Chapter 27

In this world, no one really owed each other, because no one was obligated to console you when you were sad and no one had the right to impose his or her wishes on others.

Chen Keren knew it well, but she still used “owe them one” to constrain a man who would not have been responsible for Chen Kexin and her.

That man, naturally, was the grim-faced Lan Xiao.

“How do you know this is Aunt Ni Ya’s wishes?” Lan Xiao looked doubtful. He tried to hold back his excitement and asked in a steady, mild tone.

Chen Keren nodded and puffed out a cloud of smoke. She said tonelessly, “How can I not know about the conversation between you?”

Lan Xiao frowned slightly and gave no response.

Chen Keren sneered. “Your expression has betrayed your real thoughts.”

He had always thought that this was a secret between Ni Ya and him. At that time, he was still young and lost his heart to the sweet and lovely Chen Kexin. He still remembered that Chen Kexin was 13 while he was 15, and Ni Ya saw through his thoughts.

Lan Xiao had not expected that Ni Ya would die suddenly, so he had not realized that Ni Ya actually visited with him on purpose.

Lan Xiao still recollected her solemn expression at that time. He was very fond of her. For him, she was like his mother, so when she told him that she wanted to entrust Kexin to him, he was delighted and totally stunned. Lan Xiao’s reaction was still engraved on his mind.

“I made a promise, but I’ve failed to keep it.”

If he had known that Ni Ya would perish soon, Lan Xiao would not have flown to France to learn authentic French cuisine, and he would not have roved the world just to learn various dishes from each country. All he had done was to improve himself and become the best prince for Chen Kexin.

However, not long after he left, he received the sad news in Paris and desperately wanted to return to attend the funeral, but he was only fifteen years old at that time, so he was unable to make a decision on his own.

Later, after knowing that Chen Kexin was still as happy as before, he gave up the idea of going back. In fact, he had been imagining the wonderful scene of meeting Chen Kexin after return every night.

One month before he came back, Chen Kexin was preparing for the wedding. However, Lan Xiao was not the groom who held the stunning bride in white and he even had no chance to glance at her pretty look, because his family concealed the fact from him.

When he returned, it happened to be October 1, the National Day. Looking at the long fleet of cars passed by and the rose petals dance in the air, he was like a lonely prince who could only stand from a distance and let the tears wet his eyes again and again.

It had been long since they last met. It was so long that he did not recognize her at the time of seeing her again. And he had also lost the courage to embrace her and he even didn’t dare to speak with her.

He had to be as gentle as he could to protect his image in her memory.

Seeing Lan Xiao, who was caught in the memory, Chen Keren supported her chin with one hand and asked with interest, “Does it occur to you?”

Lan Xiao lowered his head without saying a word.

Chen Keren continued took a puff on her cigarette, and then slowly puffed out clouds of smoke, which lingered for a while and then went with the sea breeze.

For a good while, Lan Xiao raised his head, gently picked up the glass of champagne on the table, and took a sip of it. Looking at Chen Keren, he asked grimly, “How do you know?”

He had always regretted that he left at that time, but he did not believe that Chen Keren would know the promise that even Chen Kexin knew nothing about. After all, Chen Keren was only eleven years old. How could an eleven-year-old child remember this?

Chen Keren had finished her second cigarette. She put out it and turned her face to watch the tide surge up and down. The sound of the waves lashing the reef was so lively.

She slowly closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the sea waves. It seemed to be very enjoyable. It only took tens of seconds before her memory returned to that year, that day.

The empty medicine bottle was limply spinning on the ground. The wind outside the window was piercing. Chen Keren quarrelled with Chen Kexin, so she broke the rules that they were not allowed to bother their mother when she fell asleep. But Chen Keren knew that their gentle mother was unlikely to blame herself, so she rushed into the room with mischief.

Her mother looked a little pale. Chen Keren was just scared. She shook her mother’s arm desperately and asked her mother to scold her elder sister.

At that moment, her father came back. She saw his father hurriedly hold her mother and rush out of the room, leaving her curling up in the corner of the room and crying. She turned her face and saw a paper.

At that time, she could only read a few words, but when she noticed the word “daughter”, she knew it might the letter her mother left, so she hid it away.

In the next few days, she was surrounded by cries.

She still remembered that Chen Kexin was a bit more mature and knew better than her what it meant to lose her mother and that her sister only hugged herself and said to herself that don’t cry over and over again.

