The engagement was with the younger brother, but I've fallen for the older brother.

Evening, in the Si family study.

Si Yimian stood at the door, holding a cup of freshly warmed milk, and gently knocked.

"Enter."

Si Congshan's voice was weary.

She pushed open the door and poked half her head in.

Si Congshan sat behind his desk, his computer screen lit up, his coffee cup half empty, and documents scattered across the table.

Si Yimian walked over, took the coffee cup from his hand, and replaced it with hot milk.

Si Congshan looked up and froze.

"The coffee's gone, so bring in some milk."

She put her coffee cup aside, rested her hands on the edge of the table, and leaned over to look at him.

"Mr. Si, it's time to go home."

Si Congshan raised an eyebrow.

"What did you call me?"

"Mr. Si."

Si Yimian smiled sweetly.

"In the workplace, you need to be more formal."

Si Congshan chuckled, leaned back in his chair, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alright, then may I ask, Miss Si, what brings you into my study so late at night?"

Si Yimian walked around to his side and glanced at the lit screen.

The screen is filled with data, densely packed.

She reached out and closed his laptop.

"Your daughter is checking the dorms."

"It's 10:30 and you're still working overtime. Points deducted."

Si Congshan looked down at the glass of milk, where steam rose in wisps.

Suddenly he laughed.

This is the first time in eight years that this girl has taken charge of him.

This scene felt so unfamiliar, like something from a past life.

Before Si Yimian went missing at the age of five, she would run over to him when he was working overtime, grab his sleeve, and ask him to play with her.

When she returned, she never dared to say another word to him, and never entered the study again.

Over the years, the longest conversation between the father and daughter has never exceeded three sentences.

He picked up the cup and took a sip; the temperature was just right.

"Did your mom send you?"

"I came by myself."

Si Yimian walked around to the opposite side of the desk and sat down in front of him.

"I have a question to ask you."

Si Congshan put down his cup and looked at her.

The girl's eyes and brows relaxed, without the usual evasiveness and timidity.

It was like finding that face deep in his memory.

"What do you want to ask?"

Si Yimian put away her joking expression and looked at him with her chin on her hand.

"Dad, we're going to Yu'an next week, can you give me some advice?"

"I'm not familiar with that project. If I go there and embarrass the Si family, you'll lose face too."

"You need to give me a crash course."

Si Congshan's heart stirred.

This child is serious.

I'm not going there to play; I genuinely want to learn.

He put down the cup and placed his fingers interlaced on the table.

"The joint R&D center is the core department of the joint venture between Chenxi and Yu'an."

"You're a project coordinator. It sounds like a lot of things, but it carries real weight."

"Connecting Chenxi's R&D team with Yu'an's clinical resources."

"You are connected to the Clinical Research Center, which is directly under the jurisdiction of He Sichen."

"Since you've just started, talk less, listen more, and take notes more."

"Thoroughly understand the project information, get to know all the people on both sides, and figure out the process."

Si Yimian took out her phone, opened the notes app, and started taking notes.

Next, Si Congshan spilled out everything he could think of.

No matter how small the matter, it is broken down and analyzed in detail.

Si Yimian kept her head down taking notes the whole time, occasionally looking up to ask a question, and every question she asked hit the nail on the head.

Si Congshan got more and more excited as he talked, and finally, he got thirsty and picked up the milk and drank it all in one gulp.

"Got it?"

Si Yimian looked at the screen full of notes and nodded.

"I've memorized it, but I'll have to digest it slowly."

Si Congshan gave a satisfied "hmm".

He opened the drawer, pulled out a USB drive, and pushed it in front of her.

"Go back and look at this: a breakdown of the entire collaboration process between Chenxi and Yu'an."

"Everything from the negotiation minutes to the final implementation is included in this document."

"If you don't understand something after reading, feel free to ask."

Si Yimian put away the USB drive and nodded.

"If I have any problems that I can't solve, can I contact Dr. He?"

Si Congshan thought for a moment.

"Yes, but I suggest you try it yourself first."

Why?

"He Sichen is the successor personally trained by the old master of the He family. He is the true core of power and the pillar of the He family's business."

"Those he's willing to teach all progress very quickly."

"You'd be better off learning something from him than from me."

Si Yimian nodded thoughtfully.

She remembered those light-colored eyes, and his restrained yet out-of-control demeanor.

There's a lot to learn.

Si Yimian stood up and walked around to Si Congshan's back.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to massage them.

Si Congshan's body stiffened.

"What are you doing?"

"A massage."

Si Yimian applied force with her hand, her tone matter-of-fact.

"You just gave me a one-hour lesson, now I'll give you a massage to pay off the debt."

"Is it comfortable?"

"good."

"It's alright, it's comfortable, but I'm being stubborn."

Si Congshan smiled.

This girl gave me quite a few surprises today.

Lean back in the chair, close your eyes, and let those little hands knead your shoulders.

The study was quiet for a few seconds.

"Mianmian".

"Um?"

You've changed.

Si Yimian tightened her grip.

"Has it gotten better or worse?"

"It has returned to how I remember it."

Si Yimian paused for a moment.

These words touched a nerve and softened her heart.

What was the original owner like?

She must have been that bright little sun before she turned five.

What kind of life did the original owner lead during those years in the mountains?

It's a miracle that abducted children are alive.

She came back covered in wounds and needed to be seen, welcomed, and loved unconditionally.

But her parents had been searching for her for ten years and needed to be redeemed; they needed that sweet, adorable little sun to come back.

Both hands were outstretched, both wanting to be held, but neither had the strength to reach out first.

The way her parents looked at her changed from expectation to complexity, and then from complexity to estrangement.

So she hid, and they hid too.

Actually, this game is very easy to solve.

If one side takes an extra step or says an extra word.

But for that girl who crawled out of hell, it was too difficult.

She had already given it her all to get back to her parents.

That's all she really doesn't know.

Si Ningyou exploited this loophole.

She would cry, make a scene, and even throw dirty water on the original owner of the body.

The original owner was like a stray dog ​​that had wandered into someone else's house, clumsy and dull.

There's also a scheming, manipulative woman in the middle, and moral blackmail involving two lives.

She couldn't possibly win.

Even so, she persevered.

Until Si Ningyou tricked her into donating a kidney, He Nanxian said that he would get married if she donated.

She donated, and Si Ningyou then schemed to sleep with He Nanxian.

He Nanxian said he would take responsibility and the engagement was changed.

She didn't make a scene, she just became even more silent.

But Si Ningyou still wouldn't let her go.

To make it absolutely impossible for her to be with He Nanxian, he hired a thug to smear her.

She didn't cry that day.

After taking a shower at home, I stood by the window and thought for a long time.

Suddenly, it was discovered that those who crawled out of hell eventually fell back into hell.

If she had never seen the light, she could have survived in the darkness, but she had.

Before she was five years old, she was a princess who was pampered and cherished.

After she turned fifteen, He Nanxian shielded her from the storms of life.

Now she stands in the darkness, finding herself unable to adapt any longer.

This is what despair looks like.

So she jumped.

That girl never hated anyone until the very end.

She was living such a tiring life that even breathing felt heavy.

Thinking about these things, Si Yimian's eyes suddenly felt a little hot.

Actually, the light was just blocked by dark clouds.

Just take one step forward, and the dark clouds will dissipate.

A deadlock is easy to break; the difficulty lies in the person caught in it.

What those caught in the game lack is not the solution, but the confidence to solve it.