Ryan slowly stepped into the living room, his reddened eyes scanning the surroundings. Everything looked the same as before, as if nothing had happened. "Mr. Hoffman, you are back."


    A gentle and respectful voice, ethereal and melodious, floated into his ears.


    Ryan''s face instantly lit up with a warm smile, and he reflexively responded, "I''m back."


    However, he would never hear the next sentence again.


    With a thud, Ryan could no longer hold himself up. His once proud and tall frame copsed, his knees hitting the floor as he curled into a cocoon.


    "Ryan!"


    "Mr. Hoffman!"


    Justin and Dean hurriedly rushed to support him, only to hear the faint sound of droplets hitting the floor.N?velDrama.Org holds text ? rights.


    Ryan buried his head deeply,rge tears streaming from his tightly closed eyes, hitting the floor like falling rain.


    "Ryan, let Dean and I handle the organizing. Don''t push yourself," Justin said, holding his trembling shoulders, his own eyes red-rimmed.


    "I''m fine... I''m fine." Ryan wiped his tears harshly and used his arms to push himself up from the floor, taking slow steps towards the stairs. Justin watched his stubborn yet fragile back, feeling an unbearable pain in his heart.


    He remembered their younger days-how Ryan would always boast about Yasmin, calling her his little follower with an arrogant smile.


    In truth, Justin knew that Yasmin was not just Ryan''s loyal subordinate. She was the person who cared most for him-his dearest friend, someone he trusted with his life. They arrived at the room where Yasmin had once lived.


    It was clean and simple, with only a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk, showing no sign that it had belonged to a young woman.


    Justin and Dean, under the pretense


    of helping, dared not move anything. They stood at the doorway,


    watching Ryan''s fingers gently trace the surface of the desk and the neatly made bed, feeling Yasmin''s lingering presence.


    Ryan opened the wardrobe door and looked at the exquisite evening gowns, each meticulously stored in stic garment bags, all looking brand new.


    Tears welled up in his eyes as memories flooded his mind.


    "In the past, whenever I had to


    attend a business event or a social gathering, needing a femalepanion, it was always Yasmin by my side," Ryan said, pulling bright red evening gown with a tearful smile. "I still remember stunning she looked in these dresses. Those lecherous men could not take their eyes off her, and every time I took her out, I woulde back inexplicably furious. It was not romantic jealousy, just the feeling of having my little sister ogled by other


    men. It was that kind of annoyance.”


    Heughed bitterly at himself and said, "Heh... But what does it matter? Someone like me does not deserve a sister as good as Yasmin."


    Justin''s heart ached, while Dean silently cried several rounds of tears.


    Just as Ryan was about to close the wardrobe, he noticed a brown leather box beneath the hanging clothes. Curious, he took it out and ced it on the bed. Slowly opening it, he found a diary inside.


    Yasmin''s diary was pink, with a picture of a little white rabbit holding a carrot on the cover. It was secured with a simple sticbination lock.


    A lock like this could easily be


    broken with a single hit, but Ryan did


    not treat it so roughly. After a


    moment of contemtion, almost


    as if guided by some unseen force, he entered his own birthday.


    With a click, the lock opened.