chapter 14
The seawater was cool, reaching up to my waist.
Gu Lin was right.
The sea at night is truly cold.
I stopped walking, my gaze finally returning to the screen.
I met Lu Qingyao’s eyes, calm and indifferent:
“Go back, and then what?”
“Continue living as an outsider, watching how much you all dote on Lu Jiajia?”
“But we’ve never wronged you.”
Third Brother’s awkward words came through the receiver, clear and distinct.
Unlike Lu Qingyao, who “might” actually believe I have Stomach Cancer, his tone was still certain I was just putting on an act.
But somehow, his attitude was no longer so harsh:
“No one in the family has ever treated you badly all these years.”
“Before you started with those little schemes, who didn’t treat you like a goddess, tiptoeing around you?”
“Why do you insist on competing with Jiajia like this?”
Yes, they’ve never treated me badly.
They just don’t love me.
Whenever Lu Jiajia caught a cold, the whole family fussed over her, making sure she took her medicine.
When I went so far as to slit my wrist, all I got was, “If you get cancer, just die far away, don’t trouble us with your corpse.”
These are my biological parents, my real brothers!
Why shouldn’t I fight for it?
Why the hell shouldn’t I?
“Siyuan,” Lu Qingyao’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke, “Just come home first, we’ll talk at home.”
“If you really are sick, Second Brother will save you…”
I kept walking, the seawater rising higher.
My bandaged wrist was soaked, stinging faintly.
I pulled my lips into a light smile and interrupted him:
“Lu Qingyao, I haven’t had a brother, or a home, for a long time.”
Lu Qingyao’s expression froze hard.
It seemed only today he suddenly remembered.
It’s been a very, very long time since I called them ‘brother.’
Ever since the day my stomach medicine mysteriously turned into vitamins.
They said it themselves.
“Lu Siyuan, I really wish Jiajia was our real sister.”
Lu Qingyao’s face showed panic and regret.
He shook his head, his voice trembling:
“No, that’s not it, that was just something said out of disappointment.”
“We just didn’t want you to hurt Jiajia out of jealousy, to keep fighting with her…”
A large hand suddenly reached over and snatched the phone away.
Startled, I turned my head, only to see Gu Lin had somehow appeared behind me.
Moonlight reflected in his deep eyes.
“There are only two reasons people feel jealous of others.”
“One, they think the other doesn’t deserve it.”
“Two, because they themselves lack it.”
“You all have the nerve to say she’s jealous.”
“But you never once thought about making sure she didn’t lack anything.”
As he spoke, Gu Lin let out a cold laugh, his thin lips curling:
“Favoritism is just favoritism, why make so many excuses?”
“Trash.”