Ji Shileng lay on the sofa, holding his tablet as his mind wandered. Before long, he drifted off to sleep.
The little robot glided silently to his side and covered him with a blanket.
The night breeze slipped quietly into the room, dispersing the rainy season’s particular stuffiness.
Ji Shiyun knocked several times, then checked her watch. It seemed too early for Ji Shileng to be asleep. Assuming he was gaming with his headphones on, she pushed the door open.
The room was silent, dimly lit by moonlight alone.
She immediately noticed the figure curled up on the sofa.
Half of Ji Shileng’s face was buried in the blanket, his hair tousled from sleep.
Perhaps the strange dreams troubling him were responsible for his tightly knitted brows.
Unease spread visibly across his face.
Ji Shiyun watched him for a long time, her gaze carefully tracing the contours of his features.
Only after a while did she move.
She closed the window that had been left open for ventilation, leaving only a narrow gap.
Returning to the sofa, she gently patted her brother’s shoulder, intending to send him to bed.
“Xiaoshi? Xiaoshi?”
His sleep was restless, yet he would not wake.
It was as though he were trapped inside a nightmare.
In his dream, he had become Ji Shileng, the “general’s spouse,” once again.
Helplessness surrounded him. He was alone, with no one to turn to.
No one cared about his feelings or respected his opinions. He was merely an appendage to Shang Jianli.
Ji Shileng had voiced his dissatisfaction before. But he so often couldn’t reach Shang Jianli that he could only ask Chu Wan to pass on his thoughts.
Chu Wan…
She would politely agree, then tell him to speak for himself.
She told him to communicate more with Shang Jianli face-to-face when he came home.
But he had tried.
Speaking did not mean being heard. Shang Jianli could ignore and neglect him precisely because he wasn’t afraid of losing him.
He had asked Chu Wan to pass on his words because he thought Shang Jianli might listen to her a little more.
Unfortunately, she would not help him.
He hated Shang Jianli a little. Yet now, he suddenly felt even that was unnecessary.
He had already explained what hurt him. He had tried to make Shang Jianli understand his unhappiness.
And Shang Jianli had still brushed it aside.
That was how he always was. Ji Shileng no longer wanted to repeat himself.
His very first attempt at loving someone had left him wounded all over.
The world was never fair, especially where love was concerned.
Before falling from the starship, he had offered such gracious blessings.
Good fortune? A brilliant future?
All lies.
He wasn’t that generous.
Now, he only wanted Shang Jianli to feel as trapped and miserable as he had.
Grief and anger filled his chest with nowhere to go. Whimpering like a small animal, he curled himself into a tight ball.
Tears spilled uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes, faintly glittering in the moonlight.
Ji Shiyun’s heart ached. She knew her brother was trapped in his dream.
Seeing him like this took her back to the first few days after he came home.
The housekeeper had noticed something was wrong. With both parents out on business, he had had no choice but to call her.
She had immediately set aside her work, rushed home, and gone straight to the garden. Shaking Ji Shileng by the shoulders, frightened and upset, she had demanded to know whether he could keep living properly.
He had looked just like this then.
His tears kept falling. His chest hurt so badly that he could barely breathe. It had taken all his strength to ask her:
Why was it so unfair?
In that instant, every word of reprimand had deserted her.
She had wrapped both arms tightly around her brother, buried her carefully made-up face against his shoulder, and cried with him.
Who truly couldn’t survive without someone?
People could live on after losing each other.
A tear landed on the back of her hand. Ji Shiyun touched her face and realized she was crying too.
She closed her eyes, taking a long time to steady herself.
In the end, she left quietly without waking him.
In the middle of the night, Ji Shileng jolted awake.
Confusion clouded his eyes before fading into composure.
A patch of the sofa was already wet, and his hair clung stickily to his face.
Looking at the moon outside, he told himself it was all over.
By moonlight, he went to the bathroom to wash up, then dragged his exhausted body back and dropped onto the soft bed.
He wasn’t sleepy at all.
The little robot poured him a glass of warm water and told him his eldest sister had visited.
After a slight delay, he nodded.
“What did she come for?”
The robot’s screen changed several times before finally displaying a puzzled expression.
Ji Shileng said he understood and told it to rest and recharge.
Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he got out of bed and knocked on Ji Shiyun’s door.
It was one in the morning. She had changed into loungewear, which softened her appearance considerably.
After opening the door, she turned and walked inside.
Ji Shileng followed.
“Did you need something when you came by earlier?”
“I wanted to ask about Shang Shengge”
She hadn’t forgotten that he had poured an entire bottle of water over Shang Shengge at the conference.
“Oh”
Ji Shileng yawned.
“It wasn’t anything serious. I’ve already dealt with it”
“By pouring a bottle of water over him?”
Ji Shiyun frowned.
“You let him off that easily?”
As far as she was concerned, old grievances and new offenses should be settled together.
Her investigation had revealed that Shang Shengge had played no small part in making those years in the Empire miserable for her brother.
Ji Shileng sat on the sofa and tucked several cushions behind his back.
Years had passed, but his sister’s room retained the same cool, minimalist style.
“One thing at a time”
He smiled.
“Besides, he’s too frightened to show his face around me now”
He certainly couldn’t tell her that his ex-husband’s nephew had taken an interest in him and wanted to “take good care of him.”
If Ji Shiyun found out, she would go mad with terrifying composure.
She studied him for a moment, then chose to respect his decision.
“All right”
Watching her continue typing away at work in the middle of the night, Ji Shileng said:
“Maybe I should set up a public relations department at the studio too”
He couldn’t keep troubling his sister forever.
His instincts told him that the messy news stories linking him to Shang Jianli would only multiply in the days ahead.
Ji Shiyun barely reacted, her tone dismissive.
“Your little studio is busy enough already. Especially now that your core staff have been sent to the competition site”
“Setting up another department at a time like this? Even if you don’t find it exhausting, I do”
Ji Shileng considered it carefully. She was right.
He glanced at her.
“Is it because you don’t trust me?”
“I just don’t want to keep troubling you and making you worry about my affairs”
“As long as you’re all right”
Ji Shiyun pressed Enter, successfully sending her email.
“I’d rather you troubled me. At least it means you’re home”
When Ji Shileng had been in the Empire, even her influence hadn’t been enough to quietly suppress the news across national borders.
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