Zixin anxiously waited outside the bureau, unable to stand still and frequently throwing glances at the exit. The evening setting sun cast a dark orangish glow to the sky bringing the night in.
A few minutes later, his jittery patience came to an end as he finally saw Guiying's figure exiting through the door. She had her head slightly lowered as she slowly walked. From that distance, Zixin couldn't clearly see her expression.
He walked slowly at first, then increased his pace and with larger strides, he reached her before she could. Immediately, he quickly but gently touched the back of her head with his palm and buried her face in his chest.
Guiying was taken aback but the familiar scent and warmth of a certain someone's embrace soon pacified her chaotic thoughts. Exiting the visiting room, she came all the way consoling herself, bringing her tears to a stop. But now listening to his heartbeats, she could breathe the breaths she had forgotten to.
"I am proud of you," he whispered to her.
He let that hang for a moment, welling tears in her irises. She wondered if she did the right thing by meeting Cai Lingyun. She pondered if she could face her brother the way she had envisioned. But she couldn't find an answer to it.
Zixin's pride in her vanquished the ambiguities making a rush in her mind.
"I had to do this…" A tear rolled down her cheek, her lips quivering and voice breaking.
"If I didn't, then I would have never…truly been able to give a new beginning to myself. I wanted to meet him for a long time, but I couldn't gather my courage…" she softly clenched his jacket with her trembling fingers, "But everytime it was either 'her', Ai or you protecting me from him whereas it should have been me to confront him all along. I a-always hid behind you all. When you sent him to jail, I was so relieved…that I didn't have to make that decision. I was relieved whenever 'she' came to my aid and said things to him that I couldn't."
She closed her eyes, letting her tears freely fall. She then gently withdrew and looked into Zixin's beautiful, shining eyes. "I always kept running and running away. I felt pathetic of myself as if I am a coward. But today I had to decide. I could guess why Bro called for me and it was up to me to decide to set him free or not. I know you could have done that for me or…'her.' But I wanted to come here on my own, talk to him and tell him looking into his eyes what my decision was. If I didn't do this today, then I would have forever remained my weak self…"
Zixin softly smiled. There was a shine of victory in her gaze, signifying the long battle that she finally brought to a close. But he also felt the pain behind that decision. Cai Lingyun was cruel and selfish. But he was her only brother, her only real family and to take the decision of letting that person be in jail for the sake of everybody's happiness wasn't an easy decision at all. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel✶fire.net
He cupped her face and smiled. "You are not weak at all, Guiying. Neither before nor now. I know Ai and 'her' would say the same."
She lowered her head, slightly trembling. "I hoped that I might see Bro change. I wish he could have looked at me at least once today. But even today, it was only about Ai. He wanted me to set him free for Ai's sake…Did he ever consider me as his sister even once?"
The question pained her to ask, but it was a question brooding her for a long, long time.
"It's his loss, isn't it?" Zixin smiled. "In business, we would call such a person foolish. To not know how to recognize a precious gem would be deemed as stupidity. He had such a wonderful sister beside him all this time. He could have had a good family and cherished you. But he failed in treating you well. It's his loss that he pushed you away and that's the punishment he is suffering inside. You made the right decision, Guiying."
It was the first time that Guiying took the initiative to fly into his embrace as she broke down for the last time for that man's sake. She cried and wailed, letting this moment hurt her as deeply as it could.
"I won't cry for him again…" she whispered, hugging him.
Zixin nodded. "You are right. Whatever it was with Cai Lingyun, it ends today."
He wrapped his arms around her arm, assuredly squeezing her in his chest. Feeling her shaking body and hearing her sorrowful cries urged Zixin to go inside and punch Cai Lingyun just one last time.
Always, always Guiying. But no more. Guiying wouldn't shed a single tear for you from now on.
With a determined gaze, he made that promise to himself. She would get all that familial love - hundred, a thousand times fold which her brother snatched away from her.
Zixin lifted her face gently and dried away those tears from her cheeks. He leaned and ever so softly placed a warm kiss on her forehead. Feeling the feathery sensation of his lips touching her forehead brought a blush on her cheeks that inadvertently brought a smile on her lips too.
"Let's eat ice-cream, shall we?"
Guiying blinked twice. "Huh?"
He let out an awkward cough. "It's been a long day for you. You deserve a treat for the courageous step you took today. I know you might not feel it's anything to celebrate, but it is. You have come this far. It's a celebration solely for yourself. Shed away your guilty feelings for him because you should cherish yourself too. Today is your moment, Guiying."
Longing for her brother's affection for all this time, Guiying had lost the meaning of how to be happy just for herself and for the little achievements she made.
But today, she would break that barrier too and become the Guiying she always wanted to be.
She smiled brightly through her misty eyes. "Yes! Let's have some ice-cream."