Xu Yan felt a bit shy. She covered her face with her hands and, pouting, quickly pecked Ye Jin on the cheek. "Let's start making the cake then."
Ye Jin's eyes were full of tenderness. "Alright."
The two of them worked sweetly together in the kitchen. When they finally emerged carrying a simple but delicious-looking cake, Zhao Xinze appeared to have wilted a bit.
He said wearily, "Yan, if you two had taken any longer, we would have starved to death."
Mu Heng smiled helplessly. "We went out and bought some food, waiting for you to join us."
Xu Yan was stunned. She scratched her head. "Brother Mu Heng, I brought breakfast for you guys... I forgot to tell you!"
Ye Jin looked at the breakfast boxes on the side table, the pile of breakfast items on the table in front of them, and the cake he was holding. He couldn't help but laugh. "It's alright, let's just try a bit of everything."
At the dining table, Mu Heng ate his breakfast in silence. As they were nearly finished, he suddenly asked, "Yan, Mr. Ye, can you tell us about the story between us and Yan?"
Ye Jin wasn't surprised by the question. He just looked at Xu Yan. "Yan, do you want to tell them?"
Xu Yan was a bit nervous. "Is it okay to talk about this kind of thing?"
This kind of thing... shouldn't it be kept secret?
Ye Jin smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind Xu Yan's ear. "Just this once. Because maybe in the next life, you won't have the chance to meet again."
Zhao Xinze was curious. "Is that how it works? Is it the same for all of us?"
Ye Jin shook his head mercilessly. "No, only the bond between Yan and me will continue. Because no matter what, I will always find her."
Xu Yan rested her face on her hands and asked, "So is it possible that Brother Xinze and Brother Mu Heng won't meet in the next life?"
Ye Jin nodded ruthlessly. "That's right."
What he didn't say was that in the next life, they might even be girls...
Only Xu Yan, protected by Ye Jin and even Liu Lingxiao, would always meet her white wolf no matter what.
Zhao Xinze and Mu Heng seemed to take it well. "That doesn't matter. We're already satisfied being together now."
Xu Yan lowered her voice. "Then let's start the story."
Zhao Xinze moved his chair closer to Xu Yan and also lowered his voice. "Okay!"
Xu Yan's hand rested on the table, unconsciously tapping the surface. "Actually, there's not much to it. Brother Mu Heng saved me, and then you two adopted me together. Brother Mu Heng was a formidable soldier at that time, and Brother Xinze was a military doctor. You two were the best partners."
Mu Heng seemed to vaguely see the scene. He asked softly, "And then?"
Xu Yan lowered her gaze. "Then... I grew up and developed severe depression... So I committed suicide."
Zhao Xinze's heart clenched suddenly. "How old were you then?"
Xu Yan smiled carelessly. "At that time? I was twenty."
Mu Heng's heart ached. "Alright, alright, Yan. We don't want to know anymore."
Xu Yan could tell what they were thinking. She propped her face up, smiling with her eyes curved. "It's okay! I don't care about those things anymore. I'm very happy now. My parents are super in love, and my brother, although sometimes annoying, is really good to me. Especially, Ye Jin has always been protecting me."
Zhao Xinze, seeing that Xu Yan wasn't sad, carefully asked, "Where was Mr. Ye at that time?"
Xu Yan cupped her face and looked at Ye Jin, just in time to meet his tender gaze. She couldn't help but smile. "Ye Jin, he was always by my side too. At that time, you three were the most important people in my life."
Ye Jin pinched Xu Yan's cheek and said to Zhao Xinze, "When Yan remembers those things, she only worries whether you would resent her."
Mu Heng sighed. "Actually, we probably wouldn't. We would likely only feel remorseful and guilty for not paying enough attention to the child, to the point where we didn't even notice she had depression."
Zhao Xinze nodded silently. Even now, without remembering anything, he couldn't help but feel heartache for Xu Yan.
Xu Yan didn't like such a heavy atmosphere. She smiled brightly and said, "Oh well! Let's not talk about this anymore. Brother Xinze, Brother Mu Heng, Ye Jin and I are planning to go out on a date. Do you want to go on a date too?"
Zhao Xinze patted Xu Yan's head and looked at Mu Heng. "Then let's go out for a walk too. I can't sit still anyway."
Suddenly remembering something, Xu Yan took out a small pouch from her bag and handed it to Zhao Xinze. "These are bracelets I made before. I originally wanted to give them to my brother and his future girlfriend, but he's so hopeless that he hasn't found a girlfriend after all this time. So now I'm giving them to you guys!"
Zhao Xinze took the pouch and opened it to find two delicate red string bracelets inside.
He was quite pleased. "Oh, these? I've always wanted to buy something like this, but never found ones I liked."
Mu Heng liked them too. "Thank you, Yan. Your brother will definitely buy you something delicious when he comes back."
Xu Yan waved her hand grandly. "No need to be polite!"
Ye Jin discreetly placed a mark on the pendants of Zhao Xinze and Mu Heng's bracelets. He then took Xu Yan's hand and stood up. "We'll be heading out now. Have a good time."
Xu Yan waved cheerfully. "Bye-bye!"
After walking a distance from the house, Xu Yan suddenly realized something. "Ye Jin, we're not wearing matching outfits today!"
Ye Jin thought seriously for a moment. "It's okay, we can buy two when we're out shopping later."
Xu Yan also looked serious. "Okay!"
She obediently kept this shopping task in mind and started paying attention to clothing stores along the way.
Ye Jin walked with Xu Yan for a while, but not wanting her to be in the sun for too long, he led her to the shade of some roadside trees.
Xu Yan was indeed feeling a bit hot. She crouched down and looked up at Ye Jin. "Ye Jin, are we resting here?"
Ye Jin crouched down with her. "Let's rest for a bit. I've called for a car to come pick us up."
Xu Yan didn't quite understand this operation, as she hadn't seen many people around Ye Jin before.
However, they didn't have to wait long before a discreet black car pulled up beside them.
Ye Jin took Xu Yan's hand and led her to the back seat: "Let's go, we'll browse around that mall in the city center."
Xu Yan curiously glanced at the driver, only to see that it was a person wearing a black suit, looking like a bodyguard.
Ye Jin explained in a timely manner: "Your father should know the owner of this car. His family is quite wealthy in this area. Liu Lingxiao has some connections with their family, so I just asked them for a favor."
Xu Yan gradually grew contemptuous: "Why do you always rely on your sister?"
Ye Jin was also helpless: "I'm quite familiar with the owner of this family too, it's just that Liu Lingxiao's influence is a bit greater."
It seemed he would need to find a way to compete with his sister for affection from his dear Yan Yan!
