Sang Zhi began to regret bringing this up with them. She felt she must have drunk too much today, her mind was acting up, or perhaps she wasn't fully awake yet, still lingering in a drowsy haze.
"You're all talking nonsense," she waved her hand, indicating she didn't want to continue the conversation. "Forget it, I'm not saying anymore. I'm going back to sleep."
"Is what I said unreasonable?" Yu Xin said with a laugh. "By the way, does your brother have a girlfriend?"
"..." Sang Zhi opened her eyes and hesitated, "Probably not yet. He hasn't mentioned anything at home, so I don't know if he does or not."
Wang Ruolan: "Has your brother ever been in a relationship before?"
"..."
Noticing Sang Zhi's reaction, Yu Xin widened her eyes, feeling her speculation had suddenly gained a reasonable piece of evidence: "Oh my god! Don't tell me he hasn't?"
"I don't know. He doesn't talk to me about these things." Sang Zhi thought back, "But in high school, I think he was called to the principal's office for dating too early? I don't really remember."
Yu Xin grew excited: "High school? That was so many years ago! Two grown men in their twenties not dating, always hanging out together... What other reason could there be?"
"I didn't say they definitely haven't dated," Sang Zhi glanced at her gloomily, at a loss for words. "Stop guessing. Read fewer novels."
Wang Ruolan: "What does your brother's friend do now?"
"I think he works at a game company," Sang Zhi pondered. "A programmer? The kind who writes code. I heard from my brother that his project team is working on an online game."
"A programmer?" Wang Ruolan fell silent for a few seconds. "Is he really that handsome?"
"Really," Sang Zhi said. "Or maybe I just haven't seen much of the world, but in all my life, I've never seen a man more good-looking than him."
Wang Ruolan: "But isn't that industry all about staying up late and staring at computers..."
Sang Zhi: "Then he probably cares about his appearance and goes to beauty salons for maintenance."
"..." Yu Xin said, "That sounds pretty gay."
Wang Ruolan: "You said he's quite flirtatious when he talks. Does he talk like that to everyone?"
Sang Zhi thought about how he interacted with Sang Yan and the others, and said, "Pretty much. With people his age or younger, he usually talks like that."
Wang Ruolan made a few hesitant sounds: "So he's just casting his net everywhere? I don't think that's appropriate. A guy like that might cheat even if you get together."
Sang Zhi frowned: "He wouldn't."
Wang Ruolan: "I'm just guessing, after all, I've never met him."
"He's not that kind of person," Sang Zhi said softly. "He's good to everyone. And actually, it's pretty obvious that when he talks like that, he's just joking around, teasing you."
Just then, Ning Wei came out of the bathroom after showering. Noticing the subtle atmosphere in the dorm, she dried her hair and instinctively asked, "What are you all talking about?""
Wang Ruolan quickly summarized what had just happened.
Ning Wei suddenly understood: "Hey, Sang Sang. You're so pretty yourself—you don't need to cling to just one tree. Maybe if you stop thinking about this person, you'll realize there are plenty of others better than him."
Sang Zhi was silent for a few seconds: "Yeah, maybe.""If you still feel you can't let go, then give it a try. After all, he's unmarried and you're unattached. He just sees you as a little sister—it's not like you're actually related by blood," Ning Wei said. "As for whether he's been in a relationship before, don't overthink it. There's no need to mind that kind of thing."
Sang Zhi: "...Are you telling me to pursue him?"
Ning Wei: "Yeah."
"Impossible." Sang Zhi couldn't even imagine how Duan Jiaxu would react if she actually did something like that. She didn't dare to stumble over the same stone twice. "Forget it, I'd rather just live my comfortable life as usual."
Yu Xin: "Actually, you don't even need to pursue him outright. Just show some hints?"
Sang Zhi: "What hints?"
"You said he always teases you and talks in a flirtatious way, right?" Yu Xin strategized for her. "Why don't you respond in the same tone?"
"..."
Hearing it put that way, it kind of made sense.
Sang Zhi nodded slowly, imagining it.
She curved her lips into a smile, stared at Duan Jiaxu, then drawled out her words to him: "Brother, what's wrong with you? You blush every time you see Zhizhi."
"…………"
That was terrifying.
Even without taking action, just thinking about that scene made Sang Zhi feel suffocated!
