Brother

"By the way, I've been wanting to talk to you about something, dear sister." Shi Yi's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"What do you think of Lu Mello?"

Shi Enxi didn't expect her brother to suddenly mention Lu Mello's name. Why was he asking her about him?

If she has to be honest about what she thought about Lu Mello... He was someone she could use but if she was planning to eliminate Lu Weichun from her brother's life then Lu Mello was going to be a pain in the ass if he found out about it.

"He's a good man." She smiled at him.

"That's all?"

"He's close to our sister and he is your girlfriend's brother. If you want him to approve your relationship with his sister and to help you with their father, I think you should treat him nice."

Shi Yi: "..."

"He's a gentleman and he knows how to properly treat a woman. If I'm going to give him a quick description, he's the 'prince charming' that every woman wants."

Shi Yi stared at her for a bit. The reason why he wanted to know what she thinks of him was that Lu Mello called him early in the morning.

Lu Mello told him that he was going to help him ask for his sister's hand from Lu Yifeng.

Shi Yi was filled with joy when he heard of that but Lu Mello's next words replaced it with distress. He wanted to have his sister, Shi Enxi in return.

Shi Yi loved Lu Weichun dearly but he was not going to sell out his sister to him!

"Fine! If you don't want to give your sister to me then I'll do the same to be fair!" Lu Mello's raging voice was heard from the other line.

"Why the f*ck will I give my sister to you?!"

"That's because I love her!"

"..." Shi Yi was caught off-guard by Lu Mello's reply.

The hell? "Are you trying to deceive me?! I'm not stupid, bastard! I know that you're courting another girl! How the hell did you fall for my sister?!"

"I fell in love with her at first sight."

"…"

"Her kindness made me fall deeper. She's an angel in human form, brother Shi Yi. I can't stop thinking of your sister ever since I saw her a few days ago. My heart belongs to her, brother."

"..."

Was he trying to convince him with his sweet words about his sister?

"Who's brother are you? Brother your face!"

Of course, Shi Yi already knew that his sister is an angel in human form! She's the purest, the most innocent woman he has ever known! He was not going to allow any men to defile her with their dirt!

The two men had a few arguments until Lu Mello managed to convince Shi Yi by threatening him instead.

Shi Yi sighed heavily. His head was aching badly when he recalled their conversation.

When Shi Enxi saw Shi Yi massaging the bridge of his nose and the complicated look on his face, she thought that maybe the poison was still in his body.

"Mr. Shi, are you alright?"

"Ah, yes. It's just a headache." He straightened himself before he turned to her. "Skywort Company wanted to work with us."

"Huh? The Skywort belongs to the Lu family, right?"

"Yes." His face turned serious, "And to strengthen our bonds, having an arrange marriage is a must."

An arranged marriage? "Then... are you going to have an arranged marriage with Lu Weichun?"

"No... not me. The Lu family want you to be married to their next head, Lu Mello. They find you the perfect candidate to be his wife."

Shi Enxi was surprised by the sudden turn of events. "What?"

"You are going to have an arranged marriage with Lu Mello." He leaned back to his seat. "Are you alright with that?"

Shi Enxi lowered her head and started to re-analyze things. She knew how deeply Fan Xiao Yao was in love with Lu Mello. Even if they were not in an official relationship, the two have mutual understanding since they were young. They were even considered childhood sweethearts!

Fan Xiao Yao was surely going to be so heartbroken if she learned that Lu Mello was to be engaged to another woman.

The sides of her lips slightly curled up. She could use her position as Lu Mello's fiance to torment Fan Xiao Yao freely, right?

Guess she has to play around with her brother for a bit before she completely agrees on being Lu Mello's fiance.

"I know that... that this would be a great advantage for the company... If I can help in making our company greater then... I don't mind agreeing to it. The only problem is..." She paused and raised her head, her eyes were filled with tears as she looked at her brother with a troubled look on her face. "Lu Mello is... is the man that Xiao Yao loves... Xiao Yao is my friend so knowing that she loves him... I-I don't want to come in between them. I don't want her to hate me."

Upon seeing his sister's tearful face, Shi Yi felt a pung in his chest. He stood up and went to her. He reached out and held her hand, "Don't worry, Xiao Xi. Gege will take care of it for you."

That d*mn Lu Mello! It was his fault that his sister was crying now! Who cares about his threats?! His gentle sister has a soft heart! Even if she cared about the company, she was still worried about her friend's feelings!

"B-but the company..."

"Who cares about the company? F*ck the company! You are my sister, you are more important than the company! You don't have to force yourself if you don't want to agree with it. I am here, you can leave it to me, I will take care of it! If I have to go head-on against the Lu family, then I will!"

Shi Enxi forgot the lines she prepared in her mind when she heard her brother. She didn't expect him to say such touching words.

She thought that he was the kind of man who would sacrifice anyone for the sake of the company that their parents left for him.

Shi Enxi thought that her heart was cold enough not to feel anything other than hate towards her brother but his words, the concerned look on his face stung her heart.

For some reason, her tears uncontrollably flowed down her cheeks.

Shi Yi leaned to her, giving her a hug. "This time, I will not allow others to take you no matter how much they force it. Gege is here for you, Xiao Xi."

Her stone-heart trembled when she felt the warmness of his hug. How long was it when she received such a warm hug from him? She used to avoid any contact with him unless it was necessary.

Shi Yi stroked her hair gently as if to comfort her when he felt her body shake.

"W... why?" Why was he acting this way to her?

Didn't he abandon her a long time ago? She waited for him to come and save her from their cruel relatives but he never came. He was her only hope and yet when he didn't come, she felt so betrayed by him. He was a liar! It was too late... too late to be her brother!

Even if her mind were filled with those thoughts, even if she wanted to push him away, her body wouldn't listen.

What is happening? Why is she acting this way? This is not good... not good!

No words came out from her mouth, her sobs were getting louder and louder as she melted in her brother's arms.

The memories during the time where they were still in good terms, where their parents were still alive, flashed in her mind.

He was always there for her. Her big brother watched over her like a hawk. They laughed together, he accompanied her during the times where the loud boom of thunder scared her. He carried her in his back when she got tired of running and playing around.

There were times where they fought. It's no coincidence that brother and bother are one letter apart. Shi Yi would usually sit back on the couch, his grin widening as her temper unravels. Whenever she ended up crying because of how annoying he was, he would always end up giving in to her.

Her memories of those times kept repeating in her head like a song until she felt a huge weight on her chest.

She was trying to kill her brother... The only family she has. Guilt started to eat and pester her. A fire burned in her mind and throat. Remorse hit her like a sledgehammer.

She felt a lump in her throat. Her lips trembled as she hardly whispered, "Brother..."

She finally moved her hands to hug him back. "Brother... I'm sorry... I'm sorry!"

Shi Yi was a bit confused. He didn't know why she was apologizing to him.

But that was not important at that moment. Her sister was crying so hard! She must have hated the idea of having an arranged marriage, right? That Lu Mello... He was going to beat him up the next time he sees him!