Chapter 10 Older Brother (Part 2)

  "How serious is her injury?" Gu Tianxi's deep eyes were like a beast in the dark night, his cold and stern gaze swept over everyone in the treatment room.

  The doctor sewing up Gu Huanlin's wound had her hand tremble, and the needle that was supposed to pass through the skin on his arm instead pierced at an angle. Unconscious, Gu Huanlin furrowed his brow and let out a faint moan.

  It was this groan that made Gu Tianxi's heart suddenly tighten. Reason told him that the most important thing now was to quickly suture his sister's wound, but his emotions were on the verge of collapse. Self-blame, like a towering wave, instantly engulfed him.

  He thought he was indifferent to her, even ruthless.

  But he only now realized how much he missed the little cat-like creature that curled up at his feet, quietly reading books. Sometimes when he was frustrated with the endless homework, he would grab her collar and throw her out of the study room. She would sit by the door, waiting for the housekeeper to bring him red tea, then sneak back into the study room behind the housekeeper, and curl up again at his feet, flipping through the pages of a children's book she had read countless times before.

  Occasionally, when he was in a good mood, he would ask the driver to buy several latest fairy tale books when passing by a bookstore. In fact, he had no idea what kind of book the driver bought, but when he handed those books to his sister and saw the happy smile on her lips and the sparkling light in her eyes, he felt guilty again, as if he had lied to her and deceived her.

  It was midnight, and the child had long fallen asleep. He, on the other hand, carried her upstairs, put her back in bed, and irritably covered her with a quilt. Looking at her sweet sleeping face, he gritted his teeth and said, "Next time, I won't care about you." Only, he himself couldn't remember how many times he had repeated this phrase, or how many times he had broken his promise.

  He still remembered that one time, his 12th birthday. His father's secretary informed him that his father would be returning to the country for business and would celebrate his birthday with him. Was he delighted? No. Did he look forward to it? Maybe just a little bit. However, as time ticked away, day turned into night, and the exquisite dishes were reheated countless times, Gu Tianxi finally gave up waiting and sat alone in the garden, lost in thought. In fact, he wasn't angry at all; he had even guessed the outcome would be this way. What truly disappointed him was himself, for still having expectations of his father.

  Just as he was blaming himself and even despising himself, suddenly, a big bow appeared in the grass. Gu Tianxi didn't think twice, directly reaching out to pull out the little girl hiding in the grass. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

  "Uncle Guan said that today is Brother's birthday." Five-year-old Gu Huanli said with a smile, her hands behind her back.

  Sometimes, Gu Tian Xi really felt that Gu Huan Lian didn't seem like a member of the Gu family - too clingy, too loving to smile, and with a soft and chubby face that felt especially good to pinch. So, he raised his hand and pinched his sister's plump cheek, saying "What does my birthday have to do with you?"

  "Rong Jia hasn't given his brother a birthday gift yet!" Gu Huan Lian was pinched and couldn't finish her sentence, but her eyes, which were narrowed like crescent moons, were full of smiles.

  Who would have thought that Gu Tianxi had become addicted to pinching, with a hint of a smile on her lips, she stretched out another hand and rubbed her cheek together, "You gave me a birthday gift? Where is it?"

  Gu Huanli smiled and pointed at herself, "Fang's mom helped me tie this bow, brother, does it look good?"

  Gu Tianxi tilted her head and looked at the big bow on her head, which was really big, even bigger than her own head. Fortunately, the material of this bow was quite stiff, otherwise it would have hung down from her head like a canopy. "Is this bow the gift you gave me?"

  "It's not! Brother is so silly!" Gu Huanli climbed up to Gu Tianxi's leg with her hands and feet, a happy smile on her lips. "Only when you untie the bow tie will there be a gift!"

  Undo the bow?

  Gu Tianxi stretched out his hand to hold Gu Huanli who was swaying unsteadily on him, shaking his head helplessly. Fine, this girl was in high spirits, so he might as well humor her and play along. So, he gently tugged at the ribbon tied around the right lower corner of the bow, only to see that she was surrounded by a cascade of long hair like soft gauze, fluttering and drifting behind her.

  Gu Huanli opened her arms and hugged Gu Tianxi's neck, kissing his face hard, like a child who had just gotten candy, bursting into a pure smile. "When I grow up, I want to marry my brother and be his bride."

  Who taught her?

  Gu Tianxi slightly furrowed his brow, pulled away Gu Huanli who was stuck to him, and said seriously, "We are siblings, we can't get married."

  Gu Huanli didn't understand why siblings couldn't get married, she just giggled and repeated, "When I grow up, I want to be brother's bride."

  "This is something that is not allowed by law."

  "Then I want to marry brother and be a bride too!"

  "Dad and mom won't agree."

  "I still want to marry brother and become a bride!"

  ……

  "Are you sure you want to be my bride?"

  "Ah! Bride! Xiao Li is going to be Brother's bride!"

  Her nose was surrounded by the sweet scent on her body, just like his favorite sea sponge cheesecake. Gu Tianxi let out a helpless sigh, holding Gu Huanli's soft body and burying his head in her neck. "Okay, if you still remember this when you grow up, I'll marry you as my bride."

  "Let's go!"

  "How dare you! I promised something, and you question it? Just watch how I'll punish you!"

  "Brother...... Haha...... Little Li was wrong...... Haha...... Little Li won't dare again......"

