Thinking of this, Liu Yun could no longer hold back the regret in her heart and hugged the small boy in front of her.
“Chenchen, I’m sorry…”
The boy didn’t understand why his older brother was apologizing to him, but he still gave a gentle smile and said, “Why is big brother apologizing? No matter what big brother did wrong, Xiao Chen will always forgive you, except for forcing me to eat the tomato and egg noodles you made.”
Liu Yun was both amused and exasperated by these words. She looked at the boy before her, fully aware this was just a dream, yet she wished it could last a bit longer, just a bit longer…
“Brother, can we go play now?”
“Mm, where do you want to go?”
The boy replied with a guilty conscience, “Let’s go to the riverbank. I want to catch crabs.”
When Liu Yun heard this, a sharp pain stabbed at her heart, but she didn’t refuse; she simply nodded.
As usual, the two went to the riverbank. The willow branches lining the road were lush, swaying gently in the breeze, and a few ducks could be seen swimming in the river not far away.
Her younger brother took off his shirt briskly and dove straight into the cool river water.
Liu Yun followed him into the river, silently keeping watch over the boy as he fumbled around in the water. What he was searching for was not crabs…
The sun slanted westward, and on the grassy bank by the river, the two boys, one big and one small, lay there, breathing in the faint fragrance of grass in the air.
At that moment, Liu Chen rolled over and sprang up from the grass, showing off to Liu Yun, “Brother, look! What is this?”
As he spoke, he pulled out a slightly broken anime girl figurine, with some waterweed still tangled around it. If not for that, it would have long been swept away by the current.
Seeing this, Liu Yun’s eyes welled up red again, but she only heard the boy say, “I know brother likes this toy, and you saved up for a long time to buy it. Grown-ups like Dad would never understand. So, when you take it home, you have to hide it well, okay?”
“And, brother, you mustn’t blame yourself anymore. Xiao Chen never thought it was your fault, because everything was my own choice.”
Hearing such sudden words from the boy, Liu Yun shuddered. She stood up and stared blankly at him, her lips pale.
“Xiao Chen…”
At this moment, the boy tilted his head and smiled, “On the contrary, Xiao Chen hopes that brother—no, sister—you can let go of the past, and always be happy, carrying my share of happiness too.”
“Goodbye, sister…”
As he spoke, the dream around them began to crumble and shatter. Liu Yun panicked, desperately trying to hold onto the boy, but she was powerless.
In the end, all she had left was that heartwarming smile, and the golden, hazy setting sun behind him…
“Xiao Chen, don’t go…”
In the bedroom, still dressed in her maid outfit, Liu Yun suddenly woke up. She gasped for breath and looked around in a daze, her mind finally growing clear.
As expected, dreams will always end…
Liu Yun gave a self-deprecating laugh. Whenever she thought about what her younger brother had said in the dream, her heart was still filled with guilt.
Thinking of this, Liu Yun stood up and went to the wardrobe, taking out an old box from the innermost cabinet.
Opening it, inside was the very figurine her younger brother had given his life for. Now, it had lost all of its former luster, but it was the one thing Liu Yun could never let go.
Sitting at her computer desk, Liu Yun stared blankly at the figurine for a long time, her eyes flashing with longing.
At that moment, a ticking sound echoed from outside the window, pulling her from her thoughts.
Liu Yun walked to the window. Seeing the torrential rain pouring down, she couldn’t help but frown. She hated rainy days, or rather, she hated anything related to water.
Taking out her phone to check, she found that the rain would last another two or three days, which was undoubtedly bad news for Liu Yun.
“I really wish when I wake up tomorrow, it would be clear and sunny.”
Thinking this naïvely, Liu Yun shook her head, changed into her pajamas, lay down on her bed, and after tossing and turning for a while, finally drifted into a deep sleep…
The next day, the first rays of morning sunlight shone on the tree leaves, strung with dewdrops like jade beads, and streamed through windows into every home.
Liu Yun’s biological clock woke her right on time. Seeing the dazzling sunlight outside, she didn’t think much of it and began washing up, ready to start another day of toil.
Meanwhile, in the room next door, Lin Xiu looked at the sunlight outside, then at his phone, and couldn’t help but sigh.
“What kind of weather forecast is this? So inaccurate…”
In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.
At this moment, inside the chairman’s office of Lin Corporation.
Liu Yun looked at Old Lin, who was leisurely making tea, and couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
Seeing her, he greeted her warmly, “Secretary Liu, come, sit down and have some tea.”
Liu Yun hesitated a moment before sitting down, holding her teacup nervously. “Chairman, I’m sorry. I’ve let you down.”
Lin Jianguo was a bit surprised and asked, “Secretary Liu, what do you mean by that?”
Liu Yun took a deep breath and spoke, “You asked me to teach young master Lin and help him get familiar with work, but these past days, I haven’t managed to do it…”
Just thinking about the things that guy had done in the past two days made Liu Yun fume.
Playing games during meetings, taking her car for a joyride during work hours—those were the minor things…
But Liu Yun couldn’t do anything about him. After all, she was just an employee.
Of course, aside from their superior-subordinate relationship, Liu Yun didn’t dare to control that guy. She might look tough on the surface, but deep down she was still afraid of that strange and unpredictable young man…
However, when Lin Jianguo heard her words, he burst into hearty laughter.
Leaving Liu Yun at a loss.
But that was normal. In Lin Jianguo’s eyes, his grandson was far more mischievous than Liu Yun realized. Now that brat was actually coming to work on time, which was already a remarkable improvement in his book.
So, this proved that Liu Yun’s discipline was having some effect. Lin Jianguo was quite satisfied with this.
“Chairman, maybe you should assign someone else to mentor young master Lin?”
Liu Yun suggested. To her, being far from that guy would be a good thing.
Lin Jianguo saw her serious expression and hesitated.
“Secretary Liu, to be honest, I think it’s right for you to keep teaching that brat. At least when you say ten sentences, he’ll listen to two or three. Even this old man can’t get through to him that much.”
Liu Yun was stunned for a moment. She felt Lin Jianguo was just giving her a way out; her words surely weren’t that effective with that guy.
Lin Jianguo then sighed and changed the subject.
“But I know how much trouble that brat can be. If you really don’t want to, then forget it. Besides, having you teach him is a waste of talent. I’ll find someone else to guide him, and you can come back here and help me with things.”