My Brother Has Been Following Me Since His Death
CHAPTER 3:
As if sensing my inner confusion, Xiao Qingzhi beckoned me over, her smile returning to its usual warmth and gentleness, making me feel like I was basking in a spring breeze. “Yuan Yuan, come here.”
“Don't worry, I'm here. Your brother can't hurt you.”
I've received so much coldness and scorn all my life. Xiao Qingzhi is the only one who smiles at me, comforts me, and cares about me.
Perhaps, she's the white moonlight in my heart?
Unable to resist her words, I slowly walked towards her.
However, the next second, Xia Shang's voice, hoarse with rage, came from behind:
“Xia Yuan! You idiot!”
“Do you think he's a good guy?”
“Xiao Qingzhi! What are you trying to do, clinging to my sister?!”
Xiao Qingzhi tightened her grip on my hand, pulling me into her embrace. She smiled at Xia Shang and said, “The one who wants to harm her has always been you, hasn't it?”
“What kind of good brother would try to take over his own sister's body?”
Xia Shang was speechless, “I did that because…”
Xiao Qingzhi raised an eyebrow, “Because what?”
Xia Shang gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely at her, “None of your business!”
“Give me back my sister!”
But the red threads bound him tightly, and the puppet behind him, expressionless, controlled his limbs, making him perform all sorts of ridiculous and bizarre movements.
Looking at Xia Shang's state, I frowned and said to Xiao Qingzhi, “Will that thing hurt my brother?”
Although I dislike Xia Shang, I don't want him to get hurt.
Xiao Qingzhi looked at me, her eyes narrowing.
“Yuan Yuan, you feel sorry for him?”
I lowered my head, gritting my teeth, refusing to admit it. “No…”
Xiao Qingzhi's laughter came from above me.
She softly said to me, “Yuan Yuan, have you been taking your medicine lately?”
I was taken aback and shook my head.
Xiao Qingzhi took a small bottle of pills from her pocket, poured out one pill, and offered it to me.
“Take it. If you take it, you won't see your brother anymore.”
I was even more confused.
Xiao Qingzhi had previously said I had schizophrenia, that my brother was a figment of my imagination, and that's why she had me take the medication.
But now she can clearly see my brother too. Why is she still making me take the medicine?
I was hesitant.
Then I heard Xiao Qingzhi say, “Yuan Yuan, I just want to protect you.”
“I don't want to hurt your brother. You need to be sensible, understand?”
I suspected she was lying, but I had no proof.
Looking at Xia Shang struggling and shouting, I hesitated before saying, “Doctor, if you let go of my brother, I'll take the medicine, okay?”
Xiao Qingzhi's eyes flickered, as if suppressing some emotion, but the smile on her face became even brighter.
Afraid she would change her mind, I quickly grabbed the pill, put it in my mouth, and swallowed it.
Xiao Qingzhi looked at me with satisfaction, waved her hand, and released Xia Shang's restraints.
Xia Shang fell to the ground, got up, and ran towards me, but his figure gradually disappeared before my eyes, blurring into a phantom.
I said to Xiao Qingzhi, “Doctor, he's really gone.”
Then, I swayed and fainted.
12.
When I woke up again, the sky outside was already bright, and the air was filled with the aroma of food.
I opened my eyes in confusion, saw a completely unfamiliar environment, and frowned.
Footsteps approached, and a slender figure appeared at the doorway. Sunlight streamed in from the window, casting a halo around her brow and eyes.
It was Xiao Qingzhi.
She came in carrying a plate and a glass of milk.
“Yuan Yuan, you're awake? Come and wash your face and have breakfast.”
There was pan-fried bacon and scrambled eggs, and a cup of hot milk.
My clothes had been changed, a white, ankle-length European-style nightgown.
“Where is this?”
She smiled. “My house.”
“You fainted yesterday, so I brought you home.”
Xiao Qingzhi's house, like her, was full of elegance and artistic flair.
I tugged at my skirt, my cheeks flushed.
“You changed my clothes too?”
She put the breakfast on the table, walked over, and pinched my cheek. “Yuan Yuan, are you shy?”
I instinctively dodged her hand and went to the bathroom to wash up.
Eating the breakfast Xiao Qingzhi made, I looked up and asked her, “Did my mom ask you to bail me out yesterday? Does she know I'm at your house?”
I ran out of the basement, only changing my clothes quickly, so I didn't bring my phone.
With such a big incident, I could imagine the consequences of going back.
Xiao Qingzhi didn't answer my question directly, but she looked at me and said, “Yuan Yuan, do you want to go back?”
“Is there any reason for you to go back to that home?”
I frowned, stopped my knife and fork, and felt a pang of sadness.
“If I don't want to go back, can I just stay here?”
Xiao Qingzhi lifted my chin, looking at me seriously. “Of course.”
“If Yuan Yuan doesn't want to go back, you can stay. We can live together from now on.”
Looking at Xiao Qingzhi's face, so close to mine, my heart inexplicably started to beat faster.