  "That's about right."

  ……

  "Are you Xiao Yaotou's older brother?"

  The sudden voice in his ear broke Gu Tianxi's reverie. He turned his head, looking at the blue-clad youth beside him, whose eyes were bright but still had a deep, dark depth to them. "Yes, I am her brother - Gu Tianxi. And you are the one who sent her to the hospital?"

  "How did you know..." The boy in blue clothes scratched his head in confusion.

  The black-clad youth leaning against the wall said coldly, "That's because he saw bloodstains on your sleeves and collar."

  Ye Qinglan lowered her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly her eyes lit up, "So that's it! I'm Ye Qinglan, he's Luo Yichen, we... met the little girl on our way to the suburbs to paint."

  "Thank you." Gu Tian Xi was not stingy with these two words, so he said them slowly, with 120% sincerity. Because on the way to the hospital, he had already learned about what happened from He Muyang's mouth. Although there were still many things that needed to be confirmed one by one after Gu Huanlin woke up, Gu Tian Xi knew that if it weren't for these two boys in front of him who were around his age, he might have lost the person most important to him.

  Yes, it wasn't until now that he realized how important Gu Huanli was to him. Those lonely, boring and tedious days were only accompanied by Gu Huanli. However, for the sake of his studies, for his future, for success, he left her alone in their home country, abandoned her in a completely unfamiliar environment.

  If he were with her, she wouldn't have run out of school just to give him a call.

  If he stayed in the country, in case of an accident, at least he could rush to save her immediately, instead of borrowing someone else's hands, and he could only say a word "thank you".

  This time, he knew, so he didn't miss it. What if he hadn't known? What if he hadn't called his aunt and uncle's house out of worry? What if Gu Huanlin hadn't escaped, what if she hadn't met someone willing and able to save her?

  Gu Tianxi knew that in this world, there was no such thing as "what ifs", yet it was precisely these "what ifs" that made his heart tremble with fear, and the root of all evil lay in the coldness and ruthlessness of the Gu family's nature.

  Isn't Auntie also a family person? Such a question suddenly arose in Gu Tianxi's heart. And, Gu Huanli is also a member of the Gu family! Why do they all have such warm smiles that can melt the frost at the bottom of people's hearts?

  Ye Qinglan looked at Gu Tianxi, who was slightly downcast, and patted his shoulder with a gentle hand. "Although she has a fracture on the outside of her left ankle and soft tissue contusion on her right wrist, it's already fortunate that she didn't hurt her internal organs after jumping from such a high window. The little girl is very strong-willed; I've never seen a clever and resilient young girl like her before. So, if you're willing, in a few days we can transfer her to the plastic surgery hospital under Pu Shi Medical Group. After all, an angel's body shouldn't have any scars."

  "Do you think the future heir of the Gu Corporation can't find a suitable hospital for laser skin resurfacing?" Ruo Yi Chen sneered, with sarcasm evident in his tone. "I just didn't expect that the young lady, who is clearly the eldest miss of the Gu family, would fall to such a state and still have to squeeze into the same car as her cousin."

  "Yi Chen!" Ye Qinglan lightly scolded, turning her head to apologize to Gu Tianxi with a hint of embarrassment, "This friend of mine is straightforward and outspoken, please don't mind."

  Gu Tianxi didn't answer immediately, but instead turned her head to watch as the doctor carefully picked out a few shards of glass from Gu Huanlin's palm, which was still unconscious, and saw that his fingers were trembling uncontrollably, giving off an aura of being in even more pain than she was.

  "This is indeed my negligence." With a slight droop of his eyelids, Gu Tianxi muttered to himself, and an unprecedented bitterness spread in his heart. He asked in a low voice, "Was the nerve of her finger injured?"

  "It's hard to say." Ye Qinglan sighed, he had taken a look at Gu Huanli's fingers, white and slender, a pair of hands that were born to play the piano. However, this injury might change her life, or maybe not. Moreover, they were currently in a small county hospital, it was already quite good that they could do some simple treatment for all of Gu Huanli's injuries. A detailed examination would have to wait until she was transferred to Pusen Hospital.

  "......brother......sorry......" The unconscious Gu Huanlin murmured repeatedly, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes and flowing down her pale cheeks.

  "Xiao Li!" Gu Tian Xi hastily walked to her side, slowly stretched out his hand, and slowly grasped the slightly trembling hand of Gu Huan Li. The heartache and guilt in his eyes gradually broke through his rationality, all filled with tender emotions.

  ……

  “...Brother......I'm sorry......for making you worry......” Gently sobbing, Gu Huanlin leaned into Gu Tianxi's embrace, listening to his strong heartbeat, her heart as calm as a summer night sitting by the pond watching fireflies dance in the air.

  Gu Tianxi stretched out his hand and gently stroked Gu Huanli's head, giving her all the comfort he couldn't express in words and all the emotions he couldn't convey, in this one embrace.

  "Hyaline!"

  "Xiao Li!"

  Two voices calling out broke the tranquility, Gu Huanli raised her head and looked at Chu Lintao and Gu Wenjuan with eyes full of bloodshot, as well as Chu Liangyou whose eyes were red and swollen from crying. A smile spread across her lips as she said softly, "Uncle, Auntie, I'm sorry for worrying you both. And thank you for loving me so much."