A month later, a package was sent from the other side of the earth across the ocean. The moment Su Yuanhang received the package and saw the sender's name, his eyes couldn't help but widen.
The name made his hand tremble as he was holding the pen to sign. The courier looked at him strangely, and after making sure that he didn't have any sudden illness, he picked up the receipt with the trembling signature and left.
The moment Su Yuanhang took the package, he couldn't help but hug it tightly in his arms. He held the package as if it was his whole world.
He never thought that he would receive a package from Brother Chen. Since Brother Chen's funeral, he had access to very few things belonging to Brother Chen.
The Bai family listed him as a household that was not allowed to have contact with. He never set foot in the house that once held the most memories of him and Brother Chen again.
His only comfort now is the little things he accumulated during his time with Brother Chen. He never expected that he would be able to come into contact with things related to Brother Chen again.
Su Yuanhang returned to the room with the package in his arms. He took a deep breath for a long time before he managed to calm down. He placed the package on his bed and carefully, expectantly and nervously opened the package as if it were some rare treasure...
The contents were soon revealed, including several vacation photos with an island background, a few straw hats that seemed to be handicrafts from somewhere, and a letter.
Su Yuanhang looked greedily at Brother Chen's brilliant smiling face in the photo and touched it lightly with his fingers. As for the woman next to Brother Chen, he completely ignored her, because this photo was the background of Bai Yichen and his fiancée vacationing on the island. Su Yuanhang naturally thought that this was sent to him when Brother Chen and his fiancée went on vacation, but the cross-border mail was delayed and it was not delivered to him until now.
Su Yuanhang looked at the photos enough with such thoughts in mind before picking up the letter. When he opened the letter and saw the familiar handwriting, he immediately felt like crying. He blinked hard to get rid of the mist in his eyes, and then he held his breath and looked at the letter. These were the last words that Brother Chen left for him. However, his sight froze after he saw the first line of the letter clearly...
Happy birthday, Xiaohang. I'm sorry I didn't make it back to celebrate your birthday...
Su Yuanhang held the letter, his fingers and hair were stiff. He looked at the words on the letter with eyes full of disbelief. Happy birthday... Didn't you come back to celebrate his birthday
Although Su Yuanhang had been living in a daze recently and didn't care at all about when his birthday was, he clearly remembered that his birthday was in April, and Brother Chen had passed away on March 2nd. He also knew clearly that Brother Chen and his family had already learned the extent of their lives from the doctor, so no matter what, Brother Chen would not be able to catch up with his birthday.
Su Yuanhang's hand holding the letter suddenly began to tremble, but he still forced himself to continue reading.
... I know you must be angry that I didn't go back to celebrate your birthday, but Yingying really wants to go to that island and has mentioned it many times. Haha, you won't blame Brother Chen for putting women before friendship, right
Here, did you see the straw hat I sent back? I picked it out especially for you on Soft Island. It’s very unique, isn’t it
…
Well, that's all I have to say. I still have to accompany Yingying, so I may not be back in the near future. Since I came out, I found that there are so many interesting places in the world, and I want to go to all of them. If you can't contact me by phone, don't worry, I may be with your sister Yingying in a place where there is no signal to get close to nature. But don't worry, I won't forget you. If I find something delicious and fun in the future, I will send it back to you. What do you think, Brother Chen is very considerate.
Su Yuanhang read the vivid words in the letter word by word, reading the letter that made it seem as if Brother Chen was still alive. Finally, his eyes fixed on the signature at the end of the letter - April 6, Brother Chen who wishes Xiaohang happiness forever.
He stared at the date that was written clearly and forcefully, as if without any hesitation, and the flamboyant handwriting. Suddenly, he couldn't help sobbing, and tears rolled down his cheeks. However, he tried his best to hold the letter further away, for fear that it would be stained and damaged by his tears.
April 6th, how could Brother Chen live to April 6th! The hospital predicted that Brother Chen’s deadline was in early March. If not, how could he not be held accountable by the Bai family for bringing back Brother Chen’s body
Brother Chen, he clearly knew that he would not live to see that day...
But at this very moment, he received a letter from Brother Chen, and the letter contained a vivid illusion that Brother Chen was still alive and perfect...
