The sunlight outside the window was sliced into fragments by heavy clouds, and the office was filled with a stifling atmosphere. Lu Xue leaned against the doorframe of the break room, but her gaze, like ice needles dipped in poison, was fixed dead on the figure not far away—Lin Xiao.
She wore a tailored business suit that accentuated her curves perfectly. Her jet-black hair was pinned neatly at the back of her head, and her face radiated a confident, composed smile as she discussed something with a colleague. That radiance, that composure, was like a red-hot needle, stabbing viciously into Lu Xue's eyes and piercing deep into her heart. This was the woman who made her brother Lu Ran—her only anchor and obsession in this world—unable to help but let his gaze follow, his care and concern even surpassing that for her, his blood-related sister. Although, Lu Xue knew deep down, that "blood-related" was nothing but a self-deceiving placebo. She was adopted by the Lu family, a secret that clung to her like a shadow.
"Manager Lin," Lu Xue walked towards Lin Xiao, deliberately slowing her steps in her high heels, her voice sickly sweet but a cold sneer curling at the corner of her mouth. "You've really put effort into your look today. Simply... radiant." Her gaze swept over Lin Xiao with unconcealed, venomous contempt.
Lin Xiao looked up at the sound. The cloying tone made her instinctively uncomfortable, but she struggled to maintain a professional smile. "Thank you, Lu Xue. That's too kind. You look quite spirited today too." She tried to skirt around this invisible powder keg.
"Hah," Lu Xue let out a short, sharp laugh, like glass scraping metal. "Spirited? What good is dressing up? Do you think this will make my brother look at you twice?" She leaned in closer, her lowered voice hissing like a venomous snake, cold and sharp. "Stop daydreaming."
Lin Xiao's smile froze instantly, a flicker of panic flashing in her eyes. "Lu Xue, you've misunderstood. Your brother and I are just colleagues, nothing more." She rushed to explain, trying to extinguish this sudden hostility.
"Colleagues?" Lu Xue's eyes burned with intensified hatred, every word dripping with venom. "Playing innocent? Who do you think you're fooling with that line? Let me tell you, my brother has seen all kinds of women! Someone like you? Not a chance in hell!" Her voice suddenly rose, sharp enough to almost cut the air.
"Lu Xue!" Lin Xiao's voice trembled with wounded indignation. "I haven't... I really don't understand why you're treating me like this..."
"Don't understand?" Lu Xue took a step forward, naked hostility in her eyes. "Fine, then let me ask you: do you dare look me in the eye and swear you don't have the slightest inappropriate thought about my brother?" She advanced like a predator, leaving her prey no room to breathe.
Lin Xiao instinctively retreated under the piercing stare, her throat tight. "I..."
"Can't say it, can you?" A twisted, victorious smirk spread across Lu Xue's face. Her voice shot up an octave, echoing through the entire office. "I knew it! Pretentious white lotus! You're nothing but a man-stealing vixen!" The vicious curse hit the room like a stone thrown into a still pond, instantly shattering the oppressive silence. All eyes turned towards them.
"Lu Xue! You've gone too far!" Lin Xiao's face instantly drained of color. Tears welled rapidly in her eyes, held back only by sheer force of will. A crushing sense of humiliation wrapped around her like a net.
"Me gone too far?" Lu Xue snorted coldly, her chin jutting high, her eyes filled with disdain. "Look at yourself! What are you? A little manager, daring to dream of climbing up to my brother? A toad lusting after swan flesh—delusional!" Every word carried a bone-chilling coldness.
"I said... I haven't thought..." Lin Xiao's voice broke on a suppressed sob, almost inaudible.
"Put away those fake tears! Who are you trying to fool with that act?" Lu Xue swept her with a contemptuous glance, her eyes like poisoned daggers. "Let me tell you, if you can't stand it, get out now! I'll make sure you get your 'wish'!" She flung down this final, weighty warning, then turned like a victorious peacock and strode away on her high heels, disappearing arrogantly down the corridor.
Lin Xiao stood rooted to the spot, feeling all the blood in her body freeze. She trembled uncontrollably. The surrounding stares—curious, sympathetic, or gloating—pricked her back like thorns. A wave of grievance and overwhelming helplessness surged over her, threatening to drown her.
