At three o'clock in the afternoon, Jacob Green drove to the airport with Lily Green to pick up their brother.
They waited at the exit for about twenty minutes before they saw John Green, wearing a black coat and sunglasses, pushing his luggage out.
However, he wasn't alone.
Beside him was a foreign woman wearing a baseball cap, with blonde hair and blue eyes, holding John's arm. They looked very close.
The siblings exchanged a glance and immediately understood each other.
Jacob waved, "Brother."
The siblings quickly stepped forward and hugged him. Lily was more excited, "Brother, you're finally home."
John took off his sunglasses and smiled gently, "Home is always home, that will never change. Let me introduce you, this is Grace, a colleague and good friend I've known abroad for many years. This time, she's returning with me for development back home."
"Hello." Grace extended her hand.
"Hello, I'm Lily Green."
"Jacob Green."
The siblings shook hands with her one by one.
Jacob took the suitcase, "So you're not planning to stay abroad for long this time?"
"No, I'll be staying here from now on."
Lily quickly asked, "Brother, are you staying at the old house or elsewhere?"
"I bought a fully furnished new place a few months ago, just missing some furniture."
"Why not stay at my place first, and move there after getting the furniture?" Jacob suggested, knowing he didn't want to stay at the old house.
"Sounds good."
On their way back to the Green Family's old residence, Lily kept talking to him about the domestic developments.
John gazed out the window, quietly listening, occasionally responding with a smile and a nod.
When they got home, he didn't show any displeasure toward Grandma Green, answering whatever she asked, but the distance and formality were evident.
...
In the evening, the family had dinner together; such a lively scene hadn't appeared in the Green Family for many years.
Grace spoke fluent language of Country Y, straightforward and lively, winning the elders' favor easily.
That night, John and Grace followed Jacob back to Blossom Haven.
Originally, Grace planned to stay at a hotel, but Jacob sincerely invited her to stay at Blossom Haven, and she agreed.
Lucy Eaton didn't come back. After receiving a message from Jacob, she told him that she was temporarily staying at a dormitory to avoid running into John and Grace.
On the first night she wasn't at home, Jacob couldn't sleep.
That night, he couldn't resist driving to the dormitory at the funeral home and knocked on her door.
When he knocked, Lucy was sound asleep. Awakened, she glanced at the time; it was past midnight.
"Why are you here at this hour?"
Jacob hugged her tightly, "I want to sleep with you."
Lucy closed the door, "My small bed is hard and narrow, not as comfy as your big soft bed."
"If you can sleep here, why can't I?"
"Alright, alright, come and sleep."
Simply holding each other, he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.
A dreamless night.
When he woke up, Lucy was no longer by his side. He looked at the time and found it was almost seven, so he got out of bed.
As soon as he put on his shoes, Lucy came in.
She was carrying several bags of breakfast.
Seeing he was up, she went to get him water to wash up, unwrapped a new toothbrush, put toothpaste on it, and handed it to him.
While brushing his teeth, Jacob's phone rang.
He took a glance at the caller ID and saw it was Stellan Quinn, so he swiped to answer, holding it to his ear, "Hello."
"Jacob, where are you?"
"Why?"
"I need to see you!"
"Wait for me at the office. I'll be there soon."
Stellan drove out of Blossom Haven and headed straight for Green Group.
Jacob's secretary received instructions to meet her and bring her to the office to wait.
She waited for about half an hour before Jacob himself showed up.
"Where did you go so early in the morning?"
"Had some errands. You went to my place?"
"Yes."
"Did you see my brother?"
Stellan replied, "I did, and there was a foreign woman. I didn't expect Brother John to find himself someone foreign. His taste is really something."
Jacob sat at his desk, crossed his hands on the table, and looked at her with an amused expression, "Who he chooses to be his girlfriend is his business, who has the right to oppose it?"
"I'm not opposing, just saying she doesn't seem to match him."
"Whether she matches or not isn't for you to decide, besides, she's only his long-time colleague and friend from abroad, not a girlfriend. You can rest easy."
Stellan grasped her clothes tightly, "Rest easy about what... I don't have any intentions towards your brother."
Even if she once did, she had already given up.
Jacob turned on the computer, nonchalantly asking, "Did you come to see me for something?"
"Did you see yesterday's news?"
"The news about your blind date?" he said calmly, "I saw it."
Seeing no reaction from him, Stellan's last bit of hope vanished, "Jacob, I've always known you were particularly petty, but I didn't expect you to go this far. You're holding a grudge against me because of Grace, and you have been blaming me. Grace even said she was willing to forgive you for what you did to her, yet you still won't let go."
He frowned slightly, "How am I not letting go? This matter has long passed in my heart."
"If you weren't holding a grudge, then why treat me like this so soon after? You're venting your anger on me, right?" Stellan approached, standing before his desk, "What do I have to do? What do you need from me to treat me like you used to? Do you want me to kneel before you're satisfied?!"
Jacob found it amusing, "Indeed, it's because of this that I realized to you, I am nothing. So, I took back all my affection for you, Stellan, I don't like you anymore."
The air seemed to freeze, Stellan looked at him straight, "Re...ally?!!!"
"Really. If you're willing, we can still be friends. If not, I won't force it."
Stellan didn't know if she was confused out of anger, but she completely lost control, screaming hysterically, "Still be friends? Don't even think about it! Jacob, do you think you're so special that you can treat others so casually? You're just lucky to be born into a good family, just happened to be at the right place at the right time. If Brother John hadn't switched to medicine, do you think you'd be sitting here? You wouldn't even be in the picture! Recently, I've been shamelessly seeking you out because my parents wanted me to, not because I wanted to. I never liked you, not before, not now, and not ever will! You're just a heartless bug, a cockroach! Go to hell!"