The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

Tears streamed down her face, wetting it.

She ate very quickly, almost like she was swallowing food whole, and even complained that chopsticks were too slow, so she picked up the bowl and ate in large gulps.

This was the first time Xu Nian had seen her eat so heartily, her lips bright red and covered in chili oil.

She lacked any of the refinement befitting her status, resembling a starving wolf cub.

It seems that she really hasn't had a proper meal in many days, and her stomach is empty. If it weren't for the medication affecting her appetite, she probably could have swallowed a whole cow.

In no time, the entire bowl of noodles was devoured, and not a drop of soup was left.

"Is this enough? Shall I make you some more?"

Seeing this, Xu Nian stood up, intending to get another bowl of noodles.

That's enough.

Xu Xi wiped her lips with a tissue, stood up while holding onto the table, went to the man's side, and gently hugged him.

"Brother...I miss you so much...I really miss you..."

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and two clear tears slid down her cheeks, wetting the man's collar.

"I thought...you really didn't want me anymore...I was so scared...so scared..."

Xu Nian gently embraced the girl, tears welling up in her eyes.

If he had known beforehand that he still had a chance to survive and a chance to get out, he would never have stabbed this girl, who had eyes only for him, into a heart full of knives, leaving her bleeding and unable to forget him completely.

In retrospect, he was indeed wrong, terribly wrong.

Even if you trade your life for another, what you save isn't a living person, but an empty soul.

"Sweetheart, I'm right here with you, I'm not going anywhere."

Hearing the girl in her arms sobbing, Xu Nian's heart was breaking.

After cleaning up the dishes, the two lay on the bed and embraced tightly.

There was neither passionate fervor nor morbid intimacy.

They simply felt each other's body temperature, conveying this longing that spanned ten years through their closely pressed heartbeats.

"Brother...I miss you so much..."

"Me too..."

"You really won't leave me again?... "

"Really, it won't happen again."

"Let's pinky swear!"

The girl stretched out her small hand, gazing at the man in front of her with teary eyes.

Xu Nian hooked his rough little finger up and pressed it tightly against hers.

"I swear, I will never leave the creek in my life."

Making a pinky promise is a trick only children would believe.

But for these two children whose contracts had expired, they were more effective than any signed or sealed contract.

After all, contracts can only be restricted from breaching through high costs.

The sincerity conveyed through fingertips is an eternal vow.

"Brother...I apologize to you on her behalf..."

Xu Xi lowered her head, her eyes brimming with tears.

"sorry..."

"It's okay."

Xu Nian gently ruffled her silver hair.

He naturally understood who Xu Xi was referring to when she spoke of her.

That was her other personality, Xu Xi.

"I've never blamed her."

Even though Xu Xi had nearly taken his life several times, Xu Nian never resented this madman.

After all, she was born during Xu Xi's most vulnerable time, and she saved this girl from the mud time and time again, protecting this white rose when he was not around.

And, in the end, they are all the same person.

If you resent her, aren't you also resenting the girl you love?

"Sister Xi...she didn't do it on purpose..."

Xu Xi said in a hoarse voice.

"In the first few years of my business, I was too soft-hearted, which caused a lot of trouble."

"It lacks sufficient foundation and has nurtured too many parasites."

"In recent years, the company has grown too fast, and I'm finding it hard to cope with the troubles that have followed."

"During this time, Sister Xi not only dealt with the management who were receiving salaries without working, but also had to keep an eye on the company's development. Many people were criticizing her behind her back; she was under immense pressure..."

"And...she also bore a lot of burdens for me..."

"Yes, I understand..."

Xu Nian gently coaxed him.

Wasn't Xu Xi's behavior towards him a way of releasing stress?

In contrast, a gentle stream keeps all its emotions bottled up inside.

For so many years, she has been working hard all by herself.

Without an outlet for her emotions, her psychological problems will become more and more serious over time.

"Go to sleep. We'll go see a doctor tomorrow and get you some medicine."

"Uh-huh."

Xu Xi nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

The moonlight outside the window enveloped the two people who were tightly embracing each other.

The coolness of the evening breeze is quietly shut out, leaving only warmth and peace in the heart.

The small figure slept restlessly, its eyelids trembling uncontrollably, and faint tear stains still lingering at the corners of its eyes.

Xu Nian felt the movement in her arms and her brows furrowed slightly.

He pulled the girl into his arms, gently stroking her back and sending her a reassuring warmth through his hands.

"Brother...I can't sleep..."

Xu Xi bit her pink lips tightly, her eyes glistening with tears.

Whenever she tried to fall asleep, an overwhelming sadness would flood her mind.

The pain of being abandoned by her brother back then was etched before her eyes like a brand.

Even knowing it was just a lie, that suffocating sense of despair would find her every quiet night.

"Could you...hold me a little tighter?"

Xu Nian nodded in agreement, slowly raising her injured left arm to embrace the delicate body in her arms.

However, the effect was minimal, and Xu Xi continued to struggle in pain, her sleeping posture very restless.

Seeing this, the man gently patted the girl's back and, with his voice that, though he had lived half his life, still carried a touch of childlike innocence, softly sang a nursery rhyme he had heard as a child.

"The dark sky hung low."

"The bright stars are with me."

"The insects fly, the insects fly."

Who are you missing?

"The stars in the sky are weeping."

"The roses on the ground have withered."

"Cold wind blows, cold wind blows."

"As long as you're with me."

......

As if in harmony with his singing, fireflies outside the window fluttered their wings, hovering around the gauze window, twinkling with light, casting mottled silhouettes on the ceiling, like thousands of stars in the night sky.

Gradually, Xu Xi's trembling stopped, and her breathing became more and more steady.

Her eyes were tightly closed, like a ragdoll cat sleeping with its tail curled up, emitting a comforting purring sound.

......