The room felt suffocating.
Too many truths.
Too many pieces finally starting to connect.
"…Ge," my brother whispered, "you think it's him, don't you?"
I didn't answer.
But silence—
was answer enough.
Li Zhen.
If anyone had access—
to her,
to me,
to everything behind closed doors—
it was him.
I stood up.
"What I should've done a long time ago," I said quietly.
My brother tensed. "Ge… don't—"
I was already dialing.
The call connected.
A brief pause—
then his voice.
"…Shu Lin?"
Soft.
Familiar.
Careful.
Not amused.
Not exposed.
Just… normal.
"I need to see you," I said.
A slight chuckle. "That serious?"
Yes."
Silence lingered for a second.
Then—
"…did something happen?" he asked, tone shifting—subtle concern threading through it.
Too subtle.
Too perfect.
My grip on the phone tightened.
"You could say that."
Another pause.
Longer this time.
"…where are you?" he asked.
"I'll come to you."
"Still impatient," he murmured lightly. "Some things never change."
Like you.
The words stayed in my throat.
Unsaid.
Waiting.
"…Li Zhen," I said, quieter now.
"Hmm?"
A beat.
Then—
"Do you remember that day?"
Silence.
Not immediate.
Not empty.
Measured.
Controlled.
"…which day?" he asked.
Like he didn't already know.
Like he needed me to say it.
My chest tightened.
"Don't do that."
A soft exhale came through the line.
Almost like a sigh.
"Shu Lin," he said gently, "you're going to have to be more specific."
There it was.
The deflection.
Clean.
Effortless.
Because he wasn't denying anything.
He was just—
not answering.
And somehow—
that felt worse.
"I'll be there in twenty minutes," I said.
I didn't wait for a reply.
I cut the call.
The room fell silent again.
But this time—
it felt different.
He wasn't surprised.
He wasn't defensive.
He wasn't even curious.
Just careful.
Like someone walking around a trap—
he already knew was there.
"…Ge," my brother said slowly, "what if you're wrong?"
I stared at the dark screen in my hand.
At my own reflection—
barely visible.
Then answered quietly—
"Then why does it feel like he's already prepared for me to ask?"
And deep down—
that was the most terrifying part.
Not that Li Zhen was hiding something.
But that he'd been waiting—
for me to find it.