In the pitch-black night, I heard my own rapidly beating heartbeat.
Lu Yanchen sensed my stiffness and patted my back. "I didn't mean to burden you. I just wanted you to know my feelings. It's late, go to bed."
He must have been truly tired; soon, I could hear his soft, steady breathing.
I finally fell asleep, but I had a dream.
In my dream, I returned to the Su family. The only thing God hadn't treated me harshly was my childhood.
After Su Ning'an disappeared, my family treated me very well.
I, too, was spoiled growing up.
So this dream was of me, ten years old, sitting on a swing in a beautiful white dress.
I heard footsteps behind me and turned to look.
Su Nanfeng walked up to me, his eyes soft and gentle.
"I haven't noticed, my sister has grown so tall."
He sat down beside me, swinging with me like we did when we were little. "Brother, what's wrong with you today?" In my dream, I was only ten years old. I felt something was wrong with him, so I asked.
He smiled softly: "Nothing, I just haven't had a good chat with you in a while."
"Brother, are you confused? Just now at dinner, you asked me if I wanted that violin."
"Yes, I am confused. Wan'er, if I ever did something bad to you, would you forgive me?"
"Something bad? That depends on what it is. If it makes me very sad, then I will definitely not forgive you."
He said bitterly: "Really?"
I smiled at him: "Brother, you're so good to me, how could you possibly hurt me? So that day will never come."
The sunset on the horizon was brilliant, like a phoenix weeping blood, both beautiful and a little sad.
"Brother, the sunset today is so beautiful."
"Yes, it's a pity I'll never see a sunset like this again."
"Why?" I looked at him, puzzled. "Because Big Brother is going to a very far place, Wan'er, I'm sorry."
He touched my head, his eyes filled with sadness at parting.
I grabbed his hand and nervously asked, "Brother, where are you going?"
"A very far place to atone for your sins, Wan'er. The Su family has wronged you. You must be good in the future and don't repeat the same mistakes."
Tears fell from my eyes as I listened to his words. "Big Brother, what's wrong with you?"
He wiped the tears from my eyes. "Don't shed tears for someone like me. It's not worth it. In the future, you will surely meet someone who truly loves you and live happily ever after. The time has come, Big Brother must leave..."
I watched his body slowly become transparent. Anxiety welled up in my heart, and I quickly rushed towards Su Nanfeng.
I hugged him tightly, but Big Brother's body transformed into several white butterflies.
The butterflies circled me three times before flying off into the magnificent sunset. "Brother! Don't go!"
I stumbled after the white butterflies, but they flew higher and higher, quickly disappearing from my sight.
Under the setting sun, only the empty swing remained, gently swaying back and forth.
"Brother!"
I woke from my dream, only to find myself in tears.
In the light of the streetlight outside the window, I saw a white butterfly disappear into the snow.
Lu Yanchen hugged me tightly. "Wanwan, did you have a nightmare?"
I stammered, "Butterfly, a white butterfly."
"How could there be butterflies in the middle of winter?"
Thinking of what my brother had said in my dream, I burst into tears. "He's here! Su Nanfeng has come to see me."
Lu Yanchen was silent for a moment, but ultimately, without doubting my words, he embraced me tightly.
"He must want you to live well, to uncover the truth for the Su family, and to avenge him."
I shook my head. "No, he just apologized."
I buried my face in my hands, tears streaming uncontrollably. That beautiful dream was specially woven for me by my eldest brother, who deliberately chose my most beautiful age, ten.
There were no misunderstandings, no hurt, only a family reunion.
"Stop crying."
I clutched Lu Yanchen's pajamas tightly. "Yanchen, we must find out as soon as possible."
"Okay, it's still dark, let's sleep a little longer."
Though I lay back down, I felt no sign of sleep.
The next day.
Perhaps out of concern for me, Lu Yanchen had the test results expedited.
"This is the DNA sample we sent for testing that year. Fortunately, the preservation solution preserved the tissue, so I had someone work overtime to rerun it."
I glanced nervously at Lu Yanchen.
"What's the result?"
"See for yourself."
Nervously, I opened the sealed file envelope. When I saw the same result as before, I collapsed. "How, how is that possible? Su Ning'an is so ruthless! She kills without blinking an eye. How could she possibly be from the Su family?"
"Yanchen, I saw firsthand how cruel that evil Su Ning'an was to Grandma. Every word she spoke clearly showed a deep hatred for Grandma and the Su family."
"Su Ning'an was only five years old when she was swept away. What grudge did she have against the Su family? Even if she'd been brainwashed at such a young age, she wouldn't be so cruel. No, there must be something wrong with her."
I grabbed my hair anxiously. "What have I overlooked?"
Lu Yanchen pulled my hand away and gently stroked my cheek. "Wanwan, don't worry. This sample result only proves that Su Ning'an is the daughter of the Su family."
I stared at him, stunned. "Yanchen, my mind is a little confused right now. I don't quite understand what you mean."
He stared into my eyes and said word by word, "What I mean is, the sample is true, but Su Ning'an isn't necessarily true." A chill ran down my back, and in an instant, I understood. "So this Su Ningan is a fake, my real sister is still alive!!!"