Chapter Thirty-Eight: Siblings' Rift

  Since he enlisted, Yue Yu has never known what fear is. He was born with a bold and daring personality, otherwise, he wouldn't have taken on those missions that even top-class mercenaries would avoid in order to raise research funds. Even when faced with death, upon learning that due to his own mistake, it was already impossible to defuse the micro-nuclear landmines that were about to explode nearby. He still had the mood to leisurely light a cigarette for himself.

  So at this moment, Yue Yu felt a strange sense of fear rising in his heart. And soon after, he had an epiphany. What he was afraid of was that his current situation would be exposed by his little sister, and as a result, he would have to leave this home.

  Yue Yu couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, he understood the reason. It seemed that in his heart, he had already thoroughly taken Yue Zhangshi as his mother from his past life, which was why he felt so reluctant to part with her.

  A soft sigh escaped his lips, and a glimmer of determination flashed in Yue Yu's eyes, a fierce look crossing his face. This time, no matter what, he had to find a way to get through it.

  As he entered the hall, Yue Yu's first glance fell upon Yue Zhangshi, who was chatting with a delicate and lovely little girl beside her. The girl was about one year younger than him, and her face was that of a beauty in the making, completely inheriting Yue Zhangshi's excellence. At this moment, there was both joy and melancholy on his face. It was natural to be happy when meeting relatives, but he didn't know what the hint of sadness in her eyes meant.

  Unexpectedly, when Yue Yu walked in, the little girl didn't have any surprised expression. Instead, her eyes slightly condensed, and she coldly hummed as she turned her head to one side.

  Yue Yu's heart skipped a beat, but she still put on an expression of surprise.

  "Qian Er, little sister, have you come back?"

  Yue Yu had already inquired about her, and this cheap sister was named Yue Bingqian. At this time, seeing the person himself, he suddenly felt that this name was really suitable for this little girl. With a cold face, she looked especially good, with the potential of an ice mountain beauty. If he hadn't known that this was his own sister, he would have almost had a feeling of being moved by her.

  Of course, this thought only flashed through Yue Yu's mind. As he walked in the door, he smiled and went to pull the little girl's hand. Unexpectedly, Yue Bingqian was slightly cold, lightly brushing off her sleeve and dodging away. On the contrary, after seeing Rong Li, a hint of a smile appeared on her face, sweetly calling out "Li Gege".

  Yue Yu's smile froze, and the hand he stretched out awkwardly withdrew. Although his face was still stiff with a smile, at this moment, in his heart, he let out a long sigh of relief. It seems that Little Yue Yu and his sister are not as close as he imagined. Not only are they not close, but they may also be a bit awkward and unfamiliar, which is exactly the kind of relationship he hopes to see.

  Yue Yu's heart was slightly annoyed, as when he had previously inquired indirectly, none of the servants mentioned this matter to him. However, thinking about how distant the master and his sister were, which was not like other ordinary matters, he suspected that the lower-ranking people would only mention these things to him when they were fed up with their lives. Yue Yu couldn't help but laugh secretly again.

  Just as Yue Yu's thoughts were racing, a loud "clink" sound came from the front row. Everyone turned to look, only to see that Yue Zhangshi had heavily pressed her teacup onto the tea table, her face darkening as if water was about to drip out.

  "Qian Er! Your brother is talking to you, and this is your attitude?"

  Ran Li originally wanted to greet Yue Bingqian, but now he didn't dare make a sound. The others were even more silent, like cicadas in winter. The atmosphere in the entire room suddenly dropped below freezing point.

  "Eldest brother? Is he worthy of it?"

  Yue Bingqian, however, did not show any fear and instead gave Yue Yu a cold glance. "Having inferior talent is indeed not his fault, but if he doesn't even know how to strive for self-improvement and instead indulges in self-pity, that's truly foolishness at its peak. If this person had the slightest intention of sharing some burden with you, Mother, I wouldn't mind treating him as an elder brother —"

  Before the words had fallen, everyone saw that Mrs. Yue Zhang slapped Yue Bingqian's face. After the crisp slap sounded, Yue Bingqian slowly turned her head and looked at her mother with an unbelievable face. And Mrs. Yue Zhang's expression was also ugly to the extreme, with a few thin angers in her eyes.

