Sorry, Brother

"I..."

The words trailed off abruptly.

Liu Yuan didn’t know what to say, though reason told her she ought to say something.

Her throat felt clogged, as if something were stuck there, making it even harder to sort through her already tangled thoughts.

Or perhaps, she wasn’t even entirely sure what she was feeling at that moment.

...

Her mind began to drift.

Why was her relationship with Su Qi so strained?

No—strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly strained.

There had been no arguments between them, no hatred.

They were simply strangers.

Like two separate rivers that had crossed paths by chance, only to part ways again without a second thought, flowing toward different destinations.

The only real tie binding them together was Su Qi’s father and her mother.

But shortly after the two had bought a house together, they vanished in an accident.

And with that, there was no one left to maintain the connection.

Honestly, what sense of right and wrong could an eight-year-old girl be expected to have?

All she saw was that Su Qi’s father was the "bad uncle" who had taken her mother away from her dad.

And Su Qi? He was just that bad uncle’s child.

As simple as that.

If it were you, would you have smiled and greeted him with, "Hello, brother"?

Probably not.

To put it in perspective, even many biological siblings grow up without the younger one ever calling the elder "brother." If they manage a casual "hey, bro," that’s already a sign of a decent relationship.

And after that...

No one ever taught her what to do next.

Su Qi went to his school, and she focused on her own studies.

When they returned home, they each retreated to their own rooms, barely crossing paths.

Over time, they grew accustomed to this strange, distant way of coexisting.

Because that was how it had always been.

But so many things only seem ordinary in hindsight.

Like how, as a child, you eat the meals your parents prepare every day without a second thought.

For years, it’s just routine—something so mundane that some people don’t even register it as significant.

But when you leave home for years and return to taste that same meal again, seeing your parents’ hair now streaked with gray, you suddenly understand it in a completely different light.

Liu Yuan was feeling something similar now.

Not that Su Qi was anything like paternal love, of course.

She thought back.

Back then, Su Qi had been fourteen, and she was eight.

Their parents were gone, leaving behind only that house and a modest sum of compensation.

As for their parents’ savings?

Great Xia would never pull something as absurd as demanding proof like, "Please confirm your father is your father" to access the account.

Absolutely not.

It was just that Su Qi didn’t know the password.

The bank certainly had no intention of withholding the money, but without the password, what could they do?

Rules were rules. They could only reluctantly write it off as a bad debt.

If anyone was to blame, it was their parents for not thinking to share the password with a fourteen-year-old, right?

In any case, the bank wasn’t at fault.

...

Back then, she hadn’t given it a second thought, assuming their parents’ estate was enough to sustain them comfortably until adulthood.

But now, digging deeper, Liu Yuan felt a chill run down her spine.

The compensation alone couldn’t possibly have covered their living expenses all those years.

Yet she’d never gone hungry, never lacked clothes, and her tuition had always been paid on time.

By all logic, she should have had to consider part-time work or scholarships long ago...

People often get trapped in their own assumptions.

So...

Even if Su Qi seemed unreliable on the surface, was he actually a dependable older brother?

He could have easily dumped her in an orphanage to fend for herself—he’d have had an easier life that way.

When she entered the Origin Realm for training, he could have shrugged it off with, "It’s just a lousy E-rank Origin Realm. The teachers are watching anyway—why should I care?"

But he never did any of that.

...

"I... Su..."

"Brother..."

"Su Qi, brother..."

Even without witnessing it firsthand, she could imagine how dangerous it must have been.

Old Li had nearly been left giving his last words in that fight.

And Su Qi?

He had simply lifted the tent flap, seen her awake, and—

No dramatic exclamations like, "Damn, I almost died out there."

No smug bragging in his usual tone: "Pfft, ran into some cultist. Even Old Li couldn’t handle him. You’d have been toast if I hadn’t shown up."

Instead, he just calmly moved to return to his bed, casually remarking, "Did I wake you? I’ll be quieter next time."

That was the moment Liu Yuan nearly broke down.

"I’m sorry..."

Huh?

Su Qi tilted his head, his narrow eyes filled with confusion. "What are you apologizing for?"

Liu Yuan bit her lip.

Making him hear something like this right after he’d risked his life for her—she really was sorry.

"I’m sorry... for making you go through such danger for me..."

Su Qi: ???

What did she mean, "for me"?

Since when did this brat become so full of herself?

Seriously, he’d just gone out to take a leak when some idiot, probably high on something, tried to ambush him from behind.

"Bro, you smell nice"?

"What ‘danger for you’? I just went out to... answer nature’s call and ran into some brain-dead cultist. Talk about bad luck."

But Liu Yuan clearly didn’t buy it.

Why would he need to go hundreds of meters away just to relieve himself?

Afraid Old Li would see?

But a Cardholder’s spiritual sense could only detect someone’s presence vaguely, not the specifics.

That excuse didn’t hold up.

The only plausible explanation was that Su Qi had noticed something suspicious and gone to investigate alone.

He was still trying to tough it out...

Just then—

[Daily Adventure (Special Three-in-One Edition): Su Qi, who promised to arrive on time, has unsurprisingly only just rolled out of bed at 10 a.m. Such unreliability is undeniably infuriating. Please "go back on your word" three times in a row, making him experience the same frustration and helping him rebuild his credibility. (2/3)]

[Peel off the bandage on his face and mock him: "You don’t actually think playing the hero makes you look cool, do you? Really?"]

[Complete the third instance of going back on your word immediately.]

Liu Yuan: "..."

If she remembered correctly, there was also this note:

[Warning: After the first instance of "going back on your word," the adventure is considered active. You must complete two more consecutive reversals, or the system will enforce compliance. Alternatively, you may destroy the card to end the enforcement.]

At that moment, Su Qi was still half-crouched.

Liu Yuan’s hand, having just withdrawn, hovered midair.

Su Qi was about to stand.

Liu Yuan’s expression darkened.

She sighed inwardly.

‘Sorry, brother.’

Then she spoke: "Wait."

Su Qi paused, confused but not yet rising.

Then, Liu Yuan's fair and cool little hands pressed once more against the band-aid.

……