Hidden Love

Staring at her for a long moment, the man seemed to recall something, a trace of absurdity flashing in his eyes. Then, for some inexplicable reason, his interest was piqued. He lowered his gaze slightly and deliberately deepened his voice: "Mm."

"..." Sang Zhi couldn't stay calm, nearly breaking down. "Did Mom and Dad agree?"

Another few seconds of silence passed.

The man licked the corner of his lips, a smile in his words: "As long as it turns out good-looking, right?"

At his words, Sang Zhi froze again.

Compared to Sang Yan's voice, this one sounded clearer and mellower. When he spoke, his words trailed off at the end, sounding both ambiguous and lingering.

It was completely, utterly, and entirely different from her brother's perpetually cold and punchable tone and manner.

"Little kid," he chuckled softly, continuing, "Come take a look and see if your brother's surgery turned out well?"

Sang Zhi instantly sensed something amiss.

Just then, there was movement behind her. The sound of a door opening echoed, followed by the thud of shoes hitting the floor.

Sang Zhi instinctively turned around.

In an instant, she saw Sang Yan's face.

The man had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, looking a bit thinner than he had a few months ago. His hair was damp, and a towel was draped over his shoulder, as if he had just taken a shower. When he saw Sang Zhi, he smirked, picked up a fork from the fruit plate she was holding, speared a piece of watermelon, and walked inside.

As if she had seen a ghost, Sang Zhi stammered, "B-Brother."

"What?" Sang Yan glanced at her and took a bite of the watermelon. "Stunned by my good looks again?"

"I..."

Before she could finish, the man behind her suddenly laughed, cutting her off.

For once, Sang Zhi felt flustered and instinctively glanced in his direction.

What met her eyes was a presence even more dazzling than the sunlight outside the window.

The man's brows and eyes relaxed, his expression losing some of its aloofness. The corners of his eyes tilted upward, and his light-colored pupils shimmered with fragmented light, brimming with a spring-like charm—utterly captivating, like a male demon who could steal one's soul.

In that instant, Sang Zhi's heartbeat skipped a beat.

As if she had fallen under his spell, her heart and soul were effortlessly ensnared.

Thinking he was mocking her words, Sang Yan looked at him. "Duan Jiaxu, what are you laughing—"

Because of Sang Zhi's presence, Sang Yan swallowed the curse words that followed. He changed the subject, picked up his phone nearby, opened the message interface, and waved it in front of Sang Zhi.

"Brat, what trouble have you gotten into now?"

The screen displayed their earlier conversation.

That brief, heart-stopping emotion, interrupted by Sang Yan, vanished without a trace in an instant. Sang Zhi immediately retorted, "I didn't cause any trouble."

Sang Yan stared at her, eyebrows raised. "Better not have."

"..." Sang Zhi needed his help, so she braced herself and said, "But, brother, there's something I need..."

There was also a stranger she had never met before in the room. Sang Zhi glanced in his direction, then back at Sang Yan, her eyes hinting at something, hesitating to speak.

Sang Yan pretended not to notice.

Then, the stranger spoke, his tone full of amusement. "Sang Yan, is this your sister?"

Sang Yan walked over and sat on the bed. "Who else would she be, my daughter?"

"..."

Sang Zhi reciprocated by asking, "Brother, who is this?"

Sang Yan replied succinctly, "My roommate, Duan Jiaxu."

"Don't recognize me?" Duan Jiaxu said. "Weren't you just calling me 'brother'?"These words made Sang Zhi recall her earlier foolish thoughts. Her forcibly composed expression instantly crumbled, revealing a hint of annoyance.

Sang Yan let out a light scoff: "Quite affectionate."

While speaking, Duan Jiaxu had already walked up to Sang Zhi and half-knelt down. He looked at her seriously, his light-colored pupils appearing both gentle and mesmerizing: "I'm Duan Jiaxu, your brother's friend."

