“Alright. Please take care of the house and Wuying while I’m gone, Xiao. I’ll come here once a week as always since I still have my working contract in Lijiang.” Quan messages toward his younger brother, the fourth sibling of Bèi’s family. It’s the day after the funeral and burial, Quan and Niu are bidding goodbye to the family. Quan said that he needed to escort Niu back to their house in Ziyang. Pure care of a husband toward his wife? Fingers crossed it is truly like that. However, if it’s something else, it doesn’t matter for Niu anyway. She was already way too far from getting used to the way he treated her over these years. “Of course, Gege. You can rely on me!” Xiao says with full of confidence and a wide smile on his face. Done with his younger brother, Quan turns his head toward the youngest, Wuying. Just the usual, Wuying looks at him with teary eyes and puts on that saddening face as if she is telling him not to go. Quan approaches her with open arms and she will trap herself inside of it right away. “Uuu.. Gege.. I don’t know if I can stand to live in this house anymore.. Mom is not here..” Her tears start to come out again as she is tightening the hug with her brother. The fourth brother scoffs seeing this lovely moment while Niu just stares at them expressionless. “There.. There.. You shouldn’t say that, Wuying. You need to let her go so Mom will rest in peace up there, okay?” Quan says with his soothing voice and gently caresses her back. Hearing that, Wuying slowly breaks the hug and brings her face up to look at Quan. “Promise not to leave me?” She asks and raises her pinky finger. Seeing his beloved sister acts like a five years old kid, Quan can’t help but chuckle and link his pinky finger with hers. “Promise.” When Quan accepts it, a smile forms on Wuying’s face as she brings herself to hug him once again with her head on his right shoulder. “Thank you, Gege! You’re the best!” She exclaims happily with that big grin on her face. But her smile quickly fades away when her eyes meet another smile that is forming on someone who is standing behind her brother. Again, that indescribable smile is there, on Niu’s face. Seeing that coming from her, it gives her chills to freeze all over her body until Quan pulls away from the tightened hug. “Alright.” Since Quan already broke the hug, she can no longer look at the person who is standing behind her brother, “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” “O.. okay..” Wuying stutters with her own words. With that being said, the two of them bid goodbye to Wuying and Xiao one last time before getting in their car and heading to the train station. Once they are not in sight anymore, Wuying finally can let out a relieved sigh that somehow she has been holding on for the past few minutes. “Nice acting back then.” Xiao whispers right next to her ear with a teasing voice. It’s close enough to make her feel his breath on it which makes Wuying startled in an instant. “Shut your mouth! Aish…” In response, Wuying yells toward his brother and lets out a sigh of frustration. Suddenly that sad face can no longer be found as she looks completely irritated right now. Not only irritated but also annoyed because of just one particular reason. Irritation is because she is going to live alone in this house with the housemaid and feeling disturbed because of Niu’s smile toward her. “Eehhh? Where did all those tears go? Whoopsie.” One last tease from her brother and gets his face closer to hers. “Fuck off!” Can’t stand her brother's behavior, Wuying once again yells angrily at him and tries to punch his face. However, Xiao steps back quickly then rushes back to get inside the house while still mocking her on the way there. “Ugh! That piece of shit good for nothing!” Once again, another yelling comes out from Wuying to let out her anger. Even though she knows well that Quan will always listen to every word she says, Niu’s smile always makes her shiver. To calm herself down, she takes out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket then takes one out of it. This is the side that Wuying never shows toward Quan and her mother. The one and only most opposite side from her appearance, the way she talks and behaves around them.
