His tone was indifferent, carrying a hint of teasing.
Sang Zhi couldn’t tell if he was joking or stating a fact. She rubbed the milk bottle with her fingertips, putting on a knowing expression as she asked him, “Brother, have you not watched these two movies?”
Duan Jiaxu’s lips curved slightly. “I’ve watched Transformers.”
As expected.
It was precisely because of ignorance that he could say such things.
Knowing something he didn’t, Sang Zhi felt a little proud. She stood up and slowly explained to him, “Ruhua isn’t a movie title. It’s the name of a supporting character in a Hong Kong film called…”
At this point, she paused, momentarily unable to recall the movie’s name. “It’s… it’s—”
After waiting for a long time without hearing the rest of her sentence, Duan Jiaxu watched her racking her brains and couldn’t help but laugh. “Ruhua is quite a nice name.”
Sang Zhi was still trying to recall the name and ignored him.
Not minding her indifference, Duan Jiaxu continued, “She must be a pretty girl, right?”
This time, Sang Zhi couldn’t pretend not to hear. She looked up, about to refute him, when he playfully pinched her cheek and added, “Just like little Sang Zhi here?”
Sang Zhi: “…”
Sang Zhi couldn’t believe her ears, nor could she believe what she had just heard.
He actually said she looked like Ruhua.
A! Bolt! From! The! Blue!
Soon, Duan Jiaxu took his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. He glanced around and pointed to a convenience store not far away. “Shall we go there to write?”
Sang Zhi remained frozen in place, silent.
Duan Jiaxu turned back, dragging out his words, “Hmm? Why isn’t little Ruhua saying anything?”
“…”
Little! Ruhua!
A! Spiral! Bolt! From! The! Blue!
Sang Zhi couldn’t figure out if he was complimenting or mocking her. Feeling a bit aggrieved, she replied unhappily, “Don’t call me that. Ruhua isn’t pretty at all.”
“Is that so?” Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow. “It sounds quite pretty to me.”
Hearing this, Sang Zhi looked up and stared at him. Noticing his expression, she suddenly sensed something off. Recalling his reaction when he first heard the name “Ruhua,” it was clearly different from his current feigned ignorance.
Sang Zhi instantly realized he was just teasing her.
She stared at him expressionlessly for a few seconds, then pressed her lips into a straight line and silently walked toward the convenience store.
This kid might be small, but her temper wasn’t.
Duan Jiaxu chuckled a couple of times and leisurely followed her.
The convenience store was fairly spacious. In addition to selling various goods, there was a machine set up near the checkout counter selling instant foods like grilled sausages and cart noodles. In front of the refrigerator, there were two empty tables.
Sang Zhi took the seat farthest inside.
Duan Jiaxu sat opposite her, taking her homework out of his backpack. “Start writing.”
Sang Zhi took it and opened her journal.
The convenience store was quiet.
The clerk stood at the checkout counter playing on their phone, not making much noise. The smell of cart noodles and fish balls was particularly strong, filling the entire space.
Duan Jiaxu rested his chin on his hand and looked at her. “Kid, have you had breakfast?”
Sang Zhi took out her pen, not really wanting to engage with him, and nodded silently.
Duan Jiaxu: “Do you want something to eat?”
Sang Zhi shook her head.
“Then should I go buy some breakfast?”
Sang Zhi nodded.Duan Jiaxu stood up and walked toward the cashier.
Sang Zhi was writing the date in her weekly journal, her gaze secretly drifting toward Duan Jiaxu.
At that moment, he was standing in front of the product shelf. The store’s lighting was bright, making his complexion appear pale, with faint dark circles under his eyes—a sign of chronic sleep deprivation, yet he seemed full of energy. When he looked at things, his eyes would unconsciously narrow slightly, focused and gentle.
But his smile always carried a hint of roguishness.
Like a refined scoundrel.
Soon, Duan Jiaxu returned with a sandwich.
Sang Zhi lowered her eyes, pretending to be thinking about how to start her writing.
Duan Jiaxu took a bottle of water and a professional book from his bag. Then, he tore open the packaging and lazily took a bite of the sandwich. His table manners were impeccable, not making a sound. Yet he ate quickly.
In no time, he finished the palm-sized sandwich.
Sang Zhi dawdled as she started writing, but her mind couldn’t fully focus on her homework, constantly wandering back to him involuntarily.
She recalled what Sang Yan had said earlier—they had moved campuses only after finishing their exams.
So, they should be on break now, right?
She’d heard from her parents that Sang Yan hadn’t returned home because he still had a short semester to complete.
Was that the same for everyone?
