Tang Yan was surprised by his unexpected answer. "What? You're not going?"
Ellen nodded his head firmly as he glanced at a certain someone and said, "I.. Still have some things to take care of."
He was adamant on going back before, but now that he heard that someone actually wanted to abduct her, he couldn't leave just like that.
Tang Yan scratched his head before asking with concern, "Oh I see... Has your fever subsided yet?"
Ellen nodded his head slightly.
Sighing, Tang Yan was relieved as he sternly said. "You should take care of yourself better. Or I'll really call Uncle Qian."
He then turned to look at Song Xia and his mouth twitched, "..This girl is still asleep, huh?"
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he saw that she still hadn't woken up from all the noise.
Ellen also glanced at Song Xia, who was sleeping like a log and his eyes glistened.
"Mmh, I heard that she's having nightmares lately, so she doesn't sleep well at night."
Tang Yan was taken aback, "Really? But she doesn't really look like she's lacking sleep though.."
Ellen gloomily spoke, "..I also didn't know before but when I accidentally went to her room, I found out that she has been taking sleeping pills recently."
When he heard that, Tang Yan felt a dull ache in his heart.
Why didn't she tell them that she's having trouble sleeping?
Sigh, of course the patient wouldn't go around talking about their illness to everyone. But even he couldn't see through her at all..
She was seriously too good at fooling others into thinking that she was okay, when she wasn't.
He had previously thought that he had excellent acting skills but in front of Song Xia, he simply paled in comparison!
He recalled how his had told him to take good care of his god-sister before leaving, but he had really failed on doing so..
For the first time in his life, he felt really disappointed and guilty in himself..
Wait, no this wasn't actually the first time..
Tang Yan's eyes dimmed slightly when flashbacks of that year came into his mind. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.
No, he couldn't let the history repeat again.
He turned around as he lightly said, "I'll go prepare breakfast."
Ellen didn't stop him as he watched his departing figure. Once he left, Ellen turned to the sleeping figure again.
Sighing, he got out of bed and bent down to pick her up as he took her to her room, which was just beside his.
Putting her carefully on the bed, he covered her with her blanket as he gently tucked the strands of blonde hair stuck on her face, behind her ear.
"Ay, what can I do to you? You're really too stubborn.." He mumbled softly with despair and helplessness in his eyes.
'But then again, this is what I really like about you. Your stubborn nature which doesn't allow you to accept unconditional help from others..'
He chuckled as he thought to himself. He then straightened his back and reluctantly turned to leave the room.
...
Song Xia groggily opened her eyes as she yawned and stretched her body. Staring at the familiar white ceiling, Song Xia was slightly dumbfounded.
She looked around as she sat up. Fixing her messy hair, she was distracted. 'Wasn't I in Ellen's room last night? How did I wake up in my room in the morning?'
*Beep*
Song Xia pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind as she dazedly reached out her hand to pick up her phone from the bedside table.
When she read the message, she lost her drowsiness instantly. It was the reply of the aide.
[Miss, I've investigated the matter but failed to find out the identity of the anonymous mastermind. Whenever he contacted those men, his voice was altered and it was difficult to even discern his gender.]
Narrowing her eyes, she read the second message:
[However, we've caught the leader of those thugs and as expected, they were also not aware of the other side's identity. They only received a photo of you and were ordered to capture you. Even while exchanging money, none of the parties met each other face-to-face]
Song Xia tilted her head and typed slowly. [You've worked hard. Thank you.]
The other side immediately sent her a response.
[No, Miss, this is my job! Anyway, I'm more than happy to help you since I've been assigned by Master Jiang specially to assist you!]
Though he seemed to deny her, his tone was really happy and Song Xia couldn't help but giggle when she imagined him hopping around merrily.
'Aish, this kiddo.'
Although they hadn't met each other and only communicated through phones, Song Xia could feel that her aide wasn't much older than her; it was her intuition.
She shook her head before tossing the phone aside and walking to the bathroom. After showering, she went downstairs.
...
As soon as she stepped down, a sweet aroma wafted in her nose, making her feel hungry all of a sudden.
She then saw Tang Yan bringing out different dishes from the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised.
"Did the sun rise from the west?" She murmured as she slowly made her way to the dining table.
Tang Yan saw her and greeted her with a smile, "Good morning. Sit down to have breakfast."
He then passed a cup of black coffee to her. Song Xia was utterly bewildered by his gentle demeanor.
She looked at him like he was an alien or some weird being. She couldn't help blurting out, "Y-you.. Did you put poison in my food?"
"..."
Tang Yan's mouth twitched. He calmed himself down as he gently said, "Sit down and eat."
Song Xia was still traumatized by the 180 degree change in his attitude towards her.
"Are you possessed by something? Or are you scheming something big? Or are you secretly pranking me? Is today April's Fool day?"
Tang Yan morosely looked at her and sighed as he spoke. "Since you're my little sister now, as your elder brother, I shouldn't mistreat you, right?"
Song Xia blinked as she squinted at him suspiciously. 'This brat is surely up to no good..'
When he saw her scrutinizing gaze, Tang Yan pursed his lips as he said with a serious tone.
"I've decided that I'll treat you as my younger sister from now on.. Let's not fight anymore and take care of each other instead."
"..."
Song Xia didn't know what to say.
She stood there in a daze as if trying to figure out his motive. But she couldn't find out why he was doing so.
As she looked at the earnest expression in Tang Yan's face, Song Xia felt that he wasn't lying or fooling her, but was genuinely expressing his feelings.
"...Oh, okay."
She sheepishly brushed her fringe as she looked away from him in a flurry of embarrassment. She didn't know why she was feeling like this.
Tang Yan couldn't help but laugh and rub her head at her shy reaction. Why was his new sister so cute?
Song Xia froze when she felt a large, warm palm rubbing her head and her face flushed.
She felt a surge of warmth entering her heart as she quickly lowered her head, shielding the wave of emotions in her usually calm eyes.
She couldn't help but recall how her parents used to rub her head like this whenever she felt down.
Her calm facade cracked in an instant as her eyes also reddened slightly.
It didn't hurt her much when others broke her heart. Because she knew that she deserved it, given her actions.
But when someone cared for her, she found out that she didn't really have to endure such a big thing and that she didn't deserve to be treated like this..
It feels great to be cared by someone again.
At this moment, Tang Yan didn't know how much of a big impact his simple action of stroking her head had been on Song Xia..