All of a sudden, all the things that were wrong in the past came to his mind. Why did Brother Chen fall ill after he brought back his body? It seemed as if everyone knew and no one was surprised, but he was the only one who knew nothing... Su Yuanhang's mind unexpectedly recalled Song Junchi's strange smile from a month ago, and the words he said to him - you will know soon.
Is that so? Is this the arrangement that Song Junchi mentioned
Brother Chen never wanted him to know the truth about his death...
It turns out that Brother Chen wanted to hide it from him from the beginning...
Su Yuanhang had too many questions in his mind, and now, no one related to Brother Chen would answer his calls. There was only one place where he could find the answer... Su Yuanhang took out his cell phone and called Song Junchi.
The call was connected very quickly. It was picked up after a few rings. Song Junchi on the other end had a premonition about why the call came. When he heard the obviously abnormal breathing on the other end, he was even more certain. He couldn't help but laugh, "It seems that you have received it."
Su Yuanhang's hands holding the phone turned pale, but he spoke the words that were buried in the dust without any hesitation, "Please, tell me... why..."
Song Junchi listened to the pleading of his former rival and did not keep him in suspense, because he was already impatient and wanted him to know all the truth.
Why, this person whom Yi Chen really cared about could be so ignorant, why, he could enjoy all the cares of Yi Chen before his death. Song Junchi was full of malice, and he told him everything he knew word by word, without any reservation, he wanted to let him know what Yi Chen wanted to give for him!
The truth told by Song Junchi was like a blunt knife, stabbing into Su Yuanhang's already bleeding heart. His eyes were empty and his hand holding the phone was so stiff that he almost lost consciousness.
It turns out that Brother Chen really didn't want him to know the truth from the beginning...
It turns out that Brother Chen's engagement with his fiancée was fake...
It turns out that everything Brother Chen did was for him...
It turns out that Brother Chen had begged his parents not to hold his funeral...
Su Yuanhang tried to breathe hard, but still felt the horrible thinness of the air. If he wanted to follow Brother Chen when he found out that Brother Chen had passed away, he now found that he was not qualified at all.
Such a good brother Chen, a brother Chen who loved him so much, and who at the last moment of his life was still thinking about not making him sad, and even wanted to hide the truth of his own death, what did he do to him in the last two days of his life...
At this moment, Su Yuanhang wished he could be torn into pieces.
Su Yuanhang was breathing hard, his body twitching a little due to the intense pain. His body, which had been neglected due to his distraction, seemed to be stretched to its limit at this moment. Suddenly, his chest felt stuffy, and a fishy-sweet taste surged in his throat...
…
…
Ten years later
In the cemetery with the best Feng Shui in City A, a tall young man stood there quietly. The boy was handsome, with elegant features, and there was a kind of hidden nobility in him. Just standing there was a beautiful scenery that made people reluctant to disturb him.
In front of the towering tombstone, the boy quietly looked at the photo on the tombstone for a long time before leaning over and gently putting down the bouquet in his arms, "Brother, I'm here to see you."
The boy who called "Brother" had a very gentle voice, as if he was talking to his dearest person.
The boy put down the bouquet and sat down in front of the tombstone, half leaning against it, as if leaning on the arms of a trustworthy brother, and started to talk, "Brother, I have to go to school, and I may not come to see you so often in the future."
"Do you know which school I'm going to? Guess it, and you'll win a prize."
"… Brother, you are so stupid. I knew you couldn't guess it. It's University A. Brother, are you surprised about the university you attended?"
"Brother, you must have never thought that I would go to the same school as you. I heard that you are among the outstanding alumni of University A. I will join them in the future and be with you, brother."
"Brother, I'm gone... Will you miss me?"
“… I think so. After all, brother, I miss you so much.” The young man paused and raised his head, then he forced back the tears in his red eyes.
After that, the boy was no longer as lively as before. Instead, he quietly leaned against the stone tablet, looking at the photo on the stone tablet. The face was somewhat similar to his, but the smile was softer.
That was his brother, eighteen years older than him.
His elder brother, Bai Yichen.
He started to remember things very early. From the beginning he could remember, he knew that he had an older brother who loved him, and he liked this brother the most, more than his parents and anyone else.
What he liked most was being held in his brother's arms, listening to his brother reading fairy tales to him in a sweet voice and patting his back gently to coax him to sleep.
He likes his brother, the brother who plays with him, coaxes him and fulfills all his wishes.
