“Little Fellow, are you afraid of me?”
Su Ling wanted to say he wasn’t, but although his mouth opened, the words wouldn’t come out.
He was a bit afraid. Especially when they were doing that kind of thing—he was scared to death every time, which was why he struggled so violently.
“Don’t be afraid of me, okay?”
Su Ling didn’t speak. Instead, he buried his head deeper into her embrace.
“Don’t be afraid. I just love you too much. There are many things even I can’t control!”
Ye Moran’s eyes were filled with a sense of confusion. She desperately wanted to tell the Little Fellow what was in her heart, and she wanted to recklessly confine him by her side once again!
However, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She couldn’t let him go, yet she couldn’t bring herself to imprison him again!
‘What is this?’
Indecision wasn’t in her nature. She was normally decisive in everything she did; once she chose a direction, she would follow that path to the end!
But with Su Ling, she could never make up her mind. As long as the Little Fellow cried even a little bit, her heart would soften.
Su Ling didn’t know why his Elder Sister was suddenly saying these things. A bad premonition rose in his heart, and he instinctively hugged her. He didn’t want anything bad to happen.
On the way back, Su Ling took another nap. By the time he woke up, he had already returned to the familiar “home.”
Ye Moran was nowhere to be seen in the room. Su Ling couldn’t describe how he felt. He got out of bed, walked to the window, and looked down at the night view below.
The wish he had earlier suddenly echoed in his mind.
After a moment of hesitation, he went to the wardrobe and pulled out his clothes. Once he put on a hat and confirmed he was well-covered, he nervously pushed open the door.
Outside, Ye Moran was busy working. She suddenly paused and turned her head to see the Little Fellow dressed and ready to go.
“You…”
She frowned, instinctively wanting to stop him. But as soon as the word left her mouth, she stopped herself.
She had promised the Little Fellow that she wouldn’t restrict his freedom.
Ye Moran took a deep breath and walked to his side. Under his nervous gaze, she gently tidied a stray lock of hair by his temple.
“Are you going out? Do you want me to accompany you?”
“No need…”
“I’ll be back very soon!”
Su Ling looked at her expectantly after he finished speaking.
Ye Moran simply smiled and patted his head.
“Go ahead. Come back early, and don’t go too far.”
“Okay!”
Su Ling finally smiled happily. His Elder Sister really wasn’t going to keep him confined anymore. He could start moving around freely without worrying about anything!
Thinking this, his pace became lighter. He skipped out of the office.
Ye Moran’s gaze remained fixed on the Little Fellow’s departing back. She hesitated, wondering if she should follow him.
***
Su Ling reached the ground floor and first identified his surroundings. This time, he didn’t plan to go to that Pedestrian Street; he wanted to play somewhere else.
He remembered there should be a river nearby. The scenery along the river was beautiful, and he could enjoy himself there for a bit.
He walked carefully, keeping his head down as much as possible to avoid contact with people. Soon, he arrived at the riverbank. Leaning against the railing, he watched the murky current below and breathed in the fresh air. His mood seemed to improve slightly.
In a coffee shop not far away, Ye Moran was staring at the Little Fellow without blinking. Lin Qingyu’s words drifted through her mind.
‘Patients with severe depression can have suicidal tendencies!’
‘What does he want to do now? Is he going to jump into the river to commit suicide?’
Her fists clenched, and her breathing became rapid.
Fortunately, the Little Fellow soon left the riverbank and sat down on a nearby bench.
Ye Moran breathed a sigh of relief. It was a relief that the Little Fellow had no thoughts of ending his life; otherwise, she really couldn’t guarantee she would be able to jump into the river to save him in time.
While she was sighing in relief, a young woman mixed into the crowd not far away also breathed a silent sigh of relief. She was wearing a black hoodie, sunglasses, and a black baseball cap.
Nangong Wan had rushed over the moment she received news of Ye Jin’s appearance.
Ever since their last meeting, she had begun investigating the matter of Manager Ye Jin. Although Ye Moran had planned this for a long time, she hadn’t been particularly secretive about it.
Originally, her plan was to stay confined in that Basement with the Little Fellow.
Later, she abandoned that idea, choosing instead to make the Little Fellow fall in love with her so she could marry him and give him a warm home.
Therefore, she still had to give the Little Fellow an identity. This meant she wouldn’t let him disappear completely; she would just change his identity.
Her purpose was simply to let him completely escape his identity as her younger brother.
Because of this, she felt no need to hide anything.
This allowed Nangong Wan to uncover everything with only a bit of effort.
She was shocked that an Elder Sister could harbor such thoughts for her own brother, but at the same time, her heart was filled with hatred and jealousy!
‘Why couldn’t I have come back earlier? If I had returned sooner, then the person with Ye Jin right now would be me. By now, maybe we would have already…!’
However, she wouldn’t despise Ye Jin. Even if he had been treated that way by many other women, she wouldn’t look down on him. At worst, she would just punish him properly after she got him!
But she couldn’t act rashly now. She could only look for opportunities to slowly approach Ye Jin.
She believed that given Ye Jin’s personality, he would definitely not accept being with his own sister. As long as she worked hard enough, she would surely be able to make Ye Jin fall in love with her!
Su Ling didn’t know that two women were secretly watching him. He sat on the bench for a while, and when he saw an uncle selling Tanghulu, his eyes instantly lit up.
He ran over happily.
“Uncle, I want one string of Tanghulu!”
“Ah, okay. Young man, which fruit do you want? Take a look for yourself. You can just scan the code here to pay.”
The uncle pointed at the QR code hanging from his neck with a smile.
Su Ling instinctively reached into his pocket, but his hand found nothing. Only then did he remember that he hadn’t brought his mobile phone when he left, and he didn’t have any cash on him either.
“Sor—Sorry, Uncle, I…”
“It’s fine. I’ll pay for him. What do you want to eat?”
Su Ling was about to say he didn’t want it anymore when he was suddenly interrupted by a voice. The owner of the voice walked up to him.
Su Ling turned his head and saw a young woman smiling at him.
“It’s you?!”
“I… I don’t want it anymore. You don’t need to buy it for me.”
Su Ling instinctively wanted to refuse, even wanting to run away. He remembered very clearly that just a few days ago, his Elder Sister had punished him severely after he met this person.
He didn’t want to be punished by his sister again. He turned around, wanting to leave.
“Ye Jin, have I done something to make you angry?”
Nangong Wan frowned. She didn’t understand why Ye Jin wanted to run as soon as she appeared. It was just like their first meeting—he was trying to flee in a panic.
“No, you haven’t. I… I can’t have contact with you. Oth—Otherwise, my sister will be angry.”
“It’s okay. Your sister isn’t here right now. Don’t run, okay?”
Nangong Wan showed a pleading look. Su Ling’s heart softened. He couldn’t bear to refuse her, so he could only nod.
“No—Not for too long. I have to go back in a bit.”
“Okay, let’s just have a simple chat. Pick a Tanghulu first. I’ll pay for you!”
“No, there’s no need.”
“Just pick one. Consider it a meeting gift!”
Seeing the serious expression on her face, Su Ling hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to pick up a string of Tanghulu made of grape, pineapple, orange, and hawthorn.
Seeing this, Nangong Wan took one just like his and pointed at the bench nearby.
“Let’s go sit over there.”