Just before boarding, the airport broadcast suddenly started.

"Mr. Julian, your family has an urgent matter to discuss with you. Please come to counter number 5 immediately after hearing this."

Family?

Julian’s movements froze, and an incredulous thought filled his mind.

In the vast Country A, he didn't know anyone except Shen Nanzhi.

But wasn't she still in a meeting? How could she be here?

Right, the assistant said this meeting was vital to the company's survival.

How could she possibly be at the airport?

It must be a coincidence—just someone with the same name.

Julian lowered his eyes to hide the flash of loneliness, shook his head with a bitter smile, and prepared for security.

But suddenly, a familiar shout, suppressed with excitement, came from behind.

"Julian!"

Chapter 17

It was Shen Nanzhi.

He turned his head stiffly to meet her eyes, which were red and bloodshot.

Her usually immaculate hair was disheveled, and her tie was loose, as if she had rushed over straight from the middle of a meeting.

In an instant, his heart was struck by something, leaving him feeling a mix of sourness and sweetness.

Before he could react, she rushed forward and hugged him tightly, the force so great it felt as though she wanted to merge him into her own bones and blood.

"You liar!"

"You clearly promised to wait for me, so why did you run off by yourself again?!"

Julian caught a specific word and asked subconsciously.

"What do you mean by 'again'?"

She buried her face in his neck and took a deep breath, her voice tinged with an unspeakable bitterness.

"When I was eight, you and Mom came here to visit me. When I went to buy you coconut pastries, you said you would wait for me, but when I returned, you were already gone."

Those memories were so distant, yet she remembered them so clearly.

Julian’s eyes couldn't help but well up with heat.

Shen Nanzhi slowly gripped his shoulders, her usually steady and cool face now rarely showing a hint of nervousness, her voice carrying an imperceptible tremor.

"Julian, I’ve spent all these years waiting."

"Waiting for you to return, waiting for you to divorce, waiting for you to turn back and look at me just one more time."

Her amber eyes stared fixedly at him, bright as if they contained the entire starry sky.

"But today, I don't want to wait anymore. I want to tell you—"

"I like you."

Julian, caught off guard by her directness, stiffened and looked away, laughing it off.

"I... I understand. I'm your brother, after all. What sister doesn't like her own brother?"

"No."

Shen Nanzhi grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart, speaking every word clearly.

"It’s not the liking a sister has for a brother; it’s the liking a woman has for a man—the kind of liking where I've decided it's you for the rest of my life."

Feeling the pounding heart beneath his hand, Julian had nowhere to hide. He sighed.

"We are siblings..."

"Julian, stop lying to yourself."

Shen Nanzhi looked at him stubbornly, her gaze so sharp it seemed to pierce right through him.

"We both know perfectly well that Dad only recognized me as an adopted daughter because he was entrusted to do so by my biological father. There is no blood relation between us."

"Even if we were to get married now, no one could say a word against it!"

Julian was shocked by her words, his lips trembling.

"But... but—"

Seeing him about to refuse, a rare hint of grievance surged in Shen Nanzhi’s eyes, her wet lashes making her look just like an abandoned puppy.

"Don't be in such a hurry to refuse me. Can’t you at least give me a chance to pursue you?"

He didn't know how long he remained silent.

Looking at her slightly reddened eyes, Julian nodded in a daze, as if possessed.

"Then shall we... try?"

As he was being led into the car by Shen Nanzhi.

Julian finally remembered the important business, grabbing her to ask.

"Didn't your assistant say you had a very important meeting today? What about the company if you ran off to find me?!"

Seeing the tip of his nose turn red with worry, Shen Nanzhi curled her lips, a smile reaching her eyes.

"What, are you worried about me?"

"I'm being serious!"

Shen Nanzhi laughed, pinched his cheek, and said softly.

"Don't worry, I may not have much, but I have a bit of money. I won’t let you suffer."

"Besides, what's a mere meeting compared to my husband?"

Just like that, the two chatted and laughed all the way.

Halfway home, Shen Nanzhi received a call; there was an urgent matter at the company that needed handling.

The driver dropped him off at the door, and Julian was just about to reach for his keys.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Didn't you just leave? Why are you back already?"

He subconsciously assumed it was Shen Nanzhi returning, and turned around with a smile.

But the moment he saw who was standing there, his smile froze, and his voice stuck firmly in his throat.

"Why... is it you?!"

Chapter 18

Half a year had passed.

Vivian seemed like a different person; her hair was disheveled, her eye sockets sunken, and she had lost so much weight she looked like she was having a hard time.

Julian was stunned for only a moment before his face went cold.

"You are not welcome here. Please leave."

With that, he stopped looking at her and walked past her to enter the villa.

But a great force from behind grabbed his wrist.

"Don't touch me—"

He screamed almost reflexively, his body shrinking backward uncontrollably.

Looking at the deep, indelible disgust and hatred in his eyes.

Vivian’s heart felt as though someone had carved a piece out of it, leaving it wide open to the cold wind.

She lowered her head in near-despair, her voice pleading.

"Julian, I didn't..."

"Didn't what?!"

Julian’s crimson eyes glared at her, his stomach churning.

"Didn't you intentionally hurt me? Didn't you intentionally push me back into the fire pit of the Huo family, or didn't you intentionally cause my father’s death?!"

Every word was like a barbed blade, striking straight at Vivian’s chest.

Her hands shook uncontrollably, her voice dropping to a hoarse whisper.

"I’m sorry. I was wrong, Julian."

Hot tears fell onto the ground in large droplets, the corners of her eyes stained red.

"It was my fault for being such a jerk in the past, for doing all those things to hurt you."

"Whether you believe it or not, I just want to tell you: I own everything I did in the past."

"Even if you were to stab me a few times right now, I wouldn't say a word against it."

Julian scoffed, a mocking laugh escaping his throat.

"Vivian, you really are as arrogant as ever, aren't you?"

"My father is already dead. Even if I killed you now, what good would it do? My father isn't coming back!"

"Besides, you owe me much more than just this. You lied to me for seven full years. In seven years, what can you possibly use to pay me back?"

Vivian opened her mouth, but her throat felt as if it were plugged with cotton; she couldn't utter a single syllable.

Her hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into fists, then finally opened powerlessly.

Julian watched her quietly for a while, his voice so cold it lacked any emotion.

"Vivian, there is nothing else standing between us—only the lives of real people. If you have any conscience left, you should know that you have absolutely no qualification to ask for my forgiveness."

"So, stop looking for me. Let’s lead our own separate lives from now on."

After saying that, he didn't give her another look and walked straight into the villa.

The dull sound of the door slamming shut echoed behind her, finally waking the last shred of Vivian’s sanity.

She raised her blood-red eyes, staring fixedly at the light turned on inside the villa, and punched the wall with all her might.

Sharp sand and stone cut through her skin, and large drops of blood rolled down from the wound, staining a large portion of her clothes.

But she seemed not to feel it; her heart and soul were filled with regret, her internal organs seemingly being devoured, aching with heart-piercing pain.

From that day on.

Vivian never appeared in front of Julian again.

She simply left gifts at the door every day and left silently.

Sometimes it was desserts she had specially learned to make, sometimes it was Bulgarian roses she had personally picked in Country C since dawn, and sometimes it was letter after letter of confession written by her own hand.

Although Julian never even looked at them and had the cleaners throw them into the trash bin every time.