Chapter 81

Hearing the word "Brother" clearly called out by the girl, Shi Heng only felt a sudden, sharp pain erupt in his left chest. It was as if a giant hand had caught his heart off guard, causing his breathing to tremble from the pain.

Reason told him that the girl was not Xiao Yi; she was just an ordinary girl with brown eyes, and she had her own brother.

Xiao Yi was already dead!

She had died in Sozali three years ago.

Yet, he still could not suppress the heartache, nor could he suppress the overwhelming sorrow and despair that tightly enveloped his entire being.

In Shi Heng's mind, it was as if he heard again that extremely faint murmur that had come through the dark live-stream screen three years ago—

"Brother, it hurts..."

Ever since Xiao Yi passed away, that sentence had become the deepest nightmare in Shi Heng's heart, always dragging him into the abyss when he woke from dreams in the middle of the night.

It was also like a red-hot branding iron, ready at any moment to sear his heart until it was riddled with holes...

"Brother, what's wrong with you?!"

Just then, Shi Xi was seen running over in a hurry from behind.

She had originally been full of anger, about to question Shi Heng as to why he had left her behind in front of everyone and walked off alone. At this moment, however, she saw Shi Heng standing pale by the side of the road, his hands clutching his left chest, his face a mask of pain.

"Brother, where are you feeling unwell? Don't scare me!"

This was the first time Shi Xi had seen Shi Heng in such pain, and she was frightened out of her wits.

Soon, several kind-hearted people gathered around Shi Heng, asking with great concern:

"Sir, are you alright?"

"Your complexion is very poor; do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

"Sir? Sir!"

The commotion on Shi Heng's side soon caught the attention of Qin Hao Bei across the road.

He furrowed his sword-like brows and looked across the road, wanting to understand what had happened. Just then, his arm was suddenly gripped tightly by a fair, slender wrist.

Shi Yi's eyes darted away, and her voice was tinged with a hint of nervousness and unease.

"Brother, let's go home."

Qin Hao Bei's heart skipped a beat.

In three years, this was the first time Shi Yi had called him "Brother," and it was also the first time she had taken the initiative to hold his arm, making such an intimate gesture.

However, Qin Hao Bei was an incredibly clever person.

From that hurried glance just now, he had vaguely felt that the person looked familiar, and now he was completely certain—the person across the road was none other than her own brother, Shi Heng, who had hurt Shi Yi the most.

Over the years, Qin Hao Bei had been secretly investigating those who had harmed Shi Yi back then, wanting to take revenge for her, so he knew Shi Heng's situation like the back of his hand.

It seemed today was a good opportunity... Qin Hao Bei curled his lips in secret, having already decided what to do next.

"Xing'er, why are your hands so cold?"

Qin Hao Bei turned his hand over, clasping Shi Yi's hand in his palm, and said with eyes full of heartache.

"The evening wind is chilly, and you just got discharged from the hospital, yet you're running around—do you want to catch a cold? Come, put on Brother's jacket first." As he spoke, Qin Hao Bei took off his denim jacket and draped it affectionately over Shi Yi's shoulders.

Immediately after, his expression darkened, and he pretended to be angry as he said to Xiao Shiliu, who was in Shi Yi's arms:

"You little rascal, get down quickly; Uncle will carry you."

Xiao Shiliu immediately pouted his chubby little mouth and said with a face full of unhappiness: "No, no, I want Mommy to carry me!"

Qin Hao Bei leaned in, raised a hand to flick Xiao Shiliu's little nose, and said sternly: "Little fatty, you're already over 40 pounds; Mommy just got out of the hospital, how can she carry you! Get down quickly, if you don't, Uncle won't... buy you that little car you've been dreaming of!"

Hearing about the little car, Xiao Shiliu's little face went pale; he immediately jumped from Shi Yi's arms into Qin Hao Bei's, crying pitifully:

"Uncle carry! Uncle buy the little car, the Transformer little car that Xiao Shiliu likes the most, Uncle promised to buy it for Xiao Shiliu..."

As soon as Shi Yi saw Xiao Shiliu's appearance, she knew the child was faking tears. She smiled inwardly; this Xiao Shiliu really took after Xiao Manjie, he was the craftiest! However, she still comforted him patiently:

"Xiao Shiliu, don't cry, Uncle will go buy it for you tomorrow, okay?"

"Mommy has to go too... sob, sob, sob... Mommy has to go too..."

"Okay, okay, Mommy will go with you too!"

The corners of Qin Hao Bei's mouth curved secretly. The next second, he held Xiao Shiliu with one hand and gripped Shi Yi's hand tightly with the other, leaving Shi Heng with a warm and lingering silhouette.

"Xing'er, let's go, let's go home."

On the other side, Shi Heng watched helplessly as the woman who looked so much like Shi Yi held her brother's hand and left his sight.

He didn't know why, but he felt a heartache so intense he couldn't breathe.

That wasn't Xiao Yi...

That wasn't Xiao Yi!

Shi Heng repeated to himself in his heart, but the pain in his left chest did not diminish at all; instead, the increasingly sharp pain told him that he was grieving.

"Brother, what on earth is wrong with you? Say something!"

Shi Xi stood by, supporting Shi Heng's shoulders, looking at his pained expression; she was already trembling with fear and on the verge of tears.

Having grown up like this, she had always been used to others taking care of her and had never known how to take care of anyone else.

"Brother, you... where exactly are you feeling unwell? Don't worry, I... I'll call Mom and Dad right now."

Hearing that Shi Xi was going to call Shi Zhenyuan and Liu Wanxin, Shi Heng felt as if he had been electrocuted; he violently shook off Shi Xi's touch, his pair of pitch-black eyes glaring at her with anger and disgust.

"I'm fine, there's no need for you to worry."

Hearing this, Shi Xi's eyes widened in disbelief.

She knew that ever since Xiao Yi died, her brother hadn't been as good to her as before, but she hadn't expected that Shi Heng would now be so disgusted with her.

She was clearly concerned about him and worried about his health! Not only did he not appreciate it, but he even got angry at her?!

Countless grievances welled up in Shi Xi's heart; her eyes immediately filled with watery tears, and her chest heaved as she said:

"Brother... I'm just concerned about you, worried about your health..."

Shi Xi knew that since she was a child, her brother was most afraid of her shedding tears; every time she cried, no matter the situation, her brother would soften his heart.

However, the trick that had always worked in the past was like hitting a ball of cotton today.

Shi Heng's complexion was pale, his hands lowered from his chest, and he straightened his back, his expression returning to his usual cold detachment.

He didn't even spare Shi Xi another glance, saying flatly:

"I have things to do, I'm going back to the company; you can take a taxi home yourself."

After speaking, he turned and left without looking back.