Chapter 170
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Chapter 170 The Innocent Years That Cannot Be Deceived
At that moment, the convenience store nearby started playing a popular song – “Traveler.”
Walking, walking, the sky slowly brightened, as if I had been to this place before.
An elderly person looking up, smiling at me, whispered that they remembered me.
Yours, mine, memories like pieces of luggage, containing both laughter and tears.
I understand that life has brought me back here, with its sincere meaning.
…
Su Rui never believed in the existence of fate. He had always been a firm atheist, but at this moment, he seemed to feel that perhaps there was some arrangement in the grand scheme of things.
In the past, Su Rui often felt that Ye Binglan was familiar, and had told her this many times, but each time, Ye Binglan thought Su Rui was just trying to get close to her.
This time, she finally didn’t think so.
She looked into Su Rui’s eyes, her own eyes full of glistening tears, and in the next second, she broke into a smile through her tears.
That smile dazzled the night sky.
Nineteen years, for a lifetime, is almost equivalent to one-third.
If we can’t meet again with tears in our eyes, can we at least meet with blushing faces?
Since heaven could arrange such a reunion, what is there to cry about?
At this moment, there was no need for many words; simple eye contact was enough to complete the communication between their souls.
Ye Binglan looked at Su Rui, at the man who was now half a head taller than her. Although his face had become more angular, although his eyes showed some signs of having weathered life, if one looked carefully, traces of his childhood could still be found in his features.
Those traces couldn’t be dispersed by wind or washed away by rain; they were deeply hidden in the years, waiting to be slowly discovered in the arrangement of fate.
“Little big brother,” Ye Binglan said, looking at Su Rui with tears and smiles in her eyes.
“Mm,” Su Rui responded with a smile, then reached out to wipe away the tears on Ye Binglan’s face.
“You’re still my little big brother,” Ye Binglan said, holding Su Rui’s hand.
Little Ice was what Su Rui called Ye Binglan when they were young, and little big brother was what Ye Binglan called Su Rui.
It might sound a bit cheesy, but behind these two names was the most precious childhood.
Among those companions, Ye Binglan and Su Rui had the best relationship. This little big brother, only six months older than her, always took care of her, and they spent almost every day playing together. Ye Binglan was even prettier as a child than she was now, like a porcelain doll. Often, the older children at the welfare center wanted to bully Ye Binglan, and at those times, Su Rui would always stand in front of her. Even if he got beaten black and blue, he would fight until those kids, who were a head taller than him, couldn’t get up from the ground.
Ye Binglan looked at Su Rui, thinking about the past, and tears surged forth once again.
Of course, she was still smiling through her tears.
Logically, memories from before the age of five would gradually become blurry with the passage of time, but Ye Binglan remembered them more and more clearly, almost revisiting them every night.
Those memories were deeply imprinted in her mind and would never fade.
“Little big brother.”
“Yes.”
“Little big brother.”
“Yes.”
…
Ye Binglan called out many times, and Su Rui responded each time.
Although their appearances had changed, although their voices had changed a lot, their gazes remained sincere.
This chance reunion after nineteen years was truly wonderful.
“When we were little, you took many beatings for me,” Ye Binglan said with some remorse. “Back then, watching you being bullied by those big kids, I could only cry on the side, unable to do anything.”
Su Rui patted his chest: “I’ve been a flower protector since I was little.”
Ye Binglan didn’t laugh, but looked at him very seriously: “Little big brother, do you believe in fate?”
“I didn’t before, but now I seem to believe in it a little bit,” Su Rui paused. “It seems like there’s some force that brought me back here, as if there’s an invisible thread pulling me. Otherwise, how would I have come from across the ocean to meet you here?”
Ye Binglan’s gaze softened as she looked at Su Rui, grabbed his hand, and then gently leaned into his embrace.
This was a hug after nineteen years.
Childhood playmates, meeting again after so many years, might become strangers, or might develop deeper feelings.
These shoulders were broader than when they were children, this chest was warmer than when they were children, these hands were stronger than when they were children.
“You’re still my little big brother.”
Ye Binglan opened her arms and hugged Su Rui tightly, as if afraid he might run away.
She worried this was a dream, and when she woke up, he would be gone.
But fortunately, the warmth on her cheek was real, and this warm chest gave her a sense of security.
Ye Binglan wouldn’t tell Su Rui that in the past years, she had used all the connections she could muster and spent a lot of energy looking for this little big brother. But back then, those children didn’t even have names, and trying to find someone based on vague physical characteristics in the vast sea of humanity showed no hope at all.
