RITM - 63

Chapter 63: The Twenty-sided Mirrors – Blooming (2)

“Dad, I’ll take good care of her.” 

That single word—”Dad”—hit Luo Wei like a thunderbolt, leaving her utterly dumbfounded. So, she and Xiao Ying were truly husband and wife now? Before she could fully process it, his hand naturally rested on her shoulder, pulling her closer. “Wei’er is the woman I love most in this world. I’ll do everything in my power to make her happy.” 

Every hair on Luo Wei’s body stood on end. It seemed happiness really could hit so suddenly that it left you dizzy… 

“With those words, I’m reassured,” her father said, visibly relieved, though he still shot a concerned glance at Luo Wei. “This daughter of mine has been following Xiao He around since she was little. Now she’s practically on the verge of being foolish.” 

Her mother chuckled. “That’s only because she met the right person. Wei’er, Xiao Ying calls us every week—he’s such a thoughtful young man. Remember when you two were younger? I told your father that Xiao Ying definitely liked our Wei’er. Your father said I was talking nonsense, that you were too young to understand relationships. But sure enough, this boy later admitted it to me himself. He even showed me the rose specimen you gave him, which he kept in his wallet—it was so heartfelt. Mom’s intuition was spot-on.” 

Her father spoke sternly. “Even if he had such thoughts back then, dating was absolutely forbidden!” 

He Yingze neither denied nor directly confirmed it, instead looking out the window with a rare hint of embarrassment while Luo Wei sat speechless. She could only stare wide-eyed, alternating between her parents and He Yingze. Then, recalling the wallet incident, she nudged him. “By the way, how did my middle school photo end up in your wallet…?” 

“Shut up and talk about something else,” he muttered, still gazing out the window, his ears tinged with red.

For Luo Wei, this day had taken her from hell to heaven. For Xie Xinqi, however, it was still a time of deep sorrow. She woke up early but found that even painting couldn’t ease the loneliness in her heart. She wandered aimlessly around the empty house all day, lost in thought. While rummaging through her father’s belongings, she discovered a carefully wrapped pure white jade pendant. She had never seen it before and, curious, decided to reread the stack of letters written by Wu Qiaohan. One particular sentence caught her attention: “I’ve always been too afraid to ask you why you wanted that jade pendant. After all, the person is gone, and the jade itself isn’t valuable. You weren’t close to her either. I’m just afraid that one day you’ll tell me that, in your heart, the owner of the jade was truly the one who surpassed gold and jade.” 

After reading this line several times, Xie Xinqi’s gaze lingered on the last two words—”surpassed gold.” She recalled what her mother had said on the day she died. To prevent her father from marrying Wu Saiyu, her grandparents had bribed her mother. Though her grandfather was no longer alive, she remembered that her father had always been the obedient son, especially deferential to her grandfather. He avoided anyone her grandparents disliked. She had never heard of them going to such lengths to stop him from being with a woman. Curious, she searched for photos of Wu Saiyu online. Looking at the black-and-white portrait of the breathtakingly beautiful woman, she clutched the jade pendant and forced a bitter smile. 

So, what had her mother and Wu Qiaohan fought over their entire lives? 

At that moment, her phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. The nurse’s voice came through: “Miss Xie, your brother has woken up.” 

Overwhelmed with emotion, Xie Xinqi dropped her phone, shattering the screen and exposing the internal chip. But she didn’t care; she raced to the hospital as fast as she could. However, when she finally stood outside his room and saw him sitting up in bed, she hesitated. His head was wrapped in bandages, and his body, clad in a hospital gown, looked much thinner—likely ten pounds lighter. A crowd of people surrounded him, waiting to attend to him. Ignoring their advice, he kept staring at his phone. Then, glancing up absentmindedly, he spotted her face through the glass window on the door. She had intended to hide, but seeing him try to get out of bed despite the IV tube still attached, she quickly pushed the door open. Her lips parted, but she couldn’t bring herself to call him “Brother.” 

