Sister?
A vein pulsed abruptly at Meng Luobai's brow. She stared at him without blinking, trying to find some familiar trace in him.
Lu Jin—no, he should be called Ling Sui now—when had he ever been this polite?
The first time they met, Ling Sui was ten years old, wearing a British-style school uniform, with big eyes, rosy lips, and white teeth, as pretty as a doll in a shop window. He was a cold-faced but polite little elementary school student with an air of cool aloofness. However, that politeness did not extend to Meng Luobai.
She was seven years older than him. Because Ling Sui's father was rarely home, she felt a little sorry that Ling Sui, who was the same age as her two younger sisters, spent all his time with the butler and the housekeeper. She often took the three children to do homework and out to play, and she worried about them quite a bit.
Under Meng Luoyu and Sangsang's constant calls of "Sister, sister," Ling Sui never once called her by that title—only her name.
Because Ling Sui refused to call her sister, Meng Luobai became all the more fond of teasing him about it. This went on for five years, until finally, on Ling Sui's fifteenth birthday, he lost his temper a little and declared angrily, "I will never call you sister in my entire life."
At fifteen, Ling Sui was already 1.85 meters tall. Meng Luobai had to look up at him. For the first time, she realized that the pretty little boy had grown into a handsome young man with delicate features.
"Sister" wasn't even an excessive form of address—calling her that was hardly like surrendering national sovereignty. Meng Luobai was a little annoyed too. After returning to school for a few days, she thought, fine, if he doesn't want to call her that, he doesn't have to. It wasn't a big deal for him to just call her by her name.
But she never expected that Ling Sui, in order to avoid calling her sister, would simply disappear like that, without leaving even a trace behind.
And now, it had been exactly seven years.
The room was very quiet, with only the soft sounds of Meng Luobai opening the medical kit spreading through the still air. As she lowered her head to find the disinfectant supplies, Ling Sui sat on the sofa with his long legs crossed, his pale gold robe slipping loosely off his shoulders, revealing the wounds on his shoulder and back.
Meng Luobai walked over to Ling Sui. His robe had slipped below his shoulder blades, exposing the smooth, flowing lines of his back muscles, but across them ran several freshly dried scabs of blood. From the side of his neck down to his collarbone were a few scratch marks, as if raked fiercely by sharp fingernails.
She took a wet cotton pad from beside her and first wiped away the dried blood, making the marks on his body immediately clearer—the scratches on his back looked like they were caused by a sharp object, but fortunately only the surface of the skin was damaged; while the marks on his shoulder were from scratching, tinged with a lingering ambiguity that had yet to fade.
Her gaze paused for a moment, then involuntarily swept to the carpet not far from the sofa. The man and woman curled up in the corner had stopped sobbing but were still trembling, their eyes filled with lingering fear that had yet to subside.
Meng Luobai: "…"
Although the situation was strange, there was also something inexplicably bizarre about it.
In the end, she swallowed the words that had risen to her lips.
She let out an extremely soft breath, picked up a sterile cotton swab dipped in iodine, and before applying it, warned, "It'll be a little cold, and a little painful."
Hearing Meng Luobai's words, he lifted his gaze slightly. Then the coolness of the iodine mixed with a faint sting spread across his skin. Her movements were very gentle; her fingertips occasionally brushed against his warm skin, carrying the crisp, clean scent of disinfectant.
There were fewer wounds around the collarbone. Meng Luobai's hand holding the cotton swab paused briefly, then she continued disinfecting the wound.
Ling Sui kept his eyes lowered, his long lashes casting a small shadow beneath them, falling onto Meng Luobai's bowed crown of hair.
After treating the final wound, Meng Luobai straightened up and went to fetch the gauze.
She reached out and first pulled aside the bathrobe on Ling Sui's shoulder and back, when a tattoo hidden beneath his shoulder blade suddenly caught her eye. It was a coiled tail fin, the ink deeply saturated, with a blooming blue rose held at its tip. Further down, a burn scar spread viciously beneath the petals.
Meng Luobai frowned. When did he get that burn scar? She remembered Ling Sui didn't have one before.
Just as she was about to pull the bathrobe down further for a closer look, Ling Sui raised his hand to press against her wrist and suddenly spoke softly, "There's no injury here, no need to bandage it." With that, he pulled the bathrobe back up.
