Xie Yucheng frowned and gave her a sharp look. “Go back. I can manage living in the truck by myself. Having you along would really be troublesome—I’d have to book a hotel, spend money.”
Wen Shiqing furrowed her brow. “I brought money. I didn’t plan on making you pay anyway.”
She pulled a stack of bills and cash from her pocket and, under his watchful gaze, went inside to settle last night’s bill.
When she finished and came back to his side, she spoke gently: “Brother, I won’t be a burden or interfere with your work. I just wanted to come out and see a bit. At home, I’m alone anyway.”
Xie Yucheng’s face remained cold, a repressed irritation simmering in his chest. “Wen Shiqing, do you even realize how annoying you are? Your mother clings to my father, and now you want to cling to me too? You and your mother have no shame at all, huh?”
“Brother… what’s wrong?” She stepped forward, lightly tugging at his shirt, her moist eyes fixed on him.
“Are you upset? Tell me if I did something to make you unhappy, okay? I’ll change.”
Xie Yucheng turned his eyes away, his stance as rigid as a rock. “In a little while, you’ll take Uncle Zhang’s car back. Don’t follow me again.”
“Brother…”
He turned without looking at her, exhaling heavily. “Wen Shiqing, am I your brother? I’m the only child my parents had. I don’t have a sister.”
A sharp ache welled up in Wen Shiqing’s chest, and tears immediately streamed down her face.
Hearing the soft sobs, Xie Yucheng turned slightly, his eyes sweeping over her. He noticed the glistening tears clinging to her lashes, her nose red.
His heart tightened painfully. Those tears seemed to burn straight through to his chest, leaving him restless.
Master Zhang went inside the inn to grab a bite, and when he came out he asked Wen Shiqing, “Are you leaving?”
She shook her head, wiping her tears with the back of her hand, and stood beside Xie Yucheng, clutching his T-shirt. “Uncle Zhang, you go ahead. I won’t take the car.”
“Really? Then I’ll leave.”
He glanced at Xie Yucheng, whose expression was dark and stern. Sensing that the siblings might have been arguing, he didn’t want to get involved. After greeting Xie Yucheng, he drove off.
Wen Shiqing stood awkwardly, feeling increasingly aggrieved. The barely restrained tears started to fall again. She sobbed, her tears spilling like shattered pearls, uncontrollable.
Each time she cried, Xie Yucheng’s heart twisted painfully.
He strode toward the truck, brows furrowed, and called impatiently through the window, “Are you coming or not?”
Wen Shiqing hurriedly wiped her tears and climbed in.
The truck sped down the highway, everything outside rushing past.
Inside the cab, it was quiet. One of them had a face as dark as the bottom of a pot; the other’s expression was complex.
Wen Shiqing repeatedly thought over what she might have done last night to make him suddenly act so cold.
She couldn’t figure it out—she had no idea what she’d done to upset him.
Xie Yucheng lit a cigarette, taking occasional puffs, the acrid smoke filling his lungs, seemingly a way to suppress the anxiety inside him.
The relationship between them felt like a thick sheet of ice on a winter river—though it was summer, the cold was unbearable.
Wen Shiqing leaned against the door, her head turned, her bright, clear eyes fixed on the window. After a long while, she spoke quietly:
“Smoking too much can cause cancer.”
Xie Yucheng raised an eyebrow, smirking dismissively. “Cursing me?”
“I’m just stating a fact.”
“Fine, if I get it, I get it. I’m not afraid.”
“Smoking damages your lungs first. Long-term smoking can cause emphysema, lung cancer, oral cancer, throat cancer, esophageal cancer…”
Irritated, Xie Yucheng flicked the cigarette out the window. “Damn it, do you want me to throw you into the wilderness to feed the wolves?”
“Stop the car!” Wen Shiqing suddenly shouted. “Stop! I want you to stop!”
“What the hell are you doing?”
He cursed angrily, hitting the brakes, and turned to see a pair of reddened, rabbit-like eyes staring back at him.
They were swollen from crying, small and bright, the eyelids puffed, showing she had been quietly crying the whole way.
Xie Yucheng’s throat tightened as if something blocked it.
The girl flung open the door and jumped out, moving hastily. She lost her footing and fell to the ground.
“Damn!” Xie Yucheng got out in big strides, running around to the passenger side to help, but the stubborn girl pushed his arm away.
“Xie Yucheng, I won’t cling to you anymore.”
Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she limped along the roadside.
Xie Yucheng grabbed his hair, eyes dark and fierce, and went to pull her arm. “Don’t go killing yourself, damn it.”
“Whether I live or die is none of your business! You’re not my real brother! Do you think I care if you’re my brother? You never want to see me, always bullying me. Fine—I won’t be in your way anymore. I’m going home!”
“You wouldn’t go back when I told you to, and now what? Waiting in the wilderness for some man to assault you or kidnap you?” His face was cold and sharp, his words harsh.
“That’s still better than being with you!” Wen Shiqing cried, tears streaming uncontrollably. For once, she couldn’t restrain her emotions, even though she usually could.
“What did you say?”
“I said that whether I’m assaulted or sold into the mountains, it’s still better than being around you.”
Xie Yucheng’s face darkened, flames kindling in his eyes. Grinding his molars, he snarled, “Fine, then survive on your own here!”
He strode off, started the truck, and drove away, kicking up dust, disappearing from Wen Shiqing’s sight.
Wen Shiqing felt a sudden void in her heart, angrier by the moment. She picked up a stone and hurled it in the direction the truck had gone.
“Bastard! I’ll never like you again! I’ll never forgive you!”
Her tears flowed even more fiercely, sobbing as she staggered along. Her shoulders shook, tears fell, and her ankles throbbed painfully with every step, as if walking on blades.
Within minutes, the familiar truck returned.
The man slammed the brakes right in front of her, got out aggressively, and without waiting for her to struggle, picked her up in a few steps, placed her inside the truck, and slammed the door.
He sat in the driver’s seat, face cold, grabbed some tissues, and roughly wiped her tears.
Wen Shiqing tried to avoid him, but he pressed her neck down forcefully, forcing her to look at him. Gritting his teeth, Xie Yucheng said, “Done making a scene?”
He was furious, no one had ever stirred him like this. “Who gave you the nerve to act up in front of me?”
Wen Shiqing sniffled, her reddened eyes meeting his. “Why do you bully me? You insult me every day. Even the big dog at the alley is friendlier than you.”
“You think scolding me is worse than a dog?”
“I didn’t say that—you said it yourself.”
Xie Yucheng chuckled angrily, watching her trembling lips as she spoke, soft and delicate in appearance but sharper than him in words.
A tear slid down her cheek; he roughly wiped it with his thumb. Softly, he asked, “You scold me… why are you crying?”
She bit her lip, tears in her eyes. “My foot hurts—can’t I cry?”
She had twisted her ankle and was limping.
Xie Yucheng bent down and held her left foot, removed her sock, rolled up his pant leg, and saw her ankle swollen and red—a serious injury.
He furrowed his brows deeply, his heart piercing as if stabbed. Seeing her lips pressed tight, he couldn’t find the right words.
In silence, he started the truck and sped toward a nearby town, stopping in front of a small clinic.