Chapter 56

"Xiao Yu, I'm back~"

Roxie Lin pushed open the door to the room, carrying packed meals in her hands.

"Raina Nan isn't here," the roommate said, pressing her phone.

"Did she go out?"

"I haven't seen her since I got back."

"Oh...I see..."

As she spoke, she turned and looked at Bell Tong behind her.

"Why are you looking at me? I have no idea."

"It's all your fault."

She pouted softly.

"Stop it~ I'm not taking the blame for this. Besides, I'm a victim too, you know? You have no idea, these past two days, I've been getting anxiety over this stupid thing..."

Bell Tong paid the price for her loose tongue, not for the first time, but she never seemed to learn her lesson.

"Speaking of which..."

The other girl in the room spoke up.

"When I came back earlier, I saw Raina Nan."

"Where?"

"Just outside the hotel, it looked like she was with a guy."

"A guy?"

"Yeah, I was too far away to see clearly, but according to Xiao Li, he's handsome. But, you know..."

She paused, waved her hand, and giggled, covering her mouth.

"He has a strange taste~ Wearing a floral shirt, big sunglasses and all that."

"Really? Isn't that outdated? Haha."

Though the girl next to her didn't see it with her own eyes, she could imagine it pretty accurately.

"Hey~ What if he's Raina Nan's boyfriend?"

The two girls laughed playfully, looking at each other.

"..."

"..."

Roxie Lin and Bell Tong exchanged glances, pretending not to hear anything, and didn't say a word.

On the other side...

...

"Little one, how much longer?"

"We should be there soon."

"We should? It's already dark..."

Samson Nan looked at her skeptically. They had been walking along the dim path for nearly two hours.

Forget about fireflies, they didn't even see a single strand of firefly's hair.

"Why don't you go back first, I'll go alone."

"Are you trying to start a fight again?"

He put his hands in his pockets, following behind her.

"I know, you're just being stubborn."

"..."

"But well, I like it."

He stood on a slightly lower step, looked up, and his black pupils merged with the night, like amber, as he watched her from a short distance.

"Fool..."

She murmured.

She was saying these things again. Did he really not understand, or was he pretending not to? Or maybe he was just naturally dense?... She didn't understand.

"But seriously, let's not stay on this mountain for too long, after all..."

He slightly restrained the smile on his face, hesitated to speak.

"Never mind, forget it."

"What is it..."

As he said that, she became more curious.

"Haven't you heard?"

"..."

She shook her head, looking at him.

"My colleague told me, recently, there's something not right about this Lanhe Mountain..."

He looked around. He leaned his mouth towards her ear:

"On this mountain, people have died."

"Huh?!"

She trembled in fear.

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let them hear!"

He quickly covered her mouth.

"Them? Who?"

The lights on the path flickered on and off, there was no one nearby, but they could occasionally hear footsteps in the distance.

"I know you might not believe it, but the incidents happened nearby... and recently, people often see..."

"What, what is it..."

"A middle-aged woman in a white dress singing by the roadside... Remember, don't listen to her, or else..."

"..."

She hesitated, covering her ears, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Well~"

Samson Nan suddenly smiled and patted her back."There are no ghosts in this world, it must be just a rumor~"

"Um... yeah..."

Her face turned ugly, her eyes wandering, whispering softly.

"Well, let's go."

"Where to?"

"Don't you want to see fireflies?"

"Huh? Um... not necessarily..."

"Oh~~~"

He sighed meaningfully and couldn't help but stare at her:

"Are you scared?"

"No, not at all..."

"Really~ well then, let's go~"

"..."

Although she said that...

The wind rustled the leaves, making a rustling sound, and the surrounding darkness became even quieter, with even the sound of breathing clearly audible.

"Ah!!"

He suddenly exclaimed.

The sound echoed in the valley, lingering for a long time.

He touched his pocket.

"Phew~ scared me, thought I forgot my phone."

Speaking of which, he took out his phone, swiped the screen a few times with his finger, and then turned back.

"Little one?"

But he didn't see Raina Nan. He lowered his head and noticed that she was squatting on the ground, her body trembling slightly.

"Rain, are you..."

He walked over to her and bent down.

"Did you wet your pants?"

"You wet your pants!"

