Chapter 30: Calling You Brother

Later, he entered his senior year in high school, and because he stayed at school, he rarely went home.

Every week when he did come home, he would always find that girl either doing homework or digging around in the backyard, though he never understood what exactly she was digging for.

Not long after, he came home again and suddenly noticed that there were more fruits and vegetables in his family’s garden.

His mother explained that it was Sang Sui who had planted them, adding that the girl had grown up with her grandparents, inheriting their habit of planting things in the ground.

It was later that he learned that Sang Sui’s father, Sang Qinxin, was a firefighter from Jiangcheng. Unfortunately, he had died while saving people during a mission earlier that year.

He froze, unable to stop himself from asking, “When did this happen?”

“Earlier this year,” Wen Xuelin sighed. “Aunt Man was very heartbroken. She had just seen Sui Sui off to high school and, wanting to escape the painful memories, decided to move to Yunjing City with her to provide her with a better learning environment.”

“But they didn’t have any relatives in Yunjing, and her only friend was my mother. Since Aunt Man was raising a girl by herself, my mother worried about them, so she invited them to stay at our house.”

Wen Xuelin paused as she recalled something, then glanced at her son with a smile. “You were at school at the time, and the situation was urgent, so I didn’t tell you. I thought you might be uncomfortable and that you wouldn’t get along well with Sang Sui. I didn’t expect that you two actually got along well.”

What his mother meant by them getting along well was simply because he was curious about the fruits and vegetables in the garden and asked the girl about it, which his mother had noticed. So, from her perspective, it seemed like they had a good relationship.

In reality, at that time, their relationship wasn’t particularly close; they were just a few acquaintances who had met a couple of times.

Their relationship took a dramatic turn the day he found her fainting from dysmenorrhea in her bedroom.

He remembered it clearly: the scorching summer sun, the ceaseless buzzing of cicadas in the trees.

It was a Sunday. He was resting at home, just waking up from a nap, and wearing his slippers, he was heading to the kitchen for lunch when he noticed her door slightly ajar.

He didn’t like prying into other people’s privacy, especially since she was a girl. So, despite noticing the door was ajar, he didn’t feel curious enough to check on her.

He simply walked past her room, but a glimpse inside caught his eye. There seemed to be someone lying on the floor.

He could faintly hear muffled groans of pain.

He paused, furrowing his brow.

After a few seconds of thought, he turned around and knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

When no one answered, he had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

He knocked a few more times, but still received no response. He then pushed the door open.

Inside, the girl was lying on the floor, her brows tightly knitted, her face pale. Her white sleepwear was soaked with sweat, and her exposed ankles and calves were pale, with faint traces of blood on her pants.

He had just turned eighteen, and didn’t know much about female issues, so when he saw the blood, he thought something serious had happened. Without a second thought, he scooped her up and rushed out of her bedroom.

It was summer, and the heat was unbearable. He carried her all the way to the hospital, sweating profusely.

When they arrived at the hospital, he was almost out of breath, but he grabbed the doctor in desperation. “Doctor, she’s hurt, she’s bleeding a lot, please help her, please help her!”

The doctor glanced at Sang Sui and suddenly started laughing.

The doctor explained that the girl was just menstruating, and it was her first time, which caused her to faint due to severe cramps.

At that moment, he stood there stunned, and once he understood what the doctor meant, his face turned bright red.

The whole situation turned into a big misunderstanding, and soon, when Aunt Man found out, she couldn’t stop laughing.

Before long, the entire household was laughing about it.

He felt embarrassed and awkward, and spent quite some time hiding at school to avoid coming home.

It was also during that time that he learned:

For a girl, becoming a mature woman from a naive adolescent involved painful experiences.

When he returned home, it was after a mock exam, and school had given him a day off.

He would always remember that day. When the girl saw him coming home, she ran up to him excitedly, grabbed his hand, and pulled him toward the backyard.

He saw her flushed ears and neck, and the way her ponytail bounced with each step.

Her hand, when it touched his arm, was slightly cool, but he felt a warmth that spread through his entire body.

That warmth, like the blazing sun, burned his heart.

They stopped by a fence in the backyard, and she let go of his hand, turned around, and flashed him a bright, radiant smile.

“Let me pick a watermelon for you!” she said. “I grew it myself, it’s really sweet!”

Before he could react, she quickly took off her shoes and stepped barefoot onto the dusty ground.

She tapped each watermelon with her fingers, then bent over to listen to the sound coming from each one.

After a few taps, she picked the largest one.

He didn’t understand at first why she enjoyed planting things in such a dirty spot.

But when he tasted the watermelon she had cut for him, and saw the hopeful look on her face as she asked him if it was sweet, he began to understand.

It wasn’t just a watermelon; it was the accomplishment she wanted to share with him.

Later, he found out that the girl had learned from Wen Xuelin that he liked to eat watermelon.

That’s why she grew it for him to try.

His family was wealthy, and they could afford to buy watermelon. But looking at the watermelon in his hands, it seemed to have a deeper meaning.

He nodded and murmured, “Thank you.”

She suddenly spoke up, “Thank you for saving me that day when I fainted.”

He looked up in surprise.

“I mean, for saving me that day,” she repeated.

He lowered his eyes and was about to mumble a response when he found himself drawn in by her radiant smile.

“It’s nothing,” he replied.

“Then, can I call you brother from now on?” she asked.

He froze for a moment, looking at her sun-kissed face, flushed from the heat, and her bright smile that seemed to knock against the door of his heart.

He pursed his lips and nodded, “Sure.”

“Senior Sheng, your clothes are ready.”

The voice brought Sheng Yize’s drifting thoughts back to the present. He turned and looked at the girl handing him his clothes and stood up to take them.

“Thank you.”

Carrying the bag of clothes, he walked out of the laundry room.

As he passed by the supermarket, he noticed a row of watermelons placed outside the door.

Three yuan per kilogram, pretty cheap.

He smiled, walked over, and picked one up, tapping it lightly against his ear.

He didn’t hear anything unusual.

He put it down, then picked another one and tapped it again.

Still nothing strange.

How did she pick her watermelons?

It seemed like she always chose the perfect, sweet ones.

“Which one do you want, student?” the shopkeeper asked.

Sheng Yize casually picked one that looked good and handed it over, “This one.”

When Sheng Yize returned to the medical room, Sang Sui had woken up.

Lin Luoluo, Chen Yi, and Zou Jin were all there, chatting and laughing, making the room lively.

When Sang Sui saw him, she froze for a second and poked her head out.

“Where did you go?”

Sheng Yize, carrying the watermelon in one hand and a bag of clothes in the other, walked over and handed her the clothes.

Sang Sui took the clothes, opened them, and saw that her clothes were not only washed and dried, but also smelled faintly fragrant.

Did he wash her clothes?

Sang Sui’s face turned red as she thought about the incident.

“Thank you.”

She pretended to be busy and avoided looking at him.

Sheng Yize chuckled and was about to hand her the watermelon when Zou Jin suddenly rushed over and grabbed the watermelon from his hand.

“Wow, Senior Sheng! How did you know I was thirsty and wanted some watermelon?” Zou Jin laughed, grabbing it.

Sheng Yize snatched it back and glared at him, “Are you taking someone else’s stuff now?!”

“Someone else’s?” Zou Jin froze.

Chen Yi and Lin Luoluo exchanged confused looks.

Seeing that Sheng Yize didn’t respond, Zou Jin suddenly widened his eyes as if discovering a great secret.

“No way, Senior Sheng! When did you have a child?”