The feelings that Ru and Xia Haoran held in for years would make one think they'd start sobbing at their reunion. But this odd pair of siblings were sitting on a bench silently. One was supposed to shout for the absence that the other left behind and the other was suppose to clear up the circumstances. However, neither Xia Haoran asked anything nor Ru tried to clear anything.
They both weren't inclined on tearing up or playing the blame game as one would think. They were so calm and collected that people might think they never were apart.
"Don't you want to ask anything?" Ru asked with an alienated look on her face.
After staring at her face for a while, he answered, "Do you want to talk about it?" Ru shook her head without even thinking for once. With a sigh, he added, "Then what's the point? I can't possibly force you to tell me something you don't want to."
"You still know me best," Ru mumbled more to herself than him but he heard her.
"There is no one who can claim to know you better." Ru opened her mouth to retort when he cut her off with, "Don't say your Jie knows you better. Because we both know that he knows you longer, not better. And there is a difference." Ru shut her mouth since that was what she wanted to say but couldn't argue with what he said either. "Besides, we might have an age difference of 6 or so years. We still have the strongest siblings bond."
Ru raised her hand to touch his hair and oddly, he leaned down to give her better access. That had never happened before. He used to run far away whenever she tried to touch his precious hair. Okay, both siblings had a weird obsession with their hair. Period.
"Don't you have something to ask?" It was Xia Haoran's turn to ask her.
Ru opened her mouth but closed it again as she bit her lips. It was hard not to ask anything. She had been cut off from her family for years. Now, he was her chance to know whatever was in her heart. However, she just couldn't bring herself to do so.
"I have a lot to ask. I want to know a lot as well. But... I won't ask." Somehow, Xia Haoran had expected that answer from her.
"You think if I told you anything then the yearning that you'd been hiding within yourself will no longer stay under your control. You'd want to run back to that 'fancy cage' as you called it. But you still have something to do that's holding you back here." Ru wasn't surprised that he read her like an open book. As he said, he knew her better. So, how could he not know what was in her mind?
"It was indeed a fancy cage for me only. But honestly speaking, it is still the most precious place for me. I have been all around the world like I always wanted to. It took me long enough to realize there was no place like home. I'm still unable to find a home outside of that cage." Taking a deep breath, and adding another deep breath, she said, "I knew from the very start that I was that precious butterfly that father wanted to protect at all costs. However, he wasn't willing to raise me like a delicate butterfly. He wanted me to become a dragon. A living, fire-breathing dragon."
"He so did." Xia Haoran nodded in agreement as his eyes saddened again. "He made you the dragon. He made you stronger than anyone in our whole clan or our whole state."
Ru chuckled a bit as she said, "I have a thank you pending for him. If he didn't raise me like a dragon, I'd have been dead."
Xia Haoran looked at her with a horrified expression as he softly said, "Ge... What happened to you?"
Ru wrapped an arm around his neck, "Don't look so down. You brother might be broken in this world but trust me, this young master is not shattered just yet." Tightening her headlock, she pinched his cheek and was about to speak when...
Ten or so people in black surrounded her with their swords pointing straight at her.
"Release our Second Young Master!"
One of them spoke with a wave of raging anger but it made Ru yawn as if she was bored. "Oh dear! You brought toys for me?" Ru looked at Xia Haoran inquisitively and while the latter one was busy trying to stop his laughter, she pinched his nose and stood up saying, "It's been a while since I had some good toys to play with."
Being offended by her words, those people attacked all at once but right before their eyes, Ru's figure vanished. And as they were busy looking around, they heard a whistle and turned. Ru straightened her palm and struck at one of them's chest who landed far away from the rest.
"What the bloody hell! I was expecting better." Saying that Ru moved towards the rest. Her figure moved with so much speed that the onlooker could only see the after-image like a movie was running before their eyes. Dusting her hands, she looked at Xia Haoran and said, "My dearest rice-cake, don't you think their level of competence is too... low?" She gave a look of disdain to all the people lying on the floor trying to get up.
Although normal people would have been dead by her moves, they were at least alive enough to moan or grunt in pain.
Xia Haoran was sitting languidly at his seat without even flinching. His attitude towards this fight was just like one would expect from Ru. Both were indifferent and bored.
"You should find some better subordinates for your protection," Ru suggested patting his shoulder.
"My strongest protector left a long time ago. I had to work up with these weak ones." His answer made Ru's body stiffen for a movement as she was reminded of how she was supposed to protect him as she had promised.
It was weird but the girl who never broke promises even to a strange actually broke so many with her own brother.
Xia Haoran saw one of his men standing to attack and glared at him. "Stand down. Can't you see who it is? Raise your sword at the Eldest Young Master Ru and be prepared for the consequences."
All the people under him were close to his age and that's why most of them had a very vague impression of Ru from years ago. That's why they didn't recognize her but as soon as they heard Xia Haoran's words, all of them fell on their knees to bow.
"Greetings to the Eldest Young Master!"
Ru just waved them off as she focused back on her brother. Pinching both of his cheeks, she pulled them and she trailed, "Yah! Why did you lose your chubby cheeks? I looked biting those riped tomatoes." She poked his hollowed cheeks and added, "What's up with this hollowed cheeks? I don't like this. Give me back my chubby-cheeked rice-cake. I don't like this one."
"Pfft!"
All of his subordinated were trying to muffle their laughter as they saw their formidable Second Young Master being treated like a kid. But who would dare to say anything? The other person was the most dreadful one even after all these years. The silence was better than losing their lives.
"Ge, talk about double standards." Xia Haoran also got up and looked at Ru. "Have you seen your own face? You've also changed. It happens when we grow up. How was I supposed to keep my chubby cheeks when you stopped stuffing me like a bloody teddy bear?"
"Way to go! Blame it all on me now." Ru grumbled at him before turning towards his subordinates. "All of you, disappear from my sight. Or do you want to taste some more of my moves?"
As if the fire had caught their clothes, all of them ran away leaving only Xia Haoran and Ru alone in a true sense this time.
"Ge!"
"What?"
"My dearest love!"
"Yah! Would you stop teasing me already with that title?" Ru was irked at the reminder of that.
"Sorry but I feel sorrier for the one who called you 'My dearest love'." Xia Haoran answered in amusement. He knew how much Ru was irked by it but he loved doing it nonetheless.
"Why do you feel sorry for him?"
"Because the poor guy used to write love letters to you. And here you are with your new boyfriend. Tsk. Tsk. It's really unfair to him." Looking at Ru's deep gaze, he took a step back saying, "What? Just because you disguise as a guy, doesn't mean you are one. I admit your boyfriend is pretty good but still..."
Running after him, Ru shouted, "Would you stop already? I don't have a boyfriend! And don't remind me of that nuisance from the past!"