YiHan stared at JingYuan in disbelief. He faltered. His face turned ghastly pale once more. "My sister likes you. She must be so sad the moment she knew of what happened yesterday. She won't talk to me again. As expected...I..." He was going to say he shouldn't exist, but he remembered how JingYuan's face twisted when he last said that. It was clear the other didn't want to hear him say that, so he held it in.
JingYuan carefully coaxed, "Don't worry, HanHan. Why would she refuse to talk to you? She was so very worried about you. Afraid I bullied you. Afraid you were upset. She loves you very much, and she doesn't really like me. She...she likes Chen TianYang." He wanted to explain to YiHan the liking XueQing felt for him wasn't really love, but one look at YiHan and it was obvious the other was fixated on the matter. After some thought, JingYuan decided to go with a more stable excuse. He just needed to talk to XueQing later about their alibi later.
"How can it be?" YiHan gasped in shock. He clearly remembered his sister liking JingYuan the whole time in his last life.
JingYuan had already started lying. Even if he had to do it on his knees, he had to finish the lie. "It's absolutely true. She told me that herself. If you don't believe me, I'll call her over in a minute. You can ask her yourself," he confidently said.
YiHan was confuzzled by JingYuan's assured tone. Was he really mistaken? Chen TianYang. Chen TianYang. He remembered this person. YiHan's eyes went wide. In his last life, Chen TianYang would die in a car crash over a year from now because he was protecting his sister! Thus, the Chen family hated the Bai family. The Chen family were very much involved in the incidents surrounding the Bai business. That meant the combined attack later on was mainly carried by the Chen and Qi families.
Could his sister be forever alone because of Chen TianYang's death? That suddenly cut through the fog in his mind (Big mistake). She didn't react that badly when JingYuan left (because she wasn't as into JingYuan as she'd thought). After Chen TianYang's death, she'd been so morose. (That's because she felt guilty of TianYang's death. The Chen family began hating the Bai family and constantly caused trouble for them. She'd have to go resolve the issue time after time. Migraines build up in her mind. Then, the Bai family fell into troubling times. As a confident and strong woman, she felt so dejected that she couldn't save her family business. She began doubting herself.) She resolutely refused all suitors. (An insane suitor nearly killed her.) So it's because she was in a different plane to her loved one (No, she wasn't). How could she be happy? No wonder she slowly stopped talking. It's because of the bitter pain in her heart. (That's true, but it's not because she's separated from her beloved.) And he, her younger brother, never knew what was bothering her. He never tried to comfort her, yet he kept bothering and frustrating her! But...
"Then why are you two getting married?" YiHan asked.
JingYuan: "...About that, it's complicated. I'll get your sister to explain it to you later. Anyway, we're just business partners and we never planned on really marrying each other. It's just for show."
They never planned to get married! So that's what it was! So, he wasn't the reason their engagement got cancelled! He felt so much less guilty now!
YiHan let out a long breath. The depressing restraints in his chest ever since his rebirth loosened slightly.
JingYuan had been carefully observing YiHan's face as his expressions changed. At the sight of the other's face calming down, he felt much more relaxed.
"HanHan, about last night, do you...do you hate it?" JingYuan cautiously asked.
YiHan's face instantly went red. His heart started thumping wildly. He bit his lip and turned his head away. A beat later, he shook his head slightly.
Rainbows and fireworks exploded in JingYuan's heart because of that minute action. He felt like he was going to have a heart attack. He slowly inhaled and exhaled. He tentatively shuffled forward and kissed the corner of YiHan's lips. YiHan didn't move. His face merely flushed harder. It was as if he'd start bleeding any moment now.
JingYuan slowly released the arms and legs holding YiHan down. He tilted his head and pecked YiHan right on the lips.
YiHan still didn't move, but it looked like smoke was going to start puffing out of him.
JingYuan's heart felt like it was melting. Oh, his little one. How can he be so cute!