“Everyone, leave,” he said, his voice hoarse after waking. 

Once everyone had left, she sat down in the chair beside his bed, forgetting all the words she had planned to say. Timidly lowering her head, she whispered, “I’m not your sister anymore.” 

To her surprise, he responded calmly, “I know.” 

“When did you find out?” 

“I’ve known since I was very young.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

He fell silent. She realized she had spoken too hastily—this wasn’t a question she should have asked. He hadn’t told her because he didn’t want to change their relationship. Yet, he had done things that seemed to suggest otherwise… No, she was getting tangled up in her own thoughts. Clutching the edge of her clothes, the once-proud young lady now felt like a shy village girl on a blind date: “I… I know Mom treated you badly, and it’s true she betrayed Dad. Now I don’t even know where my real father is…” 

He glanced at her, a cold smirk crossing his lips. “You used to laugh at Luo Wei for her humble background, saying she only pretended to be kind to maintain relationships. Now I see even pretending might not work for you.” 

“… I don’t know why, but whenever I think about not being your sister, I feel so empty inside that I didn’t dare come see you. Brother, can you help me… let me keep pretending to be…” Before she could finish, she saw his calm gaze fixed on her and felt even more ashamed, her head sinking almost into her collar. “I’ll move out of the house first.” 

He spoke gently: “Xinqi, whether or not we’re related by blood, you can always consider me your brother. If there’s anything I can do to help in the future, just let me know. Don’t worry about money either. Whatever you were before, you’ll continue to be.” 

“Okay.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she exchanged pleasantries with him for a while. Slowly rising, she said, “I’ll go now and visit again another day.” 

“Mm, go ahead.” 

As she opened the door and left, his shoulders relaxed. 

That was it. This was the best outcome he could manage. His connection with Xinqi could only go so far; there was no need for further illusions. They were impossible. Absolutely impossible. Someone better than him would surely come along to make her happy. 

He thought back to when she had first started dating Su Jiannian. At the time, unwilling to face them, he had worked himself to exhaustion for half a month, collapsing one morning in front of the company building and being rushed to the hospital. When he woke up, she wasn’t by his side, and he didn’t want her to know, so he kept everyone silent and spent a week alone in the hospital receiving IV fluids. Every day during that week, he had thought of her. Once he recovered enough to return home, he saw her happily trying on dresses in front of the full-length mirror, showing off her figure even to her reflection. Then, turning to him with a smile, she said, “Brother, you’re back from America already? It’s only been a few days.” 

She didn’t understand what it meant to feel like each day lasted an eternity. 

This current scene was so similar to that hospital stay, yet infinitely worse. Though his words sounded reassuring, he knew that without the familial bond, they might see each other only a handful of times a year after he was discharged. Once he returned home, he would never see her again. 

Thinking this, he felt no motivation to leave the hospital, even considering staying there forever. Leaning against the headboard, he sighed deeply under the fluorescent light. 

May she be blessed. She will meet a better man. 

At that thought, the pain in his wounds flared up again, tugging at his nerves and causing his head to throb. Frowning, he pressed his hand to his forehead, waiting for the pain to subside. But then, the sound of high heels, which had faded into the quiet hallway, grew louder and more urgent. He tensed, straightening his back. Xie Xinqi pushed the door open again and declared firmly: “No, I love Dad too much. I can’t stop being his daughter.” 

Weakly turning his head, he replied: “You’re not related to him by blood. You can’t be his daughter.”

She showed no sign of backing down. Clenching her teeth, she rushed to him, bracing her hands on the headboard, her face flushed as she said, “There’s another way.” Throwing caution to the wind, she closed her eyes and kissed his lips—an awkward, almost heroic act of sacrifice. “This way, I’ll still call him Dad. I don’t care. Marry me!” 

His eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at her blankly. 

After a long pause, he nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Alright, I’ll marry you.”