Shen Shuangjian woke up just before dawn.
When his heart calmed down and stopped acting up, all his discomfort and suffocation disappeared, as if he had just taken a nap and woken up to find everything was fine.
Before her was a pale, monotonous ceiling, and the familiar smell of disinfectant made Shen Shuangjian realize that she had been to the hospital for who knows how many times.
Shen Shuangjian her head in confusion to look over.
Beside him, Shen Sixian, gently leaning over the bed, was holding his hand, his tall and slender body curled up in a small single chair.
That posture looks tiring.
Perhaps because she had never experienced being watched over before, Shen Shuangjian a slight stirring in her heart as she woke up in the hospital for the first time to find someone by her side, and quietly lowered her eyelashes.
The slight movement of his fingers had finally woken Shen Sixian from his sleep.
He looked up somewhat flusteredly, wide awake, towards Shen Shuangjian's direction.
Thus, Shen Sixian once again received Shen Shuangjian's lingering gaze.
There was nothing cold, fragile, or alienated about it.
Yes, but Shen Shuangjian's Shen Shuangjian held a mixture of weariness and trust, a look of pitifulness that lingered in her light-colored pupils.
" Shuangjian, you... you're awake?"
Shen Sixian was suddenly taken aback, his throat tightening and he couldn't utter a single word.
In Shen Shuangjian's memory, Shen Sixian had not been moody or irritable for a long time.
He seemed much calmer and gentler. Whether speaking or acting, he no longer Shen Shuangjian feel afraid, uneasy, nervous, or uncomfortable as if she were living under someone else's roof.
Shen Shuangjian could sense the worry and concern that he couldn't hide in his expression.
Therefore, her already rippled heart softened even more. Shen Shuangjian's lips also gently curved into a faint smile.
"Brother, I'm sorry."
At this moment, Shen Shuangjian was in the early spring of March after the snow had melted, with a dazzling beauty, a fragrance never before seen in the world.
Shen Shuangjian looked at him gently and apologized softly, "Thank you for taking care of me. It must be tiring."
That shouldn't be the case.
For some reason, Shen Sixian felt no emotion whatsoever.
He looked at Shen Shuangjian, whose gaze was sincere, but only felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
It shouldn't be like this. Shen Shuangjian clearly feeling uncomfortable, scared, uneasy, and wronged right now, so why force yourself to be understanding?
He could have frowned and acted coquettishly towards me, he could have sought comfort out of fear.
But as he pondered this, Shen Sixian suddenly realized the answer.
It turned out that Shen Shuangjian extremely apprehensive in front of him.
It was his fault.
Shen Sixian lowered his eyes and silently rested his head on Shen Shuangjian's pillow. The two heads leaned gently against each other, like two small animals snuggling intimately.
" Shuangjian, it was your brother's fault."
Shen Sixian held his hand tightly, as if she wanted to express all the love that had been missing over the years through her gentle words.
"We are your only family. Regardless of blood ties, I will always be your brother because I have never truly hated you."
"This is also my first time being someone's older brother. I'm not very good at it and I'm still a bit clueless. But I've never admitted it before. A few months ago, I saw you sleeping on the sofa. You were very thin and pitiful, completely different from the confident and spirited me outside."
Shen Sixian confession, with its tender honesty, gradually seeped into Shen Shuangjian's heart.
"Then I finally realized that the two of us were actually the most pitiful people who should have been comforting each other."
"You are gentle, kind, and also troublesome. I've troubled you time and time again, from initial impatience and reluctance to later feeling heartache and willingly doing it."
"I always try to keep my distance from you, to maintain my dignity and seriousness, as if by doing so, I haven't betrayed my mother, forgiven my father, or denied my past self."
But I always want to be kinder to you, even kinder.
"Because you always indulged that incompetent older brother, even though he had shown contempt, indifference, and nonchalance, you never blamed him."
"You still trust him so much, just because of a fleeting blood relation. You always endure his fickleness and inexplicable irritability, then curl up and protect yourself."
Shen Sixian's head was very close, so Shen Shuangjian could hear every breath and every tremor in his voice clearly.
As her memories gradually crumbled, Shen Shuangjian finally realized that he seemed to have been clinging to her, stubbornly forging ahead for far too long.
So long that once he made up his mind about something, he would stick to it stubbornly, oblivious to the care and concern that anyone else showed him.
" Shuangjian, in this world, there is no one closer than the two of us, not just because of blood ties, but also because when two people get close, it has nothing to do with each other's power, wealth, or appearance."
"It's like when you call me 'brother,' so I was born to love you."
Shen Sixian used to only want to be a strict older brother who controlled everything; he naturally felt that this was how an older brother should be.
But at this moment, he seemed to have also learned to nestle against Shen Shuangjian's neck and reveal his vulnerability.
He no longer needs to appear invincible in front of outsiders, nor does he need to worry about being scolded for incompetence by his parents like he did when he was a child.
Because he knew Shen Shuangjian would not hurt him; he was forever pure-hearted and never stingy with his kindness and gentleness.
"Let's consider each other as family reunited after a long separation. I lost you for twenty-two years, and now, you've finally returned to my side."
Shen Sixian's tone was too fragile, trembling, and even gave Shen Shuangjian the illusion that he was shedding tears.
Shen Shuangjian lowered her eyes and leaned closer to his head. Her other hand, which wasn't being held, emerged from under the covers and gently covered Shen Sixian's back.
Shen Shuangjian didn't know where the tenderness lingering in his heart came from, but at this moment, he could feel Shen Sixian's helplessness.
Can someone who has been a powerful figure since childhood also feel helpless?
Shen Shuangjian didn't know, but he patted Shen Sixian's back and gently hummed in agreement.
Their heads were pressed tightly together, intimately connected, sharing warmth with each other.
The pressure from his fingertips tightened. Shen Shuangjian Sixian's eyes were lowered. He patted Shen Sixian silently for a long time until his cool eyebrows suddenly curved up and he smiled gently.
Like a cicada that has been hibernating for a long time, it finally feels the warmth and slowly awakens.
My name is Shen Shuangjian.
"She's twenty-two years old, and she has a nickname, Zhizhi."
With her eyes swollen and hidden by the pillow, Shen Sixian allowed herself a brief moment of vulnerability, a rare occurrence for her.
"Um."
"My name is Shen Sixian, I'm twenty-five years old. I don't have a nickname, but I do have a younger brother."
"His name is Shen Shuangjian, and he also has a nickname, Zhizhi."