An Old Sweet Story About Rebirth

The handshake lasted barely a second before Tyler quickly withdrew his hand.
He fiddled with the contract on the table, head lowered. “I’ll go back now. I’ll bring Emily tomorrow…”
Before he could finish, Shane placed a bulging envelope on the table next to him.

“Hotel keycard, apartment keys, your phone, and a bit of cash.”
Tyler froze. It took a moment before he managed to ask, “What is all this for?”
Shane’s tone was as casual as ever. “Tomorrow, when Emily checks into the hospital, it’ll be more convenient for you to stay at a hotel near the hospital.”

Tyler blinked, his mind catching up. “Hotel near the hospital?”
He had planned to just sleep on a bench outside the hospital.
His lips parted, about to explain this plan, but Shane cut him off with a matter-of-fact tone.

“I’m not going to let my future spouse sleep on a bench.”
“If word got out, it would be a disgrace to me.”
Tyler closed his mouth, caught off guard. How does he already know what I was planning?

His eyes darted back to the envelope. “And the apartment keys?”
Shane answered smoothly. “The apartment near Greenville University, just by the campus. There are three sets of keys, and they’re all yours.”
Tyler’s brow furrowed. “I’m living on campus.”

Shane didn’t even flinch. “According to the agreement, I need to visit your home, have meals together. How will we play the part without the apartment?”
Tyler bit his lip, still thinking. Why not just eat at the cafeteria?
Shane’s voice was calm but insistent. “The apartment is essential for the ‘boyfriend role.’ Whether you like it or not, you’ll need to take it.”

Tyler’s ears flushed. He wanted to argue, but couldn’t quite find the words.
Shane’s logic was unassailable. The apartment, the phone, the cash — they were necessary tools for the role Tyler was now locked into. If his family or Shane’s ever checked, and found that Tyler didn’t have what was expected, there’d be doubts about the authenticity of the marriage.
On top of that, Shane insisted, “You need to move out of Milltown while Emily’s in the hospital. A boyfriend wouldn’t live so far away, in a place like that.”
Tyler blinked. So now I have to leave?

 
****
Tyler had worried that Emily might be frightened when she learned her surgery was scheduled. But when the news came, his little sister was calm, her small face only showing a flicker of concern.

“Big brother,” she said, her voice soft, “is the surgery going to be really expensive? Didn’t we… run out of money?”
Tyler quickly spun the story he’d crafted, the lies he’d made up in a desperate attempt to keep her from worrying.
Emily was only eleven, still shielded from the darker realities of life. She trusted him completely, so she accepted the convoluted tale he told: how he had “accidentally” met a rich boss, how he’d “found” a great job opportunity, how he’d even “advanced a salary.”

By the time he told her, “The exam results were a mistake. I actually scored over 600, and I can go to Greenville University now,” Emily’s eyes had widened in astonishment. Then, without warning, she threw herself into his arms and began crying.
“That’s so great!” she sobbed, hugging him tight. “I knew you’d make it, big brother! I knew you would!”
Tyler hurried to wipe her tears, repeating, “Yes, yes, I made it. We can go to Greenville like we planned. We’ll go together, you and me.”

Emily wiped her own nose and sniffled. “Yeah! We’ll go to Greenville!”
“I won’t come back here anymore!” she declared, her face lighting up.
“During the holidays, I’ll stay at school, I don’t want to be here anymore!”

This place was full of people with sour faces. Her classmates didn’t play with her, and the teachers often made her stand in the corner…
Tyler paused, looking down at her. He gently patted her head. “Yeah, we won’t come back here.”
“...And, someone’s loaned me an apartment near the school. After your surgery, we can rest there. It’s closer, and we’ll be comfortable.”

“After you’re all better, you can stay there during weekends and holidays.”
“I’ll cook for you, take you out to play…”
When Emily heard him describe the new place, her face split into a joyful grin, and she couldn’t hold back a giggle, blowing bubbles from her nose.

Seeing his sister so happy, Tyler felt the weight on his shoulders lighten. The unease that had gnawed at him began to fade, replaced by a quiet satisfaction. For once, he felt like he was finally able to give Emily something better than what they’d had before.
The apartment — even if it was just a “prop” for Shane’s game, something given for the sake of their “role” — was a step up. It was a haven, a place that would allow them to escape the suffocating weight of Milltown.
And Tyler promised himself, no matter how he felt about the way it all came about, that once he graduated, he would use his own strength to ensure that Emily could leave that place behind for good. That she could walk into a future where she never had to look back.

 
****
The next day.

At precisely 9 AM, there was a knock on the door.
When Uncle Liu had dropped him off the day before, he’d mentioned that someone would come to help with the move.
Tyler had assumed it would be movers from a company, but when he opened the door, he found… Shane.

Still wearing his sunglasses, Shane stood there with a few broad-shouldered men trailing behind him. For a moment, Tyler felt like a loan shark had come to collect a debt.
He quickly adjusted his expression. “What brings you here, Mr. Xie?”
Shane, too, lowered his voice slightly. “Of course, I’m here to fulfill the agreement.”

“According to the terms, we need to act as ‘friends’ in public.”
Tyler blinked in surprise. The role-playing started today?
Without saying anything further, he opened the door wider and stepped aside for Shane to enter.