Yu Xin thought her method was brilliant: "What do you think?"
"Shut it down." Sang Zhi pulled the covers over her head and said sluggishly, "Drop it. Just pretend I was drunk and made up a tragic romance novel for you."
"..."-
Even though that's what Sang Zhi thought—
wanting to simply forget this encounter, to act as if nothing had happened. After all, this city was so big; the chances of running into him again weren't that high.
Wanting to treat him with the same distant attitude as before, until she completely lost these feelings.
But because of Duan Jiaxu's words, "Brother is here all by himself," Sang Zhi inexplicably had a dream when she fell asleep again.
She dreamed of his life from a third-person perspective.
A life she imagined based on that one sentence.
Going to work and coming home every day, eating alone, returning to an empty house.
Still alone even at home.
A life where he did everything by himself.
Then, Sang Zhi dreamed of the beginning of eighth grade, when she was walking home with a few girls from her class. Since it was still early, they detoured to a snack shop near Nanwu University and each bought a piece of fried chicken cutlet.
She happened to see Duan Jiaxu working there part-time.
His life seemed completely occupied by two things: studying and earning money. Beyond that, nothing else seemed to hold even the slightest interest for him.
But she had never heard him complain, not even once.
Not a single time.
That day, unlike at the dessert shop, he didn't refuse her money.
Instead, he filled her portion to the brim.
Duan Jiaxu folded the bag shut. It was opaque, so from the outside, no one could tell.
The other girls had already gotten their portions and were waiting for Sang Zhi while eating, not paying attention to what was happening here.
Duan Jiaxu placed the paper bag into a plastic bag and handed it to her: "Here, kid."
Sang Zhi took it: "Thank you, brother."
"Brother thinks you're the cutest," he said, wearing the snack shop's uniform apron, his strikingly handsome face smiling as he leaned down slightly and whispered to her,
"—so I secretly gave you extra."The next day, Sang Zhi woke up early.
Perhaps due to a guilty conscience, or maybe because of some other emotion, she tossed and turned in bed for a while before quickly picking up her phone nearby and replying to Duan Jiaxu with "Got it."
Sang Zhi had assumed he would still be asleep at this hour. After all, everyone must have slept late last night, and it was barely past six now. Hugging her blanket, she was still hesitating about whether to take the initiative to invite him for a meal when—
Unexpectedly, Duan Jiaxu had already replied: 【Up so early?】
The moment her phone vibrated, Sang Zhi was startled.
The sky wasn't light yet, and the dorm room was pitch black, with only the faint glow from her phone screen. Everything around was quiet, so silent she could almost hear the sound of air flowing.
Flustered, Sang Zhi didn't know how to respond but didn't want to keep him waiting either, so she immediately sent a nodding sticker.
Duan Jiaxu: 【Feeling unwell after drinking?】
Sang Zhi: 【No.】
Duan Jiaxu: 【If you go out, try not to drink alcohol if you can avoid it.】
Sang Zhi pursed her lips and typed: 【Okay.】
There was no further response from the other end.
Staring at the screen, Sang Zhi hesitated, carefully weighing her words: 【Brother Jiaxu, when are you free? If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to treat you to a meal to thank you for bringing me back yesterday. If you're busy recently, that's fine too—you can decide the time. If you can't think of a suitable time, how about next month's Thanksgiving? I'd also like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you.】
After typing it out, Sang Zhi reread every word and sentence for a long time, then hesitantly changed all instances of "you" to the more formal "you." She usually didn't pay much attention to this when speaking, but in written form, using "you" seemed somewhat disrespectful.
Sang Zhi continued checking for a while. When she saw the phrase "to you," she inexplicably felt it was awkward and simply deleted it.
This message took her a full half hour to compose. Only after repeatedly confirming there was nothing inappropriate did she nervously hit send.
Perhaps surprised by her sudden lengthy message, Duan Jiaxu took a while to reply: 【Thanksgiving?】
Sang Zhi: 【Mm.】
Sang Zhi: 【Or you can decide the time if you prefer.】
This time, Duan Jiaxu sent a voice message directly.
Sang Zhi's earphones weren't on the bed. She lifted the blanket, tiptoed out of bed, and went to the balcony to listen.
He seemed somewhat amused, his voice carrying a low breathy tone: "Thanksgiving is fine, but that's at the end of next month. Your brother isn't sure if he'll be free that day."
