Chapter 5: A Brother’s Redemption

Having dealt with the group of ruffians, I made my way towards my sister, basking in her admiring gaze. It was the first time my sister had ever looked at me with such profound admiration. Her gaze, like that fixed on a legendary hero, made me feel as though I had just rescued a princess from the clutches of a fearsome dragon.

Yet, as I approached her, a mix of confusion and awkwardness stirred within me.

My confusion stemmed from something I had noticed earlier. Even before reaching the vicinity of the Green Tree Cafe, I had detected a dozen individuals, each radiating a formidable presence, lying in ambush.

Initially, I suspected they were reinforcements for these thugs, yet not one of them had made an appearance.

This led me to conclude they were not hostile.

Still, if they weren’t enemies, why were so many powerful individuals gathered in one place? It defied the possibility of mere coincidence.

As for the awkwardness, it stemmed from my own performance. My movements had been far too sluggish when dispatching those thugs.

Though my techniques appeared formidable, they were, in truth, lacking any real power. It was only due to the sheer weakness of these street toughs that I managed to send them scurrying in defeat.

Had I faced a high-tier zombie, I would have long since become its next meal.

My decade of survival in the apocalypse had drilled one truth into me: with the end of the world now upon us, my body could no longer remain this feeble.

I needed to become strong, and quickly.

Should I persist with this level of physical weakness, my fate would undoubtedly be to fall prey to the zombies.

Such a prospect not only endangered my own life but also rendered any hope of saving my family in this apocalypse utterly impossible.

“Brother, you were absolutely incredible just now!” Bai Xia exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. “You defeated all those men so completely they couldn’t even retaliate. It truly made my heart flutter!”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” I chided gently. “If anything like this happens again, you *must* tell me immediately.”

“Mhm, I know!” she responded, a little too casually. “They were only threatening me with words, anyway.”

“Regardless, you are not to have any further involvement with them. What would you have done if I hadn’t shown up?”

Watching my sister’s nonchalant expression, a surge of anxiety rose within me for her naive simplicity.

What had just transpired was clearly these thugs seeking her out for trouble. At such a moment, my sister should have sought me or our parents, not made decisions independently.

If Bai Xia possessed sufficient capability or cunning, I would not interfere. However, as she currently lacked both, she was dangerously susceptible to irreversible peril.

Furthermore, such a casual disregard for danger would lead to her being devoured without a trace in the apocalypse.

While I had rescued my sister from the thugs, lingering questions gnawed at me. What was the true nature of her relationship with these hoodlums? Why had she been standing with them? And what had my sister promised them if I hadn’t intervened?

In my previous life, I had failed to arrive in time.

My sister, it seemed, had just made some sort of agreement with these individuals. Everything unfolding before me now stirred unsettling conjectures regarding her future disappearance from home.

‘Her leaving home must be connected to these thugs!’

“It’s nothing much,” she finally admitted. “If you hadn’t shown up, they told me to go to the abandoned factory in the west of the city in a few days to confront Wang Lili face-to-face.”

“Are you an idiot?”

Unable to restrain myself any longer, I snapped at my sister.

Despite her innocent heart and lack of worldly experience, she had actually dared to agree to such a dangerous meeting with these thugs!

“I was absolutely certain you would come, Brother, so what did that agreement matter?” she retorted, her voice trembling slightly. “Besides, if I hadn’t agreed back then, they would have simply dragged me out of school.”

Startled by my outburst, Bai Xia flinched.

Her small hands unconsciously clutched the hem of her skirt, and her eyes instantly welled up, shimmering with unshed tears as she gazed at me.

‘This girl truly defeats me!’

Seeing her pitiful, aggrieved expression, my anger vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

With a resigned sigh, I reached out, took her hand, and gently pulled her closer to my side.

Then, I raised my other hand and slowly stroked the top of her head, offering a silent comfort to her distressed emotions.

Having been threatened by those thugs, she must have been terrified.

Had it not been for this rebirth, I would never have grasped the dire consequences of my absence from that fateful meeting.

I wouldn’t have known that my sister’s disappearance was entirely a consequence of my tardiness!

This realization made me clench my fists in fury, wishing I could strike myself across the face.

I had always believed my sister ran away from home because she detested me, never imagining the truth could be so profoundly different.

A wave of shame washed over me, so intense that my grip on my sister’s hand unconsciously loosened.

‘I don’t deserve to hold her hand,’ I thought, a bitter taste in my mouth.

Just as I was about to release her, my sister tightened her grip on my hand.

The unexpected strength of her grasp made me turn my head in surprise to look at her.

She offered me a small smile, her face softening into an expression of gratitude. Her gaze, no longer strange or questioning, was now filled with profound trust.

“Brother,” she said softly, “thank you for coming to help me this time.”

Upon hearing her genuine words, my previous feelings of shame slowly receded, replaced by a gentle ripple of happiness within my heart.

‘Since fate has granted me this rebirth, I cannot allow myself to repeat past mistakes!’

****

Bai Xia gazed up at her brother, the affection in her eyes almost impossible to suppress.

She had always harbored a deep fondness for Bai Han. Yet, constrained by pride, she dared not confess it directly. Instead, she resorted to various playful tricks, hoping to provoke him into conversation.

Bai Han, however, possessed a rather shy disposition, responding to her with little more than mumbles and hesitant affirmations. This secretly exasperated Bai Xia, prompting her to devise a mischievous plan that, surprisingly, succeeded in making him speak.

Bai Xia’s strategy involved adopting a taunting demeanor, aiming to compel Bai Han into active conversation. While it yielded some results, it inadvertently led Bai Han to believe she disliked him.

Life had continued in this unassuming manner, until, unbeknownst to her, Bai Han underwent an astonishing transformation just yesterday.

The formerly timid and reserved Bai Han, last night, not only dared to meet Bai Xia’s gaze directly but also spoke without a trace of hesitation, radiating an aura of newfound confidence.

This sudden change made Bai Xia find her brother even more captivating. Consequently, she advanced the scheduled meeting with the thugs, hoping her brother would resolve the troublesome situation for her.

Despite a flicker of worry that her brother might be bullied by the thugs, Bai Xia had already positioned over a dozen burly men, skilled in martial arts, around the Green Tree Cafe. She was confident that at the slightest sign of trouble, they would beat the ruffians until they were unrecognizable.

To her astonishment, her brother, whom she had always perceived as slender and delicate, had now fought directly against several thugs for her sake—and emerged victorious with remarkable flair!

She observed the ambushing martial artists, who, after witnessing her brother’s fight with the thugs, all nodded in profound approval, nearly breaking into applause.

This was an undeniable acknowledgment of her brother’s prowess!

Within Bai Xia’s heart, her affection for her brother had now surged to an unprecedented, overwhelming degree.