After everyone was reborn, I was strictly disciplined.

"My name is Xie Ciwen, and I am Ranran's older brother."

These words struck Jiang Huaijin like a thunderbolt, causing him to stiffen. His previously strained spiritual energy instantly became disordered, and the sluggishness around him intensified.

He stood there, stunned, his pupils slightly dilated. The wariness and probing in his eyes were replaced by complete confusion and disbelief. His mind was blank, with only the word "brother" echoing repeatedly, buzzing in his ears.

All the surrounding sounds—the rustling of the wind through the forest, Xie Xingran's soft breathing—became indistinct background noise.

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, soaking the stray hairs and sticking to his smooth forehead, bringing a cool sensation, but it did nothing to pull him back from his dazed state of mind.

How could this be? How could this person be Xie Xingran's brother?

Jiang Huaijin snapped back to reality, his throat bobbing, his voice trembling with barely concealed urgency: "No...it's impossible! How could you be Ranran's brother?"

He staggered back half a step, the oppressive aura around him making his steps unsteady, but he still stubbornly stared at Xie Ciwen.

In his memory, Liu Qingwan and Xie Yuan had a deep and loving relationship. In her previous life, she poured all her love into Xie Xingran. In the vast Fire Marrow Pill Holy Land, Xie Xingran was the only young master and never had any older brothers.

Although Liu Qingwan treated him well and took him as her personal disciple, he clearly remembered that his master's wife mentioned more than once that Xingran was her only child in this life, and that she cherished Xie Xingran with all her heart and soul.

Xie Ciwen's existence completely shattered his understanding of things from both his previous lives.

Faced with Jiang Huaijin's questioning, Xie Ciwen did not respond at all, but only glanced at him indifferently.

There was no mockery or anger in that gaze, only a faint trace of pity, as if looking at a pitiful person trapped in an obsession, unable to extricate themselves. The gaze was quickly averted, completely disregarding his urgency.

Another person trapped by their own younger brother.

He lowered his eyes, his well-defined knuckles slightly cool, and gently poked the soft cheek of the child in his arms.

Her skin was delicate and soft, with the warmth unique to a child. Xie Ciwen's fingertips paused slightly, and he asked gently, "Ranran?"

"Well……"

A subtle touch came from her cheek, and Xie Xingran slowly woke up from her light sleep. Her long eyelashes were still covered with wet teardrops, like butterfly wings covered with morning dew. They trembled slightly before slowly opening.

Her eyes, still slightly red and swollen from crying, held a lingering redness at the corners, and a hazy, sleepy look lingered beneath them, like a bewildered young animal staring blankly at the person before it.

When he saw Xie Ciwen's handsome and aloof face, the confusion in his eyes eased slightly, and he asked softly, his voice still slightly nasal from just waking up, "What's wrong, Second Brother?"

The tears that had fallen earlier due to grievance or unease had already been soothed by Xie Ciwen, but as soon as her emotions stabilized, there was still a slight, barely perceptible sob in her voice.

Xie Ciwen gazed at his reddened eyes, the coldness in her gaze completely melting away. A faint, almost imperceptible smile curved her lips as she gently wiped away the remaining tears from his eyelashes with her fingertips.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to see if Ranran was feeling better."

Xie Xingran's dependence was something Jiang Huaijin had never seen in anyone in his two lifetimes.

"Um."

Xie Xingran nodded as if she understood, her brows furrowing slightly, but she didn't ask any more questions.

He always trusted his second brother. No matter what his brother did, he would never hurt him. This trust was ingrained in his very bones.

He moved his small body slightly and snuggled closer to Xie Ciwen, clutching the other's clothes tightly. He buried his head in Xie Ciwen's neck, as if he wanted to hide himself completely in this embrace that gave him a sense of security.

He once complained to the system that he hated the control his family had given him in his previous life and didn't want to be bound by it. But only he knew that the people he relied on and trusted the most in his heart were always the Xie family.

Only the Xie family would unconditionally tolerate his eccentricity and arrogance, love him without reservation, and stand by his side as his strongest support no matter how much trouble he caused.

This favoritism is something no one else can give, and it is the warmth he craves most in his subconscious.

Jiang Huaijin stood there, like a frozen stone statue, silently watching the scene before him.

Xie Ciwen's gentle indulgence and Xie Xingran's obedient dependence, the unspoken intimacy flowing between the two, were like fine needles, densely pricking his heart.

The churning bitterness, indescribable sorrow, and stinging resentment in his chest, along with the deep-seated pain, all intertwined and fermented wildly, like a swollen lump of dough, tightly blocking his throat, preventing him from uttering a sound.

He opened his mouth, his fingertips turning white from the force, his nails digging deep into his palms, bringing a sharp pain, but still unable to dispel the chaos in his heart.

He had so many questions to ask:

Who exactly is Xie Ciwen? What is his relationship with Xie Xingran? Xie Xingran is clearly an only child, so why is he allowed to be her second brother?

What made him even more resentful was why Xie Xingran would give such unreserved trust and intimacy to someone who suddenly appeared.

But towards him, there was only unchanging hatred and murderous intent across two lifetimes.

But the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he swallowed them back.

What's the point of asking? Xie Xingran's soft "Second Brother" just now was already a tacit admission of Xie Ciwen's identity. Any further questioning would only be self-deception and add to the embarrassment.

Ask Xingran?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he nipped it in the bud.

Jiang Huaijin slowly lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a faint shadow under his eyelids, concealing the frustration and helplessness surging in his eyes.

What qualifications or status does he have to question Xie Xingran?

He was originally an orphan who wandered in the chaos of the world. If he hadn't been lucky enough to be chosen by Liu Qingwan in his previous life and taken as her personal disciple, he might have died in the strife of the Cangxuan Continent long ago, and he wouldn't have a place in the Fire Marrow Pill Holy Land now.

Everything he possessed—his reputation, cultivation level, and status—was bestowed upon him by the Fire Marrow Pill Holy Land and by Liu Qingwan.

Xie Xingran, however, never acknowledged him, never recognized him as his "senior brother," and never acknowledged his existence in the Fire Marrow Pill Holy Land. He avoided him like the plague and loathed him to the extreme.

In his past life, Xie Xingran plotted against him and tried to kill him.

Even though he deliberately concealed his brilliance in this life, trying to make up for his past mistakes, Xie Xingran remained hostile towards him and never showed any sign of reconciliation.

Even if he did ask, given Xie Xingran's personality, she would probably only give him a cold look and would never give him a single reply. She might even be tempted to kill him again because of his entanglement.

Thinking of this, Jiang Huaijin slowly curled up a very faint smile, tinged with endless bitterness. In that smile, there was a deep sense of self-denial and a weary sense of relief.

That's enough, that's enough...

In the end, he was useless.

Through two lifetimes of ups and downs, he tried his best to win Xie Xingran's favor and resolve their grievances, but in the end, all he got in return was Xie Xingran's unchanging disgust and estrangement.

Ultimately, he was not worthy of that favoritism, nor could he retain the affection he wanted to cherish.

The wind swept through the woods, swirling up fallen leaves that brushed against his clothes, bringing a chill.

Jiang Huaijin slowly loosened his clenched palms, leaving several deep red marks that contrasted sharply with his pale skin.

He raised his head and looked at the distant horizon. The confusion and resentment in his eyes gradually faded, leaving only a deathly calm. It was as if all the struggles and obsessions had been blown away by the wind at this moment.