Sang Zhi averted her gaze, her expression somewhat uncomfortable: "Oh."

After solemnly introducing himself to the half-grown child, Duan Jiaxu turned his head and resumed his usual casual demeanor: "Sang Yan."

Sang Yan didn't even look up, continuing to play with his phone.

Duan Jiaxu asked: "It seems I look quite similar to you?"

What kind of question was that?

Sang Yan paused his movements and looked up: "Take a look in the mirror."

"Then," Duan Jiaxu took the fruit plate from Sang Zhi's hands, "why did this kid just ask me—"

"..."

After a two-second pause.

Duan Jiaxu chuckled again: "If I'd had plastic surgery?"

"..."

After a brief silence.

Sang Yan said coolly: "What do you mean?"

"Brother!" Afraid of making Sang Yan unhappy and him refusing to help her meet the teacher, Sang Zhi quickly changed the subject, "Didn't you say you weren't coming back?"

"Brat." Recalling Sang Zhi's earlier expression, Sang Yan said expressionlessly, "You thought he was me?"

"...N-no."

"And thought he was me after plastic surgery?"

"..."

"Where did you get that idea?" Sang Yan, always overflowing with confidence, said in a showy and nasty tone, "Me getting plastic surgery? And ending up looking like him—"

Seeing him seemingly going on endlessly, Sang Zhi's temper flared up too: "Isn't it natural that you'd want to look like him!"

"..."

"Mom didn't tell me you brought a friend back." Anger returned Sang Zhi to her original, unruly self, "And this was the only person in the room, isn't it normal for me to think that!"

Sang Yan impatiently dug at his ear: "Keep your voice down."

Sang Zhi said sternly: "Why should I keep my voice down? I'm not bothering anyone."

The two siblings faced off.

Sang Yan showed no awareness of needing to yield to his younger sister, continuing to add fuel to the fire: "You're bothering me."

Seeing the argument seemed likely to intensify.

Duan Jiaxu took the initiative to ease the tension, beckoning to Sang Zhi: "Kid, come eat some fruit."

With a friend present, Sang Yan lost interest in bullying his sister who always opposed him. He glanced at his phone and said to Duan Jiaxu: "Do you want to take a shower? We'll head back to school after."

"No need." Duan Jiaxu speared a piece of watermelon and offered it to Sang Zhi, "Let's finish the fruit before we go."

Sang Zhi pressed her lips together, instinctively glancing at Duan Jiaxu.

At this moment, the childish and ugly argument with Sang Yan surfaced in her mind. Added to that, this seemingly amiable big brother had just so casually revealed her embarrassing moment.

Feelings of grievance and unspeakable emotion welled up in her heart.

She felt as if she had been abandoned by the whole world.

Her cheeks began to burn uncontrollably, hot and prickly, and the area around her eyes started to feel sore.

She began to feel deeply embarrassed.

Sang Zhi silently accepted it, her nose feeling as if blocked by something, heat rushing upward. She struggled to hold back for a long time, but a sob still escaped uncontrollably from her throat.

Duan Jiaxu's movements halted.Sang Yan also heard it and looked up: "...You've got to be kidding me."

His words seemed to work like magic.

As soon as they fell, Sang Zhi's tears were unleashed from their seal, cascading down her cheeks uncontrollably. Her suppressed sobs instantly amplified, echoing through the room and seeping through the walls into the living room.

"..."

Both young men froze simultaneously upon hearing this.

Li Ping immediately entered from the living room upon hearing the commotion: "What's going on?"

Sang Yan reacted swiftly, shamelessly deflecting: "Duan Jiaxu, how could you bully my sister?"

Duan Jiaxu's expression stiffened.

He had never encountered such a situation before and momentarily didn't know how to respond.

He hadn't even processed whether he was actually the one who made the child cry.

Before he could offer any explanation,

Sang Zhi suddenly grabbed the hem of his shirt and hid behind him, appearing particularly frightened. Still sniffling, she looked toward Li Ping and pointed at Sang Yan with her other hand: "Mom... wuwu... Bro-brother..."

