The car ride was silent.
Xinyi sat in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window as the city blurred past. Her hands rested numbly in her lap, her mind utterly empty. She had no energy to ask where they were going, no will to question the sudden turn her life had taken.
Li Jun hadn’t spoken a word since they left the house. The only sounds were the occasional turn signal clicking and the faint hum of the tires against the road. He drove with a calmness that felt unnatural, given everything that had just happened.
She had barely processed it.
Her brother was back.
After years of absence, after she had given up hope, after she had forced herself to stop thinking about him—he was suddenly here.
And he was taking her somewhere.
Minutes passed, maybe longer. She wasn’t sure. But as they left the busier parts of the city, something stirred in the back of her mind.
The streets looked familiar. The rows of buildings, the small park they passed, even the turn he just made—
Her eyes widened slightly.
No.
As they approached a quiet residential area, her chest tightened.
She knew this place.
The realization struck her fully when the car slowed to a stop. Her breath caught as she looked up at the house in front of her.
This wasn’t just any house.
It was the house.
The house Zhao Chen had bought.
Her hands trembled slightly as she unbuckled her seatbelt, her mind unable to catch up with reality.
Why were they here?
She turned to Li Jun, but his expression gave nothing away. He simply opened his door, stepping out without a word.
A sinking feeling settled in her stomach.
Slowly, she followed him.
The cool air hit her as she stepped outside, but it did nothing to clear the fog in her head. She stared at the house—the one she had refused to acknowledge for days, the one she had desperately tried not to think about.
The front door was already unlocked. Li Jun pushed it open and stepped inside.
And there he was.
Zhao Chen.
He sat casually on the sofa, one arm draped over the backrest, his usual relaxed expression in place.
But the moment his eyes met hers, something shifted.
He didn’t smile. He didn’t joke.
For the first time, he looked… serious.
Two other people sat nearby—unfamiliar faces. His dormmates maybe. They glanced at her, but neither said anything.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy.
Li Jun shut the door behind them, then walked forward, standing near the sofa.
Still, no one spoke.
Xinyi swallowed, her throat dry.
What was this?
Why was Zhao Chen here?
Why did Li Jun bring her to this house instead of his own place?
The silence stretched until Li Jun finally broke it.
“Sit,” he said simply.
She hesitated but moved toward the nearest chair, lowering herself slowly.
Her heart was pounding.
She hated this feeling. This uncertainty, this confusion. She had been dragged around all day without any say in what was happening.
And now, she was here.
Zhao Chen leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He exhaled slightly before finally speaking.
“You’re probably wondering why I didn’t text you.”
Her fingers curled slightly in her lap.
She had noticed. She had wondered.
After that night—the night her world cracked open again—he had gone silent. She thought maybe she had imagined their strange connection. Maybe she had pushed too hard, maybe he had finally realized she wasn’t worth the trouble.
But here he was.
And now, he was going to explain.
Zhao Chen glanced at Li Jun before continuing.
“I didn’t text because your brother and I were… having a conversation.”
Li Jun scoffed lightly. “A fight, actually.”
Her head snapped toward her brother. “What?”
Zhao Chen sighed. “Yeah. A fight.”
She felt like she was missing pieces to a puzzle she didn’t even know existed.
Li Jun leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “I found out about you two.”
Her breath caught. “What do you mean?”
“He means,” Zhao Chen said, rubbing the back of his neck, “that he figured out we’ve been spending time together.”
Xinyi’s mind raced. How?
Li Jun must have noticed her confusion because he continued, “I mentioned to Zhao Chen that I met a girl recently. Someone I thought was going through a lot. I was worried about her, so I showed him a picture—”
Realization slammed into her like a wave.
The amusement park.
The picture.
She had smiled in that picture. She remembered because it felt foreign. Because she wasn’t used to it.
And Li Jun—her brother, who had left her behind—had unknowingly confided in Zhao Chen about her.
Zhao Chen, who already knew.
Her stomach twisted.
She turned to Zhao Chen. “You knew?”
His gaze was steady. “I knew.”
Her heart pounded. “Since when?”
Zhao Chen was silent for a moment before answering. “Since before I bought the house.”
Xinyi felt her breath leave her.
No.
She had thought—
She had convinced herself—
“That’s why you bought it?” her voice was barely above a whisper.
He shook his head. “No. I was saving up for myself. But my savings reached my goal sooner than expected. When I found out about you… when I saw how things were at home… I made a choice.”
Her chest tightened painfully.
She had spent so long trying not to believe in kindness. She had spent so long telling herself that no one would care.
But Zhao Chen had cared.
And now, her brother—
Xinyi turned to Li Jun. “Why are you here?”
His face twisted slightly. “Because I made a mistake.”
She swallowed.
“I left you,” he said, his voice quieter. “I thought I had no choice. But leaving doesn’t mean forgetting, Xinyi. It doesn’t mean I didn’t regret it every day.”
She felt her throat tighten.
Li Jun exhaled and looked at Zhao Chen. “That’s why I told him to stay away from you.”
She stiffened.
Zhao Chen tensed beside her. “I told him no.”
Li Jun let out a dry laugh. “Yeah. He did.”
Silence settled over them.
Her brother’s voice was raw when he continued. “I don’t want you to be abandoned again.”
Xinyi clenched her hands.
That was what this was about.
Li Jun didn’t distrust Zhao Chen. He feared her being left behind again.
Because that’s what he had done.
The realization made her feel unsteady.
She looked at Zhao Chen, searching for something in his expression.
He met her gaze, unwavering.
“I’m not leaving,” he said simply.
The words hit her harder than they should have.
She turned back to Li Jun, who watched her carefully.
“So what now?” she asked, her voice quiet.
Her brother’s expression softened slightly. “That’s up to you.”
Up to her.
For the first time in years, she was being given a choice.
She glanced around the house—the house that had been waiting for her. The house Zhao Chen had prepared, just in case.
The suffocating walls of her childhood home flashed in her mind.
The cold, empty nights.
Her parents’ words.
Her loneliness.
And now—this.
A chance.
Xinyi exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart.
Could she do it?
Could she really leave?
She didn’t have an answer yet.
But for the first time, she wanted to try.