As he turned to explain to Emily, she skipped over, her eyes lighting up. “Hey! You’re the guy from the black clothes — the one from the other day!”
Shane grinned. “That’s right.”
Before Tyler could say anything, Shane smiled and added, “I’m Xie Qing Sheng. I’m your brother’s friend. I heard you’re moving, so I came to see if you need any help.”

Emily’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Oh, you’re Brother’s friend! Thank you, big brother!”
Her joy was so genuine that Tyler couldn’t help but feel a pang of warmth. He hadn’t seen Emily so happy in a long time.
Tyler stood awkwardly to the side, feeling out of place as Shane continued with a smile, “I’ll help you both get settled in.”

Tyler quickly interrupted, “It’s fine, I’ve already packed everything.”
He had packed up everything he needed the night before. Today, he only had to move it downstairs.
In truth, his mother had disposed of most of their things when she left, and after that, the house had never been restocked. The household items were all makeshift, and as for clothes, both he and Emily had always worn school uniforms in fall and winter, and the cheapest t-shirts and shorts in summer.

So there wasn’t much to take.
Tyler pointed at the neatly stacked boxes on the floor.
“It’s all here. I’ll just move it downstairs.”

Shane hesitated for a moment before saying, “I see…”
“I was hoping to take a look at the place where you grew up, see how you lived as a kid.”
Tyler almost responded with “there’s really nothing to see,” but before he could, Emily eagerly spoke up, “I’ll show you big brother’s room! Though it’s empty now.”

She opened the door to Tyler’s room, and Shane stepped in without hesitation.
Tyler couldn’t bear to leave Emily alone with this “stranger.” He quickly followed, standing in the doorway, his eyes fixed on Shane warily.
Inside, Emily beamed as she pointed to the old, chipped furniture.

“Look, this is the Doraemon that big brother drew himself, isn’t it great?”
“This lampshade, with the little rabbit and moon, that’s also his drawing — because the old one broke, he made this one himself. I think it looks even better than the original!”
“And this one, the picture on the window…”

Without hesitation, Emily proudly showed Shane every little detail of Tyler’s childhood, completely unaware of how red his face was at the door, his embarrassment rising and falling in waves.
What made it even worse was Shane, this “fake friend,” actively playing along with Emily, nodding at every comment, praising her with, “It’s really beautiful” and “I didn’t know Tyler was such a great artist as a kid.”
...Does the acting have to be this convincing?

Emily, still talking animatedly, ran into the living room, pointing to a painting on the door, “Look, this panda holding bamboo was also drawn by big brother! Isn’t it amazing?”
Shane clicked his tongue in admiration, but then, his gaze unintentionally shifted to the nearby table. There, he noticed the strange marks on the surface.
He walked over, his fingers lightly brushing the deep, uneven gouges. His brow furrowed. This looks like it was carved with a knife… and someone really put some force into it.

Why would there be such marks on the dinner table?
Before he could dwell on it, Emily’s voice suddenly dropped, her tone taking on a more somber note. “That’s where mom was cutting… She wanted to chase the bad people away.”
Bad people? Chase them away?

Shane’s breath caught for a half second.
In his previous life, Tyler had never mentioned this part of his past. Shane had never known that things had been so bad at Tyler’s house that his mother had needed to use a knife to drive people away.
The situation was much worse than he had imagined. And if things had truly been like this… it seemed there was more to this “rescue” than he had anticipated.

As Tyler had been busy taping up the boxes, he heard the conversation and quickly abandoned his task, walking over with hurried steps. He called out sharply, “That’s enough, Emily. Don’t tell him all that.”
“Why don’t you check your room again and see if you’ve forgotten anything?”
Emily pouted but nodded. “Okay!” She skipped back to her room.

Shane, standing still, silently watched Tyler.
Feeling a wave of unease, Tyler turned his head, unsure if his tone had been too harsh.
Shouldn’t he be a bit more polite, now that they were “partners” in this arrangement?

Trying to smooth things over, Tyler lowered his voice and explained, “I just thought… I didn’t want to waste Mr. Xie’s time.”
“It’s almost ten o'clock. I should start moving things.”
Shane didn’t answer immediately. Tyler, confused, turned back to look at him.

After a few seconds, Shane cleared his throat [N O V E L I G H T] and finally spoke.
“Tyler…”
Tyler’s brow furrowed. “...What?”

Shane hesitated, then gave a small sigh, brushing off whatever was on his mind. “Never mind.”
He stood up and adjusted his shirt sleeves. “Don’t bother. I’ll have someone move everything straight to the car.”
 

****
This time, Tyler and Emily rode in the same car as Shane, heading back to Greenville.
Emily, being young, had made multiple trips up and down the stairs all morning. After sitting in the car, it didn’t take long for her to fall into a deep sleep, resting her head against Tyler’s arm.

Tyler gently draped a small blanket over her.
Just moments ago, the car had been filled with Emily’s cheerful chatter, but now, the silence seemed to stretch on endlessly.
It was so quiet that Tyler could hear the soft rustling of papers from the front seat.

Was Shane reading something?
Curiosity piqued, Tyler glanced forward.
Wait…?

The booklet Shane was flipping through had a familiar, worn-out cover. It was the same one from before. Could it be… that book?
Tyler’s face flushed immediately, and before he could stop himself, he blurted, “What are you reading?!”