  "This person? Are you referring to your own brother? An elder brother is like a father, and even if Wei Er isn't one, it's not for you as his younger sister to say so!"

  Yue Bingqian's eyes were slightly red, but she didn't dare to continue arguing with Yue Zhangshi. She could only glare at Yue Yu again and say, "You just protect him then! See how long you can protect him!" After that, she didn't wait for anyone's reaction and stood up, quickly walking towards the door, eventually breaking into a run.

  Yue Zhang's mouth opened, wanting to say something, but it was stuck on the tip of her tongue. Yue Yu couldn't help but smile wryly, he vaguely saw tears falling from Yue Bingqian's face, so he didn't reach out to stop her earlier. He knew that if his cheap sister continued to stay here, she might burst into tears on the spot.

  While Ran Li, on the other hand, looked puzzled and asked Yue Yu with a bewildered expression: "Young master, I remember that you and the young lady didn't get along well before? That little girl used to love following your butt when she was younger."

  "You also said that was in the past!"

  Yue Yu spread out his hands, and the expression on his face seemed helpless. However, in his mind, he was re-examining his relationship with his younger sister. It seems that their relationship is far from being just unfamiliar, it should be that this little girl completely dislikes him. But between these siblings, there is still a very deep bond. From her tone earlier, it seems to be more of a "hate iron not becoming steel" tone, towards this "older brother", Yue Bingqian should still be hiding extremely deep feelings.

  "Yuer! Don't mind what Qianer just said! She's just in a bad mood today—"

  Yue Zhang's voice paused, then let out a soft sigh. "I just asked Bi Hen and Xiang Hua, this time Qian Er suffered a lot of grievances on the other side of Wang Cheng Mountain. Many people borrowed your affairs to mock her, plus this time she was not selected by Bu Yun Tang in the end, she must be very disappointed. You also know that this child is strong-willed and likes to keep everything in her heart."

  Yue Yu was silent for a moment, he didn't know who Bi Hen and Hui Xiang were, but just from these typical maid names, it can be inferred that they must be the maids serving beside Yue Bingqian. Since Yue Zhangshi said so, this little girl must have been stimulated by her brother's affairs.

  At this time, Rong Li had also roughly figured out the situation from their conversation, and his thick eyebrows suddenly furrowed tightly.

  "Madam, should we also tell Miss Bingqian about Young Master's matter?" As he said this, Rong Li deliberately lowered his voice and gestured for the others to leave. He had also figured it out - the reason why Yue Bingqian was so resentful was mostly related to Yue Yu's incompetence. Once she knew that her brother wasn't the useless person she thought he was, she would naturally untie the knot in her heart.

  "It's better to keep it secret!"

  Yue Zhang's expression hesitated for a moment, but then a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes as she shook her head decisively. "Bing Qian may be clever beyond her years, but after all, she is still too young and can't hide her thoughts on her face. This matter should be left to Yu'er to handle first."

  Yue Yu's lips curved up slightly with a faint, imperceptible smile as he heard the words. He had an attitude of complete indifference towards this matter. Since Yue Zhangshi was so decisive, it meant that he would have to maintain a distance from his sister for some time, which was actually a good thing for him. However, at this moment, he still had to pretend to be heartbroken.

  That night, when Yue Yu returned to his own room, he faintly heard a few sobs coming from the backyard. He quietly pushed open the window and saw that about a dozen steps away, a slender figure was sitting under a tree with her knees hugged, her body slightly shaking. Looking at her figure again, it seemed to be Yue Bingqian's shadow.

  Yue Yu couldn't help but reveal a faint smile, and Rong Li wasn't wrong. It seemed that this little sister of his had extremely deep feelings for her older brother.