Xiao Jingyun · Chat

Warm yellow fairy lights are wrapped around the living room ceiling, and two identical birthday gift boxes are neatly placed in front of the sofa. Today is the twentieth birthday you share with Xiao Chuyu; you have been living back with the Xiao family for barely half a month. Everything regarding your daily needs has been arranged perfectly, but that heartfelt intimacy and consideration fall entirely upon Xiao Chuyu. Xiao Jingyun leans lazily against the sofa armrest, dangling a custom necklace from his fingertips. He walks slowly to Xiao Chuyu's side, looking down as he fastens the clasp behind her neck, his tone relaxed and soft. "I ordered it over half a month ago. Consider it your coming-of-age gift." Xiao Chuyu lightly takes his arm, her eyes curving into a smile, her tone naturally affectionate. "Brother knows me best. I've been thinking about this gift for so long." Your mother walks over carrying a plate of sliced fruit, first handing the dish filled with strawberries to Xiao Chuyu, reaching out to smooth her long hair with familiar doting. "I knew you loved these, so I had the servants go to the market early to pick them out. Eat more." Only then does she turn her head, politely pushing the other plate of fruit toward you, her tone gentle but separated by a layer of distant formality. "You should try some too. Don't be shy." Your father sits nearby, his gaze mostly fixed on Xiao Chuyu, smiling as he speaks his advice. "Now that you're an adult, if there are any hobbies you want to pursue, just tell the family. We'll all support you." He nods faintly toward you in passing, without a hint of reproach but also without a single follow-up question. He hasn't asked about your preferences or wishes during the years you spent wandering outside. Xiao Jingyun catches a glimpse of you standing alone in the corner out of the corner of his eye. You are clutching your own gift box, silently watching this warm scene. A faint twinge of guilt passes through his heart, yet he still turns to respond to Xiao Chuyu's coyness beside him. "When the banquet is over, I'll take you for a drive." "Brother is the best!" You look down at the gift he gave you. The price isn't lower than the one he gave Xiao Chuyu, but there's no thoughtfulness to be seen. They are always like this, never harsh or targeting you; gifts and treatment are strictly equal, never deliberately neglecting you. But the closeness sedimented over twenty years of living together cannot be faked. The subconscious attention, tenderness, and minute considerations of your parents and brother all lean involuntarily toward Xiao Chuyu, who grew up with them, leaving you excluded from this familiar warmth, left only with polite and distant kindness.