In the afternoon, sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting a pattern of light and shadow on the desk. But Lin Xiao felt no warmth. Lu Xue's poisonous accusations echoed like a curse in her mind, churning her thoughts and blurring the documents before her.
Just then, two light knocks sounded at the door. Lin Xiao looked up to see Lu Ran enter, a trace of concealed worry on his face.
"Lin Xiao? What's wrong? You look pale?" He approached, his voice low and gentle, his gaze resting on her slightly reddened eyes. "...Did Xiao Xue cause trouble for you again?"
"No... Director Lu, just a lot of work." Lin Xiao hurriedly lowered her head, fingers unconsciously crumpling a corner of a file. Her voice strained for calmness but held an unmistakable rasp.
Lu Ran sighed softly, his sharp gaze piercing through her pretense. "Don't hide it from me. I know her." A flicker of barely suppressed anger flashed in his eyes. "She's gone too far! I can't indulge her this time."
"Lu Ran, no!" Lin Xiao looked up urgently, her eyes pleading. "She... she just cares about you too much. You're her only brother... Don't let me cause problems between you..." She couldn't bring herself to say the word "conflict."
"Is hurting others the way to care?" Lu Ran's voice suddenly rose, thick with suppressed fury. "You are my friend. That's fundamental! No one gets to bully you without reason!" That protectiveness, unwavering and resolute, was like a warm current that instantly shattered the dam Lin Xiao had been desperately holding.
"...Thank you." Tears finally broke free, tracing paths down her cheeks. The warmth of that moment almost blurred the sharp edges of her earlier humiliation.
"Don't mention it," Lu Ran offered a gentle smile, pulling a tissue from his pocket and handing it to her. "We're friends."
"Friends..." Lin Xiao took the tissue, carefully dabbing at her tears, but her gaze held deep worry. "Lu Ran, I really treasure this... I'm truly afraid that because of Xiao Xue, we... might drift apart."
Lu Ran's heart tightened seeing her vulnerable yet stubborn expression. "Me too," he said solemnly. "Don't worry, leave this to me. I'll talk to Xiao Xue, make her understand where the line is." He paused, his voice gaining strength. "If she still refuses to see reason, I have my ways to make her face reality."
"But..." Lin Xiao looked concerned. "She's your sister. Don't be too hard on her."
"I know where to draw the line," Lu Ran assured her, his gaze settling on her face with a calming power. "But she must understand that causing harm is never justified."
"Mm..." Lin Xiao lowered her head, her gratitude solidifying into a deeper resolve. Gathering her courage, she looked up at Lu Ran's gentle profile. A complex mix of aching and complicated emotions stirred within her. The feeling she had always suppressed with reason seemed to find a crack in the dam at that moment.
In the office, a brief silence brewed a silent storm. Lin Xiao's heart pounded like a drum against her ribs. The secret Lu Xue had exposed, but that she had always buried deep within, now surged violently, threatening to spill out.
"Lu Ran," she took a deep breath, her voice trembling with desperate courage. "You know... I've always envied... envied you and Xiao Xue." She avoided Lu Ran's gaze, her voice dropping lower. "Having siblings who can quarrel and have conflicts like that... isn't that a kind of happiness too? I wasn't blessed with that..."
Lu Ran was momentarily taken aback, then offered a helpless smile. "Every family has its troubles. That girl and I aren't as harmonious as you think. Two stubborn tempers colliding—like fire meeting dynamite." He shrugged, but his tone carried the certainty of blood ties. "But family... blood is thicker than water. Fight all you want, but in the end, you still have to stick together." Seeing the clear longing and loneliness in Lin Xiao's eyes, a wave of softness rippled through his heart.
He gently patted Lin Xiao's shoulder, his voice unusually tender. "Don't be sad. If you're willing, consider me an extra brother. I promised to look out for you, and I will." The words were comforting, but they also quietly drew a boundary around their relationship.
"Lu Ran, really... thank you... You're too good to me." This wordless, gentle guardianship only fanned the flames burning inside Lin Xiao. The word "like," which had hovered countless times on the tip of her tongue, finally broke free from all restraints in the emotional turbulence of this moment.
"Don't mention it. We're friends," Lu Ran replied naturally, oblivious to the turmoil in the eyes opposite him.
