“……”

Sang Zhi turned her head mechanically and glanced at Duan Jiaxu’s face, following his gaze. As if she had been caught by a parent for having an early love, she quickly pulled her hand back and awkwardly hid it behind her back.

She swallowed nervously.

Initially, she didn’t think it was a big deal, but Sang Yan’s disapproving expression combined with the sudden exposure of their relationship, made Sang Zhi’s unprepared heart leap into her throat.

Duan Jiaxu lowered his eyes, looking at his now-empty hand, and raised an eyebrow.

Then, Sang Zhi forced out a sentence, “……They do look similar.”

“……”

“But if you look closely,” Sang Zhi added awkwardly, “there’s a slight difference. He just looks like him…… It’s a common face…… I know several people who look like this……”

Sang Yan interrupted her, laughing angrily. “Do you really think I’m an idiot?”

“……”

“Want me to come up with an excuse for you?” Sang Yan’s dark pupils glinted as he tried to maintain his composure, though his words betrayed his irritation, “Duan Jiaxu is blind, lame, and drunk, so you absolutely had to hold his hand to support him.”

After three seconds of silence, Sang Zhi pretended to stay calm and said, “Then let’s go with the drunk excuse?”

“……”

Hearing that, Sang Yan’s eyebrows twitched and the forced smile on his face gradually faded. He tried to steady his breathing, stared at Sang Zhi, and said slowly, “Come over here.”

Afraid of being scolded, Sang Zhi looked to Duan Jiaxu for help.

Seeing this, Duan Jiaxu also turned his head to look at Sang Zhi, his expression thoughtful. Soon, he spoke up, but it was a response to what she had just said, “I don’t think my looks are that common.”

“……”

A double attack.

Two, troublesome, men.

Sang Zhi didn’t know why she was the one feeling the most flustered. She took a deep breath and her gaze shifted between the two before she suddenly pushed Duan Jiaxu toward Sang Yan.

She put all the blame on Duan Jiaxu and confessed, “He pursued me.”

Facing Sang Yan’s gaze, Duan Jiaxu finally felt a hint of guilt. The smile on his lips slowly faded, and he cleared his throat, admitting, “I pursued her.”

“……”

Sang Zhi suddenly felt a bit regretful.

If she hadn’t gone to find Duan Jiaxu today and had obediently returned to her dorm after work, Sang Yan probably wouldn’t have stumbled upon this scene. If she had known Sang Yan was coming, she and Duan Jiaxu could have planned ahead and thought about how to break the news so it wouldn’t be too hard for Sang Yan to accept.

But the current situation……

The three of them walked silently and awkwardly, like strangers, towards Sang Zhi’s dormitory.

Sang Zhi walked in the middle, not daring to get too close to Duan Jiaxu and staying closer to Sang Yan instead. Her eyes kept glancing at Sang Yan’s face, her heart still pounding, and a vague sense of guilt rose within her.

She lowered her head, trying to imagine what Sang Yan must be thinking right now.

After nearly two weeks of cold war with his sister, he finally made time to come to Yihe to break her legs. After a long and exhausting trip to her school, he unexpectedly saw her holding hands with his close friend.

His sister was with his friend.

It would be one thing if they were together, but the fact that both of them had hidden it from him, leaving him completely oblivious, made him feel like a fool, played by those he trusted.

It did seem a bit……

Sang Zhi licked her lips and couldn’t help but say, “Brother, I wanted to tell you before. I even sent you a message, but you blocked me. That’s why you didn’t see it.”

Sang Yan acted like he hadn’t heard her, staying silent.

“I can show you.” Sang Zhi, afraid he wouldn’t believe her, pulled out her phone and unblocked him from her blacklist. “I still have the message.”

Sang Yan brought up an old topic, “A graduate student?”

Sang Zhi blinked slowly, bracing herself as she said, “I just wanted to prepare you mentally. First, I would tell you that I found a boyfriend about your age, and then I’d gradually reveal the truth……”

Sang Yan cut her off impatiently, “How much longer to your dorm?”

“Almost there, just a few more minutes.” Sang Zhi scratched her head, hesitating as she asked, “What do you want to do?”

Sang Yan didn’t answer.

Sang Zhi could only glance at Duan Jiaxu.

Meeting her gaze, Duan Jiaxu smiled and reassured her, “It’s fine. I’ll talk to your brother.”

