Chapter 11:The name we gave you our brother
The sky was still dark when he came downstairs.
The house was silent. The family villa, so often bustling with meetings, staff, security, and noise, now stood still—emptied by his request.
Just the five of them remained.
Pearl. Crystal. Jade. Emerald.
And him.
He wore a simple gray hoodie. No crest. No embroidery. No silk.
His black hair was tied loosely at the back, the white strands hidden beneath charcoal dye.
Only the red thread remained—woven by their mother, quietly tucked behind his left ear.
He carried nothing but a backpack. No phone. No ID.
He stood by the table where breakfast once meant laughter and warmth.
Where birthdays once had cake.
Where none of them had yet learned what "tragedy" meant.
"I'm ready," he said, gently.
The sisters nodded.
But none of them moved.
It was Pearl who spoke first.
"We can't let you go without a name," she said.
He tilted his head. "I already have one."
"You had the world's name," whispered Crystal, "but not ours."
"You were born under the weight of a family legacy," said Jade, fingers brushing the table's edge, "but now you're choosing to be free."
"And that means," said Emerald, walking up to him, "you get to be born again."
They brought out a small lacquer box. In it, four folded slips of paper.
Each sister had written a name—just one.
No titles. No meanings explained.
"Open one," said Pearl, "but don't pick.
Let fate choose for you. Like the wind that takes a falling leaf."
He reached in. Slowly. Carefully.
Unfolded the paper.
Read it aloud.
"Mu Yichen."
He looked up.
Pearl met his gaze. Her voice was steady, though her eyes shone.
"Mu—for silence.
Yi—for a soul that also dreams.
Chen—for a morning you never had."
"From now on… you are Mu Yichen.
Our little brother, born again—not to carry the world, but to live within it."