Seeing that he seemed unwilling to have that area touched, she didn't insist. She placed the gauze back into the medical kit, neatly returned the other items on the table to the case, and with a soft click, the medical kit was closed.
After tidying up, she turned sideways and saw Ling Sui watching her.
Meng Luobai thought for a moment, then spoke in a businesslike manner, "Mind your diet—avoid spicy food. I'll give the butler a more detailed food list."
After she finished speaking, Ling Sui didn't reply. With the bathrobe pulled up, his long black hair swept forward from behind his ears, and the corners of his eyes held a hint of something as he said, "You're not going to take care of it?"
Although several of Ling Sui's wounds had seeped blood, they only affected the surface of the skin. Even without treatment, his body's natural healing ability would be more than sufficient. As for the other marks, if Meng Luobai hadn't arrived quickly, they probably would have already healed.
"If the wounds become red, swollen, or itchy tomorrow, remember to rinse them again with saline solution. Of course," she added, "you could also have the family doctor come over."
Ling Sui's phoenix eyes were exquisite as he looked at her. "Can't you do it?"
Meng Luobai said, "I'm a private physician. My consultations are contract-based, and today I was invited by my employer."
The world fell silent once more. Meng Luobai quietly looked at him, taking the opportunity to carefully discern the person before her—the youthful boy had grown into his features. Though traces of the past remained in his brow, his silhouette had matured into that of a sophisticated yet unconventional man.
For some reason, after hearing her words, a faint light slowly gathered in his phoenix eyes. His slightly languid expression withdrew, replaced by a subtle sense of inquiry, and he spoke uncertainly, "Are you… angry?"
"…" Meng Luobai's expression stiffened for a moment, not understanding why Ling Sui had suddenly said such a thing.
Before she could answer, the door opened and the butler walked in from outside. "Young Master." No sooner had the words left his mouth than he noticed Meng Luobai beside him, and a smile appeared on his face. "Miss Meng?"
Meng Luobai looked at him. "Butler Xu."
Ling Sui had once said that after his mother left, his father didn't care about him either. Growing up, he'd only had Butler Xu by his side.
Butler Xu's face hadn't changed much, transitioning from youth to middle age, appearing somewhat more refined.
Butler Xu remained as steady and courteous as ever. "So the family physician Mr. Zhang hired is you. I'm truly glad to run into Miss Meng again."
Meng Luobai was also glad to see Butler Xu. He was probably the most capable person she'd ever met. When she was student council president in university, she'd organized many events with the arts department, and many of the props and costumes had been made or altered with Butler Xu's help. Not to mention all the other matters of daily life.
"I was just doing my job." Meng Luobai curved her lips slightly and said to Butler Xu, "The wounds on my body are minor and won't leave scars. Just be mindful of any dietary restrictions these next few days."
Butler Xu nodded with a smile. "Alright, I'll remember that."
Meng Luobai: "It's getting quite late, so I'll head back first."
Ling Sui listened to them catching up from the side, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed. Butler Xu glanced at Ling Sui, and seeing that he remained silent, extended a hand in farewell. "I'll see Dr. Meng out."
Meng Luobai exchanged a few brief pleasantries with Butler Xu as they walked downstairs.
Butler Xu escorted her to the entrance, then suddenly spoke again. "I'm truly glad to see Dr. Meng again."
Butler Xu had already expressed this sentiment just moments ago. Meng Luobai smiled. "I'm glad to see you too."
"It's different," Butler Xu said. "This time, I'm happy for the young master."
Meng Luobai gave a faint smile, taking it merely as a polite gesture.
The estate carried the refreshing coolness of the mountain air. As the two spoke, a deep blue Aston Martin Vantage Roadster slowly came to a stop a few meters away. Seeing the car, Meng Luobai was about to bid Butler Xu farewell when a tall, imposing figure descended the spiral staircase at the estate's entrance.
White lightweight fabric, black trousers, damp black hair tousled by the wind—Ling Sui walked over to the car, his long legs carrying him with ease. He looked at Meng Luobai. "I'll drive you."
After Meng Luobai settled into the passenger seat, she gently closed the door. Ling Sui rested one hand on the steering wheel, his knuckles pale and sharply defined, while the other hand reached up to adjust the rearview mirror.
The cabin carried no scent of gasoline from the road, nor any expensive fragrance—only cold leather mingled with a faint, cool aura, bearing a chill preserved by time.
