The next day, Li XinWen felt much better. After spending the whole night absorbing spiritual energy, he concluded that he would be able to establish the foundation tonight. And his path to cultivation can truly begin.
Early in the afternoon, he received another visitor. They actually met on the day he woke up in this world. It was the quiet adopted brother. This is the younger brother, whom they affectionately call Sun Xiao. Li XinWen noticed how timid the boy was as he entered the room. Sun Xiao was fourteen years old; he was taller than average and had a lean frame. He wore a dark navy cardigan over a white shirt, a matching dark navy pant and carried a black backpack.
When Sun Xiao was young, he and his family got into a car accident where he was the only survivor. That was four years ago.
Their family was headed to JiangJing city, XuanChang district, for a long-awaited vacation after his father was able to take a break from his busy schedule. However, as they were traversing HanCheng Highway, the driver of an oncoming truck had fallen asleep while driving and apparently lost control of the vehicle. When the driver came to, it was already too late. Sun Xiao's father tried his best to avoid colliding with the truck, but it was unavoidable. His mother did all she can to keep Sun Xiao safe using her own body as a shield to make sure he would survive.
After hearing about the accident, Li XinWen along with his mother frantically rushed to the hospital and found the boy almost unscathed. She ran to the boy and embraced Sun Xiao while sobbing. He had never seen his mother break down like that before. Perhaps it was because she had such close relations with the Sun couple especially with Sun Xiao's mother who treated her like a sister. Sun Xiao had no other relatives left, knowing this, their mother immediately made the decision to take Sun Xiao into the family. Li XinWen and Li JingHua did not have any problems with their mother's decision as they were both close to Sun Xiao. It was unfortunate that after the accident, Sun Xiao closed himself off from everyone and his mentality seemed to have regressed to that of a 10-year-old.
"Ah'Xiao, did you come straight from school?" Li XinWen asked with a smile. Sun Xiao only answered with a nod before sitting down by Li XinWen's bedside. The young boy continued to sit quietly staring at the floor and Li XinWen didn't push any further. But after a while, the boy finally spoke.
"Xin-gege…You won't leave Ah'Xiao right?" Sun Xiao's cracked timid voice as he uttered those words shook Li XinWen's heart to the core making his eyes water.
He noticed that Sun Xiao wore a mixed expression of fear and deep sadness. "Ah'Xiao, what's wrong? Gege won't leave you. Why do you look scared?" Li XinWen asked.
"I-its... It’s nothing..." Sun Xiao replied as he shook his head.
Li XinWen knew that something was bothering Sun Xiao. ‘Such a brave little soul…trying to suppress his fears,’ Li XinWen thought. This prompted him to comfort Sun Xiao. He sat up slowly taking care not to aggravate his wound and asked Sun Xiao to sit beside him, patting the space on his bed.
Sun Xiao hesitated but sat beside li XinWen after a little coaxing. Li XenWen pulled Sun Xiao into a hug and squeezed just enough so that he'd feel comforted. "It's alright. Gege won't leave Ah'Xiao." taking the boy's hand he placed it on the spot where his heart was. "See? My heart is still beating, and I am still alive. Don't worry okay?" trying his hardest to reassure his little brother.
Sun Xiao just nodded his head and let Li XinWen hug him. As the young boy listened to his elder brother's heartbeat, he felt calmer. His arms snaked around Li XinWen to return the hug. "Thank you, Xin-gege..." he mumbled in a soft voice.
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