“Hello, Boss?” Quan responds after he picks up his phone even though he is in the middle of eating with Niu. The two of them now are waiting for their train to come to one of the food stalls since they don’t have breakfast before coming here. “I’m on my way to get back to Ziyang. Niu and I are still in the train station though.” He continues and eventually stops eating because answering the phone is his priority. Meanwhile, Niu just enjoys her meal since she already gets used to this behavior. She seems to be focusing on her food but actually she pays more attention to listen to Quan and his boss' conversation through the phone. “Of course, I can do that.” Another reply. “It’s okay. She has Qiu by her side anyway.” From this answer, Quan glances over to his wife and shares a slight eye contact with her. “Completely fine, Boss. Don’t worry too much. I can handle it.” He replies to his boss again and takes his eyes away from Niu. “Okay, boss. Thank you.” And with that, the phone call finally puts an end. “What is it?” Niu innocently asks right after Quan puts back his phone. “Boss called me to come to his office this afternoon. I will just drop you by and get back here again. Is that alright?” Quan replies and asks for her consent. Even though he seems to behave kindly toward her, Niu still can see through it like a crystal clear. She knows and learns this pattern already. “I should be the one who asks you. Are you okay with that? You don’t have to accompany me all the way back to our house if you still have some work to do here.” Niu replies with a warm smile and it shows her genuine concern. “I’ll be fine, honey. You don’t have to worry about me, okay? I can take care of myself.” Niu says, trying to reassure her husband and giving him a gentle squeeze on his hand. After that Quan finally lets out a long sigh and shows his smile toward her. Looks innocent and pure but Niu knows none of it is there. “I know I can trust you.” He replies and this is his turn to gently pats Niu’s head as Niu’s smile grows wider. With that being said, Niu will be the only person who is entering the train and gets back on her own. Now she is sitting alone in one of the train’s cabins until someone suddenly hands a warm cup of coffee right in front of her. “Thank you, Feng.” Niu says softly with a smile and takes the cup away from Feng. “Do you need anything else?” Feng asks, then Niu responds by shaking her head. “Alright. I’m the one who has something else for you then.” He continues and pulls out a folder from his suitcase. Niu doesn’t say anything in return, instead she just takes it right away. Her eyes are scanning the paper from top to bottom without leaving any word passed by. “How is it? Can we put it to good use?” Feeling proud and satisfied of his own discovery, Feng can’t help bragging himself and shows his smirk. “Certainly.” Niu replies expressionless while her eyes are still locking on the papers. “However,” She brings her head up and spreads the papers on the table in order to make it easier for both of them to discuss. “What is this?” Pointing at one of the papers that has a circle on it. Even though she already read all of the information given previously, she doesn’t seem to remember asking or knowing about this particular part, a building that looks abandoned. “Oh! That one… I’m not sure if we can do anything with it…” Feng answers with hesitation at first and squints his eyes to scan the paper from top to bottom, trying to remember why he included this file. “But based on my research for the past few weeks, I found out that this building is owned by Bèi’s family. It’s not clear to whom it belongs to though.” He gives a brief explanation and looks up to meet Niu’s gaze. Hearing that, Niu furrows her eyebrows and responds with humming. She breaks eye contact with Feng and goes back to focusing on the papers. Something is off but she doesn’t have any clue or idea about it. Another homework needs to be solved for the two of them.
“Excuse me, Boss.” Quan greets politely once he enters the room after giving it gentle knocks. When he gets inside the room, Han is actually facing and in the middle of conversation with someone. Someone that Quan has seen frequently for the past roughly in two years. It’s Dwei, one of Han’s business partners for more than a decade, but somehow their relationship and trust start to crumble for the past few years. “Oh, sorry to interrupt, Boss. I wi-” Before Quan manages to finish his apology and walk out from the room, that person who is standing in front of his boss cuts in while standing up from his seat. “Ah, you don’t have to do that. We’re done here, right?” That person says and looks back toward Han with sharp eyes as if he is aiming a gun from his gaze. In addition, Quan also notices how the room feels intense when he steps in. On the other hand, Han also looks at him with a similar expression but doesn’t say anything in return. Since there is no word coming out from Han, that person walks past Quan and leaves the room. “Sorry, Boss.” Quan says with his head down once the door behind him is completely shut, somehow feeling guilty that his appearance might be one of the reasons why the meeting didn’t end up well. “Don’t be, Quan. Actually, you came at the right time.” Han responds and turns his chair around to face the huge window behind him. From that, Quan pulls his head up and looks at his boss weirdly and confused at the same time as he slowly walks closer to his desk. “What you just witnessed is one of the reasons why I called you in the first place. I should be the one who owes you an apology because you left your wife alone to get back home.” Han continues and lets out a heavy sigh after. It only makes Quan even more confused because he doesn’t have a slight clue of what they are going to talk about. It should be none other than business, right? Moving on to the person who just left Han’s room which is Dwei’s point of view. He is on his way back to his car that is parked in the VIP slot and there is someone waiting for him with his body leaning near the passenger seat’s door, a familiar one. Once Dwei gets out from the building, that person turns his head to look at him, more precisely his boss. That person is Enlai Sartika. “Welcome back, Boss!” Enlai greets energetically and bows politely before opening the passenger’s door for him. “Thank you, Enlai.” Dwei replies with a warm smile on his face and gets inside the car. Right after he sits there properly, Enlai closes the door carefully and goes to his seat. “Next destination?” Enlai asks while turning on the car’s engine and putting on his seatbelt. “Hmm.. let’s visit my other friend’s place. We might have lunch together later.” The boss replies and takes out his phone, making sure whether his friend is available or not for a small talk, then Enlai just simply responds by nodding his head.
