hapter 5
Camden seemed to curse under his breath.
But he still got up immediately.
He handed me the ointment: “Put this on yourself. I need to go to the study first.”
I took the ointment and watched him leave the room.
Only then did I let out a heavy sigh of relief.
My phone on the side buzzed.
I snapped back to reality and picked it up.
It was a message from an unknown number.
‘This is Kieran. Save my number.”
I stared at the small text on the screen.
After a long while, I replied: “Okay, big brother.”
Kieran didn’t reply again.
Camden didn’t come back to the room either.
He called me when he left in his car.
He said there was some trouble at a branch office in Hangzhou and he had to go on a business trip for several days.
I could hear the anxiety in his voice.
It seemed like a serious matter.
At least it gave me a temporary breather.
The next morning I was getting ready to go back to school.
I had just come downstairs when I ran into Kieran again.
This time he was wearing glasses.
The cold light reflected from the lenses made him look especially frigid.
Completely different from how he looked that night when he kissed me so tenderly.
I greeted him just like the first time I met him.
Well–behaved and gentle: “Good morning, big brother.”
Kieran nodded slightly: “Going back to school?”
“Mm–hmm.”
“I’m heading that way. I’ll give you a ride.”
I wanted to decline, but Kieran added: “With Camden away, it’s only right for me as his big brother to look after
you.”
“Let’s eat first.”
I hastily ate a few bites and put down my chopsticks.
Kieran said nothing and turned to walk outside.
I grabbed my bag and followed with my head down.
When the car door closed, Kieran reached over and pressed the partition button.
“Big brother?” I was a bit flustered.
Kieran took off his glasses and put them in the storage compartment.
Then he turned to look at me: “How’s the injury?”
My face instantly flushed red, “It’s, it’s better.”
He nodded, but then took out another tube of ointment and handed it to me: “If it’s healed, use this one.”
I looked at him in bewilderment, frantically waving my hands.
“No, no need, big brother. Camden already put medicine on it for me.”
Kieran’s face showed no expression.
But somehow that made him even more frightening.
“Take it. This one works better.”
“I really don’t need it…” I shook my head vigorously, almost crying from anxiety.
“Camden was already a bit mad that I mistook you for him.”
“If I take your ointment and he finds out, he’ll definitely scold me again.”
Kieran stared at me steadily, then slowly lowered his hand.
“You care about Camden that much?”
“Yes, he’s my first boyfriend.”
I bit my lip, unable to hide the sweetness in my eyes: “He’s always been so, so good to me.”
“I really love him.”
Kieran seemed to chuckle softly.
Or maybe I heard wrong.
He stopped looking at me.
Leaning back in his seat, his gaze calmly fixed ahead.
For the rest of the ride, he didn’t say another word to me.
When I got out, I quietly thanked him: “Big brother, thank you for today. I’ll head to school now.”
Kieran nodded indifferently and hummed in acknowledgment.
I gripped my backpack strap and was opening the door to get out when Kieran suddenly called out to me.
“Harper.”
I instinctively turned back and met his clear, handsome gaze.
“This ointment works best for scars.”
“Use it on the scar on your leg.”
“Big brother, how do you know I have a scar on my leg?”
But Kieran didn’t answer.
He just placed the ointment in my hand.
I stood there stunned for a moment before getting out of the car.
The car quickly sped away.
I stood there for a while.
Then took out my phone to reply to Camden’s WhatsApp.
“I miss you too. Do you really have to be gone for ten days?”
“About that, but I’ll finish up and come back as soon as I can.”
“Okay, I’ll wait for you at home.”
Time crawled forward slowly.
During the ten days Camden was away, life was surprisingly peaceful and calm.
Kieran never contacted me once.
That night felt like an absurd dream.
Sometimes I even wondered if it had really been Kieran that night.
Why would such an aloof, untouchable man play such a cruel game with his younger brother?
Friday afternoon, Camden called to say he was coming back to Beijing tonight.
He told me to go home and wait for him.
I packed up my things and called a car back to the estate.
After showering, I lay on the couch scrolling through my phone, waiting for Camden.
But while waiting, I fell asleep.
I don’t know how long I slept before I was awakened by the sound of a door opening.
I sat up groggily and saw a tall figure walking toward me against the light.
The scent that invaded my nostrils was that cold cedar fragrance from Kieran’s body that night.
My heart suddenly contracted.
He came closer, not wearing glasses.
Exactly the same as that night.
I reached out to him, wanting him to hold me.
And the moment Kieran bent down to embrace me, I lifted my face and kissed his chin, softly complaining in a spoiled voice.
“What took you so long to come back…”
Chapter
“I waited so long I fell asleep.”
Kieran’s breathing seemed to hitch.
But his arms around me suddenly tightened.
So forcefully that I couldn’t help but hiss.
I nestled against his neck and bit him lightly: “You’re hurting me again.”
“I just got better a few days ago. You’re not allowed to bully me tonight, Camden…”
