Crimson Instinct

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*Xin Lei*

Till bro's team was working on restoring data from the video camera we found, everyone else was chatting around.

I went to Bai Li's side and hugged him. 

"I like your brother. He is cool." He chuckled.

I widened my eyes in surprise. I typed. "Are you for real?"

He shrugged. "Why not? Actually, I find him to be an ideal big brother. Most of the brothers really dote on their younger sisters. Not that it's wrong, but they really don't do anything even if their sisters act spoiled. I like men who can toughen up for their sisters and daughters. Xin Zhen loves you, but he also scolds you if he finds that you lack somewhere. That kind of relationship is nice…"

I giggled. I type. "I don't think any other man would have talked like this about his potential future brother-in-law considering the way how he treated you at the entrance."

"Ah, that. I don't mind. Well, brothers are also protective of their sisters, so it's reasonable. Everybody is on guard when it comes to sister/daughter's boyfriend. I  have to win his heart, and we will be good buddies in no time."

I coughed. 

Buddies...I wonder.

But I imagined Bai Li and bro acting like 'buddies,' and somehow, the image of my bro made me shudder.

Bai Li wrapped his hands around my waist and kissed my forehead. "By the way, was your Mom strict? Does Xin Zhen resemble her personality-wise?"

I typed. "No ways! Mom was very warm and gentle. Even if she scolded us, it felt so loving and caring. She hardly got that angry."

He frowned, and I could sense his curiosity as he asked. "But your Dad doesn't seem to be that strict too. So how come Xin Zhen is so cold? Personality-wise, he doesn't seem to resemble your Mom or Dad."

I thought about it and typed. "Actually, Bro wasn't always like that. He was still quiet and reserved even when he was a boy, but he smiled a lot and was sometimes carefree like other boys his age. But since Mom's death, he changed. From that day, we stood in the cemetery for Mom's funeral, bro wasn't the same anymore. He became more withdrawn, and since then, he was always like that."

The memories of my mother once again made me feel a bit melancholic. I felt Bai Li's hand on the back of my head, and he pulled me in his embrace.

I smiled, and I felt tears filling my eyes. I typed. "Bro and I would always compete for Mom's affection. He would always tease me by saying that Mom loved him more than me."

I heard Bai Li softly chuckle. "Typical of any older sibling. Wait. Did he tell you that you were adopted?"

I laughed and felt my eyes turn sore. I typed. "Yes, he did. How did you know?"

"I could guess that. All older siblings love to play that prank on their younger siblings."

I typed. "He did. He said that Mom and Dad picked me from near a trash can and adopted me since I was pitiful. I was only four years old when he told me that, and like any other naive kid, I believed him."

I felt Bai Li's hand brushing through my hair. It felt so nice and peaceful. His sturdy hold on me comforted me.

"What happened then?"

I typed. "I cried hard. I really thought I was adopted, and then guess what?"

"What?"

I giggled and typed. "I ran away from home."

"What!?"

I laughed and typed. "Yes. I loved bro and looked up to him, and so I believed his words. I didn't bother to ask Mom and Dad because I thought, why would bro lie to me? But then bro found me in a flash because I hid in my usual spot in the park where we played. I was crying. He panicked and scolded me. 

"Are you stupid to believe that? Idiot! You are my real sister! Don't believe everything so easily! You will be eaten by the wolves one day!" He told the truth, and that was the only time he begged me not to say this to Mom or Dad."

"I can imagine. If they learned that a four-year daughter ran away, any parent would panic." he chuckled.

I nodded and typed. "But they still found out. We tried to behave normally as best as we could when we returned, but I had cried so hard that Mom immediately noticed it. After much questioning, bro had to come out with the truth."

"And how did they react?"

I typed. "Hehe~~Dad gave him a nice beating, and Mom forced him to kneel on the durian for a long time."

I recalled Mom's angry words as she lashed out at bro.

'You do not play pranks like that, young man! What if somebody had kidnapped her when she ran away! There are many bad people around. Kneel on the durian and reflect upon your actions!'

I typed. "I enjoyed seeing Bro's pitiful state like that."

Bai Li cupped my face and smiled. "You have a good family. I would have loved to meet your mother."

My eyes brightened, but the vision of Bai Li in front me turned a little blur with my tears. I typed. "En. I am sure that she would have definitely liked you a lot."

Bai Li felt his way and slowly pressed his thumb on my cheek, wiping the tear away.

"It must be hard on your family after she...left. I am sorry for making you sad."

I kissed his hand and shook my head.

He pulled me in his embrace again and tightly hugged me.

I typed. "If you don't mind, then can I ask you about your parents?"

"Sure."

"How were they?

Bai Li chuckled. "My mom was really...how can I say...she was very clumsy. Half of the time, she crashed into something or someone while walking her way. The only thing Dad was busy for the  entire day was to make sure that she didn't get into an accident."

I laughed.

"Dad doted on her a lot. He even despised me a little because he thought I stole Mom from him ever since I was born."

Aww, that is so cute.

"Mom was clumsy and a little forgetful too. But she liked cooking a lot. She made the most delicious food. Everybody in our neighborhood was a fan of her food."

I typed. "My mom was the opposite. She liked to cook and was very orderly about things but her cooking skills well...But she always tried her best. We knew that. It was usually Dad who cooked most of the time while Mom would sometimes learn some new recipes."

Bai Li smiled as I looked up at him. "Wouldn't it have been perfect if our Moms had met? Mom had opened her own small cooking class, but as I said, she was clumsy. You can just imagine the mess she made while teaching. Her class was more comedy than a cooking session. Haha. Your mom would have taught her about orderliness while my Mom would have taught her how to cook. It would have been a fantastic duo."

I grinned. That would have been perfect. But now that I remember, Mom did use to attend a one cooking class. She was hell-bent in improving herself as she felt terrible for letting Dad cook most of the time.

I forgot the name of that cooking class, though. I was really young, maybe four or five, when Mom started.

I typed. "What was the name of your Mom's cooking class?"

Bai Li smiled. "Yixi's Home Cooking. Bai Yixi was my mother's name."

I frowned and tilted my head. 

Was that the class?

I would ask Dad sometime later. He would surely remember it.

"Xin Lei!" A dangerous voice suddenly came from behind my back.

I jumped, feeling startled. I turned and looked at my bro, whose expression was sour and ugly.

Oops...did he see us getting intimate?

Oh, God! I sobbed.

I could hear him gritting his teeth in annoyance. "Do I need to remind your pea-sized brain that I haven't yet accepted Bai Li? Keep your distance, young lady." His voice sounded as cold as the Arctic.

Bai Li coughed. "We were just hugging."

Bro sneered. "Yes, of course. Now you are just hugging and kissing, and tomorrow, you two will be rolling naked in the sheets together. Do you take me as an idiot? I know how it works."

I wanted to puke three liters of blood.

Rolling naked in the sheets? Oof! Bro really had no filter in his mouth!

"Your brother is really something else…" Bai Li whispered.

I agreed a hundred percent.

"Zhen!" Shi Ruiling stepped in, holding her hands on her waist and glaring at bro. "How could you talk like that! Xin Lei is your sister, and Bai Li could be a part of our family in the future. Talk like a respectable brother-in-law." She hit him on the shoulder.

Hm? Our family?

I rapidly blinked my eyes.

Perhaps bro understood my confusion, so he said, "She said it right. Our family. Shi Ruiling is my girlfriend."