Li Ping's gaze turned icy as she looked at Sang Yan.

Sang Zhi's crying grew even more sorrowful: "Brother hit me..."

Sang Yan: "..."-

The little girl cried with such pitiful grievance, her pea-sized tears falling as if they might pierce someone's heart. Rarely had Li Ping seen Sang Zhi cry like this, instantly making her lose all impartiality. After gently comforting her daughter with a few soft words, her expression shifted and she dragged Sang Yan to the living room for a scolding.

The door opened and closed with their movement.

The atmosphere cooled with one less person in the room. Sang Zhi released Duan Jiaxu's shirt, her sobs gradually subsiding.

Duan Jiaxu turned to look at her.

The little girl was still young and hadn't developed as well as her peers. Standing less than 150 centimeters tall, she only reached his chest. Her large eyes were now red-rimmed, and she kept sniffling, looking just like a little rabbit.

Then, she pitifully took a bite of watermelon.

Her crying completely stopped.

Duan Jiaxu smiled, not asking why she had been crying, and pulled two tissues from the table: "Done crying?"

The emotions had dissipated with her tears, and Sang Zhi's mood had mostly improved, though traces of embarrassment remained.

She hung her head without speaking.

Given their significant height difference, Duan Jiaxu simply bent down and used the tissues to wipe her tears: "Go wash your face in a bit."

Sang Zhi was accustomed to being cared for like this and didn't pull away.

In the silence,

an idea suddenly surfaced in Sang Zhi's mind.

An idea that would certainly seem abrupt coming from a stranger.

After thinking for a while, Sang Zhi hesitantly spoke up. Her voice hadn't begun to change yet, and carrying a hint of childish sweetness from crying, it sounded particularly adorable: "Brother, are you leaving?"

Duan Jiaxu lifted his gaze and hummed in acknowledgment: "What's up?"

"Do you have time tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes." Sang Zhi whispered, "Tomorrow."

Duan Jiaxu chuckled lightly: "Why are you asking about my schedule?"

Since he didn't explicitly say he was available, Sang Zhi couldn't bring herself to say it either: "It's just... just..." She couldn't articulate a reason after half a day, eventually circling back to the original question, this time adding an ingratiating address: "Brother, do you have time tomorrow?"

Duan Jiaxu lowered his eyes and said lazily: "What if brother doesn't have time tomorrow?"

Sang Zhi grew anxious: "No!"

Having just offended Sang Yan, he definitely wouldn't help her now. This person before her was her only hope.She clenched her fists and threatened dryly, "You have to be free. If you're not, I'll... I'll tell my mom that you two beat me up together—a men's doubles match..."

"..."

A men's doubles match?

Duan Jiaxu curled his lips slightly. "Kid, why are you being so unreasonable?"

Sang Zhi glanced at him and said without much confidence, "I'm still young."

"Hmm?"

"I don't know how to be reasonable yet."

"..."

Fine.

Duan Jiaxu looked at her with a half-smile. "First, tell me what you need to do tomorrow."

Sang Zhi hesitated and said slowly, "Can you pretend to be my brother? My real brother."

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow.

"And tomorrow..." She found it a bit hard to say, her voice lowering. "Go see my teacher with me..."

Duan Jiaxu understood. "Got called in by the teacher?"

Sang Zhi fell silent, as if admitting it.

"What's the reason?"

Thinking of the excuse she had come up with in the car, Sang Zhi wasn't sure if he would believe it. She scratched her head and said hesitantly, "Can I not say?"

"Sure."

Before Sang Zhi could breathe a sigh of relief, Duan Jiaxu added nonchalantly, "Then your brother won't be free tomorrow."

Author's note: Sang Zhi's inner thoughts: Oh, aren't you impressive! Not free! Just not free! Goodbye!!!

Two seconds later: "Fine, I'll tell you."