Chapter 033: Consider Me Your Brother

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu’s brows furrowed. He sat down at the edge of the bed beside her, a trace of tenderness in his voice. “You call it a minor injury, but you bled so much. You really scared me at the time.”

Jin’er merely smiled, saying nothing more. To her, such wounds were hardly worth mentioning. She was someone accustomed to walking the razor’s edge between life and death.

“Sometimes, I truly feel you’re not a child.” Jin’er’s body stiffened at his words, a sudden inexplicable tension overtaking her.

“You’re only twelve, so small and delicate—and yet there’s always a resilience and composure in your eyes that belongs to an adult.” Xiao Jiu looked at Jin’er intently as he spoke.

Jin’er lifted her head, gazing at him in silence. She hadn’t expected him to see through her so thoroughly.

“I wish I could be a carefree child, but fate simply won’t allow it…” Her lips parted, and her words floated out, laden with helplessness and sorrow, piercing Xiao Jiu’s heart like a silver needle.

They were both orphans, both longing for warmth and a home. Yet why did she evoke such profound, aching grief?

Looking into her mournful eyes, Xiao Jiu suddenly leaned over and drew Jin’er into his arms.

Jin’er froze, her eyes wide, utterly bewildered. Her head rested against his chest, and she thought she could hear the steady, powerful rhythm of his heartbeat.

“Don’t be sad. You still have us, you still have me. If you don’t mind, you can take me as your brother.” Xiao Jiu murmured gently.

Jin’er, at first rigid from his sudden embrace, gradually relaxed upon hearing his final words.

A brother? Could he really be her brother?

Slowly, Jin’er closed her eyes, accepting the warmth of an embrace she’d never known. Something indescribable stirred faintly within her heart.

In both her past and present lives, she had never had siblings, never had a brother willing to protect and care for her. In this moment, she found herself reluctant to let go.

The room fell silent. They remained in that posture, neither uttering another word, oblivious to the figure standing at the doorway, breath coming in angry gasps.

Suddenly, she turned away, tears spilling down her cheeks. Qin’er bit her lip and hurried upstairs, flinging her door open with a loud bang. She threw herself onto the bed and wept bitterly.

Last night, when she embraced him, he tried to push her away, saying she was too old to snuggle up to her senior brother, that people would laugh at her! And now? Now he’d gone and embraced that wretched girl of his own accord! The girl hadn’t even been here a month! She was furious—utterly livid!

Qin’er punched the mattress as she sobbed, unable to vent the storm of anger inside her.

After a long while, she sat up abruptly, pulling out an unfinished silk handkerchief from beneath her pillow. She found a pair of scissors and, still crying, began hacking at it relentlessly.

She’d spent countless nights in her room, carefully embroidering the handkerchief for him, enduring a stiff neck, aching eyes, and fingers pricked again and again—all for him, and none of it had felt like hardship! But now, he cared only for that Jin’er, paying her no mind at all!

As she thought of it, a fierce look flashed in her eyes, her hands working with even greater fury, as if the silk were Jin’er herself.