Sang Zhi asked hesitantly: 【Do you have other plans?】
Duan Jiaxu: "Mm, might have to work overtime."
Before she could reply, Duan Jiaxu sent another voice message: "Let's leave it at that for now. It's still early—go back to sleep for a while. When the time comes, your brother will take you to get your phone fixed too."
Sang Zhi was confused: 【My phone isn't broken.】
Duan Jiaxu: "Huh? It's not broken?"
Sang Zhi: 【Yeah.】
Duan Jiaxu: "Your brother thought your phone couldn't type the word 'you' anymore."
Sang Zhi: "..."
Duan Jiaxu: "Where did this 'you' come from? I've never seen you show your brother such respect before—using 'you' every other word."Sang Zhi glanced at the chat history above and felt that she had been a bit foolish just now. She pondered how to salvage the situation, her fingers frozen on the screen.
The next second, Duan Jiaxu drawled out an "Ah," then added, "Does this mean 'the brother in my heart'?"
His tone was lazy, with a slight upward inflection at the end, and he spoke with obvious laughter in his voice, as if idly teasing a cat that had just run past him.
Sang Zhi had been teased like this by him since childhood.
After so many times, it still annoyed her.
She tightened her jaw, put on a stern face, and instantly sent a voice message: "This is what my dad told me recently. When speaking to people over twenty-five, you have to use honorifics."
"..."
"Good morning, Brother Ji Xu. Your voice sounds very young," Sang Zhi said. "I hope your appearance is as youthful as your voice."
"..."
This unexpected meeting brought a slight easing of tension between the two.
Sang Zhi no longer avoided his calls like before, and when they had time, they would chat on WeChat. Mostly, he would give her various instructions, acting like an elder.
She deliberately immersed herself in the role of "little sister," pretending that her lingering feelings didn't exist.
Thanksgiving fell on a Thursday.
The day before, Duan Jiaxu had told her he wasn't sure if he'd have to work overtime, asking her to wait at school and saying he'd call when he was on his way.
Sang Zhi didn't have many classes that day and spent the afternoon in her dorm working on digital illustrations.
Around six o'clock, she changed into a dress, carefully applied makeup, even going so far as to rarely wear eye makeup with false eyelashes, and added highlighter and blush.
Soon after, she suddenly felt it was inappropriate and removed everything.
Sang Zhi stared at her bare face in the mirror.
She struggled internally for a while.
Sigh.
Forget it.
Otherwise, with his personality, he'd probably say something like: "Little Sang Zhi dressed up so nicely just to see her brother?"
In his dreams!!!
She'd rather not look that pretty than give him a chance to be narcissistic.
Sang Zhi returned to her computer.
Time passed minute by minute, and before she knew it, it was already eight in the evening. Sang Zhi's stomach was growling from hunger, so she sent him a WeChat message asking if he was busy.
But he didn't reply for a long time.
Hesitantly, she called him.
Still no answer.
Sang Zhi thought he might be working overtime and hadn't seen her messages, but she also felt that if he really had to work late, he would have told her in advance. Without further hesitation, she called again.
This time, after seven or eight rings, someone picked up.
Sang Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Brother Ji Xu, are you working overtime?"
"Sorry, Sang Zhi, I just saw your calls," he said unexpectedly, his voice hoarse and his speech slow, as if struggling. "Can we skip today? Go get something to eat yourself, don't go hungry."
Hearing that something was wrong, Sang Zhi asked quietly, "Brother, are you not feeling well?"
Duan Jiaxu: "It's nothing."
That was practically an admission.
And from his tone, it seemed quite serious.
Sang Zhi immediately grabbed her bag and headed out while asking, "What's wrong with you?"
He paused, as if thinking: "Stomach pain, maybe? Probably ate something bad yesterday. It's fine, I'll just take some medicine."Sang Zhi frowned. "You're not planning to go to the hospital?"
Duan Jiaxu chuckled softly. "Not going. Thank you for caring about me, little Sang Zhi."
After quickly exiting the dormitory building, Sang Zhi happened to catch a newly arrived campus shuttle bus. She boarded it and asked, "Brother Ji Xu, where is your company located?"
"You're coming over?"
"Yes."
Duan Jiaxu didn't say much more and leisurely recited an address.
