Sang Yan closed his eyes briefly and took off his shoes for the second time. He quickly walked over to Sang Zhi, took her phone, and without any expression, lowered his eyes, intending to hang up the call.

When he saw the screen, it wasn’t the call interface he had expected.

Instead, it was the phone’s main screen.

There was no call record at all.

He immediately realized what had happened and his stomach ached with anger. He smiled. “Little Brat, are you messing with me?”

Sang Zhi blinked innocently. “I never said I made a call.”

Sang Yan’s tone turned cold, “Then who were you talking to just now?”

Sang Zhi moved to the other side of the sofa. “I was rehearsing.”

“……”

“Just now, you told me to wait until I die so I wasn’t lying. Now,” Sang Zhi suddenly remembered her phone was in his hand and tried to grab it back, “I’m done rehearsing, so I’ll make the call.”

Sang Yan stared at her for a long while but didn’t stop her. He handed her the phone obediently.

“Fine, make the call.”

This development wasn’t what Sang Zhi had imagined. She glanced at him suspiciously but didn’t want to lose her momentum, so she slowly opened her contacts list.

Watching her actions, Sang Yan said casually, “After you finish, it’s my turn.”

“I didn’t do anything bad.” Sang Zhi frowned. “What are you going to tell Mom and Dad?”

“I’m not talking about telling on you.” Sang Yan said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m talking about hitting you.”

“……”

“Go ahead, complain all you want.” Sang Yan got up to close the window and pulled the curtains shut. “Say whatever you want, however you want. Once you’re done, it’ll be my turn.”

The room dimmed considerably, like the calm before a storm.

Sang Zhi’s confidence dropped significantly and she started to feel uneasy. “……If you hit me, Dad will kill you when he gets back.”

“Sure.” Sang Yan said nonchalantly. “I’ll wait for him to come back and kill me.”

“……”

Sang Yan didn’t look at Sang Zhi, instead scanning the living room. He then picked up a feather duster from the TV stand and silently measured it in his hand. “Little Brat, should I come over, or will you come here yourself?”

Sang Zhi stared at the feather duster in his hand, not answering.

Sang Yan didn’t seem to need her response. “So, should I come over?”

Realizing the situation had flipped, Sang Zhi suddenly called out, “Brother.”

Sang Yan responded leisurely, “Alright, Brother will come over himself.”

As he took one step, then another towards her, Sang Zhi watched him silently for a couple of seconds before admitting, “I was wrong.”

“……”

“I’m sorry, Brother. I won’t do it again.”

“……”

She was good at adapting to the situation.

“Wouldn’t it have been better if you’d done that long ago?” Sang Yan, who was always soft-hearted, threw the feather duster aside. “Just behave every day. Stop going against me and Brother will bring you tasty treats. Got it?”

Sang Zhi grudgingly replied.

“Then I’m going out now?”

Sang Zhi turned her head to look at him and suddenly asked, “Brother, who are you meeting with?”

Sang Yan put on his shoes for the third time and answered casually, “My roommate.”

“Oh.”

“Anything else? Stay home and do your homework properly.” Sang Yan continued, “Don’t go into the kitchen or cook anything yourself. There’s plenty to eat at home, so figure it out if you’re hungry. You can also order food. If anything comes up, call me.”

“……”

“And.” Sang Yan scratched his cheek, adding, “Don’t open the door for anyone casually.”

Sang Zhi nodded.

After a while, Sang Yan left.

The crisp sound of the door closing echoed in the hallway, followed by silence.

The cartoon on the TV had ended and the ending theme was playing. Feeling bored, Sang Zhi threw the chips onto the coffee table, turned off the TV, and went to the bathroom to wash her hands.

She thought of the word ‘roommate’ Sang Yan had mentioned.

A light sensation, like a tickle, brushed her heart. It felt like an opportunity was within reach, almost tangible, a surge of impulse that was quickly suppressed.

She grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge and took small sips.

