Chương 12: The Imminent Reunion

The night was as dark as ink. The taxi slowly drove through the bustling streets. Lin Che leaned against the back seat, the neon lights reflecting off his face through the car window.

In the blurry reflection of the car window, his wet black hair was still dripping water, his brand-new white shirt was casually open at the collar, and his untied tie was drooping limply in front of his chest.

In fact, he has never been good at tying ties properly; his collar often looks messy, and he has been reprimanded by his boss several times for it.

In his memory, every hurried morning was when Su Yuqing would grab his tie and pull him in front of her. Her slender fingers would deftly fly, always threatening, "If you keep doing this, I'll strangle you," while tying the perfect Windsor knot.

After tonight, they will become family in a completely new capacity.

For Lin Che, who lost his mother at a young age and only had his father as a relative, the word "family" was once pitifully thin.

After her father passed away, Su Yuqing simply dragged her suitcase and knocked on his door, and moved in.

"I don't know how someone would live without me."

He still remembered that it was the first thing she said after she walked in the door, and he also remembered the expression on her face when she turned her head to the side and the way she twirled a strand of hair with her fingertips when she said those words.

He even remembered the date and time of that moment, the light drizzle falling from the sky, and how the rainwater, after she casually leaned her umbrella against the wall, trickled down the floor like a clear stream.

That scene was so vivid that it was etched into his memory and he could never forget it.

From that day on, the empty house in his heart had new inhabitants, and the gray world regained its color.

It should have been a happy ending, but why did it end in separation?

Lin Che frowned in thought, only to find that his memories were full of warmth from their time together, while the arguments seemed to have faded into blurred fragments.

Soon, he will officially meet her as Lin Che—his lover from his past life, his future sister, and his current magical girl junior.

This ridiculously complex web of relationships made him chuckle bitterly.

"What is this? A cruel joke played by fate?"

"Handsome, we're here." The taxi stopped in front of a high-end Western restaurant.

The meter clicked softly, and the driver's reminder pulled Lin Che back to reality from his reverie.

"I'll take your 23 yuan, cash only?"

"Okay, thank you." Lin Che paid the fare, thanked him, and got out of the car.

The taxi slowly drove away from the roadside behind Lin Che. He looked at the huge, brightly lit sign in front of him, took a deep breath, and threw all those complicated thoughts out of his head.

Regardless, the past is the past. The girl in this world doesn't have those memories and is about to become her own sister.

For him, the most important thing now is to protect the harmony of this new family and not let the ripples of the past life disturb the peace of this life.

Although he didn't know what a good older brother should look like, he had plenty of time and patience to learn, and he was confident that he could do it well.

Lin Che buttoned up the loose buttons on his shirt, took out his tie from his pocket and tied it, making sure it wasn't crooked, and then, with mixed feelings he couldn't quite describe, stepped into the Western restaurant.

The moment Lin Che pushed open the door to the private room, the halo of the crystal chandelier slightly dazzled his eyes. Then, he saw Lin Chen and Su Yuqing's family sitting opposite each other at a long table.

"Sorry I'm late." He walked into the private room and quickly sat down on Lin Chen's side.

Lin Chen glanced at him, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied that his son was late despite repeated reminders, but he couldn't say anything to scold him at this time.

"It's alright, we just arrived too." The woman across from us, wearing pearl earrings, smiled and nodded.

As she moved, the pearls by her ears gleamed with a warm luster.

"Let me introduce them," Lin Chen said, his hand on his son's shoulder tightening slightly.

"This is Xiao Che."

"And these three are..."

"Su Wanyi." The woman gracefully smoothed her hair.

"This is my eldest daughter, Yuqing, and my youngest daughter, Xiaoye."

Lin Che raised his head, gave Su Wanyi a polite smile, and at the same time carefully looked at his stepmother.

Time seems to have left no trace on her face; although she is already a mother of two daughters, she still looks young and beautiful.

Unlike when she appeared without makeup that afternoon, she was now dressed in a champagne-colored silk gown, with a jeweled necklace and earrings that shone brightly, clearly showing that she had prepared carefully.

In contrast... Lin Che glanced at his father.

Despite being a senior executive at a listed company, he lacked any aura of an elite individual, and his attire was merely average.

Although the mess on her head had been carefully cleaned up, a few strands of hair still stubbornly stuck up.

"Can't you be a little more attentive?! What if she just runs away? Where are you going to find a wife like that?"

Lin Che secretly despised Lin Chen in his heart, completely forgetting that he was also like this, and forgetting that just a few hours ago he was wary of this future stepmother.

"Xiao Che... can I call you that from now on?" Su Wanyi turned her gaze to Lin Che and asked softly.

"Of course, but I don't know how to address you..." Lin Che was a little embarrassed, as he really had no idea about this matter.

"Achen told me some things about you. Don't force yourself. Just call me Aunt Wanyi. Yuqing also calls Achen Uncle Chen," Su Wanyi replied with a smile.

"Understood, Aunt Wanyi." Lin Che replied with a smile, but inwardly he was thinking, "Calling her so affectionately, my dad is completely under her thumb."

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The more affectionate the way they call each other, the better their relationship is, so Lin Che is naturally at ease.

At that moment, the little girl sitting in her high chair suddenly looked up and asked, "Didn't Mommy say I'd have a daddy soon? Why does my sister call me 'uncle'?"

"This is because..." The air in front of the table froze instantly. Su Wanyi was speechless for a moment, her fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of the napkin. Lin Chen across from her also looked a little embarrassed.

"Xiaoye," Su Yuqing, who had been silent all along, suddenly leaned forward and blinked her left eye quickly at Lin Che, "Mom's just joking. Of course I'll call him Dad, right, Brother Lin Che?"

Receiving the hint, Lin Che immediately chimed in, "That's right, Xiaoye, we're all family now. Mom was just joking."

Su Yuqing gave a thumbs-up, and Lin Che smiled knowingly.

He was initially a little worried that the other person also retained memories of their past life, but given their flamboyant nature, they should have exclaimed in surprise long ago, instead of cooperating with him like this.

"Lin Che... Brother?" Su Xiaoye called out to Lin Che timidly.

"Hmm, what's wrong, Xiaoye?" Lin Che replied with a smile.

"Brother Lin Che!" After receiving a response, Su Xiaoye called out again with a happy expression on her face.

"Yes, I'm here." Lin Che continued to respond patiently.

"Brother Lin Che, Brother Lin Che, Brother Lin Che! Mom, I have a brother now!" The little girl jumped up excitedly, repeatedly calling out this newly acquired title like a cheerful little lark.

Su Wanyi gently patted Su Xiaoye's head and said in a slightly dissatisfied tone, "Alright, Xiaoye, I told you this is very impolite, right? Even in a private room, you shouldn't do this."

"Understood!" Su Xiaoye immediately covered her mouth with both hands.

Lin Che stared at the scene before him, slightly stunned. Recalling a similar yet completely different scene from his past life, a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

A new kind of warmth is quietly spreading over the old, cracked wounds in my heart.