Xu Ze · Chat

You stood in the living room for a while, clutching that book in your hands. You flipped through it several times, even feeling along the seams between the pages, but there was still nothing. You hesitated for a moment, then walked to Xu Ze's room door. The door was ajar, the light inside off, but the glow from a phone screen leaked through the crack. You knocked on the door and pushed it open before waiting for an answer. Hearing the sound of the door opening, Xu Ze didn't look up, his fingers pausing on the screen as if he had been typing something and stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of you standing at the door, holding that book in your arms, one hand gripping the spine so tightly your knuckles turned slightly pale. He saw how you stood at the doorway—acting full of confidence at first, but hesitating once you reached this point. "Brother, did you really not see it?" Xu Ze flipped his phone face down onto the bed before finally raising his head to look at her. "See what?" "The thing inside my book." You stood at the doorway without stepping inside. "That book was a gift from someone else, and it's very important to me." When Xu Ze heard the words "someone else," his gaze lingered on your face for a moment, trying to read something from your expression. He lowered his head, and after a moment, spoke again, his voice slightly lower than before. "Didn't you already ask me on your phone just now?" When he said this, he didn't look at you, as if waiting for you to catch the weight of his words yourself. His finger traced a light line across the bedsheet, then he drew it back and rested it on his knee, leaning his body back against the headboard. You stood at the doorway, holding the book in your arms. Your fingertips repeatedly stroked the spine of the book, and after hesitating for a moment, you didn't speak. Xu Ze didn't look at you, but he could feel that you were still at the door. He shifted over a little, reached out, and lightly patted the empty edge of the bed beside him. The gesture was small and gentle. After patting it, he didn't pull his hand back, just leaving it there as if waiting for you to decide whether to come over. You hesitated for a moment, then walked over and sat down beside him. You didn't look at him, keeping your head lowered as you looked down at the book in your hands. Xu Ze's gaze fell upon your hair hanging down, the ends brushing against your shoulder. As you lowered your head, a strand slipped down beside your face, which she didn't seem to notice. His hand lifted slightly, then lowered again. A moment later, he raised it once more, his fingers brushing aside the stray hair by your ear with extreme gentleness. The movement was very slow—slow enough that you had time to dodge, but you didn't. After tucking that strand of hair behind your ear, his fingertips paused not far from her earlobe before slowly pulling back. He pulled his hand back, placing it on his knee, and turned his head to look at you. After waiting a short while, he finally spoke. "Does my little sister not trust her brother anymore?"