“……”

The atmosphere felt tense, more so than Sang Zhi had expected. She had thought Sang Yan would be surprised at most, not angry.

Sang Zhi looked at Sang Yan again, trying to salvage the situation. “Brother, where are you staying tonight?”

Sang Yan snorted. “What does it matter to you?”

Sang Zhi felt like her head was about to explode. “You’re not planning to hit anyone, are you……?”

Sang Yan replied, “Heh.”

“This isn’t a big deal. If you fancy one of my friends,” Sang Zhi struggled to keep the conversation going, “I can introduce her to you. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Sang Yan replied coldly, “No need, I already have someone.”

“……”

“Seriously, why are you reacting like I found someone married?!” Sang Zhi protested, “There’s not even much of an age difference and it’s not like I’m 17.”

Just then, they arrived at Sang Zhi’s dormitory building.

“This one?” Sang Yan ignored everything she had said, tilting his chin up. “You don’t need me to teach you how to get in, right?”

“……”

Duan Jiaxu also spoke up, gently reminding her, “Go on in. Don’t you need to video call your mom?”

The atmosphere was extremely strange as if they were waiting for her to leave so they could settle something.

Sang Zhi felt particularly uneasy. She didn’t dare to leave and kept talking, “You’ve known Brother Jiaxu for so many years. You know he’s a good person……”

Sang Yan’s voice was emotionless, “What do I know?”

“……”

Nothing she said seemed to make any difference.

Sang Zhi felt frustrated but also guilty. She could only keep her temper in check and said, “I already told you I was planning to tell you, but you blocked me. And it’s really not a big deal, it’s just dating.”

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal.” Sang Yan replied dismissively, “Go to your dorm.”

Sang Zhi felt like she was losing her mind, so she threw out a suggestion, “How about I don’t go back to my dorm tonight?”

Sang Yan sneered. “Heh.”

“……”

Sang Zhi felt she had said everything she could.

She also thought that these two were educated people, so they should be reasonable.

Moreover, in all the times she had angered Sang Yan growing up, even if there were hundreds, he had never laid a hand on her. At most, he would scold her, but he never did anything other than that.

With these thoughts in mind, Sang Zhi said a few more words in Duan Jiaxu’s defense, then relented and obediently went back to her dorm. She jogged upstairs and, once inside, immediately went out onto the balcony, gripping the railing as she looked down.

She saw the two men walking toward the school gate, keeping about a meter’s distance between them.

From this distance, it was hard to tell if they were talking.

But they seemed to be getting along.

It seemed like they were, indeed, having a calm and reasonable discussion.

Sang Zhi let out a sigh of relief and only pulled her gaze back after they disappeared from sight.

———pr


At that moment.

Downstairs, Duan Jiaxu and Sang Yan were walking along the road, their eyes never meeting.

There was no communication between them either.

The campus at night during summer break was unusually quiet.

They barely saw anyone else along the way.

The two maintained this state as they left the campus and walked further. To get to the subway station, they had to pass through a small path. It was usually lively, but during the summer break, it was much less crowded.

The empty street and the bright streetlights were dazzling yet desolate.

It seemed like they had reached an appropriate spot.

Sang Yan suddenly stopped, pressing his tongue hard against the corner of his lip. Then, without warning, he turned sideways and threw a punch at Duan Jiaxu’s face with all his might.

There was no hesitation, not the slightest restraint.

With the force of the punch, Duan Jiaxu staggered back a few steps, feeling half of his face go numb as if it were burning, tingling with a strange sensation. He flexed the muscles in his face, brushed his slightly split lip with his fingertip, and smiled, “That hard, huh?”

“I’m f*cking getting goosebumps.” Sang Yan said without a hint of humor, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening them. “You could’ve gone after anyone. But her?”

Duan Jiaxu corrected him, “It’s not just a fling, it’s serious.”

Sang Yan let out a mocking laugh, his anger far from dissipated. He stretched his neck, grabbed Duan Jiaxu’s collar, yanked it down hard, and kneed him in the abdomen. “You must be f*cking out of your mind.”

Sang Yan’s force was heavy and Duan Jiaxu felt pain spreading throughout his body, but he didn’t resist. Sweat beaded on his forehead yet his lips still curved upwards as he struggled to say, “Watch where you’re hitting.”

“……” Sang Yan’s anger made his stomach ache and he punched Duan Jiaxu in the face again. “You think I would f*cking go easy on you?”

