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

In the study.

Si Yimian was sitting on He Sichen's lap, kissing him passionately.

Her hand slid inside his collar, her fingertips touching the hollow of his collarbone.

Suddenly, He Sichen's ears twitched, and he grabbed her wrist, pressing it against the back of the chair.

His fingers, which were supporting the back of her head, tightened for a moment, then loosened.

"Someone's coming."

He lowered his voice to a whisper, whistling as he slipped into her ear.

Before Si Yimian could react, he had already lifted her off his lap.

Her brain was still oxygen-deprived, her pupils were dilated, and he pulled her forward, causing her nose to hit his collarbone.

"Well……"

He shoved her into the chair next to him.

The movements were clean and decisive, without hesitation.

Si Yimian's legs were as weak as overcooked noodles. When she sat down, her bottom slid down half an inch, and she almost tipped over with the chair.

He Sichen reached out and pulled her up, then stood up.

He straightened his shirt collar with one hand and righted the overturned ink disc with the other, calmly explaining to Si Yimian.

"Clean this place up."

He Sichen picked up the water glass from the corner of the table and handed it to her.

"Have a sip of water, your face is too red."

His voice had switched back to its normal tone, indifferent, steady, and without any trace of ambiguity.

Si Yimian took the cup and held it in her hands. The fog in her mind finally cleared, and she looked down at herself.

Her skirt was wrinkled, her neckline was crooked, and her lips were swollen.

One second this person is kissing her, the next second they can seamlessly switch to being Dr. Crane.

What kind of twisted psychological quality is that?

I suggest you apply directly to the FBI.

He Nanxian walked to the door of the study, his hand already on the doorknob, but he didn't intend to knock.

The corridor was quiet, with the sound of rain seeping in through the walls, muffled and oppressive.

Click.

The door opened from the inside.

He Sichen stood inside, his shirt buttoned up tightly, his eyes looking exactly the same as usual.

"What's up?"

He Nanxian's hand was still suspended in mid-air before he slowly withdrew it.

"I've come to find Mianmian."

He smiled and looked past He Sichen's shoulder, his gaze drifting towards the study.

Si Yimian was standing in front of the desk, holding a handful of scrap Xuan paper in her hand, poking it into the wastebasket.

The inkstone on the table was tilted, and ink stains were splattered on the surface.

She looked up and met He Nanxian's gaze.

"Brother Nanxian."

She threw the waste paper in and clapped her hands.

He Nanxian's gaze lingered on the desk for a moment.

Several sheets of Xuan paper were crumpled, the inkstone was tilted, and there were still some black stains left on the bottom of the ink dish.

The brush rolled into the crack of the table, its tip poking into the gold-flecked paper and staining it again.

It looked like a scene where an inkstone had been overturned.

"Practicing calligraphy?"

He walked in, his voice gentle.

"Um."

Si Yimian pointed to the black clump in the wastepaper basket.

"Dr. He said my handwriting was ugly, so he personally demonstrated one."

"Then, as I was learning, I knocked over the inkstone."

She opened her palm to show him, her fingertips smearing ink marks, some black and some white.

"So clumsy, I almost splashed Dr. He all over."

He Nanxian looked at Si Yimian's hand; the ink on her fingertips was still wet, and she rubbed it twice but couldn't get it off.

He took a pack of wet wipes out of his pocket, tore one off, and handed it over.

"Use this, it can wipe off ink stains immediately."

Si Yimian took it and lowered her head to wipe her fingers.

He Sichen's eyelids twitched.

He didn't say anything.

"Mianmian, the housekeeper has already prepared the guest rooms."

He Nanxian spoke, his voice still possessing its usual lukewarm quality.

"It's getting late, let's finish packing up and go back to our rooms to rest."

Si Yimian looked up and nodded at him.

"Okay, almost done."

He Nanxian took a step back and nodded.

"Mianmian, I'll be waiting for you in the hallway."

"I'll take you back to your room."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Si Yimian watched his retreating figure and threw the wet tissue into the trash can.

"Dr. He, you're gone."

"Um."

He responded with a single word.

Then he picked up the calligraphy brush that had rolled into the crack of the table, rinsed the tip in the water basin, and hung it back on the brush holder.