He waited quietly for her to fasten her seatbelt, then turned his head toward her. In the stillness of the night, his voice came low. "The Zhuyuan residence, or the house on Yunjing Road?"
Meng Luobai paused for a moment, almost forgetting that Ling Sui had known when Meng Wenjian bought her the house. During her university internship, she had lived in the Yunjing Road house, and Ling Sui had come by several times to drop things off for her.
"Yunjing Road."
By the time they left Xishui Estate, it was already past three in the morning. The darkness had thinned somewhat, and the shadows of the trees on either side were clearly visible. Her gaze drifted with the swaying tree shadows, and she recalled the day she first met Lu Jin.
Meng Luobai came from a blended family. When she was in her senior year of high school, the other children in the household were also facing their own academic transitions. To provide a better educational environment for the children, her stepfather and mother purchased the Zhuyuan villa next to Longcheng No. 2 High School, rushing to finish the renovations. By the time they moved in, it was already the summer before Meng Luobai's senior year.
It was their third day in the new house. She had roughly organized her bedroom, then buried herself in stacks of practice papers, sitting there for an entire day.
Seeing her hunched over her work all day, Meng Wenjian came upstairs to call her. "Luobai, I saw the little boy from next door again. He greeted me so politely and called me auntie. I baked some cookies—come with me to visit his parents."
Meng Luobai finished solving the last step of a problem and glanced at the timer beside her. "No."
Meng Wenjian: "We'll be living here from now on. We're bound to run into the neighbors constantly. Let's just go say hello."
Meng Luobai moved on to the next problem, scanning the prompt as she muttered, "Don't want to move."
Meng Wenjian's voice grew even gentler. "Just think of it as keeping your mother company, alright…"
Meng Luobai let out a sigh, pressed the timer beside her, and looked up. "…"
Meng Wenjian was delighted. "That's right. You've been studying all day—time to give your brain a rest. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. You can pick it back up when you get home. I just finished making a Napoleon cake, and it's at its best right now."
…
While Meng Luobai ate the Napoleon cake, Meng Wenjian found a pretty cake box and placed the cakes and cookies she'd made today inside. "All done eating?"
Meng Luobai reminded her, "Mom, you don't know what that child can or can't eat. What if there's an allergy, or something makes them sick?"
Meng Wenjian: "I put the ingredient list inside. If the kid can't eat it, the adults can."
Meng Luobai wanted to say more—that they didn't even know how the adults felt about their neighbors, or whether they wanted any contact with them at all. Besides, people who lived here might be wary of outsiders and outside food. But seeing how enthusiastic Meng Wenjian was, she didn't want to dampen her spirits, so she followed her mother out the door.
On a sunny afternoon, mother and daughter arrived at the villa next door and rang the doorbell.
The bell chimed for quite a while before the door slowly opened. Meng Luobai stood behind Meng Wenjian and couldn't see who had opened the door for a long time—until she lowered her gaze, and only then did she see a little boy in a British-style uniform standing at the entrance. He had beautiful eyes fixed on them, his expression somewhat cold, and he asked belatedly, "Who are you looking for?"
Meng Wenjian immediately bent down and gently explained their purpose to the boy.
The boy's expression was icy, but he wasn't shy around strangers. With black hair and pale eyes, he was strikingly handsome in an otherworldly way. His voice was cold as he said, "No need. Even if you give it to me, I won't get to eat it anyway."
Hearing this, Meng Wenjian assumed his parents didn't allow him to eat outside food. She said softly, "I see. Auntie was too forward. Are you home alone? Where are the adults?"
The boy tilted his head to look at Meng Wenjian, then glanced at Meng Luobai behind her. Before he could answer, a woman's voice called out from inside the house, "Lu Jin, what are you doing at the door?"
As she spoke, a woman with a full, graceful figure walked out, a waft of fragrant perfume drifting with her. "Who are you?"
Meng Wenjian: "I'm your neighbor from next door—we just moved in and wanted to say hello. These are cakes and cookies I made myself. The ingredient list is inside, so you can eat them with peace of mind."
What followed was polite small talk.
When the woman first came out, Meng Wenjian was still bent down talking to Lu Jin, but Meng Luobai clearly caught the impatience and irritability on the woman's face—until the moment she laid eyes on Meng Wenjian, when her expression instantly shifted to one of kind warmth.
The boy's features bore not a single resemblance to the woman's.
Meng Luobai's gaze settled on the little boy, whose beautiful eyes were looking back at her with complete stillness.