Chapter 5 If someone bullies you

Chapter 5 If someone bullies you

On the other end of the phone, Song Yan's voice was gentle: "Xiao Yuan, you just returned to the country, and I'm worried it might be inconvenient for you, so I'll have someone pick you up and take you home."

"No need to trouble yourself, I can just take a taxi myself," Si Yuan said instinctively.

Song Yan remained silent for a moment, as if he had something to say, but then swallowed it back.

Is she still dwelling on what happened yesterday?

How come you've become so sensitive and delicate after just a few years abroad?

"Xiaoyuan, I..."

The moment Song Yan spoke, Jiang Wang suddenly leaned forward.

He whispered a reminder: "Your milk is getting cold."

Si Yuan's hand trembled, and she almost dropped her phone.

She stared wide-eyed at Jiang Wang, who simply raised an eyebrow with an innocent expression.

He did it on purpose!

"Who's with you?" Song Yan's voice turned serious. "Xiao Yuan, where are you? Why is there a man's voice?"

"N-no..." Si Yuan explained in a panic, "I was watching a drama, the sound from the TV..."

She glared at Jiang Wang, but he smiled triumphantly and slowly drank his milk.

"I'll come pick you up myself," Song Yan said firmly. "Wait at home."

"Really, it's not necessary... Brother, I can go back by myself..." Si Yuan wanted to refuse.

elder brother……

Since she came back, she has been calling herself "brother".

“Before,” Song Yan suddenly interrupted her, his voice low, “you never called me ‘brother’.”

Yes, she was adopted by the Song family when she was ten years old.

Song Yan was only one year older than her.

She never called him brother.

At first, it was because I wasn't used to it.

Later, as she grew up, Si Yuan secretly wondered if she could like him if she stopped calling him "brother" and there was no kinship between them.

But later, Lin Shuangyu's bullying, and his treatment abroad...

Everyone told her again and again:

"Song Yan is your brother, and can only be your brother!"

...

It took Si Yuan two whole years to truly internalize this fact and make it a reality.

Only then did I stop having a stress response to that title.

"...Wait at home."

Song Yan said only this much before hanging up the phone.

Si Yuan put down her phone with a sigh of relief; her palms were already damp with a thin layer of sweat.

"Your brother is so good to you."

Jiang Wang suddenly spoke, but his tone carried a hint of arrogance and mockery.

His gaze fell on the scar that was half-exposed under Si Yuan's sleeve, and his eyes darkened.

Si Yuan slowly withdrew her hand and mechanically replied, "He has always been a good older brother."

"Oh."

Jiang Wang scoffed.

"When you were bullied so badly at school, why didn't you go to your 'good brother' instead of coming to me?"

Si Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

She still can't forget that day.

It's raining so hard, and it's so cold...

Her clothes were ripped open, her face was covered in graffiti that was hard to look at, and the burns on her back were throbbing with intense pain. She was pushed onto the playground and collapsed in the rain in a sorry state.

People surrounded her, mocked her, and belittled her, but no one pitied her.

No one can save her.

Song Yan was standing not far away.

Si Yuan dragged her injured leg, thinking she had seen a savior, and cried out Song Yan's name, saying, "Save me... Song Yan, save me..."

He clearly saw and heard it.

He merely frowned, opened his umbrella, and turned to leave.

Lin Shuangyu stood in front of her, holding an umbrella, and said sarcastically, "Yan-ge already knew what you were thinking. He's always found you disgusting."

"You really think that when he smiles at you, it means he likes you?"

"Si Yuan, your good days are yet to come!"

Si Yuan's dignity and personality were actually completely shattered at that moment.

On that same day, Si Yuan escaped to the equipment room.

It woke up Jiang Wang who was sleeping.

Jiang Wang looked at her; she was the first person whose eyes showed no malice or mockery towards her.

He simply lit a cigarette, frowned, and said, "Young man, let me apply some medicine for you. Just bear with it."

Then, she fell into another cloud of smoke.

However, this cloud of smoke, named Jiang Wang, was choking, but it wouldn't bring her humiliation or pain.

Memory stops.

“I…” Her voice trembled slightly, and she sighed as if she had just escaped death: “I was so naive back then.”

Jiang Wang's eyes suddenly turned cold. He released his grip, leaned back in his chair, and his tone returned to its usual nonchalant tone: "Yes, only someone who doesn't know any better would ask someone like me for help."

Si Yuan wanted to say something, but found that all explanations were pale and powerless.

She did indeed take advantage of Jiang Wang, in the most despicable way.

"I should go back now." She stood up, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "Thank you for breakfast."

Jiang Wang didn't try to stop her, but suddenly spoke as she reached the door: "Si Yuan."

She turned around.

“I told you,” Jiang Wang said, toying with the lighter in his hand, his eyes unfathomable, “if anyone bullies you, you can continue to come to me.”

Si Yuan was stunned and didn't react for a long time.

Jiang Wang had already turned his gaze away and finished the glass of milk in one gulp.