Noticing Sang Zhi’s distraction, Duan Jiaxu lightly tapped the table with his knuckles and said calmly, “Do your homework.”
Sang Zhi snapped back to attention and nodded again.
The table was round and not very spacious, so their notebooks overlapped. Duan Jiaxu glanced at them, then closed his textbook, leaned back, and gave her the entire space.
A long while passed.
Duan Jiaxu noticed the unopened milk on the table and asked, “Not going to drink the milk?”
Hearing this, Sang Zhi looked up, glanced at the milk, then stole a look in Duan Jiaxu’s direction before silently stuffing the bottle into her backpack.
Watching her actions, Duan Jiaxu chuckled, “Why are you acting like I’m going to steal it from you?”
Sang Zhi remained silent.
Duan Jiaxu teased half-jokingly, “If you’re not drinking it, can I have it?”
Sang Zhi turned her head and warily zipped up her backpack.
“Why are you so stubborn, kid?” Duan Jiaxu’s posture was relaxed, his expression carrying a faint hint of frivolity. “I was just joking with you, and now you’re giving me the silent treatment?”
This time, Sang Zhi didn’t even bat an eyelid.
Duan Jiaxu didn’t seem to mind much, merely murmuring softly, “Little ingrate.”
Sang Zhi couldn’t hold back any longer and retorted stiffly, “I need to do my homework.”
Duan Jiaxu glanced at her weekly journal—it was already more than half finished. He said leisurely, “Alright, go ahead.”
Once she had spoken that first sentence, the words came more easily afterward. Sang Zhi no longer maintained the one-sided cold war as before. Seeing that her homework was almost done, she casually asked, “Brother, aren’t you on break yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Oh, do you live around here?”
“No.”
Sang Zhi thought for a moment and guessed, “Then, once your classes are over, will you go home for summer vacation?”
“No, why are you so curious about my affairs?” Duan Jiaxu tapped her homework with his fingertip and said calmly, “Hurry up and finish. Once you’re done, go to school.”
“…Oh.”
A little past seven, Sang Zhi finished her weekly journal.
She packed her things, slung her backpack over her shoulders, and left the convenience store with Duan Jiaxu.
Seeing that there was still time, Duan Jiaxu decided to walk her to the school gate.For some inexplicable reason, Sang Zhi didn’t want to leave and dragged her feet with every movement. She slowly bid him goodbye, then turned around unhurriedly and walked toward the school.
Suddenly, Duan Jiaxu called out to her, as if remembering something. He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. “Oh, right. Kid, I forgot to tell you.”
Sang Zhi took it blankly. “Huh?”
“I peeked at your weekly journal,” he said, his tone seemingly apologetic, though Sang Zhi couldn’t detect a trace of it. Then, pointing at the little paper ball in her hand, he drawled, “So I wrote you a new one to make up for it.”
It was still early, and most of the classroom seats were empty.
There were still twenty minutes before morning reading, and most classmates usually arrived just in time. Sang Zhi walked to her seat, sat down, and pulled everything out of her backpack.
Only when the backpack was completely empty did she stop and start feeling around in her pocket.
She took out the little paper ball Duan Jiaxu had just given her.
Unfolded it and smoothed it out.
Sure enough, it was a weekly journal entry, and it even seemed to imitate her handwriting—small, delicate, and neat, stroke by stroke.
The title was “Helping My Brother Move Dorms.” The content was written seriously and earnestly, detailing the day’s events like a straightforward log. She flipped it over and saw that he had added a line in large characters on the back: “No longer needed.”
Sang Zhi couldn’t quite picture the scene.
Maybe it was late at night, the surrounding lights dim. He sat at his desk, unusually stumped by a problem, painstakingly forcing out something like this.
Perhaps that was the scene.
The kind of scene that made her breath and heartbeat quicken.
Then, as if tasting sweetness in the air.
Sang Zhi’s mind went blank for a moment. She carefully read it over again, a smile tugging uncontrollably at the corners of her mouth, then folded the paper and carefully tucked it into her sketchbook.
Just then, Yin Zhenru arrived in the classroom. She came in through the back door and greeted Sang Zhi.
After a few steps, she turned her head and asked, “Hey, why are you so happy today?”
Hearing this, Sang Zhi froze for a moment, then tried to rein in the smile she couldn’t control.
“Nothing, I just remembered a joke.”
Yin Zhenru didn’t press further. Her gaze shifted and landed on the milk carton on Sang Zhi’s desk. Puzzled, she asked, “Aren’t you allergic to milk? Why did you buy milk?”
Sang Zhi fell silent for a few seconds before putting the milk into her desk drawer. “I accidentally grabbed the wrong one.”