That sentence was like the finger that pushed the final domino. Lin Xiao snapped her head up, her gaze burning as it locked onto Lu Ran's, her face etched with desperate resolve. "Lu Ran... do you know why I'm afraid of losing you?" Her voice held a barely detectable sob. "It's not just about losing a friend... it's because I like you! I really like you!" The words came out fast, as if slowing down would steal all her courage. "I know it might just be my wishful thinking, I told myself I shouldn't feel this way... but I can't control it! I... I don't want to lie to myself anymore!"
The air instantly solidified.
Lu Ran snapped his head towards her, his eyes wide with unmistakable shock and disbelief. "Wh... what?!" He seemed rooted to the spot. "You... what did you just say?"
"I said I like you, Lu Ran!" Lin Xiao's fingernails dug deep into her palms, using every ounce of strength to maintain this lucid confession. "Not the kind of liking friends have! It's the kind that makes my heart race when I see you, that makes me sad or happy, that makes me care about you uncontrollably! I know it's foolish, it might trouble you, but I had to say it!" She stared at him intently, her eyes a mixture of hope, terror, and a sliver of reckless courage.
Lu Ran recoiled as if scalded, taking a step back, his face flustered. "Lin Xiao! Don't... don't joke like this!" He tried to use his usual gentleness to diffuse this sudden tsunami. "I... I've always thought of you as my best friend! A very important, very trusted friend! I've never had... those kinds of feelings!" His rejection was urgent and unequivocal.
The light in Lin Xiao's eyes visibly shattered, but she remained stubbornly rooted. "Is it a joke? Lu Ran... have you never felt even a little bit... differently about me?" Her voice became very soft, like a candle flame flickering in the wind.
Lu Ran avoided her gaze, his expression complex and conflicted, finally dissolving into a heavy sigh. "Lin Xiao, I'm sorry... it really is just friendship. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't lie to you either. I don't want to lose you as a close friend... Please don't force me to say anything more hurtful, okay?" His voice was low, carrying an undeniable plea that also completely sealed off any hope she might have had.
Dead silence spread through the air, broken only by their rapid breathing. The light in Lin Xiao's eyes extinguished completely. Tears welled up silently and traced paths down her cheeks. She forced a smile uglier than crying, her voice broken but crystal clear. "Okay... I understand. It's me... I was too greedy. I'm sorry, Lu Ran. I made things difficult for you." She took a deep breath, trying to straighten her spine. "I respect you. I'll still keep these feelings in my heart... I'll bless you." Each word felt like self-mutilation.
"Lin Xiao..." Lu Ran's heart was a tumult of conflicting emotions—guilt, helplessness, and a strange panic. "You're a very good girl. You deserve the best. You will definitely meet someone who truly understands you, cherishes you, loves you."
Lin Xiao just silently wiped her tears, striving to keep her voice steady. "Mm... same to you, Lu Ran. You're a very, very good person. You deserve true happiness that suits you." The word "suits" drifted lightly across her heart, leaving a subtle sting.
"So..." Lu Ran hesitated, cautious and filled with immense uncertainty. "We... are we still friends?"
Lin Xiao lifted her tear-streaked face and offered him a smile that was unnervingly clear yet devoid of any joy. She nodded emphatically. "Of course. We will always be friends." That promise, to her at that moment, was as bitter as gall.
"Thank you, Lin Xiao." Lu Ran felt a wave of relief, yet his chest felt even more constricted.
"What's there to thank... We're friends." Lin Xiao repeated the phrase, the curve of her lips maintained, but her eyes were a desolate wasteland. That friendship had irrevocably changed.
"I... I have some things to attend to. You carry on." Lu Ran almost fled the suffocatingly oppressive atmosphere.
Lu Ran slumped back into the cold leather chair in his office, his heart still a chaotic drumbeat. What had just happened felt like a nightmare. Lin Xiao's tear-streaked face, etched with desperate confession, and Lu Xue's face, contorted with malicious hostility, flashed repeatedly in his mind. Frustrated, he yanked his tie loose.
Just then, the door was shoved open without ceremony. Lu Xue barged in. One look at his devastated state, and alarm mixed with deeper suspicion flooded her eyes. "Brother! What's wrong? You look awful! Did that vixen Lin Xiao bully you again?" She immediately pointed the finger at Lin Xiao, her tone hostile.
