"Uh... hi?"
Kael almost subconsciously, with a mix of awkwardness and bewilderment, squeezed out these two words from his throat.
As soon as he said it, he regretted it. What kind of reaction was that?
This was facing a… sister… who thought he had been dead for thirteen years and was suddenly reunited with him.
However, these simple, almost clumsy, two words were like a key, instantly opening the floodgates in Sirin's heart that had been sealed for thirteen years.
Her eyes, which had initially held only a last glimmer of faint hope, cautiously seeking confirmation, completely changed the moment she heard his voice and saw his familiar yet somewhat strange, flustered expression.
In her brilliant golden eyes, the icy shell shattered inch by inch, like a frozen surface struck by a stone, and intense emotions surged out like a raging flood!
Shock, ecstasy, disbelief, immense grievance… and a colossal longing that had been suppressed by the long years, almost to the point of distortion!
She stared intently at Kael, as if wanting to engrave his current appearance deep into her soul.
Her lips trembled violently, wanting to say something, but no sound came out. Only large, pearly tears, without warning, rolled down from her beautiful golden eyes like broken strings, tracing paths across her pale cheeks.
The paper bag in her hand fell to the ground with a "thud," and the steamed egg box and Black Forest cake tumbled out, but she was completely oblivious.
"...Brother... Brother..."
She finally found her voice, but it was broken, filled with a heavy sob and an unbelievable tremor.
This call was no longer the cautious probe from before, but a huge emotional impact after confirmation.
"Is it really... you...?"
She asked again, her voice as faint as a dream, stumbling a step forward, extending her hand, seemingly wanting to touch Kael's cheek. Yet, she feared it was just an illusion that would shatter at a touch, so her fingers stopped in mid-air, trembling violently.
Kael watched her like this, his heart felt as if it was being fiercely clutched by an invisible hand, aching intensely.
The Sirin in his memory cried silently, suppressed, filled with fear and despair.
But her tears now were full of the immense impact of being found again and a sense of release, as if she was crying out thirteen years of grievances.
"It's me, Sirin."
Kael took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steadier, with a tenderness he didn't even notice himself, "I... didn't die."
Upon receiving his personal confirmation, Sirin's last thread of sanity completely snapped.
"Wuwu...!"
She let out an uncontrollable sob, like the whimper of a small animal, losing all control. She suddenly took a step forward, no longer cautiously probing, but throwing herself into Kael's arms with all her strength.
Her hands tightly wrapped around his waist, burying her face deep in his chest.
"Brother... Brother...!"
She called him repeatedly, her voice muffled in his clothes, with a heartbreaking sob and an indescribable dependence, "It's really you... you're alive... Wuwu... I thought... I thought..."
She was crying so hard she couldn't speak, the rest of her words drowned by the surging tears.
Only her arms, holding him so tightly that Kael almost felt suffocated, as if if she let go, he would disappear again.
Kael was pushed back half a step by her impact. He instinctively reached out, hesitated for a moment, and finally gently patted her back, again and again.
The girl's body trembled violently in his arms. Her warm tears quickly soaked the fabric of his shirt over his chest, the scalding temperature feeling as if it was directly ironing his heart.
He could clearly feel her almost melting joy of rediscovery, and hidden beneath this ecstasy, the thirteen years of pain tormented by loneliness and "loss."
This was completely different from his expectation of cold questioning or distant unfamiliarity.
This unreserved, almost collapsing emotional outpouring made him even more at a loss, and even more... heartbroken.
"There, there... there, there... Sirin, don't cry..."
He awkwardly comforted her, his voice unconsciously very soft, "I'm here... it's alright now..."
Kiana, who had been standing by, went from being utterly confused at first to being dumbfounded later. Now, watching this suddenly appearing, overly beautiful older sister crying hysterically in Kael's arms, she was completely bewildered.
She held the strawberry mousse cake box she had just received, looked at Kael, then at Sirin who was clinging to him, her blue eyes full of huge question marks and a strange... displeasure?
"Hey... Kael?"
Kiana couldn't help but speak up, breaking the overly engrossed world of the two, her tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction and confusion, "What... what's going on? Who is she?"
Sirin seemed to just realize there was someone else nearby.
Her crying subsided slightly, but she still held Kael tightly, not letting go. She just lifted her head slightly from Kael's embrace and looked at Kiana with her tear-reddened, washed-out golden eyes, full of strong hostility and wariness.
That look was completely different from the excitement and dependence she had shown towards Kael just now, filled with scrutiny and a coldness of... invaded territory.
Kael felt Sirin's body instantly tense and the coldness emanating from her, and he secretly thought, "This is not good."
He quickly spoke, trying to ease the atmosphere: "Sirin, this is Kiana, my current... um, roommate."
He then looked at Kiana and introduced, "Kiana, this is Sirin, she is... my sister."
"Sister?"
Kiana suspiciously scrutinized Sirin, especially her hands still tightly clinging to Kael. She pouted, "Oh... a sister, huh..."
Her tone was full of disbelief.
Sirin ignored Kiana. Her gaze returned to Kael's face, as if she couldn't get enough of looking at him.
Sirin's voice was still hoarse from crying, and she asked urgently: "Brother... these thirteen years... where did you go? Why... why did everyone say you died? Bishop Otto, she..."
When Otto's name was mentioned, her eyes dimmed slightly, a complex emotion flashing through them.
Kael looked at her urgent yet pained expression, knowing that this was not the place to talk.
On the street, people were coming and going, and quite a few curious glances were already directed their way.
He gently patted Sirin's shoulder and whispered: "It's not convenient here. Let's... find a place to sit down and talk slowly, okay?"
Sirin nodded vigorously, her hands still clutching his clothes tightly, as if afraid he would run away.
Kael bent down to pick up the paper bag that had fallen to the ground. The steamed egg box inside was somewhat deformed, and the Black Forest cake was leaning to one side.
He looked at the box of steamed eggs, a complex feeling rising in his heart again.
"This..." He had just started to speak.
"It's alright!"
Sirin immediately said, her gaze still firmly fixed on him, "It doesn't matter anymore."
For her, nothing in the world was more important than the rediscovered Kael at this moment.
Kael sighed, held the paper bag properly, and then said to Kiana, who was still puffing out her cheeks with an unhappy expression: "Let's go, we'll head back first."
"Go back? Go where? To our apartment?"
Kiana immediately raised her voice, pointing at Sirin, "Is she coming too?"
Kael looked at Sirin's completely dependent state, as if she would collapse if he left her side for half a step, and then at Kiana's face, which was clearly written with "unwelcome." He felt a headache coming on.
"Mm."
He could only brace himself and reply, "Let's go back first and talk."
Kiana let out a heavy "Hmph," hugged her strawberry mousse, and walked ahead angrily.
Kael, meanwhile, was closely pressed against by Sirin, who was almost half-hugging his arm, as they walked step by step towards the apartment.
The sunlight was still bright.
And ahead of him lay thirteen years of blankness, the thick, unyielding dependence and questions in Sirin's eyes, Kiana's obvious displeasure, and... Otto's face, seemingly seeing through everything, with a playful smile.
Kael: Otto! I * you... Otto: Such a good thing?
He lowered his head and looked at Sirin, who was clinging tightly to him, her eyes red and swollen but gazing at him unblinkingly. A mix of emotions churned within him.
What was bound to come, had come after all.
And it had come so fiercely, leaving him no room to escape.