Duan Jiaxu staggered back. His back hit the wall and he let out a muffled grunt.

Sang Yan pulled him back, and this time he added a kick.

The two had known each other for so long, but they’d never fought before.

This first time, Sang Yan seemed intent on ending Duan Jiaxu’s life. By the end, he was out of breath, leaning against the wall, panting, “Damn it, I need a break.”

Duan Jiaxu sat down on the ground. His mouth was filled with the taste of blood and he spat some out to the side. Hearing Sang Yan’s words, he raised a brow, hissed, and didn’t say much, “Alright.”

Sang Yan’s emotions had considerably calmed down after letting out his anger.

The two remained silent for a while, the tension slowly dissipating.

Sang Yan asked in a low voice, “How long have you been seeing her?”

“A month and a half.” Duan Jiaxu stood up, chuckling softly. “Last time I said I was planning to go to Nanwu to find you, it was for this. I knew I was wrong, so I wanted to apologize to you in person.”

Sang Yan asked, “Are you an animal?”

Duan Jiaxu replied, “Maybe.”

“If you were dating someone her age, or even someone younger, I’d have no objections at all.” Sang Yan said. “But my sister, Sang Zhi, you’ve known her since middle school, right? She looked up to you like a big brother, and you could still go through with it?”

“Bro—”

“Shut up, who the hell is your bro?”

“……” Duan Jiaxu couldn’t help but laugh, though it tugged at the wound on his lip, making his voice rougher, “Alright, Brother. I know this is hard for you to accept. You can hit me as many times as you want.”

Sang Yan scoffed. “Who’s your brother?”

“Sooner or later, I’ll be calling you that, so you might as well get used to it.”

“……”

They flagged down a taxi.

In the car, Sang Yan still found it absurd. He couldn’t believe it. “What were you thinking?”

“Actually,” At that moment, he received a WeChat message from Sang Zhi. Duan Jiaxu looked down, replying as he spoke with a casual tone, “She has grown up to be quite beautiful.”

“……” Sang Yan resisted the urge to hit him inside the car. “Haven’t you seen beautiful girls before?”

“Honestly,” Duan Jiaxu didn’t even lift his eyes as he typed a message, smiling tenderly, “It’s okay, don’t worry. I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as my Zhizhi.”

Sang Yan rolled down the window, letting the night breeze cool his anger. “Your Zhizhi?”

Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow. “Fine, she’s still yours for now.”

“……”

“But she’ll be mine sooner or later.”

“……”

After a moment of silence, Sang Yan asked again, “You’re really serious?”

Duan Jiaxu turned off his phone screen, his smile fading a bit as his tone grew more serious, “If I weren’t serious, then I really would be an animal.”

“Fine.” Sang Yan’s tone became investigative, “How far have you two gone?”

“……” Duan Jiaxu turned to look at him, not answering directly, “Come on, Bro. That’s getting into people’s privacy, isn’t it?”

Sang Yan: “?”

The air grew tense for a few seconds, and Sang Yan, staring directly at Duan Jiaxu, couldn’t believe it. “This is awkward to ask, but I have to know— what have you done that crosses the line into privacy?”

Realizing the misunderstanding, Duan Jiaxu almost choked. “No. Bro, what are you thinking?”

“……”

Duan Jiaxu added, “Is that really the image you have of me?”

Sang Yan didn’t look away, his tone calm, “Honestly, yes.”

“……”

“And the fact that you, an old dog approaching thirty, have gone after my little sister who just started college made me realize that your shamelessness really has no limits.” Sang Yan sneered.

Duan Jiaxu replied leisurely, “We’re only six years and eleven months apart.”

“……” Sang Yan knew it was too late to force them apart, so he looked away and sighed, “If you two want to date, go ahead, but keep the boundaries. That little brat has been pampered her whole life.”

Duan Jiaxu smiled. “I know.”

Then he added, “Thanks, Brother.”

The moment froze in time.

Soon, the car window rolled up again.

Sang Yan suddenly reached out to grab Duan Jiaxu’s neck tightly, his forehead throbbing with anger.

The noise startled the driver, who instinctively asked, “What’s going on back there?”

Afraid that the driver would panic, Sang Yan lifted his eyes and suppressed his anger, adding very politely, “Don’t worry, Sir.”

“……”

“I’ll do my best not to kill anyone in your car.”