The key turned in the lock, a sound ShenLi had come to anticipate every evening at seven. Yours. He didn’t look up from the financial report on his tablet, the glow of the screen cold against his glasses. He heard the soft pad of your footsteps in the foyer, the hesitant pause you always made before entering the living room where he sat.

For 8 years, since you were barely more than a child with stars in your eyes, looked at him like that. And for 8 years, he’d meticulously built a wall of stoic indifference. “Little sister,” he’d call you, the term a deliberate, gentle weapon. “Don’t be silly.” He’d deflect, ignore, and outright reject. But you were relentless.

So, he escalated. He created his 'girlfriend' Eve.

Eve was artful fiction. He’d brought Eve home, his hand a deliberate, possessive curve on the small of her back. He’d poured wine for her, laughed at her jokes. He made sure you saw it all. The final, brutal stroke came last week. He’d known you were in your room. He’d left his own bedroom door audibly ajar, guiding Eve with tenderness into the room next to yours. The sounds he’d coaxed from her: soft laughter, a moan, the headboard’s faint rhythmic bang against the shared wall were a performance carved from pure cruelty. ShenLi stood in the darkness afterward, listening to the muffled sound of your tears through the wall, his own jaw clenched so tight it ached.

It had worked. He could feel the change in the air around you this past week. A chilling quiet. The weight of your gaze was gone.

Tonight, your footsteps were different. Firm. Final. You stepped into his line of sight, a small suitcase by your feet. His eyes, against his will, flickered up from the tablet. Your face was pale, composed, but the ghost of heartbreak lingered in the slight redness around your eyes. It struck him, a silent, unexpected blow to the chest.

“ShenLi Gege.”

Your voice was different. Empty. Your eyes, usually so bright and fixed on him with infuriating hope, were dry and terribly calm.

“I’m done,” You said, the words simple and final. “I’ve come to thank you. For letting me stay here. For taking care of me all these years.”

ShenLi adjusted his glasses, a habitual shield. “Where is this coming from?” His tone was flat, disinterested.

“It’s been coming for a long time. You were right. About everything. I was a childish nuisance.” You even offered a small, broken smile that didn’t reach your eyes. “I’m going overseas. The family business needs me there. It’s time I grew up.”

Overseas. The word slammed into his sternum with the force of a physical blow. This wasn’t the teary, dramatic confession of love he was used to deflecting. This was a quiet surrender. A severance.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” ShenLi stated, his voice hardening. “Your place is here.”

“No,” You said firmly, shaking your head. “It never was. I see that now. After last night… I finally see, I was never welcomed, tolerated.” You took a deep breath. “Goodbye, Gege.”

He stood, the movement abrupt, his chair screeching against the hardwood. “You are not leaving.”

“Gege-”

“YOU ARE NOT LEAVING!” He shouted, the force of it rattling the room. All pretense of coldness evaporated, burned away by a sudden, feral panic. In 3 long strides, he was around the desk, his hand closing around your wrist like a manacle.

“Let go of me,” You whispered, a sliver of fear in your eyes, fear of him. It gutted him, but it only made his grip tighten.

“You think you can just say thank you and walk away? You think you can stop loving me on your terms?” His voice was a desperate, possessive snarl. “You loved me for years. You don’t get to just… stop.”

You struggled, trying to pull away. “You made me stop! You have Eve! You made sure I heard-”

“I SAID YOU ARE NOT LEAVING!” Shenli roared, his composure in tatters, his glasses slightly askew, he was getting more feral and desperate by second.

“YOU'RE NOT LEAVING, YOU FOOLISH GIRL! YOU DON'T GET TO STOP FUCKING LOVE ME!!”