“*姐姐, have you seen my yellow socks?” Tao asks, walking out of his bedroom with just a pair of jeans and a towel on his wet hair. I tut and walk to the laundry basket. I fish out a pair of newly washed yellow socks and throw it at Tao.

“Aren’t these too worn out? They’re looking thin,” I comment, watching him wear his yellow socks. “Don’t tell me, you’re going out half-, right?” I sarcastically mention, raising a brow at his preferred choice of outfit.

Tao looks up at me with his glare that he’s managed to perfect over the years and shakes his head. “No, I wear my underwear, then my jeans, then the belt, then the socks AND THEN the t-shirt. It’s my lucky combination, don’t you know?”

I roll my eyes. There’s no such thing as luck in this world. Not ever since Wu Fan had left… All the luck in the world seemed to have disappeared since. I shake the thought out of my head and breathe deeply. Thoughts of him still flit through my mind once in a while and it’d taken me a long time to be able to control myself. Now memories of him bring back bitter sweetness instead of the initial crying seizures I’d have.

“Anyways, hurry up if you want to get to your audition on time,” I mention, casting a quick glance to the wall clock. “You don’t want to be late,”

Tao nods and heads back into his room. I fluff around the house, turning on the TV, letting the news run while I sort out the freshly dried laundry. About 20 minutes later, Tao emerges from his room, hands full of things. I take it as my cue to start getting ready to move out of the house.

Tao has been diligently auditioning for companies that would allow him to pursue his dream of being a dancer and singer. More often than not, Tao would always put up shows for me or my parents (if they were around). He had always been quite the entertainer at home.

Since I was on my vacation break, I decided to send him to the various companies for the auditions. It would save him time on public transport and in return give him more time to practice his dancing or singing.

I grabbed my bag and wore my woollen cardigan. The winds had picked up and the temperature was dropping lower. Autumn is soon approaching and summer nearly at its end.  

Tao and I were soon out of the house and on our way to SM Entertainment. This was one of the biggest companies that Tao had applied for. He was going for the second round of auditions – which was a good sign. He had been rejected quite a number of times, so hearing news like this was definitely something positive for Tao.

I got a phone call from Tao saying that he was done. I tried to pick up on his tone of voice, but I couldn’t tell if he was happy or sad. I packed the groceries neatly in the car before rushing to the company building.

I couldn’t see Tao from the main entrance, so I parked along on the back alleys and got out of the car to find him in the building. As I met the security (who had recognized me as Tao’s sister) he let me through easily, much to the dismay of the waiting fans outside.

I tried dialling Tao’s phone but it wouldn’t go through. I waited by the lobby and looked out for any sign of movement, but the lobby was dead enough as it is.

I went up to security and asked him if he had seen Tao. He shook his head and told me to check the second floor. I nodded and thanked him as I headed to the elevators.

One came quite quickly and I got in, pressing the number 2. I found it odd that there was no button to allow the elevator doors to close. I stand towards the back and patiently wait it out.  

Just as the doors emerge from the sides, the elevator right opposite mine opens, and I could see a bunch of people in there. They came out laughing and when they noticed me, suddenly became quiet. I blushed and bowed. I hope they didn’t think I was a crazy fangirl.

I considered myself fortunate to have met so many nice people in my lifetime, but never did I think I could see Wu Fan with my very eyes ever again.

There he stood in front of me, gaping as the elevator doors closed and shut me within its small enclosure. I was on the brink of hyperventilating that I didn’t notice that the elevator had stopped at level 2.

“姐? What are you doing in here?” Tao asks, finding me on the brink of tears in the elevator. He waves goodbye to his friends and walks over to me. “姐姐, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

He presses the level 1 button and waits for the doors to close. I don’t answer him. I cannot. I had just seen Wu Fan. Was it wrong to think that he’d still remember me?

The elevator dinged open and there he stood, as if he was waiting for the same elevator to open up.

“Wu Fan…” I whispered, grappling on to Tao’s sleeve like I depended on it. Zi Tao stared at me in confusion before following my gaze. When he saw Wu Fan, I could feel Tao’s whole body tensing against mine.

We looked at each other for so long I felt my eyeballs go dry. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from Wu Fan. He had grown so much taller than what I’d expected, and his masculinity was practically exuding from where he stood. He had grown into such a handsome man.

And  he still takes my breath away.

“Let’s go,” Tao harshly says, dragging me away. In a daze I follow Tao, unable to process anything in my mind. My legs feel like jelly and I have to lean on my brother for support.

“Wait!” Wu Fan calls out. I could hear his footsteps behind me before a hand grabbing my arm. His touch was like a hot burning iron. I pulled away instinctively and shrunk away from him. Tao puts a protective arm over my shoulders and takes a step in front me.

“Don’t touch her again,” Tao hissed, glaring at Wu Fan like he was a disease. Wu Fan looked confused. He frowned and opened his mouth to speak. “Don’t even try to talk to us,” Tao mentions with as much venom as he could muster. I’ve never seen my brother so angry before.

“But--,” Wu Fan says, before Tao grabs me and walks out of the building.

All this time I’d imagined what it’d be like seeing Wu Fan again, so why was I reacting this way to him?  I felt anger bubbling in my stomach and frustration. Here he was, looking like he’d had all the luxuries in the world, while we were silently suffering from what he had done.

Tao threw his bag on the ground when we reached home and shut himself in his room for the rest of the night. I couldn’t help but cry. I sat in the corner of the living room and cried to myself. All the emotion in me just poured out like a waterfall.

Arms encircled me not long after, and I continued bawling my eyes out on Tao’s shoulder. He held me for the longest time as I tried to be a source of comfort for Tao as well.

He had looked up to Wu Fan as his older brother and had a close relationship with him. He must be feeling extremely hurt as well. Yet here he was, comforting his older sister. For the first time in my life, I felt utterly useless.

I stopped myself from crying any further and wiped my tears. Tao kept an arm around me as I cleaned myself up.

“I’m okay,” I say, calming myself down. Although I was showing him that I was fine, my wound had reopened and my heart was hurting. Tao nods and rubs my arm in a comforting manner.

*姐姐 = Jiejie/Older sister in Mandarin.

A/N：I'm finally figuring out how to use AFF~! Lol, I'm such a n00b~ Enjoy this update! Please comment and subscribe~ Silent readers must comment! ^^!