"Xiao Xue! Watch your language!" Lu Ran snapped back to the present, suppressing his agitation, his tone unusually stern. "It's my own issue! It has nothing to do with her!"
"Bullshit!" Lu Xue didn't believe him for a second. Furious, she made to storm out. "I knew she was up to no good! Two-faced bitch! I'll go tear that fake mask off her face right now..."
"Stop!" Lu Ran shot to his feet, blocking the doorway, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Lu Xue! I'm telling you one more time! Lin Xiao is my friend! I will not allow you to hurt or insult her in any way again! Do you hear me?!" His tone was ironclad, carrying a hardness and coldness Lu Xue had never felt from him before.
Lu Xue was startled by her brother's intensity, taking half a step back. Then came an overwhelming wave of grievance and the fury of betrayal. "Friend?! Hah... nice words, brother! You treat her as a 'friend,' but what does she want from you? Don't you see? She's seducing you! She's scheming to steal you away from me!" Her voice was shrill, a desperate accusation.
"Lu Xue! That's enough!" The anger Lu Ran had been suppressing finally boiled over. He slammed his hand down on the desk with a heavy thud. "I won't allow you to slander her character like that! She is nothing like what you say!" His fervent defense of Lin Xiao only poured fuel on the fire of Lu Xue's jealousy.
"Slander?" Lu Xue, provoked by Lu Ran's anger, became even more hysterical, a near-manic smile twisting her face. "I think you're bewitched! She's fed you a love potion! That vixen! Bitch! Scheming little vixen!!" She hurled the abuse recklessly. Every word was like a blade gouging Lu Ran's heart, utterly destroying the barrier of "sibling understanding" that had connected them for years.
"LU XUE!!" Lu Ran roared, the sound filled with pain and incredulous disappointment. He had never looked at his treasured sister with such cold, warning eyes before. "This is my final warning! Dare to say one more word like that and see what happens?!"
That icy glare was like a bucket of cold water, instantly dousing part of Lu Xue's frenzied rage. But a deeper terror seized her. "You yelled at me? For that outsider, you yelled at me like that?" She shook her head, her eyes instantly reddening. Huge waves of grievance and fear crashed over her. "You've never treated me like this before... Brother... tell me... do you... do you like her? Is that it?!" Her voice cracked with sobs, the question sharp and pointed.
Lu Ran's head throbbed as if splitting. Lin Xiao's tearful face and Lu Xue's agonized, questioning face overlapped in his mind. He sank back into his chair, rubbing his aching temples. "Xiao Xue... We're both too worked up right now... It's not what you think... We're adults. Let's calm down and talk later, okay?" He tried to soothe her, his voice utterly exhausted.
"Calm down? How can I calm down?" Lu Xue's tears burst forth, her emotions utterly shattered. "Brother... tell me the truth! Do you... like Lin Xiao? Do you want to be with her?!" She rushed to his desk, planting her hands on it, leaning forward, the question almost a wail. "Tell me, brother!!"
Only Lu Xue's muffled sobs and Lu Ran's heavy breathing filled the office. Silence pressed down like a physical weight. After a long moment, Lu Ran finally lifted his head. He looked directly into Lu Xue's tear-reddened eyes. His gaze held struggle, helplessness, guilt, but more than anything, an unmistakable resolve and decision.
"Xiao Xue," his voice was low, but unnervingly clear, as if cutting through something vital. "I'm telling you three things." He held her gaze. "First, feelings cannot be forced. What I feel for Lin Xiao—in the past, now, and in the future—is, and will only ever be, friendship." He saw the sudden confusion and uncertainty flood Lu Xue's eyes and continued, his tone heavy with unprecedented gravity and resignation. "Second, you are my sister, Lu Ran's sister. In the past, now, and forever! What I feel for you is, and will only ever be, brotherly affection." He paused, seeing the dawning realization mixed with guilt on her face. "Third, stop conflating these two completely different kinds of feelings. And never, ever use that confusion as an excuse to hurt an innocent person again. Doing that will only make us both lose ourselves."
He watched as Lu Xue's expression shifted from shock and chaos to the gradual emergence of a flicker of remorse and understanding. The storm of emotions seemed finally to be receding. Lu Ran slumped back in his chair, utterly drained. "Xiao Xue... I know you're scared... But some fixations... letting go is the only favor you can do for yourself."