After that thunderstorm night, Yu An locked himself into a deeper, colder shell. He began to remain silent at the dinner table, deliberately taking detours at school, attempting to use physical distance to slay the beast within his heart.
Until Monday after school, the glaring sunset at the school gate illuminated a scene he did not wish to see.
A tall basketball team boy blocked Yu Han. He was a prominent figure on campus, wearing that self-assured yet aggressively charming smile.
"Lin Yu Han, this is the third time I've approached you this week." The boy waved the pink envelope in his hand, his tone flippant yet forceful. "Are you really not going to even glance at this letter?"
Yu An stood ten meters away, his fingertips digging deeply into his backpack straps. He watched Yu Han offer that polite, gentle smile, clearly tinged with annoyance. The gentler she was, the more the other pushed his advantage. When he saw the boy's hand attempt to grasp Yu Han's slender wrist, the string in Yu An's mind, stretched to its breaking point, snapped with a crisp "crack."
All reason vanished in that instant.
Yu An strode forward, forcefully cutting into the space between them amid the crowd's shocked gasps. He turned and pulled Yu Han behind him, the motion so abrupt that Yu Han stumbled slightly.
"She said she doesn't want it."
Yu An met the other's eyes, a near-destructive chill flickering deep within his pupils. In that moment, his usual reserved and gentle demeanor disappeared, replaced by the aura of a lone wolf defending its territory.
The basketball team boy froze, then burst into exaggerated laughter. "Oh, so it's the quiet second child of the Lin family. Hey, you three may be triplets, but you're not conjoined twins. This is between me and her—don't you think you're meddling too much?"
Whispers erupted among the surrounding students, their gazes piercing like needles.
Yu An did not reply; his breathing was heavy. He felt Yu Han's wrist, still clutched behind him, trembling slightly. He could not tell if it was from fear or surprise.
"Let's go."
Yu An gave Yu Han no chance to speak, gripping her wrist tightly as he pulled her through the crowd.
He cared nothing for others' stares, nor whether this suited his role as "younger brother." In his eyes, anyone touching Yu Han was an unforgivable desecration.
Only he knew that in that moment, he was not merely driving away a suitor—he was declaring war on the world: she was his, even if this possessiveness was steeped in sin.