Sang Zhi then returned to her room.

Yin Zhenru happened to call her, “Sang Zhi!”

“What?”

“Next week is Fu Zhengchu’s birthday.” Yin Zhenru added, “They said they want to go karaoke together. Do you want to join?”

“What day next week?”

“Tuesday.”

“Oh.” Sang Zhi said, “I’ll see if I can come.”

“Are you planning to get a gift for Fu Zhengchu?”

“Do I have to?” Sang Zhi thought for a moment. “Then I don’t have time.”

“……” Yin Zhenru was speechless. “You don’t have to. But it’s his birthday, so just get something. Otherwise, it’ll be awkward to go empty-handed.”

“I think so too.” Sang Zhi said seriously, “So I’m not going.”

“But probably no one else will prepare a gift either!” Yin Zhenru, not wanting to go alone, said quickly, “You don’t have to worry about it. I can say my gift is from both of us.”

Sang Zhi pulled out a comic book from the shelf. “Let’s talk about it later. Don’t you have cram school to go to?”

“Ah!” Yin Zhenru exclaimed, “I forgot! I have to go now!”

With that, the other party hung up.

Sang Zhi lay on her bed and flipped through her contacts. She saw the number she had saved as ‘Duan xx’ and hesitated before opening the text message interface. Her fingers moved but then stopped.

If she sent a message, what would she say?

Happy holidays?

But the only recent holiday was Army Day, which had just passed.

Then maybe— Belated greetings, Happy Army Day?

“……”

That seemed a bit strange.

Or should she pretend to send a message by mistake?

That seemed too deliberate.

Maybe she should call Sang Yan and say she wanted to go find him? Then maybe she could run into ‘him’.

Sang Zhi tossed her phone aside and started daydreaming while reading the comic book. After a long time, she threw it aside, buried herself in the blanket, and tried to nap.

Why bother meeting?

Meeting him didn’t seem to do any good. He always teased her, and the age gap made conversations feel like there was a generational divide, with no common ground.

She might as well take a nap at home.

Yes.

Who did he think he was anyway?

In the face of sleep— He was nothing!

Sang Zhi got up again and drank a few gulps of water, extinguishing all her impulses in the process. She lay back on her bed, stared at the ceiling, and began to hypnotize herself, “This probably doesn’t count as anything.”

“He just looks good. When you see someone good-looking on the street, anyone would take a few extra glances. Even if it’s a good-looking dog, you’d want to pet it.”

The air froze for a moment.

Sang Zhi exhaled and continued to hypnotize herself, “Maybe there is something, but if I meet someone even better-looking, I’ll probably switch my feelings to them.”

“For example, now that I can’t see him, I don’t particularly want to.” Sang Zhi nodded, brainwashing herself. “This proves that such feelings are very superficial.”

After saying that, she felt slightly more relaxed. She lay back down and continued reading the comic book.

Unknowingly, she fell asleep.

She didn’t know how long had passed when the phone on the bedside table rang.

It went on for several seconds before Sang Zhi was woken up. She opened her sleepy eyes, stared at the device blankly for a few seconds, then picked up the phone and hung up directly.

Then came another barrage of ringing.

Sang Zhi dazedly lay on the bed for a while. When the phone rang for the third time, she sluggishly answered it, “Hello?”

On the other end came Sang Yan’s slightly impatient voice, “What are you doing? You’ve hung up several times.”

“I was sleeping.” Sang Zhi was also unhappy. “You shouldn’t have called again after I hung up once.”

Sang Yan snorted. “If I didn’t call, you would complain again, right? Get up quickly. I’m having dinner with friends outside. Do you want to join us, or should I pack some for you to take home?”

Before Sang Zhi could answer, another voice suddenly came from the other end, “Hey, Duan Jiaxu seems to be tutoring nearby, should we ask him to join us?”

Sang Yan said, “Whatever.”

“Then I’ll call him.”