She suddenly raised her head, raised her arm to hit him, but he grabbed her wrist halfway.

"Are you crying?"

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that her eyes were red, with tears swirling in her eye sockets.

"None of your business... um..."

"I was just teasing you, maybe I went too far, sorry..."

"Are you happy now? Stupid, idiot, moron, idiot..."

She sobbed and cursed intermittently.

"Rain, come on~"

He smiled and reached out to hold her hand.

"Get away from me, don't touch me!"

She seemed really angry...

"Fool"

He still reached out, grabbed her wrist, and in an instant, the strength transmitted through his arm spread throughout her body. She couldn't react in time, nor resist, and was pulled towards him.

"Why...?"

"If you're scared, just say it. Is it so hard to be honest? It's not cute at all..."

"..."

His hand was warm and strong, gentle yet firm.

She looked up at him, looking at the slight anger on his profile.

"You scared someone first... and still have the nerve to say that..."

She complained softly.

"What? So now I'm not even allowed to joke with my sister?"

"Who said I want to be your sister!"

Somehow, her head heated up, and she blurted out these words.

"..."

He paused for a moment, suddenly unsure of how to respond.

"..."

The air became somewhat silent, she didn't speak, like a child who had done something wrong, turning her head to the side.

Her face felt hot, her burning skin seemed like it was going to ignite...

He lowered his head to look at her, hesitated for a moment, slightly bent down, and brought his mouth close to her ear, whispering gently:

"How about being my wife then?"

"?!"

She widened her eyes, but didn't dare to look at him.

What was her brother saying? Was he serious? Joking? He must be joking, right? Or was he teasing her again?

Something was banging recklessly in her mind.

She wanted to escape, but found that her hand was held even tighter by him.

"OK, not denying means you're agreeing~"

He chuckled, relaxed, and randomly patted her head with his hand.

"..."

Once again, he brushed it off...

She blushed and couldn't say a word, why? Perhaps only she knew the answer.

"Ah, fireflies."

"Huh?"

His voice pulled her out of the whirlpool of contradictions.

She slowly raised her head.

Fireflies emerged one by one from the grass and underground like bubbles.

Emitting a faint yellow light, floating in the air.

The previously silent Lanhe Mountain was illuminated by these little creatures in just a minute."So beautiful..."

Raina Nan had never seen such a scene before.

She reached out her hand and let the fireflies hover around her arm.

"Raina..."

He wanted to call her name but stopped himself.

In the glow of the fireflies, he could finally see her face...

Her cherry-red cheeks, marked with two faint tear streaks.

Was the corner of her mouth lifted in a smile? She was his familiar sister... but in this moment, he couldn't be sure anymore.

"Look, what are you looking at..."

"Nothing."

He shook his head, smiling gently.

"..."

She hesitated, unable to guess what her brother was thinking.

It was like looking at a reflection in a mirror, so close yet so far away...

Sometimes she couldn't help but think, maybe it's okay to just stay like this forever...

"Oh, by the way."

As if suddenly remembering something, he put away his smile and looked at her with seriousness.

"Little one, um..."

After a moment of hesitation, he continued:

"I've told you several times, haven't I? Don't have anything to do with that Zhang Hang, why don't you listen to me?"

"Gu Zihang?"

"Ah? Well, close enough, anyway, he's not a good guy!"

He said, his emotions becoming somewhat agitated.

"..."

Today, her brother seemed a little off... So he was waiting for her to bring it up.

"It's none of your business who I associate with, right?"

"None of my business? I'm your brother! How can it be none of my business?!"

His voice grew louder, anger written all over his face.

"Huh? What's that? Only now do you bother to act like a brother?"

Provoked by him, she couldn't take it anymore. Like a volcano that had been building up for a long time, fine, let's settle old and new scores together!

"How ridiculous. Then I'll ask you, what's going on between you and Jocelyn York?!"

She stared at him with wide eyes, raising her voice higher than his.

"W-what, what's going on?"

He instantly lowered his voice.

"..."

When did this girl notice? He never mentioned it once, so did she overhear their conversation at the school gate?

Cold sweat began to pour out.

"Is it so difficult for my brother to talk about it?"

She approached him, pressing him with her words.

At this moment, Samson Nan felt the most significant crisis of his life had arrived.