Han Yi was very sensitive to the word "abroad."
Over the years, Han Jiaojiao had been avoiding him, unwilling to see him, talk to him, and even reluctant to come home. After the college entrance examination, she did not fill out her college preferences but directly applied to a university abroad. She despised herself so much that to get away from her own life, she even considered going overseas! However, his identity meant he could not stay abroad for long, so he manipulated things by filling out the university application for her, choosing the one closest to home in their city, and forcefully confiscated the admission letter from abroad.
Their relationship, already strained over the years, reached a freezing point because of this incident.
Unable to go abroad, she had to attend the college he had arranged for her unless she decided not to study further. Not studying would be fine too; he could lock her up at home day and night, keep her by his side forever.
Han Jiaojiao was stunned, her face equally bewildered.
"Ah?"
Going abroad for college, when it's in the apocalyptic world? What was the point of studying then? She wasn't crazy!
This reaction from Jiaojiao somewhat relieved Han Yi, and the violent turmoil deep inside him gradually subsided.
"Didn't Jiaojiao want big brother to ask his friends for help, and then send you abroad for studies?"
How could he think this of himself? Han Jiaojiao widened her eyes, clearly perplexed.
It was no wonder. After all, just a few days ago, Han Jiaojiao was crying about wanting to study abroad. The college Han Yi applied for on her behalf had started, and she was unwilling to attend the opening ceremony, but in the end, he forced her to go. However, for Han Jiaojiao, these events were already four years ago, and naturally, she didn't care about them anymore.
"I was just worried about big brother's friends. Look, the news says it's so dangerous out there." Han Jiaojiao pointed at the TV screen, where images of the meteorite site taken by satellites were being broadcast.
This time, Han Yi genuinely laughed, "I thought you only watched cartoons usually."
Han Jiaojiao's face turned red; alright, she did love watching cartoons before the apocalypse indeed.
Seeing her blush, Han Yi laughed even harder. To say it was "harder" meant he merely chuckled under his breath a couple of times, but it was already much warmer compared to his usually icy demeanor.
Han Jiaojiao touched her burning face, not daring to look at Han Yi. Just hearing the deep, pleasant laughter beside her ear made her feel as though her heart was about to burst, thumping wildly... He was incredibly handsome, and his voice was very charming; Han Jiaojiao felt like she was about to be enchanted to death... Even she was surprised, since when had Han Yi become so attractive to her? ...
Maybe she had fallen in love with him a long, long time ago?
How wonderful.
She loved him, and he loved her too. Who else in the world could be happier than them...
Han Jiaojiao felt both shy and blissful, burying her little head, and whispered very softly, "Big brother really... can't talk properly, always using his charm..."
Han Yi was initially startled, then lowered his head, his chest releasing a stifled laugh, his shoulders shaking.
His sister was just too adorable.
Han Jiaojiao was quite embarrassed, stamping her foot in frustration, "Big brother!"
"Mm, big brother is here." Han Yi laughed while looking up at her, his eyes bright and shiny.
Han Jiaojiao hummed and hawed for a while, wanted to say something but didn't know how to start, and it took her half the day to build up the courage. Finally, she gathered enough courage to speak to Han Yi, "Brother, I have something to tell you, can you please not laugh?"
"Okay, I won't laugh at you."
Han Jiaojiao bit her lip, still feeling nervous inside. What if her brother didn't believe her? Or what if he did believe her and then started asking about other things?
"Brother, I am a bit scared, can you hold me please?"
Han Yi pulled the blankets aside a bit, and Han Jiaojiao, with a smile, wriggled inside, obediently lying in her brother's arms, and sighed in relief.
"Brother, I... I have been dreaming these days when I was unconscious. It was a very realistic dream."
"Mmm, Jiaojiao, what did you dream about?"
Han Jiaojiao had intended to speak of meteors and the Alien Species, but she then felt it might lack credibility. She pondered for a moment and decided to start with something related to Han Yi directly.
"I dreamt lots and lots of things and about many people. Among them were two people, good friends of yours, one named Lu Changyuan, the other named Yan Xiao."
As expected, when these two names were mentioned, Han Yi's expression immediately changed.
——These two individuals were those Han Jiaojiao had never encountered. Yan Xiao would occasionally visit the Han Family, but Lu Changyuan was always lurking in the shadows dealing with Han Yi's private matters, unknown even to the members of the Han Family. How could someone dream of people they had never met and specifically mention their relationship to her, and their names?
Han Jiaojiao carefully watched Han Yi's expression, tentatively asking, "Brother... do you know these two people?"
Han Yi snapped back to reality and touched Han Jiaojiao's head, "Brother knows them. What happened to them in the dream?"
Han Jiaojiao's eyes darted away, "They... um, they were always with you, brother, but later, Yan Xiao died."
Han Yi's body stiffened noticeably, and after a moment he asked her, "Oh... how did he die in the dream?"
Han Jiaojiao was anxious, "Brother, don't worry, it's just a dream, it might not be real, and even if it is, knowing in advance surely we can prevent it, there won't be a problem..." She didn't want Han Yi to think Yan Xiao would truly die, nor did she want him to dismiss the dream as unreal, so anxious that in the end, she hardly knew what she was saying.
Han Yi gently grasped her hand, "Don't rush."
"Mmm..." Han Jiaojiao pursed her lips, "Brother, do you believe in the apocalyptic world?"
She didn't wait for Han Yi's reaction and just kept going, "The dream I had was about the apocalyptic world. Actually, there's another meteor strike happening in two days, and many countries are gone. Though our place is fine, it still got affected. Then... then many people got sick, some died, and some... turned into monsters that eat people! The whole city went into chaos! There was killing everywhere! There was looting everywhere!... Then the army came, the army was here to evacuate everyone, but we were trapped in the villa, surrounded by many monsters! The Han Family... Several uncles from the Han Family didn't care about us! It was Lu Changyuan who brought people to rescue us!"
Han Jiaojiao grew more agitated and angry as she spoke. Remembering the Han family's indifference, she almost gnashed her teeth. After all the years of calling them uncles, how could they be so heartless? Although she was not a direct descendant of the Han Family, Han Yi carried the blood of the Han family! How could they be like this? How could they?!
Han Jiaojiao trembled with rage. Han Yi gently patted her back, lost in thought.
——He had already believed most of what Han Jiaojiao said. He had been dealing with the Han Family for years and knew all too well what those people were like. In a crisis, the Han Family would likely only throw him to the wolves as he had no parents, unlike his cousins who had their parents' care. It was precisely because he never trusted the Han Family that he had Lu Changyuan go to the south to build up their forces.
Her dream about being abandoned by the Han Family and being rescued by Lu Changyuan seemed incredible at first, but it actually made sense.
The only question was... why did his sister have such a dream?