People have always thought that we don't get along.

Yes, they are right about that.

Our brands are competitors, we are arch-rivals, and we clash as soon as we meet.

But, we are also neighbors, we are also friends.

We grew up together since we were young, even though our families' businesses conflicted, we still gave each other face, and when we met, we were polite.

My parents wanted me to call him "brother," but I refused. I thought the adults were hypocritical, fighting openly and secretly for so many years, why should I call him brother.

He didn't call me sister either, just gave me a cold look and walked away indifferently.

Later, my aunt married his father, and he truly became my ethical brother.

I didn't like him because he treated my aunt poorly, and my aunt, besides my parents, was the best person to me. So, out of family ties, I couldn't like him, so I detested him and pushed him away.

He felt the same way. His parents divorced, his father remarried, so he wouldn't show any kindness to me, a distant relative.

When I was fifteen, it was the first time I called Yang Tan "brother."

I was being harassed by a group of delinquents outside of school, asking for money. Yang Tan, in his blue and white school uniform, wearing earphones, passed by with a cold look.

It was like a lifeline for me, so I shouted, "Brother."

He stopped, then threw a punch at the person pulling my clothes.

He fought fiercely and ruthlessly, his face devoid of any emotion. In the end, his face was splattered with blood, and the group of people fled.

He threw his jacket over me, scolded me as a useless person, then put his earphones back on and walked away without looking back.

That day, he walked ahead, and I followed behind. He went to his family's shop, and I went into our family's shop.

The second time I called him brother was when I introduced him to my parents with Wen Yi. We happened to meet him while going out to eat, and when introducing him to Wen Yi, I thought calling him brother would be a better relationship.

By then, he had started taking over some of their company's business, wearing black pants, a white shirt, and his hair combed up. I was stunned.

When he heard that title, he didn't react much, just looked Wen Yi up and down, then said his gaze was still disdainful before going upstairs to meet a client.

When I got into trouble, he quietly helped me investigate for three years.

At a high school graduation reunion, we all drank, and on the way home, we walked together on the main road in the city center.

I handed him the phone receiver, asking him, "Yang Tan, what is the most important thing to you?"

Under the plane trees, a row of streetlights cast irregular shadows of leaves on the ground.

He didn't find me boring but looked into my eyes seriously and said after a long pause, "Not letting my mom down."

When Yang Tan was twenty, his mother passed away abroad, leaving a letter behind, refusing to return to the country, refusing to see Yang Tan and his father.

Initially, they announced a peaceful divorce to the public, she left gracefully, ran to England to pursue a new life, but why did she come to hate to this extent now? That was a question that had troubled me for a long time.

After more than ten years of rivalry with Yang Tan, today, I recalled the premature birth process of my aunt. I suddenly realized something was wrong.

It wasn't a traditional premature birth. At that time, Yang Tan's parents hadn't divorced yet. My aunt wouldn't let me hold her, and she would instinctively cover her stomach and hide when she saw me running towards her.

For us in the branding industry, especially those jewelry brands promoting love, the most important thing is for the company's boss to set an example and show loyal love.

So, my aunt's so-called premature birth was to conceal the pregnancy period, to avoid gossip about her marriage with Yang Tan's father, to protect Yang Tan's father's image and the family business, right?

My aunt wasn't as kind and pure as I remembered. She interfered in someone else's family, causing the parents to divorce, forcing the mother to become a mistress who had to flee to a foreign land. This shattered my world.

Yang Tan's mother endured silently, swallowed her pride, all for Yang Tan, right?

After completely taking over the company, when his father passed away, he sent my aunt and cousin abroad. Being meticulous and seeking revenge is the survival rule of adults. As a grown-up by then, I didn't say a word about it.

Now, I owe Yang Tan an apology, for misunderstanding him all these years.