But as he grew up, he found that his brother had changed. He no longer coaxed him or played with him every day. Instead, he handed him over to various teachers and asked him to learn things that he didn't like at all.
What made him even angrier was that he saw his brother less and less.
It seemed like overnight, the best brother in the world who loved and spoiled him disappeared.
On his brother's birthday, he spent many days secretly making a birthday present by hand using what he had learned. He did not tell anyone, wanting to give his brother a surprise. However, that night, he waited and waited, but when he fell asleep, his brother did not come back.
After that day, he was completely angry. In the end, he did not give the gift away, but hid it for himself. Whenever he thought of his brother, he would look at the birthday gift that he had not given away and say to himself, "Bad brother, he doesn't want it at all."
Since then, he seemed to have found a new way to target his brother. When his brother was strict with him, he would deliberately make trouble and not study. In fact, he knew that he just wanted to attract his brother's attention. He was very smart, and the things the teacher taught were not difficult at all. He could remember them easily. Sometimes he would secretly wonder, if his brother found out that he had learned everything the teacher taught, would he praise him
He had been waiting for that opportunity, and that day, he finally got it. His brother caught him when he heard that he hadn't done his homework again. When he was watching him do his homework, he found that he had done all the homework. He was surprised and praised him by touching his hair. He was very excited that night and even tossed and turned in bed for a long time without falling asleep. He couldn't stop thinking that his brother would be at home tomorrow and the teacher would come. Would his brother watch him in class
At that time, he never thought that his brother would leave him.
He was still fantasizing that if his brother would always accompany him to study like this, he would become a good boy who would study hard. After all, his parents said that his brother was the smartest, and he was his brother's younger brother, so naturally he couldn't be too bad.
But afterwards, his wish of having his elder brother accompany him to study every day was not fulfilled. Not only did his elder brother not come back often, he came back less and less often. And for some reason, his parents suddenly became very unhappy. Even though they tried their best to hide it in front of him, he ran into his mother several times and she seemed to be crying.
He didn't know what happened, but he still felt a little uneasy...
Then, as if his bad premonition had come true, his mother told him that his brother was gone...
What does "left" mean? At that time, he couldn't fully understand it. He just thought that his brother went to some faraway place again. But isn't this a normal thing? Why did his mother cry so sadly...
It was not until he attended his brother's funeral, looking at his brother lying in the ice coffin and his brother's framed photo, that he suddenly understood the meaning of the death...
From that day on, he no longer had a brother...
…
After his brother passed away, his world seemed to have changed overnight. His parents, who had always indulged him, became stricter with him than his brother had been. He also had many more teachers and many things to learn.
It was not until then that he realized what his brother had taken on. In the past, he could play without worries and was spoiled by his parents almost indulgently because of his brother. Because of his brother, because his brother had grown up enough to shoulder the family, no matter how he wanted to play or how he wanted to play, no one would restrict him. But now, his brother is gone, so he must grow up to be the next person to shoulder the family.
There were really a lot of new courses and they were very tiring. The densely packed tasks made him breathless. It was not until this time that he realized that the things his brothers had forced him to learn in the past had helped him a lot. If he had not learned those things in advance, he might not have been able to cope with so many courses all of a sudden.
Whenever he thought of his brother, scenes of his brother urging him to study on various occasions emerged in front of his eyes, as well as his brother's headache because of his disobedience. His eyes gradually became moist. From then on, he never complained or felt tired again, because no matter how hard it was to learn these things, he would not feel sad if he never saw his brother again.
He was strict with himself, almost harshly. He wanted to be as good as his brother, and he would also take on what his brother wanted to protect. But the only thing he regretted was why he didn't give that birthday present to his brother, why he got angry at that time, why he didn't listen more before, and he wanted to hear more praise from his brother...
As he grew older, he learned a lot of things he didn't know before. He knew that his brother died of a terminal illness, but he didn't know there was a hidden story, and that story involved a familiar name - Su Yuanhang.
Su Yuanhang and Song Junchi, he had known these two people since he was very young. They were his brother's best friends, but he never liked them. Because his brother had less time to spend with him, but these two people always squeezed in.
He hated these two people! Even though they always smiled at him and often gave him toys and gifts, he still didn't like them. Of these two people, he especially hated Su Yuanhang. He couldn't tell why, maybe because the way he called his brother, Brother Chen, always made him feel like his brother was taken away.