Later on, she learned to read the unknown words by using a dictionary and read the letter written by her mother.

Since then, the ties of kinship had never existed in the rest of her life. Except for Chen Kexin, she did not treat anyone as her family member. She knew she was unable to erase her elder sister’s pain. Although she was only two years elder than Chen Keren, Chen Kexin enjoyed more maternal love than her younger sister, so she loved the woman who had been lying there more than her sister.

Since she could not understand such feelings, Chen Keren chose to treat everyone indifferently. But she always kept her mother’s last words in mind. “My sweetheart, Kexin, follow your brother Lan Xiao. He will take care of you and your sister. Do you know that? Don’t worry about me. I wish I will be happy in another world, still because of you.”

Every word was imprinted on her memory.

Chen Keren opened her eyes and stared at Lan Xiao. “Actually, my mother left us a letter, but my sister and Chen Derong haven’t seen it, because I’ve been hiding it.” She wore an indifferent expression and said in a flat tone. She talked about her saddest thing with the most mundane reaction.

A flicker of surprise flashed in Lan Xiao’s eyes. He felt he did not understand the girl in front of him.

“Why not let uncle and Kexin read it?” He finally couldn’t help but ask.

Chen Keren looked at him and said with a sneer, “Chen Derong is not qualified to read it, because my mother wrote it for us. And my sister…” When she said this, she suddenly forced a bitter smile and raised her head to look into Lan Xiao’s eyes. “Do you want my sister to accept that you broke the promise with our mother and left her when she lost our mother?”

Lan Xiao was silent at this moment. “If Kenxin knew that he left after making a promise to Aunt Ni Ya, what would she do?”

“In other words, if you hadn’t promised your mother at first, she might have chosen to stay alive because she worried about us. But you? But you left for France without saying a word.”

Lan Xiao bowed his head. At this moment, he felt guilty and even lost the guts to look up at Chen Keren.

Chen Kexin continued with a disdainful smile, “Of course, your decision has nothing to do with us. But you have to admit that you are the indirect killer who should be responsible for my mother’s death!”

Lan Xiao trembled fiercely. He clenched his fists and wanted to defend but found he had nothing to say. “That’s right… She’s absolutely right…”

“Keren… do you hate me?” It took a while before he spoke in a slow tone. It sounded helpless.

Chen Keren gave no response. She dropped her gaze and looked pitiful. Lan Xiao had never seen such expression on her face before. No, it should be an expression that no one had ever seen.

Lan Xiao sat there limp. At this moment, he finally made out why Chen Keren called him Lan Xiao, instead of Brother Lan Xiao and why she became remote, only indifference revealed in her eyes.

“Right, I was the killer. My arrogance and determination made Aunt Ni Ya believe me, which caused her premature death. It was me. I destroyed the happy childhood that Kexin and Keren should have enjoyed…”

The more he thought about it, the more miserable he felt. He suddenly did not know what his nine years efforts were for. “Did I really do it for Chen Kexin? Or for my own glory, I took a little girl as an excuse?”

“I called you here not to say those things.” When she saw that it was time to tell her plan, Chen Keren pulled herself together and spoke in a slow tone.

Lan Xiao was waiting for what she would say in silence.

Chen Keren nodded and seemed to be very satisfied with Lan Xiao’s reaction, because his silence represented he would accept what she said next unconditionally.

“I know that you still like my sister.” After a pause, she finally continued.

Lan Xiao gave a helpless smile, with a flicker of pain revealed in his eyes.

When the night breeze blew, the coldness and chill swept over. The sound of the waves not far from here added a mysterious rhythm to the originally peaceful night.

Chen Keren squinted and watched the lonely face with interest, but she was in a complicated mood. Taking a sip of champagne, she said, “I want you to be responsible for my sister.”

Hearing it, Lan Xiao was shocked.

Seeing the stunned Lan Xiao, Chen Keren smiled and asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you so surprised?”

Lan Xiao looked at Chen Keren with anger. “Should I be very composed and say ‘I will’ with a smile?” Although Chen Kexin married another man, he would not grab her back because of his desire. He knew she never belonged to him.

Chen Keren was enjoying the liquor. At the moment, her cheeks became rosy, but her eyes still looked cold and arrogant. She wore a big smile, fascinated by the charming night. “Of course.” Gently putting the cup on the table, Chen Keren said in a calm tone.