That was when she was in the first grade of elementary school.

The seven-year-old girl lived her days in a daze, eating, sleeping, and playing without a care, often forgetting things. If her mother hadn’t checked her school bag for her, it would have been a mess.

Sure enough, one day, her forgetfulness caught up with her. Lower-grade students had a full day of classes once a week, and she had forgotten about it. Her lunch box was left at the front door, and her mother hadn’t noticed it either, hurriedly sending her off to catch the school bus.

At noon, when the bell rang for lunch, she was about to go home. A female classmate sitting next to her stopped her.

“Ningning! Today is a full day of classes, did you forget?”

She really had forgotten!

Seeing her classmates taking out their prepared lunch boxes, the whole school filled with the aroma of food, she was stunned. She foolishly took out a fifty-cent coin from her pocket, planning to buy a bun from the school store.

But she went too late, and all the buns were sold out. Even the puddings, cookies, and other snacks were gone.

There was nothing left to eat!

Her stomach was so hungry, what should she do?

Holding her empty little belly, she wandered around the school, thinking of calling home to ask her mother for help, but what was the phone number? She was too hungry to remember…

Then, in her daze, she fell into a mud pit in a corner of the school, getting her white, round little face covered in mud, and her whole body dirty.

She was greatly shocked and burst into tears.

“Shut up!” a reprimanding voice came from behind her.

She turned around in a daze and saw a big boy sitting on the stone steps of a nearby pavilion, holding a large lunch box on his lap, ready to enjoy his meal in the cool breeze and beautiful scenery.

The boy glared at her. “You’re a first-grader, right? Why are you crying?”

“You…” She managed to stop her sobs and hiccupped. “Do you also go to school here?”

“Can’t you see the uniform I’m wearing?”

Indeed!

She blinked, but still couldn’t see clearly, and raised her hand to wipe away her tears.

“That’s dirty!” the boy quickly stopped her. “Didn’t you wash your hands? Be careful not to get conjunctivitis from rubbing your eyes like that.”

“Oh.” She obediently put her hand down. “Big brother, what grade are you in?”

“Sixth grade. You should call me senpai.”

What is senpai?

She pouted, her thick, curled eyelashes hanging with sparkling teardrops, staring at him.

“What are you looking at?” He felt uncomfortable being stared at by her.

“Big brother, I’m hungry.” It turned out she was looking at the lunch box in his hand.

“You’re crying and making a fuss just because you’re hungry?” He scoffed.

She pursed her lips in grievance. “I forgot to bring my lunch box, I have no food, and I can’t buy a bun.” To her, this was like the sky falling.

“You only remember that you’re hungry, and you don’t care that you’re covered in mud?” The boy looked at her with disdain.

She followed his gaze and looked down at herself. Her uniform was dirty, her hands were muddy, and her face was probably also covered in dirt, looking like a ghost.

Her little face instantly turned red.

“Go wash your hands and face over there!” the big brother commanded without hesitation.

“Oh, okay.” She obediently nodded, walked to the back of the pavilion, turned on the faucet, and washed her hands and face clean before returning.

The big brother told her to sit down on the steps and gave her his lunch box to eat.

She felt incredibly grateful and ate heartily, devouring most of it before suddenly realizing that the big brother hadn’t eaten yet!

“Big brother, you eat too.” She held the lunch box out to him with a flattering smile.

He looked down at the lunch box, which had been full but now only had a few bites of rice and some vegetables left, and was speechless. This little girl might be young, but she had a big appetite. No wonder she was so plump, like a clumsy little cat…

This was how Jian Shuning and Zheng Yuanshi first met, and he had given her a meal out of kindness.

Later, she found out that he was the new neighbor who had just moved in next door, a family of three with him as the only child.

Just like her, he was the only child in his family, cherished by his parents.

Because their houses were close, and she admired him so much, she followed him around every day like a little puppy, calling him “big brother” affectionately.

He often impatiently shouted at her, “Who’s your brother? I don’t have a sister like you!”

“Big brother, can you be my brother? My kindergarten friend Xiaoxiang has a brother who loves her so much!”

“I’m so envious. I wanted my mom to give me a brother, but she said it was too late…”

“What? You want your mom to give you a ‘brother’?”

“Yes.”

“Heavens! How does your brain work? Are you sure it’s not filled with paste?”

“Huh? Can paste be put in the brain? Won’t it stick together?”

“Please, don’t tell people you know me, and definitely don’t say I’m your brother…”

“Why not? Why?”

“Because I don’t have such a silly sister!”

“…Waa, big brother is so mean.”

The little girl cried with tears streaming down her face, and the big boy had no choice but to surrender.

And so, they began a one-sided childhood sweetheart relationship.

He went to middle school and was placed in the advanced math and science class, while she struggled with math in elementary school.

He represented the school in a speech competition and won first place, while she was caught talking in class, was given demerits by the discipline teacher, and had to stay after school to clean the bathroom.

He was admitted to a prestigious high school with excellent grades, while she had a report card full of red marks and had to stay for summer remedial classes.

His English essay was selected for the city’s youth literature collection, while she couldn’t even memorize a single English passage.

He was admitted to a university in Taipei and moved to the school dormitory, while she remained in Tainan.

He finally got rid of this clingy little girl, although he still had to see her briefly during holidays, which he could tolerate.

Unexpectedly, she got into trouble and fled to Taipei for refuge, even getting the key to his place from his mother, making it impossible for him to kick her out…

Their fateful connection continued.

The next day, Zheng Yuanshi took Jian Shuning to the company and handed her over to the human resources department manager, instructing her to temporarily fill in as an administrative assistant.

The human resources department manager had worked at the company for many years and was a seasoned woman with a son in high school. Upon hearing the boss’s instructions, her eyes lit up with the fire of gossip.

“Executive Director, who is this young lady to you?”

“She’s no one!”

Who was he kidding? If she were really no one, would the boss personally bring her to work?