Sang Zhi memorized it and asked seriously, "Brother, are you feeling very unwell?"
His voice was soft. "It's manageable."
Sang Zhi thought for a moment and added, "Then sit down for a while first. I'll come find you and take you to the hospital. If you're really feeling very unwell, we can call an ambulance, okay?"
Duan Jiaxu laughed. "It's not that serious."
"If you're unwell, you should go to the hospital," Sang Zhi inexplicably grew a bit angry, her tone turning fierce. "How can just enduring it make you better? Otherwise, see if any of your colleagues are still around and have them take you to the hospital."
"Why are you getting upset all of a sudden?" Duan Jiaxu seemed amused, his words carrying a hint of indulgence. "Don't be angry, little Sang Zhi. I'll be good, okay?"
"..."
"I'll be right here," Duan Jiaxu said, "waiting for you to come pick me up."
Duan Jiaxu's company was located in Gangbei Tower, a large office building.
Sang Zhi could take the subway directly there.
Following her phone's map, she found the location and entered the building. The office tower had no access restrictions, and just as she was about to ask Duan Jiaxu which floor he was on, she spotted him sitting in the lobby on the first floor.
He was seated on a sofa opposite the reception desk.
His face was unusually pale, and his normally vibrant red lips had lost all color. Leaning back on the sofa, his eyes were half-closed, and his hand rested weakly on his lower right abdomen, as if he were truly in discomfort.
Duan Jiaxu's expression was blank.
Sang Zhi walked over and called out, "Brother Ji Xu."
Hearing her voice, Duan Jiaxu opened his eyes. When he saw her, his eyes curved into beautiful crescents, and he reached out his hand, saying lazily, "Help me up."
"Let's just go to the hospital," Sang Zhi said, grabbing his wrist and pulling him up with effort. "Brother Ji Xu, do you have a fever too?"
He straightened up slowly. "Seems like a bit?"
Sang Zhi moved her hand up slightly to support his arm. "Is there a hospital nearby?"
Duan Jiaxu thought for a moment. "There's a community hospital."
Sang Zhi said, "Then let's hail a taxi to go there."
Duan Jiaxu complied. "Alright."
Afraid he might be uncomfortable, Sang Zhi didn't dare to walk too fast, taking small, careful steps.
After they had walked several meters, Duan Jiaxu turned his head and asked, "Little Sang Zhi, are you escorting an elderly person?"
"..." Sang Zhi glared at him.
"I don't think of you as a child," Duan Jiaxu said, noticing her expression and recalling her earlier words. He drawled, "I really can't break the habit, so can I just keep calling you that for now?"
I don't think of you as a child.
Who are you trying to fool?
Sang Zhi decided not to argue with him. "Just call me that then."
As they exited the building, besides the subway station, there was also a bus stop nearby. The area was somewhat crowded, and Sang Zhi didn't dare to get too close, worried he might get jostled. She looked ahead and turned back to say, "Brother Ji Xu, wait here for me. I'll go up ahead to hail a taxi and call you over once I get one."
Why was she treating him like a delicate princess?
Duan Jiaxu followed her, unconcerned. "I'll go with you."The area was bustling with pedestrian traffic, surrounded entirely by office buildings, with several groups of people who had just finished working overtime emerging. Some headed toward the subway station, while the rest waited nearby for buses.
Hearing his words, Sang Zhi turned back again, intending to support him as they moved forward. Just then, a bus happened to arrive at the stop.
People who had been standing at a distance immediately rushed over, hoping to catch the bus.
In their haste, one person accidentally bumped into Sang Zhi. Caught off guard, her body instinctively leaned forward as she tried to find something to steady herself, and her palm instantly landed on Duan Jiaxu’s abdomen.
A moment later, Sang Zhi heard him inhale sharply, the sound almost imperceptible.
His body reflexively arched downward.
Sang Zhi’s breath hitched, and she immediately withdrew her hand, realizing she must have touched a spot that caused him pain. She lifted her head, her lips parting anxiously as she wanted to ask how he was feeling.
Before she could utter a word, Sang Zhi felt a warmth on her forehead.
A soft, warm sensation.
If she wasn’t mistaken—
It seemed to be his lips, brushing against her forehead.
From this angle, she could only see Duan Jiaxu’s Adam’s apple moving, tracing a graceful line. Along with it came his scorching breath, overwhelming her senses.
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