“I’m home.” Quan greets when he opens the door of his parents’ house and where Wuying is living alone as well. When he enters the house, Wuying jolts from her seat and looks toward his direction immediately. “Eh? Gege?” Wuying says and looks totally confused. Probably because she remembers that Quan told her that he will come back tomorrow and Quan most likely forgot to inform her about the changed plan as well. “Sorry, Wuying. I forgot to tell you that there is something urgent from Han and I can’t accompany Niu back to Ziyang.” Quan quickly explains without making eye contact with her and heads toward the kitchen area. Today’s work seems a lot tougher for Quan because he looks exhausted from it. On the other hand, Wuying's eyes are locked at him until he is no longer in her sight. Her face shows not only confusion but also scared because in fact, she already made a plan with her friends to go out tonight. Of course she is a bit upset and irritated by Quan’s presence but she must not show any of it. Not long after getting into the kitchen, Quan walks out with five bottles of beer in his hands and sits on the other sofa from Wuying. It’s a rare sight to see Quan drinks this much, especially on working days. “Are you going to drink all of that, Ge? In front of me?” She asks with a raised eyebrow and looks at him weirdly. Acting all innocent as if she never drinks more than her brother brought. Hearing that, Quan stops his movement to open the first bottle and looks at her with guilt all over his face. “Hah…” He sighs heavily, “Sorry, Wuying.” and puts back the bottle on the table before bringing his body back leaning on the sofa again. Such a rare view for Wuying which makes her curiosity increase as she slowly approaches her exhausted brother. “Are you okay, Gege? Something happened in the office today? You look awful…” Wuying says softly and her eyes look at him in pity. Hearing the voice of how Wuying is concerned about him, Quan lets out another sigh and puts his left arm to cover both of his eyes. Deep down inside, he doesn’t want his little sister to know about this side of him where he must manage how strong his figure is in front of her, not this fragile one. “You can tell me anything, Gege. You don’t have to keep all of it by yourself. I’m your sister…” Wuying continues, trying to persuade Quan to speak up as she puts one of her hands on his. Still no response from Quan, he doesn’t even move an inch from it. “Is it because I’m still too young to know about this, Gege? I’m already in my thirties! I’m not a kid anymore, right?” One last push with an additional childish voice of hers to convenience her brother. Always works for her as now Quan slowly removes his arm from his head and glances at her for a few seconds before looking away again. “Something happened at work today, Wuying.. And I don’t think I’m capable enough to handle such a thing..” Quan starts to speak up again even though his eyes are unable to look toward his sister who is sitting next to him with those puppy eyes. “Obviously I can see that from the beginning, Gege. But what makes you pessimistic like that? Where is my tough big brother who can overcome anything?” Wuying replies and starts to give him a gentle squeeze on Quan’s arm. Before answering that, Quan closes his eyes tightly once again and followed by another heavy sigh. “It is something that I never expected to happen, Wuying. None of us expect or want this.” Quan says with guilt and desperation all over his face. Despite his personality and how he treats Niu these whole time, Quan still has a soft spot inside of his heart. Working full with passion and honesty from the beginning up until now, giving his best effort to do all of the tasks given for him, and all of that he has been doing without thinking to get some more or bonuses from his boss. “Ahh..” This time, it’s Wuying’s turn who lets out a heavy sigh. Being impatient with how Quan treats and behaves toward her right now. “Then what is it, Gege? I wouldn't know about it if you didn’t tell me.” She continues with a more demanding voice which only gives more pressure to Quan. This is one of Quan’s weak spots where his youngest sister starts demanding on him. After all this time, he never refused anything she had asked for him. With that being said, Quan puts his head back down and gathers all of his courage to speak it up. “Han asked me to take over the company since he needs to retire.” Hearing this opening sentence, Wuying’s eyes start to get wider and there is a gap between her mouth. In disbelievement of what she just heard from her brother. “Today, one of Han’s partners came and probably talked about their business for the past few years since I also knew that our business’s performance was decreasing. Han is too old to handle the whole company by himself even though I already tried my best to assist him as well. Meanwhile his children are too young and they don’t have enough knowledge to run such a big company.” Quan continues to give a brief explanation but that’s enough to get all of the points why he got such an offer from his boss. On the other hand, Wuying doesn’t say anything as she just freezes up until she gains all of her senses back. “That’s…” A word comes out with her voice sounds completely stammered and Quan already expected to get such a reaction from her. Besides, he always sees her as an innocent little sister and too pure to know about such a thing. “That’s awesome!” She exclaimed excitedly which makes Quan raise his head in an instant and looks at her with a surprised face. “That’s an opportunity in a lifetime, Gege! Don’t miss it!” Wuying continues with her brightest smile on hers while Quan doesn’t move an inch. “Why would you think that you can’t handle it after all this time you have been working and giving your best to this job? You’re the one handling half of it, noticing and knowing exactly what needs to be done, why are you being pessimistic now? You deserve it, Gege!” Again and now there is a physical contact toward him as Wuying squeezes both of his hands. “Come on, Gege… Don’t you believe me?” Her AS card to persuade is now used which can destroy all of the walls that Quan has built. Somehow, the words that come out, anything from her, always works on Quan. Getting such encouragement from her, he finally can show his smile although just a tiny one. “Okay, Wuying. I’ll try my best.” He replies and returns the squeezes on their connected hands which makes Wuying’s innocent smile grow even wider. “This is the Gege Quan that I know!” Wuying says and throws herself to hug Quan tightly as Quan also gladly accepts it. Both of them stay like that for a moment and Quan can feel some of his burdens get lifted up. Meanwhile, little did he know what kind of expression his beloved sister is making right now. That innocent smile previously has gone and turns into something that he would never know the meaning behind of it in the meantime.
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