Honestly, this proposal was very tempting to me.
But the remaining rationality in my mind told me that Xiao Qingzhi was not quite right.
For example, what was that giant, ten-meter tall, immortal puppet she controlled?
Why could it catch Xia Shang, who had already become a ghost?
And why did Xia Shang call her an ‘old hag,’ and seemed to know her very well?
When she made me take the medicine before, I actually didn't swallow it at first. I held it under my tongue.
It was only when I saw Xia Shang is out of danger that I felt relieved.
As for why I passed out later, maybe I was just too tired.
I don't know if it's because the medicine hidden under my tongue is taking effect, but now, I can't see Xia Shang.
Seeing me hesitate for so long, a hint of disappointment crossed Xiao Qingzhi's face.
“What's wrong? Yuan Yuan, don't you want to live with me?”
“I'll protect you, take care of you, be better to you than your brother ever was.”
For some reason, when Xiao Qingzhi said that, I noticed a quality in her that was very similar to Xia Shang.
13.
After breakfast, Xiao Qingzhi asked me to rest, saying she had to go to her office to handle an appointment. She'd come back to bring me lunch at noon. She told me to stay home and not wander off.
Before leaving, she watched me take my medicine.
I wanted to hold the pill under my tongue, but she seemed to sense my plan and looked at me, saying, “Don't be naughty.”
Stared at by her, I could only swallow the medicine.
I don't understand. If Xia Shang is real, why do I have to take medicine?
And what exactly is this medicine, why do I really can't see Xia Shang after taking it?
Okay, I admit it, it's only been a few hours without that guy, and I already miss him a little.
With Xiao Qingzhi gone, I wandered around her house by myself.
First, I went to the bedroom, hoping to find some normal clothes to wear.
I found that all her clothes were neutral-toned business attire, and they were all too long and too big for me.
Then I went to the study, hoping to find some books to pass the time, but found they were either foreign language books or professional books that I couldn't understand.
Bored, I wandered around the house like a headless fly.
The house phone, whether it was out of credit or had a line fault, always just gave a busy tone when I tried to call.
The front door was locked by Xiao Qingzhi, as if she was trying to prevent me from escaping.
Unease spread in my heart.
She wants to lock me up.
But why?
Just when I was perplexed, a painting on the wall suddenly fell down.
I turned my head to look and saw, behind the painting, a faded black and white old photograph.
In the photo, Xiao Qingzhi had long, flowing black hair, a tall figure, a pure and refined aura, and she wore a long dress that reached her ankles, beautiful to the point of being indistinguishable from male or female.
The background behind her seemed to be a wooden stage, and her long, slender fingers controlled a wooden frame.
Fine threads hung down, connected to a puppet dressed in the style of a female opera character.
The puppet was the size of a real person, with beautiful features and a lifelike appearance.
And the puppet's face, the more I looked at it, the more it resembled mine…
14.
I was terrified.
My mind was in chaos.
Many tangled threads of thought were intertwined, like a butterfly about to break free from its cocoon, but a veil of mist seemed to obscure my vision.
I felt a splitting headache, and many unfamiliar images flashed through my mind, one after another, passing like a fleeting dream.
I looked at the date on the photo.
“1915.03.27”.
The person in the photo looked at most twenty or thirty years old. If that person was Xiao Qingzhi, wouldn't she be at least 120 years old?
Remembering Xia Shang calling her an ‘old hag,’ a surge of immense fear suddenly swept through me.
I couldn't wait for Xiao Qingzhi to come back and ask her. I climbed out the window directly.
Xiao Qingzhi's house was a two-story detached villa. Thanks to my childhood experiences of being locked up, I was pretty good at escaping.
Even without Xia Shang's help, I managed to get out of her house.
I ran to a convenience store, used the public phone to call my driver uncle at home, and he came to pick me up.
I thought that no one would be at home at this time.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered the door, everyone in the house was there.
My dad, mom, sister, even my dad's mistress Xu Man and her son Xia Yang were all there.
And next to my dad, there was a man wearing a black long robe.
He looked young, only in his early twenties, but he sat there with a deathly aura about him.
Seeing me, my mom cried and grabbed my arm, slapping me hard on the cheek.
“You dead girl! Where have you been?”
“Didn't mom tell you to stay in the basement and reflect?”
“Why are you so disobedient, running off on your own?”
The slap hurt, but I didn't resist. I just stood there, numb.
Because I saw the word ‘concern’ in my mom's eyes.
Didn't my mom hate me the most, wishing she could kill me?
Why…
Even my dad, who hadn't been home for a long time, pulled my mom away, smiling.
“Alright, alright, she's a grown girl. Save some face for her in front of Master Li.”
Then he said to me, “Yuan Yuan, we have guests, what does it look like to be dressed like that?”
“Go change into some clothes and come back down.”
Xu Man and Xia Yang stood aside, watching me with amused expressions.
Xia Xi didn't say a word, sat silently in her wheelchair, her foot in a cast, as if she didn't see me.
Everyone in the house seemed strange…
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