Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1162: The brothers

"Are you mocking us right?" Ru Yi's brother clenched his jaw.

"Who do I have to mock you? Isn't your family already a joke? What more can I do to put a dent in it?"

"That victorious smirk isn't going to last for long. We will take back what was rightfully ours!"

Zhong Sihan sighed. "See, that's why history lessons are so important. Clearly, your parents and grandmother have told you a version of convenience. That's not how history works. What was mine will always be mine. Do you really want to go down your grandfather's path?"

He rose in indignation. "We will see about that!"

With that, he stormed off, leaving Zhong Sihan to simply shrug. His gaze fell on Ru Yi, to which his eyes narrowed.

"Anything that you might wanna add or are you too busy with your loser boyfriend?"

She bit her lip and said nothing.

"Ah! There's not a single person to have a decent conversation with."

He then beamed. "But worry not, grand-niece. Once I bring Hou Lin into the family, tolerating your faces will be a piece of cake."

Her eyes slowly widened and she looked at him, stunned. "Who are you going to adopt?"

"The one and only capable man in the whole wide world who deserves to become my grandson," he smirked.

Hou Lin…Cai's brother?

She had heard of Zhong Sihan's talk about adopting somebody in the family but she hadn't imagined in the slightest that it would turn out to be Hou Lin. The world was a small place.

"Aren't you happy?" He smiled. "You finally won't feel so awkward when you meet his brother next time. Everybody will be family."

She froze.

"Are you wondering how I know? Well, I pretty much know everything. A pity you two drifted apart. Now, how do you feel me bringing the very reason into the family? You must be so thrilled."

Zhong Sihan chuckled and got up. "All the best, dear. Be prepared to welcome your elder brother soon."

—

Lin knocked on the door. "Did you have dinner?"

"Bro!"

Cai rose from the bed and hopped to his side. "Not yet. But I'll have soon."

"It's already nine," he frowned. "Don't eat too late."

"Yes, yes, I won't," he grinned. "You worry about me too much, Bro. I'm not a kid anymore. I won't get a stomach upset just because I ate late one day."

He placed his hands on his shoulders and pushed him out. "Now, you go and take rest too. It was tiring today. And no reading books till late night!" He harrumphed. "I don't want to see dark circles on your handsome face."

But Lin didn't return to his room. Instead he went down to the lower floor where the cafe was. He breathed out in the dark silence and slowly walked behind the counter.

His fists clenched and his gaze dimmed. He hadn't shown it across the entire day, but his heart was rattled. Cai had never hidden anything from him before and the only reason he didn't reveal about Ru Yi to him was that he didn't want him to blame himself.

He has really grown up, he thought.

Which brought a tinge of loneliness within him. If growing up meant that he would hide things from him and face his pain all alone, then he wished his brother remained the cheeky little brat he always was.

Even now, Lin knew how Cai would have been feeling as he was alone in his room thinking about Ru Yi he suddenly met today.

He hasn't moved on…

That was clear to Lin watching how he acted in front of her.

All…

Because of me…

Lin closed his eyes. He stood in the silence, his lips faintly quivering. After having already trying to ruin the Liu family, the last person he wanted to hurt was Cai. Yet the past six years of his prison had affected him too.

'You're such a bother to everyone!'

Lin's eyes slowly opened.

Why did I think of Dad all of a sudden? It has been years…

The reminder of his father's harsh words coincided with today's reality for him.

A faint smile stretched his lips.

I'm a bother indeed.

He exhaled a small breath and as his hand slid sideways, his fingers felt as if they touched the corner of paper. Lin blinked and held the paper, switching on the counter light.

He looked at his own potrait - or specifically the one Shui had drawn of him today. Strangely, he felt the drawing paper was too thick, but he realized that there were more papers beneath it.

Oh?

He put the the first drawing in the last of the stack, revealing the picture of Cai. His eyes slightly widened.

She had drawn Cai too? 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

As he stared at the potrait, a strange warmth rippled in his chest. In the picture, she had captured the moment of Cai walking from one table to the other and holding a tray with the brightest grin on his lips. The customers in the background has jolly expressions too.

He smiled.

He is indeed the sunshine of the cafe.

The third and the last shaded sketch was of the two brothers in the same frame. Lin and Cai were behind the counter, tirelessly handling the orders and rush hour. His eyes squinted as he noticed a small pencil writing at the bottom of the page's corner.

'Hire some staff. You two work too hard.'

He blinked twice and looked up for a moment.

Do I make Cai work like a donkey?

He imagined that though tough, work was going fine the way it was. Now, he felt he might be wrong about that assumption.

Indeed Cai works too hard, he thought, blatantly ignoring the part of Shui's message that involved his own donkey work too.

Maybe I can start looking for part-timers.

He looked back at the sketches again that formed a pleasant smile on his lips. He went back to the storeroom and brought some stuff outside.

Time to work.

---

Shui was dumbfounded when she reached Lin's cafe the next day. She saw her three sketches being neatly framed and pinned on the side wall that was immediately visible when a customer stepped in.

"Y-You framed my sketches?"