After returning home, Sang Zhi placed that carton of milk in the refrigerator.
But she was afraid Li Ping might see it.
Hesitating, she eventually hid it inside the box where she kept her treasures, taking it out to look at whenever she remembered.
Days passed one after another.
Even though the distance was so close—just a five-minute walk from the school to where that person was—and she could even pretend to be visiting Sang Yan as an excuse to see the one on her mind.
But she didn’t have the courage.
It always felt like whatever she did was wrong.
She worried that she might not be able to hide it at all.
That little secret only she cared about.
Half a month passed just like that.
On the first day of summer vacation, just as Sang Zhi took out that carton of milk, Li Ping happened to see it. Thinking Sang Zhi wanted to drink the milk, Li Ping gently lectured her at length.
Even after that, still worried Sang Zhi might drink it, she tried to confiscate it.Sang Zhi could only pour out the milk inside, wash the bottle clean, and let it dry. Occasionally, she would fill it with stars she had folded herself, one by one, day after day.
Later, she also placed the weekly journal entry written by Duan Jiaxu inside.
The tiny sprout gradually took shape and grew into a towering tree.
She began to harbor a small hope.
A hope she looked forward to every day.
She wished time would pass faster.
She wished she could grow up sooner—
In early August, because Sang Rong and Li Ping had to attend a friend’s wedding in another city, only Sang Yan and Sang Zhi were left at home. Before leaving, Li Ping gave Sang Yan a long list of instructions, telling him to take good care of his younger sister.
Coupled with Sang Rong’s few threats, Sang Yan could only agree irritably.
The first day of the two living together was relatively harmonious.
Sang Yan spent most of his time lying in bed playing on his phone. Occasionally, when Sang Zhi came to bother him, he would only half-heartedly respond. When it was mealtime, he would order takeout, and they would each eat their own food.
The day passed just like that.
But on the second day, a friend invited him out to play games.
Sang Yan didn’t want to refuse, so he quickly changed his clothes and left his room.
At that moment, Sang Zhi was sitting on the living room sofa watching cartoons. Hearing the noise, she glanced over, her expression blank and quiet.
Sang Yan walked to the entrance to put on his shoes: “I’m going out for a bit. Stay home and do your homework properly.”
Sang Zhi understood: “You’re going out to play?”
Sang Yan avoided the question: “Call me if you need anything.”
Sang Zhi: “No.”
Sang Yan stopped what he was doing and smirked: “Since when do you get to boss me around?”
Sang Zhi turned her attention back to the TV, picked up a bag of potato chips from the coffee table, and opened it: “What if a thief comes later? I can’t fight them off.”
“Just lock the door. No one’s coming.”
“Then what if I get hungry? I have nothing to eat.”
Sang Yan grew impatient, staring at the bag of potato chips in her hand: “There’s so much junk food in the cabinet. Isn’t that enough for you?”
Sang Zhi nibbled on a chip: “I don’t want junk food.”
Sang Yan glared at her: “Then what do you want to eat?”
Sang Zhi: “I just don’t want junk food.”
Sang Yan suppressed his anger and took off his shoes: “What do you want to eat? I’ll go out and buy it for you.”
Sang Zhi glanced at him and said matter-of-factly: “I haven’t decided yet.”
“…”
“Brat.” Sang Yan crouched down and pinched her cheek hard. “When I was your age, if Mom and Dad weren’t home, I not only had to make food for myself but also for you.”
Sang Zhi’s face was distorted by his grip, and her words came out muffled: “That’s different.”
“How is it different?”
“When you were my age, you didn’t have an older brother.” Sang Zhi didn’t even blink, smiling like a little fox as she spoke slowly, “—But I do.”
“…”
His friend called again to hurry him up. Sang Yan had no interest in arguing with her any longer: “Right now, you have two choices. Either tell me what you want to eat now, and I’ll go buy it for you, or stay home and wait to die.”
Sang Zhi continued munching on potato chips: “I choose the second one.”
“…”
After saying that, Sang Zhi pulled out her phone from under her, found Sang Rong’s number, and stared at the screen, muttering: “Fine, I’m going to tell Dad—”
Sang Yan sneered: “Go ahead and tattle.”
He couldn’t be bothered to deal with her anymore and walked back to the entrance.After pausing for two seconds, Sang Zhi's voice came from behind as she spoke on the phone: "Dad."
Sang Yan slipped on his first shoe.
Before he could put on the second shoe, he heard Sang Zhi continue in a very earnest tone: "Brother told me to go die."
Sang Yan: "..."
Author's note: Then Sang Yan called Duan Jiaxu: "Bro, it's your turn to take care of the kid."
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