Ye Binglan had almost given up, truly worried that she would never find her little big brother.
But, in such circumstances, her little big brother was arranged by fate to appear before her eyes again, and she only realized it after so many days.
You only know to cherish something after you’ve lost it, isn’t that so?
In this desolate world, only you can give me the feeling of depending on each other for survival.
The male friend she had gotten along with best all these years turned out to be the little big brother she had lost for nineteen years!
This night had given her such a big surprise! Ye Binglan felt very lucky; all the hardships of searching for Su Rui before were worth it.
Su Rui also embraced this little sister who had been lost for many years, and he couldn’t help but think of that saying—
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we are all being gently loved by this world.
…
After the embrace, Ye Binglan’s face was still flushed. She looked at Su Rui with bright eyes.
Time flows like water; in the blink of an eye, both had grown into adults.
“I still find it hard to believe,” Ye Binglan said with shining eyes.
“No need to find it hard to believe. The first time I saw you, I told you that I felt like we had met somewhere before. I didn’t expect it was nineteen years ago.” Su Rui looked at Ye Binglan’s still beautiful face. They say girls change a lot as they grow up; pretty girls when young often become ordinary when they grow up, while those who were ordinary as children are more likely to transform. But Ye Binglan had been beautiful since childhood and remained beautiful as she grew up.
After nineteen years, this reunion was filled with a dreamlike quality.
Innocent years refuse to deceive.
“We’re not children anymore, so I think I won’t call you little big brother anymore,” Ye Binglan suddenly stopped walking and said to Su Rui with a smile. “I’m afraid you might find it cheesy.”
“I wouldn’t find it cheesy, but it’s a bit unfair because I’m not little at all,” Su Rui made a joke that all men like.
“You’re never serious,” Ye Binglan looked at Su Rui and said, “Seriously, I won’t call you little big brother anymore, I’ll just call you brother. Because in my memory, you’ve always been my brother.”
“Of course you can,” Su Rui laughed. “You’re so beautiful, not only can I be your little big brother, I could even be your little lover, no problem.”
Ye Binglan wouldn’t continue on this topic with him, but she got into her role very quickly: “Brother, why do I feel like you’re quite mysterious?”
“Am I mysterious?”
“Yes, you’re different from ordinary men. This is a feeling I’ve developed from being a police officer. There’s something mysterious about you.” Ye Binglan shook her head with a bitter smile. “Although I can’t pinpoint the source of this feeling.”
Su Rui smiled without speaking.
“Brother, how have you been all these years?” Ye Binglan asked, which was also what she cared about the most.
“Tell me about yourself first,” Su Rui’s experiences over the years were too complex and tumultuous; he needed to organize his thoughts and decide what to say and what not to say.
“After the fire, I was adopted by my current parents. They live in the capital and have been very good to me. To be honest, they’re no less than biological parents, and I regard them as my real parents.”
“When I went to college, I filled all my applications with universities in Ninghai because from the age of five until high school graduation, I had never left the capital. I was eager to see this city, to see the place where I lived as a child. And also…”
At this point, Ye Binglan paused: “And also, perhaps I could find some news about you here.”
Su Rui’s gaze remained gentle; it seemed nice to have such a high place in the heart of such a beautiful woman.
“I suppose your parents would have been very opposed to this? They only have you as a daughter, they must have been reluctant to let you leave the capital.”
“But I insisted, so they had no choice. Later I joined the Ninghai Police Department, and they’ve been trying to get me transferred back,” Ye Binglan laughed contentedly.
“I guess your parents must be quite influential in the capital. Otherwise, as an out-of-town girl who has only been here for two or three years, you wouldn’t have become the deputy captain of the criminal investigation team. For someone without connections, this would be almost impossible.”
“That’s true. Actually, it’s mainly because my father’s family is quite well-established in the capital, with a strong network. Why don’t I take you to meet them during the New Year?” Ye Binglan’s eyes held a hint of expectation as she said, “If they knew I found you, they would be as happy as I am. Since childhood, I’ve mentioned ‘little big brother’ to them countless times.”
Su Rui agreed without needing to think: “Good, I should go see them both emotionally and rationally, to thank them for taking care of you all these years.”
“Mm.” Ye Binglan nodded, then suddenly changed the subject: “Brother, do I have a sister-in-law yet?”
