Imperfect Desires

Both Ying and Xiao Li were stunned when suddenly Ah-Si's voice rang out in the room. And only then they both noticed that the room wasn't empty. Ah-Si had been sitting in a dark corner all this while. That meant he heard everything that they talked about. All of their confrontations were heard by Ah-Si and this realization made both of them share a look.

They could see the apprehension in each other's eyes. 

"Ah-Si..." Xiao Li called out softly but he took a step back.

"Don't try to convince me otherwise!" he shouted. "Can't you see that I'm already having a difficult time right now? I can't seem to see the world or people in the same way I used to do. And now, that I'm struggling to come to terms with everything, you are both ruining it for me."

"Ah-Si, calm down!" said Ying in a very gentle voice. They knew that the most vulnerable around here had always been Ah-Si. He was very sensitive and that's why he'd always get hurt easily. "Let's talk calmly."

Ah-Si stared at her through his bloodshot eyes, "No, we can't talk calmly. At least, I can't do it!" He shook his head repeatedly, "Whatever you just said is wrong. Chen Xiu can't be our sister. She wasn't Xin Xiulin. She was not!"

Both Ying and Xiao Li grew worried about seeing him like that. His reaction was too extreme. Although Xiao Li had expected everyone to be skeptical about this truth since he didn't have a concert proof anyway. But he never thought Ah-Si's reaction would be something like this.

Xiao Li walked over and hugged his brother whose body finally eased up in his brother's cypress scent that was calming him now. He leaned into his embrace and closed his eyes. He hadn't been able to sleep or eat well since the day of that eventful wedding.

Xiao Li kept stroking his head affectionately that helped Ah-Si a lot. "Ah-Si..." Xiao Li's voice was softer and gentler than ever. "Why are acting like this? Do you hate Chen Xiu like the whole world?"

Ah-Si shook his head and his muffled voice rang out, "I can't possibly hate her. I have no reason to hate her. If I started hating a good person like her, I'd end up hating myself as well."

Xiao Li helped him in sitting down and held his hand as he continued to look at his face, "Then tell me what's bothering you?"

Ah-Si really couldn't hide anything from his brother and he never had tried to do it before in his life either. In fact, he had tried to talk about this with his brother a lot of times but whatever's been happening lately made him shut his mouth. And the longer he kept it in, the longer he was suffering all on his own. 

Whatever he heard back at the wedding, he didn't know what was true or what was not. Although the phenomenon of reincarnation could be bizarre, however, the rest of what he heard... He couldn't doubt it at all.

Ah-Si took a deep breath and told his brother, "Liu Nuan isn't Aunt Suyin's daughter."

"Huh?" Both Xiao Li and Ying were stumped for words.

"Chen Hana exchanged her own daughter with Aunt Suyin's daughter. That means Liu Nuan is Chen Hana's daughter while Chen Xiu... She was Aunt Suyin's daughter."

Xiao Li and Ying were quiet for a long time before Ying asked, "How do you know this? You do realize that everything can change with that statement of yours, right?"

"I know that," replied Ah-Si. "But I'm not lying. That is what I found out from a credible source. The rest... You both can check for yourself." He looked at his brother and went on, "That's why I said, bro, Chen Xiu can't be Xiulin. There is no way!" He observed his brother's expressions and asked cautiously, "Bro, you do believe me right?"

Xiao Li gave him a smile and nodded, "I'd always choose to believe in my Ah-Si. Of course, I believe you." He took a deep breath and went on, "Whether Chen Xiu was Aunt Suyin's daughter or she was our sister Xiulin, either way, she was a part of this family. But we can discuss that some other time. For now..." he looked at Ying and went on, "It seems we now know why Aunt Suyin's been so distant and malicious towards Liu Nuan."

Ying narrowed her eyes at Xiao Li's words and asked, "But her hatred is with Chen Xiu, we still don't know why she tried to kill Xiu. Is it really because they share the same name? Since Chen Xiu was no longer around, Liu Nuan decided to take her anger and hatred out on another person who just shared the same name? Is she that crazy?"

Xiao Li snorted, "With her acting crazy like this, it's hard for me to believe that she isn't Aunt Suyin's daughter. Both have a lot more in common. They would make the perfect example of mother-daughter."

"Bro, Aunt Suyin had done a DNA test and it proved that Chen Xiu was her daughter." 

Xiao Li smiled at his brother masking the coldness in his eyes and the rage burning in his heart as he said, "But did Aunt Suyin checked her DNA with Liu Nuan?"

"Are you suggesting that someone manipulated the DNA test results?" questioned Ying. "But the only one who would want to do it was Chen Hana. Was she really capable of doing such a thing? I mean did she even have the means to do it? And let's not forget that Xin Suyin had been a suspicious person. She's cautious in everything she does. I don't think she'd have taken a step out during that DNA testing."

"Sometimes when you're overly cautious about something, you tend to lose focus of other things happening around you. Aunt Suyin is no different," said Xiao Li.

Actually, Ah-Si wanted to tell his brother that he knew why Liu Nuan wanted to kill their Xiu. But he wasn't sure either about what to say right now. 

However, as he was mentally preparing himself to reveal the whole truth, he was stopped short when Xiao Li stood up in a hurry. "Ah-Si, go home and have a good rest. Don't let any of this get to you. I'm right here for you. Leave such heavy thoughts to me."

"I have something more to tell you," said Ah-Si.

"I'm in a hurry," said Xiao Li. "I'll hear it all later. For now, you should focus on yourself. Whatever you want to say, I'll hear it all but only when you're not looking like you're about to die."

Ah-Si pursed his lips and nodded. But before Xiao Li turned to leave, he held his wrist and said, "Bro..."

"What is it?"

"I might not know about whether that DNA test was real or fake, but I do know that Aunt Suyin was the one who made Chen Xiu lose her desire to live. She is the one who killed her entirely."

Xiao Li stared at his brother for a moment longer and ruffled his hair before he turned back to leave. Ying ran after him as she could with her injury.

"I told you to stop running!" Xiao Li shouted at this stubborn best friend. "And stop following me!"

"You're going to Liu Nuan, I'm coming with you," she placed forth her stance which had no room for any discussion at all. Since Ying wanted to go how could Xiao Li stop her?

"Who said anything about going to Liu Nuan?" he feigned ignorance.

Ying gave him a look, "I can tell by just looking at your face. Don't try to play with me. I'm going to means I'm going! I have a lot to discuss with her."

Xiao Li groaned in annoyance and raised his hand to wave as he called out, "Bohai, hold your girlfriend tighter!"

Han Bohai looked at Ying, "I was looking for you. Where were you? Don't you know you're supposed to rest right now?"

Xiao Li gave Ying an evil smirk as he said, "Now take care of your girlfriend, I'm leaving."

Ying tried to follow him as well but Han Bohai circled his arms around her waist to bind her to his side. "Earlier you're eager to stick around me, now you're trying to run away? What is this cold and hot attitude?"

"Bohai, let me go!"

"But your doctor said you can't run around," he reminded her. Ying rolled her eyes that he couldn't see from behind her. His head dipped down and he pressed his lips softly against the back of her neck making her stop squirming around. "Can't you take care of yourself for me?"

Ying leaned back into his touch. She was really feeling cornered now. She wanted to follow Xiao Li but she also didn't want to leave Han Bohai. She cursed Xiao Li in her heart for causing her trouble like this!