He refuted in his heart countless times, his brother was not his brother Chen, his brother was only his brother, but he was too young, and his thoughts at that time would obviously not be taken seriously.
Although he hated Su Yuanhang, he never thought that his brother's death was related to him. Although his brother died of a terminal illness, when he learned from his mother that he could have seen his brother for the last time, he hated Su Yuanhang more than ever before.
Hearing his mother's words through gritting her teeth, he agreed without hesitation and would never let Su Yuanhang come into contact with anything related to his brother.
Although he hated Su Yuanhang immensely after knowing the truth, he still couldn't help but pay attention to him. Then he found out that Su Yuanhang did not have a good life after his brother's death.
Perhaps his brother's death had dealt him a great blow. He lived like a walking corpse and paid no attention to his company. Due to negligence in management, he soon went bankrupt. He lived in poverty but never sold his house. He usually did not go out and stayed at home. He often stood by a window where he could see the intersection, as if waiting for something.
Out of curiosity, he once had someone wait there for a month, and then took a picture of Su Yuanhang stumbling out the door, and then bursting into tears of excitement when he received a express delivery.
He was curious about what kind of express delivery could make Su Yuanhang become like this, so he secretly checked the express delivery. After finding out the result, he remained silent, because the sender turned out to be his brother.
Following this clue, he found out more. He found out that these express deliveries had been going on for ten years. He also learned that his brother had wanted to hide the fact that he was going to die from Su Yuanhang.
From that moment on, he knew that his brother treated Su Yuanhang differently.
But, so what
Even if that person once held a different position in his brother's heart, even if he was in great pain because of his brother's death and wanted to die but couldn't because of waiting for his brother's express delivery, he would not give up his brother.
His brother has passed away, why would he do this
So even though every year on his brother's death anniversary, that thin figure who seemed to be nothing but a bag of bones would wander outside the cemetery looking at him so eagerly, he never stopped.
He would fulfill his promise to his mother - never let him worship his brother.
…
…
postscript
Many years later, in the once high-end apartment, a skinny figure stood blankly by the window, staring down without moving.
It can be seen that his clothes are a bit old, and when he wears them, he looks as empty as a skeleton.
The skinny figure was like a sculpture, always maintaining the same posture and looking at the intersection below. Only when a figure in courier uniform walked by would there be a slight fluctuation in his expression. But he waited and waited, the courier came and went, and his door was never knocked.
As it gradually darkened, the courier no longer appeared. The figure turned around stiffly and squatted on the ground.
One year, three months and ten days...
It has been such a long time since he received a package from Brother Chen...
Has he been forgotten by Brother Chen
A huge panic filled his heart. At this moment, he saw from the corner of his eye some broken glass that had been left under the window at some point. As if tempted, he slowly walked forward and bent over to pick it up.
Since Brother Chen has forgotten him, can he go find Brother Chen
This thought made his originally lifeless eyes suddenly shine with dazzling brilliance.
The fragments on his fingertips were cut off without hesitation, and the bright red spread out, but he did not feel much pain. He only felt joy and relief that he could finally go find Brother Chen.
He wanted to tell Brother Chen that he missed him so much.
He also wanted to tell Brother Chen that he was wrong, and... sorry.
But he was also very scared. Brother Chen was in the underground. Maybe he didn't want to see him...
Chaotic thoughts filled his mind. As his body temperature dropped, his vision gradually blurred. However, at this moment, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind: "Do you want to achieve success? Have you ever regretted your decision? Bind to our protagonist role-playing system, complete tasks to earn points, and reach the pinnacle of life."
Su Yuanhang's consciousness was already blurred, but he still caught the words that touched him the most. He murmured: "Regret... regret... is it useful..."
"Ding, of course it works. Join our role-playing system and become a host. Complete tasks to earn points. You can use the points to change anything you regret."
Su Yuanhang blinked slowly, thinking that he was hallucinating at the last moment of his life. However, it was also a beautiful hallucination.
He used up his last bit of strength and said slowly: "If... if I can see Brother Chen again, I will join you."
"Ding, the contract is completed. The protagonist is bound to the host Su Yuanhang by the role-playing system and is about to enter the mission world."
The author has something to say: I can only write so slowly, I feel hopeless about myself...