked calm, and Chi Yunyan suspected that he had heard wrongly. He had to ask several times before he was sure.
When he learned that Feng Lan had told her, he took a deep breath uncomfortably: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hidden it from you for so long."
"How long is that long?"
"Eleven years." He stared at her face through the faint candlelight: "I was afraid that you would hate me, so I didn't say anything."
He knew it was wrong for his parents to cheat on him.
But he was afraid, afraid that Chi Yue would know that he was the child of their affair and would alienate him even more than when he was young.
Or hate him.
"Then why did you think of telling me today?" He hadn't been very attached to her recently, and always looked like he was hesitant to speak. She had long sensed something was wrong, but she didn't ask.
"Because..." He picked at the hem of his clothes and couldn't help but recall what Chi Anying said: "Family members should be honest with each other."
family.
Chi Yue recited these two words silently in her heart.
The moment she was silent, Chi Yunyan became visibly flustered: "Sister, please don't be angry with me, okay?"
"I am not angry."
"Really?"
"Yes." Chi Yue saw a piece of wall dust on his arm and reached out to pat him: "Don't think so wildly."
Chi Hongmin and Feng Lan died.
She doesn't care about past events.
"Then am I included in your future plans?" Chi Yunyan choked up and spoke, with an unnoticeable expectation hidden in his tone.
Chi Yue didn't hear clearly.
Just as she was about to ask "what are the plans", a tear fell unexpectedly on the back of her hand.
She paused, raised her head and looked into Chi Yunyan's tear-filled eyes, hearing him ask in frustration: "Isn't there me too?"
"Also? What are you talking about."
"Didn't you hear?" Chi Yunyan straightened his lips and asked again with a hopeful expression, his eyes locked on Chi Yue's face.
"I have no plans for you yet."
Chi Yue told the truth.
She thought he would leave with Chi Anying, so she never thought of planning him into the future.
But when those words fell into Chi Yunyan's ears, he understood that she was not thinking about the future for the time being, not that she didn't want him.
He suddenly stepped forward and hugged Chi Yue's shoulders, tears falling from his eyes: "I thought you didn't want me anymore."
