Redmption 331


    ?


    Charles'' mentor would die if the respirator was removed.


    "You should be by her side now to apany her through the final moments," I reminded him.


    "I know. I''ll go to her now." He looked at me with gratitude. "Sorry for the disturbance."This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.


    I offered a faint smile. "I hope there will be a miracle."


    Without another word, he left. As I watched him walk away, my feelings toward him werepletely different fromst night.


    "What are you staring at? I''ve been calling you." Brandon approached and took the flowers from my hand.


    I wasn''t sure how to exin Charles'' situation to Brandon, especially since I hadn''t mentioned


    the incident with Charles fromst night, and his story was quiteplex.


    More than that, I felt inexplicably downhearted, partly because of Charles'' words about his mentor not being around much longer.


    "Brandon, why do you think two people without any blood rtion can look so alike?" I asked him.


    "People are made up of genes. With so many people in the world, it''s normal for genes to be simr," he answered in a very official tone.


    I thought about why Charles was following me and asked, "Do you think one day you might look for traces of me in people who resemble me?" "Why would I do that?" Brandon asked in a sharp tone.


    I looked into his eyes. "Just hypothetically."


    "To me, you are just you," he said firmly.


    I smiled helplessly. "I was just asking. You could have answered casually. I wasn''t looking for anything deeper."


    He gently brushed a stray hair from my cheek. "No matter what, I won''t search for your reflection in anyone else. You are unique."


    Iughed at his words. "Got it. Let''s go."


    Holding the flowers in one hand and my hand in the other, Brandon asked, "Why the sudden question?"


    "I saw a photo earlier. There''s ady who looks almost exactly like me." I paused. "The resemnce was uncanny."


    I had initially only been struck by


    how simr I looked to thedy in the photo, but as the image lingered in my mind, I realized that the resemnce was even stronger than I had first thought.


    "Does she really look that much like you?" Brandon seemed surprised.


    "Yeah, which is why I''m worried you might mistake someone else for me one day," I teased.


    This time, Brandon didn''t argue or defend himself. Instead, he asked, "Where did you see this?"


    "I saw it on a man''s phone."


    "On a man''s phone?"


    "Yeah, a very young PhD student..." I then briefly exined the incident with Charles.


    Brandon fell silent.


    I sensed that something was off. I tilted my head to look at him and even tapped his palm. "What''s wrong? Are you jealous again?" "No," he denied.


    Seeing his expression, I huffed. "Why are you silent then? You''re clearly-"


    "Mae," Brandon interrupted me and stopped in his tracks. "Why didn''t you tell me about this yesterday?"


    "It was just a minor ident, so I didn''t mention it. I even mistook him for Lisa''s suitor," I exined.


    After exining, I chided him, "You don''t have to be so


    petty. Even though jealousy means you care, it makes me feel constrained and ufortable."


    "Mae, I''m not being petty. I''m


    worried. If he were a bad person with ulterior motives and you didn''t tell me, I wouldn''t be able to protect you. What if something happened to you?" he exined.


    I remained silent. I realized that I had been thinking too narrowly.


    "I''m sorry, I''ll definitely tell you next time," I said, reaching up to rub his face. "Don''t be mad."


    Brandon''s expression softened into


    a reluctant smile, signaling that he


    I


    wasn''t I


    olding a grudge. I tapped his


    palm yfully. "Mr. Howell, you look really handsome when you smile."


    As 1 pulled him forward, I looked up and saw three people standing not far from us, and they were all looking at me.