A DIFFERENT PORTRAIT - PART 2 (Patreon)

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Part 2: The Shy Ones

The girl seemed to have noticed the confused expression on my face. She looked embarrassed, pulling her head between her shoulders, her left hand shyly gripping her right, “I-I’m not like you think... normally, I’m... not a violent person like this!”

I stared at her in confusion, “Huh? Oh no... I wasn’t paying attention to that. It’s just that... everyone else seems to know each other, and I’m the only one who doesn’t know who you are, so I feel a little out of place.”

“I... I’m...” The girl hesitated, looking around nervously as if she had forgotten her name and was trying to find it in a bush or a corner of the house. “I’m Sylvia Chandler, the older brother... well, the older sister of Narek Chandler.”

I didn’t know what to say. Clearly, it was a fake name, as she had just glanced at the flowerpot and looked at the clouds in the sky, trying to come up with it. I knew I was an outsider, but it was just a name—did she really have to hide it from her younger brother’s best friend? But never mind, I shouldn’t expose her. After all, I wouldn’t see her again after this wedding. Oh right, she said she was Narek’s sister.

“Oh, I see... In that case, I should call you sister Sylvia, right?”

“No, no... you don’t have to call me ‘sister.’ I’m Narek’s older sister, but I’m actually only a year older than you.”

When Narek heard his name, he immediately put on a provocative expression, “Are you trying to act younger than you are? You’re clearly four years older than us...” But before he could finish, Sylvia shot him a glare sharp as a razor, looking like a fierce demon, which seemed completely out of place given her heavenly, otherworldly beauty.

Narek immediately fell silent. His mocking attitude was a natural part of his personality, so in every situation, he spoke in a rough, unrefined manner. But it seemed that he was still quite afraid of his older sister. Could this be the “bloodline suppression?!”

When she turned to look at me, the fierce look from earlier had completely vanished without a trace. She blushed again, fumbling with her hands, looking very cute. Sylvia continued to explain, despite the fact that I didn’t care about what she had just done, “I-I swear, it’s not what you think! It’s just... this little brat talking nonsense! I swear I’m not a violent person!”

I quickly waved my hand, “I believe you! You don’t need to swear like that!” Sylvia brightened up, “Really?!” Only after I nodded in confirmation did she seem relieved. I couldn’t help but wonder, why did Narek’s sister care so much about my feelings? Even if the sky were to fall, I still couldn’t believe that such a cute girl would care about a young veterinarian with average looks like me.

Just as I was about to ask Narek about his older brother, Aiden Chandler, Sylvia suddenly mumbled, her voice just loud enough for me to hear, though not very clear, “It’s not like I wanted to be cold with you... it’s just that I’m shy! I don’t hate you...”

Huh? Today is the first time I’ve met her. It didn’t seem like she had been cold with me at all. She was probably just a little shy when she saw a stranger, nothing major. I guessed she was thinking about something else and wasn’t referring to me. So I asked Narek about Aiden Chandler, “So where’s your brother?”

Narek carefully looked over at Sylvia, then turned to me, swallowing a gulp of water, “Well, you’d better ask ‘her.’ I have a feeling whatever I say, she’ll kick me in the leg again. It hurts a lot!” Unfortunately, Narek was wrong, because right after he finished speaking, Sylvia kicked him in the leg again. “I told you it hurts! Do you want your little brother to be a limping groom on his big day?!”

It seemed that every time Sylvia acted aggressively toward Narek, she would blush and look at me, still fumbling as if trying to come up with a new explanation for what I had just witnessed. After a moment of deep thought, she frowned, clenched both fists, and hit herself on the head, looking utterly adorable, as if she had given up. In the end, it really wasn’t a big deal; I believed that all she wanted was for me not to think badly of her.