Sang Zhi pursed her lips, held back the words she was about to say, and whispered, “I’ll join you for dinner.”

Sang Yan asked, “Are you sure?”

“Mm.” Sang Zhi got up and found the most reasonable excuse, “I’m hungry, and if you pack it up, it will be too late.”

“Okay, change your clothes.” Sang Yan added, “I’ll call you when I’m downstairs.”

After hanging up, Sang Zhi walked to the cabinet, looked at the clothes inside, and changed into a dress. She washed her face in the bathroom and just as Sang Yan called, she quickly put on her shoes and went out.

Sang Zhi got into the elevator.

Maybe because she had slept too much, she felt uncomfortable all over after waking up.

Especially her stomach.

Sang Zhi thought she might have diarrhea and regretted not going to the toilet earlier.

When she walked out of the building, she saw Sang Yan’s car at a glance. Sang Yan was sitting in the driver’s seat and a slightly chubby guy was sitting beside him.

Sang Zhi walked over and got into the back seat.

The young man in the front seat turned around and greeted her, “Little Sister, do you remember me?”

It was Sang Yan’s roommate, Qian Fei.

Sang Zhi nodded.

Sang Yan glanced back at Sang Zhi. “Fasten your seatbelt.”

After watching Sang Zhi do so, Sang Yan started the car.

Since she was out with Sang Yan, Sang Zhi didn’t bring anything except her phone. She glanced at it, then looked out the window and asked, “Where are we going now?”

Qian Fei answered, “To pick up another friend.”

Sang Zhi nodded and said nothing.

Sang Yan glanced at Qian Fei. “Call and ask where he is.”

“He said he’s at the bus stop in East Square—” As he spoke, Qian Fei pointed ahead. “Hey, is that him?”

Hearing that, Sang Yan looked in the direction Qian Fei pointed and then drove over.

The car stopped. Through the window, Sang Zhi saw Duan Jiaxu walking towards them. He opened the back door and sat next to her. She instinctively lowered her eyes and looked away.

Qian Fei in the front asked, “Are you tutoring high school students?”

Duan Jiaxu lazily responded, and then there was no more movement.

Sang Zhi secretly observed him from the corner of her eye.

He seemed a bit tired. After getting into the car, he leaned against the seat, his eyes half-closed, and his hair fell messily on his forehead, giving him a strangely melancholic look. The dim yellow streetlights cast shadows on him, creating an indistinct and ambiguous aura.

After a while, Duan Jiaxu suddenly lifted his eyelids and looked over.

It seemed as if he had caught her gaze.

It was a bit sudden.

Sang Zhi instinctively grasped the hem of her dress. Afraid that looking away would make her seem guilty, she didn’t dodge. After a few seconds of staring at each other, she lowered her head. She pretended to be calm as she looked at her phone, acting as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Duan Jiaxu raised his eyebrows playfully. Not knowing what had annoyed this kid again, he straightened up a bit, propped his elbow on the window, and chuckled. “Kid, why didn’t you greet me?”

Sang Zhi looked at him and obediently said, “Brother.”

Qian Fei turned around again, dissatisfied. “Hey, you also didn’t greet me earlier?”

Sang Zhi paused and called out again, “Hello, Brother.”

Ignoring Qian Fei’s words, Duan Jiaxu stared at Sang Zhi, his eyes bright and clear, carrying an inherent provocative charm, although he didn’t have that intention.

As if he hadn’t heard clearly, he suddenly asked, “What do you mean by ‘hello^[1]好 – hǎo, Brother’?”

Sang Zhi was puzzled, “It just means hello, Brother.”

Hearing that, Duan Jiaxu chuckled softly. This time he seemed to understand, tilted his head, and leisurely repeated, “Brother is so handsome^[2]好帅 – hǎo shuài?”

“……”

“No wonder……” Duan Jiaxu suddenly leaned closer to Sang Zhi, raising his eyebrows with a smile. “You blush every time you see Brother.”