The light fell from above, casting a deep shadow on his brow bone, and reflecting the dark outlines of the spines of the books on the bookshelf in his light-colored pupils.

Si Yimian smiled and turned to leave the study.

Hearing footsteps, He Nanxian turned his head to look.

"Mianmian, are you all packed?"

"Um."

Si Yimian spoke in a neutral tone and walked straight ahead.

He Nanxian followed beside her. The corridor was long, with wall lamps every three meters, stretching and shortening their shadows repeatedly.

As she reached the door of the guest room, Si Yimian suddenly stopped and turned around.

He Nanxian also stopped, and the two were an arm's length apart.

Si Yimian raised her head, the polite smile on her face mostly gone.

"Brother Nanxian."

"If you're going to bring up getting married as soon as possible in front of your parents, shouldn't you ask me first?"

He Nanxian looked down at her.

Her face appeared small under the wall lamp, but her eyes were dazzlingly bright.

"Would you agree if I asked?"

"Won't."

"What's the difference between asking and not asking?"

Si Yimian choked for a moment.

Why did this person's logic suddenly become so clear today?

She wrinkled her nose.

"So you just went straight to the table and made the decision? Treating me like a blind box?"

He Nanxian softened his voice.

"Mianmian, I'm making a statement, expressing my desire to marry you."

Si Yimian took a deep breath.

She took half a step forward and looked up at him.

"He Nanxian, you know perfectly well that I want to cancel the engagement."

"Did you not hear me, or are you pretending not to hear me?"

The air fell silent for a moment.

He Nanxian looked down at her.

She no longer called him Brother Nanxian like before.

The three characters became the full name, removing honorifics and intimacy, leaving only distance.

He suddenly smiled.

"I heard you."

"I've realized that if I don't push you, you'll really run away."

"Because I know that once you've thought it through, you won't give me any more chances."

Si Yimian seemed to have heard something funny.

"You didn't cherish it before, but now you suddenly do. I'll start to wonder if you're a sore loser."

"After all, Si Ningyou was just eliminated, and you're already in a hurry to take her place."

"This rhythm looks like he's just filling in for someone, not that he's putting his heart into it."

He Nanxian's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, as if he had swallowed something very bitter.

It felt like my heart had been stabbed.

When did she start speaking so harshly?

He took a step forward, closing the distance and forcing her back against the door.

He rested one hand on her ear and put the other in his pocket, his posture was aggressive.

"Mianmian, don't try to push me away using the excuse that you don't like me."

I will not take the initiative to break off the engagement.

"If you want your freedom, go talk to your grandfather yourself."

After he finished speaking, he withdrew his hand, took half a step back, and increased the distance between them.

Turn around and walk to the other end of the corridor.

As Si Yimian watched his retreating figure, she suddenly felt that he was a stranger.

Where did that person who used to weigh everything three times go?

Were they abducted by aliens?

……

At night, the room quieted down, and the sound of rain once again filled the ears.

Si Yimian climbed into bed, pulled the blanket up to her chin, and stared at the ceiling.

He rolled over.

He turned over again.

She kicked the blanket off, then pulled it back.

I took out my phone, and the screen's light was so bright it made me squint.

12:03.

I opened He Sichen's chat window and sent a message.

【Dr. He, I can't sleep.】

The other party is typing.

It stopped, and then I received a message.

[Counting sheep.]

Si Yimian buried her face in the pillow and chuckled softly.

One crane guards the heart, two cranes guard the heart, three cranes guard the heart...

【Your turn has come, Crane Sheep.】

The other side remained silent.

Ten minutes have passed.

She stared at the dialog box, motionless.

Just when she thought the chat was over and was about to throw her phone aside...

knock knock knock.

It wasn't a knock.

It's knocking on the window.

Si Yimian sat up abruptly and turned her head to look at the French windows of the balcony.

She threw back the covers and followed the sound to the French windows.

With a whoosh, the curtains were pulled open.

He Sichen stood on the small balcony outside.

Si Yimian pushed the window open a crack, letting the air waft out.

"Dr. He, what brings you here?"

He Sichen lifted his foot and stepped in from the balcony.

The night wind, carrying raindrops, rushed towards her, and she shrank back.

He closed the window behind him, and the latch clicked shut.

"The reward is coming."