Finally, Sylvia answered my question, “Aiden Chandler… went abroad. He’s not here anymore.” Oh, did Narek’s sister really just refer to her older brother by his full name when talking to someone else? In my country, only those older would dare do that. Based on age, it seemed that Sylvia was the second child in the family, younger than Aiden and older than Narek.

But it didn’t really matter because the content of the conversation was exactly what I had been hoping for. I joyfully exclaimed, “Oh, that’s great! If that’s the case, these few days living here will be less suffocating!” Upon hearing that, for some reason, Sylvia tightly gripped the hem of her skirt, pouting as if she were upset. What did I do wrong? I scratched my head, feeling confused.

Lina, after watching enough of the fun, broke the awkward atmosphere, “Alright, it’s noon already, let’s eat. Today, Aiden, um...  Sylvia, knew you were coming with Narek, so she specially cooked the dishes you like. Try to eat a lot so she’ll be happy.”

Lina must have accidentally said Sylvia's real name, but I didn’t focus on that part. I was only surprised for another reason, “The dishes I like? How does she know?!” This time, it was Narek who answered, “He texts me every day online! He always asks about what you like!”

I furrowed my brows, “How does she know about me and then ask you about my preferences?” Sylvia’s sharp, bullet-like gaze once again locked onto Narek, making him shudder as he realized he had just said something wrong.

Sylvia hurriedly explained, “Don’t listen to this kid’s nonsense! I know because... oh right... didn’t you come here last time, when I wasn’t around... and you tried some dishes that Aiden cooked and especially praised certain ones? He told me about it!”

Aiden told Sylvia about me? That’s quite unexpected. In my impression, there hasn’t been a single meal where I sat with Narek and Aiden and he actually spoke. He always seemed in a hurry, as if he needed to eat quickly to return to his post at the forest ranger’s checkpoint. The number of times we’ve crossed paths has been so few, not enough for him to pay attention to me. In fact, I’ve even forgotten what his face looks like! More accurately, I’ve never seen Aiden’s face clearly. He always tends to lower his head, with his long hair covering both of his eyes. I could only remember his overall appearance.

So, I guess Sylvia was just trying to say that to make me have a better impression of her older brother. It’s likely that before I arrived here, Narek or Lina had texted her and asked her to prepare. It seems like that’s the only explanation.

At the dining table, I sat next to Narek, while across from us, Lina sat next to Sylvia. Since I found out that Sylvia was Narek’s sister, I felt much more at ease, though I wasn’t sure why I felt that way. There were times when, as I was picking up food, my hand accidentally brushed against Sylvia’s delicate arm, causing her to blush and quickly retract her hand. She seemed to be quite shy. However, every time our hands brushed, I also nervously pulled my hand away. But my situation was easy to understand. After all, I was just a guy who had never had a relationship before. Suddenly being in such close contact with a beautiful girl would make anyone in my position feel embarrassed! I justified myself like that.

Witnessing our awkwardness, Lina propped one hand on the table, resting her cheek on it as she smiled mischievously, “You two look so cute! Like a couple who just dating.” Both Sylvia and I turned to Lina and replied firmly, “Not at all!” After that, we both embarrassedly looked at each other before lowering our heads and continuing to eat. Lina seized the opportunity to burst into laughter again.

“Well, who knows what the future holds, right? I remember, back then, Sylvia actually had feelings for me, but I turned her down because I wanted to focus on studying to get into Luminous University. Who would've thought, after all these years, I'd be about to marry your little brother while you...” Lina didn't finish her sentence, instead, she gave a teasing look to the person sitting next to her.

“It’s all in the past... Let’s not talk about it anymore! Eat your meal!” Sylvia suddenly ate more quickly, causing herself to choke. I hurried over, offering her a glass of water and gently patting her back without thinking much about it. How embarrassing... This was just a natural reaction for a veterinarian when seeing an animal in distress. I didn’t mean to compare her to my usual “patients,” it was just an instinctive response.

After the choking passed, Sylvia looked at me. Her face was even redder than before.

PART 3 >>