Accepting the result of her failed plan meant that Cheng Lele wasn’t afraid of ghosts that night, nor did she have nightmares—because she didn’t sleep at all.

The first half of the night she kept lamenting and wailing. In the second half of the night, when it was deep and quiet, she began to reflect on whether she had been too aggressive. Just like that escape seven years ago, back then she was like a child trying to be an adult—naive and arrogant. Among many possible solutions, she had chosen the most hurtful method. After she matured considerably, she truly regretted it.

Because the lesson from that time was unforgettable and the sin grave, before hurting and letting down her dear older brother once again, Cheng Lele seriously considered whether the two of them really had absolutely no possibility left.

She thought of the embrace in the haunted house, of feeding him popcorn at the exhibition, of the countless times holding hands. Objectively speaking, her own performance hadn’t been that terrible. On that morning picking pomegranates, she had even discovered that her dear older brother was a sexy yet restrained man.

Compared to her former self who remained unmoved even when he stood shirtless before her, she had actually achieved a major breakthrough from zero to one. The situation hadn’t deteriorated to a desperate point.

Perhaps she had pushed herself too hard—it was like being in the first year of high school yet having to directly take the final exam, proficiency test, and college entrance exam all at once. No one could hand in a perfect paper (except for her dear older brother who cheated with his abilities). Any tiny progress deserved affirmation.

She decided to give herself another chance.

After making this decision, Cheng Lele relaxed. Her consciousness began to drift, and she slept in a half-dreaming state. When she startled awake, she suddenly discovered she had overslept by half an hour. She had scheduled an early morning meeting with the property management of Tongfang Tower to discuss cooperation, and she still needed to visit several office buildings—it would be a very busy day.

She hurriedly changed clothes and rushed out to hail a taxi. Once in the car, she sent Chen An a WeChat message: “Dear older brother, I won’t be coming upstairs for breakfast today.”

Chen An sat at the dining table, dumped all the peeled eggs into the garbage bag, and only then replied: “Got it.”

He didn’t have the habit of working regular office hours at the cinema. To facilitate video conferences, in Taixi he always worked from home alone, but today he brought his laptop and drove to the cinema.

Time passed minute by minute. The already scarce hope, like sand in an hourglass, also trickled away bit by bit.

Until evening, Cheng Lele still hadn’t come to the cinema.

On the way home, Chen An painfully discovered that he had messed things up again. Cheng Lele was avoiding him. When she could no longer endure it, perhaps she would leave him once more.

Seven years ago, he had made a major misjudgment about Cheng Lele being unable to leave him, which had turned him into a bird frightened by the mere twang of a bowstring. Any slightest disturbance hinted that the thing he worried about most would eventually happen.

But he had no bargaining chips to make Cheng Lele stay. The current her was more independent, more confident, and more outstanding than before. Apart from love that she didn’t need, he had nothing.